The four of them had already recovered and were waiting here for Yang Kai. Nie Yong was particularly impatient, muttering nonstop under his breath.
When Yang Kai arrived, Lan Chudie took a deep breath, her full chest swelling dramatically as the tight top she wore seemed on the verge of splitting. Her beautiful eyes swept across the surroundings. "Ready?"
"I've been ready for ages!" Nie Yong exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Then let's go again." With that, she turned to look at Yang Kai. "Want someone else to draw away those stone sculptures? It's a dangerous job after all."
"No need. I've done it once already, so I've got some experience." Yang Kai shook his head.
He really didn't want to fight those stone sculptures. Creatures with no blood or flesh — every punch made his hands and feet ache.
"All right then! We're counting on you this time too." Lan Chudie smiled faintly.
Whenever she smiled at him in moments like these, Yang Kai always felt a little strange about it — as if she were bestowing a smile upon him before he went off on some dangerous mission.
If it were Nie Yong on the receiving end, he'd probably feel massively encouraged. But when Yang Kai got it, it just didn't do anything for him.
Without a word, Yang Kai quickly rushed toward where the stone sculptures were gathered.
Sure enough, the sculptures all came chasing after him once more. But Lan Chudie and the others weren't so lucky — when they moved to intercept at the end, they accidentally caught one extra sculpture, throwing them into chaos and nearly resulting in casualties.
Yang Kai ended up drawing back two sculptures in the end, and after a thorough beating, both were reduced to rubble.
This time, his luck was through the roof — he actually got two Small Stone Figurines at once.
That brought the total number of Small Stone Figurines to four. Their team only had five people, so if they could get just one more, everyone would have one.
Yang Kai was full of anticipation. What he lacked most were martial techniques, and he naturally wanted to get his hands on a Small Stone Figurine first to boost his own combat strength.
Over the next few days, the five of them stayed in this field of scattered rocks, continuously luring the stone sculptures out to be destroyed. After each battle, everyone rested for half a day before repeating the process.
Whether it was bad luck or something else, after getting those four Small Stone Figurines that one day, the team shattered a full thirty stone sculptures without obtaining a single new one.
The results were wildly different from what they'd expected, leaving everyone a bit disheartened.
Moreover, with each successive luring, Yang Kai found the stone sculptures increasingly difficult to deal with. Not because their strength had grown — it was just harder to separate them from the pack.
One time, when Lan Chudie and the others were intercepting from behind, they accidentally drew the attention of over a dozen sculptures at once, forcing them to flee for their lives.
That time, the group spent over an hour running through the rocky field before they managed to shake all the sculptures off.
Each operation was growing more dangerous, yet the fifth Small Stone Figurine simply refused to appear.
Another grueling battle, still no reward. After resting for half a day, the five gathered together to discuss their options.
"Why don't we just call it quits? I've got a bad feeling if we keep going, something's going to go wrong." Nie Yong sounded worried.
Zuo An said in a low, muffled voice, "Right now we only have four sets of martial techniques for five people. How do we split that?"
A silence fell. No one was going to voluntarily give up their share of the spoils. Everyone had put in serious effort these past few days, and they were all counting on getting an earth-grade martial technique.
Nie Yong set his sights on Yang Kai once more, saying with a light chuckle, "Like Senior Sister Lan said before, we distribute the loot based on how much each person contributed. Junior Brother Yang has the weakest strength and contributed the least — why doesn't he just pass on the martial technique?"
Yang Kai watched him with a cold, dark laugh.
Nie Yong continued, "Of course, Junior Brother Yang did contribute something. It wouldn't be right for him to get nothing at all. How about we each compensate him with some silver?"
Zuo An's brow furrowed, and a contemplative expression appeared on his face. The proposal had clearly piqued his interest.
Du Yishuang said firmly, "No. How can some silver possibly make up for an earth-grade martial technique?"
Yang Kai kept up his cold smile. Although his eyes were on Nie Yong, the corner of his gaze flickered toward Lan Chudie. He wanted to know what this woman would say in a situation like this.
Her attitude would determine what he did next.
Lan Chudie actually remained silent through all of this!
Yang Kai's smile turned even colder!
The awkward silence dragged on for a long time before Lan Chudie was finally forced to speak. "How about this — we try one more time to see if we can get that last Small Stone Figurine. If it really doesn't work out, then one of us won't get an earth-grade martial technique. But I, Lan Chudie, guarantee that the person who doesn't receive a Small Stone Figurine will not be left at a loss. Once we return to the sect, I will find a way to provide proper compensation!"
Her words appeared to be addressed to all four, but Yang Kai knew she was mainly telling him.
Of everyone present, Yang Kai had the weakest strength and could contribute the least to the team. If Lan Chudie was going to offend someone, she would naturally choose Yang Kai.
"This may very well be our last chance, so everyone needs to put in their best effort!" Lan Chudie said as she stood up, turning to look at Yang Kai with a gentle smile. "Junior Brother Yang, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you once again."
Yang Kai gave her a look heavy with meaning, nodded silently, then rose and walked toward the stone sculptures.
Sensing his cold attitude, a faint flicker of apology passed through Lan Chudie's beautiful eyes, but it vanished almost immediately.
Luring the stone sculptures was something Yang Kai had done many times these past few days, so he was more than familiar with the process. Only this time, he had something else in mind.
He approached the sculptures the same as before, advancing step by step. Once they all started moving, Yang Kai retreated in an orderly fashion, running back while keeping a close eye on the movements of the last few sculptures.