Chapter 350: The Chaotic Night

Night fell, and a thin mist permeated the mountain forest.

A campfire rose in a clearing in the woods, with a few simple tents set up around it.

Li Luo sat by the campfire, casting a glance around. The figures of Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying had disappeared, but he still saw that four other team members had been left behind by them, serving as both a form of protection and a form of surveillance.

Li Luo stretched, then caught a familiar, delicate fragrance. He turned his head to see Lu Qinger approaching gracefully and sitting down beside him.

She seemed to have gone to bathe in a nearby mountain spring; her dark hair was loose and damp, and her clear, exquisite face looked all the more radiant in the glow of the campfire.

"Not gone to rest yet?" Li Luo smiled.

Lu Qinger's eyes flickered slightly. "Are you up to some mischief again?"

Li Luo dodged the question, saying, "What mischief? Whose? Yours?"

Lu Qinger gave him an annoyed look. "Stop playing the fool. Did you sell out Zhu Xuan and the others?"

Li Luo gave a dry laugh. Lu Qinger was naturally sharp; she must have been watching his actions over the past two days and could naturally guess a thing or two.

"It's just dogs biting dogs; we aren't losing anything," Li Luo said in a low voice.

"Don't think that Ning Zhao and Zhu Xuan came here to protect us. Most likely, they heard about the Golden Dragon Qi on you and came to covet it."

"Let me tell you, here, only I am sincere toward you. That brute Qin Zhulu counts for half. So you must believe that everything I do is to protect you," Li Luo said earnestly, as if teaching a lesson.

Lu Qinger cupped her cheeks with both hands and said with a smile, "Such a sweet talker."

"But don't worry, I don't disbelieve you. As long as you decide on something, I will support you with all my might. So even if Ning Zhao and Zhu Xuan find out later that you were stirring up trouble and go back to complain to my mother, I will still speak up for you."

Li Luo gave a thumbs up. "I just love how reasonable you are."

As the two spoke, Qin Zhulu walked back from the distance, drenched in sweat. He carried his heavy spear and had wood shavings in his hair; clearly, he had gone out to vent his energy on those large trees again.

He walked back, glanced at Li Luo, let out a low grunt, and carried his spear into his tent.

Li Luo: "..."

Li Luo felt quite speechless at Qin Zhulu's demeanor, which was like that of a grumpy child forbidden by their parents from going out to play.

He chatted with Lu Qinger for a while longer, then watched the young lady return to her tent.

Afterward, Li Luo turned his gaze toward the distance in the night. That was the direction where Ning Zhao and Zhu Xuan were keeping watch, and the missing Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying had likely taken people there as well...

A lively night was inevitable, but that had nothing to do with him. He was just a well-behaved, honest child staying in his tent, not going anywhere.

Amidst the thin mist.

Zhu Xuan stood on the trunk of a large tree, arms crossed, back against the bark, his expression indifferent. In front of him, Ning Zhao sat on a branch. He extended his palm, and within it, lightning-type Resonance power pulsed; a silver short shuttle vibrated within the lightning, emitting a humming sound.

Neither of them spoke, merely gazing into the quiet mountain forest as if waiting for something.

Until, at a certain moment, a cold wind swept through the forest.

Zhu Xuan gently twisted his neck, turned his head, and looked toward the dark, dense forest behind them with a cold, sharp gaze. "Sneaking around—as expected, you can't stand on the stage."

From the darkness, footsteps sounded, and then two figures walked out: Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying.

"Zhu Xuan, since you arrived late, you naturally have to follow some rules. What isn't yours to take, you should honestly wait two days to discuss," Zhao Jieyang said coldly.

"I didn't intend to do anything to you, but you insisted on being ungrateful andted to force your way in to share our portion of the benefits. Since that's the case, don't blame us for being impolite."

Zhu Xuan smiled. "You have quite the thick skin. Do you really consider the Golden Dragon Qi your private property?"

"Without our protection along the way, could they have kept the Golden Dragon Qi? We are simply taking the reward we are owed."

Gu Ying let out a delicate laugh and then mocked, "And don't speak so righteously. Aren't you also greedy for the gains brought by the Golden Dragon Qi? Do you really think of yourselves as saints?"

Zhu Xuan was noncommittal. "The Golden Dragon Qi is with Qinger. She is from the Golden Dragon Bank of the Great Xia, so we are naturally on the same side. When it comes to reasons, ours is at least a hundred times stronger than yours."

"Sometimes, it's this kind of 'family' that eats people without leaving a bone," Gu Ying laughed.

Zhao Jieyang stepped forward, and deep red Resonance power began to circulate over his body. A high temperature permeated the air, causing the temperature in the area to gradually rise. "Enough talk. Zhu Xuan, I'll give you a choice now: get lost on your own, or should we take action to make you get lost?"

Zhu Xuan gripped his palm, and a crimson copper staff appeared in his hand. Fiery red Resonance power surged out.

"I've long wanted to test whether your Magma Resonance or my Fire Resonance is more overbearing."

Seeing this, Ning Zhao gripped the silver short shuttle, and lightning-like Resonance power surged violently, with a faint rumbling sound.

"Zhu Xuan, it seems greed has blinded your reason. With just your small team, how can you fight us?" Gu Ying shook her head, then waved her hand lightly.

From the darkness all around, figures walked out, locking their unfriendly gazes onto Zhu Xuan and his group.

Zhao Jieyang and the others had joined forces from four teams. Although they had left a few people behind to monitor Li Luo and the others, they still held an absolute advantage in numbers.

Zhu Xuan's gaze swept over the figures that had emerged, but surprisingly, there was no panic on his face; clearly, he had anticipated this.

"Zhao Jieyang, you don't really think I came here without making any preparations, do you? In this world, you aren't the only smart person," he suddenly said with a faint smile.

Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying's pupils shrank slightly upon hearing this.

At this moment, Zhu Xuan slowly raised the crimson copper staff in his hand. Fiery red Resonance power shot into the sky like a pillar of fire, exceptionally striking in the night.

Not long after Zhu Xuan released the pillar of fire, Zhao Jieyang, Gu Ying, and the others heard the sound of wind being broken from the darkness in the distance.

Rays of Resonance power light rose up, flashing through the dense forest.

A rough count showed no fewer than a dozen people.

Zhao Jieyang and Gu Ying's expressions changed, and they looked at Zhu Xuan with gloomy eyes. "It seems you were the one who came prepared!"

Zhu Xuan smiled. "I expected you wouldn't be happy about us joining, but fortunately, while you aren't willing, there are plenty of others who are. You've offended quite a few teams along this journey; I just had to do a little coordinating to find quite a few allies."

"Zhao Jieyang, since you aren't willing to let me have a share, then I'm sorry, I'm taking the whole pot. Since you don't know what's good for you, I won't even leave you the leftovers."

"Such arrogant words! I want to see if you have the ability!"

Zhao Jieyang laughed in anger and waited no longer. Deep red Resonance power erupted, and with a stomp, the ground cracked. His figure, wrapped in high heat, charged directly toward Zhu Xuan.

Seeing this, Zhu Xuan held his copper staff, his fiery red Resonance power surging. Like a man of fire, he tore through the air, meeting the charge with equal ferocity.

Clang!

As the two collided violently, those figures who had rushed over from the distance also began to clash with the members of the original four teams.

The quiet night was broken at this moment.