Chapter 213 - A Woman Drifting on the Water

Since Spiritual Qi wasn’t infinite, pressing onward could easily leave them with no way back.That would be a huge problem.

But the sight of two figures performing Sword Flight in the sky above made them much bolder.

After all, if things went south, they still had their two instructors.

After a long while, they finally dragged their exhausted bodies onto a small island.

In the distance were numerous island clusters from which waves of powerful energy emanated.

An unending series of rumbles echoed out.

The clash of Golden Core cultivators was on a level that Foundation Establishment disciples couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

Jiang Man hadn’t used up much energy. He was just curious about how they were supposed to "scavenge."

Ji Hao simply had everyone wait.

A long time passed.

The great battle within began to subside.

The surface of the sea also began to ripple.

"Someone’s there!" Zhao Yaoyao exclaimed, pointing at the sea ahead.

Everyone followed her gaze and saw a figure floating motionlessly on the water’s surface.

It was a woman, and her body was covered in injuries.

She must have been too severely injured to move.

"Here comes our chance to scavenge," Ji Hao said with a smile.

Everyone was stunned. ’This is what he meant by scavenging?’

"Bring her over," Ji Hao said.

Then, Cao Cheng and the others used Wandering Dragon to bring the person over.

An Zhirou was a new-generation genius of the Evergreen Sect who had successfully entered the Inner Sect at a young age.

She was representing her Sect in the battle for a spot in the Immortal Mansion.

However, she had the misfortune of running into an Array prodigy from the Wuyun Sect. He had set an ambush and surrounded her.

Although she had managed to acquire quite a few things, she was still no match for them.

Severely wounded, she fell into the sea.

If not for a life-preserving Magical Treasure, she would likely be dead by now.

But given some time, she would certainly be able to recover.

It was just that...

The sea was far too dangerous.

She couldn’t be sure she would be able to recover in peace.

She had been trying to figure out how to avoid the many dangers of the sea.

But the unexpected happened too quickly...

Seeing a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators surrounding her, she was overcome with shame.

She had the impulse to put every last one of them in their place.

But she was too grievously injured to move.

"Are you all right, Fairy?" Ji Hao asked with a smile.

The moment she saw him, An Zhirou thought, ’This one can live. As for the others, I’ll make sure they know the meaning of regret.’

’Gawking at me like this... These people have clearly never faced the wrath of a Golden Core cultivator.’

Then, she looked at Ji Hao and said, "Fellow Daoist, what do you intend to do, bringing so many people here?"

"We saw you were in danger, Fairy, so we came to lend a hand. If you feel we’ve offended you, we can put you right back where we found you."

"But I should warn you, Fairy, there are several packs of Demon Beasts surrounding this area." Ji Hao smiled and had someone show her so she could confirm it for herself.

Sure enough, several packs of Demon Beasts had surrounded the island.

Jiang Man could see clearly. They were all the Demon Beasts the group had deliberately provoked over the past two months.

’So this is what that was for?’

He never would have guessed.

An Zhirou’s face paled when she saw them.

If they really put her back in the water, she would be in even more danger than she’d anticipated.

She gritted her teeth and said, "I am an Inner Sect Disciple of the Evergreen Sect with a Golden Core Cultivation. It’s always wise to leave a way out."

"What do you want?"

"She says she has a Golden Core Cultivation, which means she’s in the Early Stage of Golden Core. If she were in the Middle or Late Stages, she would have said so for greater deterrence," Ji Hao explained to the students. "So, in the future, before you engage in a fight, don’t just state that you have Early Stage Cultivation."

"Anyone in the Middle and Late Stages of Golden Core will hear that and think you’re an easy target."

Everyone: "..."

’Mr. Ji really doesn’t treat us like strangers. He teaches us everything.’

Then he turned to An Zhirou and said, "You must have acquired some trinkets during the competition, Fairy? Things like a Spirit Sword, a Magical Treasure, or maybe a Sun Refining Stone?"

An Zhirou was silent for a long moment before saying, "Just a Spirit Sword."

"That’ll do," Ji Hao said.

In the end, she handed over the Spirit Sword she had just acquired.

Everyone: "..."

’So this is how you scavenge.’

After taking the Spirit Sword, Ji Hao handed it to Lin Qingshan. "A Spirit Sword, as a reward for making the most progress in your practical combat skills."

Lin Qingshan: "..."

’So the reward Spirit Sword was also scavenged.’

’But is this really okay?’

As if sensing Lin Qingshan’s anxiety, Ji Hao reassured him, "Don’t worry. This is indeed an item from the competition. Until the participants return, everything they’ve gathered is considered ownerless."

"Legitimate scavenging is encouraged."

"Within the Sect, however, you can’t scavenge like this."

"The Immortal Sects are well-regulated, and a Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall won’t let people like that off the hook."

"Even if the victim says nothing, if someone else sees it, there’s a reward for reporting it."

Seeing that no one else was speaking, Ji Hao said, "Do you see how to scavenge now? Go on, have a look around. Whether or not you find anything is up to you."

"Be careful. Some of them aren’t seriously injured."

"You have to learn to judge the situation for yourselves."

Yan Yiqiu wondered, ’Is it really okay to teach them this?’

’It’s not technically against the rules, but still...’

’Those are Inner Sect disciples. If they truly anger them, they’ll surely suffer for it after they enter the Inner Sect themselves.’

She offered a well-intentioned warning.

But Jiang Man paid it no mind.

’By the time I enter the Inner Sect, I’ll be at the Golden Core level myself.’

’Golden Core versus Golden Core. Why would I need to shy away from them then?’

With that, Jiang Man was the first to step away, while the others still hesitated.

But one by one, many of them started to leave.

It was just scavenging, after all. They’d approach with good intentions first, aiming for mutual benefit.

If it didn’t work out, so be it.

It wasn’t worth making an enemy over.

When almost everyone had left, Ji Hao asked curiously, "Aren’t you going to do some scavenging, Mr. Yan?"

"I already have a Spirit Sword," Yan Yiqiu replied.

’I have a reputation to uphold.’

’They are Student Cultivators, but I’m an instructor.’

’Our statuses are different.’

But suddenly...

BOOM!

A tremendous roar erupted.

Mr. Yan looked back.

She saw that a deafening roar of powerful energy was coming from the Central Islands.

"Someone’s attacking the islands?" she asked, immediately growing tense.

’For them to dare an Attack, it must have been premeditated.’

’The situation doesn’t look good.’

"This place gets attacked often. Don’t worry, they can’t stir up much trouble," Ji Hao said calmly. "The timing is perfect. After this group finishes scavenging, they can get some real training in."

"It will be of great benefit to them."

An Zhirou was taken aback. An Attack on this place was no small matter.

It was clearly aimed at the competition; someone wanted to fish in troubled waters.

Evil Demons and Outsiders wouldn’t attack the Central Islands for no reason.

Especially when the competition was at its most intense, making it even easier for them to cause chaos.

"They’ll attack this area too," she warned immediately.

Then she remembered something else.

If defeated participants drifted out from the battle and refused to be "scavenged"...

How dangerous that would be.

For a moment, she felt a sense of relief. At least for now, she didn’t have to worry.

These two were at least at the Golden Core Level.

But her relief was short-lived. She saw a cloud heading in their direction.

The cloud carried a seven-colored light, appearing like an auspicious omen.

"An Evil God?" she cried. "Quick, have your people fall back! This isn’t one of the usual Evil Demons and Outsiders. It’s a remnant of an Evil God!"

"It still carries the Evil God’s lingering might."

"If your people don’t leave soon, they’ll be trapped."

"By then, it’ll be too late to escape."

"The people in the competition are all at the Golden Core level, so a technique of this power level is clearly aimed at you."

"And someone will be here soon to tie you down."

Hearing this, Mr. Yan grew concerned.

But she immediately looked toward Ji Hao.

His face was calm, his expression unchanged, just as it always was.

For a moment, Mr. Yan had a suspicion. She asked tentatively, "Don’t tell me this is also part of their training?"

"Mr. Yan is getting smarter," Ji Hao said with a laugh. "Also, someone will be attacking us shortly. I’ll leave them for you to handle, Mr. Yan."

"You’ve benefited quite a bit during this time as well, haven’t you, Mr. Yan?"

"You haven’t made any progress in a long time. Take advantage of this attack from the Evil Demons and Outsiders to improve yourself."

Yan Yiqiu was shocked.

’This practical combat lesson is aimed at me too.’

’Truly a practical lesson.’

An Zhirou was baffled. ’What are they talking about?’

’Are Outer Sect people all this crazy nowadays?’

As the cloud drew nearer, she sensed a rather familiar trace of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

’An Ancient Well Type Evil God?’

At this, she relaxed. She’d had the good fortune of encountering an incident with an Evil God before and understood this type’s methods.

People who don’t stay up late are almost completely unaffected by it.

Only those who consistently stay up all night are susceptible to this kind of Evil God’s power.

As long as no one was staying up late, the cloud wouldn’t even stop here.

She kindly informed Mr. Yan of this.

However...

The moment the cloud drew near, it abruptly stopped, as if frozen in place.

She stared at Yan Yiqiu in stunned silence.

The latter said helplessly, "It can’t be helped. That group of students hasn’t slept in years."

An Zhirou’s eyes filled with utter confusion.