Becoming a Target

"Oh, his score has changed."

Reactions occurred everywhere within the secret ground. They were always paying attention to the leaderboard, and the change in Zheng Donglin’s score immediately attracted everyone's attention.

"It's no surprise. His realm is at the Peak of the Eighth Grade; his strength is among the top in the examination. Defeating a few people with lower realms is natural. If he couldn't even do that, it would make me suspicious. The score increased by one thousand six hundred in one go; perhaps he was lucky enough to meet two low-level ones, or one whose level wasn't much different."

A group of about ten youths gathered to discuss. They shared a common goal: to seize Zheng Donglin’s points. Who told him to have such high points when his strength was supposedly disproportionate?

It wasn't that Zheng Donglin lacked strength; everyone acknowledged his Peak Eighth Grade realm. But a high realm didn't necessarily mean equivalent combat power, especially since they hadn't passed the Heavenly Ladder; a difference of a few levels in realm didn't mean too much. Furthermore, Zheng Donglin’s specialty was spiritual strength, and everyone knew spiritual strength didn't have a massive impact in combat.

Another part of it was that Zheng Donglin was too young. Looking at him, he had likely spent a lot of time increasing his realm—where would he find the time to hone his physical skills? Most importantly, they were confident in their own strength; they were old enough to have refined both their skills and their realms. Currently, their realms ranged from the Seventh to the Eighth Grade; though not inferior, their scores weren't as high as Zheng Donglin’s because their results in the first two rounds weren't good.

"Brother Chen Jian’s analysis is very correct. We have strength in numbers; the higher that Zheng Donglin’s score, the more beneficial it is for us." Another youth spoke up.

The one called Chen Jian was the youngest in the group, but his realm was the highest: Middle Stage of the Eighth Grade.

"We possess the timing, the geography, and the harmony of people. If victory doesn't belong to us, then who does it belong to?" Chen Jian held up three fingers and smiled.

"Brother Chen, what are timing, geography, and harmony?" another youth asked in shock.

Most of them didn't understand what Chen Jian was saying, as most of their time was spent practicing martial arts.

"Timing is that Zheng Donglin is in our area. Geography is that we have favorable terrain for hiding. Harmony is that we have many people."

A hint of contempt flashed in Chen Jian’s eyes, which he quickly hid as he explained. On the leaderboard, every martial artist's name was followed by an area number. Behind Zheng Donglin’s name was the number 12.

In his heart, Chen Jian already had a plan: *You people are just tools for me to use to help me seize the points. Once it's done, all your points will also belong to me. A bunch of fools!*

Thinking of his perfect plan, the corner of Chen Jian’s mouth curled into a joyful smile. He glanced at his pocket, which contained a pinkish powder called Strength Dispersing Powder. Just as the name suggested, as long as one inhaled a bit of the dust, they would lose all their strength, leaving them at his mercy. Defeat Zheng Donglin, get the points, and then use the powder to steal the points of everyone else.

As he was thinking, a youth on scouting duty ran back in a hurry.

"What's the matter?" The other nine youths immediately became alert, drawing their weapons.

"It's fine, it's one of ours." Chen Jian recognized the youth and spoke to reassure them.

"Someone is heading toward us—it's that Zheng Donglin!" the scout reported, his face full of alarm.

"Zheng Donglin is coming!" They heard the news and looked at each other excitedly.

"Prepare the formation, hide, and strike with one blow!" Chen Jian waved his hand, and all eleven people quickly hid in the bushes.

They held their breath, waiting for the prey to approach. After waiting for a long time without any movement, they began to lose patience. Chen Jian secretly signaled for them to stay calm. Sure enough, immediately after, the sound of footsteps rang out, and a dry branch was stepped on and broken.

Everyone simultaneously looked toward the person approaching. It was a youth, but not Zheng Donglin. They were a bit disappointed.

"Brother Chen, should we attack him, or wait for Zheng Donglin?" someone whispered.

"Continue to wait," Chen Jian decided. If they attacked now and Zheng Donglin heard the commotion and fled, it would be hard to catch him. At that time, if this lucrative prey fell into someone else's hands, they would regret it deeply.

The youth who approached had a dazed face and soulless eyes without a hint of spirituality, just like a fool walking aimlessly. He had no idea a group was ambushing him. This youth was Huang Fang, who had been controlled by Zheng Donglin and was now no different from a puppet.

With the Eye of Prestige, how could Zheng Donglin not know there was an ambush? He knew with one look that there were eleven people. He guessed they were waiting for him, so he sent Huang Fang ahead to scout.

Sure enough, Huang Fang entered the ambush range but was not attacked. It proved they were afraid of startling the snake and feared Zheng Donglin would flee.

*If you want to plot against me, why can't I plot against you in return?*

Huang Fang walked very slowly. Chen Jian couldn't help but feel anxious—why was this guy walking so slowly, and why hadn't Zheng Donglin arrived yet? Could he have miscalculated? If Zheng Donglin didn't pass through here, would it be too late to act against this guy? But if he attacked him now, what if Zheng Donglin was right behind him?

Chen Jian’s mind was in a mess. Letting Huang Fang go would be a pity, as his cultivation was at the Early Stage of the Eighth Grade, so his score wouldn't be low. But if he acted against Huang Fang, he might lose the big fish that was Zheng Donglin.

"Endure!" Chen Jian gnashed his teeth, deciding to give up the small bait to catch the big one. He waved his hand, signaling to let Huang Fang pass safely.

Huang Fang reached the end of their ambush area.

Suddenly, from a distance, Zheng Donglin smiled slightly. As soon as the smile appeared, a miserable scream rang out from the ambush area.

Huang Fang had reached the most favorable position, right behind them. His hands turned into afterimages, and countless sharp throwing knives flew out, mercilessly piercing the body of one youth.

"He knows we are hiding!" one of Chen Jian’s group shouted. The other ten immediately leaped out from their hiding spots. They were terrified, not understanding why that guy dared to violate the rules.

Of course, normally Huang Fang wasn't crazy, but currently he was just a puppet in Zheng Donglin’s hands. Zheng Donglin ordered the puppet to kill; who could believe it? Without evidence, everyone only saw Huang Fang acting.

The youths' eyes turned red as they looked at Huang Fang, their weapons simultaneously aimed at him. But their vision blurred, and they had no way to strike him. Huang Fang performed the Shadowless Steps, vanishing from their sight. The sound of rustling leaves came from all directions, making them panic.

"He's there!" Chen Jian suddenly spoke, his eyes focused on a black shadow in the bushes. He charged forward, his longsword slashing across.

Clang!

A massive force was transmitted. Chen Jian was one small realm higher than Huang Fang, so it wasn't difficult to knock him back. Huang Fang managed to bring out his dagger to block and was thrown back against a tree by the force. The tree shook violently, and leaves fell in a flurry.

Chen Jian was shocked—why didn't the opponent have any expression at all? Looking at the opponent, Chen Jian suddenly shivered as a terrifying thought flashed through his mind. The expression on that person's face... was exactly like that of a mindless puppet!