Tricking People

"Martial Brother, what is the meaning of this? I discovered this spirit plant first!" Staring at the other, he spoke with sudden gravity.

"What do you mean you discovered it first? Didn't you hear what I said? I'll give you three breaths. If you're not gone by then, you won't need to leave!" The sword-browed youth sneered.

With a clang, he drew a fiery red longsword.

The blade shimmered with radiance, exuding a scorching heat. The sword's tip pointed straight at Su Shi'er, releasing a fierce killing intent.

A cold glint flashed in Su Shi'er's eyes. Several talismans appeared silently in his hand.

At the fifth layer of the Qi Refining Stage, he was not without the power to fight.

"Crack, crack..."

Suddenly, a faint sound of ice splitting came from behind him.

This was...

Su Shi'er's brow lifted slightly. The next second, he abandoned his original intention, said nothing, lowered his head, and turned to walk away.

"Hmph! That's more like it!" The sword-browed youth grinned smugly, still holding his sword without sheathing it.

Carefully scanning his surroundings and seeing no other threats, he quickly strode toward the spirit plant by the shore.

After swiftly picking the Profound Clear Ice Lotus, the sword-browed youth immediately moved away from the lake. Throughout, his peripheral vision remained fixed on Su Shi'er, wary and alert.

Only after dashing a dozen steps did he breathe a sigh of relief, casting a mocking glance at Su Shi'er.

"Pah! What a coward. Truly, like master, like disciple."

"That old fool Lu Mingshi taught you well. I wonder where he got the nerve to bet against our master."

"This time, your Luofu Peak is doomed to lose!"

The sword-browed youth taunted without restraint, killing intent flickering in his eyes as he secretly channeled his true essence in the hand gripping his sword.

Hearing this, Su Shi'er's gaze turned cold, but he remained silent on the surface, even taking a few more steps back without drawing attention.

He understood the other's

intentions well. Saying this was nothing more than an attempt to provoke him, force him to act, and then seize the chance to kill him on the spot.

Of course, even if he didn't strike, the other wouldn't let him off easily.

But...

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Suddenly, over a dozen sounds of piercing air flew out from the ice, heading straight for the sword-browed youth's back.

"What?! Ah..."

Hearing the noise behind him, the sword-browed youth's heart jolted, and he hurriedly turned to counterattack.

He had been watching Su Shi'er the whole time, planning to strike when he was off guard.

As for the danger behind him, he thought he had already moved far from the shore. Even if there were demonic beasts, he wasn't afraid—he never expected this.

But the attack came suddenly and with exceptional speed. Before he could fully turn, over a dozen ice spikes gleaming with dark green cold light struck his back.

The ice spikes pierced his body, and waves of astonishing chill flowed through the sword-browed youth's veins. Along with it spread the potent poison coating the spikes.

All of this happened in an instant. The next second, the sword-browed youth let out a miserable cry and fell to his knees with a thud. His face twisted in agony, his body wracked with pain, and his heart filled with regret.

He wasn't stupid; the moment he was hit, he realized what had happened. Su Shi'er had said little throughout, clearly having calculated this move.

And he had thought the other was cowed by his aura, only to fall into the hands of such a group of Low-Tier Demonic Beasts.

A supreme disgrace!

Thinking this, the poison in his blood surged to his heart. With a wah, he spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"You... you bastard, you set me up!" In his dying moments, the sword-browed youth twisted his head to shoot Su Shi'er two venomous glares.

At this point, that was all he could

do.

As his words fell, the sword-browed youth collapsed face-first to the ground, his breath ceasing.

Su Shi'er stood far to the side, taking in the entire scene. A cold smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.

He had set this guy up, but the guy had also intended to ambush him.

Seeing the other dead, he finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief and smiled knowingly.

"If I hadn't learned the traits and information about the materials beforehand, I might have been the one in trouble before this guy even made his move."

"From his tone, it seems Tianhua Peak is confident about winning this bet? Could there be... something else going on?"

"Forget it, what does that have to do with me? I'll focus on gathering ten Second-Grade Materials first and make sure I pass the trial."

Shaking his head, Su Shi'er did not approach.

Channeling his true essence, he used the Object Manipulation Technique to levitate the Profound Clear Ice Lotus, the flying sword, and the Storage Pouch from the corpse's waist.

After doing this, he was about to toss a Fireball spell to destroy the evidence when he suddenly heard footsteps approaching from a distance.

At the sound, Su Shi'er didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately pulled out an Invisibility Talisman and slapped it onto himself, then activated Shadowless Illusionary Steps, spun around, and bolted.

He fled without a sound.

Less than half a cup of tea after he left, two disciples of Tianhua Peak arrived at the lakeside.

"That scream just now—wasn't it Martial Brother Hu Jinxi's voice?!"

"Stay sharp. Don't let anyone set us up."

The two walked side by side, their gazes falling on the corpse by the shore as they spoke.

One of them, a short, stout disciple, instantly changed expression and rushed forward.

"Not good!"

The moment the short, stout disciple's words left his mouth, over a dozen Poison Ice Spikes shot out from the lake.

"It's a Low-Tier Demonic Beast, the Poison Thorn Frog. Watch out, Martial Brother!" The other, a tall, thin disciple decisively activated the Fire Control Technique. Two pillars of flame erupted from his hands and struck the lake's surface.

The next second, over a dozen basin-sized Poison Thorn Frogs floated belly-up on the water.

"How's Martial Brother Hu?" Having dealt with the Poison Thorn Frogs, the tall, thin disciple asked urgently.

The short, stout disciple shook his head and sighed. "Martial Brother Hu has fallen!"

"What?! How could Martial Brother Hu have been so careless as to be killed by these Low-Tier Demonic Beasts?" The tall, thin disciple was startled. Seeing the wound on the corpse's back, he furrowed his brow.

Then, recalling something, he asked hastily, "By the way, where's Martial Brother Hu's Storage Pouch? Those four Second-Grade Materials we found over the past two days were all on him!"

The short, stout disciple quickly turned Hu Jinxi's corpse over. After a moment, his face turned ashen. "The Storage Pouch is gone. There must have been someone else here just now!"

The tall, thin one reached out and touched the corpse on the ground, gritting his teeth. "The body's still warm. That person couldn't have gotten far!"

As he spoke, a pouch of unknown medicinal powder appeared in the tall, thin disciple's hand. With a flick of his wrist, the powder scattered everywhere.

Then, he formed hand seals. As his true essence surged, the powder roiled and emitted a fluorescent glow, forming a starry ribbon that pointed straight in the direction Su Shi'er had fled.

Under the ribbon's illumination, faint traces of the tips of footprints left by Su Shi'er's Shadowless Illusionary Steps were barely visible.

"Chase him! And notify the other martial brothers nearby to keep an eye out!"

The two exchanged a glance and immediately set off in the direction the footprints led.

As he ran, the short, stout disciple also pulled out a palm-sized compass-shaped artifact.

Pouring true essence into it, he immediately sent a message with his will.