Chapter 290: Cooperation
Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
On top of the enormous competitive stage, the air had distorted from a tempest of soul force .
There were a few participants who were the most eye-catching in the midst of the majestic and overbearing pressure of soul force – specifically Teng ZiXin, Chai Zheng, Qing Qiu and an unknown participant who was quite strong.
Although Teng ZiXin’s level was lower than the rest, she had cultivated high level soul and skill training techniques. This alone was enough to enable her to stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest.
Soon enough, the stalemate on the stage was swiftly broken by a single participant.
The first to make a move was a female mage who took the initiative to attack the people around her. This resulted in a chain reaction, triggering an unceasing bombardment of violent soul force all around. The situation was in complete chaos, and some people practically cut a sorry figure as they fled in disarray.
Teng ZiXin and her group did not stay their hand, and they released a violent soul force that continued to bombard the other participants. Within moments, a group of participants were eliminated as they were swept off the competition stage.
You XiaoMo noticed that even as Teng ZiXin and Chai Zheng were clearing up the other participants, they were also deliberately moving in his direction. Evidently, they were planning on getting rid of the other participants before dealing with him.
Tong YueXu had also discovered this, and could not help but look at You XiaoMo in worry, “They are preparing to co-operate with each other to deal with you. Do you have any plans?”
You XiaoMo instantly replied, “None for the time being… …”
Tong YueXu fell silent for a moment, “… …I think we could strike first and gain the upper hand.”
You XiaoMo was surprised and asked, “Who do we strike first to gain the advantage?”
Tong YueXu replied, “Although Teng ZiXin has cultivated high level skill training manuals, her level is the lowest amongst the few. We can start by dealing with her.”
You XiaoMo’s eyes lit up, “Are you suggesting… …a sneak attack?”
Tong YueXu nodded, “Correct. She’s now dealing with other people, and has probably used up a fair bit of her soul force. Our sneak attack definitely has an eighty percent chance of success.”
You XiaoMo suddenly shook his head, “No, Teng ZiXin has something which allows her to restore her soul force.”
Tong YueXu was somewhat taken aback, but he did not ask how You XiaoMo knew Teng ZiXin had such a thing. After some thought, he said, “Chai Zheng has Zhong JingShan and other helpers, so the probability of our sneak attack working on him is low. If it’s like this, then we can only try our best to rope other people in.”
The Tong Family was one of the Four Big Clans in Yan City, but their rules differed from that of the Teng and Chai Families. They had very strict requirements for their future generations. Even if the Tong Family had influence in the academy, it was compulsory for every child of the Tong Family to learn to be independent, be it in the academy or in other areas. This was the main reason why Tong YueXu was always self-dependent when he entered the academy.
You XiaoMo asked, “If we beat Teng ZiXin and the rest, we would still have to kick our allies down in the end, right?”
Tong YueXu said, “… …There are five places.”
You XiaoMo replied, “Then we can only rope in three people.”
Tong YueXu momentarily fell silent, “Actually, there’s no need to stress yourself out over this matter. We can rope in… …that person and his friends.”
You XiaoMo followed the direction his finger was pointing at and looked over. It was the mage who was quite strong and was able to stand on par with Teng ZiXin and the others.
As You XiaoMo was not quite good at negotiating with others, Tong YueXu took the field. That person only hesitated for a while before he agreed. He had probably understood the current situation. Teng ZiXin and Chai Zheng’s cooperation would probably result in him being forced off the stage by the two if he could not find others to co-operate with. In addition, he also had two friends to look after.
“I am Feng ChiYun, how are the two of you thinking of dealing with them? I’ve heard that Qing Qiu and Chai Zheng are a little friendly with each other. If the three of them work together, it would be extremely detrimental to us.” The man bluntly cut to the chase.
This straightforward style made You XiaoMo give him a once-over. His imposing manner seemed to imply that he was a fairly outstanding person, but You XiaoMo didn’t expect that he would be so obscure and unknown.
Tong YueXu said, “Indeed, however, the other participants are no pushovers too. We should wait until the end. I believe that by that time, they would have lost a fair bit of people. That would be a good chance for us to make a move.”
Feng ChiYun showed his approval by nodding, and soon said, “I agree with this. But they have three people, and the strength of all three is quite high. How are we going to assign them out?”
You XiaoMo raised his hand and said, “I can deal with Chai Zheng.”
The two were not surprised. You XiaoMo’s strength was the real deal. His level may look low, but in actual fact, his fighting strength was indomitable. Chai Zheng may be a high-grade level six mage, but he may not necessarily be the winner.
Feng ChiYun said, “Then leave Qing Qiu to me.”
Tong YueXu clasped his hands and gently smiled, “Many thanks to the both of you.”
“Have you guys finished talking?” Feng ChiYun’s two friends had been helping them block the attacks from others to give them time to talk. However, they could not hold on any longer, and were sounding very anxious.
Feng ChiYun rushed over. Without saying anything further, he gave the opponent a single strike. That person was caught off guard, and blasted off the competition stage in a flash.
You XiaoMo gave a low cry of surprise. As expected, Feng ChiYun had been holding back to some extent.
Tong YueXu and You XiaoMo proceeded to rush out together, and separately headed towards Teng ZiXin and Chai Zheng respectively. The fighting was gradually drawing to a close and there were only less than half of the participants remaining on the stage. Now was the time to determine victory or defeat.
Chai Zheng saw You XiaoMo dashing towards him and a sinister gleam suddenly flashed across his eyes. To think You XiaoMo actually delivered himself over, and he didn’t even have to expend the effort to look for You XiaoMo, very well.
Chai Zheng rapidly formed a hand seal without waiting for You XiaoMo to reach him. In a split second, the soul force in his body exploded out. The boundless soul force immediately coalesced into the form of a fierce and grand incorporeal tiger that roared in You XiaoMo’s direction.
When he felt Chai Zheng’s strength, You XiaoMo screeched to a stop. A portion of his soul force rushed out from the space between his eyebrows, and rapidly formed into a fist, whistling towards Chai Zheng’s fierce tiger and smashing into its head.
The two’s soul force collided, and the shockwaves caused the surrounding space to nearly deform.
Be it You XiaoMo’s fist or Chai Zheng’s fierce tiger, both crumbled in an instant. The first bout of them crossing fists could be considered to be a tie.
However, both parties knew that each did not utilize their full strength.
Chai Zheng was not surprised when he saw that You XiaoMo had defeated his tiger, and said to Zhong JingShan behind him, “We’ll take him on together. You stall him and I’ll give him a fatal blow.”
Zhong JingShan looked at You XiaoMo with chilly eyes, and immediately nodded, “Okay.”
Then he stopped talking and started to form hand seals. Chai Zheng retreated behind him, and seemed to be preparing to unleash some kind of killing move.
You XiaoMo gave an ‘eek’ in surprise, and his gaze moved from Chai Zheng to Zhong JingShan. He had a vague impression of this man, but as his attention in the first two rounds was concentrated on the others, You XiaoMo did not take much note of him.
When he finished forming his hand seals, Zhong JingShan sinisterly laughed, “You XiaoMo, try taking on my strike!”
As he finished speaking, a turbulent wave of soul force erupted from Zhong JingShan in an instant, and took the shape of an incorporeal python that carried a brutal killing intent. The python howled in fury and ferociously swept towards You XiaoMo.
You XiaoMo raised an eyebrow and turned his hand over to form hand seals. A portion of his soul force rapidly condensed at his fingertip, and the radiance of the soul force grew brighter and brighter. Just as the python was about to rush over, the soul force at his finger tip shot out like a laser, and happened to hit the inside of the python’s mouth.
“Bang!”
There was not even a hint of a deadlock as the whole python collapsed in a flash.
The formless gale caused Zhong JingShan to involuntarily take a few steps back. His face instantly paled and the chill in his eyes had been replaced with deep horror. He was not even able to go one bout with You XiaoMo, and his defeat had been so clear-cut. Even the rest of the people did not expect this scene.
The audience burst into shouts of alarm, some people looked toward them with dismay. Those supporting Chai Zheng and Zhong JingShan could not help but look at each other -disbelief clearly seen in each other’s eyes.
Chai Zheng had been preparing to display his skill training technique, and his eyelid twitched when he witnessed this. He had thought that Zhong JingShan would have been able to last a few bouts with You XiaoMo, but he didn’t expect that he wouldn’t even be able to last a single bout. However, he still needed more time to complete the hand seals for his technique.
You XiaoMo grinned at Chai Zheng and then dashed over.
Zhong JingShan could not even last twenty five minutes in the gravity room, and he alone tried to stop You XiaoMo? What could this be called except a pipe dream?!
Chai Zheng did not wish to directly engage You XiaoMo. He still remembered Teng ZiXin telling him that half a year ago, You XiaoMo had exchanged his points for a high-grade high level skill training manual. Although she did not know if he had successfully managed to cultivate the technique, it was always wise to play safe and be more cautious.
You XiaoMo laughed, “Chai Zheng, what’s with you? Did you forget to bring your courage when you went out?”
Hearing this, Chai Zheng’s face darkened in anger.
However, a white shadow suddenly flew between them.
You XiaoMo did not expect this, and hurriedly came to a halt. With a closer look, he realized that it was none other than Teng ZiXin. He immediately looked in Tong YueXu’s direction, and found that he had actually been hampered by a man and a woman. He did not recognize the man, but the woman was that Hai Lan.
The combined strength of the two was inferior to Tong YueXu, but if they really wanted to hamper Tong YueXu, he would not be able to quickly break away from them. It appeared that Teng ZiXin had already made some plans.