Ying Lizhua pondered the offer for a few seconds before giving a stiff nod. "Fine."
Though he was still reluctant to join forces with Feng Luotian—whom he still viewed as a weakling because he couldn't feel a single drop of power from him—the mention of "us" caught his attention. Luotian's words meant that Mei Yue'er and Sun Wuji would also be joining the group. Knowing their high level of talent, Lizhua figured that teaming up with them would give him the best shot at winning.
"Do you even know where it is?" Lizhua asked, his voice full of doubt. He figured if Luotian was making such a big claim, he had to have a plan.
"It's at the center of a wide plateau in the northern area. You can't miss it," Luotian replied. "We have to move fast because time is running out, but I have to reach Yue'er and Wuji in the eastern area first."
Lizhua sneered, his lip curling. "Heh, you're planning to run to the eastern area by yourself? On foot? Even if you're good at dodging clones, the exam will be over before you even get halfway there."
"That's why I'm asking for a favor," Luotian said, a knowing smile spreading across his face.
"What favor?" Lizhua asked, his brow furrowing.
"I remember you have a Rare-level supportive skill, Eagle Flight. It boosts speed and attack power, and not just for you—it can buff others too. I want you to use Eagle Flight on me," Luotian requested.
Lizhua scoffed loudly. "Why would I waste a massive chunk of my Theríon on a cripple like you? Using a high-level skill on you won't change a thing. You'll just be a fast cripple."
"Yes, it will," Luotian replied with total confidence. Suddenly, he planted his feet, and his aura exploded. A swirling storm of purple flames and golden lightning roared into existence around him, making the ground beneath him shake.
"Six Fangs?!" Lizhua's eyes nearly popped out of his head. The raw, heavy energy pressing against him was undeniable. The mystery of the 150 points was solved in an instant. Somewhere deep inside, a spark of excitement lit up. As expected from the man I respect, he thought.
"I don't know if you've been hiding your power all this time to fool us or if you found some miracle in the woods. Either way, it's good to have you back, Brother," Lizhua said, his voice briefly losing its mocking edge. "But don't think I'll go back and hang around with your group. I have my own way of keeping my oaths!"
Lizhua spoke as bluntly as ever. Even with Luotian's strength plain before him, he made no attempt to soften his words or make their reunion any less awkward.
"I know. Thank you for taking care of me all this time," Luotian said with a deep, meaningful smile.
"…" Lizhua looked away, visibly uncomfortable with the thanks.
"I know why you used to bully me with those mean words and tried to push Yue'er and Wuji away," Luotian continued. "You thought I would grow faster if I was alone and had to fight for everything. You wanted me to break through in a harsh and cruel environment. So, thank you."
"Hmph!" Lizhua turned his back completely. "What trash are you talking about? You were useless, so you deserved to be treated like garbage. That's all! I'm going to the north now. But if that clone is only a One Talon monster, I'm taking it down myself!"
With those words, Lizhua activated Eagle Flight. A glowing aura of energy wrapped around Luotian, making him feel light and powerful. Without another word, Lizhua took off like a shot, heading straight for the northern plateau.
As Lizhua vanished into the trees, Luotian let out a quiet laugh. "What a troublesome guy," he said with a smile. Then, with the buff boosting his every move, he dashed off toward the east with a new, incredible speed.
With the power of Lizhua's supportive skill active, Luotian felt his entire body wrapped in a faint, swirling white wind. It felt as light as a feather yet as strong as a gale.
///// [Positive Buff | Eagle Flight] Level 5: Covers the target's body with fierce wind for 10 minutes, providing +100% Attack and varying Speed bonuses: +200% with the wind, +100% in calm air, and +50% against the wind.
"Oh? When buffed by others, I can directly sense the skill's details?" Luotian thought. A surge of excitement bubbled up within him as yet another hidden feature of CRONOS showed itself. This was a massive advantage in any battle.
As he looked over the skill details, Luotian's shock only grew. "Rare skill Level 5?! I thought I was the only training maniac around."
Raising a Rare skill to Level 5 was no small task. It required a mountain of skill proficiencies—double what it took to push a Legendary skill from Level 1 to Level 3. While Luotian had done similar things in a single month using his knowledge of monster cores' benefits and CRONOS's Instant Refinement, Lizhua had no such cheat. He had earned every proficiency with sweat and blood.
On top of that, Eagle Flight ate up far more Theríon than even Luotian's Pinnacle Flash Lightning. This meant earning a single proficiency point was incredibly difficult. Did Lizhua really activate this skill every single time his energy recovered? Did he even take the time to sleep?
"Who in their right mind would train like that?" Luotian muttered to himself. He shook his head in a mix of amusement and disbelief, yet he couldn't help but feel a deep respect for Lizhua's iron will.
"Anyway," he continued, his eyes snapping toward his destination. "With this Eagle Flight, I can reach Yue'er and Wuji while picking up points along the way. And with the wind blowing east, I'll get there even faster than I planned."
With a sharp whoosh that cracked like a whip, Luotian vanished. He moved so fast he left behind nothing but streaks of white wind and the faint sound of a whistle.
With the buff doubling his attack power, Luotian could destroy any clone at Seven Fangs or below with a single strike, without slowing down. Within five minutes, his score reached 400. His name rose from 10th to 5th Rank, directly beneath Yue'er and Wuji, leaving the spectators staring at the board in disbelief.
* * *
"What?!" Sun Wuji, who had been staring at the sky-bound scoreboard while racing against time to overtake Mei Hongli, nearly tripped over his own feet. He gasped as the reality of the changing numbers hit him.
"What's wrong, Wuji?" Mei Yue'er asked, her voice calm. Since finding out Luotian had secured enough points to pass, the heavy weight on her shoulders had lifted. She hadn't bothered to look up at the scores again.
"Sister Mei, look!" Wuji pointed a shaking finger at the glowing display in the clouds. "That guy... he can actually score on his own! He's not leeching at all!"
"Who?" Yue'er tilted her head before finally raising her gaze. When she saw Luotian's name surging upward directly beneath theirs—climbing with terrifying speed—she froze. Her heart skipped a beat, and the forest around her seemed to go silent.
"!!"
Yue'er could scarcely believe what she was seeing. After all the years she had spent worrying about Luotian, his performance seemed nothing short of a miracle.
No one truly knew how long she had prayed for this—for the day her sworn brother would stop being the target of the city's pity and finally stand tall. Warm tears began to track down her cheeks, unbidden and unchecked. A massive flood of joy, relief, and pride crashed over her heart, making her knees feel weak. She stood motionless, her mind lost in a haze of emotion, completely unaware that she was still in a dangerous combat zone.
But the forest had no mercy for her tears.
A Seven Fangs clone suddenly burst from a thick bush, its eyes glowing with cold energy as it lunged for her. Its sharp claw gleamed in the light, aimed directly at her throat.
"Sister Mei, watch out!!" Wuji screamed, his voice cracking with panic. He was too far away; his feet could not bridge the gap fast enough to intercept the strike. All he could do was hope his desperate shout would break her trance.
Yet Yue'er remained like a statue, oblivious to the death rushing toward her.
The clone's claw was inches from her skin when a golden blur streaked through the air.
With a heavy, devastating kick to the clone's stomach, a figure sent it flying backward. The force was so great the clone crashed through three thick trees, snapping them like twigs, before it dissolved into a cloud of aurora light.
"Yue'er, you should be more aware of your surroundings," a familiar voice said, sounding both calm and stern.
"Luotian!!" Yue'er cried out. The trance finally broke, and she turned toward him, her face still wet with tears.
Luotian stood before her, purple flames and golden lightning crackling around him. The white winds of Eagle Flight swirled around his limbs. He stepped closer, his brow furrowed with concern. "Are you okay? Why are you crying?"
"I'm okay!! And I'm not crying!!" Yue'er snapped, though her voice wobbled. She hastily turned her back to him, scrubbing her eyes with her sleeves in a frantic attempt to find her dignity.
"Wow, wow, wow!! Six Fangs, huh?!" Wuji roared, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he felt the raw pressure coming off Luotian. His shock vanished, replaced by a wild, mischievous excitement. He rushed over and began hitting Luotian's shoulder with enthusiastic smacks. "You've been keeping big secrets from us, haven't you, Brother Feng? A Six Fangs Fighter! You sneaky guy!"
"Six Fangs?!" Yue'er froze mid-motion, her embarrassment forgotten as quickly as it had arrived. She snapped her head back toward Luotian, her eyes wide and searching. In her emotional haze, she hadn't truly processed the pressure of his aura until Wuji's shout made it impossible to ignore. Now that she was looking, the raw power radiating from him left her breathless.
Confirming the strength of a Six Fangs Fighter with her own senses, Yue'er let out a sharp gasp. "Y-You're really at Six Fangs. How can that be? How did you do it? Did you have a fortunate encounter outside the city? Who did you meet this past month? Can he be trusted? Are you really—"
"Save it for later. We don't have much time to take the first rank and knock that cheater down," Luotian interrupted. He raised both hands like a shield, cutting off her frantic stream of questions before she could spiral into a full interrogation.
"What's with you guys? Why are you so anxious to take first place?" Yue'er asked, her brow furrowing in confusion. To her, Luotian's miraculous recovery and the mysterious things that might have happened to him in the wild were ten times more important than some school ranking.
Wuji glanced at Luotian nervously, his heart skipping a beat. The ball was now in his brother's court. He worried that Luotian might accidentally spill the truth about the bet or stumble over a lie, but his brother's quick wit was as sharp as ever.
Spreading his hands in a casual shrug, Luotian replied, "It's about pride, Yue'er. We can't let a guy like that look down on us from the top of the board. It's a man's thing—maybe a bit difficult for you to understand."
Wuji let out a long, silent breath of relief and jumped in to support the story. "That's right! I told you exactly the same thing, Sister Mei!"
Yue'er gave them both a long, hard look. Her silence was heavy with skepticism, her eyes darting between the two of them as if she were trying to sniff out a conspiracy.
Without giving her a second to dig deeper, Luotian smoothly steered the conversation away. "If we keep hunting normal clones, we won't reach the top before the clock runs out. The only way is to take down the strongest clone—the one worth five thousand points. I've already spoken to Ying Lizhua. He's agreed to form a party and is waiting for us in the northern area where the clone is hidden."
"You invited Ying Lizhua to join us?!" Wuji blurted out, his excitement momentarily turning into shock. "But won't that just mean he takes first place after we defeat the clone?"
"As long as Mei Hongli doesn't get the top spot, that's all that matters, right?" Luotian shrugged, his expression unreadable. The bet isn't about me taking first place. It's about stopping the cheater from winning.
"Uh… that's true," Wuji muttered, nodding reluctantly as he followed the logic.