"Play?"

Feng Yuan was left speechless by the words of the Duanjin Academy disciple.

If I had the ability to break this trapping array, I would have escaped long ago. Would I still be fighting for my life here? And what does he mean, ’stop playing around’? Look at me, coughing up blood from these hits! Do I look like I’m playing?

Before Feng Yuan could respond, a barrier rose from beneath the other disciple’s feet, trapping him inside an array as well.

It turned out that after Ye Qingchen had escaped his own confinement, he had used the Ten Thousand Laws Formation Flags to set up various trapping arrays in every direction, determined to give them a taste of their own medicine.

When Feng Yuan saw his junior brother trapped, despair appeared in his eyes for the first time.

It seems Ye Qingchen broke free from the trapping array a long time ago. The only reason he didn’t flee was to bait me.

What infuriated him most was that the Ten Thousand Laws Formation Flags Ye Qingchen was using were the very ones he had obtained from Feng Yuan himself. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Feng Yuan understood that if Ye Qingchen could use the Ten Thousand Laws Formation Flags to set up one trapping array, he could certainly set up many more. For now, it was only him and that dazed junior brother who were trapped. When their other senior brothers arrived, more trapping arrays would surely be waiting for them.

However, this was not the time for Feng Yuan to dwell on it. The two Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets had gone berserk, and due to his constant injuries, he was on the verge of collapse.

Now, Feng Yuan was filled with regret. He regretted not listening to Wang Teng’s advice to lure only one Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civet. If he had, he might have been able to hold out until Wang Teng came to his rescue. But looking at the situation now, it was highly unlikely he could wait for Wang Teng to arrive.

Meanwhile, the other Duanjin Academy disciple, now trapped in his own array, was facing a Spirit Beast at the Peak of the Martial King Realm. He was barely holding his own and had no spare energy to help Feng Yuan.

Completely desperate, Feng Yuan mustered his last bit of strength to shout at Ye Qingchen, "Ye Qingchen, even if you don’t care that we’re both students of the Central Celestial Academy, can’t you spare my life, considering we both came from Northern Barrier City?"

Feng Yuan’s plea for mercy caught Zi Xing by surprise. It was hard to reconcile his previous swaggering demeanor with his current state of begging for his life.

Zi Xing looked at Ye Qingchen and began, "Junior Brother Ye, we are all disciples of the Central Celestial Academy. Do you think we should...?"

Ye Qingchen smiled and shook his head. "Senior Sister Zi Xing, you’re still too kind. If we hadn’t broken the trapping array and were the ones trapped inside, do you think they would have spared us? I would be dead for sure, and you... you might have been humiliated by them. Thinking about it now, do you still want to let them go?"

Zi Xing’s expression hardened. It was true. These people had intended to lure Spirit Beasts to deal with her and Ye Qingchen. They were simply reaping what they sowed; they had no one to blame but themselves. She recalled Feng Yuan’s disrespectful words at the altar and Wang Teng’s lecherous gaze. She understood that if she had been the one trapped, these people were capable of anything.

Moreover, her clan elders had repeatedly warned her: mercy to an enemy is cruelty to oneself.

Zi Xing was not a sentimental person. Having figured it all out, she nodded decisively and said to Ye Qingchen, "You’re right, Junior Brother Ye. These people have malicious hearts. They have only themselves to blame for being trapped in these arrays."

Ye Qingchen smiled and patted her on the shoulder before shouting to Feng Yuan inside the array, "Feng Yuan, I’ve spared you many times, but you’ve repeatedly tried to kill me. If I’m not mistaken, you lured these two Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets here for me, didn’t you? Do you really think begging for mercy will work now?"

Feng Yuan fell into utter despair. The attacks from the two Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets grew more ferocious, and he could only struggle to survive, hoping for a miracle.

On the other side, the other Duanjin Academy disciple was also locked in a fierce battle with a Spirit Beast. In the end, at the cost of being grievously wounded himself, he managed to severely injure the beast. But with his own injuries, he had no strength left to counter its next attack.

Ye Qingchen patted Zi Xing on the shoulder again, pointing at the trapping array. "Senior Sister Zi Xing, free points for the taking. We shouldn’t let them go to waste."

Zi Xing smiled and nodded, walking toward the severely injured Spirit Beast. Ye Qingchen opened the trapping array to let her in. She easily killed the beast and was then teleported back out by him.

Inside the trapping array, only the near-death Duanjin Academy disciple remained, staring blankly at Zi Xing.

This is exactly what I was trying to do! How did I end up in their position, the one getting his points stolen? This feeling... It’s so frustrating, so infuriating!

Fortunately for the disciple, his life had at least been spared.

Feng Yuan, however, was not so lucky. Besieged by the two Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets, he was already on his last breath. Since he had not managed to injure the beasts, Ye Qingchen did not bother stepping in to claim any points.

Eventually, Feng Yuan’s strength gave out within the trapping array. Unable to dodge, he met a bitter end as the Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets tore his body apart.

Before he died, his mind reeled. If only I hadn’t been so greedy... If I’d only lured one Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civet, would this still have happened? Father always warned me not to cross Ye Qingchen, but I never took it seriously. I can’t believe he was right. I’m dying because of Ye Qingchen... If I had never provoked him, I wouldn’t be losing my life!

But in this world, there are no "if onlys." This was all due to Feng Yuan’s own greed.

After Feng Yuan’s death, the two Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets were left inside the trapping array, slowly recovering their energy. Ye Qingchen was in no hurry to finish them off.

At that moment, the other Duanjin Academy disciples began to arrive one after another, each luring one or two Spirit Beasts behind them. When they saw their dying companion, they all froze in shock for a moment. That was all the time Ye Qingchen needed to trap each of them in their own arrays, forcing them to fight the Spirit Beasts they had led there.

Ye Qingchen and Zi Xing sat back leisurely, waiting. They watched as the Duanjin Academy disciples wounded the Spirit Beasts, and just when both sides were on the verge of collapse, they would step in and claim the points.

With the points from the Boulder Demon Apes they had hunted earlier, they now had enough to qualify for promotion to Inner Sect Disciples. But recalling how these people had tried to steal from them, Ye Qingchen felt it was only right to take back what was his.

Still, it was only because of their intervention that these Duanjin Academy disciples did not die at the claws of the Spirit Beasts.

Finally, just as Ye Qingchen and Zi Xing finished dealing with all the Spirit Beasts, Wang Teng came running over, luring several more behind him.

Wang Teng was extremely confident in his strength. He had made his way through several Spirit Beast territories to attract a full six beasts, all at the Peak of the Martial King Realm.

As he ran, luring the beasts, he thought to himself, Hmph! This time, not only will I profit from their conflict and get the points, but I’ll also have these six Spirit Beasts kill Ye Qingchen and snatch Zi Xing for myself!

But when he saw the scene before him, Wang Teng was struck dumb.