Mei Feng was a Lower Clear student who had also received the Li Luo assignment. He was very happy when he got it. Although there were many others chasing Li Luo down and his odds probably weren’t very good, hey, a guy could dream, right?
And what if he just happened to deliver the final blow?
As a Violet Vibrance mentor's student, he would be kicking it with the elites of the Astral Sage College. Perhaps he would even catch the eye of some pretty senior girl. That was the path to success in life.
He happily bounded on towards his target.
As he passed through a small patch of forest, he heard a rough voice calling out to him. "Whoa there, friend!"
Mei Feng looked over suspiciously. He saw an honest-looking youth walking over. Tall and sturdy, he had a face so plain, it looked like he might never have told a lie in his life.
"Yes, friend?" Mei Feng asked companionably enough, relaxing at the sight of a guy exuding honest from his every pore.
"Are you chasing Li Luo too, friend? Truth be told, I am too. I also have a few other teammates here, and we intend to team up against him. If you're interested, you could join us. We are more likely to succeed together, I say. There are too many others hunting him down. Alone, I'm afraid I can't compete." He spoke with a self-deprecating sincerity that appealed to Mei Feng.
He pondered this, then smiled back.
"Can I meet the others first?" he asked.
"Oh, of course." The earnest young man agreed, giving him an affable smile as he led him onwards into the forest.
Their brief exchange was all the earnest youth needed to get a sense of Mei Feng's strength.
Mei Feng saw the group now. They were being led by a youth with sad eyes.
"With Brother Mei Feng here, we can definitely get rid of Li Luo and win ourselves the top prize!" The leader cheered and welcomed him. He seemed to defer to Mei Feng, as if he would lead them all to victory.
Mei Feng smiled, satisfied. A decent bunch of guys—they had the foresight to see his strength and were polite as well. He could see to it that they were well looked after in the future.
"Well, I think we're good in numbers. Let's go." Mei Feng beckoned them on.
They nodded eagerly.
"Let's go."
Before they had gone far, the sad-eyed youth suddenly said, "Brother Feng, there's a mosquito on the back of your head. I'll help you get rid of it."
Mei Feng felt this was a strange thing to point out. Before he could say a word, the sad-eyed youth had produced a club out of nowhere, and he brought it crashing down on the back of his head in a flash.
Bonk!
It made a nice, clean thump.
Mei Feng felt a sharp pain, then his eyes rolled back and he passed out. “This friend is a fool,” he thought as he sank down into unconsciousness. Why had he hit the mosquito so hard?
As Mei Feng keeled over, Yu Lang looked down at him. "This guy is really dim. We have to get to know him better in the future."
Zong Fu rolled his eyes. "Better not show yourself before him again, you'll make him angry."
"An angry dimwit is the scariest." Xiang Liang nodded.
"What kind of demon are you?" Chi Su demanded of him.
Yu Lang held up his hands in surrender at the vigorous protests. "Alright, alright. His loss. Missing out on a steadfast friend."
Zhao Kuo ignored him, busy dragging the snoring Mei Feng to a nearby clearing where seven or eight others were piled up.
"We've done a lot. Li Luo would be proud. One last job, then we're done here," Yu Lang said.
They nodded and got ready. Zhao Kuo wandered out of the forest, ready to lure the next target.
Before long, a streak of light could be seen in the distance, moving fast enough to whistle through the wind.
Zhao Kuo perked up. "Friend, a moment, please!"
The blur of light stopped, and Zhao Kuo saw a tall girl with short, neat hair before him. She wielded a long spear and looked at him neutrally.
Zhao Kuo gave her his friendliest smile, and at the same time screamed internally.
He recognized her. Third on the rankings, Bai Doudou!
Their fishing scheme had landed them a shark this time!
"What's the matter?" While Zhao Kuo's stomach churned, Bai Doudou regarded him coolly.
"Er, are you going after Li Luo?" He struggled to keep things convincing. "We gathered a group that's planning to go after him. If you're interested, we could go together."
Bai Doudou thought it over. The forest was vast, and it would take some time to search alone. With others to do the leg work, she could save a lot of time and effort.
She gestured forward with her chin.
"Lead the way."
Zhao Kuo sighed inwardly, but he did not hesitate to lead her on. This was a savage shark they had snared. If they let her get to Li Luo, she would pose a huge threat. They might not be able to hook her, but they could delay her as long as possible.
That was perhaps the most they could do.
Hearing the two of them approach, Yu Lang and the others hurried forward to greet them, all smiles.
But when they saw Zhao Kuo show up with Bai Doudou, their smiles froze on their faces. Yu Lang was seized with a strong desire to run away.
“Damn me, Zhao Kuo, you bastard. Why would you bring mother shark here?!”
He shot Zhao Kuo a look, but the latter gave him a small and grim nod. He had purposely brought Bai Doudou here.
Yu Lang understood, shrugging wryly to himself.
What else could they do but play it out? It felt a bit like trying to crack a rock with an egg, but if their acting went poorly, it wasn't like they were going to die.
"You again?"
Bai Doudou's eyes narrowed when she spotted Yu Lang.
He gave her a sheepish smile. "Greetings, Sister Bai. You're actually my idol," he said sincerely.
Looking at Yu Lang and the others, Bai Doudou suddenly said, "You're not looking for teammates against Li Luo. You're ambushing people here, right?"
"Sister Bai, you wound me." Yu Lang hurriedly denied it.
"Faint breathing from multiple bodies in the next clearing. They should be unconscious. Your prey from before?" she asked thinly.
Boom!
The game was up, and Zhao Kuo took the chance to swing his metal club at her back with all his might.
A short blast of green resonant power answered his attack, and Zhao Kuo was sent flying.
"Get her!"
Yu Lang yelled.
Zong Fu, Xiang Liang, and Chi Su all jumped into the fray without hesitation, burying Bai Doudou in a barrage of attacks.
She twirled her spear casually, a confident smirk on her lips.
"Like a praying mantis blocking the oxcart."
An overwhelming wind resonant power howled forth, shaking the entire forest.