Chapter 14: Kindred Spirits Reunited

Zhang Yong and Han Dong, of course, didn’t decline and stepped forward cheerfully to touch the stone tablet of martial transmission.

As expected, though there was none of the wondrous glow from before, both of them obtained the second level of the Soaring Dragon Palm with ease.

“Xu was third, Hu Hailong fourth, and Yu Liang fifth.”

Wei Cheng continued to assign the remaining spots. With his recent feats, no one dared utter a word of complaint.

The three went up in turn. Bald Brother and Hu Hailong smoothly acquired the second level of the Golden Bell Technique, but the real surprise came from Yu Liang, who actually drew the first level core manual of the Golden Bell Technique. This confirmed Wei Cheng’s theory: the tougher the trial, the greater the reward from the stone tablet.

“Yes!”

Yu Liang dared not shout, but did two cartwheels in his excitement.

“Wei, should I abandon Iron Shirt and focus on training the Golden Bell Technique now?”

“What do you think?”

Wei Cheng shot back. Yu Liang grinned sheepishly. Their last battle was proof enough: his inner force was on par with Bald Brother and Hu Hailong, but when struck by the bone demon’s chill, the Iron Shirt, which lagged by a ten percent match, simply couldn’t withstand it.

They were nearly crippled by the demonic chill, while those with the Golden Bell Technique could at least catch their breath.

And that was the Iron Shirt—those unlucky ones practicing Iron Head Technique hadn’t dared step up at all and were instantly rendered useless.

“Wang Wei, Cheng An, Zhao Shuxin. You three.”

Wei Cheng called again. The three stepped forward but failed to draw the Golden Bell Technique. Wang Wei and Cheng An obtained the second level of Iron Shirt, while Zhao Shuxin got the first level—he’d previously trained only in Iron Head Technique.

“Long Fengjun, Shang Zhi, you two go ahead. Liu Yan, wait for the next chance.”

These three were the less fortunate, all practicing Iron Head Technique. Long Fengjun and Shang Zhi still hoped to get Iron Shirt, but as expected, they only received the second level of Iron Head Technique.

Better than nothing.

“Let's go, back to clearing the mine tunnels. Zhang Yong and Han Dong, use this time to complete another cycle of cultivation.”

Wei Cheng gave no time for reflection. Sweeping his gaze across the Bone Demon’s lair, finding nothing of value, he led them back to the Bat Demon’s cave, where two unopened tunnels remained.

He skipped the northern tunnel and chose the southern one.

Wei Cheng took the lead, and the group worked swiftly. Several hours later, they were close to breaking through, when suddenly, the sounds of battle came from ahead.

They were a step too late.

“Wei, should we keep going?”

Hu Hailong asked in a low voice.

Wei Cheng hesitated, but finally shook his head, signaling everyone to withdraw quietly.

He had caught more details than the rest. In the other cave, their fellow Earth natives were indeed present, thirty-seven in all. He couldn’t tell which demon they faced, but they were disciplined and coordinated, with members practicing Mountain Shifting, Swift Swallow, and Purple Mist techniques.

What good could come from two teams meeting? Other than the fleeting comfort of not being alone, nothing. The stone tablet only granted ten chances, the best reward only to one—how would they compete then? More infighting?

In fact, not only Wei Cheng, but Hu Hailong, Yu Liang, and the others understood this well.

Back in the Bat Demon’s cave, Yu Liang suggested, “Why not try opening the northern tunnel?”

But before Wei Cheng could reply, Wang Wei sneered, “Are you daft? We heard an explosion from that direction when we fought the Bat Demon earlier. That means the demon lair there was probably already cleared. And the team in that direction is definitely moving faster than we are.”

“That’s right. By that logic, the southern team is probably faster too!”

They exchanged glances, and Hu Hailong quickly drew a rough diagram on the ground.

“Wei, if that’s so, then each team’s situation is the same: the central tunnel leads to the next level’s demon lair, while the side tunnels are parallel challenges.”

“Clearing the central lair is just passing; clearing both side lairs is full marks.”

Yu Liang suddenly said, “It’s not that simple. It’s like a game of Go—the central lair is our crucial point. If we’re too slow, others could cut us off, and then we’ll have no lairs left to clear and might get eliminated.”

“I think the other teams likely took the side lairs after finishing the main challenge. Either way, we need to pick up the pace.”

“Wait, why must we compete? Can’t we cooperate?” Zhang Yong, having finished a cultivation cycle, joined in, but was immediately met with looks of disbelief.

“Heh, cooperation? Next time, Zhang, why don’t you give up your turn at the stone tablet for me?” Liu Yan, who had been sidelined so far, replied sourly.

There were only eleven of them, yet competition was already this fierce.

“It’s not looking good. The other side has more people, so they can clear more lairs and earn more rewards, which will snowball. If this were a real-time strategy game, we’d have lost from the start.”

The usually silent Han Dong spoke up.

“And have you noticed?” Hu Hailong added, “In the Spider and Bat Demon lairs, there was food, water, even vegetable cakes to scavenge. But from the Bone Demon lair onward, nothing. So even if we wanted to cultivate up to three cycles of inner force, it’s impossible.”

“At least you all have two cycles. Han Dong and I are stuck at one,” Zhang Yong complained. With two cycles, his Soaring Dragon Palm would be much stronger.

“Wei, maybe we should wait for those two to catch up,” Bald Brother, always the simple, honest one, spoke up. Rarely did he offer advice, but when he did, it was never without reason.

Wei Cheng looked at him, thought for a moment, then nodded. “Right, better to sharpen the axe before chopping wood. No matter how fast the other teams are, they won’t overtake us in just a few days. You two focus on cultivation, everyone else work on mastering your martial techniques. Next round, we can’t afford anyone dragging us down.”

The group murmured their assent. Though lacking in spirit, each now realized they had to cooperate closely—there was no more room for selfishness.

“Wei, there are still two unopened tunnels in the Spider Demon’s lair. Should we—” Yu Liang started.

“What do you think? Do you really think the other teams would leave you such a gift?”

Wei Cheng shook his head. There was nothing he could do—he’d heard clearly before: that team was strong, with a leader who had seized control from the very start, keeping everyone in line.

By contrast, their own initial leader should have been Shen Qianshan, but unfortunately, his luck failed him, and he never truly grasped the situation.

Such a gap was nearly impossible to bridge.

Unless they found another path.

For example, soloing a Stone Demon for a Flame Stone.

Such devastating weapons were always worth having.

Just as Wei Cheng made his decision, at the far end of the southern tunnel, the battle had ended. Under the command of a composed middle-aged man, the team methodically touched the stone tablet.

But this lair was laid out differently—there were only two tunnels, one leading toward Wei Cheng’s group, the other in the opposite direction.

“Captain Tang, I just heard something in this tunnel—might be our countrymen. Should we say hello?” a powerfully built man asked, still enveloped in the lingering golden aura of the Golden Bell Technique’s third level.

“No need. We may not be enemies, but the competition has been set since the trial began. Even if we meet, what’s the point? Aside from comforting them with a pat on the head and a lollipop, what else? The teams can’t unite.”

“Withdraw! Everyone, rest up. Main squad, aim to open your third innate meridian; second squad, aim for the second. Prepare for the fourth stage of the main challenge.”