Chapter 241 - 240: Isn’t it Strange?

"Huh?"

After hearing what Tang Yi said, Bai Ye froze, completely baffled by his words.

Seeing that Bai Ye didn’t understand, Tang Yi snorted and said, "What I mean is, you’ve lost your confidence. Are you afraid of me now? Or do you think you’ll never reach my level in your entire life? Do you think I’m nobler than you? Where’s that old aura of yours? Where’s your old pride and confidence? It seems to me you’re regressing, becoming more and more pathetic."

"Huh?"

Hearing this, Bai Ye was even more confused. ’Am I really like that?’ he wondered.

’Or is Tang Yi just trying to humiliate me?’

At this thought, Bai Ye said to Tang Yi, "Tang Yi, what are you trying to say? Are you looking down on me?"

"Look down on you? The way you are now, do you have anything worthy of my respect? Heh," Tang Yi scoffed.

"I..."

Bai Ye wanted to say something but trailed off.

’That’s right, what reason did he have for Tang Yi to respect him?’

’Who was Tang Yi?’

’He was someone who could instantly kill Battle King Powerhouses and defeat Battle Emperor Level experts.’

’In front of Tang Yi, that Level 5 Demon Beast from just now was as weak as an ant.’

’Who could possibly earn the respect of a person like that?’

’And who was he?’

’Just an ordinary Battle Spirit Warrior, a candidate who hadn’t even passed the House Entrance Examination.’

’With his level of strength, Tang Yi could kill dozens of people like him with a single finger.’

"Yes, I admit I have nothing that would make you respect me."

Bai Ye had no choice but to admit it.

"So you’re just going to keep on like this? Do you still not understand what I’m saying?" Tang Yi said, displeased.

Tang Yi had made himself so clear that even the other candidates from the North District understood, but Bai Ye, being the one in the middle of it, just couldn’t grasp the meaning.

At this moment, one of the North District candidates also spoke up. "Brother Bai, you weren’t like this before. Now you’ve become less and less confident, more and more indecisive."

"The Brother Bai I knew was incredibly dominant and proud. You could feel his arrogance from a distance. But the Brother Bai now... I feel like I don’t even know him," another candidate said.

"Brother Bai, you’ve changed. You’re not the same as you were before," a North District candidate sighed and said softly.

"Huh?"

Seeing that it wasn’t just Tang Yi saying it, but the other North District candidates as well, Bai Ye felt utterly lost.

’Me...’

’Have I really changed?’

’How have I changed?’

’I don’t see it.’

"Think about it yourself," Tang Yi said. He then picked up the Golden-winged Black Wind Beast’s Demon Beast Crystal and started walking away.

"Brother Yi, where are you going?" a candidate asked.

"Remember, I’m part of the North District too. Now that I’ve seen our candidates getting bullied, how could I possibly do nothing? If you want to see some payback, then follow me," Tang Yi replied coolly without turning his head.

"Payback? Against the candidates from the other three districts?"

Hearing this, the North District candidates’ eyes lit up, and they quickly fell in behind Tang Yi.

"Brother Bai, hurry up and follow!"

Seeing Bai Ye still in a daze, one of the North District candidates called out.

"Oh, right."

At that, Bai Ye also followed.

But in his mind, Bai Ye was still mulling over Tang Yi’s words.

He thought: ’Me? Have I really changed? How?’

...

Miao Yuan, Yui Mu, and Jiang Kangcheng led the candidates from the three districts. The group of over twenty people fled three or four thousand meters without looking back, finally stopping to rest by a small river when they saw the Golden-winged Black Wind Beast hadn’t followed.

Everyone put down their weapons and began to rest—some sat, some lay down, some leaned against the large trees.

"Damn it, what rotten luck. We came into the Little Extreme Sacred Land, got nothing done, and almost died," Jiang Kangcheng cursed.

"Give me a break. You got off easy. Look at us from the East District—four of our candidates are dead, and I’m injured," Miao Yuan said irritably.

"Several people from our South District died too, you know! This is all Yui Mu’s fault. If he hadn’t led us to challenge that Level 5 Demon Beast, we wouldn’t have suffered such heavy losses or gotten injured!" Jiang Kangcheng shot a glare at Yui Mu, blaming him.

"My fault? How is it my fault? If you all hadn’t been so obsessed, would you have agreed to my proposal? Besides, how was I supposed to know this Level 5 Demon Beast would be so tough?"

Yui Mu sneered and said, "And another thing—if we’d succeeded in challenging a Level 5 Demon Beast, you would have gotten a huge reward. We failed and only a few people died. What’s the big deal? Compared to the North District getting completely wiped out, we’re extremely lucky."

"Speaking of which, was it right for us to treat the North District candidates like that? Under the attack of a Level 5 Demon Beast, even if they don’t die, they’ll have to crush their Help Stones and lose their qualification for the House Entrance Examination," Miao Yuan said with some hesitation.

"Heh."

Hearing this, Yui Mu snorted coldly and said, "Why didn’t you say that when we were proposing to use the North District candidates as bait? Feeling sorry for them now? You should know, you’re also part of the reason the North District candidates ended up this way."

"What’s there to feel sorry for? Haven’t the candidates from our three districts done this every year? Besides, what right does a barren place like the North District have to enter the West Mansion? They deserve to lose their qualification. They deserve to die!" Jiang Kangcheng said callously.

Hearing what Yui Mu and Jiang Kangcheng said, Miao Yuan immediately fell silent.

No one who could stand out in the cities of the East District and make it to the West Mansion for the House Entrance Examination was a saint.

Miao Yuan was certainly no exception.

To get this far, he had crippled countless people and stepped over who knows how many bodies.

Just now, Miao Yuan wasn’t actually feeling sorry for the North District candidates. He just felt it was a bit of a shame that because of their abandonment, their decision, several young talents had lost their chance.

「A few minutes later.」

"Hm? Does anyone else find this strange? It seems like there are no more sounds from over there! A moment ago, I could still hear the Level 5 Demon Beast and the sounds of the North District candidates fighting for their lives, but now it’s completely quiet," Miao Yuan suddenly said in confusion.

"No sound? Is that so strange? The North District candidates either crushed their Help Stones or died at the hands of the Level 5 Demon Beast. Once the Demon Beast lost its targets, of course it would quiet down," Jiang Kangcheng said, unconcerned.

"No, what I mean is, if the North District candidates were killed by the Level 5 Demon Beast, we didn’t hear any of their screams. And if they crushed their Help Stones and were rescued, the Level 5 Demon Beast would have definitely let out an angry roar after losing its targets. But after the initial sounds, there were no screams, no roars, nothing. Don’t you find that strange?" Miao Yuan explained and asked.

"Hm? Now that you mention it, it is a bit strange," Yui Mu said after a moment’s thought.

Just then, a candidate seemed to have discovered something and pointed towards the distant woods, saying, "Look! What’s that?"

"Hm?"

Everyone looked in the direction the candidate was pointing.