In the spark of flint, greed and intuition overcame caution.
Lin Mu did not hesitate in the slightest. His figure suddenly dove down like a goshawk striking a rabbit, scooping that pitch-black bone plate from the sludge in one grab, instantly stuffing it into the innermost pocket at his chest.
Subsequently, he dared not linger any longer.
Carrying Lin Wuxie, like two loaches, they soundlessly slid back to the safe edge dozens of meters away where Lin Feng's squad had originally been staying.
Plop.
Lin Mu threw Lin Wuxie onto the ground, conveniently slumping into the muddy water himself.
He immediately dispersed the Dust Escape Gu's Primeval Essence used to conceal his figure, swapping back to an expression of being "full of confusion, pain, and helplessness due to the stinging poisonous miasma."
The entire process of "stealing the sky and changing the sun", under the cover of the sky-filling dust, took merely a few short breaths, unnoticed by anyone.
And at this time, as the Python King's commotion ceased, the blind-zone smoke and dust at the bottom of the canyon was finally gradually dispersed by the wind.
Vision began to recover.
Through the gradually thinning mist, everyone could see that the massive, mountain-like Blood Jade Python was currently lying limply in the black blood pool, motionless.
"The Python King isn't moving!"
"Is it dead?!"
Those surviving lone cultivators and remnant soldiers on the periphery let out unbelievable exclamations.
And at this time, the person in the best condition and with the fastest speed in the entire field was undoubtedly Lin Feng!
Although his webbing was cracked by the recoil damage just now and his right arm was sore and numb, this completely failed to stop his extreme fanaticism for the champion position.
"Opportunity!"
Seeing the smoke and dust clear, Lin Feng simply couldn't care less about distinguishing whether that giant python was dead or alive. Enduring the severe pain in his webbing, he took the lead and charged out from hiding!
"Evil beast, die!"
Lin Feng let out an extremely flashy, righteously awe-inspiring loud shout. His entire person leaped high in mid-air, Rank 1 Peak Primeval Essence catalyzed without reservation.
The long sword in his hand drew a dazzling golden streak in mid-air. With an extremely elegant, unstoppable posture, it ruthlessly cleaved onto the Blood Jade Python's massive head that had already lost its vitality!
Crack—!
The massive snake head fell in response, rolling far away in the muddy water.
However, several breaths ago, outside the Trial Zone, on the clan square of Black Blood Stockade, that massive golden Mother Gu light screen had already erupted with blinding strong light!
That line of points representing Lin Feng's squad, which had originally merely been in the middle ranks, was now like riding a rocket, instantly displaying explosive, geometric, mad growth!
That was the massive base points for killing a Rank 2 Beast King, directly credited to the heads of "participating squad members" Lin Mu and Lin Wuxie, and subsequently aggregated into the squad's total score.
But in the eyes of outsiders, this perfect point jump was precisely due to Lin Feng's sure-kill "final sword strike" just now!
"Overtaken! Lin Feng's squad has reached the top at first place!"
"My heavens! Is this the strength of the number one seed?! Reversing the wind and turning the tables at the final moment, slaying a Rank 2 Beast King!"
The audience on the square thoroughly boiled over. Earth-shaking cheers almost flipped the bluestone slabs of the martial arts square.
They didn't know the pitch-black calculations inside the Trial Zone; they only saw the indisputable glory on the light screen. Lin Feng's prestige reached a peak ordinary people found hard to match at this moment.
And inside the Trial Zone.
Listening to the surrounding gasps of cold air mixed with awe, jealousy, and even unwillingness.
Lin Feng stood beside that massive snake head, his clothes fluttering, like a god of war descended to the mortal realm. He enjoyed this feeling of being anticipated by the masses. The haze on his face caused by his arena defeat was swept clean.
"Won! I am the final winner!"
He threw down the long sword in his hand in ecstasy.
Impatiently bending over, he extended that still-bleeding right hand and ruthlessly plunged it into the severed edge of the snake's head, attempting to extract that top-tier Rank 2 Gu worm sufficient to cause a qualitative change in his combat power.
With it, who could compete with him for the Elder's True Inheritance position?
Lin Feng's hand groped madly within the flesh and blood cavity of the snake's head.
Groping...
Continuing to grope...
The ecstasy on his face, with the passage of time, began to stiffen bit by bit.
He even ignored the filth, plunging his entire forearm inside, stirring madly within, almost turning the snake's head inside out.
Finally.
Lin Feng yanked his hand out violently.
In his hand, he only grabbed a handful of foul-smelling, mashed rotten meat radiating a strong Iron Leaf Gu aura.
Rank 2 Gu worm, not even a crumb was left!
"How is this possible?! Where is the Gu?! Where is my Jade Tendon Gu?!"
Lin Feng's face instantly turned from ecstasy to liver-purple. Even due to extreme anger and reversed blood flow, a sweet, fishy taste abruptly surged in his throat, nearly causing him to spit out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.
He turned his head sharply. Eyes red, like a starving wolf robbed of its food, he glared angrily around.
He saw the group of lone cultivators and Medicine Hall disciples around him, who had blindly thrown skills into the blind zone to snatch points just now; he saw the Iron Leaf Gu in their hands that still radiated residual warmth.
Everything "came to light."
It was this bunch of useless mobs who, in the chaotic battle without rules just now, used countless iron leaves and hidden weapons to accidentally mash that fragile parasitic cavity, along with the Rank 2 Gu worm inside, into meat paste!
"You bunch of idiots!!!"
Lin Feng was so angry his chest heaved violently. Clenching his fists, his fingernails dug deeply into the webbing that had been cracked by recoil damage earlier, fresh blood flowing steadily.
But he couldn't lash out.
He couldn't find a specific "culprit." The law does not punish the masses; he couldn't possibly kill everyone present who used the Iron Leaf Gu, right?
Moreover, he had just established a majestic persona of "saving fellow disciples" in front of everyone. If he turned hostile and lashed out over spoils of war now, his previous disguise would be completely wasted.
Won face, but lost the most core substance.
This extreme stifling frustration of punching cotton—like a mute eating bitter herbs—left this proud number one seed with no choice but to forcefully swallow this foul breath that almost caused internal injuries back into his stomach.
And at this time.
Standing not far behind Lin Feng, Lin Mu, who had just climbed up from the muddy water, his face full of mud, pretending to call out with a face full of concern, "Young Master, are you alright?", had his heart already surging with stormy waves.
Looking at Lin Feng's face, which was uglier than having eaten a dead rat, he almost couldn't hold back a laugh.
But this wasn't what excited him the most.
At this moment, Lin Mu didn't even care much about that incomparably precious Rank 2 Jade Tendon Gu inside his aperture anymore.
All his attention was locked dead onto the innermost pocket at his chest, on that cold, hard, pitch-black bone plate.
"This inexplicable Dao mark aura... there is absolutely something weird."