Wang Teng never imagined that the subordinates he had brought with him would all be lying on the ground, on the verge of death. They had agreed that each person would go off to lure Spirit Beasts, but now, the ground was littered with their corpses. Beyond that, only two Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets were still thrashing about inside a trap Formation, with no sign of Feng Yuan. From the blood-stained mouths of the civets, however, one could vaguely make out scraps of Feng Yuan’s clothing.

In his brief moment of shock, Wang Teng was startled to find several bizarre beams of light rising around him, obstructing his path. The six Spirit Beasts he had lured, seeing him stop, pounced toward him in unison. These Spirit Beasts were all seething with pent-up anger. After being led on such a long chase, they had finally caught up to Wang Teng and had no intention of letting him off lightly. Although Spirit Beasts occasionally fought amongst themselves, they would spontaneously band together to present a united front when facing humans. Thanks to their considerable intelligence, Wang Teng was forced completely onto the defensive from the very start.

Only then did Wang Teng realize just how immense the gap in strength was between himself and Ye Qingchen. Back then, Ye Qingchen had faced a dozen Boulder Demon Apes alone, yet he had managed to slaughter every last one of them. Although Zi Xing had been assisting at his side, any discerning observer could see the truth. Zi Xing was only focused on protecting himself and had provided almost no meaningful help to Ye Qingchen.

Now, facing a mere six Spirit Beasts at the Peak of Martial King Realm, Wang Teng already felt overwhelmed. This was just the beginning of the fight; the beasts’ attacks were not yet perfectly coordinated. As time wore on, their intelligence would surely allow them to develop more seamless teamwork. When that happened, the pressure on Wang Teng would at least double.

Anxiety grew in Wang Teng’s heart. He was bound by the surrounding trap Formation, and its rank was clearly not low. It remained completely unshaken by the aftershocks from the battle between several peak Martial King Realm entities. Wang Teng understood that even if he attacked the trap Formation with all his might, it would likely take a quarter of an hour to create even a small opening. But these savage Spirit Beasts would certainly not grant him that much time.

Left with no other choice, Wang Teng had to resort to his family’s life-saving Secret Technique. By burning his own life force as fuel, he forcibly elevated his strength, which was only then barely enough to fight these Spirit Beasts to a standstill.

Meanwhile, Ye Qingchen and Zi Xing sat beside the trap Formation, watching the battle. They casually critiqued the fight and exchanged their own combat experiences. In Wang Teng’s eyes, however, this was just Ye Qingchen and Zi Xing flirting. The memory of Zi Xing’s contemptuous attitude toward him, now contrasted with his intimacy with Ye Qingchen, stung deeply. Trapped within the trap Formation, Wang Teng was forced to play the clown, fighting Spirit Beasts for their amusement and becoming the subject of their idle chatter. This incensed him to no end.

Wang Teng had always considered himself careful and cautious, but he never expected to be so thoroughly outwitted by Ye Qingchen today. This was due to his severe underestimation of Ye Qingchen’s combat strength, coupled with his overconfidence in the trap Formation laid out by Feng Yuan. But Wang Teng could hardly be blamed. Who could have imagined it? A fourth-level Martial King Realm cultivator like Ye Qingchen had faced a Martial Emperor Realm Boulder Demon Ape King and then fought a dozen peak Martial King Realm Boulder Demon Apes. Yet, he was not only far from exhausted but even had the ability to break a fourth-grade trap Formation. What was most infuriating was that Ye Qingchen could set up such a powerful trap Formation himself, giving the people from Duanjin Academy a taste of their own medicine. Furthermore, Wang Teng’s overconfidence in his own strength had led him to attract six peak Martial King Realm Spirit Beasts at once, and now, trapped in the Formation, he found himself in a crisis.

With his strength and movement technique, kiting these few Spirit Beasts wasn’t a major issue. Even if his plan to harm Ye Qingchen failed, Wang Teng was confident he could escape the clutches of these six Spirit Beasts. But as fate would have it, Ye Qingchen knew how to set up Formations. Being trapped filled Wang Teng with indignation, but he was utterly helpless.

While fighting desperately against the Spirit Beasts, Wang Teng cast a sidelong glance at the other Duanjin Academy disciples. They were each trapped in their own trap Formations and, having already been seriously injured from their earlier battles, would be unable to break free and come to his aid anytime soon. Wang Teng was not naive enough to believe Ye Qingchen would suddenly show mercy and let him go. My only option is to save myself.

As a decisive person, Wang Teng quickly weighed his options. He decided to follow Ye Qingchen’s example: risk injury to eliminate one Spirit Beast first. As long as I can reduce their numbers, I’m confident I can hold out until the other disciples from Duanjin Academy arrive to help. Feng Yuan was already devoured by the Purple Lightning Breakthrough Civets. If I don’t go all out, I’ll suffer the same fate.

With this resolve, Wang Teng abandoned all defense. He summoned his Meteor Martial Spirit and, using the lower-grade treasure weapon in his hand, unleashed a full-power attack on the weakest of the six Spirit Beasts. This Spirit Beast was already the weakest of the group. Having watched the human passively defend the entire time, it never expected him to suddenly find the courage to attack. Thus, when Wang Teng’s strike arrived, the Spirit Beast failed to react in time and was sent flying, suffering significant injuries.

At that very moment, Ye Qingchen rose from the ground. He flashed into the trap Formation and, wielding his Double Pupil Sword, swiftly finished off the injured Spirit Beast. Although Ye Qingchen’s point total was already sufficient, since Wang Teng had snatched points from him earlier, there was no reason not to take them back.

It was fortunate that the Central Celestial Academy forbade students from killing each other; otherwise, Ye Qingchen might have seized all of Wang Teng’s points.

Wang Teng had anticipated that Ye Qingchen would come to snatch the points, but he was powerless to stop him. In his all-out gamble to heavily injure one Spirit Beast, he had left himself undefended and was struck by the remaining five. Though he used his movement technique to the best of his ability to protect his vital spots, he still suffered serious injuries from the blow and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

By then, Ye Qingchen had already exited the trap Formation. He calmly watched Wang Teng continue his battle against the other five Spirit Beasts, poised and ready to snatch more points at a moment’s notice.