At dawn the next day, Su Yuan was sitting on the ground, cultivating.


    "Knock, knock, knock!"


    Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.


    Su Yuan went to open the door. Outside stood Zhuang Xun and Fang Kun, who looked rather excited.


    "Su Yuan, are you ready?" Zhuang Xun asked.


    "There''s nothing much to prepare. Let''s go."


    "Alright!"


    Because they were staying at a suburban hotel near Flame Mountain, the three of them had encountered several Star Card Masters with slight fluctuations of Star Power when they checked in yesterday. They were also likely heading to the Molten Lava Cave.


    "Hello, I''d like to check out." A pleasant female voice came from the direction of the front desk.


    As Su Yuan and the others entered the lobby, they saw three people in front of them checking out.


    Two men and one woman, all dressed in black.


    One young man had a stern face, a tall and sturdy build, and was estimated to be about six-foot-one.


    The person next to him, of average height, stood beside the tall young man, his face slightly effeminate, pale yet unusually rosy. He was shaking his leg in boredom.


    The last person was the girl who had just spoken to check out.


    She was beautiful, wearing a black plaid JK uniform and knee-high socks, with two small pigtails tied at the back of her head, looking quite youthful and energetic.


    "Hey, that girl looks pretty nice!" Zhuang Xun''s eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice to Su Yuan and Fang Kun.


    "She has the looks and the figure... We just started our trip today and already met a pretty girl. It''s really delightful, making one feel happy~"


    Fang Kun turned his head slightly with disdain and snorted, uninterested in the topic of "pretty girls" as a "Martial Artist" and contemptuous of Zhuang Xun''s behavior.


    Su Yuan raised his head and glanced at the JK girl, nodding slightly.


    In terms of appearance, if he took the best-looking people he had seen, Kong Zheng and Luo Bingtong, as a perfect ten, this girl was indeed a solid seven or eight, quite good.


    But in terms of figure... this girl not only was half a head taller than Luo Bingtong but also had a far more impressive chest than Luo Bingtong.


    The reason Su Yuan and the others paid attention to these three was that they also had faint waves of Star Power, indicating they were likely students from some college.


    "Okay, let me see..." The young lady at the front desk took the room card, "Hmm? A single king bed room... correct?"


    The young lady at the front desk glanced at the three of them with some surprise, her voice gradually lowering.


    The JK girl placed her hands on the table and smiled casually, "Yes, a king bed room."


    "Oh, okay!" The front desk girl responded quickly, operating the system.


    Su Yuan and the others, with their keen hearing, naturally heard the conversation.


    "Three people in one room, huh..." Zhuang Xun retracted his gaze and sighed slightly.


    Zhuang Xun and Fang Kun noticed Su Yuan''s strange behavior and turned to look as well.


    Su Yuan nodded to the front desk girl and took the deposit. He then said to Zhuang Xun and Fang Kun, "Let''s go out first."


    Once outside the hotel, Su Yuan said softly, "I felt that something might be off with that group of three just now. I can''t explain exactly what, though."


    "Off?" Zhuang Xun asked in confusion. "Could it be an illusion?"


    Recalling the Azure Sky Phoenix''s behavior, Su Yuan shook his head, "Probably not."


    Zhuang Xun''s carefree expression faded. He rubbed his chin in thought for a moment and said solemnly, "Then we should be careful. They were also heading toward Flame Mountain. We might encounter them again."


    Fang Kun nodded, "Better to be cautious. The Secret Realm is not like the city. Without government and City Guard constraints, things like robbery and killing do happen."


    Star Card Masters possessed extraordinary power. When someone had power, discussions often couldn''t be peaceful and were instead determined by strength, leading to conflicts.


    Disputes of pride, resources, beliefs...


    No country could entirely ban combat and killing among Star Card Masters, but they usually set up regulations to restrict Star Card Masters with extraordinary power to maintain the safety of citizens, cities, and the country.


    For example, banning combat in urban areas and preventing interference with city safety, and forbidding Star Card Masters from attacking ordinary people...


    If anyone violated these rules, the City Guard would deal with it. Serious cases could even lead to government pursuit and arrest.


    But once in dangerous areas, Secret Realms, or even abroad, many restrictions were lifted. Life and death were left to fate, and how one acted depended on individual judgment and decisions.


    Considering societal relations, reputation, and other factors, although mortal battles occurred, overly egregious incidents were generally rare.


    ...


    Around noon, Su Yuan and his companions finally entered the Flame Mountain area.


    Due to a recent eruption, the entire Flame Mountain was shrouded in thick volcanic ash.


    With a single glance, the sky was gray and black, and the rolling hills came into view. The temperature felt about twelve degrees higher than outside.


    If ordinary people came here, they would struggle to move, let alone endure a stay of two or three hours.


    "Be careful. From here on, we are within Flame Mountain territory," Zhuang Xun warned.


    Su Yuan and Fang Kun nodded, raising their vigilance.


    The three had substantial outdoor experience.


    Unlike the rich kid Zhuang Xun, Fang Kun came from an ordinary family and had gone on many hunts for Star Beasts in the wild for collecting materials and Star Cards.


    As for Su Yuan, there was no need to mention...


    Because of Su Yuan''s presence, the Demon Beasts in the western part of the Great Barbarian Mountain Area had become significantly sparser than before. Many Star Beasts, including several Bronze-level ones, had been so frightened that they migrated deeper into the Great Barbarian Mountain Area.


    If Su Yuan continued hunting in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area, the Guangchuan City Guard might come to him before long, reprimanding him for "disrupting the ecological balance" in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area...


    Su Yuan took out a map and examined it: "The entrances to the Molten Lava Cave are at those nine volcanoes. Considering the environment and Star Beast obstacles in Flame Mountain, it will probably take us two or three days to reach the nearest entrance."


    "Alright, let''s hurry up and move."