Chapter 961

Fishing Plan

Good, this is Cheng Shi’s plan.

In a trial so crowded it defies counting, actively seeking out Xiao Qi’s true body is sheer fantasy; even if a tamer’s true body cannot stray too far from his beasts, completing this task amid sufficient chaos and an overwhelming number of distractions is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

So to resolve this “trouble” called Xiao Qi, one must change perspective—perhaps...

Let his true body come to me.

Before learning that Xiao Qi was likely offloading his emotional costs onto his beasts, Cheng Shi had no good way to break the deadlock; now he had one—not only had he thought of it, but fate itself had slipped the “key” to breaking the deadlock into his hands.

[Corruption Vessel].

If Xiao Qi picked up the [Corruption Vessel], and sensed that this “item” could drain his emotions and desires, this emotionally unstable tamer would surely treasure it as a divine relic, for it would allow him to reclaim all his power scattered across his beasts, no longer needing to weaken himself or dull his mind to maintain emotional stability, thus becoming a “complete” tamer.

And under the absolute calm induced by the vessel, Xiao Qi would also ponder whether he should seize this chance to permanently eliminate himself.

After all, the item had fallen from his own hands, and given Xiao Qi’s prejudice and fixation on him... Cheng Shi could find no reason why the man wouldn’t come to kill him.

And this, too, is the closing mark he draws on this old, buried feud.

I can ignore past deception, but I will not let you keep slapping my face again and again.

In the end, what are you, Du Qiyu, on the path of [Deception]?

Even if [Deception] were a trash bin, what trash it holds is not your place to choose.

Thus, Cheng Shi used a hunt based on speculation to first confirm his own murderous intent; he spoke of a future unrelated to him, yet in truth he was manipulating the future.

“What’s next? History has already been witnessed; what remains is just filler time. You decide.”

Having learned how Kynarol “failed” in this battle, Sun Miao lost interest in the remaining trial time; the three kingdoms’ civil war would not end in a single day, and when the Element Judges were likewise scattered, when the meteor firestorm ceased, none of the three kingdoms, having paid such a heavy price, would be willing to surrender.

They would only smear the blood of this scorched battlefield deeper with their flesh pulp, and direct the fires that had burned away their national strength toward the other two—no matter how hard the Grand Tribunal and the Tower of Reason tried, history’s inevitability had already been written, for the blood and fire of this battlefield had already carved the victor’s name.

Cheng Shi glanced at the direction Xiao Qi had fled, then at the crimson sky lit by the meteor firestorm, and decisively charged back into the valley that had just been flattened and even dented.

“Two meteors never strike the same crater; since this place has already been cleansed by fire rain, now is the perfect time to scavenge!”

Sun Miao froze, then immediately understood and followed; he believed this was part of Cheng Shi’s fishing plan—if you yourself don’t value the dropped item, why should anyone else pick it up?

And this weaver of fate played his role to perfection; his decoy tactic was meticulously crafted—he even deliberately ran away from the direction of the Fear Tree Core to give Du Qiyu time, so that when the man picked up the Fear Tree Core only to find Cheng Shi had already moved on, the tamer’s murderous intent might grow even stronger.

Sun Miao, convinced he had seen through Cheng Shi’s plan, couldn’t help but feel another wave of admiration:

Truly, fame is never undeserved; Zhen Xin’s judgment was sharp—this Vice-Chairman Cheng Shi is worthy of...

Hey hey hey, wait a minute, where are you going?

Sun Miao, trailing behind Cheng Shi, froze—he suddenly realized Cheng Shi wasn’t circling; he was genuinely veering off course, ignoring the Fear Tree Core entirely.

He frowned at his current position, then stared at Cheng Shi’s direction, thought for a moment, and suddenly understood—his earlier admiration froze on his face.

“You’re going after Delvor’s ‘Startled Bow’?”

Sun Miao nearly laughed in rage; his nostrils flared as if he had something to say, but the scornful words spilled out anyway.

“I thought at this critical moment of luring the enemy, you’d at least apply some pressure to the tamer—but you’re just blindly scavenging!?

Vice-Chairman Cheng, is this right?”

“?” Cheng Shi didn’t turn around. “What’s wrong? Didn’t I just say this is the best time to scavenge? I didn’t lie.”

“...”

“But if you yourself won’t even turn back to pick up the item, how can you be so sure the tamer will?”

Hearing this, Cheng Shi smiled.

“The tamer might not care about these things, but Xiao Qi will.

I don’t understand tamer’s logic—I understand Xiao Qi. Anything that belongs to me, he’s interested in. Otherwise, Du wouldn’t have been...

Never mind, the old past isn’t worth recounting. By the way, Vice-Chairman Sun, use your clever brain and recall precisely where Delvor died—I don’t want Xiao Qi to accidentally pick up the real Startled Bow.”

Sun Miao’s face turned black. With no other choice, he had to trust Cheng Shi once more, and used his exceptional memory to guide him back to the spot where Delvor had been reduced to ash.

But this time, they found no dropped items—only a fresh set of footprints.

Seeing this, Cheng Shi instantly knew his impromptu loot had already been taken.

His expression darkened as he studied the tracks, determined to confirm the thief wasn’t Xiao Qi; Sun Miao also observed, then frowned after a moment.

“Footprints from War-Mech Infantry and Scholar’s Boots—people from the Tower of Reason were here. They took it before you.”

“The Tower of Reason?” Cheng Shi frowned. No matter how he thought, he couldn’t fathom how they’d reacted faster than him—how could they risk entering to snatch this giant bow?

For what purpose?

“Is there any Grand Scholar in the Academy of Learning who’s a trap master?”

Cheng Shi asked, puzzled—he could only think of this explanation.

“It doesn’t have to be the Academy of Learning using it; it could be for research. But the bow is gone—stop thinking about it.

Once something falls into the Academy of Learning’s hands, it’s never returned.

There’s still time—why not go see...

Where are you going now?”

“The fake one might still be there. I want to see whether Xiao Qi needs the fake bow more—or my Fear Tree Core.”

Watching Cheng Shi charge once more into the scorched interior, Sun Miao’s eyelids twitched violently. He took several deep breaths, then followed.

Who said fame is never undeserved... could this “undeserved” mean someone meaningless?