Strike First, or Suffer Later!

Zhao Chen frowned slightly as he watched the two quickly approach, then asked,

"Hello. Is there something you need?"

If there was nothing, then he could stir up a little trouble.

Among those participating in the Spiritual Road Trial, fighting was perfectly normal.

If people got along peacefully like Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying, that would be what was abnormal.

One of the two wore black clothes and had delicate features.

The other was broad and muscular, wearing only a lower garment and carrying a Wolf Tooth Club over his shoulder.

"I'm Zhan Cheng, and he's Zhan Xiong. We're from the Northern Azure Continent!"

The Black-Clothed Youth introduced himself first, a friendly smile on his face as though to show that he meant no harm.

The muscular youth beside him, carrying the Wolf Tooth Club, also grinned.

The way they looked at Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying became somewhat like hunters eyeing prey, eager for a fight.

"What luck. You're the second and third people we've met since arriving on the Spiritual Road."

Zhan Cheng smiled cheerfully at Zhao Chen and Wu Yingying while reaching out to pat Zhao Chen on the shoulder, seemingly intending to build rapport.

But Zhao Chen directly grabbed his hand.

Under the other's stiff gaze, Zhao Chen studied his palm with great seriousness and said,

"Brother, I'm Zhao Chen. Judging by what your palm is showing, things don't look too good for you!"

Zhan Cheng gave a dry laugh. At that moment, the fist clenched in his left hand quietly loosened somewhat as he asked,

"What do you mean by that?"

Seriously, he had thought the other party was about to make a move.

In that case, he could only abandon his original plan and confront him head-on instead.

"What I mean is..."

The instant Zhao Chen said that, he yanked Zhan Cheng's arm behind his back and viciously kicked him in the stomach with his right foot, shouting coldly,

"Hand over the Crimson Tokens now, or I'll beat you two to death!"

An extremely dense Killing Intent spread through the air at that moment.

The intense pain made the Black-Clothed Youth Zhan Cheng furrow his brows. His delicate face instantly twisted into a savage expression.

"Ah!"

Before he could react—or after trying to resist and discovering that even with all his strength, he could not withstand Zhao Chen's power—his face was slammed into the ground, leaving him with a mouthful of dirt.

Wu Yingying, standing nearby, was dumbfounded. They had just been talking normally.

How had they suddenly started fighting?

What happened to martial ethics? Was this a joke?!

"Damn it, let go of my brother!"

Seeing this, the muscular youth carrying the Wolf Tooth Club, who had already intended to fight, decisively stepped forward and leaped into the air. Raising the vicious-looking Wolf Tooth Club, he fiercely smashed it toward Zhao Chen's head.

If it connected, the consequences would be unimaginable. His head would burst open with a bang!

"Not good! Big Brother, be careful!"

Seeing this, Wu Yingying swung the Snow White Dagger in her hand and decisively slashed at the muscular youth, trying to make him wary enough to abandon the attack.

But Zhan Xiong did not care about Wu Yingying's attack at all and continued swinging at Zhao Chen.

Clang!

In just an instant, a figure was sent flying.

"He flew?!"

Wu Yingying clearly saw the muscular youth get blasted away by Zhao Chen's punch.

The vicious Wolf Tooth Club also fell powerlessly to the ground.

Zhan Cheng, face-down in the dirt, widened his eyes and stared fixedly at the Wolf Tooth Club right in front of him.

He had nearly been murdered by his own younger brother.

"You're far too weak!"

Zhao Chen offered that assessment, then knocked Zhan Cheng unconscious.

Under Wu Yingying's astonished gaze, he reminded her,

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up, clean up the battlefield and collect the spoils!"

Those words snapped her back to her senses.

"Crimson Tokens, my Crimson Tokens!"

Wu Yingying's eyes lit up. Excitedly, she began searching the unconscious Black-Clothed Youth Zhan Cheng from head to toe.

She easily obtained a Storage Bag.

A Crimson Token and a sharp longsword were also taken into her hands.

Then Wu Yingying hurried over to the muscular youth Zhan Xiong, who had been sent flying, and expertly stripped him clean of everything he had.

It was just that the somewhat heavy Wolf Tooth Club did not feel very natural in her hands.

Zhao Chen put the Wolf Tooth Club into his Mustard Seed Bracelet.

At the same time, he held out his hand toward her.

"What?"

Wu Yingying froze, unable to understand.

She looked at him, but he merely beckoned again.

That gesture seemed rather familiar.

"Fine!"

Wu Yingying could not keep pretending. With tears in her eyes, she could only hand over the two Storage Bags, the longsword, and the Crimson Token.

"Wait, one Crimson Token?"

Zhao Chen looked at the single Crimson Token in his hand, raising an eyebrow before extending his hand again.

From what he knew, the brothers Zhan Cheng and Zhan Xiong could not possibly have had only one Crimson Token.

They should have had at least three!

"You... can't you just turn a blind eye?"

Wu Yingying looked aggrieved. If she had known, she would have given him two Crimson Tokens.

Then perhaps he would not have noticed.

"Here, take them all. Satisfied now?"

Wu Yingying pouted unhappily and tossed the remaining three Crimson Tokens directly to Zhao Chen.

"Four Crimson Tokens in total. Not bad."

Zhao Chen chuckled as he looked at the unconscious Zhan Cheng and Zhan Xiong, muttering,

"They must have killed two people. Mu Chen isn't among them, is he?"

No matter what, with Mu Chen's strength, he would not have had his Crimson Token taken by these two fellows who were only First-Level Spirit Bodies.

"Big Brother, don't you want to know whether someone else's Crimson Token can absorb the spirit essence energy within it?"

Wu Yingying swallowed and blinked at Zhao Chen, asking with great anticipation.

Once that question was raised, it was bound to attract attention, wasn't it?

"I have Crimson Tokens. There's no need for me to test it."

The corners of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted slightly. After all, he knew very well that one needed to use one's own Crimson Token to transfer the spirit essence energy from another person's Crimson Token into it.

The spirit essence energy in Zhan Cheng's Crimson Token came only from First-Level spirit beasts, so it was useless.

As for that fool Zhan Xiong, he had not even absorbed the spirit essence energy of a single spirit beast.

Zhao Chen shook his head and continued,

"Here, the spirit medicine I promised you."

Zhan Xiong's Storage Bag was completely empty.

Zhan Cheng's Storage Bag, however, was quite full.

There were many gathered spirit medicines inside, likely contributed by two other unfortunate people as well.

Though they could not compare to the Fire Fragrance Orchid spirit medicine.

Together, however, these spirit medicines should be enough to raise Wu Yingying's Spirit Body by another level.

"Really?"

Wu Yingying really wanted to take them, but when she suddenly thought of something, she looked at Zhao Chen suspiciously, feeling that he had some hidden motive.

But Zhao Chen's thoughts were simple.

A promise was a promise; he had to give her a little sweetness.

Only after bitterness came sweetness would it leave a deeper impression.

Most importantly...

Zhao Chen looked at Wu Yingying with some disdain and said speechlessly,

"You're a Second-Level Spirit Body, yet you couldn't beat that fool Zhan Xiong, who's only at the Peak First-Level Spirit Body?!"