Chapter 66: Choose, we can keep only one

Seeing this situation, the people at the front of the party all turned pale, a bad premonition rose in their hearts.

Fang Hongxiu's face changed dramatically, and she shouted urgently, "Retreat!"

The party immediately fell back, moving away from the mountain foot.

Suddenly, hundreds of merfolk monsters rushed down from the mountain peak, completely blocking the path up the mountain.

At this point, even those who reacted slowly understood: someone had deliberately lured the merfolk monsters down...

This tactic was utterly despicable!

Jiang Chen saw a person running ahead of the monster horde, clearly the one who had drawn the merfolk monsters.

That person wore clothing different from theirs, neither a Shenlong University student nor a Shenlong Empire citizen.

Fang Hongxiu also saw him and said, "He's from the Shadow Transformation Nation."

"The outfit he's wearing is obviously the traditional costume of the Shadow Transformation Nation!"

Fang Hongxiu squinted.

"That guy must be a Yinyang Master, a profession unique to the Shadow Transformation Nation."

The practitioner's robe was embroidered with cherry‑blossom patterns.

Jiang Chen frowned at the term Yinyang Master, evidently having never heard of it.

Lin Caier whispered, "I've heard that profession is very insidious."

Fang Hongxiu added, "Indeed, Yinyang Masters are famed for their myriad tricks."

"Their actual combat power isn't great, but they're extremely cunning, full of schemes, and very hard to deal with in a real duel..."

The Yinyang Master took out two talismans, tossed one left and one right; the talismans exploded in mid‑air, instantly spawning two huge illusory shadows.

Those shadows surged down from the sky to the mountain foot, attracting the monsters in the pond below just like Skeleton Warriors.

In the pond, the surrounding monsters, upon seeing the shadows' appearance,...

... rushed forward like a frenzy, indicating that such shadows possess a monster‑hate‑attracting property.

The Qianlong Xueyuan students who were retreating were surrounded by monsters; they kept releasing skills, trying to break through the encirclement.

However, the monsters were numerous, and most could not be broken through.

Unable to break out, they showed helpless and regretful expressions, and one by one emitted White Light, used Teleport Stones, and escaped the scene.

Each person received a Mission Stone before entering the island; they can also serve as Teleport Stones.

In an emergency, using a Mission Stone can directly teleport a practitioner out of the Instance, a last‑resort lifesaving measure...

But once teleported, this Trial Mission will end in failure.

Lin Caier said, "This is the Yinyang Master's Shikigami skill; it's said to summon ancient deities."

Liu Cui whispered, "Why is he doing this?"

Fang Hongxiu explained, "He wants to stop us from climbing the mountain."

At this moment, the mountain foot was already filled with monsters, at least two hundred.

The monsters on the mountain path also numbered over a hundred.

In total, more than three hundred monsters blocked the ascent solidly.

Zhang Yang frowned and couldn't help but say, "Clearing these monsters will take hours; getting up after that will be hard..."

The Yinyang Master sat on his Shikigami, floated in the air, and laughed heartily.

"You stay here; the Instance belongs to my great Shadow Transformation Nation."

After speaking, the Shikigami carried him away, and in an instant he vanished.

"Despicable."

"Yinyang Masters are legendary‑level professions; looks like the Shadow Transformation Nation has poured a fortune into this."

"When we finish clearing all the monsters here, the daylilies will already be cold."

"Moreover, our party is already in disarray; many have quit the trial."

Fang Hongxiu said, "That's fine; once we reach the Instance area we can reform the party."

"The current problem is how to get up."

Indeed, that is the most troublesome issue right now...

Someone suggested, "Who will sacrifice themselves and lure the monsters away?"

Another student said, "Don't be foolish; do you think we're all Level 40 Second Transcendence jobs? You have no idea how dangerous pulling monsters is."

"This isn't a dozen or twenty; it's hundreds of monsters."

"Summoner, go."

"Do you think Summoners can do everything? It's fine with few monsters, but with this many, are you kidding?"

Fang Hongxiu looked at Jiang Chen and asked, "Can you do it?"

Jiang Chen nodded, and then a Skeleton Warrior sped toward the mountain foot.

A student exclaimed, "What, a Skeleton? An Undead Summoned Object."

Another student asked in confusion, "Whose summoned object is that?"

"What is it going to do?"

"Looks like it's going to draw the monsters away; it runs really fast."

The Skeleton Warrior's appearance immediately attracted the monster horde's attention.

A swarm of merfolk monsters let out screams and chased the Skeleton Warrior.

In an instant, the number of surrounding merfolk monsters decreased by a third.

Fang Hongxiu sighed, "Unfortunately, there are still so many."

Crack—, Crack—.

Another Skeleton Warrior ran over.

"Two?"

Fang Hongxiu's eyes lit up; she hadn't expected Jiang Chen to have a second Skeleton Warrior.

Great, now there's hope.

The second Skeleton Warrior was made in the same way, and dragged away another group of monsters.

The monsters at the Mountain Foot are basically cleared; now only the monsters on the mountain road remain.

Even if those monsters are still there, clearing

them up would be much faster than before.

"Well done."

"Brother, you did a great job."

"You're awesome, brother; after the Trial ends, I'll buy you a drink."

"Next time we enter an Instance, I'll take you!"

Everyone praised Jiang Chen.

Lin Caier smiled brightly, praising Jiang Chen seemed to make her happier than praising herself.

Only Lei Ren's face turned ashen, as if he had swallowed mouse droppings.

At that moment, a third Skeleton also appeared.

"There's even a third one."

"This time it's solid!"

Everyone shouted excitedly.

"Prepare to ascend the Mountain," Jiang Chen said softly.

Fang Hongxiu was already ready.

"Alright, everyone is ready."

The third Skeleton rushed up and pulled the group of monsters on the mountain road down as well.

Fang Hongxiu seized the moment and sprinted up the Mountain.

Other parties, seeing this, immediately followed.

Actually Jiang Chen didn't need to be so troublesome; he could have used Corpse Explosion to wipe out those monsters instantly.

It was only because of Lei Ren's presence.

Jiang Chen didn't want that guy to take advantage.

Now they're in a party; if they used Corpse Explosion, why would the experience be divided equally?

After being provoked three or four times, even Jiang Chen's good temper wouldn't be that foolish.

If it were elsewhere, Lei Ren would probably be dead without a body.

Everyone sprinted up the Mountain.

The several-hundred-meter High Mountain was reached in just a few minutes.

They arrived at the Instance Entrance.

On the other side of the Mountain top, another group had just run up.

"Enter the Instance, don't let them get ahead."

The Qianlong Xueyuan members shouted.

Fang Hongxiu also rushed toward the Instance Entrance.

"Eh?"

"How did they get up?"

"Could it be that they can fly?"

Just now, that Yinyang Master was sitting on a Shikigami, standing in

the void, with a strange expression; he had clearly dragged so many monsters that he blocked the path.

Clearing these monsters would take at least several hours.

By then, the Shadow Transformation Nation team would have finished the Instance, slapped their buttocks and fled.

He hadn't expected Qianlong Xueyuan to ascend the Mountain so quickly; it exceeded his expectations.

Both sides surged to the Mountain top, exchanged a glance, and simultaneously rushed toward the Instance Entrance.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Sharp arrows exploded in the air, falling like raindrops.

"Watch out, it's the Archer's Arrow Rain."

The Archer from Shadow Transformation Nation suddenly launched an attack, casting a Skill.

The Mage raised a shield.

The Knight activated Protection Skill.

Two Skeletons appeared in front of Jiang Chen, blocking him and Lin Caier.

"Dare to act, hit that guy."

"Hit hard, don't hold back."

The Archer-Mages on Qianlong Xueyuan's side also began casting Skills.

For a moment, arrows flew crosswise and spells exploded chaotically; although they were only about level 20 professionals, the Skills were still quite dazzling.

The Healer stood at the rear, continuously healing, while the support quickly restored statuses.

Healing light pillars shot up into the sky.

Knights joined the battle group, colliding and attacking each other.

This encounter had no prior preparation, and there was no formation to speak of.

The scene became extremely chaotic.

Both sides' strength was comparable; neither could gain the upper hand.

According to Jiang Chen, the Shenlong Empire side should be stronger.

The Qianlong Xueyuan produces elites among the professionals.

Both their Skills and equipment are very powerful.

The Shadow Transformation Nation participants are clearly elite as well, but they still fall short of the Shenlong Empire.

The only problem is that the Yinyang Master just now pulled the monsters, causing the Shenlong Empire's team to become incomplete.

Its combat power dropped dramatically.

This led to a stalemate, with the outcome hard to determine.

Both sides fought fiercely, and neither could claim ownership of the Instance.

The Mage's Spiritual Power was exhausted, so they began taking Spirit Pills.

The Archer's and Knight's Skills also entered cooldown.

The battle on both sides was no longer as intense as before.

Gradually, each side retreated and entered a ceasefire.

Jiang Chen never made a move.

His Skill is too powerful.

He fears that if a Skeleton Warrior lands a slash, the opponent would be dead.

Then a Corpse Explosion would follow, leaving hardly any survivors on the other side.

Fang Hongxiu had said that the rivalry between the two sides has long existed, but it rarely results in death.

The seemingly fierce battle earlier ended up with only minor injuries.

Moreover, under the healer's treatment, the wounds healed quickly and were not life‑threatening.

The first skirmish was indecisive; both sides stayed alert and neither dared to relax.

The Instance is right before them, and the Mermaid's Tear is the item both sides are determined to obtain.

"Our team is too chaotic; we need to regroup."

"If we can regroup, we'll definitely be able to suppress them."

Many people left at the foot of the Mountain, causing the team to be disordered and at a disadvantage in combat.

"We're missing a ranged DPS here; a Mage or Archer works, anyone below Level 22 is fine."

"We're short of a healer; anyone below Level 21, step up."

"A Mage, anyone below Level 23, is acceptable."

Many teams lack damage dealers, and next comes the shortage of healers.

When surrounded by monsters earlier, many Mages withdrew from the Trial.

And there are level requirements as well.

Entering the Mermaid Instance also requires the average level not to exceed Level 20.

Lei Ren suddenly said, "Team Leader, I want to go to another team."

"Why?"

Fang Hongxiu showed slight surprise; she hadn't expected Lei Ren to say that.

Lei Ren pointed at Jiang Chen, "Either he leaves, or I leave."

Not only Fang Hongxiu was surprised; Zhang Yang and Liu Cui also showed astonishment.

They didn't expect Lei Ren to use this as a threat.

And he chose this moment, even though they had already reached the Instance Doorway.

Zhang Yang said in a deep voice, "Lei Ren, you're being excessive."

Liu Cui added, "Exactly, if Jiang Chen hadn't drawn the monsters away, we wouldn't have made it up."

Lei Ren was indifferent, "That's his business, I don't care. The point is, either he leaves or I leave."

Lin Caier sneered, "Lei Ren, you really are a dog."

Lei Ren ignored Lin Caier.

"Team Leader, you decide; I'll just stand here waiting for your decision!"

After speaking, he crossed his arms and stared coldly at Jiang Chen.