No Chatting

Li Zhi knew he only had a sliver of a chance, a faint hope. But the outcome had actually been decided before the Martial Assessment even began. It wasn't that Li Zhi had lost to Bao Yun, but that Duke of Grace had lost to the Bao family. For this slim chance, Li Zhi decided to hold the south and refuse to fight a decisive battle in the north, no matter what.

Waiting and waiting, the forty men Li Zhi had sent to his flanks were all dead or wounded. Less than twenty men remained on the flanks of the Green Team. Jiang Qun and Xu Yu, remembering Bao Yun's military order, did not return to rest but led their remaining troops to charge towards Li Zhi's central army.

Li Zhi sighed, knowing Bao Yun's main force was already on its way and would soon appear before him.

But even knowing defeat was certain, he had to fight. Li Zhi finally mobilized his central army to meet Jiang Qun and Xu Yu. The moment they clashed, over a dozen tired Green Team soldiers ran into Li Zhi's fresh and well-rested central army. It was like waves crashing against rocks, shattering instantly.

Bao Yun's main force still hadn't appeared, even after the leaders, Jiang Qun and Xu Yu, had turned to light.

This outcome surprised even Li Zhi. Li Zhi still had over fifty men, while Bao Yun's main force should have had ninety. The gap was still huge, but Li Zhi's thirty elite central troops remained. Of those under his command who knew the secret art of fortune, only Wang Fang had been lost, while Bao Yun had lost both Jiang Qun and Xu Yu. The gap between them had actually narrowed slightly.

Just as Li Zhi was about to send more men north to scout, a scout he had sent earlier emerged from the side forest, scrambling and yelling, "Senior Brother Li, the main force of the Green Team to the north has been wiped out, and Bao Yun has been driven back!"

Li Zhi's first reaction was disbelief. Without him moving, who could possibly wipe out Bao Yun?

The scout panted, "Someone rode a pig and wiped out the Green Team. I saw it with my own eyes! But..."

Li Zhi could no longer hear the "buts." This was simply a windfall from heaven!

Amidst his elation, Li Zhi suddenly felt the ground tremble slightly. A massive figure appeared in his vision, approaching Li Zhi at an unhurried pace. Li Zhi's heart tightened, but upon seeing the yellow armor on the person, he relaxed. Not just Li Zhi, but the tension and fear on the faces of the other youths beside him also vanished, replaced by arrogance.

"Who is this person?" someone asked.

A youth stood with his hands behind his back and said proudly, "Who cares who he is? Since he's in yellow, he's one of our subordinates, oh, and Junior Brother Li's subordinate too. This kid is interesting, actually managing to get such a large wild boar. It's quite possible he could take down Bao Yun. This is no small feat; I think he deserves a Blessed Land. Have him come over to talk!"

Another youth said, "Senior Brother Cui is always so approachable, which isn't good. That brute is definitely a low-born. At most, he'd get into the Crimson Tide Sect. Anything higher would inevitably lead people to say we don't reward and punish clearly."

The youth surnamed Cui nodded, "Brother Wang's considerations are indeed thorough."

The two youths, Cui and Wang, spoke to each other without regard for Li Zhi, completely ignoring him. A flicker of anger flashed in the depths of Li Zhi's eyes, but his expression remained outwardly calm as he carefully observed the approaching person.

It was certain that this person was not within his recruitment scope. But that didn't matter. Cui and Wang were right; as long as he belonged to the Yellow Team, it would be easy. He, Li Zhi, was the leader of the Yellow Team. As long as the Yellow Team won, he would be the one with the greatest merit. To put it bluntly, it wouldn't matter how much others killed; all the merit would ultimately belong to Li Zhi. Of course, the young men and women around him would also get a significant portion; the worst among them were already slated for Cave Heaven spots.

As for the soldiers who charged into battle, they would only discover at the very end that their scores were unexpectedly low.

Just seeing the mountain-like wild boar made Li Zhi's eyelids twitch. He was beginning to understand how Bao Yun had lost. If such a beast charged at him, even with his secret art of fortune, Li Zhi wouldn't dare to say he could win.

As Wei Yuan drew closer, Li Zhi stood on the high slope, looking down, and boomed, "Esteemed Senior Brother, I am Li Zhi, the humble leader of the Yellow Team. May I know your name?"

Wei Yuan frowned slightly. It was one thing for those being recruited to regard Li Zhi as their leader, but did even those who clearly refused to be recruited have to follow him in the end?

Preposterous!

Wei Yuan wasn't foolish. History books were filled with countless examples of subordinates fighting to the death, only for their merit to be claimed entirely by the commander. Now, Li Zhi had declared himself the leader of the Yellow Team. If Wei Yuan acknowledged him, wouldn't the merit for destroying the Green Team also become Li Zhi's?

Having studied under Zhang Sheng for a long time, Wei Yuan had been unconsciously influenced to despise these scoundrels who occupied others' merit, either through their birth or by manipulating power. Compared to them, manipulating power was still somewhat acceptable, as those who did so relied on their own schemes; their wealth wasn't entirely unearned. Those who used their birth to unjustly seize power only needed to be born into the right family.

Looking at Li Zhi's condescending demeanor, pretending to respect talent, Wei Yuan's face had long since darkened, though it was hidden by his helmet.

In the Hall of Evaluation, the old scholar stroked his beard and smiled, thinking Li Zhi had made a good move. The young cultivator's face was filled with anger, wishing he could possess Wei Yuan and personally reprimand Li Zhi on his behalf.

Wei Yuan did not reply immediately. Before Li Zhi could react, the youths led by Cui and Wang had already become enraged.

These individuals were no less prominent in terms of family background than Li Zhi; Cui and Wang were even more so. However, they knew their talent and learning were not as high as Li Zhi's, which was why they followed him as their leader and allowed him to command. Outside of combat, Li Zhi had to be polite to them. Cui and Wang, accustomed to being high and mighty, could not tolerate someone being arrogant in front of them, especially not a low-born.

The youth surnamed Wang's body erupted in flames, and he instantly flew ten feet into the air, landing before Wei Yuan. He pointed at Wei Yuan's nose and shouted, "Who is this low-born! Do you not kneel and pay respects when you see us?"

Wei Yuan finally lowered his head and looked at the youth before him. The young man instantly froze as if doused with a basin of ice water, unable to move!

Under the resonance of fortune, Wei Yuan felt that the youth before him was not only slow but also fragile, like a freshly laid egg with a soft, warm shell. With just a little force, he could crack open its yellow yolk.

As for what the youth was shouting about, Wei Yuan couldn't be bothered to listen. His hand moved, and his spear struck, emitting a white light.

Zhang Sheng's instructions to Wei Yuan were to flatten everything, not to engage in idle chatter.

The youths and maidens around Li Zhi erupted in an uproar, none of them believing their eyes. Li Zhi trembled with rage. He was the leader of the Yellow Team, and this person not only disobeyed orders but dared to attack his own teammates?

The youth surnamed Cui roared with anger, leaping into the air. Flames erupted around him, leaving a long, colorful trail as he thrust his sword at Wei Yuan from mid-air!

Wei Yuan made no other move. He simply raised his Long Spear and swung it through the air. The youth surnamed Cui, like a colorful meteor, slammed into Wei Yuan's Long Spear and turned into light.

Having eliminated two people, Wei Yuan couldn't be bothered to say more. The wild boar's nostrils began to emit clouds of mist, its low growl like thunder, and its size increased again. Li Zhi's expression also changed. He knew that since Wei Yuan had set the precedent of killing his own teammates, he had already lost points. If Li Zhi were Wei Yuan, he would kill off the entire Yellow Team before stopping. Otherwise, if a few escaped, they might end up with more points than him.

Wei Yuan pointed his Long Spear forward, and the wild boar immediately understood his intent. Its eyes turned dark red again, and it exhaled two clouds of scorching gas. In the next moment, the clouds dispersed, and the mountain-like wild boar and Wei Yuan, who looked like the god of death on its back, moved as one, charging towards the Yellow formation!

Li Zhi drew his sword and said in a deep voice, "Form ranks and meet the enemy!"

Although he knew these ordinary soldiers, without the secret art of fortune, would have no power to resist the mountain-like wild boar, it would be enough if they could buy him some time.

As the military order was given, Li Zhi's proud thirty elites scattered in all directions, not a single one remaining.

Li Zhi was both shocked and furious. He looked to his left and right again, only to see that everyone around him had already fled. The girl carrying the medicinal tray ran the fastest and farthest, not leaving even a single Pill for Li Zhi.

These youths and maidens were not fools. That person killed anyone with a single spear thrust; who could withstand that? Moreover, this god of slaughter had remained silent until now, making communication impossible. Without communication, their most effective methods of leveraging their background and connections were useless. If they didn't run now, when would they? Were they really going to stay and fight for Li Zhi? Duke of Grace didn't have that much influence.

In the blink of an eye, Li Zhi was completely alone. Everyone ran faster than the wild boar.

Suddenly, Li Zhi felt a sense of desolation, as if his ambitions of kingship and hegemony had vanished in an instant. Just moments ago, he had powerful troops at his side and trusted subordinates all around him; now, he was utterly alone. The world's changes could be no more dramatic than this.

At this moment, Li Zhi felt the sky darken and the wind whistle. He abandoned his instinct to flee and prepared to die with dignity.

In his sorrowful state, Li Zhi's Xing Li Chapter ignited, and a golden pillar shot up into the sky!

Wei Yuan did not stop. He swung his Long Spear in a circle and brought it down upon Li Zhi. With a loud boom, the golden pillar shattered.

Wei Yuan leaped into the air and landed lightly on the hilltop. The wild boar continued forward, a long sword plunged into its chest, its hilt gone. The wild boar ran another dozen yards before crashing to the ground with a pained cry. Its body suddenly began to shrink, and a wisp of black energy flew out from within it, returning to Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan landed precisely beside Li Zhi.

Li Zhi was heavily injured by a single blow, struggling even to get up. He suddenly remembered that the evaluators were watching from above, and even more important figures were higher up. Taking a deep breath, he prepared to recite a couple of lines of poetry to declare his resolve. However, before he could even finish inhaling, Wei Yuan had already raised his gun and fired, a white light surging.

After three years of studying literature, Wei Yuan had spent every day memorizing texts and found those who recited poetry on their deathbeds to be most annoying, as it created a lot of extra work out of nowhere.

Wei Yuan stood on the hilltop, surveying the surroundings. He saw dozens of Yellow Team members scattered across the wilderness, fleeing in all directions. He had to admit, the Yellow Team was more sensible than the Blue Team; they neither clustered together nor stayed to watch the spectacle.

With things having reached this point, there was no way Wei Yuan would let them go. And so, a small wild boar charged out from the distant woods, heading straight for Wei Yuan.

The wild boar leaped into the air. Before it could even meet the wisp of black energy, the sound of a bell echoed throughout the Illusion Realm.

This boar, after all, was not fated to meet Wei Yuan.

The Martial Assessment concluded.