Zhao Feng and Lu Bing did not join in this time. Instead, they withdrew to one side, waiting for the right opportunity. But quite a few others had the same idea.
More than a dozen gazes remained locked on one another.
Just then-
Boom! The entire rock surface around the circular platform sank. The fine white sediment covering it scattered, mingling with the powder shaken loose by the tremor.
The sudden chaos caught many of them completely off guard.
But it was also the perfect chance to fish in troubled waters.
Some were knocked down and scrambled back to their feet. Others groped among the objects scattered around the remains, while someone slipped a faintly glowing artifact into their sleeve amid the confusion.
Yet after that brief lull, they immediately plunged back into the melee.
Their target was the Mustard Seed Pouch beside the corpse at the center of the raised platform.
But they kept one another in check, and no one could get close.
Boom! The circular platform sank again. This tremor was shorter and sharper than the first. The ground abruptly dropped roughly a palm's width beneath their feet-not much, but enough to throw everyone moving off balance and break the rhythm of otherwise steady strides.
The outline of the remains atop the circular platform became clearer than before as light and darkness alternated. When the light returned, the dark Mustard Seed Pouch beside the corpse briefly gleamed. Every gaze had caught its presence, and everyone adjusted their course to account for its position.
Someone moved before the tremor had even subsided. A figure darted out of the shadows beside the platform, keeping low and using the momentum of the sinking ground to slide half a step forward. His right hand was already reaching toward the remains.
But