The Unknown Deal (continued)

"It really works! So you can feel pain after all. I thought you couldn't feel pain."

Si Ming had tried infusing the opponent's body with Blazing Sun True Qi, but the effect was no different from that of ordinary True Qi. It was not as effective as when dealing with the origin of the Monster Race, and he did not know what the difference was.

"Why! This doesn't make sense. A powerful individual like you shouldn't be on this island. This should be my hunting ground. The information clearly states..."

"You mean information? Who gave you that information?"

Si Ming immediately sensed something was wrong. He had originally thought that the monster was a natural product of the black mist, or a mutation of some kind of animal, or a mist that had come to life. Now it seemed that the creature was likely an artificial creation cultivated by humans.

The monster immediately fell silent. Si Ming snorted twice in an evil tone, urging his Blood-Burning Finger to poke around on the black sphere. Although there was no blood in the monster's body to burn, the torment caused by the fiery energy entering its body was not reduced much.

"Waaah... Ah—Stop! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

"So why are you so despicable? Either grit your teeth and refuse to talk, or surrender wholeheartedly from the start. Why torture people before you confess? Should I call you a spineless bastard? Tell me, who created you?"

The person who created me is...

The monster's voice suddenly froze.

"What, you're itching for a beating now that it's too late? You want to be a martyr now? You've already taken your clothes off and you want to say you're just an entertainer, not a prostitute? Do you think anyone will believe you?"

Just as Si Ming was about to use torture to extract a confession, an idea suddenly flashed through his mind. He immediately swung his arm, forcefully throwing the monster away, and shouted to the others, "Get down!"

The black sphere hadn't flown far when it exploded in mid-air with a bang. It wasn't the explosion of gunpowder, but the shockwave of Primal Qi. Rings of energy spread out, causing sand and stones to fly everywhere. Si Ming quickly dodged in front of Liu Qingqing, covering his head with his arms to block the impact, while Yue Xuan directly pressed down on his sister.

The force of the explosion was equivalent to a heavy hammer blow, but it didn't hurt Si Ming at all. Yue Xuan was knocked unconscious, while his sister was woken up.

"Tch, I forgot to be careful. I implanted a self-destruct program in my subordinates. It will activate if they try to leak information, and then they'll kill them to silence them. That's a common tactic used by villains."

Si Ming brushed the dust off his hair and turned to Liu Qingqing, asking, "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

Liu Qingqing stood up, first brushing the dust off Si Ming's clothes, then straightening her own. She looked around and said, "The location and time this monster appeared coincide with our trial mission. I don't believe it's all a coincidence."

Si Ming nodded. "Judging from the fact that the monster can be purified by Divine Arts, its physique should be related to the black mist. It is not surprising that it appeared on this island. However, Thunder King's navy is responsible for monitoring this area. The mastermind behind the scenes could not have conducted experiments under his nose without being discovered. In other words, either Thunder King has a problem, or his subordinates have a problem."

Of course, I lean towards the latter. If everything was orchestrated by Thunder King, then he acted far too carelessly. This matter couldn't be concealed. Even if we were all wiped out on the island and became food for the monsters, the school still has today's class records. If something goes wrong, everyone will suspect him."

Liu Qingqing pondered, "If the monster had existed all along, its first target should have been the soldiers patrolling the sea. But our class ran into them instead, which means the mastermind behind it knew we would be undergoing our trial on this day."

Si Ming frowned and said, "So, the monster is after the Saintess Candidate, but what's the point? It didn't use Divine Arts during the battle just now, which shows that devouring the Saintess Candidate doesn't mean you can simultaneously master Divine Arts."

This was to be expected, since the power of Divine Arts originates from the gods, and believers are merely borrowing the power of the gods. Even if you master the skills of using Divine Arts, if the gods are unwilling to lend you their power, the result is that you can't cook without rice.

Lacking sufficient information, the two were unable to analyze the situation and had to put it aside for the time being.

"Brother! Brother, what's wrong? Brother, wake up!" Yue Han exclaimed, shaking Yue Xuan's body violently.

Si Ming wanted to tell her that what she was doing was actually quite dangerous for someone in a coma. One wrong move and they could suffer a concussion or cerebral hemorrhage. She should watch less of those unscrupulous TV dramas in the future, as all the first aid methods in them are wrong. Don't expect the directors or screenwriters to have any relevant knowledge.

Whether she realized this was harmful to the injured person or thought continuing to shake was pointless, Yue Han stopped. She glanced around and immediately guessed what was going on. She glared at Si Ming, "You did this, didn't you? To reduce the competition for your girlfriend, you ambushed me and my brother. That's outrageous!"

"This girl's got a screw loose, "Si Ming thought, already annoyed. He didn't bother explaining himself. He hated unreasonable girls like this the most, and he'd stay far away from them. If he got involved with a girl like this, he'd be dragged down with her sooner or later, like being taken hostage by the enemy, or doing something stupid at a crucial moment, like shouting, "If you don't leave, I won't leave either."

"You're afraid to answer because you feel guilty, aren't you? I could tell a long time ago..."

"Let your brother explain it to you after you wake up."

Si Ming delivered a swift chop to the air, knocking the man unconscious. He then felt a sense of peace. He stepped forward, grabbing one of the men in each hand, and said to Liu Qingqing, "Let's go back. With something like this happening, the trial can't continue. Even if there are still areas that haven't been purified, let the higher-ups worry about that."

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Liu Qingqing had no objections.

The two retraced their steps and soon arrived at the shore where the boat was moored. They then informed their leader, the instructor, of what had happened on the island.

"How can a monster acquire a person's martial arts skills simply by devouring them?" The instructor looked utterly incredulous.

Si Ming wasn't angry about being doubted, because for ordinary people, this was indeed a fantasy. After all, this was a world of martial arts, not a world of immortals or cultivation, and most people would never come into contact with such mysterious beings in their entire lives.

"Although the monster has self-destructed, it's unlikely that it could have completely destroyed the evidence. There should be debris left near the explosion site. In addition, there are very obvious signs of a fight on the island, making it easy to reconstruct the battle and uncover the truth. Even if I lied to Liu Qingqing, Yue Xuan has no reason to cooperate with us. You can ask him when he wakes up."

Hearing Si Ming's confident answer, the tutor immediately believed him to a large extent. After all, there was no time to fake a fight scene in such a short period of time. So her face turned very ugly. Even if it was an accident, she had to take some responsibility, since she was the person in charge.

Si Ming then asked, "Is this really not a selection test specially arranged by your side?"

The mentor shook his head dejectedly. "Given the average skill level of this batch of new recruits, how could they possibly encounter such powerful enemies in their very first trial? We're not Evil Dao; in our past trials, most of the time there were no battles, and the few that did occur were due to encounters with Demon Race, not the mysterious monsters you're describing."

Her expression didn't seem fake, so Si Ming didn't press the matter.

Naturally, the trial could not continue. The group quickly contacted the naval base, and Xing Daozhuang personally led a team to investigate. They sealed off the island and sent everyone back. Given that such an incident had occurred within his jurisdiction, his expression was equally grim.

Of the eight Saintess Candidate, five died at once. Even if they were just ordinary college students, it would still be a major case, let alone the special bonus of being Saintess Candidate.

Incidentally, besides Liu Qingqing and Yue Han, there was another survivor, a girl. She was purely lucky and didn't encounter the monster. Or rather, the monster ran into Si Ming before it came after her, thus saving her life. However, judging from her pale face after hearing the news, she might not have the courage to continue undergoing the Saintess Trial in the future.

Late at night, in a training ground at the naval base, Xing Daozhuang stood with his hands behind his back, eyes closed, waiting impatiently in the moonlight.

"Ha, I've kept Thunder King waiting. 'Nether Lord' has arrived as promised."

Without warning, a man dressed in a dark red suit and a magnificent top hat, with clothing in the style of the Luo Continent, appeared behind Xing Daozhuang. His skin was unusually pale, as if he had never been exposed to the sun. He had deep-set eyes with a pair of ruby-like eyes. He held a jade cane in his right hand, and a gemstone was inlaid on the glove on his left hand. He exuded a luxurious and mysterious aura.

"Remote Heaven Society, you have overstepped your bounds!"

As soon as Xing Daozhuang opened his eyes and turned around, his right palm struck out with thunderous force, like Duke of Thunder striking, making no attempt to conceal his anger.

The sinister man who called himself the Nether Lord seemed to have anticipated this. He raised his jade staff and struck Xing Daozhuang's thunderous palm directly. At the same time, he spun it outwards, deflecting the opponent's palm force to the side. Instantly, it plowed a deep trench in the granite ground. However, some of the thunderous power was still difficult to deflect and struck Xing Daozhuang's chest, knocking him back several steps.