Ming Yi wasn’t a greedy person, truly. She had only become slightly more desirous of money after her recent misfortunes. It was this slight increase that led her to agree to be a training partner for the Mu Xing team again, as this time Qin Shangwu offered a price of 500,000 bei.
500,000 bei, friends! That’s equivalent to 100,000 scallion pancakes, which could circle her residence 30 times if laid end to end.
Ming Yi immediately set off with them to the venue prepared by Feihua City.
Since elite fighters from various cities were participating this time, Feihua City didn’t dare open the doors to their inner compound. Instead, they chose a suburban mountainous area and set up an expansive Realm of Darkness. Reportedly, while other teams were still resting at the inn, Qin Shangwu brought his people over first, planning to give them an extra training session there.
However, as soon as they entered the Realm of Darkness, Ji Bozai’s expression changed slightly.
He stopped those behind him and suddenly asked Qin Shangwu, “Who was it that came earlier to relay messages about the other teams?”
Qin Shangwu was confused. “Who else could it be but the Feihua City guards we met at the foot of the mountain during our earlier reconnaissance?”
“Were they the same two we just met?”
After carefully recalling their appearances, Qin Shangwu’s face also changed. “No, they weren’t.”
They weren’t the same people.
A slight breeze arose, carrying with it a faint trace of killing intent.
Ji Bozai wanted to tell those behind him to retreat, but it was already too late. Their entry into the Realm of Darkness had made them targets, and suddenly they felt powerful pressure from all directions.
“Go!” he shouted, pointing in a direction.
Ming Yi reacted the fastest. She was still carrying her tool basket on her back, heavy as it was, but she ran swiftly and silently, covering three zhang in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, the others didn’t hesitate and flew after her.
Their position was exposed from the start, which wasn’t good. Ming Yi ran in the direction Ji Bozai had indicated, and after a moment’s thought, she took out several ordinary divine artifacts and used her Yuan power to send them flying in all directions.
Luo Jiaoyang thought she was throwing something formidable and even rolled on the ground to dodge. But when he looked up, he saw those divine artifacts land in the distance, emit light, then inflate like a leather bag before deflating, only to inflate again a moment later, making a noise similar to breathing.
Is that all? He frowned, but before he could speak, he saw several streams of Yuan power chase after them and explode violently on those artifacts.
The flames rose a zhang high, causing them all to hold their breath and carefully conceal themselves within their shields as they continued forward, following Ji Bozai.
Ji Bozai glanced back at Ming Yi, his brow relaxing slightly, before leading the team, including Qin Shangwu, into a lush flower grove.
The flower groves in Feihua City weren’t just ankle-high; they were vast flower forests. The tallest flowers reached three zhang, blocking out the sky and creating extremely complex battle conditions. Fortunately, they had visited once before and knew the general layout. Unfortunately, it seemed they were being targeted by the other four cities.
Feihua City, the host, hadn’t shown themselves, but the fighters from the other cities were well-prepared, waiting for them here early on. Even with Ming Yi’s divine artifacts providing cover and scouting the way, they soon ran into people from Zhu Yue City.
The battle commenced immediately. Ji Bozai stood alone at the front, while Luo Jiaoyang and the others quickly found their previous positions, each dealing with opponents.
“Another team is approaching from the northwest,” Ming Yi said softly. “Judging by their style, they seem to be from Xin Cao City.”
Qin Shangwu gave her a surprised look. If the situation hadn’t been so urgent, he would have asked how she could tell.
Without hesitation, Ji Bozai cast a light screen in front of them, then quickly said to Ming Yi, “Block their path. We’ll head south.”
Ming Yi nodded, taking up position at the rear of the team.
Chu He looked at her with some concern. “Miss Ming is a lady, how can we leave her at the back…”
Before he could finish, he saw dozens of “Pear Blossom” artifacts fly from her hands, exploding simultaneously in front of the opposing team. Countless poison needles collided in the wind, sounding like a bamboo forest, making crisp noises.
Ming Yi didn’t even look back, even pushing him forward, saying seriously, “Hurry, we can’t afford distractions here.”
Chu He snapped back to reality and quickly caught up with those ahead.
Moving through the flower and grass thickets made too much noise, so Ji Bozai flew on a sword formed of condensed Yuan power. This consumed a lot of Yuan power, but there was no other choice. To avoid being tracked, everyone had to follow suit.
Chu He glanced at Ming Yi again, only to find that her stance on the flying sword was even more practiced than Fan Yao’s. She gracefully swept her robes and flew back to a position to Ji Bozai’s left rear.
Faced with this situation, they were all somewhat flustered, but Ming Yi not only showed no fear, but she continued to calmly relay information to Ji Bozai: “The people from Xin Cao City excel in this kind of terrain. They usually ambush in areas that look like flat grassland, so don’t let your guard down.”
“You drew too much attention at the welcoming banquet. They came a day early to set up this ambush to teach you a lesson. While they won’t try to kill you, if they can seriously injure you, they’ll have the upper hand in tomorrow’s competition.”
“We haven’t had enough time to coordinate as a team, so it’s not advisable to confront them head-on. We’re likely to expose weaknesses. Circling to ambush them and defeat them one by one is the best strategy.”
The word “ambush” came out of her mouth matter-of-factly. Ji Bozai’s lips curled slightly. “Not afraid of losing face?”
Ming Yi looked at him as if he were an idiot. “Between saving your life and saving face, which would you choose?”
The night in Feihua City was starless and pitch black. He had to look very carefully to see her face, which was faintly outlined in a deep blue.
Her calmness was like pine trees growing in an empty valley.
Pressing his lips together and lowering his eyes, he refocused his thoughts, watching as she used Star River Sunset to detect nearby people lying in ambush with divine artifacts, then inconspicuously moved towards them.
The Xin Cao City team had coordinated with Zhu Yue City beforehand. Zhu Yue City would attack first, and after Ji Bozai had exhausted his Yuan power, they would come in to finish the job.
However, while they were watching from the sidelines, they lost sight of the fire in the blink of an eye.
Several people were lying in the grass, using their Yuan power to probe their surroundings, when they suddenly felt a chill down their spines. They quickly drew their swords, just in time to block the large blade swinging at their backs.
Fan Yao’s blade came down, chipping their swords. He raised his blade to strike again, forcefully knocking their swords flying.
Seeing their position exposed, the other Xin Cao City members quickly rose to regroup. But just as they were about to come together, a black dragon rushed in, cutting off their path.
At that moment, Luo Jiaoyang delivered a fierce chop to the back of one person’s neck.
That person’s eyes rolled back, and they were immediately eliminated by the Realm of Darkness.
“So that’s how it works!” Luo Jiaoyang shouted excitedly. “Quick, hit them on the back of the neck!”
Before his words faded, a dark figure rose behind him, aiming a vicious chop at his neck.