Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible-Chapter 110: Foggy Strategies

"Underling Xuhan? Fellow cultivator Qian Yun? What are you two doing over there?"

The voice that rang out from the distant platforms belonged to Mu Ran.

Earlier when Zhao Weiqing had taken a glance at the leaderboard, he had seen Mu Ran’s judgment still displaying the pending status. From what he had observed, Mu Ran was not particularly bright when it came to creative aspects. So it was normal for him to take a while to be done with the test.

He hadn’t thought much of it at that time. Anyone within the third stage of the inheritance test was bound to become a carrier of his soul shard’s corrupted parts.

Wait a minute, what are soul shards? Where did I hear such a phrase?

A small voice wondered in the back of his mind.

But this was not the time to think about those small details, because he had suddenly discovered something rather strange.

Zhao Weiqing could not detect any mental connection between him and Mu Ran, just like how he had failed to perceive any connection with Han Xuhan.

Did the soul shard in Mu Ran’s testing hall fail to do its job?

What was happening? Did something go wrong with the purification process? Again?

Sounds of footsteps broke him out of his daze. Mu Ran’s silhouette slowly became clearer within the thin fog as he approached the deadlock zone between Zhao Weiqing. Han Xuhan, sitting lazily at the edge of the denser layer of fog, waved a hand at his savior.

"Boss, how was your experience inside the testing ground? Did you succeed in what you were planning?"

Zhao Weiqing distinctly felt that these two martial brothers were in cahoots and had ulterior motives for coming here. Both of them also seemed to have found out certain secrets about the inheritance test itself...

Meanwhile, Mu Ran’s gaze fell on the odd spectacle Zhao Weiqing and Xuhan made together, and he seemed to sense that something was off. His pace slowed down.

"Yes, underling. My job here is partially done. I haven’t found the chance to complete the whole mission yet though." fгeewebnovёl.com

While speaking, Mu Ran’s eyes flickered over the area where Han Xuhan’s law fragments were buried. Lines formed on his forehead, and his walk came to a full stop. The air of intensity between Han Xuhan and Zhao Weiqing encapsulated him as well.

Zhao Weiqing couldn’t help being shocked. For Mu Ran to sense the hidden law fragments and figure out what was going on so quickly, his spiritual senses had to be incredibly refined, perhaps even capable of giving a successful Soul Reformation realm cultivator a sense of competition!

Mu Ran’s gaze flickered toward Zhao Weiqing. Their eyes assessed each other for a fleeting moment. Zhao Weiqing could sense a malicious intent being born in that gaze.

Was Mu Ran’s trust in Han Xuhan so instinctive? He hasn’t even asked what’s going on, but he has already chosen a side!

At this moment, Han Xuhan decided to butt in.

"Ah, now it looks like Brother Yun won’t be able to move anytime soon. Now that we have finally reached a situation where I hold an advantage in numbers, we can communicate properly. Why don’t you explain what you’re up to, Brother Yun?"

Zhao Weiqing understood the predicament he was in very well. But being reminded of it by Han Xuhan left a bad taste in his mouth.

"I have nothing to explain to you," he answered gloomily. Even though he was trapped from both sides, he didn’t seem particularly afraid of the consequences of his actions. And that made Han Xuhan raise his wariness to the extreme.

"Boss, did you meet anyone else inside the third test hall? Any idea what’s wrong with Brother Yun?"

"What happened here?" Mu Ran asked him instead of answering his question, his gaze never moving from Zhao Weiqing’s figure a few meters away.

"Brother Yun passed the test and successfully managed to return outside the platforms. But since then, he has been trying to chase me down for some reason. Threatened me to surrender and obey his orders... He isn’t even acting like himself anymore. It’s so unsettling!"

Han Xuhan’s reply was swift and concise, befitting a perfect underling.

"I see. Well, that makes things clear for me." Mu Ran nodded and crossed his arms together casually. But Zhao Weiqing didn’t miss the sudden fluctuations of qi in the air that had appeared following the movements of his arms.

"Astral He-"

"Activate!"

Before Mu Ran could finish casting his spell, a shout from behind interrupted him, followed by—

Boom!

A streak of stark blue lightning appeared above his head and struck him before he could react. Mu Ran stood still for a moment, literally thunder-struck, before losing his balance and falling down in a rigid manner.

"...That was very anticlimactic. That doesn’t seem like the way a protagonist would go down," Han Xuhan remarked, seemingly unaffected by the reversal of the situation, adding to Zhao Weiqing’s confusion.

This guy was really not right in the head.

"Boss, are you still alive?" Han Xuhan asked.

Mu Ran didn’t respond. But his chest showed signs of breathing. Han Xuhan sighed and slowly stood up, dusting off his clothes in a completely relaxed manner.

"Are you going to surrender now or do you want to suffer the same fate as Mu Ran?" Zhao Weiqing asked. Han Xuhan let out a derisive chuckle.

"Why the hell would I surrender? Did something happen that should warrant a surrender? In fact, I’ve only been gaining more advantage over you since the start!"

Zhao Weiqing pointed at Mu Ran’s crumpled form. "Your friend is in my hands now. He was your only hope of putting up a real fight against me. Him being knocked out is an advantage for you?"

"Correct!" Han Xuhan nodded.

"Even though Boss Ran ended up accomplishing nothing, he has served well as a bodyguard by alerting me of the other threats aside from you, Brother Yun!

"That distant shout, and your inaction when the lightning bolt fell—these two factors are enough to convince me that your reinforcements have secretly arrived here already. And they’ve been ready to attack for a while now!"

Zhao Weiqing sneered. "You consider that discovery advantageous to you? You’re a fool!"

"Let me finish speaking, brother Yun. There is a greater depth to think about here. Since the cultivators you’re controlling have been ready to attack so effectively, it doesn’t make sense for me to be standing here till now, unscathed.

"And if they have the advantage in numbers, it doesn’t make sense for them to be hiding till now. These factors point to only one conclusion. The full force of your reinforcement has yet to arrive. Behind the attack that took Mu Ran down, there must be only one or two people under your control!"

Zhao Weiqing’s heart lurched again. How did this kid know that all the cultivators who participated in the third round of the test were under his control? Could this be a probe to verify a guess?

If that was the case, he had to deny it!

"Why the hell would they be under my control? They’re my reinforcements! As legitimate disciples of the Holy Land, they are duty-bound to deal with wayward rogues like you!"

Han Xuhan laughed this time. "Now I’m sure that you’re really not the Brother Yun I know. Otherwise, you’d know what I’m talking about. All the cultivators who reached this place were enslaved by us through your contracts.

"You hold the ultimate authority over them as the creator of those contracts. And they all hated it. So why would they agree to whatever plan you might have, if not for the power behind your contracts compelling them?"

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