BXBX NOVEL Chapter 217: 216: Scheme Against Long Aotian! (Please Subscribe!)
Chapter 217: 216: Scheme Against Long Aotian! (Please Subscribe!)
“No, that’s too cheap. They should at least give a million!”
At this moment, Du Gang was discussing the price with the Little Hawk King.
Little Hawk King was almost crying, “A million? In my entire life, my expenses are nowhere near a million… not even ten thousand…”
“Is it that little?”
Du Gang looked at him with a confused look, “Don’t lie to me, or else…”
Little Hawk King sighed helplessly, “Why would I lie to you? Ordinary people only need one saint crystal for their cultivation up to the Sector Lord level…”
“Although I have the Sky Hawk Holy Body, for my cultivation, I only used less than one hundred saint crystals. It was only when I was refining my physical body that I used nearly three thousand saint crystals, totaling just over three thousand saint crystals…”
Du Gang was doubtful, “Are you really this poor? Are you lying to me? I attended Jiang Wenxing’s banquet, and that guy had more than twenty bottles of Wuliangye just for the event!”
With each bottle averaging more than three thousand, a total of over twenty bottles would amount to nearly sixty thousand saint crystals. Even if divided among two hundred people, it would amount to three hundred saint crystals per person.
Jiang Wenxing has already hosted four such banquets, which means he has spent twelve hundred saint crystals…
“Huh?”
Little Hawk King was stunned for a moment and quickly realized that Du Gang was talking about market prices. With a bitter smile, he said, “You must be misunderstanding. The market price of Wuliangye is indeed very high, worth more than two to three thousand saint crystals…”
“But us, the eighteen large families, we can get an internal price…”
“The factory price is 598 saint crystals, and we get it for a maximum of 699 saint crystals. The only rule is that we cannot resell it…”
He confirmed, “A banquet like the one Jiang Wenxing hosts is considered a social event. Not only will the family support it, but they also provide a subsidy…”
Such a banquet typically helps recruit followers or increase Jiang Wenxing’s personal reputation, so the Jiang family naturally supports it.
Little Hawk King laughed and said, “My guess is that Jiang Wenxing didn’t even have to pay anything; his family probably reimbursed him. The other attendees from the younger generation probably had the same arrangement!”
“We offspring of the top families at least have some discretionary funds. However, those from smaller families who attend the event often look glamorous but are, in reality, poor. Their family welfare often outweighs personal assets…”
“For example, if I were refining my physical body, the family would foot the bill. But if they asked to blindly give me three thousand saint crystals so I could wine and dine, they wouldn’t do it. Unless my father gave me his private stash…”
Du Gang frowned and said, “I can borrow ten million saint crystals from our company, you…”
“Brother, that’s a loan!”
Little Hawk King said helplessly, “When we borrow money from the company, we must repay it! The company is not solely owned by one family. Although we, the eighteen large families, manage four companies collectively, other families in Penglai also have some shares in them…”
“Borrowing a million…”
Little Hawk King suddenly realized what Du Gang meant, and he was left dumbfounded, “You borrowed ten million saint crystals from the company?!”
“Hmm!”
Du Gang nodded, “Otherwise, why would I kidnap you? Isn’t it to repay my debts!”
Little Hawk King’s expression grew complicated at this, and after a while, he managed to say only one thing, “Courageous!”
In all his life, the most saint crystals he had ever acquired at once was during the appearance of the last relic, but it was just over ten thousand. Half of it had to be handed over to the family, and the rest was mostly controlled by his father, under the pretext of nurturing masculinity.
However, Du Gang wouldn’t just let him go because of his words and he quickly said, “Let me tell you, ten thousand saint crystals is absolutely unacceptable. Tell me honestly, how much are you worth?!”
Little Hawk King tentatively said, “One hundred thousand?”
“You’re a goddamn Sacred Body and only worth one hundred thousand?”
Du Gang shook his head, “Forget it, since you don’t even know your worth. I’ll demand one million saint crystals. If your family doesn’t agree, I will kill you!”
After he spoke, he didn’t bother to discuss this matter with Little Hawk King any further and left his spiritual world.
Seeing Du Gang’s spirit becoming sluggish, Little Hawk King could only sigh. Though he was saved, when the time for redemption comes, it was going to be catastrophic…
At this moment, the temple was still shrouded in darkness.
Luckily, there was a symbolic landmark here. All they needed to do was walk toward the tallest tree.
Thus, Du Gang set off on his journey in this dark world.
They hadn’t traveled far. Du Gang arrived at the base of the towering tree in just half an hour.
Just like the rest of the dark forest, there were many black creatures perched on each branch.
However, he was able to judge through these black creatures’ appearance and size that these creatures were stronger than those found elsewhere.
The black creatures in the common forest generally had the power of a Three-Laws Sector Lord. However, only a Four-Laws Sector Lord could destroy them.
On the towering tree, at glance, these creatures varied in size, anywhere from twice to four times as big.
This implies that the creatures on this tree likely ranged from Four-Laws to Eight-Laws Sector Lord level.
An Eight-Laws Sector Lord represents the limit that a Sector Lord can reach. Ordinary Sector Lords, even with ten billion years of cultivation, practically cannot achieve this level.
After all, what restricts ordinary people’s cultivation of the Laws is the affinity of their bodies!
He couldn’t proceed any further once he reached this towering tree.
He didn’t know the specifics of the Sky-reaching Mountain, and this tree was too high. He had no idea what he might encounter if he continued upward.
“Forget it. I’ll wait until the Day World arrives to check the situation here!”
So Du Gang didn’t act recklessly; instead, he waited in place.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo!”
More than four hours later, a rooster started crowing atop a platform not too far away. The Day World arrived and the dark forest disappeared, replaced by the Sky-reaching Mountain where the towering tree previously stood.
At this time, a man descended from the distant platform. Seeing Du Gang, his eyes lit up, and he quickly ran over.
“Lord Ancient God!”
This middle-aged man had the strength of a Four-Law Sector Lord and was dressed as a guard from the Yu Family. He came over to Du Gang and respectfully greeted him.
Looking at him, Du Gang asked: “Did Yu Shuiyao ask you to stay here?”
“Yes, she asked me to wait for you here and tell you about the Sky-reaching Mountain…”
He didn’t pay much attention to the respectful attitude of the man.
Though they were both at the Four-Law Sector Lord level, this guard had already reached his talent limit; his hope of breaking through to the Eternal Level was bleak.
However, those with special physiques were different, they had countless possibilities.
“Go on!”
Du Gang nodded, signaling him to proceed quickly.
“One can’t fly within a hundred miles radius of Sky-reaching Mountain, and the closer to the mountain, the more your strength will be suppressed…”
Through these explanations, Du Gang finally understood.
Most of the others had already begun climbing the mountain; the higher they ascended, the steeper the mountain became, and their strength was suppressed to virtually that of an ordinary human.
However, on the mountain, there are platforms at intervals which offer refuge from the attacks of the Night World.
This means that climbers must reach the next platform before nightfall, or they will enter the Night World.
Furthermore, to leave this temple world, one must stand on a platform. This indicates that if one falls into the Night World, they must bear it for six hours until daylight arrives.
“How far have the others gone?”
Upon hearing this, the guard shook his head, “My knowledge is limited to the first platform, I don’t know what lies above!”
In Sky-reaching Mountain, one can’t fly. Each platform is placed at various distances, but all are at least ten thousand meters apart. Just by vision, one cannot ascertain who has reached where.
Du Gang nodded, after sending the guard away to do his duties, he rapidly headed for Sky-reaching Mountain.
No matter what, he would encounter people as he went up the mountain!
Just like the guard had described, the closer Du Gang got to Sky-reaching Mountain, the stronger the suppressive force on his body became.
Progressively, as he kept moving upward, the mountain became more and more steep, and the suppressive force grew more dreadful.
By the time Du Gang arrived at a spot where the mountain was almost perpendicular to the ground, this formidable suppressive force had reduced him to the strength of a mere mortal.
“So, this is the power of suppression??”
Du Gang looked down, he was already more than a thousand meters above ground.
Looking up, it still seemed endless, but through the wrinkles in the mountain, he could determine where the flat platforms were.
The first platform was approximately ten thousand meters away from him.
“Let’s go and have a look!”
At this point, Du Gang couldn’t simply walk anymore. The mountain was nearly vertical, so he had to use his hands and feet, like an ordinary climber, stepping into crevices in the mountain to ascend.
Even though his strength was suppressed to that of an ordinary man, his mental quality and the likes were still sound. Without panic or rushing, he climbed upward.
Within a mere minute, he effortlessly ascended tens of meters, albeit, this had a lot to do with the location which was easier to climb.
Ten thousand meters might look close, but when he was actually climbing with the strength of a common man, it felt incredibly distant.
After an hour of climbing, he had only conquered three thousand meters of height.
Looking down at the ground now, the people beneath had shrunk significantly, and looked akin to ants.
“It’s not hard, it’s just time-consuming!”
After an hour of climbing, Du Gang’s body didn’t feel tired. As he was a divine body which was strengthened, even though his strength was suppressed to an ordinary human level, his stamina was practically invincible.
He successfully reached the first platform after another two hours.
This platform wasn’t large, only one meter wide, but really long, built along the mountain. He couldn’t see the end on either side.
“I wonder if there’s anyone on this level!”
He looked up, the distance to the second platform was about fifteen thousand meters. Three hours might not be enough, so he didn’t continue climbing but started walking along the first platform.
He hadn’t walked long before he encountered living people.
They were several people dressed in guard uniforms, but from the totems on their chests, they were not from the same family.
As Du Gang saw them, they also looked back. Seeing Du Gang dressed in ordinary clothes, unlike them, these people stood up and slightly nodded in greeting.
“Are you a new proud talent?”
One of the guards asked.
Du Gang nodded, “Yes, I just entered today. You guys must have been here for a long time, why are you still here?”
In his mind, these guards should have arrived a month ago and by this time should have climbed to an unknown height.
The guard smiled, “The family instructed us to stay here, we have personnel on every level, recording any possible changes…”
Even though they were still on the platform, they could send out messages and naturally receive the family’s instructions.
Du Gang nodded, understanding the situation, and asked, “Did you see any other people going up?”
He gave it some thought and mentioned two names, “Yu Shuiyao, Qiao Jin!”
The several guards shook their heads, “We have been staying here all the time, nobody else has been here except you!”
Du Gang nodded.
After some deliberation, when he and Little Hawk King parted ways, it was about to get dark. This means Yu Shuiyao and Qiao Jin would not have dared to climb the mountain.
They must have spent the night on the flat ground of the platform, just like him.
Therefore, during the daytime, they must have started climbing at about the same time as him.
“They must be at the same position as before!” Du Gang thought.
When Du Gang started climbing, he did not return to the previous position where he left from, instead, he started climbing close by.
He made an approximation and continued in one direction.
The second platform was fifteen thousand meters high and the two of them probably hadn’t got up yet, so they were likely somewhere on the first platform.
He just needed to walk in one direction, and he would eventually run into them.
Walking along the platform, Du Gang tried to transform but found that it seemed to be ineffective, just like it had been disabled.
“It seems that the suppressing force here not only suppresses the cultivation level but also the physique!”
If it was any other place, he might have been surprised, but this is a temple transformed by a strand of divine thought of Supreme Pangu, so he didn’t find anything unusual!
The name of the Supreme is well-known, although he isn’t sure what realm it specifically refers to, the fact that it’s the final realm of cultivation speaks for itself.
It can be said that the Supreme is the strongest realm of humans!
This time, he encountered a few other guards along the way, also left by other families to observe the changes of the first platform.
Without pausing, he continued walking for about an hour more until he found Yu Shuiyao and Qiao Jin before nightfall.
Apart from them, the frivolous Yao Zijie and presumptuous Long Aotian were also there.
“Du Gang!”
When Yu Shuiyao and the others turned around they saw him. “Where’s Little Hawk King?” she asked.
She hadn’t forgotten that Du Gang left in pursuit of Little Hawk King.
The other two had also heard about Du Gang’s fight with Little Hawk King and were now watching him with narrowed eyes.
Du Gang smiled lightly, “He escaped, probably didn’t climb the mountain!”
In his eyes, all the special physiques were prey, so he naturally couldn’t tell them he had caught Little Hawk King. Otherwise, they would all be on guard.
“So he escaped!” All the people present subtly breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s not that they were worried for Little Hawk King, but they felt that if Du Gang had killed Little Hawk King, it would be terrifying.
After all, Little Hawk King was not weak, as the Sky Hawk Holy Body, none of the people present could say for certain that they could defeat him.
After all, everything is uncertain until you fight. Now that the Golden Age has just begun, apart from their previous battle with Kong Xu, they haven’t fought any other strong physique people yet.
Upon hearing this, Yao Zijie smiled and said, “The Ancient God is indeed an Ancient God, capable of pursuing the Sky Hawk Holy Body!”
Du Gang revealed a radiant smile, his white teeth came into view, he said amicably, “It’s nothing, I just happened to restrain Little Hawk King, and by chance discovered his weakness…”
For some reason, seeing this smile, Yao Zijie felt a chilling sensation down his back.
He felt as if Du Gang had some scheme in mind for him.
Could it be that this guy is into him?!
As he thought of this, Yao Zijie suddenly shivered and instinctively backed away a little.
The others did not reflect much on this, instead, they considered the weakness of Little Hawk King as mentioned by him.
In their eyes, it was more plausible that Du Gang could beat Little Hawk King because he had found his weak point rather than being stronger than him.
After all, if Little Hawk King, who was on par with them, could simply be toppled, it was quite tragic.
Yu Shuiyao’s brows knitted together as she recalled the previous battle between the two.
Among the onlookers, only she had witnessed the battle between Du Gang and Little Hawk King.
After revisiting the memory, she found nothing unusual.
At this moment, Long Aotian sneered, “That’s all you can do, relying on finding others’ weaknesses.”
Du Gang felt quite baffled. He didn’t even know this person who had begun by taunting him.
He didn’t realize that Long Aotian was just like this. He had a natural hostility towards those of his generation who had a higher reputation than him.
Surprisingly, Du Gang did not retaliate with his own mockery. Instead, he followed Long Aotian’s words and coughed as he said, “Indeed, compared to you all, I am a bit weaker. It was unfortunate for Little Hawk King, I just happened to come across his weakness!”
Regardless of what others thought, Du Gang had marked Long Aotian in his little notebook—he definitely had to catch him. But he had to wait for him to be alone.
To prevent the others from being on guard, he needed to show some weakness to lower their guard.
Meanwhile, he was pondering as he looked at the four people in front of him.
Should he capture all of them?
No, it wouldn’t be right. Qiao Jin had given him an opportunity during the Peak Genius Race. Wouldn’t it be unjust to capture him?
Besides, he didn’t have any reason to capture Yu Shuiyao and Yao Zijie!
Du Gang was troubled. These people were not the same as Chen Yixuan and others before. These were all key figures nurtured by major families, either having a sacred or dao body, with extremely high value.
Capturing them for no reason could invoke retaliations from these families once they were released.
However, a reasonable explanation would negate this problem. Like in the case of Little Hawk King: if the Ying family was dissatisfied in the future, Du Gang could say that Little Hawk King had insulted him.
Indeed, that was what happened. Little Hawk King had insulted everyone under the arena, and with all those witnesses, he couldn’t deny it!
Therefore, he needed to find a reason to capture these people.
Hearing Du Gang’s words, Long Aotian looked proud and a bit disdainful.
As a proud genius, he just swallowed an insult without any pride. He was even willing to admit his weakness!
In that moment, Long Aotian had lost respect for Du Gang!
Yao Zijie, who hadn’t interacted with Du Gang before, held a trace of contempt for him after hearing his words.
A person could lack pride, but not backbone. Du Gang, from a small place, was far behind in this!
Only Qiao Jin and Yu Shuiyao felt something wasn’t right.
Both of them had interacted with Du Gang before and the impression he left did not match his current display.
Yu Shuiyao looked troubled.
Somethings wasn’t right. Du Gang had shown many traits before—calmness, courage, audacity, meticulousness, and more…
She still remembered her previous confrontations with him in the ruins. Du Gang had displayed great cunning, even fooling her.
A man who had dared to capture more than three hundred prodigies for money, with such a bandit-like character, was not someone who would easily yield!
Something was wrong with this guy!
Yu Shuiyao looked at Du Gang with a scrutinizing gaze. Seeing his silly laugh, she became even more sure.
This guy was definitely planning something cunning, he was definitely up to no good!
Yu Shuiyao instantly became alert!
On the other hand, Qiao Jin also sensed something was amiss. He had journeyed with Du Gang from White Dragon Mountain.
Without discussing the past, just based on the final competition, Du Gang’s confrontation with Qin Yanghua was enough to show that he was a person who refused to be taken advantage of.
With this character, would he admit he was weaker??
This kid was definitely plotting something!
However, he wasn’t worried. Du Gang owed him a favor, and wouldn’t harm him even if he was scheming.
Observing Long Aotian’s arrogance and Du Gang’s silly laugh, he roughly understood the situation—this guy was planning to get Long Aotian!
On the surface, Qiao Jin was calm, but internally, he was excited.
This should be interesting!
“You coming back is a mistake, in my opinion, you should’ve stayed at your hometown…”
Long Aotian seemed to have figured out what kind of person Du Gang was and started to disparage him.
“Yes, my hometown is great, peaceful and undisturbed. If it wasn’t for the Kong Family asking me to come, I really would’ve preferred to stay…”
Du Gang continued along these lines, before turning his gaze to Yao Zijie and laughing: “Brother Yao’s earlier Gentleman’s Sword, was so powerful, it was unparalleled…”
Upon hearing this, Yao Zijie immediately broke into a smile.
“You know me?”
Du Gang laughed: “When Brother Yao was going through the three challenges, I was there and heard many rumors about you…”
“Oh?”
Yao Zijie feigned surprise and asked: “I wonder what rumors they were spreading about me?”
He roughly guessed that it must be words of praise and wanted to hear Du Gang say them out loud.
Du Gang cleared his throat and said: “They said that the Yao family has a pair of unmatched talents. Although Yao Zixuan is a woman, she outshines countless prodigies and can be called a heroine…”
“They said about Brother Yao…”
“Hmm?”
Yao Zijie felt something was off, it didn’t seem like Du Gang was praising him, and he hurriedly asked, “What did they say about me?!”
Du Gang hesitated for a moment, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.
Yao Zijie said, “Brother Du, feel free to speak. I’ve never cared about such baseless rumors…”
Hearing this, Du Gang quickly said: “They said, Yao Zijie, who wields a weapon, is not as good as Yao Zixuan, who doesn’t. They think that the two of them should switch roles, so he doesn’t bring shame upon men…”
“I’m so angry…”
Yao Zijie was instantly enraged, showing completely no semblance to his previously indifferent demeanor.
“These eunuchs, what do they know? They’re not as strong as me, and they dare to talk about me?!”
Everyone present stared at him, their faces filled with shock.
The Gentleman’s Sword was not so gentlemanly, he was spouting nonsense and swearing left and right…
Yao Zijie cursed for a while before he realized the silence around him and realized he had said the wrong thing.
Looking embarrassed, he coughed, “Ahem, I was a little excited, so…”
Du Gang laughed: “Ah, it’s okay. Brother Yao is a real man, this is just being true to yourself!”
He was overjoyed inside. He now had a handle on Yao Zijie, a reason to start a fight.
All these words Yao Zijie just said, essentially he cursed at others, which means he cursed at Du Gang too, calling him a eunuch.
If your Yao’s Zijie insults me like this, is it not justified for me to kidnap him and ask for a million Saint Crystals in exchange?!
Long Aotian and Yao Zijie were now in his sights, he could kidnap them anytime the opportunity presents itself.
With that, Du Gang turned his gaze towards Yu Shuiyao.
He chuckled, saying, “It’s not just him, when I was on the stage, I heard many people talking about Miss Yu Shuiyao…”
Yu Shuiyao sneered when she heard this, “No need for you to tell me, I was there at that time. Moreover, I entered the temple after you!”
She was increasingly suspecting Du Gang of plotting something!
What they said about who’s wielding the sword and who’s not, she didn’t hear any of it.
Moreover, the geniuses who could appear near the stage, although they were not as strong as them, they were still the descendants of major families. They wouldn’t say such phrases about wielding a weapon or not.
Therefore, she suspected that it was something Du Gang made up on the spot!
This guy, could it be…?
Suddenly, she remembered a scene from the ruins before.
She felt a bit flustered and the way she looked at Du Gang began to change.
This guy, could it possibly be that he wants to kidnap Yao Zijie?!
Not just him, he probably wants to kidnap me too!
At this moment, Yu Shuiyao looked vigilant, while wondering if Little Hawk King had already been captured by Du Gang.
Seeing that Yu Shuiyao didn’t take the bait, Du Gang felt a bit disappointed. He glanced at Qiao Jin, but in the end, didn’t have the nerve to say anything.
Instead, he casually asked: “It’s going to be dark soon. What do you think would happen if someone falls off this platform at night?”
Yu Shuiyao snorted, and didn’t say a word. She was afraid it was a trap!
Meanwhile, Long Aotian was standing there quietly, with his head held high, looking like he was above it all.
Yao Zijie was regretting, his head was heated, he had blurted out those words.
He cultivated the Gentlesman’s sword, he needed to mind his manners and words. If his dad knew he cursed, he was finished!
It was all his sister’s fault, she never behaved properly, she always cursed, causing him to get used to it and blurt it out casually.
His sister was Yao Zixuan. Despite her name sounded pretty and elegant, and she cultivated the Lady Sword, her personality was like a bandit who grew up among robbers, very bold and unrestrained!
Over here, the other three harbored their thoughts and no one responded. Qiao Jin started laughing, “I have seen the video sent by the Ji Family. When you fall off the platform, you will fall into the Night World and be devoured by endless monsters. It’s terrifying…”
Du Gang’s eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked, “Are those who fall in, still ordinary people in the Night World?”
“Ordinary people?”
Qiao Jin shook his head. “When you fall into the Night World, you regain your power. However, it doesn’t serve much use, the monsters in the Night World are too strong!”
At this time, Long Aotian interjected, “If you fall into the Night World at the bottom of the mountain, there is a certain chance to survive. But at the top, it’s impossible. The monsters here are all of the Level Five Law Sector Lord and above…”
Listening to his words, Du Gang was curious and asked, “Have you stayed in the Night World at the bottom of the mountain?”
“Of course!”
Long Aotian said proudly, “When I was at the bottom of the mountain, I jumped into the Night World a whole hour before the last hour on the platform and fought for a full hour!”
The people present mostly had experienced what Long Aotian had. They left the platform at dawn to venture in the Night World.
However, they weren’t as daring as Long Aotian to leave the platform an hour earlier. At this moment, they all looked at him in surprise.
Seeing the people’s surprised expressions, Long Aotian laughed, “Not to mention an hour, even an entire night, I can hold it with my strength…”
At this moment, the sun set and the Night World descended again.
At the same time, everyone found that this towering mountain suddenly transformed into a giant tree reaching into the sky, with many black monsters hanging from its branches.
“Finally, it’s night. Let’s wait for six hours before climbing the mountain!”
At this moment, as the night descended, affected by the surrounding environment, no one felt like speaking.
Although everyone knew that the outside monsters can’t get in or see them, they still felt nervous and all gathered in the middle of the platform.
At this moment, seeing this scene, Du Gang started thinking.
He was wondering how to separate these people.
After thinking for a while, he realized that during the day, everyone would still be climbing the mountain together. Even if they made it to the second platform, they would still be together.
Should he make a move now?!
Du Gang glanced at Yu Shuiyao and saw that even though she was resting, her eyes were still fixed on him.
It was as if he would make sinister moves on her.
Crazy!
The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously cursed inwardly.
Du Gang was speechless, wondering whether all women had a persecution complex. He was already decided not to make a move on her, but she still looked like he was out to get her.
With this woman watching, if I took action, she might blab to all the others that I was catching people. That would not be good.
Moreover, we are all on the platform now, all ordinary people. If I wanted to make a move, I could only push them off the platform and act in the Night World.
Under normal circumstances, pushing three people as one would be a bit difficult. Taking them by surprise might allow me to push one or two.
Moreover, this woman is guarding against it.
Du Gang was a little annoyed, thinking back and forth but couldn’t come up with a plan.
Suddenly, as he glanced upwards, he recalled that the distance between the first and the second platforms was fifteen thousand meters. Based on their previous efficiency, they probably needed four and a half hours to get there.
In that case, should I pull someone down during the climb?
Wouldn’t this separate them?!
When he thought of this, Du Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, his eyes kept scanning between Long Aotian and Yao Zijie.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, the two looked back at the same time.
Yao Zijie gave Du Gang a smile and a salute, very much in line with his Gentleman’s sword style.
On the other hand, Long Aotian glanced at Du Gang disdainfully through his nostrils.
It’s you!
Du Gang made a decision instantly, it was Long Aotian!
This kid had an attitude as if he was the second best in the world, so owed a beating, who else should he fool if not him?!
Thus, the group of five all stayed on the platform, waiting silently for dawn.
Having made his decision, Du Gang had no further interest in conversation. Like the others, he closed his eyes and rested until dawn.
“It’s dawn, we can climb the mountain now!”
Yao Zijie said with a smile.
Everyone in the room immediately got up, each choosing a spot and starting to climb.
Long Aotian always preferred to be first in anything. Right now, he was the first one to start climbing.
Qiao Jin glanced at Du Gang and saw him grinning innocently, so he chose a spot a little further away from Long Aotian to start climbing.
Yao Zijie didn’t put much thought into it, he probably felt safer with everyone else around. He chose a spot right in the middle between Long Aotian and Qiao Jin.
Only Yu Shuiyao, saw Du Gang standing still with a smirk on his face.
“Aren’t you climbing?”
Du Gang kindly asked.
“Hmmph!”
Yu Shuiyao snorted coldly, ignoring him.
She made a decision that if Du Gang didn’t climb, she wouldn’t either. Who knows what this kid was planning.
At this moment, Qiao Jin above looked down and laughed, “Du Gang, she’s wearing a skirt…”
Du Gang was speechless and gave him a stern glance.
Yu Shuiyao was exasperated, explaining, “This is a connected battle armor…”
Seeing her acting this way, looking somewhat cute. It was much like a shy girl from school.
Du Gang could not help but tease, “We don’t know about underneath your skirt, but rest assured, Brother Du is a gentleman. You wait, Brother Du will go up first!”
With that, he directly followed the path Long Aotian was climbing and followed him up.
“Stinky rascal!”
Yu Shuiyao cursed in a low voice. She waited until Du Gang had climbed up dozens of meters above, making sure no one was nearby, then she began her ascent.
Soon, all five of them started climbing earnestly.
Having climbed for a bit, Long Aotian happened to glance down and noticed that everyone else was climbing independently, while Du Gang was not far below him.
He immediately frowned, “Why are you below me?”
Indeed, who would climb a mountain right under someone?
Hearing this, everyone else looked curiously over to Du Gang, wondering what he was up to.
Yao Zijie truly had no idea and wore a confused look on his face.
Qiao Jin and Yu Shuiyao, on the other hand, had expressions that suggested they found Du Gang’s actions expected, wondering if he was planning something against Long Aotian.
Du Gang grinned, saying, “We’re all ordinary people now, climbing is hard…I’ve noticed Brother Long is faster, I plan to set you as my target, follow your lead, it would be less likely for me to fall behind!”
“Is that so?”
Long Aotian was somewhat doubtful. It seemed like Du Gang’s explanation was off, but he couldn’t quite place why. He could only choose to believe it for now.
Maybe, he really admires me!
That was the thought in his mind.
Considering the climbers were now all ordinary people and hence had similar physical limits, they managed to climb at a rate of 3000 meters per hour.
Three hours had passed and they had climbed just nine thousand meters. They needed another two hours to reach the top.
At this moment, Du Gang had a thought.
“Should I make my move?”
Nine thousand meters…
Let’s wait a bit more!
He noticed that Long Aotian still had plenty of energy and could speed up if needed. Therefore, even if he fell, it was likely he could continue climbing.
And so, as everyone had been climbing for four hours and had reached twelve thousand meters, Du Gang suddenly increased his speed, ascending to a position right beneath Long Aotian’s feet.
Taking advantage while others were not looking, he quickly grabbed Long Aotian’s foot, and using his legs, he pushed against the mountain and flew outwards.
“Bang!”
Completely unprepared for someone to grab his foot, Long Aotian felt a great force and the hand that was holding onto the mountain slipped.
“What are you doing?!”
As he was falling, he looked down at Du Gang beneath him and scolded.
“I lost my grip!”
Du Gang quickly replied, and then, both of them began to free-fall.
“Whoosh!”
Witnessing two rapidly descending figures, the other three climbers came to a halt and looked down.
Both Qiao Jin and Yu Shuiyao expressed surprise but also a sense of vindication.
Yao Zijie, however, thought the two had genuinely slipped and fallen. He shouted down, “We’ll continue onwards, you guys can come up after the night passes!”
After that he turned to Qiao Jin and Yu Shuiyao, “We must be careful too, make sure to hold on tight…”
Qiao Jin was speechless. Although they had become ordinary people physically, their control over strength was still top-notch. It was nearly impossible for them to lose their grip.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
Two thuds echoed as the two hit the ground, both unharmed.
Although their bodies had been restricted to the strength of ordinary people, their physical robustness hadn’t decreased. Their defensive capacities were astonishing, leaving them unharmed.
Long Aotian got up immediately, fuming, “What the hell are you doing?!”
Du Gang merely appeared embarrassed, explaining, “Sorry, Brother Long, I lost my grip!”
He really wasn’t in a hurry to reveal his true intentions at this point.
It wasn’t night yet and Du Gang worried that if he pushed things too far, the boy might chose to jump down. If that happened, his plans would fail.
So, everything could wait until the evening!
Following this, no matter how much Long Aotian complained, Du Gang bore with it all.
In fact, he even showed signs of trying to suppress his anger and an expression that read ‘you’ve crossed the line.’
In this place, even though their light computers had no signal and they couldn’t connect to the outside world, the video recording function was still usable!
This was evidence!
Evidence of Long Aotian insulting him. He has insulted me so much, it’s only fair if I take him hostage and ask for a million Saint Crystals, right?!
After a while of insults, Long Aotian had had enough, “Such a dampener, looks like we’re delayed another day!”
And so, they waited together for a while and once again, darkness fell, and the night world descended.
Just as Long Aotian prepared to rest, Du Gang’s surprised voice came from his side.
“Brother Long, quickly look!”
Upon opening his eyes, he saw Du Gang squatting at the edge of the platform, looking down in shock.
“What is it?!”
He asked, frowning.
Du Gang turned around, his eyes still holding shock, “Brother Long, quickly come over…”
Long Aotian didn’t suspect a thing. He had been deceived by Du Gang’s seemingly harmless antics over the past few hours.
Looking puzzled, he soon approached the edge of the platform.
Glancing down, he saw nothing but the black creatures. He didn’t spot anything unusual.
“What am I supposed to be looking at?”
At this, Du Gang smiled faintly, “I want to see if you can survive a day in the night world!”
With that, he pushed Long Aotian, who was standing beside him!
“Bang!”
Caught off guard, Long Aotian was pushed off the platform.
“Damn it!”
In an instant, Long Aotian restored his divine strength, suspending himself in mid-air, his face a mixture of shock and fury.
Turning around, he could no longer see the platform, but he knew Du Gang must be up there.
Unable to hold back his anger, he bellowed, “Du Gang! If I survive this, I will not rest until you are dead!”
“Hehe!!”
A group of black creatures swarmed towards Long Aotian.