CHAPTER 346: CHAPTER 300: REPUTATION

Team up?

Xiao Da’s gaze hardened slightly, and he asked hoarsely, "What do you mean?"

Li Ang said, "Just now on the Heavenly Boat, the Sacrificial Officer didn’t say alliances were forbidden. Not specifying means tacit approval.

"The woods are filled with danger, teeming with demons. Trialists must guard against attacks from Aliens, as well as eat, sleep, restore their Qi Sea, create talismans, and sharpen their weapons.

"Even if someone managed everything on their own, they’d still need to be wary of other trialists suddenly appearing to attack and loot their Bell Beads.

"Assuming everyone prioritizes their own interests, forming a team is undoubtedly the best choice.

"Two cultivators of the same realm, when properly coordinated, can achieve a synergistic effect where one plus one is greater than two."

Xiao Da looked at Li Ang with a flickering gaze and asked in a low voice, "Then why don’t you team up with someone from Yu Country?"

Do you think I don’t want to? Li Ang complained inwardly but remained composed and replied smoothly, "Because I happened to encounter you first.

"Given the current situation, we have three ways to handle this.

"First, we could attack each other. Whether we could defeat the opponent is one thing, but even if we luckily won, the gain in Bell Beads wouldn’t be significant. It would only eliminate a competitor prematurely and expose our position.

"Second, after meeting, we could choose not to attack each other and simply part ways. This would avoid immediate danger, but if we later encounter teams of cultivators from other factions, such as two or three from Jing Country, we would be doomed.

"Third, we team up. We could form an alliance, venture out together, hunt demons for Bell Beads, and split them fifty-fifty. And if we encounter lone students from other countries, we could also appeal to their reason and emotions to form alliances."

Xiao Da was silent for a long time. He didn’t understand game theory, but he understood the rationale of weighing benefits.

Heaven knows what potent things those Academic Palace Doctors have unleashed into the Mountain of Mind and Heart. Until they figured out the situation, moving in a group was far safer than walking alone through the shadowy forests, even if this was merely an alliance of convenience.

Xiao Da asked tentatively, "If I team up with you, and what if we encounter two students from Yu Country, or Zhou Kingdom, on the road?"

Li Ang understood Xiao Da’s concerns and promptly replied, "Are you worried about a power imbalance within the team that could disadvantage the weaker party? There’s no need to worry about that. The trial lasts seven days, and it’s only just begun. No one has enough Bell Beads yet to incite infighting. Eliminating others doesn’t count as winning; only gaining Bell Beads does.

"If I’m not mistaken, in the next few hours, many conversations like ours will happen elsewhere in the Lingtai Mountain Range.

"This will be the first phase of the trial."

"The first phase?" Xiao Da frowned. "Will there be a second phase?"

"Of course, but that won’t be until a few days later." Li Ang cracked a slight smile, offering no further explanation. "Additionally, you don’t have to worry about me having any schemes against you. I, Li Ang, always stand by my name and never betray my companions."

Relieved by these words, Xiao Da’s brows relaxed slightly. Before him stood the renowned Little Medicine King God, Li Ang, whose reputation indeed provided some assurance. There was nothing to worry about.

With this thought, Xiao Da put away his sword and bow and said hoarsely, "Alright, I apologize for attacking you suddenly earlier."

"It’s a trivial matter." Li Ang waved his hand magnanimously and smiled. "As for now, let’s go hunt some demons first. At the very least, we need to figure out how many kinds of Sea Shell Bell Beads there are and what each kind is used for."

At dusk, a Li Mu Cattle with white fur and black patterns on its hooves was drinking from a creek.

Its body was massive and its muscles well-developed; even standing on all fours, it was nearly ten feet tall. Ordinary lions and tigers looked like little kittens in front of it.

Such a third-level demon beast, even lazily drinking from the creek, was enough to make the native wild beasts of the Mountain of Mind and Heart flee in terror.

Around its shoulder, a crystal-clear bead was tied with a thin rope. In the light of the setting sun, one could faintly see inscriptions on the bead.

CLANG!

A hand crossbow arrow shot out silently from between the dense woods, hitting the Li Mu Cattle right between the eyes.

The cattle’s brow bone was extremely sturdy, and the fine steel arrowhead couldn’t penetrate the skull—only causing a crisp crack as the whole wooden arrow, due to the powerful impact, broke in two and flew over the Li Mu Cattle’s head.

BOOM!

The Fire Intense Talisman wrapped around the arrow shaft activated automatically, releasing fierce flames that engulfed the Li Mu Cattle’s head.

A Fire Intense Talisman from the Rain Listening Realm naturally couldn’t kill a third-level demon beast in one hit. When the flames dissipated, the Li Mu Cattle still stood its ground, though most of the white fur on its face had been scorched and its bovine eyes were bloodshot with pain and anger.

MOO—

The Li Mu Cattle raised its head and let out a roar. Its deep, animalistic bellow knocked several leaves from the trees but didn’t spread farther—soundproof talismans had been placed around the woods, blocking the sound of its roar.

Seizing the moment the Li Mu Cattle raised its head, another arrow shot out from a different position within the woods.

This arrow was not a wooden one shot from a hand crossbow, but a fine steel arrow used by Body Refining Archers. Its speed and power far exceeded those of ordinary arrows.

WHOOSH—

The fine steel arrow grazed past the Li Mu Cattle’s neck. The spinning arrowhead perfectly severed the thin rope around its shoulder, and the Spider Movement Talisman attached to the metal arrow shaft also used its stickiness to adhere to the Bell Bead as it slid off the rope.

As the fine steel arrow vanished into the woods, the Li Mu Cattle bellowed and charged toward the direction from which the arrow had come.

Its nearly ten-foot-tall robust body charged forward like a moving fortress, and its horns, comparable to a Horse-slaying Saber, smashed through all the trees in its path, sending splinters flying everywhere.

However, the archer who had shot the arrow was long gone from the original spot, and the arrow that had snatched the Sea Shell Bell Bead had also been retrieved by the Mind Threads dispersed throughout the woods.

By the creek, only the Li Mu Cattle remained, furiously and impotently overturning trees to vent its anger.

Back at their original spot in the woods, Li Ang and Xiao Da met again.

Both of them had a Brocade Bag tied around their waists.

In half a day, they had hunted and killed four lower-level demons in the woods. By plundering, they had also seized three higher-level Bell Beads. Dealing with Level 4 and above demon beasts was very troublesome, so it was better to just snatch their Bell Beads and run. Including the one from the Li Mu Cattle, they had a total of eight Bell Beads.

Li Ang said casually, "The Doctors have indeed released a considerable number of demons into the mountain range. However, like cultivators, demon beasts also need to drink and eat. As long as we follow the streams and rivers, we won’t have to worry about finding demons." He then handed the fine steel arrow retrieved by his Mind Silk back to Xiao Da. "This one carried by the Li Mu Cattle is a Level 4 Sea Shell Bell Bead, worth fifty points, and has a Stone Burst effect. Who takes it, you or me?"