Lin Feng's magnanimous and gentle well-wishes still echoed above the Land of Extreme Yin.
He stood atop a towering rock, like an untainted, noble gentleman, smiling down at the hastily assembled sixteen-person alliance below.
However, this world never lacked clever people.
Lin Xue, clad in fitted black attire, felt not the slightest relief at Lin Feng's high-sounding declaration.
She understood this nominal "top seed" all too well—beneath that warm, jade-like exterior lay a heart that would stop at nothing to achieve its goals.
On the arena stage, she had used her Flash Step Gu to expose Lin Feng's fear and desperation. She knew full well that such a person would never so easily surrender the meat at his lips.
"Since Junior Brother Lin Feng is so forthright and unwilling to claim others' glory, this senior sister naturally admires that."
Lin Xue stepped forward from the crowd, raising her head.
Those cold, clear eyes stared directly at Lin Feng above, her tone seemingly respectful yet every word cut like a blade, pressing forward step by step:
"However, this Rank 2 Beast King is ferociously powerful. When the melee begins, it will surely be chaos—swords and blades have no eyes."
"To avoid damaging our harmony, and to prevent the beast from disturbing Junior Brother's peace, might I ask that Junior Brother lead his team and withdraw three li away?"
The moment these words left her mouth, the somewhat eased atmosphere instantly froze.
The gentle smile on Lin Feng's face visibly stiffened.
He never imagined that Lin Xue, who usually appeared aloof and taciturn, would act so ruthlessly!
Opening with "withdraw three li"—this wasn't negotiation, this was openly forcing him out in front of everyone!
He had planned to laugh it off and muddle through.
As long as they remained at the battlefield's edge, even five hundred meters away, his squad's sprint speed could let them rush in and seize the spoils the instant the Beast King fell.
But once they retreated three li, not even immortals could make it in time for that crucial moment.
"Senior Sister Lin Xue, with this white fog everywhere and dense forest all around, isn't withdrawing three li making a mountain out of a molehill?" Lin Feng's eyes turned cold as he attempted a final struggle.
"Oh? Junior Brother just said he absolutely wouldn't interfere—was that merely empty talk?"
Lin Xue gave him no face whatsoever, her voice rising several notches higher.
Simultaneously, Lin Yan standing beside her let out a cold, vicious laugh. He slammed his fists together with a resounding "bang," and crimson flames instantly ignited.
This was like a signal.
Behind him, the sixteen temporarily allied Gu Masters—whether Punishment Hall elites or independent cultivators—all stepped forward in unison, their Gu worms lighting up with dangerous radiance.
The message couldn't have been clearer: if you won't leave, we'll join forces and clear out your strongest team first!
Being fixed by sixteen murderous Gu Masters, even Lin Feng felt crushing pressure.
A mighty dragon cannot suppress local snakes, not to mention the opponent had the advantage in numbers. If they were truly focus-fired here, his five-person squad would definitely not fare well.
All pretenses shattered.
Lin Feng's face twitched, and that cultured, refined facade finally cracked. A flash of violent malice passed through his eyes.
"Good. Very good."
He laughed in fury, coldly staring at Lin Xue and Lin Yan.
"Senior Sister Lin Xue truly has excellent schemes. Since everyone is so confident, then I shall vacate this place. I only hope you all have big enough stomachs to swallow this beast—don't end up shattering all your teeth!"
"Let's go!"
Lin Feng waved his hand sharply, all his previous composure gone. Face dark as thunder, he led Lin Wan'er and the others off the rock and swiftly disappeared into the dense forest behind.
Only after Lin Feng's squad completely vanished into the grayish-white mist, with not even a trace of their presence detectable, did Lin Xue and Lin Yan finally relax slightly.
The greatest variable had been forcibly driven away. The two turned around and began urgently organizing the sixteen-person formation, preparing to face that truly terrifying monster.
Meanwhile, in a concealed mountain hollow several li from the Land of Extreme Yin.
Lin Feng's squad halted.
Lin Feng walked stone-faced and wordless to a moss-covered boulder, sitting down on the ground. He slapped his longsword onto the stone with a sharp crack, shaking loose a shower of dead leaves.
Though forcibly expelled from the primary battlefield in somewhat humiliating fashion, he hadn't truly given up.
"Three li..."
Lin Feng closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forcibly suppressed the rage in his heart, returning to rational calculation.
"For ordinary people, that might be far, but for a Rank 1 Upper Stage Gu Master using movement Gu, it's only a few minutes' journey."
"From active to passive, but with good timing, the mantis stalking the cicada can still become the oriole behind."
He surveyed his surroundings and instructed everyone in a low voice: "Rest here, conserve your Primeval Essence. Wan'er, be ready to provide support at any moment. Lin Mu..."
He looked toward that perpetually silent, low-presence scout.
"Young Master, I'll go find a high vantage point up ahead to keep watch," Lin Mu volunteered with excellent awareness. "If anything changes, I'll report to you immediately."
"Go ahead, be careful not to let them discover you." Lin Feng nodded with satisfaction.
Lin Mu bowed in acknowledgment. His form flickered, and like a nimble ape, he swiftly vanished above the hollow.
Once out of Lin Feng's sight, the mask of deference in Lin Mu's eyes instantly faded, replaced by cold clarity.
Using his extraordinary physical strength and agility, he leveraged off the steep cliff face several times and silently climbed to the crown of a towering tree so massive it would take several people to encircle.
The elevation here was extreme, already above most of the fog cover. The air grew thin and biting cold.
Lin Mu crouched among the thick branches, his form perfectly concealed within the dense canopy. Within his aperture, the Eagle Eye Gu in his left eye was quietly activated.
Golden pupils pierced through the mist above.
From this excellent observation point, though some thin fog still obstructed his view, the Land of Extreme Yin with its inverted frozen waterfall, and the tense standoff before it, were now barely visible in their entirety.
A brutal live broadcast for points and glory officially commenced in Lin Mu's pupils.
Before the waterfall, the sixteen-person alliance had finished deploying their tactics.
Watching the formation they had arranged, Lin Mu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow from his treetop perch.
It was an extremely standard "academy-style" formation—the toughest fighters at the front, agile Gu Masters on both flanks for harassment, the main attacker Lin Yan in the center, and at the very rear, healing and hidden weapon support led by Lin Xue.
They were actually still using that rigid "arena tournament" mentality, hoping to have the tankiest person probe and draw aggression, then rely on numerical advantage for turn-based attrition.
And serving as this "absolute defensive core" was none other than the Storage Hall's young master, Lin Ze.
Though Lin Ze had been beaten bloody by Lin Yan in the arena, after resting this long and consuming countless spirit medicines, his injuries had been suppressed.
Now his face was grave, the pale golden phantom of his Rank 2 Golden Bell Gu fully activated on his body's surface.
He led two other Rank 1 Earth Path defensive Gu Masters, forming a triangular fortress as they stepped across the bone-chilling frost, advancing step by step toward the Blood Jade Python coiled in the center of the pool.
"Beast! Die!"
One of the Earth Path Gu Masters, bolstering his courage and trying to draw attention, suddenly roared. A yellowish-brown rock spike shot along the water's surface, straight toward the Blood Jade Python.
"Hisssss—!"
Facing this provocation from ants not even worthy of filling the gaps between its teeth, the Blood Jade Python—already extremely agitated from its fallen state and loss of its reverse scale—was instantly and thoroughly enraged.
A flash of humanized contempt passed through its cold, venomous vertical pupils.
It didn't even release an intimidating roar or spit venom. That massive, barrel-thick horrifying body simply coiled and launched from the dark pool!
Too fast!
A black-red afterimage instantly tore through the air, creating a deafening sonic boom!
It was the python's tail.
No flashy Primeval Essence fluctuations, no Gu worm special effects. Only the pure, absolute physical brute force of a Rank 2 exotic beast!
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Three scalp-numbing thuds exploded almost simultaneously.
Shocking to behold!
The two Earth Path Gu Masters flanking Lin Ze, proudly maintaining their shields, were struck as if by a speeding train head-on.
Their rock armor shattered like paper, their chests instantly caving in as they sprayed massive mouthfuls of blood mixed with organ fragments.
Like two ragged burlap sacks, they were sent flying by that overwhelming force, crashing heavily into the rocky debris behind. After twitching twice, their fate was unknown.
As for Lin Ze, the main tank, his situation was only marginally better.
Relying on the tier suppression of his Rank 2 Golden Bell Gu, he barely withstood the direct tail strike without being sent flying.
But the cost was devastating.
That originally solid golden bell phantom flickered violently under this terrifying physical impact, threatening to shatter at any moment.
Lin Ze's face turned white as paper. His legs locked desperately into the ground, yet he was still pushed backward by that berserk force, plowing two furrows several zhang long and bone-deep into the frozen, hardened earth!
"Pfft—"
Lin Ze sprayed out a huge mouthful of blood, his knees buckling, nearly collapsing to the ground. His internal organs had already been severely damaged by this transmitted shockwave.
Just a single encounter. Just a single ordinary physical tail whip.
The defensive frontline meticulously constructed by the sixteen-man alliance instantly fell apart—one dead, one heavily injured, one critically wounded.