"Heh, Brother Liu, honestly, a girl as outstanding as
"Exactly. As the old saying goes, good things shouldn't be wasted on outsiders. I really don't understand what Villa Master Qin is thinking — how could he give a girl like Zi Ling to someone else?"
"That's right, that's right. Miss Zi Ling should naturally be with Brother Liu." At the same time, Bai Yunfei and
"Hmph, that's none of your concern. You'd better mind your own business."
"Remember, don't let me hear you say a single bad word about Zi Ling again. Otherwise, don't blame me for being unkind." Yet Liu Zhizun didn't buy their flattery at all. He shot the three of them a harsh glare, swept his sleeve, and strode toward the front of the group, trailing a wave of frigid cold air behind him.
After Liu Zhizun had gone far enough, the smile that had been plastered all over Song Qingfeng's face instantly turned dark. He said viciously, "What does that guy think he is? Wait until that elder leaves — then we'll show him."
"Right. We deal with this Liu Zhizun first, then kill that
"Yes, let's do exactly that. This is Myriad Beast Mountain, after all. When the time comes, we can push all the blame onto the demon beasts of Myriad Beast Mountain and say they were the ones who did it." Song Qingfeng wholeheartedly agreed, his eyes brimming with malice.
"Hey, Brother Qingfeng, Brother Yunfei, you mustn't act rashly. It's better not to offend this Liu Zhizun." But at that moment, Liu Xiaoyao transmitted a word of caution.
"Why? Are you saying the three of us together still can't handle him?" Song Qingfeng and Bai Yunfei both expressed their confusion.
"Trust me, Liu Zhizun is hiding his true strength. If he really fought, I'm afraid even
"A senior from my Carefree Valley visited the Supreme Villa not long ago. He witnessed with his own eyes that Liu Zhizun single-handedly killed two demon beasts at the Heaven Martial Realm."
"Liu Zhizun did that?"
Hearing this, both Song Qingfeng and Bai Yunfei drew in a sharp breath. Demon beasts had extremely robust bodies, and their lifespans far exceeded those of humans. Compared to a human of equivalent cultivation, a demon beast's strength was far superior.
For Liu Zhizun to have killed two Heaven Martial Realm demon beasts — that said volumes about how powerful he truly was. At the very least, this was something the three of them could never accomplish. Not only could none of them face a single Heaven Martial Realm demon beast alone, even the three of them together probably couldn't handle one, let alone two.
After hearing this, Song Qingfeng, Bai Yunfei, and the others had no choice but to abandon their plans against Liu Zhizun. But what frustrated them the most wasn't that they couldn't deal with Liu Zhizun — it was that as long as Liu Zhizun was around, they couldn't touch Zi Ling.
A peerless beauty like Zi Ling — they truly wanted to know what it would feel like. But now they were about to miss this opportunity, and the regret gnawed at them endlessly.
Myriad Beast Mountain was vast. Traveling on foot would take a very long time, especially since the group's strength was uneven — there were people at both the Xuan Wu Realm and the Yuan Wu Realm. It took a full day before they finally entered the area designated for the trial.
Along the way, they encountered quite a few demon beasts, but none of them were particularly strong. As a result, every demon beast that appeared within their range of perception became an opportunity for the men present to show off their strength, and they scrambled to kill them.
So the demon beasts that appeared were truly unfortunate, for they all died miserably — tormented to death by a group of conscienceless men, without even a single intact corpse left behind.
"This trial, while it does test your individual courage, is also a test of your group's combat ability."
"I therefore advise you all — do not stray from the group. It would be best to select a leader to coordinate your movements."
"As for who should lead your team, that is for you to decide yourselves."
"Ten days. The countdown starts now. In ten days, I will return here to bring you back."
After the presiding elder of the Supreme Villa delivered his final instructions, he departed. And with his departure, the so-called trial officially began.
Once the elder was gone, the crowd erupted into hushed discussions, all debating who should serve as the leader.
Just then, Liu Zhizun walked to the center of the crowd, swept his gaze around, and spoke in a loud voice: "Everyone, the trial has officially begun. As the elder said before he left, we are now one group, and that requires a leader. Only with proper leadership can we better survive on this dangerous land."
"I, Liu Zhizun, am the first disciple of the Supreme Villa. I have a relatively thorough understanding of Myriad Beast Mountain and have dealt with demon beasts on many occasions. So I'd like to volunteer myself as this leader. Does anyone have any objections?"
"No objections! I support Brother Liu leading us!"
"I support it too! Brother Liu is the most outstanding among us in both cultivation and wisdom. Only he is fit to lead us."
The moment Liu Zhizun spoke, the beauties of the Supreme Villa began voicing their support one after another. Once they had all expressed their approval, who could possibly raise an objection?
Setting aside the fact that objecting would mean offending those beautiful women, what they said wasn't wrong either — among this group, Liu Zhizun was truly the most suitable to lead them.
And so, naturally, Liu Zhizun became the group's leader. His first decision was this: given that it was already late in the day and everyone was exhausted from the journey, they would not push deeper into the mountain. Instead, they would stop right where they were, set up camp, and rest for the night.
It had to be said that Liu Zhizun did possess a certain talent for leadership. After deciding to camp, he began assigning tasks in an orderly fashion, instructing the Spirit World Masters to set up perception barriers and defensive barriers, forming an invisible defensive fortress around the area.
Chu Feng also revealed his identity as a Spirit World Master. He wasn't trying to show off his special abilities — he wanted to take this opportunity to set up a barrier with flaws in it, making it easy for himself to escape later.
And because of the separation between men and women, the male and female living quarters were kept at a considerable distance from each other.
Perhaps because resting at night truly was inconvenient, Zi Ling no longer insisted that Chu Feng stay by her side. At the moment of parting, she only threatened him with one sentence: "Keep your mouth shut."
Hearing this, Chu Feng secretly rejoiced. He had already made up his mind — when the night grew deep and quiet, he would slip away from this place.
"
But as soon as nightfall arrived, a woman with a sweet voice appeared outside Chu Feng's tent, calling out in a gentle tone.