All Eight Contestants Are Expelled!

[Ding! Cold Iron Helmet equipped—Earth God.] [All pieces of the war armor have appeared!] Zhang Yuanqing, who was hurrying toward the spot where the radiant light soared into the sky, felt a mix of pleasant surprise and disappointment. "Earth God got the helmet." The pleasant surprise was that he had finally tracked down the trendy old man; as long as he persuaded him into an alliance, victory would be assured. The disappointment was that every piece of the war armor now had an owner, leaving none for him. *No matter. As long as we form an alliance, my ally's armor is my armor,* Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. Sun Miaomiao maintained her rapid pace and asked, "Do you have a way to persuade him?" "Not sure. I'm actually not that familiar with him," Zhang Yuanqing answered honestly. Sun Miaomiao nodded, then said, "Hey, Yuanshi Tianzun, will you really not consider selling that little spirit servant to me? I can trade a more precious, more powerful spirit servant for him." "No way!" "Just think about it a little more." "Non-negotiable!" With their respective yin corpses in tow, the two leaped and bounded through the ruins, rushing toward the spot where the light had faded. Elsewhere, along the main thoroughfare of the ancient city, World Returns to Fire led Tone-Deaf and Qingsongzi as they hurried toward the location of the helmet. Because they had to accommodate Tone-Deaf, who was weighed down by the heavy cuirass, the trio's pace wasn't fast. World Returns to Fire led the way in front, raising his voice: "Remember, we must pull Earth God into our camp. Only then will we have the leverage to negotiate with Yuanshi Tianzun." "What if Yuanshi Tianzun has already allied with Earth God?" Qingsongzi asked, his breathing even. A long-distance sprint was as effortless for him as eating and drinking. World Returns to Fire leaped over a pile of rubble and said, "Then we find a way to strike a deal with Earth God. Under the pressure of Zhao Chenghuang and Sun Miaomiao joining forces, they'll have no reason to refuse." In World Returns to Fire's analysis, everyone's points were currently in dangerous territory, unable to withstand reports. Therefore, the optimal solution was to rope in Earth God and then ally with Yuanshi Tianzun—that was the best strategy. Promise one spot to Yuanshi Tianzun; in exchange, Yuanshi Tianzun would use his abundant points to whittle down the Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderers first. Afterward, they would take the stage and sweep all three of Zhao Chenghuang's side out of the match. Then they could discuss how to distribute the spots. That way, the top three would all belong to the Five Elements Alliance, and they could divide the spoils among themselves—wouldn't that be splendid? And if Earth God had allied with Zhang Yuanqing in advance, their small group's usefulness would be greatly diminished, but they could still negotiate. When Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the scene, Earth God hadn't left. Instead, he was sitting on a half-collapsed earthen wall, puffing on a cigar, his heavily wrinkled face filled with leisure. Zhang Yuanqing noticed a helmet on his head, similar to ancient helmets seen in television dramas, though quite old. Stopping a few meters away, Zhang Yuanqing called out straight to the point: "Old man, let's form an alliance! Name whatever terms you want!" In the current situation, Earth God had limited options for allies: either join his side or join World Returns to Fire's. As long as the old man saw that Sun Miaomiao had already forsaken darkness for the light, he would definitely choose to join. Earth God didn't agree immediately. Sure enough, he looked toward Sun Miaomiao behind him and asked in surprise, "Why is she with you?!" "She was captivated by my peerless charm; she's on our side now," Zhang Yuanqing said, patting his chest. Sun Miaomiao rolled her eyes, gently rubbing Little Doubi's small head. "And you even have a kid together already?" Earth God chuckled. Pondering for a few seconds, he gave a slight nod. "We can ally. Win or lose, you have to give me two hundred thousand, and this alliance is strictly limited to this stage." "Deal!" "Decisive." Only then did Zhang Yuanqing lead Sun Miaomiao over to the base of the earthen wall and say, "Our plan is to eliminate World Returns to Fire and his group first, then have a final showdown with Zhao Chenghuang and Yuan Ting." Biting his cigar, Earth God glanced at Sun Miaomiao and said with a chuckle, "We don't necessarily have to eliminate them first. Eliminating Zhao Chenghuang first works too. Once those two from the Taiyi Sect are handled, World Returns to Fire's trio will be trapped like turtles in a jar." *Earth God doesn't trust Sun Miaomiao enough yet...* Zhang Yuanqing smiled and said, "That's what I was thinking too. It depends on which side we run into first." Just as Earth God was about to nod, he tilted his head slightly. "Someone's coming!" Zhang Yuanqing and Sun Miaomiao immediately pressed their backs against the earthen wall to conceal themselves, calling their yin corpses over to hide alongside them. Earth God turned his head unhurriedly. The newcomers were none other than World Returns to Fire and his two companions. Seeing Earth God looking over, World Returns to Fire came to a stop. Holding a narrow-bladed long saber in one hand, he raised the other high and called out, "Old man, care to talk?" *World Returns to Fire? What a coincidence...* Zhang Yuanqing lowered his voice and whispered, "Earth God, stall them. Sun Miaomiao and I will launch a sneak attack." "Talk about what?" Earth God asked with a cigar clamped between his teeth, his tone casual. "Er, before we talk, could you please raise both hands to show you're not up to anything?" World Returns to Fire called out. Behind him, Qingsongzi and Tone-Deaf immediately raised both hands to show their sincerity. *Is this old man that kind of shameless bastard?* A stream of curses stuck in Earth God's throat, nearly bursting out. Left with no choice, he raised his hands in cooperation, grumbling crossly, "If you've—if you've got something to say, spill it!" World Returns to Fire said, "We want to ally with you to deal with the Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderers. We also intend to rope in Yuanshi Tianzun. I believe members of the Five Elements Alliance should join hands to take the top three spots and split the rewards evenly." Earth God pondered for a moment and said, "Why should I trust you?" World Returns to Fire replied, "Easy! We can swear an oath before the Elders, Deacons, and colleagues watching outside. We're all respectable figures; if we break our word, how could we hold our heads high in the future?" Holding the cigar in his mouth, Earth God feigned deep thought to buy time, then said, "Then I really have no reason to refuse. Fine, an alliance it is. The three of you swear an oath." At that moment, Zhang Yuanqing, having entered Night Walk, poked his head out to take a look. The trio's line of sight was very peculiar: they were keeping their heads tilted up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky, ensuring their vision never captured the lower half of Earth God's body. *The trick of stripping a yin corpse's pants and suddenly appearing won't work well here. Normal people instinctively look when something pops up out of nowhere, but I've already used that trick once. World Returns to Fire suffered from it before, so he'll definitely be on guard and won't fall for it so easily...* *If I just open fire, Tone-Deaf is protected by the cuirass, Qingsongzi is a Wood Demon with regenerative capabilities, and World Returns to Fire has fire resistance and might even have defensive props...* Thoughts racing, Zhang Yuanqing decided to rely on the oldest method: a close-quarters sneak attack. This way, even if the enemy possessed defensive measures, with his and Sun Miaomiao's combat prowess, they could swiftly subdue them. The two Night Wanderers slipped around the earthen wall and approached stealthily on padded steps, flanking World Returns to Fire's trio from the left and right. Night Walk could mask sound and aura, but certain physical traces couldn't be hidden—such as leaving footprints on soft soil, or dislodging loose gravel while walking... In this dilapidated ancient city ruins, subtle flaws like these were easiest to expose. Ten meters, eight meters, five meters... Zhang Yuanqing moved with extreme caution, not only avoiding sand, dirt, and gravel, but even steering clear of moss. Just as he was about to burst forward and strike, Qingsongzi's expression abruptly changed, and he shouted urgently: "Careful, an ambush!" Qingsongzi had been secretly communicating with the surrounding flora all along to guard against the Taiyi Sect's Night Wanderers sneaking in invisibly while everyone was talking. After all, this was where the equipment had spawned. Zhao Chenghuang, Yuanshi Tianzun, and the others were bound to be rushing here, making an encounter extremely likely. Sure enough, he had swiftly received feedback from the plants. *Spotted?* Zhang Yuanqing's heart skipped a beat. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, gripping the Bloodthirsty Blade. Hearing the warning, World Returns to Fire reacted preemptively, kicking off the ground and leaping backward with his body tilted back. Zhang Yuanqing's thrust struck empty air. Mid-leap, World Returns to Fire lashed his right arm out like a whip, sweeping his narrow-bladed long saber across. The blade whistled shrilly as it cleaved the air. Zhang Yuanqing planted his feet, pulled back his blade, and held the Bloodthirsty Blade vertically! *Clang!* The two weapons collided. The narrow-bladed long saber swept across the Bloodthirsty Blade, sending sparks erupting before Zhang Yuanqing's eyes, and he saw a chip appear on the weapon that had accompanied him for so many days. *A weapon of the Transcendent stage is gradually falling behind my pace...* An ache of pity shot through his heart. On the other side, Tone-Deaf lowered his head and played a shrill, mournful tune on his flute. Soul-piercing sound waves echoed. Everyone present clutched their heads, brow furrowed in pain; only Earth God remained completely unaffected. Sun Miaomiao's delicate brows knitted tightly. Unable to maintain Night Walk, her form materialized. As a Level 3 Night Wanderer with 90% experience, her spirit body was already exceptionally powerful, so the flute music dealt the least damage to her. "It's you two?" World Returns to Fire looked at Yuanshi Tianzun and Sun Miaomiao, dumbfounded. "You formed an alliance?!" How was that possible? Why on earth would these two ally? "And me!" Earth God stomped, cracking the earthen wall, and vaulted into the air, hurtling like a meteorite toward World Returns to Fire. "Stay back!" World Returns to Fire gripped his waistband. Qingsongzi and Tone-Deaf tacitly gripped their waistbands as well. That would be three waves of reports all at once. Earth God's ferocious descent halted mid-air, and he forcefully altered his trajectory, crashing down beside Zhang Yuanqing with a loud thud. He grumbled crossly, "Yuanshi Tianzun, you've put us at a huge disadvantage. This match feels downright awful to fight." Even as he grumbled, the old man clamped his hand onto his own waistband and tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. Holding his waistband and gazing skyward at a forty-five-degree angle, Zhang Yuanqing glared down at the three with peripheral vision. "Threatening us, huh? Bring it on! I've got plenty of points—who's afraid of who?!" "Bring it!" "Bring it on!" Both sides roared, both haughtily tilting their heads back, as though they were tough guys engaged in a standoff with guns, fearless in the face of death, rather than people preparing to loosen their belts. "Quite lively here!" At that moment, a chilling voice rang out from the distance. The bickering sides paused, both eyeing the newcomer out of the corners of their eyes. The arrivals were none other than Yuan Ting and Zhao Chenghuang, both dressed in black shirts and trousers, followed by two yin corpses. Zhao Chenghuang looked deeply at Sun Miaomiao. "Why did you ally with Yuanshi Tianzun? Sun Miaomiao, don't forget where your loyalties lie." "Who asked you to lecture me on what to do?" Sun Miaomiao glanced down at her short skirt, then silently summoned her yin corpse and pressed her hand against its waistband in a clear threat. Seeing this, Yuan Ting hurriedly pressed against the jacket around his yin corpse's waist while tilting his head at a forty-five-degree angle toward the sky. Zhao Chenghuang's brow furrowed tightly. Deep inside, he resisted the absurdity, yet felt powerless against the tide; he too summoned his yin corpse, mirroring the exact same posture and angle toward the sky. For a moment, all three factions were locked in a stalemate. This style of fighting made everyone miserable, yet they were forced into it—torturing and threatening one another. It was all Yuanshi Tianzun's fault! On the broadcast screen, every one of the top eight contestants clutched their waistbands and held their heads up "haughtily." Watching this unfold, the audience in the arena fell silent; not a sound stirred throughout the entire venue. The Elders of the Taiyi Sect and Five Elements Alliance either had twitching lips, ashen faces, or veins bulging on their foreheads. The greatest scandal in the official factions' twenty-one-year history had been born. Those eight people in there all deserved severe disciplinary action—no, they should all be expelled! Back in the ancient city ruins: "Fine!" Zhao Chenghuang said coldly. "Since you insist on helping Yuanshi Tianzun, so be it. How you explain yourself to Elder Sun is your own business." He turned his head, casting a sidelong look at Qingsongzi's trio. "Let us ally and eliminate them. Out of the two spots, I'll give one to you." World Returns to Fire glanced back out of the corner of his eye. "Why should I trust you?" Zhao Chenghuang's tone remained cool. "Do you have a choice? If you're still willing to ally with Yuanshi Tianzun under these circumstances, pretend I never spoke." Qingsongzi immediately agreed: "Fine, we're allied!" World Returns to Fire parted his lips, then darted another glance toward Yuanshi Tianzun's camp, having no choice but to say, "Then we ally." Although an agreement had been reached and three factions had become two, no one made a move. The reason was simple: during a standoff, one could look at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, but in the heat of battle, who could fight with their neck craned upward? If someone abandoned all martial honor and dropped their pants mid-clash, the chances of getting caught off guard were extremely high. The situation fell into a deadlock. Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts spun rapidly as he analyzed the point difference between the two sides: *World Returns to Fire has only three points. Qingsongzi, Tone-Deaf, Zhao Chenghuang, and Yuan Ting each have four points. Although our side has fewer people, we have more points. Dropping pants to report would be mutually assured destruction.* *They wouldn't dare drag things out against us using that tactic. If they want to regain the upper hand and turn the tables, they have to whittle down the score of one of us.* Just as this thought crossed his mind, he heard Zhao Chenghuang say coldly: "To celebrate our alliance, I'll first offer everyone a small gift." Still gazing at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, he proclaimed loudly: "I, Zhao Chenghuang, hereby formally report Earth God for peeping at a yin corpse's private parts. Reason for report: illegal conduct!" "I, Zhao Chenghuang, hereby formally report Earth God for using profanity. Reason for report: lack of morals!" Beneath the gloomy sky, the hundred-zhang heroic spirit drew its great bow and fired two arrows toward the crowd below. One arrow struck Earth God, and one struck Zhao Chenghuang. The first report stemmed from when Yuanshi Tianzun had stripped the yin corpse's pants the first time; back then, Yuanshi Tianzun had deliberately spared Earth God, but Zhao Chenghuang had remembered it all along. The second report was Zhao Chenghuang acting on his knowledge of Earth God's penchant for profanity. Unfortunately, the second report failed. Hearing the notification of being reported, Earth God grumbled, "Do you think this... this old man is that stupid?" Upon entering the dungeon, he had been completely alone, leaving no one to swear at. Then, he had immediately witnessed Yuanshi Tianzun's shameless reporting tactics, which made Earth God stay vigilant. Over the several hours inside the dungeon, he had remarkably not uttered a single curse. Zhao Chenghuang said flatly, "Now you have only four points left as well. Everyone, find a way to report Earth God out of the match later, and our victory will be guaranteed." The breakthrough had been made. *Find a way to report Earth God... Right, Earth God just lied to us about forming an alliance!* World Returns to Fire pondered for a few seconds before his eyes lit up. His face twisted with excitement, and he shouted loudly: "I, World Returns to Fire, hereby formally report Earth—" *Oh no!* The faces of Earth God, Sun Miaomiao, and Yuanshi Tianzun simultaneously drained of color. Chanting like a mantra at lightning speed, Zhang Yuanqing rattled off: "I report World Returns to Fire for urinating in public. Reason for report: lack of civic virtue!" Beneath the vault of heaven, the heroic spirit promptly loosed an arrow, striking World Returns to Fire square on. "...Reason for report: crim—" Before World Returns to Fire could finish his sentence, the arrow filled his vision, and a Spirit Realm prompt sounded by his ear: [Ding! Your points have been reduced to zero. You have been eliminated!] In the next second, World Returns to Fire vanished from the dungeon, disappearing from everyone's sight. Everyone stood frozen, including the intended target, Earth God. World Returns to Fire was eliminated?! He had actually become the very first contestant eliminated. Tone-Deaf's mouth fell open. Flustered, furious, and bewildered, he stammered, "Y-Your report format wasn't right! How could it succeed?!" World Returns to Fire had lost simply because his statement was too long, allowing Yuanshi Tianzun to beat him to the punch. Zhang Yuanqing scoffed. "Isn't the reporting format just 'report content' and 'reason for report'? The quest prompt told all of you when we entered the dungeon. Adding 'formally report' was just a meme I threw in—who told you that was the required format?" At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief. The content of this report had been half luck and half deductive guesswork. "..." The contestants stared at him with frozen expressions. Because Yuanshi Tianzun had been the first to pioneer the reporting method, whatever had worked for him was assumed to be the correct standard. Driven by this habitual mindset, nobody had questioned whether the format was strictly necessary. Besides, it hadn't seemed important; as long as the report succeeded, no one was going to split hairs over such trivial details. After the shock faded, everyone's eyes snapped wide. Prompted by Yuanshi Tianzun's report, a realization struck them all. From entering the dungeon in the morning until now, through the first and second stages, more than four hours had passed. Even Transcendent experts had to eat, drink, and relieve themselves. Among them, someone had definitely answered the call of nature. In the next second, a cacophony of reports erupted: "I report Yuanshi Tianzun for urinating in public. Reason for report: lack of civic virtue!" "I report Zhao Chenghuang for urinating in public. Reason for report: lack of civic virtue!" "I report Sun Miaomiao for urinating in public. Reason for report: lack of civic virtue!" "I report—" High in the sky, the heroic spirit drew its bow repeatedly, loosing a barrage of arrows that rained down upon the crowd. The vast majority of these reports failed; only Qingsongzi's report against Earth God succeeded. Yuanshi Tianzun's report against Zhao Chenghuang, Tone-Deaf's report against Yuanshi Tianzun, Sun Miaomiao's report against Tone-Deaf, and Earth God's report against Yuan Ting all failed. Meanwhile, Yuan Ting had no target to report (and didn't need to report anyone), so he suffered no penalty. In an instant, only Qingsongzi and Yuan Ting retained active reporting functions; everyone else's was sealed. As for points: Earth God was down to just 1 point; Tone-Deaf and Zhao Chenghuang had 3 points; Yuan Ting and Qingsongzi had 4 points; Sun Miaomiao had 9 points; and Yuanshi Tianzun held thirty points. Yuan Ting said in a low voice, "The three of them have all lost their reporting function. We don't have to worry about pants-dropping reports anymore." The implication: it was time to fight! In an instant, killing intent saturated the air.