Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 139
"From the start, Student Li Yao is playing the role of an evil expert. These kinds of tactics totally sync with his identity. And most of all, it's 1 vs. 2,000, how can he win without being a bit despicable?"
Meanwhile, as far as the said victims of all this debacle who were presently at the center of the jungle were concerned, the so-called "despicable" tactic of Li Yao wasn't as simple as it seemed.
Even before the paper crane landed on the ground, the Chaos Edge Hall members already had an ugly complexion.
Everyone whispered to each other:
"Is he serious? Doesn't he just want to drag our Chaos Edge Hall members into a fight? Isn't this bullying? What have we done wrong? Why does he have enmity with us?"
"Of course, it is serious. It's 1 vs. 2,000. He made it quite clear that if he dies, he will drag a few of us down with him. What is so strange about that?"
"Didn't you hear what he said at the end? As long as we fight with the Iron Fist Club, he will stand by us!"
"Thinking about it, he is indeed right. Our overall strength is weaker than that of the Iron Fist Club. Even if they paid heavy price to capture him, in all likelihood, we still could not endure the wanton attacks of the Iron Fist Club!"
"We might as well form an alliance with him first and eliminate the Iron Fist Club...even if we are only left with 100 people, I think we can capture a single person, yeah?"
"What do you think, is this jade chip authentic?"
"Who knows! There is a 99% chance that it is false, but what if it is authentic? Maybe it’s the so-called, ‘when false is taken for true, true becomes false[1].’ Li Yao is so treacherous. Maybe he has brazenly placed the real jade chip here, and wants us to think that it is false. When we are finished fighting with each other, he will boldly come back and retrieve the jade chip. Wouldn't it be very retarded of us to leave it here?"
"No matter whether it is real or false, let's take the jade chip first and take it to the base to check it; if it's false, we will throw it away, and if it's real, we will keep it!"
Along with the whisperings of Chaos Edge Hall members, the members of the Iron Fist Club knowingly or unknowingly drew close to each other and caressed their spirit tattoos, drawing every strand of their steel-like muscles taut. They each entered a battle state so that they could activate their spirit tattoos at moment's notice.
"Hey, something doesn't feel right, I feel that the opposite party's murderous aura is getting more and more intense!"
"Nonsense, didn't you hear what Li Yao said? If you were a member of Chaos Edge Hall, would you still cooperate with us if you knew you will lose without a doubt?"
"It seems that they are ready to attack us at moment notice. How about we attack first and take the initiative?"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Numerous gazes turned towards Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan.
Lu Tieshan's complexion looked bleak. A soybean-sized drop of sweat even had oozed out on his forehead as he spoke in a hoarse voice:
"Zhao Tianchong, you can't walk into his trap. This is clearly a trap, I can bet that there is 99% chance that this jade chip being false. Are you going to fight with us over a false jade chip!?"
Zhao Tianchong's eyebrows twitched as he stressed each and every word:
"Of course I know this is Li Yao's scheme. This jade chip is most likely false, but in any case, Li Yao is right: if he targeted our Chaos Edge Hall, we would lose no doubt. Lu Tieshan, tell me, why should we work together?"
Lu Tieshan rolled his eyes in circles as he hastily said:
"How about our Iron Fist Club takes the front line? If someone is going to die, it will be us. Is this good enough to show our sincerity?"
Zhao Tianchong sneered:
"If you are the vanguard, then Li Yao would be captured by you, meaning the jade chip will also be acquired by you. We would still lose, wouldn't we?"
Lu Tieshan was tongue-tied.
He came to realize that this hand of Li Yao’s was quite good. Li Yao was simply unafraid of it being seen through.
It was not a conspiracy, but at the same time, it was!
Zhao Tianchong coldly said:
"Lu Tieshan, I have a suggestion. Let's see if you have the courage to go through with it!
"If you want to work together, we can. However, in order to do so, you have to make up for the losses the Chaos Edge Hall would suffer during the hunt. The Iron Fist Club must choose a hundred people and let us strike them down, eliminating them from the tournament."
"This will balance the overall battle force of both sides. Only then will we continue to cooperate."
"In addition, this jade chip must be kept by me; I will take it to the Chaos Edge Hall's base to check its authenticity."
Lu Tieshan was stupefied:
"Zhao Tianchong, are you kidding? You want a hundred people on my side to 'suicide', and you want us to hand this jade chip over to you? This is absurd! It is impossible!"
While remaining expressionless, Zhao Tianchong stressed each word:
"I know that my request is absurd. However, in all likelihood, Li Yao is hidden somewhere nearby and is ready to perish together with me! If I am finished, the Chaos Edge Hall will lose for sure. Tell me, if you can't satisfy these conditions why should I cooperate with you?
"If you don't agree, then even if I clearly know that it's a scheme, I still have to bear with it and cooperate with Li Yao to eliminate you first!
"This way, at least I will have a better chance of winning!"
Lu Tieshan remained silent. After Zhao Tianchong finished speaking, he too fell silent while grasping the hilt of his sword, waiting for an answer.
The people behind the two discussed in low voices. However, gradually they turned unscrupulously noisy.
Both sides' hostility was getting stronger by the second. The sword cultivators all had grabbed their swords, while the spirit tattoos on body practitioners emitted a strange brilliance. Their murderous aura was like two continuously expanding bubbles which were on the verge of colliding with each other.
"Calm down, for f*ck’s sake, all of you calm down!"
The blue veins on Lu Tieshan's neck stood out. In the blink of an eye, his eyes were completely bloodshot. His throat became hoarse as he spoke:
"Zhao Tianchong, even though your requirements are outrageous, they are not without reason. But give me time to explain them to everyone; it really cannot be done in a short amount of time! Now the most important thing is to restrain our forces. We absolutely cannot have anyone taking any action! Once anyone attacks, everything will turn chaotic!"
Lu Tieshan was someone who acted decisively. Having mused and gnashed his teeth for a moment, Lu Tieshan was actually ready to accept Zhao Tianchong's conditions.
Zhao Tianchong too heaved a sigh of relief as he let go of the hilt and spoke frankly while raising his hands:
"Alright, only you can do it. I will not ask for more; let's work together to find Li Yao and eliminate him. Even if several dozen experts of my Chaos Edge Hall fall, or I am eliminated, I will accept everything and will not make a fuss!"
"Alright, a real man—!"
Lu Tieshan had hardly spoken before sounds of fighting, through the mist around them, came from both far away and nearby.
The two had their complexions change at the same time. Both of them started the communication channel and shouted in strict voices:
"Who the hell attacked?"
"We have not even finished the negotiations here, don't attack, stand down quickly!"
Due to the interference from the mist, "buzz buzz" noises came from the communication channel, mixed in with shouts and sounds of taking attacks. The communication channel was going on and off continuously, no one responded to their shouts.
Only after listening with rapt attention for a while could they make out few words:
"Jade chip!"
"The jade chip is in his hands, ah, quickly grab it back!"
Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan looked at each other:
"Jade chip?"
Wasn't the jade chip in front of them?
"Damn it!"
The two of them simultaneously thought of one possibility. In the blink of an eye, they felt a chill down to their marrows.
Back at the Institute, tens of thousands of spectators came to know Li Yao's entire plan a few minutes in advance through over a thousand monitoring crystal eyes.
Li Yao had not just placed one jade chip in the jungle, but one hundred.
All hundred jade chips along with one hundred Transmitting Paper Cranes were evenly distributed in conspicuous locations at the center of the jungle.
Once they received even the slightest bit of disturbance, the Transmitting Paper Crane would dance in the air and lay out Li Yao's entire plan without missing anything.
Currently, the contestants from both sides were thrust deep into each other sides. Almost everyone knew of Li Yao's "scheme".
They also understood the dilemma they were facing.
And they knew that the jade chip before them was...
99% false.
However, what if Li Yao was using this very psychology and passed off the real jade chip as false?
Or maybe they could take it back to the base to check it out, just to be sure. They might as well bet on this 1% chance, they just might acquire the jade chip!
Having thought like this, everyone quietly moved closer to the dubious jade chip.
Afterward, they discovered that not too far away on the opposite side, their old opponent was also eyeing it and was ready to make their move.
In the blink of an eye, Li Yao's words from a moment ago welled up in their mind.
"What if the Chaos Edge Hall's guys are thinking of cooperating with Li Yao and attacks our Iron Fist Club?"
"What if these kids of the Iron Fist Club are afraid of us cooperating with Li Yao and attack us first to take the initiative?"
Each side was thinking like this. Meanwhile, this daggers-drawn situation was getting more and more tense.
Gazes from both sides were ruthlessly clashing in midair, seemingly giving birth to crackling sparks.
Until now, everyone was still exercising patience and didn't take any action.
The nerves of 2,000 people were like 2,000 bowstrings that were stretched to the limit. And all of them were using their last bit of reasoning to restrain their hands.
Suddenly—
"Ah!"
"They took action!"
From the mist all around them, extremely unexpected voices resounded.
It was another 100 Transmitting Paper Cranes which were all hidden amid the shrubs and grasses and were skillfully imitating the screams.
Chapter 200: Ambush on All Sides |
Among the 2,000 contestants, the vast majority turned somewhat vigilant from the sudden screams. They faintly felt that something wasn't right, so they didn't take any rash actions.
However, the terrifying part of Li Yao's trap was that as long as a few people opened fire, even if they numbered in dozens, it would cause a chain reaction. It was just like a snowball that grew bigger and bigger as it rolled, only to finally turn into an avalanche that was impossible to contain!
At the west side of the jungle, two Iron Fist Club members and two Chaos Edge Hall members were in a stalemate.
Right in between them was a jade chip placed upon a huge piece of bluestone and a paper crane dancing in the air.
Just last month, a huge fight had broken out once between the four over a training field. During the confrontation, unbeknownst to everyone, the Chaos Edge Hall's side had suffered a small loss.
The current situation was the so-called "when enemies come face to face, their eyes blaze with hatred." The four were like four bulls, ruthlessly staring at each other.
When they heard the screams, the four simultaneously shivered. Their pupils constricted to the size of a needle tip.
The Chaos Edge Hall members were the first to launch an attack. Two swords were drawn out of their sheaths and emanated a sharp sword aura akin to that of a poisonous snake.
"Attaboy, you have joined hands with Li Yao!"
The Iron Fist Club member yelled and ruthlessly punched at his own chest, activating his spirit tattoo to the extreme. He was suddenly enveloped in a layer of weak flames and his iron fist directly charged towards the sword aura.
At the south side, north side, and east side...
Flames of war rose in every part of the jungle, turning the jungle into a tempestuous sea of fire in the blink of an eye.
Even if many people were pretty clear that the screams at the beginning were all a trap laid down by Li Yao...
Since both sides had already begun fighting, they had no choice. All they could do was attack first and seize the initiative!
Under a towering tree, just as a member of Iron Fist Club picked up the jade chip, a beam of sword aura thrust right towards his heart from across the tree. The light armor burst forth with dazzling beams of blood-colored brilliance, protecting the wearer. However, although the attack was no longer fatal, the armor released an incomparably painful current, causing its wearer to twitch uncontrollably and foam at the mouth before fainting on the spot.
The Chaos Edge Hall member smiled as he came out from behind the tree. Just as he bent down to take the jade chip from the hands of his victim, a howling gale suddenly came crashing down on his head.
An Iron Fist Club member with his body covered in a metallic gloss came crashing down as his knee fiercely hammered his opponent’s spine.
The Chaos Edge Hall member's light armor burst forth with a light red brilliance as an electric current coursed through his spine in the blink of an eye, preventing any damage but causing him a tremendous amount of pain. Although he was not dead, he had suffered an "irreversible chronic injury," rendering him immobile. All he could do was lie flat on the ground while waiting to be rescued.
The Iron Fist Club member who had jumped down from the tree had not even taken a breath before two Chaos Edge Hall members who were enveloped in murderous auras walked out of the mist from the opposite side...
All around the jungle, intense small-scale encounters started at the same time. Screams, sounds of fighting, bombardments, and explosions enveloped the whole jungle.
And due to the restrictions imposed by the terrain along with the line of sight obstructed by the mist, whenever the contestants from the two sides found each other, they would often find themselves very close together.
Following which, it would turn into a fight to the death, with only one side making it out alive. There would be no other ending.
Therefore, the fatalities in this year's match were way higher compared to previous matches.
In a short period of thirty minutes, over 300 contestants had been struck down and 400 contestants had suffered irreversible, chronic injuries and lay incapacitated.
Even the 100 members of Chaos Edge Hall who were guarding the base could not hold themselves back.
From the beginning, the Chaos Edge Hall's overall strength was inferior to the Iron Fist Club’s. If the Chaos Edge Hall was lacking its 100 members, it would simply be a one-sided massacre.
Eventually, only thirty people were left to defend the base.
The remaining 70 people charged into the bloody battle happening in the jungle without a shred of hesitation. However, many of them were struck down in just a few minutes.
The well-designed battle plan that Zhao Tianchong and Lu Tieshan had devised prior to the match had been completely disrupted.
There were no instances of tactics that could be seen. The match was uglier than all the matches from the past few decades. It was by far the clumsiest battle.
The maker of this catastrophe, Li Yao, was calmly wandering amid the branches, just like a python.
He wore a camouflage uniform with a double-sided pattern.
One side could simulate the trees, shrubs, and grasses, while the other side could simulate a variety of rocks' patterns.
Along with the camouflaging technique perfected through hunting in the Wasteland, he could remain invisible while hiding amid the branches or rocks.
As Li Yao observed the battles one by one through the Demon Beast Detector with rapt attention, continuous lines of information appeared one by one.
"Zhou Zhongping, Iron Fist Club freshman, 3rd level Refinement Stage expert. Specialties: Golden Fists, Mystique Cold Exercise. Temperament: Bold and unrestrained, walks on the path of head-on collision. Weak points: Center of gravity is unstable, the left knee was once seriously injured."
"Ching Mingyuan, Chaos Edge Hall freshman, 3rd level Refinement Stage expert. Specialties: Red Dragon Spearmanship. The long spear has a chain hidden inside and can separate, allowing it to extend to a dozen meters in the blink of an eye. Attack range is very large. Weak points: Defense is weak.
"Fang Xinghui..."
"Zhou Junzhi..."
Pieces of information like waterfall continued to fall from above the Demon Beast Detector.
This was precisely the reason why Li Yao wanted the combat details of all 2,000 contestants.
The Demon Beast Detector could distinguish between two extremely similar demon beasts, so it goes without saying that identifying a person based on his or her appearance was a piece of cake.
The latter was truly very simple. In the Star Glory Federation, the facial recognition technology was very mature. It was applied in wide variety of public places. Li Yao only had to tweak the Demon Beast Detector a bit before inputting new data, turning it into a "Combat Scouter".
And his purpose was to seek the important figures of both sides using this very Combat Scouter.
"It's gonna be you!"
When the Demon Beast Scouter found a 4th level Refinement Stage Iron Fist Club freshman, Li Yao's eyes lit up as he sneaked up to the canopy behind him and hid there silently.
Only after the target had continuously struck down two members of Chaos Edge Hall and was panting for breath did he silently slide down the tree and closed in on the target.
Amid the dark mist, Li Yao made himself look like the shadow of the target as he moved closer.
