Chapter 1078: You are the Heavenly Leaf King (Part 2)

"Red Leaf King?" Zhang Xuan's eyes narrowed.

"That's right, it's me! You knew who I was just from my voice... The Jade Leaf King and Stone Leaf King, those two fools, you must have killed them, right?"

A sneer rang out, and Zhang Xuan immediately felt his body tense, as if he had been fixated by a venomous snake, his whole body rigid.

"It's the pressure of the primordial spirit..." Cold sweat trickled down his forehead. Zhang Xuan knew the opponent was using primordial spirit suppression. Even a faint trace of it prevented him from conceiving any thought of resistance.

"Yes, I killed them. Do you intend to avenge them?" He circulated the Heaven's Path True Qi, which made him feel a little more at ease. Zhang Xuan gritted his teeth and looked around.

The opponent was hidden somewhere unknown; even his Eye of Insight couldn't detect any trace.

"Avenge them? Being killed by a mere Half-Saint means they weren't fit to be kings; they deserved their deaths," the Red Leaf King sneered.

The Otherworldly Demonic Tribe only pledges allegiance to their Emperor. They are inherently cold-blooded and do not care even if their comrades die.

"You were able to kill them, not even giving them time to send a message. You're quite something. How about this, I'm not in a hurry to kill you. Shall we play a game?" the Red Leaf King continued, chuckling.

"Play a game?" Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Everyone else was equally puzzled.

"That's right, the rules of the game are simple. Don't you want to escape this place? I have a total of five clues here. Once you obtain all of them, you can easily escape the formation and meet my true self..." the Red Leaf King stated.

"Five clues? I doubt they'll be easy to get!" Zhang Xuan frowned.

"Clever, I like talking to clever people!" The Red Leaf King smiled. "Getting the clues is simple: Kill one Master Teacher, and I'll give you the first. Kill two more, and I'll give you the second. Kill three more, and you'll get the third... and so on. In other words, as long as you kill fifteen Master Teachers, you'll get all the clues and be able to escape this place..."

"Kill Master Teachers?" Zhang Xuan's fists tightened.

There were originally thirty of them. Eight had already died, leaving only twenty-two. Killing fifteen more... would leave almost no one.

How ruthless!

To make them fight among themselves for his own benefit – though he hadn't seen the Red Leaf King in person, Zhang Xuan knew this being was sinister and evil, far more powerful than the Jade Leaf King and the others.

"That's right, you're a smart person; you should know how to choose. If you don't kill, you'll have no chance to meet me and will also be killed by the formation. But if you act and kill, at least you'll get to see me, and perhaps even avenge them..." the Red Leaf King continued.

"Despicable!" Everyone's face turned pale with anger.

If they continued to break through the stages, just as the opponent said, they would eventually all be killed, without even a chance to see the Red Leaf King. Only by obtaining the clues could they break out and fight him.

"He's attacking our resolve... If we really do that, how are we any different from the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe? What right would we have to call ourselves Master Teachers?" Master Wu gritted his teeth.

The opponent now had them completely cornered.

They could only choose one of the two paths.

"Oh, right, you don't have to kill them yourself either. As long as fifteen of you die, no matter who does it, I'll still provide the clues..." The Red Leaf King continued to chuckle. "Make your decision quickly. I'll give you an hour to think... Hehe! I hope our first cooperation will be very pleasant..."

The harsh, sharp voice gradually faded, as if the entity was no longer observing them.

"They must be gone..." Master Wu's spiritual sense spread out, and he turned to look.

"What do we do?" Wu Tianqiong asked.

Everyone else instinctively looked at Zhang Xuan, who was nearby.

Continuing to blindly push forward was definitely not an option. Were they truly to turn on each other, as the opponent suggested?

"This is definitely the Red Leaf King's trick, aiming to make us kill each other... Everyone, don't fall for it!" Zhang Xuan looked around.

"Yes, if we fall into the trap and fight among ourselves, even if we survive, it will create inner demons and we'll be exploited by them..." Master Mu also nodded.

"To be honest, our chances of getting out are slim. If we can just kill this Red Leaf King and avenge Elder Feng and the others, dying ourselves wouldn't matter!" Wu Tianqiong interrupted him.

"Exactly. Our deaths aren't a loss, but dying here, trapped and killed by the formation, would be too meaningless..." Wu Ran added.

"My opinion is the same as everyone else's. We can die, but Master Zhang and Master Wu cannot. As long as you two are alive, there's a chance to kill the Red Leaf King and escape this place..." Feng Xun also nodded.

The others stepped forward, expressing their agreement.

Their meaning was simple: at worst, fifteen would die. As long as they could preserve some strength, it was better than everyone dying here.

"I understand your intentions, but... can you guarantee that the Red Leaf King will keep his word and give us the clues? And even if you have the clues, can you guarantee that you'll escape?" Seeing their attitude, Zhang Xuan shook his head.

Their thoughts were selfless, even willing to sacrifice themselves, but... it was useless!

Not to mention the extreme cunning of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe, even if they truly gave them the clues or released them from the formation, Master Teachers are Master Teachers; they have principles. It's impossible for them to sacrifice others for their own sake.

Otherwise, what would be the difference between them and the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe?

"Then what do we do?" Everyone understood the logic, but having witnessed so many friends die and being toyed with by the opponent, they couldn't help but entertain such thoughts.

Now, hearing Zhang Xuan's analysis, they all looked at him, hoping that he could continue to create miracles.

"I don't know either..." Zhang Xuan gave a bitter smile.

He truly had no solution at the moment. He didn't know how this grand formation operated, nor where the Red Leaf King was. Any more ideas would be useless!

"You don't know either?" Seeing that even he was at a loss, everyone deflated like punctured balloons.

Master Zhang had never been stumped by anything along the way; if even he had no solution, then they truly didn't know what to do.

"I can't take it anymore! Didn't the Red Leaf King say that fifteen deaths would be enough? After I die, those who live must avenge me..." After a long, suffocating silence, a roar broke out. A Combat Master could no longer bear it and raised his longsword to commit suicide.

"Stop!" Zhang Xuan hadn't expected someone to try to commit suicide, even after everything had been explained so clearly. His eyebrows shot up, and he flicked his finger sharply.

A stream of True Qi shot forth, knocking the longsword away. Master Wu stepped forward, pointed his finger, and sealed the Combat Master's cultivation.

At this critical moment, suicide wouldn't solve anything; they needed to find a better solution.

"Don't stop me, let me die..." Even with his cultivation sealed, the Master Teacher didn't stop, continuing to shout loudly.

"If you won't let us commit suicide, then I'll do it myself..." Just as that situation was resolved, another roar erupted. A Master Teacher lunged out and struck a Combat Master nearby.

"Hmph!" Feng Xun's face darkened. His body blurred, and he appeared before the Master Teacher, delivering a kick.

Blood spurted out, and the Master Teacher flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground, severely injured.

"Feng Xun, what are you doing?" Hurriedly helping up the injured Master Teacher, Shen Pingchao turned and glared.

It was an elder from their Luoxing Academy.

"What am I doing? He ambushed my man! It's a good thing I didn't kill him!" Feng Xun glared back furiously.

His Combat Master had been standing still. If he hadn't intervened in the Master Teacher's ambush, his man would likely have been killed. To ask 'why' at a time like this was a joke!

"I think you're just looking for an excuse to fight. In that case, why don't you kill me first..." Shen Pingchao sneered.

"So what if I fight? You people from the three great academies have always been nothing but a burden. I've long been sick of the sight of you..." Feng Xun sneered.

"Enough!" To Master Wu's disbelief, instead of uniting in this dangerous situation, they were arguing. He was so angry he felt like he might explode.

"You are all Master Teachers and Combat Masters! Although we came to this ruin prepared for death, we cannot turn on each other while fighting the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe! If we do, how can we face Master Kong? How can we face our ancestors?"

"Hmph!" Hearing his rebuke, Feng Xun and Shen Pingchao exchanged a glance, then each flicked an arm, forcibly suppressing their anger.

"Alright, everyone, calm down. Let's quickly figure out how to get out of here first!" Seeing that the two were no longer arguing, President Han spoke up.

"How do we get out? Not to mention that this formation is layered with traps everywhere. Even if we got out, who among us could stand against the Red Leaf King?"

Feng Xun waved his hand. "I've personally witnessed the Stone Leaf King's power. Even if Master Wu used all his strength, he could at most fight to a draw... The Red Leaf King is even stronger, and with the formation, there's no way we're leaving this time!"

"Yes, I also think there's no way out... Unless we kill fifteen and get the clues from them!" Jiang Yuan, another centurion from the Combat Master Hall, said.

"If we truly resort to that, we'll have fallen right into the Red Leaf King's scheme of discord..." Master Wu frowned.

"Fallen into a trap? I don't think so. Instead, I believe there's definitely a mole among us. Otherwise, why would the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe know our movements so perfectly? Why would they always be one step ahead of us? It can't be such a coincidence!" Jiang Yuan stated.

"A mole? How is that possible! We are all Master Teachers, how could any of us betray..." Master Wu shook his head.

"You Xu was also a Master Teacher, didn't he betray humanity?" Jiang Yuan countered.

"This..." Master Wu's gaze flickered. Unsure how to reply, he frowned and looked over. "Master Jiang, have you discovered something? Please speak freely..."

"I have indeed noticed some irregularities..." With a cold snort, Jiang Yuan turned his head to look at Luo Ruoxi, his gaze sharp as lightning. "Master Luo, I have a few questions for you..."

Luo Ruoxi frowned. "Please ask!"

"Upon entering the ruin, neither Master Wu nor President Han detected the formation space, yet you saw it immediately. In the Boundless Realm, we were trapped, losing much of our True Qi, but you alone were not significantly harmed, and as soon as you left, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe attacked. With the Black Annihilation Dust, no one knew that soul-type artifacts could withstand it, but you were perfectly aware. Furthermore, you even told us to follow the tracks left by the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe... and as a result, we walked right into their trap!"

Jiang Yuan gave a cold smile. "How do you explain all of this?"

"Now that he mentions it, it really is true..." "I hadn't noticed before, but Master Jiang's words make it clear that Master Luo is indeed a bit suspicious!" "I thought something was off when she suddenly joined without initially saying she would come to the ruin. Now it seems there truly is something fishy..." "Let's see how she responds..."

*Whoosh!* After hearing Jiang Yuan's analysis, everyone's expressions changed. They collectively took several steps back, instantly creating an empty circle around Luo Ruoxi.

"You think I'm a spy?" Luo Ruoxi's delicate brows furrowed; she hadn't expected the accusation to be directed at her.

"That's right. You've been disguised among us, leading us step by step into traps without us realizing it. Among the Qingtian lineage, the only one with such ability and power is likely that legendary expert, the one whose head is seen but not its tail! If my guess is correct..."

Jiang Yuan stared coldly, his eyes like lightning. "You are the Sky Leaf King!"