At the sight of this, the other trial children standing behind him all wore grave expressions.
Along the way, they had already seen far too many scenes like this.
This youth named Zhou Baitai, from the Nangong Clan's territory, had gathered together all the youngsters participating in the Technique Academy selection within this region shortly after the trial began.
Under Zhou Baitai's lead, apart from a very few unlucky children, most of the rest had successfully passed through that dense fog region without ever being threatened by the strange beasts within.
At that time, the children had still felt grateful toward him.
But once the group reached the puppet region, the difficulty of climbing rose in a straight line. Zhou Baitai gradually shed his previous disguise, revealing his cold and indifferent true face.
With his strength, he would not have been at a disadvantage even against large puppets. However, Zhou Baitai's goal was to reach the summit of Clear Sky Peak, so he did not wish to waste his strength in a place like this.
If he encountered a puppet siege and suffered any injuries, the losses would outweigh the gains.
Thus, after exchanging blows with the puppets and gauging their combat strength, Zhou Baitai began using the other children as bait and cannon fodder to clear the way.
When he encountered opponents that were easy to deal with, he sent them forward to fight for their lives and draw the puppets' attention, then launched a sneak attack himself.
When he encountered troublesome, powerful enemies, he directly threw them out as bait and took the opportunity to detour around them.
When they emerged from the dense fog region, the group had still numbered twenty-two.
Now, only five remained. Moreover, aside from Zhou Baitai, every one of them bore injuries of