The Wushuang Sect disciple reacted quickly. At the very first moment, she leapt from the tree and sprinted away at full speed. But that swarm of venomous bees was extremely vengeful, chasing after her the instant she moved.
"This is Yao Shuang, once a loose cultivator of Mingxin Hall," Hong Ye chuckled. "After entering the sect, her cultivation progress has been relatively slow. Among this batch of Unity-stage disciples, she's likely at the very bottom. Who would have thought she'd also be among the unluckiest right from the start?"
"Oh, it's nothing too serious," Yun Jin replied with an unconcerned air.
Though Hong Ye said as much, her expression revealed no sign of worry either.
The gazes of those watching flickered slightly.
"At the bottom of the bunch?" Liu Hua sneered, unable to resist a jab. "Sect Master Yun must have known this disciple was destined to be eliminated, so she's already making excuses. Since she's among the weakest, getting knocked out won't be shameful, right?"
Yun Jin lifted her eyes to Liu Hua, answering lazily, "And who said Yao Shuang is going to be eliminated?"
Every disciple of Wushuang Sect had at least once received her personal guidance. Yao Shuang was no exception, and Yun Jin still remembered her.
True, she was not among the strongest batch.
But still...
A situation like this...
What problem could it really pose?
"Not eliminated?" Liu Hua looked toward the water screen with mocking eyes. "What, does she have some heaven-defying means up her sleeve?"
As if responding to the crowd's desires, the water screen locked onto Yao Shuang's image.
In the projection, she was fleeing desperately, now nothing but a small black dot against the landscape. Behind her, however, was a sea of venomous bees swarming after her.
Individually, the bees were not overly powerful, but their sheer numbers made them terrifying. And at their head buzzed a queen bee of at least late-Unity stage. Behind it, hundreds of other Unity-stage bees filled the skies. And below them, countless Divine Transformation bees moved like a dark tide. This was, without doubt, a hell-level starting scenario in the points battle!
Among all these disciples, save for a handful, anyone else encountering such a thing would have no choice but to crush their escape token immediately!
"Sect Master Liu, why so anxious?" Yun Jin only smiled faintly.
Liu Hua frowned deeply.
He wanted to see this with his own eyes!
How could Yao Shuang possibly turn such a hopeless situation around?
Yao Shuang ran until she reached the edge of a great lake. Out of breath, she stopped abruptly.
The swarm of bees showed no hesitation, diving toward her in a black cloud.
In the next instant—
Yao Shuang was completely engulfed.
Liu Hua narrowed his eyes.
Even now, she didn't crush her token? Was she really unafraid of death?
If she died here, it would be the perfect opportunity to accuse Yun Jin of cruelty, of forbidding her disciples to use their tokens.
He was thinking exactly that when—
Suddenly—
In the water screen, the lake behind Yao Shuang erupted into massive waves, surging toward her.
A crisp voice rang out:
"Ice Seal for a Thousand Miles!"
In an instant, the surging water froze solid. The entire swarm of bees was frozen into a vast block of ice.
From within, Yao Shuang calmly stepped out. She smiled faintly and gave a casual wave of her hand. The ice sculpture shattered. Every single venomous bee fell into icy fragments, dead beyond recovery.
At the same moment, Yao Shuang's points soared upward like a rocket, catapulting her to the very top of the rankings!
"Not bad luck at all. To meet such a gift right away." Yao Shuang muttered softly, then left the area without another glance.
On the square, the projection shifted away.
But silence lingered.
Not bad luck...?
She called starting the match surrounded by a swarm of venomous bees good fortune?!
Staring at her position on the rankings, now firmly at the top, the crowd could only seethe with grief and indignation.
For others, this would have been a disaster. For her, it truly had been a stroke of fortune. Among all the contestants, fewer than ten could have subdued such a swarm. And to do it with such ease—such composure—that number was even smaller.
Her ability to freeze such a massive swarm, even borrowing the lake's power, proved her deep comprehension of ice laws. Such a contestant could possibly be considered the weakest in Wushuang Sect?
They would sooner die than believe it!
Liu Hua's face turned black. His voice was sharp with suspicion: "Sect Master Yun, this Yao Shuang must be your sect's hidden trump card!"
Yun Jin blinked at him. "Trump card? Hardly, really, hardly at all."
Among the disciples of Wushuang Sect, Yao Shuang was no more than average.
Liu Hua snorted coldly, unwilling to exchange another word.
In his mind, Yun Jin was deliberately putting on an act.
This time, Yun Jin herself felt wronged.
Heaven above could testify, for once she was telling the absolute truth!
At that moment—
The rankings flickered.
Yao Shuang's top position was suddenly taken away.
Oh?
So quickly displaced?
Everyone leaned in with expectation.
And then they froze.
Yang Hui?
Who was that?!
The name hardly mattered. What mattered was—yet another disciple of Wushuang Sect!
The water screen shifted again.
Yang Hui stood in the center, gripping a massive hammer. All around him lay disciples sprawled in defeat.
The earlier fight was not shown. What they saw was Yang Hui calmly retrieving and crushing one token after another.
Killing between participants was forbidden, but seizing and breaking another's token was perfectly allowed. In fact, it was the main method of elimination. If the defeated contestant's token carried points, half of those points would be transferred to the victor's token.
Later in the contest, a powerful participant could climb terrifyingly high in points simply by eliminating others.
The next moment—
Groans and cries echoed across the square as those eliminated disciples reappeared, teleported back. They weren't even from the same sect—judging by their uniforms, they belonged to three different ones.
Clearly, they had allied together to attack Yang Hui, only to be crushed by him alone. Apart from the pained groans of the losers, the square was utterly silent.
A single disciple of Wushuang Sect had defeated more than ten opponents from three sects by himself? Eliminating disciples brought far more points than killing beasts. That was why Yang Hui instantly rose to the very top of the rankings.
The board continued shifting wildly.
The water screen cycled through random scenes.
Many sects used unique methods to gather their disciples together. Slowly, their forces began to merge.
Now—
The top ten of the points board were nearly all Wushuang Sect disciples. And of the top hundred, more than half also belonged to Wushuang Sect.
The other sect disciples gritted their teeth in rage. Had they not all agreed beforehand? Anyone could take first place, so long as it was not Wushuang Sect.
This time, the super sects had no choice but to unite!
No more infighting.
Their disciples began forming groups.
Soon enough—
The first coalition force of a hundred disciples from multiple sects assembled.
Their goal was not to slay beasts.
Their goal was simple: eliminate Wushuang Sect disciples. They themselves could fail to claim first place, but under no circumstance would Wushuang Sect be allowed to seize it!