Chapter 805: I Won

Now, about Jiang Fan and his two companions.

They killed as they went. When they burst out of the tunnel, not one of the ten black-robed figures or the two Spirit Beast Sect informants had escaped. All had become headless corpses.

The three dared not linger. They rushed down the mountain, leapt onto the back of their flying beast, and promptly fled.

"Alright, alright, the betting is open!" Wu Manyue exclaimed soon after they ascended. Rubbing her small hands, she disregarded her burns and eagerly pulled out the heads she had collected. This time, she had secured six heads, which, added to the previous four, made a total of ten.

Ren Guhong's face darkened, and he angrily slapped his leg, exclaiming, "You really know how to snatch heads!" He took out his own bounty. This time he had killed five, adding to the previous four, for a total of nine heads.

Wu Manyue immediately burst into laughter, like a cackling goose. "Ohoho! It's finally my turn to strike it rich! Quickly, hand over Senior Brother Ren's Five-Colored Spirit Liquid and Junior Brother Jiang's Bodhi Pill! They're all mine now!"

Jiang Fan turned to glance at the distant Spirit Beast Sect. His lingering anxiety slightly eased. Hearing her, he smiled and said, "Who says you won?"

Wu Manyue scoffed, "Are you trying to welch? Let me help you count. This time, including the two Spirit Beast Sect informants in the tunnel, there were a total of fourteen disciples. I killed six, Senior Brother Ren killed five, and even if the remaining three were all killed by you. Adding the four you killed previously, that makes seven. I have nine, Senior Brother Ren has eight, and you have seven. It's crystal clear. Hand over the goods!" She proudly extended her slender palm, resembling a smug little peacock, utterly triumphant.

Ren Guhong, with a dark expression, took out the barrel of Five-Colored Spirit Liquid. He patted Jiang Fan's shoulder and said, "Junior Brother Jiang, you should accept your loss gracefully. We're in the same boat. Once we're safe, let's find a place to drink and drown our sorrows."

Jiang Fan smirked, "Senior Brother Ren, you'll have to drink that wine by yourself." He silently took out three heads. Then he took out another four heads. Immediately after, he produced twelve more heads. "My apologies, but I won."

Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue's expressions froze. They stared, unblinking, at the rolling heads, which were more than double what the two of them had combined.

"Junior Brother Jiang, where did those extra twelve come from?" Ren Guhong asked, stunned, "Did we ever encounter them?" Jiang Fan shook his head, "You didn't encounter them. I did, and then I chopped them all down."

"My word!" Ren Guhong's eyes widened, "You pulled off a big one before meeting up with us?" Seeing Jiang Fan nod, Ren Guhong was dumbfounded, "So that means... the competition was over before it even began?" Jiang Fan nodded again.

Ren Guhong stretched out his hands, wanting to strangle Jiang Fan, "Why didn't you say so earlier? You made me kill like a madman, as if on adrenaline?" Jiang Fan laughed and dodged, saying, "One must give others a little hope in life."

Ren Guhong gritted his teeth, trembling with rage: "You're a real conniving bastard!"

Meanwhile, Wu Manyue squatted down, reluctantly examining the twelve corpses. She discovered that the marks behind their necks were identical to those of the people killed later. She completely lost her composure. She began to cry heartbrokenly.

"Waaah! You're too much of a bully! I'm never playing with you again!" Crying, she pulled out her hair ornament and angrily threw it into Jiang Fan's arms. Then, turning her back to Jiang Fan, she squatted on the bird's back and wailed loudly. To win against Jiang Fan just once, she had truly given her all this time. Never before had she been so serious. But in the end, she lost utterly.

Jiang Fan rubbed his nose and muttered: "Did I win too decisively? I should have brought fewer heads, to make it easier on you."

As soon as he said that, Wu Manyue cried even more bitterly, pounding her leg and saying: "He's even calling me useless! Awoohoohoo!"

Jiang Fan looked embarrassed. He simply stopped talking, put away the hair ornament, and also collected the Five-Colored Spirit Liquid from the ground. He cleared his throat, went behind Wu Manyue, and gently patted her shoulder, saying: "You didn't come away with nothing. Don't forget what we discovered."

Wu Manyue suddenly stopped crying, her beautiful eyes widening, and then she happily exclaimed: "A Hellish Desolate Beast! We discovered a Hellish Desolate Beast!"

Ren Guhong, who had been looking dejected, also suddenly realized. "I almost forgot! This is our biggest gain from this trip!" He quickly took out his identification token. Using his hand as a pen, he inscribed the words "Spirit Beast Sect: Hellish Desolate Beast sighted, Ren Guhong" onto the token.

Jiang Fan immediately took out his token and followed suit. Seeing that Jiang Fan didn't quite understand, Ren Guhong explained: "Our Heavenly Secret Pavilion's identification tokens double as communication talismans. However, they can only transmit messages to the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. The Heavenly Secret Pavilion cannot send messages to us, nor can we disciples communicate with each other."

Jiang Fan understood. So it's a one-way communication artifact. With disciples holding these tokens, the Heavenly Secret Pavilion essentially gains countless eyes and ears.

Wu Manyue also joyfully inscribed the message. She paused, then added, "However, when the final tally is made, it's based on the most recent information. If the strong cultivators from the Pavilion arrive and the Hellish Desolate Beast is still here, then credit for the discovery will naturally go to us. But if the Hellish Desolate Beast moves elsewhere, and disciples there discover it and attract the Pavilion's cultivators, then the credit will go to them."

Jiang Fan nodded slightly. That makes sense. Information only counts when it generates value. Otherwise, if Jiang Fan and the others were immediately given credit for being the first to discover the Hellish Desolate Beast, and the beast later escaped, who would risk continuing to track its whereabouts? They could only hope the Pavilion Master and the others would arrive soon, and successfully slay the Hellish Desolate Beast.

Just then! In the sky behind them, the towering Spirit Beast Sect suddenly erupted with a thunderous roar. A red afterimage burst out from the swirling dust and smoke. After scanning the surroundings, it locked onto them and sped towards them.

"My word!" Jiang Fan was startled, "He managed to escape even that? What was that Hellish Desolate Beast doing?"

Ren Guhong and Wu Manyue also felt their scalps tingle. Wu Manyue quickly tore open a spatial scroll, saying: "Jiang Fan, you killed the most, so he's definitely coming for you!" Jiang Fan's face darkened, "But you killed with the most glee!" He summoned the Nine Heavens Thunder Dragon and decisively fled. Ren Guhong shivered, "You two are the most cunning; Reverend Xiaoyao must hate you both the most." He unfurled his shriveled wings. Without another word, the three of them simultaneously transformed into streaks of light and vanished into the sky.

Soon after, Reverend Xiaoyao caught up to the flying beast. He was severely injured at this moment. His red robe was torn to shreds, half of his head was gone, and white brain matter oozed down by his ear. One of his eyeballs had even fallen out. Any Core Formation realm martial artist would have long been dead. But Reverend Xiaoyao still maintained a remarkably strong vitality.

"Little brats!" His face was filled with malevolence. He had used every last life-saving trump card he possessed to barely escape the Hellish Desolate Beast with his life. And the one who had brought him to this state was that black-clad boy! When he saw the large heads on the back of the flying beast, his already malevolent expression turned into boundless rage. "Ah! You actually killed all my disciples! You're seeking death!" He glared with bloodshot eyes, locked onto the direction of Jiang Fan's Thunder Dragon, and roared as he charged forward!