ASER - Chapter 148
Chapter 148: Cracked
Before A'Diao unleashed her ultimate move and swept the board, at 6:05 PM, the shopping area in the Dunhuang Grottoes was brightly lit. It housed shops, taverns, and various restaurants. People from all over the country wouldn't spend all 12 hours watching the competition; some went there to rest or eat, while others arranged for food to be bought and hotels to be booked.
Figures like Xiao Jin and Xiao Mieluo had naturally left. At six o'clock, they were dining in a restaurant. During the meal, Xiao Jin mentioned something.
"Qu Jiangnan has applied for a teaching position at Lushan Academy."
Xiao Mieluo was momentarily stunned upon hearing this but wasn't entirely surprised. His long fingers tapped on the table as he said faintly, "It's not a bad solution, but for a fine young woman to be pushed to this extent, the Qu family is truly something."
Xiao Jin, however, was indifferent. "The more ruthless, the better. When neither side shows mercy, it's less nauseating than a sticky, messy affair. But Qu Jiangnan is still too upright; she lacks inner ruthlessness. If she had even a tenth of her disciple's cunning, she wouldn't be in this situation."
Her tone softened slightly, her profile appearing somewhat colder. "Both sisters are too soft-hearted, always concerned about some innocent people within."
If her family dared to treat her this way, she would sell out everyone's information, decisively defect to the enemy, and then turn back to destroy the Xiao family.
Why?
Since you are my closest kin, yet you offer me no affection and instead inflict the deepest wounds, if you don't die, who will?
Xiao Mieluo said, "That Chen Adiao, she doesn't seem particularly ruthless towards her family now. From what I see, it's more like calculated interests, every bit accounted for clearly. But what's interesting is—apart from that Chen Yang, the rest of them are well aware of this."
From First Madam Xu to Xu Ye, Chen Xun, and even Chen Ran, none of them engaged in sentimental emotional exchanges with A'Diao.
At least, they wouldn't demand A'Diao to give anything.
So, Chen Adiao treated them relatively mildly?
Such a disposition was indeed terrifying, neither swayed by love nor clouded by hatred.
Xiao Jin remained noncommittal, not wanting to dwell on the Chen family's affairs. She glanced at the overall rankings displayed in the restaurant and suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Kyoto is truly formidable. No wonder they act so brazenly towards the various prefectures and provinces; they certainly have the confidence."
Xiao Mieluo, who was picking up vegetables with his chopsticks, looked up.
On the overall ranking list.
The top thirty rankings had begun to stabilize. It was evident that the Imperial Kinsmen, Powerful Nobles, and Daoist Sects occupied the majority, essentially dividing the field into three.
However, there were also outliers who had fought their way in, making the competition exceptionally fierce.
Starting from first place, the rankings were as follows: Dantai Sheng, Duanmu Qingyang, Fu Jiao, Xiong Chumo, Chu Daise, Baili Huayue, Ge Qian, Qu Hanchuan, Shen Huajing, Handan Jidao, Mo Yuwo, Mu Hunya, Dantai Ke, Dantai Yu, Qiao Liushui, He Sijian, Xie San, Zhao Foshou, Nie Yuanyuan, Shi Qing, Wanqi Jian'ai, Xia Sanlu, Hu Zhegu, Che Jingyan, Nangong Liehe, Qu Lianzhou, Liu Shiqi, Wen Shaoyao, Guang Yunlou, Yan Fengbai.
Further down, from 31st to 100th, there were students from Kyoto's Three Famous Schools like Yue Xingxi, Li Jinglong, and Song Cheng. As for Jiang Chao, who wasn't good at exams, he had long since fallen beyond the ten-thousandth rank. His father had also come this time, but purely to cheer for Song Cheng and Song Ling, not even mentioning his own son.
"Among the Imperial Clan and Kinsmen, Dantai reigns supreme. Among the Powerful Nobles: Baili, Nangong, Qu, Duanmu. Among the Daoist Sects: Wanqi, Zhao, He, Hu."
"Since the preliminary exams, Dantai Sheng has been first. Now, he is still first."
Xiao Mieluo finished his vegetables and drank some water. "He is the Seventh Prince, after all."
But in the Lushan Academy assessment, besides the Seventh Prince Dantai Sheng consistently holding first place, another prince and a kinsman disciple had entered the top thirty, even the top twenty or ten. This was an overwhelming display of strength.
Moreover, many were attached to the Imperial Kinsmen. If not for the deeper roots and higher rankings of the Daoist Sects, and a few individuals from ordinary backgrounds who broke through with terrifying talent, it was uncertain whether Lushan Academy would be monopolized by the Imperial Clan and Kinsmen.
"The situation in the two neighboring countries is quite similar to ours," Xiao Jin said meaningfully.
This also indicated one thing—the three imperial families of the three nations were the leaders of the spiritual energy revival.
Over three hundred years, technology had developed rapidly, wealth had dispersed among the people, and just as public consciousness began to rise, they initiated the spiritual energy revival. Built upon the foundations of the early era, they already controlled the most extensive and high-end resources, and had preemptively monopolized a large number of geniuses.
In this transformation, the world might be heading towards the extreme feudal monarchical rule of millennia past, or perhaps… well, who knew.
A transformation is a transformation because it involves struggling forward amidst the tides of an era.
They were all just tiny ripples in that tide.
After finishing their meal and leaving the restaurant, they happened to bump into people from the Zhao Clan.
Huh? The Zhao Clan was surprisingly down-to-earth. A direct descendant of the main family actually came to watch the competition in person?
Xiao Mieluo knew Zhao Yi and naturally had some cordial relations with the Zhao Clan. However, he wasn't familiar with Zhao Yi's portly, balding third uncle.
This Third Uncle Zhao was fifty years old, portly and content, unmarried and childless—a typical hedonist. In the Zhao Clan, although his bloodline was direct, he lived like a collateral relative. But he was still from the main family, so his personal attendance at the first literary exam was quite surprising.
He had bought some food. Was it for the Zhao Clan disciples participating in the exam? It seemed that Zhao Foshou was currently taking the test.
He seemed quite like a caring elder, much better than those hypocritical dogs from the Qu family.
"Ah, no, this is for myself. I haven't bought his yet. Children need to control their sugar intake, no sweets, they'll get fat."
The two siblings: "?"
You have a large bag of donuts in your left hand and a bag with three cups of milk tea in your right.
You'd rather risk diabetes yourself than let your little nephew get fat?
After the two parties separated, Xiao Jin remarked softly, "The Zhao Clan hasn't sent anyone to investigate Zhao Ritian's recent activities outside. This indicates they currently have no intention of deeper contact with him. This way, both sides maintain peace."
Xiao Mieluo raised an eyebrow. "That's good too. Peace and quiet for both."
The more they investigated, the more it would imply they needed Zhao Ritian for something, which would be counterproductive.
On this matter, the Zhao Clan was quite reasonable, not leveraging their powerful foundation to stir up trouble.
However, when the two returned to their private viewing box, they soon witnessed, at 9 PM, Chen Adiao stirring up a whole lot of trouble for a whole lot of people.
Xiao Mieluo: "…"
It seemed peace and quiet were no longer an option. Given Chen Adiao's capabilities and methods, the Zhao Clan probably couldn't handle her either.
But after this wave, neither the Qu family nor the Baili family could likely ignore it.
Even if their eyes were clouded by their noble self-importance, they would surely understand—this Chen Adiao was no ordinary individual.
Just as Xiao Mieluo judged, both the Baili family and the Qu family were somewhat shaken at this moment.
The head of the Baili family had been paying attention from the start. Now, a bad premonition was confirmed, and his mood soured, especially since his beloved daughter was the one who suffered miserably, and there was pre-existing enmity.
As for the Qu family… The Qu family had no direct conflict with A'Diao. Their first reaction was simply: Can that godforsaken place Danzhou actually produce such a prodigy? Did Qu Jiangnan intentionally find such a disciple… Did she pass on secret techniques? Is that why this Chen Adiao is so formidable?
The Qu family grew agitated and immediately dispatched trusted aides to personally supervise and monitor, to obtain detailed information for analysis.
After analysis, they found that, from the current perspective, this Chen Adiao had not mastered any secret techniques, but her aptitude was clearly terrifying, and her disposition was cunning. She would definitely not be easy to deal with.
However, there was one advantage—this person valued benefits.
"Unfortunately, we can't contact those inside from the outside. Otherwise, it would be best to have Lianzhou and the others disable her and get her out early. Now she's achieved a score that makes elimination impossible, which is not ideal."
"She's already in the top 200, basically impossible to eliminate. What a pity."
"Then prepare to rope her in. Offer her some benefits, start with her… Qu Jiangnan can't stay outside any longer."
The Qu family quickly decided on a plan.
In the audience seats, the patriarch of the Han clan swept his gaze around and said, "The Three Famous Schools and other powerful organizations have arrived. It seems they are waiting for the results."
This included super-strong institutions like the Huayao Group; some of the most powerful multinational conglomerates from the three nations were present.
Lao Han said, "It's not surprising. Compared to their own methods of screening geniuses, their means are certainly not as high-end and thorough as Lushan Academy's. Just the literary exam alone can reflect the examinee's strength, temperament, connections, and resources in all aspects. Yet, the results are determined by their knowledge base. Although not pure, they aren't looking for pure individuals either."
"And out of twenty thousand people, only a very small number have a chance to enter Lushan. The significance of this exam for the rest is that their scores will become the basis for selection by the Three Famous Schools and super-strong institutions like Huayao Bank."
"Otherwise, why would some people who clearly know they can't get into Lushan Academy fight so desperately?"
Because they were fighting for their own future and prospects.
At this time, in the Dunhuang Grottoes area where Zone 11 Rapeseed Flower Field was located, A'Diao had driven away more than a thousand people. In principle, only the original one or two hundred people from Zone 13 remained. The presence of the Zone 13 people here was like cuckoos occupying a magpie's nest, but since it was the same 300 Buddha statues, there was no particular advantage to be gained.
The real advantage had already been secured.
Just now, everyone had collectively absorbed spiritual energy and robbed the group in the rapeseed flower field, earning quite a few scrolls.
But now, they were somewhat apprehensive, not knowing what to do next.
Mainly, the trauma of A'Diao casually poisoning them and turning them into pigs was too great, and the poison was still in their systems.
Because there were many people, the dose was diluted and not fatal, just nauseating.
Xiao Du checked his wristwatch: 9:05 PM.
There were 55 minutes left. Now everyone had a pile of scrolls. Should they… solve them?
He looked at A'Diao, but A'Diao was busy tapping away on her phone. Then she put down her phone and said to the crowd, "Hmm? Not leaving? Do my dear brothers and sisters want to offer me some benefits?"
Han Zhuo looked at A'Diao, hesitating to speak. For some reason, he felt that this person's suffocating operations felt somewhat familiar.
Whoosh! All nine hundred people fled.
Not a single one remained, even Song Ling left.
Once they were gone, A'Diao stood alone in the empty grotto clearing. Not idle, she took out a table and chair and began to write furiously.
No one knew exactly how many scrolls she had, but her points were skyrocketing at a terrifying speed.
100, 100, 100…
She was already first in the Zone 13 group and currently ranked 188th overall. However, after entering the top 200, it was very difficult to move up, exceptionally so, because the scores of these people were truly too high, with significant point gaps between ranking tiers.
A'Diao glanced at the name of the first place, Dantai Sheng: 18,000 points.
Terrifying. Had this person completed nearly 180 purple scrolls?
Never mind how he obtained them, just the speed of solving them was frightening.
It seemed the Imperial Clan and Kinsmen were indeed formidable. After all, they were the offspring of generations who had hollowed out the most outstanding women in the Tang Song Nation, and it was still the same now.
A'Diao sneered, lowered her eyes, and began to solve the questions.
At this moment, the audience saw some examinees in other zones take out their wristwatches, look at them, and then… some moved, stepping onto flying devices.
With their god's-eye view, the largely consistent behavior of these people drew attention.
But their actions of looking at their wristwatches were very quick, making it difficult for the audience to judge the situation. They could only discuss among themselves until Qu Lianzhou, currently in the top thirty, looked down at his wristwatch in Zone 12 and said to his companions, "To Zone 11."
"Brother, what's wrong?" Qu Lianjing, who had once been to the southern coastal area, was somewhat puzzled. He was currently ranked in the fifties, a very strong result, but it was also thanks to the team his brother Qu Lianzhou had assembled. A strong group meant more scrolls.
"There's a big fish in Zone 11. That Upstairs Downstairs is Chen Adiao from Danzhou, a real wolf in sheep's clothing. She's currently hoarded a large batch of scrolls, probably doesn't have time to solve them, and is contacting individuals to buy and sell."
"Buy and sell?" The blue-haired youth to the side, Nangong Liehe, was amused. "This person is quite greedy, and ambitious too. But is she very strong? To get so many scrolls, I'm afraid…"
"It's fine. I just contacted my informant in Zone 13, who told me the situation. This person used tricks to take down Baili Xianyun and Luo He's group. Otherwise, why do you think their rankings dropped? A wave of their scrolls was snatched."
To convince Nangong Liehe, Qu Lianzhou specifically mentioned, "Your cousin Nangong Zhuolie was also tricked by her."
Nangong Liehe's expression immediately darkened.
Qu Lianzhou continued, "Although there's a risk, I think this person, despite having high-grade talismans, didn't dare to confront Baili Xianyun and the others head-on. Her own strength should be limited, Transcendent Realm, high-grade. We can take her."
After all, both he and Nangong Liehe were Transcendent Realm, high-grade. And they came from prominent families, so the equipment and Daoist techniques they possessed were far beyond what that Chen Adiao could compare to.
Nangong Liehe was still cautious. "She gathered nine hundred people, a formidable force. It will be difficult for us to call more people over at this time, as there isn't enough time left."
If it were an hour or two earlier, they could have summoned more people, enough to flatten two Zone 13s. But this Chen Adiao was cunning in her sudden move, catching people off guard.
Qu Lianzhou's eyes flashed. "I know she has already driven away those 900 people. Those 900 weren't on her side anyway, most of them ran off. Of course, it's also possible she did this intentionally. However, it's not without a solution."
Nangong Liehe raised an eyebrow.
Soon, they headed towards the teleportation point to Zone 11.
Meanwhile, in Zone 9, Baili Huayue also received the news. Because he possessed the technology, he had decrypted the signal transmission in this area and could see some fluctuating information, including news about Chen Adiao.
"Xianyun?" Baili Huayue frowned but didn't show much emotion.
He doted on his sister, but he wasn't foolish enough to rush off to avenge her without understanding the situation, just for a moment of anger. Of course, this Chen Adiao had value for plunder, but there was also an element of unpredictability.
It was the last hour, and he was already in the top ten. It was best not to stir up any trouble.
Baili Huayue was extremely steady by nature and quickly dismissed the news, starting to plot for other, more reliable scrolls…
In Zone 15, Hu Zhegu from the Hu family stepped on an examinee's head, snatching a purple and a gold scroll, yet still looked disdainful.
"Trash, so few."
Beside him, Che Jingyan also snatched the scrolls from two other examinees. "The competition is getting fiercer. Why be picky?"
The two were about to start solving the questions when they suddenly saw the message. They exchanged a glance, simultaneously gave up on solving, and quickly stepped onto their flying devices towards the teleportation array to Zone 11.
Naturally, some people in the zones before Zone 10 also saw this message, but very few. Why?
Because the people A'Diao had screened belonged to specific regional strengths. If Zone 13 was divided by region, then other zones also had certain division rules. For example, Baili Xianyun and Nangong Zhuolie were moved to Zone 11, and Zone 11 encompassed several prefectures near the outskirts of Kyoto. These areas were also where the Baili and Nangong families held influence, which was why they could gather over a thousand people in such a short time.
The zones further ahead had the highest concentration of experts, as they represented the strongest prefectures like Kyoto and Minghai.
These people wouldn't directly interfere in the disputes involving the northern and southern coastal regions represented by Qi Biyuan, so A'Diao's methods were highly targeted.
And this was also an agreement with the "zombies."
She had sent out invitations; it was just unknown whether those who came were zombies, or if the one sending the invitations was the zombie.
In Zone 11, A'Diao, writing furiously, KO'd one purple scroll after another. She didn't check the rankings but instead looked at the densely packed paths through which the news she spread via her phone's media was being snooped on by examinee hackers who had mastered the technology.
Oh my, truly impressive.
Talent abounds, indeed.
Calculating the distances between teleportation arrays, it should be people from Zone 12, Zone 14, and Zone 15 arriving the fastest.
Toilet: "You specifically chose to send information to some mid-to-high ranking individuals, for example, examinees from other prefectures connected to Qi Biyuan. Let's just say it's for screening candidates."
Why disable Qi Biyuan and take his storage ring? It seemed to be out of anger, to drive him out of the assessment. But in reality, it was to rationalize the robbery. A'Diao's true goal was this person's phone.
The phone contained the network of his connections.
The literary exam didn't prohibit online searches. Although one couldn't search outside, after intruding into his phone internally, the network could be found.
And for any part of this network related to the 20,000 examinees, A'Diao deliberately used this information as bait.
Eight minutes after she sent out the message, and after she had continuously completed 17 purple scrolls.
Her released spiritual probes detected activity at several teleportation arrays.
Very good, they're here.
No problem. A'Diao took out the 18th purple scroll and, while solving it, coldly watched these arriving figures from other zones cautiously scout her tracks. After finding her, they searched the surrounding area to confirm there were no ambushes, then checked above and below for any buried talismans or formations.
It seemed they were well aware of her previous ambush against those in Zone 11.
At the teleportation point from Zone 12 to Zone 11, Qu Lianzhou and his group emerged cautiously, using Daoist techniques, secret arts, and equipment to scout. But they were unwilling to waste time and quickly confirmed that Chen Adiao was currently alone, however…
"Found it! This person indeed came prepared. I detected quite a few talismans buried in the outer perimeter, and an explosive-type formation."
"Cunning and treacherous, using the same old tricks."
"Avoid them, take her down as quickly as possible. I guess people from other zones are arriving soon too."
"There are 45 minutes left. After getting the scrolls, we can still solve many. Let's go!"
Qu Lianzhou's group consisted of about thirty-odd people, all elite powerhouses ranked in the top 800, each valiant and skilled in combat. Seizing the opportunity, they quickly advanced towards A'Diao.
About ten seconds later, Hu Zhegu and Che Jingyan also arrived with a few allies. These allies were mostly ranked in the top fifty, all at the high-grade Transcendent Realm, and also from Daoist Sects. In terms of high-end combat power, they were even stronger than Qu Lianzhou's group; with good coordination, they could disable Qu Lianzhou's thirty-odd people.
They took a route to encircle from behind.
One person controlled a Grade A spiritual plant entity, which was also a compass. This compass was terrifying, directly revealing the movements of Qu Lianzhou and his group, like a 100% accurate radar.
"It's Qu Lianzhou and his group."
"Let's go then. Take down two waves."
Besides these two waves, underground, a dark figure stealthily advanced through the soil at a depth of 500 meters. Hearing the sounds from above, he gave a sly smile.
Fight, fight! The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!
Time: 9:18 PM. The starry sky above the Dunhuang Grottoes was densely dotted with points of light, a river of stars stretching for miles.
But on the ground, a diligent little girl was kicking out her long legs, frantically working through questions.
At this moment, her rank was 165th.
Others saw her rate of progress and knew she was frantically KO'ing purple scrolls.
Were these her scrolls? No, they were theirs!
Attack!!!
Qu Lianzhou controlled the overall situation. After stealthily leading his men to within a thousand meters… he gave a hand signal.
The audience outside also saw this scene. Looking at the other side, A'Diao, who appeared like a lamb but had actually prepared poison and set up formations, was still solving questions.
But! They also saw Hu Zhegu, Che Jingyan, and their group ambushing Qu Lianzhou's party, and then… the moment Qu Lianzhou launched his attack.
Over thirty people simultaneously raised their hands towards Chen Adiao, locking on with their attacks. Then, Hu Zhegu, Che Jingyan, and their group also attacked them.
As the mantis launched its surprise attack, the cicada was still dozing, but the oriole had already spread its wings and moved, moved, moved!
And in that very second, did the dozing cicada wake up? Her fingers pinched a scroll, a pen in her hand, with drafts on the white paper.
She probably finally sensed the danger, so she looked up. Ahead, Daoist techniques filled the air, killing intent locked on, the plunderers fierce and numerous.
She faced them alone, but as she looked up, her left hand twisted a ring.
A storage ring?
It was unknown, but it could also be some kind of spatial treasure. People outside the examination grounds certainly couldn't tell, and those inside Zone 11 were completely unable to judge, because they saw this person twist her ring, and dark clouds were released.
Were those dark clouds?
The stealthy figure lurking underground was also poised to strike… Suddenly, this stealthy figure froze. Proficient in the art of evasion, his true talent lay in sensing life forms.
Why had he just sensed a massive life force, on the scale of tens of millions?
This terrifying aura of life even violently overwhelmed the auras of all the examinees in Zone 11.
A crushing dominance.
Qu Lianzhou and the others were all stunned.
Stunned for a second, screaming for a second.
"Run!!!"
They didn't even have time to name this dark cloud; they retracted all attacks.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, an endless, boundless release of… Level 3 barnacle swarms.
Over ninety million of them.
Each one the size of a hen.
Their droppings alone could drown them.
Hu Zhegu also saw it, so scared he turned and fled, not even caring for his comrades. "Damn it, it's a barnacle swarm! Crap, where did this freak come from!!"
"Fuck, fuck, fuck!!!"
Just a second ago, those who had menacingly surrounded her, plotting some mantis-stalks-the-cicada-unaware-of-the-oriole-behind scheme, were now fleeing?
Could they escape?
Her right hand was still holding the pen, calculating the problem, while her left hand gestured.
Pointing at those fleeing people.
"Surround them."
A curve formed on her lips, because her Mental Power had spiked again.
From the examinees in Zone 11, from the audience outside the examination grounds.
The barnacle swarm was terrifying, a kind of terror that transcended levels, because their numbers were too horrifying.
But could they be controlled by humans?
No, never.
No one possessed such terrifying ability, yet Chen Adiao had done it.
Now, even the top figures from Kyoto's Three Famous Schools and the Academy Alliance, like Jiang Zhou, were shocked!
Among them, the Principal of Kyoto Academy shot to his feet.
"How is this possible!!!"
Xiao Jin and Xiao Mieluo were also astonished, but they quickly recalled the means by which Zhao Ritian had eliminated the shark swarm.
At that time, this person had achieved this feat by luring the barnacle swarm, but it was clear then that she hadn't mastered control over them.
How could it be now…
"Also, she possesses a massive living-space treasure capable of nurturing barnacles, at least 500 cubic meters."
Xiao Jin suddenly realized why that Zhao Ritian had been indiscriminately collecting the bodies of demon spirits during his recent campaigns and battles.
It was because this identity needed to gather a large number of demon spirits for Chen Adiao.
One, to provide her with the corpses of poison-type demon spirits to extract venom.
Two, to provide her with corpses as nourishment for the barnacle swarm.
Because the demon spirit corpses were relatively high-level, Level 5 and above, a large number of barnacles had also upgraded, becoming Level 3, and their numbers had increased terrifyingly.
Ninety million, what did that mean?
Even Glimmer Realm cultivators would have to turn and flee upon seeing them. These Transcendent Realm cultivators would basically be swallowed up the moment they entered, with no way out.
Look, Qu Lianzhou and his group were swallowed up, only able to attack frantically inside, trying to break through, but it was no use. They could kill tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even millions of barnacles, but they couldn't kill all ninety million.
They could only flee while being surrounded and attacked, their armor steadily wearing down…
The audience felt suffocated just watching, but soon they discovered something.
At the Dunhuang Grottoes Zone 14-11 teleportation point, more than five kilometers away from A'Diao, a group of people arrived in a grand procession amidst the teleportation glow.
When the Baili family members saw their young miss, Baili Xianyun, aggressively leading Luo He and over a thousand others, having switched two zones to charge back into Zone 11, and then saw the oppressive cloud of barnacles already flying towards them.
They really wanted to make a call to remind her: Young Miss, run!!!
"Hu Zhegu and his group are counter-encircling Qu Lianzhou's group. We'll counter-encircle them and take them all down in one fell swoop."
"I sense those dogs from Zone 13; they're still sticking together, hehe! Let's go kill them!"
"Go!!"
"Go, go, go!"
A group of people took to the air in unison.
Baili Xianyun and her group, at this moment, were naturally unaware that crisis had arrived. When Chen Adiao's outrageous maneuver blew up the teleportation array, preventing them from returning to Zone 11, were they willing to accept it? No, they were not!
Too many scrolls had been snatched; they had to fight their way back!
So they quickly thought of a solution: switch zones!
Not long after, Qu Lianzhou contacted Nangong Zhuolie… and the plan was formed.
Qu Lianzhou's group hadn't thought they would be encircled. Of course, they had considered it, which is why they devised this brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone.
Rob Chen Adiao, rob experts like Hu Zhegu, and then slaughter the 900 people from Zone 13.
A massive profit from a single venture.
Perfect!
The time was set for 10 minutes ago, and then 10 minutes later…
Baili Xianyun and her group were just about to head towards Xiao Du and the others to attack them along the way.
The barnacle swarm arrived.
Then they entered the most nightmarish experience of their lives, infinitely controlled by trypophobia.
How the barnacle swarm came to be.
Three reasons.
1. 【Space Notes Vol. 2】 contained a living space, but it wasn't large enough to accommodate over ninety million barnacles. So, A'Diao nested space within space, putting it inside Toilet's storage space, and frantically fed them demon spirit corpses.
2. Even if she met the conditions for cultivating barnacles, how could she control them? These creatures were highly aggressive. Releasing them meant she too would be trapped. She didn't have a specialized enslavement secret technique. To address this, A'Diao studied the barnacles' spiritual bodies, simulated their spiritual network, and used an unrecognizable internal disguise to mimic the physical aura of a barnacle body. This way, she achieved the effect of being one of the barnacle swarm. Moreover, she spent a month integrating her aura into the barnacle swarm, gradually taming and cultivating them, eventually making them acknowledge her as their king.
3. But she was ultimately not a barnacle. How could she control and communicate with them? That required studying their spiritual body information fluctuations. The equipment within the spatial treasure was used for this. She studied this whenever she had free time, and used spiritual probes to pierce the heads of some Level 4 barnacles for practical observation and research, eventually simulating a similar signal communication system.
Regarding the barnacles, what Xiao Jin and the others didn't know was that on that stormy night at sea, when she KO'd the shark swarm and the barnacle swarm, she didn't take many spoils of war but kept a few barnacles. The prototype of this scheme had already formed back then.
Even Toilet didn't know at the time. It was only later, seeing her diligently cultivating these barnacles like an old farmer, that it understood.
Honestly, Toilet never expected her to use them here, and to so thoroughly torment these heaven-blessed prodigies.
She was utterly savage.
The Mental Power list was about to explode.
A'Diao achieved this enslavement effect. Checking the time, there were 28 minutes left.
She went out. By this time, she had already controlled the barnacle swarm to confine the escape range of these people to one area. They had encountered each other.
Nangong Zhuolie: "Brother!!!"
Nangong Liehe: "…"
This was truly not a scene of relatives meeting with tears of joy. They probably wanted to band together and fight their way out, but after trying… various national curses ensued.
Batch after batch gathered together, turning into a large batch of… leeks?
A'Diao, riding her flying device, used the Spirit Absorption Technique on the crowd, whose armor had been shattered and who were now helplessly controlled by the barnacle swarm.
Scrolls came rolling in.
Ah!!
My scrolls!
Ah!
The crowd's mentality shattered, especially Luo He and his group, who were being harvested for the second time.
The few scattered scrolls they had managed to obtain during the few minutes of respite in between, damn it, were gone, gone, gone again!
Even blue scrolls were snatched away!
When harvesting Baili Xianyun, A'Diao feigned surprise, "Oh my, how come it's you all again?"
How old are you?
Back to feed again?
From Baili Xianyun +999999!!
From Nangong Zhuolie +888888!
From Luo He…
However, after harvesting this wave, A'Diao took out her table and chair again, continued to solve questions, and then took out a loudspeaker, turning the volume to maximum.
"Brothers and sisters, it's fate that we meet here. I believe you didn't come to harm me; it was just a misunderstanding, right? Then come back, let's do some business."
What business?!!
A'Diao raised her hand, revealing a large pile of scrolls.
Red, yellow, blue—three thousand of them.
There were so many, they rolled onto the ground.
She gave the crowd a shy smile.
"Scroll business. You get what you pay for, cash on delivery, honest with young and old alike."
Wait, aren't these scrolls you just snatched from us?!!
Damn it!
Nangong Zhuolie's voice was shrill and distorted, "This is extortion! Aren't you afraid Lushan Academy will come after you?!!"
A'Diao explained to him earnestly, "Young man, your thinking is very narrow. We scholars engage in an economically friendly exchange of knowledge bodies to achieve mutual progress. It stimulates economic circulation and helps each other succeed. How can this be called extortion?"
"I'm not directly asking for your money."
"I'm indirectly asking for it."
Everyone: "!!!"
A'Diao: "Of course, legitimate business people never force a sale. If you don't want them, I naturally can't finish them all by myself. After all, I have a whole bunch of purple and gold ones. Worst case, they get scrapped. Anyway, I don't lack points, but you all…"
She smiled faintly.
"Your rankings are dropping, you know."
"It's okay if you don't get into Lushan Academy. There are still the Three Famous Schools in Kyoto and many other institutions. What are you afraid of?"
"Besides, if you don't want them, others will."
She wasn't lying. Xiao Du and his group were rushing over.
Even the Donglin University students, who hated A'Diao the most, eagerly pulled out money to buy scrolls.
Everyone: "!!!"
Their worldviews shattered.
They had no choice.
Either pay the person they hated most for points, or be surpassed by others less capable than themselves…
Smart people wouldn't be held hostage by hatred; they would only choose benefits.
So…
Xiao Yuanbao appeared.
"Come, come, brothers and sisters, don't rush. My master Diaodiao is solving questions. I'll get the scrolls for you. Oh, how many do you want? What color? In total… This is the payment code, scan it yourself. After paying, you can solve the questions inside. Don't run around, it's not safe outside."
"You know, in other places, would you dare to solve questions like this? You'd be ambushed. But not here."
"Can you find a zone as safe and harmonious as ours in Zone 15, where no one fights? No, you can't!"
"My master Diaodiao will protect you."
Looking at the plump, golden, glittering leopard, everyone: "…"
Damn!
From Lushan Academy teachers, etc. ++++
From Kyoto schools personnel, etc. ++++
From…
Jiang Zhou was almost being burned alive by the gazes of his former colleagues from the Academy Alliance. He continued to sip tea to calm his nerves, while saying, "Oh dear, thankfully this cute robot explained for her. Otherwise, it would be too easy for people to misunderstand. You see this child, why doesn't she make it clear when she's doing good deeds? She makes it look like a robbery, so prone to misunderstanding, don't you think?"
The Principal of Kyoto University rubbed his temples. "If Lushan Academy has no objections, then we have no objections."
Did Lushan Academy have any objections?
Teacher Green Pepper had already drunk five cups of coffee. She said to the other teachers, "I haven't received any notification from above yet."
No notification meant no violation.
The teacher in charge of Zone 5 smiled. "I remember the Dean saying something like this when specifying the exam content: The world operates through countless rules that establish order. Countless circles intersect with countless lines, dividing out innumerable overlapping areas. Those overlapping areas are basically minefields. Some people play within the lines of the rules. Powerful ones jump out of the lines, playing in more and more places. But those who can survive must understand how to avoid the areas cut by the rules when expanding their domain, not rashly challenging rules they temporarily cannot handle."
"Such people live long."
"Because they don't cross the line, they avoid the minefields."
Every time this Chen Adiao KO'd someone, she grasped the pros and cons of grudges and affections. And every time she plundered benefits, she also understood that there was a reason for it. And her method of exchanging scrolls for resources was still within the area not prohibited by the exam rules.
Because what was being bought and sold were scrolls, not answers.
And since scrolls could be robbed, it was naturally impossible to prohibit their sale.
She was an extremely cunning player, and this player had set her goal from the very beginning.
"Exchanging scrolls for resources, it's likely she determined that her timeline was insufficient to complete all the scrolls. So, to maximize benefits, she converted the scrolls into money. Even though the time spent planning this also sacrificed corresponding points, the benefits from these points are definitely far less than the money gained from these transactions."
"This round, she made a killing."
How much of a killing?
By the time A'Diao reached 38th place, Luo He and others, relying on the scrolls bought with money, had also fought their way back into the top fifty, and they didn't hesitate to spend more money to buy more scrolls.
Ultimately, Baili Xianyun topped the spending chart with three hundred billion. Her gaze towards Chen Adiao was still filled with hatred, but at least… reaching 29th place made her look much better.
Time was about to end.
The last five minutes.
All scrolls had been sold out, and even completely solved.
The barnacles had also been furiously wiped out by a third, greatly reducing everyone's pressure. However, their hatred for A'Diao remained, just not as urgent to act on, because time was almost up.
Here, one couldn't kill or disable people; the value of attacking her was too low.
However, since it was about to end anyway, the mutual apprehension also lessened. Baili Xianyun said coldly to A'Diao, "Using such methods to offend so many people at once, what's the use of getting so much money? Will you live to spend it? By the way, your ranking is still behind mine. Even if you can still solve questions, how many purple scrolls do you have, and how many can you solve?"
These words also echoed the thoughts of the crowd.
Nangong Liehe, Nangong Zhuolie, Baili Xianyun, Luo He, and others stared at her, especially Qu Lianzhou. His originally flawless plan had turned into a joke, which was a huge blow to his pride. So he sneered, "I admit your methods today were impressive, but don't forget what happens after the exam! Besides, within the exam, your ranking is still not as high as ours…"
At this moment, A'Diao was ranked 31st.
A'Diao glanced at them but said nothing. While they were still struggling to KO barnacles and try to escape, and during the last three minutes of the exam.
She slowly took out 200 gold scrolls.
A dazzling golden light.
Everyone: "?"
Holy crap!
She's starting to solve them? How many can she do in three minutes?!
No, she didn't solve them. She just silently scanned the codes of all 200 scrolls.
Yes, just scanning the codes was enough. There was no need to answer the questions, because the answers had already been input!!!
So, she hadn't used her wristwatch to register points before, which meant her score hadn't gone up.
Why do that? Was she a pervert?
But she scanned them now. She could scan several in a second.
In less than three minutes, she finished scanning 200 gold scrolls.
Her rank never paused, jumping wildly from 31st without a gap… And within these three minutes, Baili Xianyun and the others, in their daze, suddenly found that their rankings were wrong.
They had dropped below 30th!
Because someone had squeezed into the top 30, and more than one person!
Apart from some minor fluctuations in the top 20, the rankings between 20th and 50th were shifting frantically.
At the last second, it stabilized.
First place, Dantai Sheng, 20,000 points.
Second place, Mo Yuwo, 13,000 points.
Third place, Chen Adiao, 12,000 points.
Fourth place, Xie San, 8,000 points.
Fifth place, He Sijian, 7,800 points.
Sixth place, Baili Huayue, 7,500 points.
And while the top thirty mostly consisted of the same people, a few new names from further down had appeared.
22nd, Zhou Yi, 2,900 points.
24th, Song Ling, 2,800 points.
29th, Xu Ye, 2,600 points.
Everything was now set in stone.
But Baili Xianyun and the others vaguely felt they had been played. This Chen Adiao… had also sold other scrolls to different people.
She had arranged for others to sell scrolls, earning from both sides, but also diluting the value of the points, suppressing scores on both ends.
It meant their rankings hadn't improved, and had even regressed, yet they had paid a large amount of money.
How much was it in total? Anyway, their group alone had spent nearly 200 billion in this wave.
One ring linked to another, an infinite nesting doll, ultimately trapping a whole group of them from these few zones, a pit deeper and more bottomless than a mutual fund.
After the results were confirmed, A'Diao finally spoke, saying to them, "Excuse me, what were you all saying earlier?"
After all, they were her benefactors; she was still quite gentle.
Everyone: "…"
The sky seemed so dark.
Their hearts felt like they were about to crack.
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