"Anyone hungry? If you want food, come get it yourself; we won't wait for latecomers."

A soldier on the mountain path outside the building was shouting, flanked by several colleagues carrying food boxes.

Shi Chun, who was deep in thought in front of Bian Weiyin, suddenly woke up and turned around, striding over with Wu Jinliang at his side at a jog.

They were not really hungry, but they had never tasted the food from the Royal Capital, let alone from the Immortal Mountain; naturally, they did not want to miss out.

Each took a box and also inquired about the meal times. They were told that food would be delivered when the time came, given to those who wanted it and ignored by those who didn't, and that the used food boxes should be placed by the roadside for someone to collect later.

After waving goodbye to the food deliverers, Shi Chun and his companion simultaneously opened their food boxes, savoring and critiquing the food with joyful expressions, as if they had never eaten anything like this before.

Bian Weiyin, Gan Tangyu, and Xiang Laner watched the two's synchronized actions in bewilderment.

After they had scraped their food boxes clean and put them by the roadside, another soldier came to deliver items, one set of the competition rules and prizes for each family, along with a map for each person attending the competition. In actuality, it was a map and other such documents, marked with the form and description of the Insect Extreme Crystal.

The rules were straightforward, but the key point was the announcement of rewards from the Royal Court of Shengshen Continent. The rewards were for the sects and individuals participating in the meeting, without any specific prizes for the other continents. For them, acquiring more Xun Gates was the greatest reward.

After the competition results were decided, the top ten sects and all their disciples would receive free passage through all publicly accessible Xun Gates within Shengshen Continent for a certain period. It was specially noted that this did not include the Xun Gates exclusively used by the Immortal Court.

The sect placing first would receive permanent free access to the Xun Gates within the bounds of Shengshen Continent.

Second place would be three hundred years, third place two hundred years, fourth to sixth place one hundred years, and seventh to tenth place fifty years.

For the sects, these prizes were definitely considerable; the cost for a single person to use a Xun Gate just once was not cheap, and when a sect had to move together, the expense was significant. The larger the sect and the more disciples it had, the greater the benefits they would reap.

For those representing their sects at the conference, their efforts would directly benefit everyone in their sect.

As for individual rewards, they were even more tangible and practical.

The top ten would each receive a reward of one million Sandalwood Gold; everyone would get this.

Fourth to sixth places would receive an additional two million Sandalwood Gold on top of the base reward, making for a total of three million Sandalwood Gold.

First to third places, on top of the base reward, would each receive a set of property deeds for houses in the Royal Capital of Shengshen Continent, with the value varying according to their ranking.

The announcement of these rewards made Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang's eyes gleam with greed. Getting into the top ten meant one million, and the rewards for the top three were even more incredible; although the specific value was unknown, one could guess by comparing the value of the rewards for fourth to sixth place.

Shi Chun casually flipped through the map of the competition venue, pondered for a while, and then asked Bian Weiyin in front of everyone, "Elder sister, the conference starts in three days. Shouldn't you start dividing up the talismans the sect gave us?"

At this address of "elder sister," not to mention the others, even Wu Jinliang was caught off guard by the call.

Wu Jinliang understood Shi Chun very well and knew that such humble words meant that the wind of the situation was about to change.

After a moment's pause, Bian Weiyin also realized she had been somewhat affected. The newcomer had joined the sect and become a disciple under Elder Ke. They were peers, so calling her elder sister was not a problem. She immediately smiled back and said, "Junior brother, you two are always causing trouble. You're too rash. I'll hold onto the talismans for now. If you behave and listen, I'll naturally share them with you, but that's not guaranteed if you cause more trouble."

Shi Chun wanted to say more.

Bian Weiyin raised her hand to stop him, "We'll discuss this after the competition begins."

Alright then, Shi Chun had no choice but to postpone the matter. While the others were studying the competition rules, he nudged Wu Jinliang with his elbow, and the two headed to his room together.

Once the door was closed, Wu Jinliang asked mysteriously, "What's up?"

Shi Chun asked in a low voice, "Do you want to take revenge on Bai Shuchuan?"

Wu Jinliang immediately gritted his teeth, "Yes, do you have a plan?"

Shi Chun replied, "The people of the Demon Path have too many tricks, and Bian Weiyin is making plans with a tiger; these people can't be trusted. We need to rely on ourselves. How about we split off and go it alone after the competition begins?"

Wu Jinliang stared, "Go it alone? Just the two of us?"

He might as well have said, "Are you dreaming?"

Shi Chun picked up the map, tapping it and asking, "Don't you think this place looks a lot like another place?"

Wu Jinliang asked, "Where?"

Shi Chun replied, "This place has already been sealed. Once the competition starts, everyone who enters will be trapped there, with none having high cultivation. Doesn't this situation seem familiar to you?"

Wu Jinliang froze, muttering to himself, "Land of Exile?"

Shi Chun nodded, "That's right, that's our forte. What's there to be afraid of? If anything, they should be afraid of us.

I've seen it clearly, following Bian Weiyin, we'll accomplish nothing, we'll be marching to our deaths. We can only fend for ourselves, either not do it at all, or if we do, go for the big score. Don't you want a house in the Royal Court? There are rewards for that; we're good at robbing, if we don't rob, then we rob the best!"

Wu Jinliang was indeed moved by his words, but he quickly faced reality, "My Master, it's a good idea, but the situation is different. Those bold enough to compete are all High Martial Realm, and many have reached High Martial Superior, like those five from Bai Shuchuan."

Shi Chun, "You're also High Martial, what are you afraid of?"

Wu Jinliang said with a wry smile, "But you're not, Chun Tian. I can't rely on my strength alone. The difficulty of making it into the top ten is there, too. Ten thousand participants from each province, with 127 provinces within Shengshen Continent, that's over a million people. Although most probably don't have the heart to compete, the difficulty can still be imagined.

Moreover, if we really rob the first place, we'll have offended too many people. Wukang Mountain will have something to say about it. We are now disciples of Wukang Mountain. If we bring a whole bunch of enemies down on Wukang Mountain, they'll surely chop us to pieces when they turn around."

Shi Chun, full of ardor, said, "If the knife isn't sharp, we sharpen it; if we don't have enough people, we gather more. Wukang Mountain counts for nothing, just a child going back and forth, hesitating, messing around with little schemes, with that character, they are only fit to hide at home and make a few talismans. Do they deserve to suppress the heroes of East Nine Plain?

As long as I, Shi Chun, can gain fame throughout the world, with Wukang Mountain's petty attitude, they absolutely cannot chop me to pieces. The higher the rank we rob, the safer we are! Wu Jinliang, if you're not in, I'll act alone. Do you believe I can still go for that first place by myself?"

You going for the first place alone? Wu Jinliang muttered to himself, Just a mere Initial Martial grub like you, keep boasting.

But after thinking it over, he sighed dejectedly, "You're not wrong. Bian Weiyin, that woman, is quite good at playing tricks and messing with people, but she's chosen the wrong battlefield. I really don't understand what Wukang Mountain is thinking, not hiding until the end, instead choosing to be someone else's pawn on the battlefield. How can they be so reckless? Following Bian Weiyin to compete for supremacy is indeed marching to our deaths, especially for the two of us, we'd definitely die at the forefront. If we have to gamble with our lives, we might as well perish by our own hands, and not feel resentful about it."

Clearly, his view of cooperating with Jieyun Mountain was consistent with Shi Chun's.

Shi Chun smiled. Having a reliable partner was better than acting alone. Right then, he clapped Wu Jinliang on the shoulder, "In three months, let's go together to the Royal Court to check out our house."

Wu Jinliang couldn't help but crack a big grin, "Chun Tian, you're luring me with promises again."

Of course, deep down he was a bit hopeful. Most of the time, the Master's promises turned out to be real, and if they hadn't, he wouldn't have agreed since he'd have died long ago.

Xiang Laner seemed to really enjoy the scenery of the Immortal Court, often wandering the mountain paths and gazing at the splendor of the Royal Court.

A tiny plum blossom painting on a roadside stone railing caught her eye, and she approached and wiped it away with her finger, following the direction the drawing pointed and moving along.

She wiped away the plum blossom drawings she saw along the way and eventually arrived at a secluded pavilion shrouded by trees. Leaning on the railing was a burly man in yellow, with a menacing look on his face, obviously a bad sort.

Xiang Laner looked around the pavilion and the man in yellow whispered, "Don't worry, we have our people watching nearby."

Xiang Laner then moved next to him to look into the distance together.

The yellow-cloaked man said, "My name is Sun Shigang, a disciple from Moon Valley of Sheng Province, with cultivation at High Martial Superior. I'm the leader of the Moon Valley team here. Sister Feng has asked me to coordinate with you and the other groups. We have twelve teams working together on this mission. Also, I've been instructed that once we enter the competition area of the West Pole, I have a job to do which will require your cooperation."

Xiang Laner, "What is it?"

The man in yellow, "You find a way to lure Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang away from the group. I need to deal with Wu Jinliang in front of Shi Chun."

Xiang Laner was startled and turned to look at him, "Why?"

The man in yellow, "If Shi Chun has forces secretly backing him, they won't stand by if something happens to him during the competition; to force out any clues, we need to make it look real. Is Wukang Mountain in cahoots with Jieyun Mountain?"

A slightly silent Xiang Laner responded with a grunt.

The man in yellow, "Later I will take Moon Valley's people to talk to Bian Weiyin about this. You need to stay with Shi Chun, and in the meantime, I will covet your beauty. When they intervene to stop me, I'll have a reason to make enemies with them, setting the stage for action. Otherwise, killing Wu Jinliang without cause may raise suspicions. When you signal, I'll bring people over."

Xiang Laner fell silent for a long time this time.

It wasn't until the man in yellow unexpectedly turned to stare at her that she calmly said, "Understood."

Then she turned and left.

Afterward, things went smoothly according to their plan. Xiang Laner lured Shi Chun and the others to see a wonder at a certain part of the Royal Court; Sun Shigang, after failed cooperation talks with Bian Weiyin, left feeling dejected and turned his attention to Xiang Laner's appearance.

As he was obviously harassing Xiang Laner, Shi Chun and the others just stood by, imperatively indifferent, forcing Sun Shigang to escalate, even going as far as forcefully wrapping his arm around Xiang Laner's waist.

Then, to his surprise, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang ran away.

Yes, they ran. After taking a look at Sun Shigang's entourage, they acted as if they saw nothing, turned their heads, chatted, and walked away, picking up pace as they went.

What's going on? Both Sun Shigang and Xiang Laner were left stunned, completely thrown off by what happened.

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