"Make it up to us?"
The sword-wielding student laughed as if he’d just heard the world’s greatest joke. "This is the Evil Qi from a beast at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation! If your Senior Brother Chem gets his hands on this immense power first, his strength will instantly surpass everyone else’s!"
"And at that point, if you decide to go back on your word, refuse to help anyone else hunt, or even turn on us to eliminate the competition... who here would be able to stop you?"
"This pie in the sky you’re offering... I’m afraid it’s poisoned, right?"
These malicious words were like a sharp dagger, plunging straight into the fragile trust that held the temporary alliance together.
Chem Wangming felt the suspicious gazes from the people behind him. Panic seized his heart, but he was at a loss for words, unable to find a rebuttal. Humiliation turned to fury, and he could only roar:
"You’ve chosen the hard way!"
"Since words are useless, you can just become another source of Evil Qi for us!"
"Attack!"
At his command, the restless crowd unleashed their Dharma Artifacts once more.
BOOM!
The two groups instantly clashed, and the scene descended into chaos.
Meanwhile, in a nearby cave, Chu Bai watched the scene unfold, a knowing smirk playing on his lips.
’The more they stir, the murkier the water gets.’
At the center of the fray, the heavily wounded, near-death Demon Beast had become the most awkward party to the chaotic battle.
Covered in blood, its once-ferocious Demon Qi had long since dissipated. Only the raw instinct for survival kept it going, causing it to stumble about blindly.
Though its life force was tenacious, allowing it to cling to its last breath, this pack of ravenous students could have normally obliterated it with just a few volleys of concentrated attacks.
But the blame for this bizarre turn of events lay with the sword-wielding student’s malicious words.
They were like a splinter, buried deep in everyone’s mind.
’If I go all out now... what if I don’t kill the Demon Beast and just get it to low health, letting someone else swoop in for the last hit? Wouldn’t that make me a total sucker?’
’Especially a Demon Beast at the Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation. They’re tough—even gravely injured, you can’t just one-shot it with any old Magic Technique.’
Caught in this delicate psychological game, no one dared to use their full strength.
Whenever the Demon Beast seemed on the verge of death, the killing blows that should have finished it would mysteriously veer off course or lose much of their power.
And so, the Demon Beast that should have been dead and gone miraculously dragged its mangled body through a storm of Magic Techniques that always seemed to "miss." It staggered out of the encirclement and fled toward a pile of jagged rocks.
And that path led directly past the cave where Chu Bai was hiding.
’Hm? Is it delivering itself right to my doorstep?’
Chu Bai, who had been observing with cold detachment, felt a jolt of opportunity. As he watched the Demon Beast flee blindly and stumble right into his ambush zone, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
’This is a jackpot of Evil Qi from a Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation beast. And what a jackpot—one that group has already painstakingly worn down and stripped of its defenses.’
’To refuse a gift from heaven is to invite disaster!’
’Since none of you have the guts to kill it, I’d be rude not to.’
No hesitation. No wasted words.
BOOM!
A blinding red light suddenly erupted from the mouth of the once-silent cave.
The Fire Element Ring at Chu Bai’s feet flared to life. He shot forward like an arrow from a bow, transforming into a brilliant streak of red light. In an instant, he crossed dozens of meters, appearing above the Demon Beast’s head like the god of death himself.
"Die!"
Spirit Water Needle, Formless Cloud Hand, Essence-Bearing Tripod...
In that single instant, Chu Bai unleashed his entire arsenal, holding nothing back.
The Demon Beast was already a spent force, its Protective Demon Qi completely scattered. How could it possibly resist Chu Bai’s thunderous, long-prepared strike?
SPLAT!
Unable to even utter a cry, the beast’s massive body disintegrated under the torrential assault, reduced to a bloody pulp. It died instantly!
WHOOSH—
An unprecedentedly dense cloud of Evil Qi rose from the shattered corpse, surging into Chu Bai’s body as if a great whale were inhaling the ocean.
The fulfilling sensation of his power surging was so intense that Chu Bai almost moaned in pleasure.
’Effortlessly obtained.’
He chuckled softly, sensing the churning Evil Qi within him, a power that felt on the verge of another transformation. He didn’t even turn his head, not sparing a single glance for the now-worthless corpse behind him.
He knew the spotlight was no longer on the carcass.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
A short distance away, the two groups, who had just been embroiled in a chaotic, suspicious brawl, now stood frozen, as if they were puppets with their strings cut.
All movement ceased. All sound vanished.
Then, more than a dozen pairs of eyes, sharp as daggers, fell upon the young man who had appeared from nowhere and snatched the prize from under their noses.
Their gazes held shock and disbelief, but more than anything... they held a towering inferno of rage.
"You... you!"
At the forefront of the crowd stood Chem Wangming. The man who had, until now, remained relatively composed, was now purple with rage. His finger trembled as he pointed at Chu Bai, so furious he could barely form a coherent word.
He had plotted and schemed, formed factions, used both threats and lures, and even risked the infamy of ganging up on his target. After all that effort, he had finally worn the Great Demon down to its last sliver of health.
And what was the result?
They had all fought and schemed for so long, only to have done all the hard work for this kid, who had been lying in ambush from the start!
This was a blatant, utter humiliation!
"Chu Bai!!!"
A roar, filled with humiliation and rage, echoed across the mountaintop.

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