High Martial: I Use Everything as Swords

Chapter 231: Chapter 200: Man-made Disaster and the Missing Elites

"Then where are they?"

Han Feng pressed, "There are hundreds of people in this hall. How come I haven’t seen a single combatant from Star Sea Technology?"

"I... I don’t know either!"

Zhao Hai was on the verge of tears. "We split up as soon as we entered the Secret Realm.

Their mission was apparently to recover some data from the core area. They were never with us logistics guys."

"The core area..."

Han Feng released his grip, lost in thought.

He straightened up, his gaze passing over the crowd to the thick gray fog outside the hall.

What Zhao Hai had just said sparked a realization.

On his way back, fighting through everything, all he’d seen were small and mid-sized societies, or ordinary teams like the Sharp Sword Society.

Where had the group at the very top of East Sea Martial Arts University’s pyramid gone?

Lu Yunxiao of the Inner City’s Lu Family, the so-called show-off who could fly.

Wei Chen from the Celestial Craft Maintenance Department, the tech nerd obsessed with Runes.

And Su Yunxi of the Su Family.

But until now, Han Feng hadn’t seen a trace of them, not in the Trading Hall nor in the "Ping’an County" Illusion Realm from before.

If the grand sacrificial formation Li Wei had activated covered the entire Secret Realm, it made no sense that these more powerful "sacrifices" could have escaped unscathed.

Unless... they weren’t in this area at all.

Or perhaps, something at their location was blocking the pull of the sacrifice.

’Wei Chen said in the director’s office before that he came for the ruin’s Runes.’

Han Feng calculated in his mind.

Most of the ruins in the Suspended Mountain Secret Realm were concentrated on the few Core Floating Islands in the deeper regions.

’If those top-tier elite teams are all over there...’

’What kind of situation are they facing now?’

’Is it even worse than here?’

An extended gloom phase, a beast tide outbreak, plus man-made signal jamming.

’At least I’m here guarding this place.’

’What about over there?’

Han Feng took a deep breath.

If he wanted to get to the bottom of this, just guarding the hall was useless.

He had to go to the core area.

Find those missing "elites."

Only by finding them could he perhaps piece together the full puzzle of this conspiracy.

Thinking of this, Han Feng no longer hesitated.

He turned to look at Zhang Hao and Lei Qianjun, who were still busy.

"The crisis here is temporarily resolved."

Han Feng said, "As long as this pile of Spirit Ore doesn’t burn out, you’ll have no problem holding out for two days and two nights."

"You’re leaving?"

Wang Meng reacted instantly, his eyes widening. "It’s still the gloom phase out there!"

"This fog has no effect on me."

Han Feng tightened the straps of his backpack. "I’m making a trip to the Core Floating Islands."

"I want to know what exactly has gone wrong with this Secret Realm."

With that said, he walked straight toward the main gate without waiting for anyone to stop him.

"Open the gate."

Lei Qianjun hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing Han Feng’s determined gaze, he waved for his men to open a gap.

In a flash, Han Feng disappeared into the vast gray fog.

He left behind the students in the hall, who stared at the pile of glowing ore with complicated expressions.

...

「Thirty kilometers northwest of Wind Eye Market.」

This was already the depths of the Suspended Mountain Secret Realm, the edge of the core island cluster.

The gray fog here was more than twice as dense as in the outer areas.

Visibility was near zero.

But in Han Feng’s Divine Sense and [Spiritual Vision] perception, nothing in the surroundings could hide.

He steered his Wingsuit, gliding at high speed a hundred meters above the ground.

His Innate Sword Body operated at full capacity, greedily devouring the violent Spiritual Qi in the air to replenish the energy consumed by his Sword Flight.

Any wandering Spirit Bodies that drew near were either repelled by the Sword Intent radiating from him or directly obliterated by his Heart Sword.

Like a Sharp Sword, he forcibly tore through the chaotic darkness, racing toward the centermost cluster of Floating Islands in the Secret Realm.

There, perhaps, lay the ultimate answer to this crisis.