From when that elder of the Dan Palace first drew his jade tablet… No, it was even earlier than that when Ling Yue begun her scheming and careful planning. In the girl’s view, it’s not a matter which tunnel to take, rather which one holds the Sky Piercing Bow.
If Chen Hong Ru could reveal the information to an outsider like herself then it’s only safe to assume the members of the North Qing team also knows of its uses and secret. Therefore, all she has to do was to trick this Elder Wang into losing his guard when making her own move to follow along with the enemy.
Indeed, she’s managed to deceive everyone. Well, that’s not exactly right. There’s one particular person whom she didn’t manage to fool.
Shifting her gaze over to the indicated hand by her older sister, Ling Yue’s line of sight quickly noticed the glorious number of “four” on Feng Shen’s palm. Then their eyes met, bringing forth a surge of warmth and glee into the pair’s heart.
Towards this lovely scene of the love birds, Xue Pian Ran only had pure hatred coursing through her veins. Curse you Ye Ling Yue…..
After this, it was finally the Kai Jiang Manor’s turn to draw the lot, and naturally it would be “Chen Minzhi” who would be representing his side.
Towards this man who somehow managed to be resurrected in spite of his death, Ye Ling Yue couldn’t say she’s not spooked by it. That narrow eyebrow, the thin lip, the coldness in those irises, nothing correlated to her former impression of this person back at the ancient forest. However, as to why she’s feeling this way, the girl herself couldn’t say exactly why.
Chen Minzhi’s demeanor was lax when he initially came up to examine the jade tablets, his hand hovering near the number four jade tablet. Then just as everyone thought he would reach out for the floating object with his right hand, the man’s left hand had also moved and reached for the number three jade!
He’s trying to take two at once! The face of Elder Wang heavily convulsed at the realization.
The senior has already been tricked once today by Ye Ling Yue. If he allows such an act for the second time then it would be a true humiliation. Therefore, Chen Minzhi’s behavior was undoubtedly more provoking than the last.
This Chen Minzhi is too crazy!
Not only was the guardian old man caught off guard by the act, Xue Pian Ran and Elder Wei Bo was also as well. They are no stranger to this second young master of the Kai Jiang Manor because the relationship of the Dan Palace with Lord Kai Jiang was quite good in fact. That’s why the pair wanted to intervene.
Unfortunately, it was too late….
“Outrageous, withdraw that hand at once!” Elder Wang snapped.
While the complexion of all the onlookers shifted to a whiter shade over that powerful holler, Chen Minzhi’s lip only curved into a provoking grin. Clearly the man didn’t become intimidated, which only got proven by his next course of action of shooting out that Origin Fire Cauldron he used during the civil selection contest.
Boom!
Boom!!
The legendary artifact fended off the attacks. By making two loud impacting sound, the item actually helped the man block off the spiritual energy within the jade tablets and rendered it harmless.
How… he actually used the Origin Fire Cauldron to block off the attack?
While shock overtook the crowds for the brief moment, Chen Minzhi on the other hand have already taken this opportunity to snatch down the two floating tablets and returned to his team’s side – his left hand held the “Three”, and his right hand held the “Four”.
“Sir Minzhi, this is improper.” Master Wei Bo and Xue Pian Ran really didn’t foresee this happening so they hurried to speak up.
“From what I recall, there isn’t any rule against taking two at once is there?” The boy grins, refuting the objection and leaving the two tied for words.
It’s true they didn’t say it aloud earlier, but that’s only because they assumed no one would try anything foul or out of line. As for that Elder Wang in charge of protecting the Star Cave, his expression could only be called livid after being made a fool twice.
The results were as following: Chen Minzhi first by taking the number three and four jade tablets, North Qing team for three, Ling Yue, Sky Armor Sect and Da Xia for four while the rest hovered between the five and seven jade tablets.
“The timeframe is thirty days, meaning you are only allowed to stay inside for that duration. Whether or not any of you can achieve anything or find anything inside, now that’s up to your own fortune. Also, anyone is permitted to leave during a case of crisis, but that would also mean you are wavering your eligibility and your teammates as well to stay inside.” Elder Wei Bo announces, explaining the rules for all to hear.
Everything mentioned above was as expected with the one rule in the end being the exception. If one deserts then the rest also forfeits, that’s a damning clause for anyone who enters.
Now, following the order of highest to lowest, the teams began to enter the Star Cave in swift succession.
The first being the Kai Jiang Manor and North Qing team, just that none could make a proper guess on which of the tunnels Chen Minzhi intends to take. As for Ye Ling Yue and her teammates, they are slotted for the third spot which garnered her a heavy grunt from the old man whose eyes remained closed even up to this point. It’s obvious he’s quite upset at being deceived by the trickery.
What a lovable old man this one is, Ling Yue just couldn’t resist a chuckle at the senior’s childish behavior. However, the smile on her face didn’t last very long once the space in front of the entrance started to shift and distort.
They’ve been transported to their starting point where the giant number “Four” was inscribed along the cave entrance
Ling Yue and her team was definitely somewhere else now. The terrains are completely different, sealed off even, but the biggest giveaway was the two tunnels leading into separate paths. This instantly brought back the explanation from the Sacred Maiden about how the two paths led to opposing directions of north and south.
Hmm, which one is better?
While Ling Yue was busy deliberating her choices, another series of voices had caught her attention from behind.
It was the Da Xia and Sky Armor Sect team. Their paths about to converge together.
Naturally the expressions from both sides are wooden without emotion, especially the members of the Hong House and Zhu Ge Yi. Their eyes were bitter and venomous. However, it was Xia Hou Qi who stepped over first to start a conversation.