CHAPTER 347: CHAPTER 301 ELIMINATION

According to the trial rules, all the Sea Shell Bell Beads within the Lingtai Mountain Range were marked with scores and levels.

Among the Bell Beads that Li Ang and Xiao Da had collected,

there was a Level One Acid Liquid Pearl, valued at ten points, capable of spewing corrosive acid.

Level Two, Illusion Sound Pearl, valued at twenty points, capable of creating illusory sounds.

Level Three, Fatigue Pearl, valued at thirty points, causing those who touched it to feel intense exhaustion.

Level Three, Stinky Pearl, able to emit a strong odor, repelling demon beasts.

The Stone Explosion Pearl in Li Ang’s hand was currently the highest-scoring Bell Bead they had collected.

Considering the Li Mu Cattle were not the most troublesome demon beasts, there should be higher-level, more valuable beads out there.

"You take it."

Xiao Da glanced at the Stone Explosion Pearl and didn’t hesitate for long before saying directly.

These Sea Shell Bell Beads, originating from the Endless Sea, have a flaw—they need to consume fresh Cultivator blood to release their effects.

The common method of use is to make a bleeding wound in the palm and hold the Sea Shell Bell Bead to trigger its effect.

The stronger the effect of the Bell Bead, the more blood it extracts.

Cultivators are living beings too; losing a small amount of blood is fine, but a significant blood loss would still cause dizziness and weakness in the limbs.

This is also one reason why Sea Shell Bell Beads have not largely replaced talismans.

Xiao Da is purely a Postnatal Body Refining Martial Artist and does not have such a variety of methods.

In this half-day of hunting, Li Ang had played a bigger role than him. Considering the two of them were going to continue cooperating, giving up a Level 4 bead was not so critical.

"Alright."

Li Ang did not stand on ceremony. He directly tossed the Stone Explosion Pearl into the Brocade Bag tied to his waist. Then, looking at the darkening sky, he took up the Mind Threads, headed to the stream, made a net with the threads, and easily scooped up several fish.

He cleaned the fish scales, split open their bellies, discarded the innards, and then took out the Burning Temperature Talisman to cook the fish without making a fire. The two of them divided and ate them.

After eating, they buried the fish bones (to prevent the scent from attracting wild beasts) and moved their position, finding a location within a dense forest hundreds of meters away.

Li Ang cut some vines and wove them into hemp ropes. He then created two hammocks from large leaves and suspended them high in the treetops, ten meters apart. Finally, he set up Warning Talismans, Mind Threads, and various traps in the surrounding forest, taking advantage of the cover of shrubbery.

These included, but were not limited to:

Spear traps—consisting of spring axles, spears, and tripwires. Once someone steps on the tripwire, the spear would immediately shoot out, piercing through the prey’s body.

Lasso traps—made of bamboo wood, lassos, and tripwires. Once the tripwire is activated, the lasso tightens immediately, and the rebounding bamboo wood hangs the prey in the air.

Bamboo stake traps—dig a pit in the ground, plant bamboo stakes with barbed hooks in the pit, cover the pit with a hinged plank, and camouflage it with leaves. As soon as someone steps on the hinged plank, they will fall into the pit and be pierced by the bamboo stakes. Due to the barbed hooks, forcibly removing them would only cause more damage.

Watching Li Ang skillfully setting up all kinds of extremely sinister traps without a change in expression, Xiao Da’s face remained impassive, but his mind was filled with doubts and uncertainty.

Like Li Wei, he too came from a military background. He could roughly discern the function and principles of those traps.

The outdoor survival skills Li Ang demonstrated were more proficient than those of any veteran border soldier or hunter he knew. The crafty and efficient nature of some traps was simply inconceivable. They were clearly invented based on the lives of countless humans and wild beasts.

If Li Ang were using only Mind Threads and Warning Talismans to arrange traps, it would still be fine. After all, any talisman has a slight fluctuation of Spiritual Power, and other Cultivators, if they investigated carefully, might still be able to detect them.

But these traps were all made of bamboo and wood materials. Unless other Cultivators concentrated fully, continuously scanning the ground with their Spiritual Power, it was very easy to fall prey.

And I haven’t heard that the Academic Palace teaches freshmen these things...

Could it be that there genuinely are geniuses in the world who can master skills just by reading books, even using them as a springboard for innovation and creativity?

Xiao Da was utterly astonished, repeatedly trying to speak yet holding back.

Li Ang, lying on the hammock, was equally puzzled and bewildered.

Unlike when he first invented manned flight, the ability to set up traps emerged directly in his mind, without the need for strenuous recollection; his hands naturally knew what to do.

Just like the surgical abilities he awoke to in Yizhou.

Could it be that in the Otherworld, I was a field Doctor?

Surgery, wilderness survival, cooking, hand-to-hand combat, Military Attack...

With so many skills, could it possibly be that the Otherworldly Soldier King was actually myself?

Li Ang pondered deeply for a while but got no answers; the memories from the Otherworld in his mind were still fragmented and incomplete. Every time he tried to recall who he really was, his brain would send out bursts of pain, stopping him.

And mixed in with the memories, some strange anime titles would float up: "When You Reach Another World, You Have to Show Your True Abilities," "An Ordinary Profession That Became the Strongest in the World," "Blessings on this Wonderful World," "Rebirth as the Human-Human Fruit Phantom Beast Species in Nika Form"...

One thing was for certain, I could probably, maybe, perhaps be a seasoned anime fan.

Li Ang shook his head, wrapped his body with Mind Threads, and covered himself with a blanket made from leaves to prevent mosquito bites.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, the scene in the Sky Dome suddenly changed. A pale Sword Qi streaked across the sky, swiftly drawing a massive scroll in the heavens.

"What’s this..."

Li Ang and Xiao Da immediately looked up, only to see the scroll listing the names of all the Trialists, along with the scores of the Bell Beads they had obtained.

"First place, Shangguan Yangyao, two hundred seventy points.

"Second place, Li Hui, two hundred sixty points..."

Li Ang squinted, his eyes quickly scanning the scroll. He found his own name: Twenty-seventh place, one hundred twenty points.

"Twenty-ninth place, one hundred points."

Xiao Da also found his ranking, his forehead deeply furrowed. "Is this information released by an Academic Palace Doctor? Why disclose it?"

"To increase the intensity of competition," Li Ang said indifferently. "Announcing rankings and scores during the night turns the strongest individuals into common targets.

"After all, only the top ten can go to Zhanquan for further studies, and those who aren’t in the top ten still get more substantial rewards the higher their rank.

"This trial only considers the final scores, meaning, even on the last day, in the last hour, one could substantially boost their rank by plundering others."

If you don’t want to walk away empty-handed, you have to actively fight and snatch. Quietly developing isn’t likely to surpass those who succeed in plundering others.

Why does this sound... so cutthroat?

Who on earth thought of this? Should we also add a performance review and a bottom-out elimination system?

Li Ang was speechless inside, involuntarily muttering the death spell from his Otherworld memory.

Listen to me, thank you, because of you, all four seasons are warm. Thank you, I’m grateful for you, the world is more beautiful...

High up in the night sky, Academic Palace Swordsmanship Master Cui Yixian, who was drawing a massive flower scroll with Sword Qi, furrowed his brows, inexplicably feeling a chill in the night breeze.