Chapter 848: Chapter 848: Erase The Mistakes

"The choice is yours. But in three months whether the others arrive or not, you will advance to the next phase."

"You can stay here. Rest. Recover. Continue cultivating the technique you’ve been given." His eyes gleamed with something predatory. "Just like those two have chosen to do."

He nodded toward Noah and Yuan Ming, still seated in meditation.

Feng Wei and Mu Tao exchanged glances, their expressions shifting to surprise. They’d assumed Noah and Yuan Ming had just arrived as well.

Instead of answering immediately, the three fell into contemplation.

Feng Wei looked ready to speak—probably to say they should advance immediately, prove their strength, and not appear weak by staying.

But Liu Yue moved first.

She bowed respectfully toward Supervisor Gui, her movements graceful and deferential. "Thank you for your generosity, Supervisor. We would be honored to accept your offer to stay and continue our cultivation."

Feng Wei’s mouth opened in surprise, but one look from Liu Yue made him close it again.

Mu Tao nodded quickly, following her lead. "Yes, thank you, Supervisor."

He also seemed to understand the reason she chose to stay.

Supervisor Gui watched this interaction with obvious amusement. "Very well. I will take that as the response of three of you."

After what they had been through in the second trial, they realized it was a mistake to lose any time they were given to practice just to choose and advance faster.

"Now that there are so many of you here, I should lead you to proper accommodation." Supervisor Gui stood from his chair, which dissolved back into nothingness. "Follow me. Those two have already chosen their home, and now it’s your turn."

Noah and Yuan Ming did not open their eyes and continued to cultivate, not even acknowledging the presence of new arrivals or the supervisor’s movements.

The passage Supervisor Gui led them through was narrow and winding, lit by snake-like torches that flared with green lights. Just looking at them made the trio recall their experiences with the snakes.

After several minutes of walking in silence, the passage opened into another chamber.

This one was smaller than the central platform area but still substantial—perhaps fifty meters across. And scattered throughout it, built against the cave walls and occupying the flatter areas of the floor, were simple thatched huts.

They looked almost absurdly normal in this underground nightmare. Simple wooden frames, thatched roofs, walls made of woven reeds.

Like something you’d find in any rural village.

There were around a hundred of them, arranged in four lines.

"These are the cultivation dwellings," Supervisor Gui announced, waving one hand dismissively. "You can choose to stay together or separately; I don’t care which. The huts provide basic shelter and private space from other participants."

"Why does this feel worse from the place we came from?" Mu Tao could not help but ask after some hesitation.

"That’s because it is. The chambers you came from before have better affinity to cultivate your techniques, but they are also a place where you will be exposed to others and be at threat of being interrupted all the time."

Supervisor Gui explained everything without reservations since it was no secret.

Liu Yue finally realized why Noah and Yuan Ming were sitting there and not here.

He pointed to one cluster that looked slightly better maintained than the others.

"Those two are already occupied," he said, clearly referring to Noah and Yuan Ming. "Pick from any of the rest."

Feng Wei started to move toward the huts closest to the ones the supervisor had indicated, probably still thinking about challenging Noah and wanting to be nearby.

Liu Yue grabbed his arm, her grip surprisingly strong.

"Brother Feng," she said sweetly, her smile never faltering. "Perhaps we should choose ones farther away? We wouldn’t want to disturb those who arrived before us with our cultivation efforts."

Her eyes carried a warning that Feng Wei missed. He could not help but think that Liu Yue was thinking about them as a couple and wanted to stay away from others so she could fulfill her promise.

He swallowed and nodded. "Of course, Sister Yue. Very considerate."

They moved to a cluster of huts on the opposite side of the chamber—as far from Noah and Yuan Ming’s location as possible while still remaining within the designated area.

"Will we see you during our cultivation, Supervisor?" Mu Tao asked, trying to sound casual.

Supervisor Gui laughed. "Unlikely. I’ll check on you occasionally, but mostly I’ll be in my own chambers. Try not to die from cultivation deviation—cleaning up corpses is annoying."

With that cheerful warning, he turned and walked back toward the passage, his footsteps echoing until they faded entirely.

The three were left alone in the chamber full of empty huts.

"We should stay together," Feng Wei said immediately, looking at Liu Yue with obvious hope. "Safety in numbers, and—" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"No," Liu Yue interrupted gently. "We each need our own space to cultivate properly. The technique requires concentration, and having others nearby would be... distracting."

"Indeed. Sister Yue is right. We don’t want to interfere with each other’s progress." Mu Tao frowned, seeing Feng Wei trying to get close to Liu Yue while snorting inwardly, thinking, ’wag all you want, brother Feng, but sister Liu is already mine.’

Liu Yue smiled at both of them, letting just enough promise linger in her expression to keep them hopeful.

"But we’ll be close by," she added. "If anything happens, we can help each other immediately."

Both men seemed satisfied with this compromise.

They each selected a hut, Liu Yue choosing the middle one, with Feng Wei and Mu Tao taking the ones on either side of her.

As Liu Yue entered her chosen hut, she took a moment to examine it.

The interior was simple, just a bare earth floor, the thatched walls, and a small opening that served as a window. No furniture, no amenities. Just empty space for cultivation.

She sat down cross-legged in the center, letting her pleasant smile finally fade now that no one could see her face.

’Three months,’ she thought, her mind already working through possibilities. ’Within these three months I have to put that plan in action to take care of the two of them or they might become more brazen with their demands.’