A Failure's hopeful Journey

Under countless doubtful gazes, You Xi Wang and the team walked up to their teacher. Maddison was escorted by a council staff member. Maddison smiled at the group and asked the official to be relieved. You Zhichi thanked the official and sent him away.

Maddison spoke as she let Fenny hold her arm, "You guys all look so fresh and strong. Where did you go?"

Illahi replied to her, "The world of Elves." he was very excited as he recounted all that they have faced inside there. None of the teammates stopped him. They even add what Illahi forgot to tell. You Xi Wang just silently smiled from the side. You Zhichi spoke in his mind, "Master is here. She said that if we made any discoveries, then we should report them to the invigilators before the result is out. It will be counted as merit."

You Xi Wang nodded and spoke to Maddison, who was being filled in by the rest of the team, "Teacher, I will go with big sis to report our discoveries to the invigilators." the latter nodded in response and You Xi Wang put away the soft gaze. He looked at the team and said, "You all better keep the gifts thing inside your stomachs before we get back home. Or they might ask you to surrender them. Do you understand?"

The team immediately came to their senses. They all nodded to assure You Xi Wang not to worry. After watching their gaze, You Xi Wang walked away with his sister. The sky event square had a displacement area of 2 kilometers. This whole area led to various buildings related to the council. One of these buildings was the exploration center. When You Xi Wang located the invigilator and told him they would like to provide intel regarding the dimensional space they were deployed to, the invigilator pointed them to this building. 

The exploration building looked just like any other building on the sky event square. Five floors high, glass exterior a typical mini corporate office vibe. You Xi Wang entered the building with You Zhichi by his side. As soon as they stepped in for the security check, the scanning light turned red. The guard aimed at them with their guns and asked coldly, "Who are you and what is your motive?"

You Xi Wang and You Zhichi did not panic and spoke calmly, "Student You Xi Wang(You Zhichi) here to report some findings during the survival trial."

Although nothing was detected, the guard still did not let his guard down. He asked again, "What do you hide in the shadow?"

Only now did You Xi Wang and his sister realize that the arrays here are stronger and can detect Maya in his shadow. So with no resistance, he asked Maya to come out. The vigilant guards saw a glowing white-furred wolf appear in front of them. One of them immediately blurted out, "Level 6 spirit beast Snow Hound."

The other guards were shocked, they knew this beast could kill them all if not for the security array. Even after being discovered, this beast is too difficult to handle. They gave You Xi Wang another glance. To have such a strong spirit beast, this guy must have a distinguished identity. The guard in charge spoke, "Sir, your spirit beast needs to wear a restriction array collar. We ask for your cooperation."

You Xi Wang glanced at Maya and nodded. He spoke, "I understand this step is taken for security reasons but do not bound her movement. We share an equality spirit bond." his voice was calm during this process. 

The guard was surprised and then expressed his understanding. If someone shares the equality spirit bond, then it will be quite painful if the beast's movements are restricted. The security guard took a jade band out of his space ring. He then uttered a chant, and the band flew up. The band then clasped on Maya's ankle. With this, her spirit energy was restricted. She could use none of her spirit skills. 

You Xi Wang could then enter the premises. Two beautiful humans and a glowing white wolf walked up to the reception. This attracted a lot of attention from the staff and the visitors. You Xi Wang spoke, "Hello, sir, we are the team members deployed to the Saxa Deserti dimensional pocket we have some new discoveries. Can you tell us whom should we report it to?"

The person sitting behind the reception table was struck in a daze when he saw You Zhichi walking up to her. His trance broke, and he replied, "You go to the third floor and meet with Mr. Dalton in room number 35. He handles this dimensional pocket."

You Xi Wang nodded and along with his sister proceeded to the third floor with Maya in tow. They soon located room number 35. You Xi Wang knocked on the door and a leisurely voice came from inside, "Come in."

The boy pushed the door which has been opened from inside. In front of him sat an old man with a barren head. You Zhichi followed her brother inside and sat down. The worktable was filled with leftover snack wrappers, a moist smell permitted in the air. This was enough to tell the two people how sparse it was for these places to be visited by people other than the old man. Saxa Deserti was like a jewel in the dust, overlooked by everyone. The old man spoke, "My name is Pixus Dalton, how may I help you?"

You Xi Wang spoke, "Sir, we have something to report regarding the situation inside Saxa Deserti."

The old man nodded and gestured him to continue. You Xi Wang started speaking about how they discovered that the rocky plain was a man-made construct. Then You Zhichi explained how they traveled for days on flying swords. The more the old man heard, the more he was startled. He never expected the barren-looking dimension to be like this. The old man interrupted the two as soon as they were about to narrate the fort battle. 

Pixus Dalton spoke, "Do you guys have any evidence? Any records to back what you say as the truth?" his tone was excited and full of expectation.

You Xi Wang nodded and took out a Data Storing Cube from his space ring. He spoke, "Sir, this cube contains the data you need. As you can see, this cube is not a device developed in Metropia. The Elven Queen requested Metropia doesn't interfere with them and they have sent a peace intent addressing the council. I will now hand over this matter to you."

Old man Dalton's eyes opened so wide that they almost fell out of the socket. He picked up the data cube with shivering hands and spoke to the siblings, "You guys have done great merit. Don't worry, this whole thing will be counted when your result rank is being calculated. I will now take my leave. This cube needs to be delivered to the headquarters." with that said, he cleaned up his office. This was also the queue for You Xi Wang and You Zhichi to leave and wait for their results to come out.

The two people left the office along with their wolf companion. At the exit of the building, a guard carefully took off the restriction band from Maya's ankle. Then let the trio leave. Soon after, they saw a flustered old man running through the building. He even asked for a guarded convoy as to not delay the urgent reporting. 

You Xi Wang and his sister chatted leisurely as they walked back to the team. They were unaware of the uproar they had created in the council headquarters. The people in the upper echelon did not know how a group of greenhorns could explore a dimension to such limits and also help the natives solve the problems they are facing for thousands of years. What shocked them more was the technological advancement of the civilization inside. 

The threat assessment given to this dimension was as high as three nirvana rebirth cultivators together. That's enough to raze a city to the ground in minutes. There were still some unknown factors, such as whether the Elves had high-level existences inside who were hiding away from the secular world.

The breeze of relief came as a peace intent letter. In the letter, it was mentioned that the 16 students who went there for a survival trial were selected as the envoys of peace. The Elves only requested for Metropia to not interfere with their matters and not to send people for exploration unannounced to disturb their newly gained tranquility. The executives were shocked, and they sent the letter to be presented in front of the Council elders. 

The council elders discussed and unanimously agreed to the proposal put forward by the Elven Council. The Elves were kind enough to remind the humans that blind pursuit of technology or development will eventually lead to the ruin of the civilization. This was also a point of discussion and during the discussion of the elders. Shelton Hammer mentioned the essay composed by You Xi Wang and his way of thinking. 

This may not have created an uproar in the council, but it was enough to cause some ripples.