CHAPTER 88: 2) THE ALLIANCE.

"This Zhao like to remind that from this moment forward, any hesitation or indecision exhibited by any member of fellow doaists will be the very reason for our downfall.

We cannot afford to second-guess ourselves; everyone must fully commit to our mission if we are to succeed. The dreams of a thousand mountains start from a single step. If one thinks walking in the righteous path is the way, you are free to leave."

His tone was calm as if it wasn’t a threat, but a statement of natural law, like gravity or karma. The others listened while nodding their head completely aware of how high the mountain is.

Why would they wanna venture alone and lose their life in the hands of others or something far horrifying, it’s better to be a rapist than to he a victim, said by one profound sage.

Wa Ti Ning, sitting closest to the outer edge, shifted uncomfortably yet, she can’t help but follow, it is what it is, The Buddha merely sees and speaks nothing.

"I understand," she said after a pause. "But... what if the next fight isn’t as favorable—"

Zhao Fan cut her off. "Then we make our own luck. The Saintess is still thinking like prey. The world is vast and people who can hold ground against me are nowhere to be found."

Nothing but a profound truth that resonates so deeply that even the celestial havens above cannot hope to erase its presence.

Who can hold ground against Young Master Zhao?

Yi Xin Xue stirred the remains of the fire. "She’s not wrong, Young Master. Numbers matter. This team is small, and our cultivation is suppressed. Hunting another Tier 4 beast or elite group directly is too risky unless we tilt the odds... If we are hunting other teams. I say, we should wait for a perfect opportunity to ambush."

Ling’er spoke next, her tone cool as jade, "We must leverage knowledge and wisdom. This domain is layered in sectors. If we position ourselves between entry points and major beast habitats, we force encounters on our terms and maybe we might win against a group of 15 however, logically speaking there is also a chance that a large group of people might have formed an alliance."

True, Ling’er’s insight was above the Mount Tai, capable of seeing the full picture that not just small groups but even big groups might form an alliance.

And logically speaking that’s more like it, the trials were meant for a large group of people to work tougher and progress.

The weak are merely dust that can be swept by the wind.

Zhao Fan can’t help but appreciate her wisdom but he has already thought about this thoroughly, thus he wants to cut the roots where plants are young. The higher we go, the more alliances will start to form, it’s better to end as many as possible early on.

The moment they entered here, everyone is their enemy, it’s better to end them early than let them go.

"It’s fine, this Zhao has already thought about everything..."

* *

Later,

They came across a grassland and surprisingly two teams were fighting. Zhao Fan looked at them and nodded without any emotion. To him, they weren’t prey rather the dust, worth little to nothing in his eyes.

"It seems they are a large group and both teams are fighting for possession of the core. We should wait for them to weaken themselves." Wa Ti Ning said as if she was the only smart one here capable of distinguishing dust from silver.

"Um, this one thinks too... We should wait for a few of their members to get down first." Ling’er nodded.

"True but they might not even fight... From the looks of it, the atmosphere is very tense and they might come to a conclusion without bloodshed." Finally, the true wisdom came to light.

Any normal people might think; they would fight, but of course, everything isn’t written on paper and anything may happen, and judging from the looks of it, there could be a chance they will settle it peacefully as both teams don’t seem to be willing to take risks and want to play safe.

All of them are perfectly at the Fifth stage of Qi saint really with one, two exceptions, meaning they have played perfectly till now.

Could Young Master Zhao’s plan of traps have failed? How disappointing. Some fools might have stayed for too long and gotten caught breaking the chain reaction that was a perfect long-term weapon.

But it is to be expected, it’s life and one can’t predict everything.

"Maid Yi’s intelligence is unparalleled... It’s very likely they will settle it peacefully, and if we go in we might be the target of both teams. Fighting them head-on is you’re stupidity however, they are a huge threat in the long run." Zhao Fan continued to examine all of them.

It’s better not to fight them but use a borrowed knife, however, the main question is where to borrow a knife.

A single breath passed.

Zhao Fan narrowed his eyes and raised one hand. His fingers drew a slow arc in the air, like a calligrapher carving a verdict upon reality, causing the space to ripple.

"Then we give them no choice. Since the knife is missing, this Zhao shall forge one in the next breath."

His words were cold, like winter frost forming on a still pond. His eyes did not contain anger, nor did they burn with bloodlust yet, it was sinister.

"Ah, illusion... Young Master is unpredictable as ever, I can’t help but appreciate my choice to follow Young Master." Yi Xin Xue spoke from the heart, just how unfathomable is Young Master?

Woosh!!!

The space rippled... As Yi Xin Xue expected it wasn’t an illusion magic but a soul possession magic however, it’s a demonic technique and uses life force instead of spiritual Qi.

Since Young Master is the third stage and the target is the Fifth stage of Qi Master, the life force needed for just 1 minute is almost 5,000 years of life span.

Though it’s not an issue but inside the domain, where everyone is suppressed to the fifth stage of the Qi Saint realm, where the average life span is around right hundred years old, the loss of essence is heavy; reducing the physical brute force, durability, and overall Qi recovery.

However, Young Master had already made a plan while watching their position and watching the weapon they carried within merely 10 seconds calculating all possibilities that might occur.

Woosh!

Young Master possessed an old man and instantly attacked the leader of another faction, while grooming the breast of the peerless woman with a dustless face, assuming she was his wife.

The leader was dead and others were angered.

Young Master quickly canceled the possession after merely 4 seconds, and after getting back his consciousness the very first thing the old man saw was the cold light of a sword.

Pfft!

The old man coughed up blood and fell it the floor.

"Attack!!!"

"Attack! They dared to use a surprise attack... How cowardly."

"How dare they... Slaughter them!!!"

The leader of another faction was confused and shocked by what happened to the elder. Usually, he was composed and refined, without lust, never married even once.

Could it be a secret demonic technique of body possession... Holy lord... That’s bad. A mind-calming artifact is at least grade 2 which means aside from powerful beasts, humans aren’t immune to body possession techniques.

"Wait, fellow Daoist it seems there seems to be a misunderstanding... There is a demonic cultivator nearby, he must be using the body possession technique," the leader said.

However, others didn’t care to listen to his explanation.

Who among fools has time for clarity when blood has already stirred the killing intent within the marrow? The sword once drawn seeks flesh, not reason, and reason never grows back once severed.

The puppets are meant to dance on the stage that Young Master Zhao has created and nothing more.

"Kill them..."

"Slaughter!!!!"

"Leader, what happened doesn’t matter, if we hold back, we will be wiped out." A logical elder uttered knowing that it wasn’t a time to speak wisdom, when opponents aren’t in a state to listen to.

Blood is destined to flow.

"Create the lotus formation... "

A woman shouted and both sides went into an all-out battle, killing each other without any mercy.

Soon, only two women were remaining on one side of the team.

"Haah* Haah* it’s finally over... Ahh, that old lecher touched my breast, I need a bath." the woman panted.

"It’s okay, the dead skin needs no bath it’s merely a fertilizer for the plants..." Young Master Zhao said while touching her head.

The woman’s eyes slowly turned white as Young Master sucked her life force without mercy, face as calm as the wind, and eyes gentle as water.

"You... You... You... Who are y—" Young Master merely threw a dagger and it pierced right into her eyes, the golden ball of qi exploding into her brain, instantly killing her.

— — — * * * — — —

( Guys I just wanted to say, these trials will be longer than I thought thus, this scholar plans to add a protagonist and strong talented enemies of the upper realm, to keep it in balance and entertaining. Also, I haven’t added any dual cultivation in the trial as it isn’t beneficial since they can’t make a breakthrough but we can still have sex so, I wanted to ask. Shall we add some scene with Lu Qingyan, Jia Mei and Wa Ti Ning.

1- Yes, Do it.

2- No, don’t it.