Ye Changfeng explained the whole incident from beginning to end.
Ghost Whiskers of Remnant Visage had first set up the Withering Forest at the forefront of the Thunder Sea. The student teams who were searching for the Landmine Dragon entered the Withering Forest, some without initially planning to enter but were lured in various ways.
The alliance soon discovered that out of nine student teams, seven teams could not be contacted. Sensing something was wrong, they immediately dispatched everyone to search for the students.
However, at that moment, a sudden surge of desolate beasts erupted!
The frenzied tide of beasts surged up like madness, diverting the attention of the alliance. The alliance could only deal with the beast tide while sending people to search.
The second dangerous zone, the Marquis Domain, mostly comprised beasts at the Meridian Opening stage, whereas the alliance was made up of elite university professors and senior leaders who easily crushed the beast tide but also delayed the optimal time to act.
The students were all teleported away from the Marquis Domain.
The wilderness outside the domain was vast; these seven universities were teleported out of the original Marquis Domain into the Tranquil Domain, with no direction or clues, so searching for them was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Later, everyone formed teams and allocated search areas. Elder Luo and Ye Changfeng unfortunately went in another direction, while Yuchi Shen just happened to come this way. However, by the time he arrived, the Withering Forest had already disappeared.
Elder Luo looked at Xiang Beifei with a serious expression and said, "Tell me in detail what you have encountered."
Xiang Beifei did not hide anything and recounted his entire route, only omitting the incident in the abyss since too many people were present and the conflicts between Qingzhou University and Yanzhou University had nothing to do with him.
Then they went on to the Withering Forest, and he explained it again, omitting the matter of the Spirit Gathering Book.
"Withering Forest?" Elder Luo pondered.
"Do you have any recollection of it, Elder?" Xiang Beifei asked.
Elder Luo seemed to be recalling, and after a long pause, he said, "I can't be certain for now, it needs a full investigation before any conclusions can be made."
Since other students had not yet been found, they did not return immediately, but rather, they formed a massive safety barrier on the spot, dispatched some people for patrolling, and sent others to continue searching.
The alliance took a count of the students they had found.
The seven schools that were teleported included Qingzhou University, Liangzhou University, Yanzhou University, Jingzhou University, Yongzhou University, Yangzhou University, and Jizhou University.
Xuzhou University and Yuzhou University were luckier; their teams did not encounter Ghostly Visage, and they were pulled back by the alliance when they were preparing to end the competition.
Thus, the students from Xuzhou University and Yuzhou University were mostly safe.
However, the remaining seven schools suffered severe damages.
Qingzhou University lost three, leaving only Tang He and He Qiutong. Yanzhou University also lost three, leaving only Yu Hongbo and Chen Baiwen as the two SSRs. Jingzhou University lost three people, Yangzhou University lost two, and Jizhou University lost one.
This freshman contest brought a heavy blow to the elite schools; in total, they lost one SSR and eleven SRs!
Only Liangzhou University and Yongzhou University had all their members alive. Yongzhou University had one who was knocked unconscious, but the highly skilled professors had revived him, so it was not too severe.
Xiang Beifei looked at the alliance officials and professors from various elite universities before him, pondering slightly.
Many people had searched and returned but had found no trace of Ghost Whiskers or the Withering Forest. Even SSR Sun Heshun, who initially encountered Xiang Beifei, returned empty-handed, looking quite frustrated.
However, disputes had also started among the elite schools.
The focus was directed at Yanzhou University!
It was said that a student from Yangzhou University had been deceived by Zhu Pengfei, who led them to Shi Renmei, resulting in their attack by Ghostly Visage. Therefore, the professors from Yangzhou University harbored deep hostility towards the people from Yanzhou University and began condemning them.
Yang Chengze, a professor from Yanzhou University, was being angrily stared at by many school teachers, feeling quite guilty.
He immediately repeated Xiang Beifei's excuse: "The Zhu Pengfei they encountered was not our school's Zhu Pengfei, but a disguised one! Our school's Zhu Pengfei was killed by a desolate beast shortly after entering the wilderness outside the domain, and our school also lost three students. Who should we approach to reason with?"
This excuse was not convincing and was merely one-sided; the other schools' teachers were not willing to let it rest.
Yang Chengze again shouted loudly, "If you don't believe it, you can ask Xiang Beifei from Liangzhou University! He can testify! The one who framed your students was not the real Zhu Pengfei. The real Zhu Pengfei was killed by Ghostly Visage as soon as he entered the wilderness outside the domain!"
Xiang Beifei remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly, "That is correct, the Zhu Pengfei we encountered was indeed a beast with no humanity, conspiring with the desolate beasts."
He didn't make it too explicit, but he made his point clear.
"This matter still needs thorough investigation."
But at that moment, a woman in a tight outfit stepped forward. This woman had a graceful figure, appearing to be in her late twenties, with her long hair tied up in a bun, wearing a form-fitting bodice, looking sharp and efficient.
She was a member of the Jiuzhou Alliance and an SSR!
[SSR level, Words and Deeds Global System]
[Realm: Late Stage of God Refining]
Words and Deeds, a language-based system. The function of this system is clear and relates to speech.