Noticing Mei Yue'er's suspicious glare, Feng Luotian elaborated further, his voice taking on a smooth, persuasive edge. "And let's not forget, Yue'er, we can't have someone like Mei Hongli—a cheater—taking the top rank. If the first place goes to the city's greatest genius, our sworn brother Ying Lizhua, why should we mind? Besides, we can't defeat the Talon clone without his help."
He shot a sharp, meaningful look at Sun Wuji, silently demanding that his friend back up the story.
"O-O-Oh, that's right!" Wuji stammered, his heart racing as he tried to match the lie. "If that's the case, then we should hurry there right away!"
"First, let me join your party." Luotian raised his hand, offering his Theríon to link with theirs.
Wuji didn't hesitate and instantly accepted the connection, pulling Luotian into their party. But as their energies merged, Luotian's brow furrowed. A heavy stream of information suddenly flooded his mind, making his eyes narrow in concentration.
"Hmm?" Luotian murmured. He felt a strange pulling sensation in his mind as the CRONOS system processed the new data from the link.
///// Introducing new feature [Party List]: Gain info of teammates in the party.
///// Party Member 1 : Mei Yue'er
///// Eight Fangs Thousand Illusion Aurora Peacock
///// [Illusion Clone] Level 8 : Create an illusion clone at the cost of Theríon. Higher-level clones cost more Theríon, with clones equal to the user's level requiring maximum Theríon capacity. The clone's overall stats are boosted by 16%.
///// Party Member 2 : Sun Wuji
///// Seven Fangs Blitz Stone Titan Monkey
///// [Stone Transformation] Level 7 : Transform the body into stone, boosting attack and defense while reducing speed. Reduce speed for X% to increase attack and defense by 3.5X%.
Luotian read through the detailed information, fascinated by what the new feature revealed.
While his Bloodline Sensing already gave him a rough idea of what others could do, forming a party revealed the exact numeric values and the hidden formulas behind their powers.
It was a level of insight that even Yue'er and Wuji likely didn't possess themselves. For instance, despite living with Yue'er for centuries in his past life, he had never known the exact percentage of how her clones grew stronger—only that they became more formidable as she rose in rank.
Noticing his sudden silence and the way his gaze seemed to fix on nothing, Yue'er and Wuji stepped closer, their faces tight with concern. "What's wrong?" they asked at the same time.
Snapping out of the data stream, Luotian replied, "Nothing. After linking Theríon, I can sense full information from both of your bloodlines and your abilities."
"Blah! More nonsense!" Wuji waved a hand dismissively, his face twisting in disbelief. "Even the most expensive appraisal items in the city can't do that."
"It's the truth." Luotian spread his hands as if to show he had nothing to hide.
Wuji rolled his eyes, his impatience boiling over. "Whatever. Are you done daydreaming? We don't have much time left before the sun sets on this exam."
"Alright, let's go. I'll lead us to the strongest clone."
Before they could take a single step, Wuji suddenly stopped. "Why didn't you tell us what you were doing from the start? We could've worked together and earned points ten times faster."
"I had to take care of Mei Hongli first," Luotian said, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather.
Yue'er's eyes widened, and her breath hitched in her throat. "So, you've already become this strong…" She knew that Mei Hongli might have been lazy, but he was still a Seven Fangs Fighter. For Luotian to defeat him without a single scratch on his robes proved he was no longer the weakling she had spent years protecting.
Wuji, equally stunned, felt a jolt of shock go through him. "You sent him out? That explains why his score hasn't moved an inch on the board."
Luotian nodded firmly. "With the way he was cheating, we wouldn't be able to catch up, even if we defeated the strongest clone."
"Couldn't you have just told us the plan?" Wuji jabbed, feeling a bit left out of the glory.
Luotian grinned, his eyes flashing with mischief. "It's much cooler and more dramatic this way."
Both Yue'er and Wuji rolled their eyes at his response, though the tension in their shoulders eased.
"Come on, let's go!" Luotian said, dashing ahead with a smile. Though he brushed it off as theatrics to annoy them, the truth sat heavy in his heart. He didn't want them wasting their time dealing with Mei Hongli's dirty tricks or risking their safety in a grudge match. He was more than happy to shoulder that burden alone.
* * *
Feng Luotian's party reached the vast plateau in the northern area with roughly fifteen minutes remaining in the exam. Their bodies felt heavy but ready; they had intentionally avoided using any speed-boosting skills during the trek, choosing to conserve every drop of their Theríon for the final clash. This careful pacing had cost them ten minutes of travel, but it ensured their reserves were full.
As they crested the final ridge, it became immediately clear that they weren't the only ones with eyes on the ultimate prize. To the south of the plateau, several figures crouched in the shadows of ancient, crumbling walls and shattered buildings, watching the center and monitoring the situation, ready to join in should the chance arise.
A massive, desperate struggle was already in motion. A fifty-person party, led by He Chen, the third young master of the He Clan, was locked in a brutal battle with the strongest clone in the site.
This group had formed with a single, desperate goal: to bypass the slow grind of the exam by taking down the five-thousand-point target. They had marched to the north as a small army, using their sheer numbers to crush any low-level clones in their path. Because they shared every kill, their individual scores were tiny, leaving the entire group sitting at a lowly 25th rank on the scoreboard.
However, their power was spread too thin. Most were only Two Fangs to Four Fangs Fighters, with He Chen being the only notable force at the Six Fangs level. Against a normal opponent, fifty men would be a mountain; against this clone, they were merely dust.
The battle had been raging for half an hour, and the party was at its breaking point. They had thrown every ability and skill they possessed at the clone, trying to pin it down or find a weak spot.
Yet, their efforts hadn't even scratched its surface. The clone stood in the center of the plateau like an immovable god, its defense so thick it seemed to swallow their attacks whole. Now, with their Theríon reserves nearly dry and their spirits breaking, the group was drowning in despair.
It was into this atmosphere of failure that Luotian's party stepped.
Right after Luotian noticed the clone's aura, a wry, cold smile pulled at his lips, and a few dry chuckles escaped his throat. "Hehe. And I thought I'd prepared myself for the worst… The Second Elder is even more heartless than I imagined."
Wuji let out a long, shaky sigh, his grip tightening on his weapon until his knuckles turned white. "A Three Talons clone. How could we ever beat something like that? And how could those people down there even think they had a chance? Do they not understand the Suppressive Principle?"
The Suppressive Principle gave higher-ranked cultivators a crushing advantage over those below them. The students facing this clone were about to experience just how much that gap mattered.
"They're likely blinded by their desperation to pass the exam," Yue'er said, her voice tight with pity. She watched the fear in the exhausted students' eyes as they realized they had gambled everything on a fight they could never win.
Luotian nodded, his gaze returning to the looming monster. "True. Still, their courage is commendable. To face a Three Talons with only Four to Six Fangs... that takes a special kind of madness."
The Suppressive Principle dampened the force of every strike, skill, and ability used against a higher-level opponent. The wider the gap in cultivation, the greater the reduction. Against a sufficiently powerful foe, sheer numbers meant little if none of the attackers could deal meaningful damage.
Against a Five Fangs Fighter, a Three Fangs Fighter would find their damage halved. If they dared to strike a Six Fangs Fighter, their power would wither to a mere third of its original strength. In this desperate struggle, the gap was an ocean. He Chen, the strongest of the fifty-man party, was only at Six Fangs. His opponent was a Three Talons clone—a staggering difference of seven levels.
At this level of disparity, the natural defense of a Three Talons acted like solid diamond. Normal attacks were entirely negated, bouncing off the clone's skin without leaving a scratch.
Only skills with massive multipliers had any hope of piercing that shell, but even those would be gutted by the Suppressive Principle. If this were a real flesh-and-blood cultivator capable of healing, the fifty men could have fought for a thousand years without ever ending the battle.
The party was gasping for air, their Theríon reserves nearly bone-dry. The crowd watched with bated breath, knowing that once the party's disabling skills wore off, the clone would turn the plateau into a graveyard.
Suddenly, He Chen's voice ripped through the air, thick with a final, desperate resolve. "Anyone not focused on disabling the clone—if you have skills to increase attack, use them on me! Afterward, pour all your remaining Theríon into me. I'll deliver the finishing strike with everything we've got!"
The party moved with the frantic speed of the condemned. They followed their leader without a second of hesitation.
Under the weight of dozens of attack buffs, He Chen's muscles surged as his strength multiplied tenfold. As his teammates funneled their last drops of energy into his body, a brilliant silver light exploded from his skin.
With his bloodline ability, He Chen converted the sea of borrowed energy into pure, raw offensive power. The silver aura pulsed with a blinding intensity that made the surrounding air hiss.
Unsheathing his rapier, He Chen leveled it at the clone's heart. He focused for a heartbeat as the silver light condensed around the metal blade, making it glow like a fallen star. Then, with a roar that shook the plateau, he lunged.
"With this, it'll be defeated in a single strike! Divine Rapier!!"
The silver light flared into a supernova. He Chen charged, his figure a blur of metallic radiance, aiming for the absolute center of the clone's chest in a gamble that carried the hopes of fifty people.
"Wow! That attack looks insanely powerful. I think it could take me out in one blow," Wuji exclaimed. His eyes were wide with respect for the display of power.
"Unfortunately, it's still far from enough," Luotian commented. His voice was calm, almost cold, as he assessed the force behind the attack.
Yue'er remained silent, her fingers digging into the hilt of her sword as she watched the silver streak collide with the clone.
"Die!!" He Chen screamed.
The rapier struck. A sickening, metallic ring echoed across the stones, confirming a direct hit. But as the silver light faded, the cheers died in the throats of the onlookers. The clone did not shatter. It did not dissolve into aurora light.
Aside from a tiny, shallow crack where the rapier had landed, the clone was unharmed. It stood as tall and imposing as a mountain peak, its presence crushing the spirit of everyone present.
"It can't be!" He Chen's face drained of color, turning a sickly, ghostly pale.
Behind him, fifty men slumped their shoulders. Their hope, built on the last of their energy and will, evaporated into the wind, leaving them empty and defenseless.
The restraints that had held the Three Talons clone finally shattered as the last drops of Theríon drained from the exhausted party members. Without the weight of the disabling skills pinning it down, the clone snapped into motion. It raised a single hand, the air around its fingers humming with a violent energy, and unleashed Aurora Slash in one sweeping, fluid motion.
The attack tore through the air like a thunderclap, the sound vibrating deep within the chests of everyone nearby.
The force of the blow was nothing short of catastrophic. A wide arc of shimmering light cut across the plateau, instantly slamming into the fifty-man party. One by one, their bodies flickered and vanished as the exam's protective arrays triggered, ejecting them from the site before the blow could turn fatal. In a single heartbeat, the small army was erased, leaving only He Chen behind. Though he hadn't been ejected yet, his body was battered and broken, his robes stained red as he slumped against a shattered wall, barely able to keep his eyes open.
After delivering the soul-crushing strike, the clone simply returned to its motionless stance. It stood in the center of the plateau, cold and indifferent, its power feeling as heavy and unyielding as the earth itself.
Dread settled over the hidden spectators. The silence after the attack was more frightening than the battle itself: even that final effort had barely scratched the clone. The Second Elder had given them a test that seemed impossible to overcome.