Chapter 290

All six of them were SS-tier practitioners, and in terms of strength, they were only a notch below Ji Yuan. Six against one—were they afraid they couldn't take him down?

That was what they all thought.

Ji Yuan, however, furrowed his brows and thought seriously for a good while before speaking: "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

This answer caught everyone off guard.

"Boss, are you sure your perception wasn't wrong?"

"Ji Yuan, I think you're just too nervous. I know Li Yao isn't weak, but your evaluation is probably too high."

"I don't believe it. Let alone a Summoner, even if you put the Little Sword Head and that SSS-tier practitioner together, they definitely wouldn't be our match."

Ji Yuan did not answer them, but instead looked at the young lady: "Is Hunting Xi Xia's team still within the contest area?"

Astrologer Sun Xiaoluo, the young lady who had greeted them in the cave earlier,

took out her crystal ball, fiddled with it carefully, scratched her head, and performed a few more operations.

"It's no use. Aside from Hunting Xi Xia, I can't find the location of anyone else."

"No need to look anymore."

Previously, Ji Yuan had also doubted his own perception.

But now, he was almost certain that Li Yao was absolutely not an opponent who could be easily dealt with.

"He had the leisure to eat barbecue there, while the team looking for him disappeared from the contest range. You should all know very clearly what that means."

Ji Yuan's expression was grave.

Li Yao's strength had far exceeded his expectations.

He might just be the strongest opponent he would face in this contest!

Seeing that the others still didn't want to leave, Ji Yuan patiently explained one last time:

"You should have heard of Hunting Xi Xia. I've fought her before—eight wins out of ten matches."

"If any of you were to face her, the win rate would likely be reversed."

"The team she leads definitely wouldn't be much inferior to us in strength. So, think about it: what kind of existence must Li Yao be to easily defeat them?"

"At the very least, I didn't see any traces of a battle on Li Yao just now."

"Boss, do you think he might be bluffing?" one practitioner asked uncertainly. "Knowing we were coming, he deliberately put on a calm front, but he's actually injured from the previous battle, or his important skills are on cooldown?"

"I hope so," Ji Yuan said calmly, "but I don't want to gamble right now."

"I've said my piece. If you still want to deal with Li Yao, feel free."

Having said that, Ji Yuan turned and walked away.

"Wait for me."

Sun Xiaoluo and the practitioner who had been calling Ji Yuan "Boss" followed quickly.

The remaining three practitioners turned to look at the cave behind them, their eyes filled with extreme wariness, before following Ji Yuan.

The group walked quickly through the gravel-strewn barren mountains.

"We've wasted too much time. If we hunt monsters by the book, we might fall behind."

"I was thinking the same. Little Sword Head, that monk from the Magic Capital—pick one."

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"The monk, I suppose. That guy is used to being cautious, doesn't trust anyone, and won't cooperate with anyone. He should be the easiest to deal with."

"Fine, him it is," Ji Yuan said casually. "Xiaoluo, I'll leave it to you."

No matter how strong Li Yao was, he would only be wary, not afraid.

He only hoped that when they truly crossed paths with Li Yao, the other party would have gathered enough points.

In that case, it would be more interesting to plunder them.

"A sharp little fellow."

Watching Ji Yuan's performance on the screen, Xue Jiulan nodded in approval.

This was the capability a top-tier practitioner should possess.

Ji Yuan had indeed put in the work honing his skills in the dungeons over the years.

"Being overly cautious just turns into cowardice," Wang Shihui said dismissively. "Knowing full well that Hunting Xi Xia and her team had fought Li Yao, yet still not daring to strike—in my opinion, in terms of guts, Ji Yuan is inferior to Hunting Xi Xia."

"You can't put it that way."

Ji Yuan was a student favored by the Magic Capital Martial Academy; Su Changqing naturally didn't want others to belittle him.

"Elder Wang's deduction just now is merely from a god's-eye view."

"Ji Yuan's perspective is different. In his eyes, if he could easily deal with Li Yao, that would be fine, but if Li Yao wasn't bluffing, a bloody battle would be inevitable!"

"Even if they eventually eliminated Li Yao, the gain would only be the early removal of a strong opponent, while the cost would be teammates getting injured or even eliminated."

"The contest has only just begun; faced with such a cost, not just Ji Yuan, but any candidate would make the same choice."

Wang Shihui, however, snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain.

"If it's not bluffing, then what is it?"

"All his ultimate moves are on cooldown. If Ji Yuan had attacked, Li Yao would definitely have been eliminated right there."

As he spoke, Wang Shihui suddenly thought of something.

"So that's it. I was wondering why this kid suddenly had the leisure to eat barbecue."

"I think he just sensed someone coming and deliberately put on that act."

Hearing this, Xue Jiulan was speechless.

Firecrackers ringing out.

—Thinking too much.

She knew that Li Yao still had a big guy he hadn't summoned yet.

That giant dragon alone was not something Ji Yuan and his group could handle.

Wang Shihui didn't see Xue Jiulan's expression, and even if he had, he would only believe his own opinion.

He shook his head and said:

"But it's just being clever at the expense of one's own interests."

"Up until now, Li Yao's points are only in the hundreds. No matter how many of these ordinary monsters on the periphery he kills, he won't be able to catch up to those hunting boss-level monsters in the center."

"Even if his ultimate moves come off cooldown and he plunders the points of a few candidates, he'll eventually be plundered by others because he has no skills left."

"Of course, that mantis-like summoned beast is indeed quite strong, but that's all there is to it."

"In my opinion, in terms of overall strength, Li Yao should be at the top-ten level."

"To go any further is almost impossible!" ===== CHAPTER 292 =====