Seven-Person Siege

At the mao hour the next day, the eight people arrived at the training ground, and the open space in the middle had already changed its appearance.

The area originally used for sparring was enclosed by wooden fences into a large circle. Yan Tuo stood at the edge of the field, with eight black wooden tokens placed in a wooden tray by his feet.

Hu Liena glanced at Lu Yuan.

Have you thought of a countermeasure since last night?

Lu Yuan looked at her as well.

Are you guys really planning to gang up on me?

Who told you to be the most troublesome one.

Zhou Qi was limbering up his wrists nearby. Although the others didn't join in, their gazes all landed on Lu Yuan and the Piercing Spear.

Taking this scene in, Yan Tuo didn't say anything, merely handing out the wooden tokens one by one.

"Hang them on your waist. Half a hour. If your token is snatched, you're out. Getting a token scores one point, and the person who lasts until the end gets an extra two points."

Zhou Qi lowered his head and tied the wooden token securely.

"Can we team up?"

"Whatever."

"Then does turning on each other halfway count as a violation?"

Yan Tuo glanced at him.

"Are you here to make friends?"

Someone nearby immediately chuckled.

Zhou Qi wasn't embarrassed at all, turning his head to grin at Lu Yuan.

"Then there's no problem."

Lu Yuan tied his wooden token in place, and the Piercing Spear instantly appeared in his palm. The moment the dark gold edge lines on both sides of the spear tip were exposed, the laughter of several people faded somewhat.

Leaning against the outside of the wooden fence, Wei Cheng offered a reminder. "If you're really forced to close quarters by that pole, just admit defeat. Don't test it with your face."

Zhou Qi turned his head. "You were forced to use your Second Soul Skill yesterday, so now everyone looks dangerous to you."

Wei Cheng was amused. "Try it yourself in a moment."

Yan Tuo raised a hand and pointed toward the field.

"Get in."

The eight people quickly dispersed.

Lu Yuan stood in a position near the left, Hu Liena was diagonally ahead, and Zhou Qi had deliberately circled around to the right. The other five people seemed scattered, but in reality, they had already blocked off just about all the available retreat routes around the perimeter.

Yan Tuo raised his hand.

"Begin."

As soon as the sound fell, Zhou Qi charged up first, and Hu Liena cut in from the left side. The two of them skirted around to Lu Yuan's rear, someone on the right also sealed off the empty space in advance, and the remaining two pressed in from the outer periphery, blocking the last places where he could squeeze out together.

The intention of the seven people couldn't be more obvious—get Lu Yuan out first.

Lu Yuan didn't rush to unleash Piercing Edge. Zhou Qi pressed in the fastest from the front; he first took two steps back, his spear tip forcing away the youth on the right, and used the spear butt to block the hand Hu Liena reached out with, but the two people in the rear had already closed in.

Someone grabbed toward the wooden token at his waist, and Lu Yuan sidestepped to avoid it, yet his shoulder was struck by Zhou Qi, sending his whole body knocked half a step off balance.

Hu Liena immediately followed up.

"Grab his token!"

"I heard you."

A burst of numbness rushed over Lu Yuan's shoulder, but he had no time to care. After stepping back two steps, he suddenly steadied his posture.

A yellow spirit ring lit up.

Piercing Edge!

Zhou Qi thought he was going to rush toward the empty space, stepping across in advance to block the path, yet Lu Yuan didn't head toward the gap at all. After Piercing Edge was triggered, his entire body slammed diagonally into the youth on the far right.

The other party instinctively dodged to the side, this single step happening to block the two people behind. Lu Yuan took advantage of the momentum to retract his spear, the shaft horizontal between several people, and hugged the wooden fence as he cut left. Seeing this, Zhou Qi pursued relentlessly; the people in front hadn't fully cleared out yet, and several individuals instantly squeezed together.

"Zhou Qi!"

"Are you blaming me when you guys are blocking the way yourselves?"

Hu Liena pursued from the other side, just wanting to grab the wooden token on Lu Yuan's waist, but Lu Yuan suddenly closed the distance toward her by a step. There happened to be another youth by her side, and the two reached out simultaneously. Lu Yuan's waist and hips turned, the Piercing Spear sweeping horizontally from the middle, forcing Hu Liena to yield outward.

Failing to grab Lu Yuan, the youth discovered that Hu Liena's wooden token was actually closer, flipping his wrist to grab it. Hu Liena sidestepped to dodge, turning her head to glare at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Who cares which one we take first?"

"Didn't we agree to fight Lu Yuan first just now?"

"You're closer to me right now."

Hu Liena was angry-laughed, turning around to give chase.

The few people who had originally surrounded Lu Yuan finally scattered.

Lu Yuan didn't stop. Taking advantage of Zhou Qi just squeezing out of the crowd, the Piercing Spear had already pressed right before him.

Zhou Qi braced his arms, his waist and hips sinking downward, stubbornly holding his ground against the spear shaft.

"You don't have a fence to use this time."

"I know."

The moment Lu Yuan's voice fell, his right hand suddenly loosened. The spear shaft slid downward following Zhou Qi's force, the spear tail sweeping across hugging the ground. Having suffered from that trick last time, Zhou Qi instinctively lifted his foot to avoid it, and the moment his center of gravity had the slightest shift, Lu Yuan charged straight into his embrace, reaching out to tear the wooden token from his waist.

When Zhou Qi looked down, Lu Yuan had already retreated two steps.

Yan Tuo's voice came from outside the field.

"Zhou Qi, out."

"I haven't fallen yet!"

"Did I say falling counts?"

Zhou Qi opened his mouth, only able to walk outside with a dark face.

Wei Cheng laughed unceremoniously from the side.

"How is it?"

"Shut up."

Once Zhou Qi was out, the remaining few people also grew cautious. Lu Yuan didn't give them a chance to surround him again; whoever stood close to someone else, he deliberately drilled toward the middle, completely dismantling the temporary cooperation before long.

Hu Liena quickly caught up to the youth who had tried to snatch her wooden token just moments ago, claiming a point based on speed. On the other side, someone also made a move amidst the chaos, instead losing their own wooden token.

There were soon only five people left on the field.

Lu Yuan quickly locked onto a youth who had been hiding on the outer periphery all along, his spear tip sealing off the retreat path a step ahead and forcing the youth to move only left—which happened to be right where Hu Liena was.

Hu Liena reached out unceremoniously.

The youth's face turned green. "When did you two team up?"

"Just now," Lu Yuan said.

"We didn't," Hu Liena said simultaneously.

The youth turned and ran, but the two of them blocked him from both left and right. Before he could last long, his wooden token fell into Hu Liena's hands.

"You guys have no credibility!"

Hu Liena tucked the wooden token into her waist. "When did I promise you anything?"

There were only four people left in the field.

Lu Yuan had one wooden token in his hand, Hu Liena had two, and neither of the remaining two had gained much advantage. Seeing that little time remained, those two youths looked at each other and quickly made a decision.

One pounced toward Hu Liena, and the other headed straight for Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan didn't retreat, thrusting the Piercing Spear forward to meet him. The opponent sidestepped to avoid the spear tip, and Lu Yuan took advantage of the opening to twist his waist and turn the spear, the spear tail closely following to sweep toward the opponent's waist and flank.

The yellow spirit ring lit up accordingly.

Piercing Edge!

Relying on the suddenly exploding speed, Lu Yuan closed in to touching distance. The opponent retreated in a rush, but he had already followed up a step, reaching out from beneath the spear shaft to snatch away the wooden token.

Wei Cheng outside the field chuckled. "Another one."

On the other side, Hu Liena forced her opponent to retreat step after step, yet continuously failed to secure the wooden token. The moment that youth relaxed slightly, he discovered Lu Yuan had already circled around from the other side.

"You guys are still coming?"

"Or should we wait for time to run out?" Hu Liena said.

The two of them pressed up front and back, the Piercing Spear first sealing the retreat route while Hu Liena closed in from the front. Just as the youth dodged her hand, Lu Yuan closed in from the side and pulled the wooden token away with a single yank.

There were only two people left in the field.

Lu Yuan had three wooden tokens in his hand, and Hu Liena had two.

Hu Liena lowered her head and glanced at the token on his waist.

"There's still time."

"I know."

Her voice had barely fallen when she lunged forward.

Lu Yuan was well prepared, the Piercing Spear held horizontally before his chest as his spear tip continuously shifted positions to match her movements. The two of them tangled in combat for a while longer, neither managing to claim the other's wooden token.

Yan Tuo's voice finally drifted over from outside the field.

"Time's up."

The two of them stopped at the same time.

The deacon in charge of recording quickly tallied the scores.

Lu Yuan had three wooden tokens, plus the two points for lasting until the end, totaling five points.

Hu Liena had two wooden tokens, plus two points, making four points.

The rest at most had two points.

Scanning the results, Yan Tuo didn't say much, simply taking the wooden token bearing "Lu Yuan" from the very top of the recording board and handing it to the deacon nearby.

"The others continue with the second item this afternoon."

Lu Yuan was just preparing to walk outside when he heard this sentence and paused.

"What about me?"

"You don't need to participate."

Zhou Qi was still rubbing the arm that had been bumped sore, immediately raising his head upon hearing this.

"Why?"

Yan Tuo finally glanced at him.

"Five points in the first item is already enough."

Zhou Qi was unconvinced.

"Then what if I got five points?"

"It would be the same for you."

Lowering his head to look at his empty waist, Zhou Qi immediately fell silent.

Hu Liena chuckled softly from the side.

Yan Tuo looked back at Lu Yuan.

"From now on, mornings will still be here, and afternoons go to the North Combat Zone."

Lu Yuan followed the direction he pointed. Separated by two high walls, dull sounds of impact constantly drifted from the north, occasionally interspersed with a few shouts, evidently someone engaged in combat inside.

"Fighting whom?"

Yan Tuo put away the recording board.

"Starting tomorrow afternoon, your opponents—"

"Will all be at least Two-Ring."