This is a rather peculiar great hall.

It's entirely constructed out of ice.

Or rather, built from blocks of large ice bricks; from afar, if you don't look closely, it even seems like a building sculpted directly from a single large block of ice.

The roof is piled with snow, looking out of place with the surrounding environment.

Encountering man-made structures in a dungeon is a rare occurrence, and even if there are no aliens inside, it's likely built by them.

"Let's go in and take a look."

Li Pu was the first to step onto the ice-carved staircase, which was rather slippery.

Thud!

Chang Shoushang, behind him, slipped on the first step.

"Oh my, my back..."

He grimaced as he got back up.

Indeed, you might escape the first calamity, but not the second.

"It's so cold inside here."

Tong Qingxin looked around, noticing that though the great hall was large, it was completely empty inside.

"It's cold inside."

"It's cold."

"Cold."

"Cold."

There was even an echo bouncing back and forth.

"Who dares to intrude upon my martial hall!"

"Hall hall hall hall hall..."

Soon enough, a resonant voice echoed from deep within the great hall.

It didn't sound like a beast.

Li Pu exchanged glances with his senior.

But encountering aliens in such an unfamiliar place, they might not necessarily be friendly.

"We mean no offense; we are travelers passing through and wish to inquire about this place."

Tong Qinxin cupped her hands towards the deeper part and replied loudly.

"..."

But after saying this, the other party fell silent.

"Alright, then come over here."

After a while, that voice sounded again.

"If you can get here, that is."

They added another sentence.

Rumble...

As the voice fell, the doors of the great hall closed.

"Something's amiss!"

Tong Qinxin noticed a pair of sharp red eyes starting to light up in the dark depths of the hall.

"Interesting."

Li Pu, however, wasn't convinced a flimsy ice door could stop him and was intrigued.

Soon, the owners of those eyes appeared in view.

"Why are there so many..."

Chang Shoushang's face changed as he looked at the approaching figures.

"Emperor penguins?"

Tong Qinxin recognized the species.

With a body height up to the thigh, white bellies, black backs, and beaks.

With their especially rotund bodies, they waddled awkwardly as they walked.

At this moment, these penguins were squeezing close to each other, bustling towards them.

"Such plump penguins."

Li Pu quips.

"Pass the test, and you will meet me."

From behind them, the owner of the hall spoke again.

"I guess this is another martial arts bird."

Tong Qinxin glanced at Li Pu, implying quite obviously.

"Go."

Li Pu gave a knowing nod and patted the scarecrow's shoulder.

[Grass!!]

The scarecrow raised its arms and charged out: Summoner, leave it to Ben Cao!

Whoosh!

As soon as it spoke, a penguin leaped high to attack.

Originally thinking the penguin would use its beak to attack, it instead raised a wing and chopped down.

"Karate chop!"

Chang Shoushang shouted; indeed, it knew martial arts.

Poof!

The wing slashed across the scarecrow's arm, severing both grass arms.

"So powerful!"

Tong Qinxin suddenly sensed trouble.

These penguins could execute slashing attacks that effectively harmed the scarecrow.

The key was that many more penguins were waiting to attack—if each penguin slashed once, the scarecrow would be shredded to pieces!

The situation unfolded just as she feared; the penguins all prepared to jump at the scarecrow.

But then something strange happened.

Originally appearing clumsy, they became even more ungainly.

Their feet barely left the ground before they ungracefully stumbled forward as if not using enough force.

Thud! xN

In an instant, these penguins all fell into a heap.

It turned out Li Pu saw something amiss and took action.

His powerful [Gravity Field] spread out, making jumping nearly impossible and reducing their mobility significantly.

[Heh heh heh heh heh~]

And what followed was a wave of Energy Bombs from Bu Bu.

In no time, this group of penguins was blown to smithereens.

Indeed, blown away.

Not a single trace was left, causing bewilderment.

It seemed even the hall's owner hadn't expected the penguins to be dispatched so quickly and efficiently, so there was silence for a while.

"Congratulations on passing the first test, even though it was quite arduous."

The other party seemed like someone who cared about face.

Tong Qinxin: "The process... wasn't very arduous, was it?"

Chang Shoushang: "How many tests are there? You better tell us clearly."

Li Pu: "Maybe let's leave; it feels a bit troublesome."

The trio clearly had no intention of being polite.

"..., proceed and face the second test."

The voice of the hall's owner noticeably paused.

However, Li Pu and the others remained indifferent, showing no interest in moving forward.

So, the two sides stood off for a moment, until finally, another penguin emerged from the darkness.

But it had no companion, looking as though it was alone.

"We're not going over, so the second test comes to us?"

Chang Shoushang couldn't help but quip.

Splat!

Just as he finished speaking, a black-and-white flash darted over; the penguin slapped him with lightning speed and returned to its spot.

"What the heck!"

Chang Shoushang covered his face, feeling it beginning to swell.