The Plan

"What plan?" Jiang Shishi asked curiously. With the rules so transparent, what plan could there possibly be? Besides, barely any time had passed. How had they already come up with one? "It's quite simple, really," Meng Jingzhou said. "From our fight just now, the two of us confirmed that the demon beasts on the first level are ordinary Nascent Soul beasts, well within the capabilities of you demon prodigies. "So if one simply wants to pass the first trial, anyone can gather enough soul essences as long as they honestly hunt down demon beasts. "If we want to obtain more soul essences and earn a better evaluation, however, we'll need to resort to extraordinary measures." "Forming a group of three to speed up hunting?" Meng Jingzhou shook his head, rejecting Jiang Shishi's idea. "Too inefficient. Besides, did you notice the map shown at the very beginning? This first level is absurdly large. Running from the entrance diagonally across to the Heavenly Ladder entrance takes a full day. If it's just the three of us hunting, searching for demon beasts alone will take hours." "Then what should we do?" Jiang Shishi lacked experience and had not observed things as closely as Meng Jingzhou. Rather than answering directly, Meng Jingzhou countered with a question. "You've already seen our combat prowess. How would you rate us?" Jiang Shishi stared blankly at the two of them before offering a candid assessment. "Not beneath myself or Ao Yue." Ao Yue was the current generation's dragon prodigy. Jiang Shishi and Ao Yue were together hailed as the two great prodigies of the Demon Domain, possessing immortal aptitude. This was the highest accolade in the Demon Domain; among all the demons entering the ancient realm, only the two of them had received it. "Then that settles it. With the three of us joining forces, the plan is foolproof." To ensure nothing went awry, the three decided to spend the first eight days slaying thirty demon beasts to accumulate enough for passing the trial. That way, even if the plan failed, their passage would still be guaranteed. Coincidentally, hunting the demon beasts would allow the three to build chemistry, raising their chances of success when executing the plan. *** Eight days flew by. Lu Yang and his companions grew increasingly adept at slaying demon beasts. Even against demon beasts at the late Nascent Soul stage, none could last two rounds against the three of them. Lu Yang glanced up at the hourglass. "We killed a few extra and ran slightly past our planned schedule, but it's no big deal. Let's head to the Heavenly Ladder entrance first." "Alright." Jiang Shishi felt a surge of excitement, long since prepared to carry out the plan. The trio quickened their pace, speeding toward the Heavenly Ladder entrance. Yet when they arrived, their steps came to an involuntary halt. They stared in disbelief at the scene before them. Lu Yang had devised a door-blocking plan. Given their combat strength, the three of them were more than capable of keeping anyone from reaching the Heavenly Ladder entrance. The prodigies would inevitably arrive on the final day, so all they had needed to do was block the way a day in advance. Yet now, the entrance to the Heavenly Ladder was already blocked by someone else. Instead, they were the ones who would have to obediently surrender their soul essences! "Haha, caught off guard, aren't you? I overheard your plan long ago!" Qin Feng, the young master of the Jiuying Clan, burst out laughing upon seeing their priceless expressions. "Back when you first entered the first level and hatched your plan, I was standing right beside you, listening to every detail!" Seeing Lu Yang's sour face, Qin Feng beamed with delight. "Though I don't know who you are, thank you for coming up with such a wonderful plan. "Blocking the door? It really is brilliant. But when it comes to power within this ancient realm, who can rival our Demon Alliance? Even the Dragon and Phoenix Clans pale in comparison to us!" The Demon Alliance was a concept proposed by Ancient Dijiang. Prior to the founding of the Demon Empire, the demon clans united under Ancient Dijiang's banner were collectively known as the Demon Alliance. The prodigies of the Dijiang Clan had been personally trained by Ancient Dijiang and had not entered the ancient realm. The Demon Alliance was spearheaded by the Dijiang Clan, and with the Dijiang Clan absent, the remaining clans all vied for leadership in this expedition into the ancient realm. Qin Feng had been vexed over how to claim leadership, and this had been a pillow offered to a sleepy man. If he proposed this door-blocking plan, wouldn't command of the Demon Alliance naturally fall into his hands? Reality had played out just as he anticipated. While the prodigies of the Demon Alliance were still debating whether to hunt demon beasts or rob others, Qin Feng proposed his plan, winning unanimous approval as everyone showered praise on the brilliant scheme. Naturally, Qin Feng became the commander of this operation. Swelling with pride, Qin Feng stood with dozens of prodigies behind him, including those of the White Tiger Clan, Taowu Clan, and many others. No matter how formidable Lu Yang's trio might be, they couldn't possibly defeat all the prodigies of the Demon Alliance combined! Lu Yang's face turned grim as his mind raced to find a way out. As the confrontation stalled in a tense standoff, Jiang Shishi's followers arrived one after another, equally unprepared for the Demon Alliance blocking the path. Shortly after, Ao Yue and the prodigies of the dragon's nine sons arrived as well. Seeing the situation, Ao Yue frowned without a word. Then came the prodigy of the Qiongqi Clan and several other unaligned prodigies. The Heavenly Ladder entrance was exceedingly narrow. Blocked by the Demon Alliance, it could not be breached simply by throwing numbers at it. Ao Yue gritted his teeth. "How will we know if it works unless we try?" Ao Yue possessed immense rallying power among the prodigies. He transformed into an Azure Dragon soaring through the air, while the nine sons, including the Baxia Clan, revealed their true forms to fight alongside him. Seeing this, the other prodigies followed suit, shifting into their true forms: a soft-furred Jade Rabbit, a black Tiangou the size of a hill, a winged Qiongqi with the body of a tiger... "Fight!" With a dragon's roar from Ao Yue, space trembled. Burning his dragon essence blood and clutching his dragon pearl in his claws, he transformed into a streak of azure light and charged straight at the Demon Alliance. By himself, he possessed the strength to grapple with and slay a late Nascent Soul demon beast! "Fight!" The prodigies unleashed unprecedented power, uniting as one in a desperate bid to smash through the blockade. Regrettably, the Demon Alliance had anticipated this. Under Qin Feng's command, they advanced and retreated with disciplined precision. This was not a formation that Ao Yue and the others could shatter through sheer hot-blooded zeal. The two sides clashed fiercely for half a day, but the Demon Alliance stood firm like an iron wall, completely impenetrable. In the end, Ao Yue's side was exhausted and fell into defeat. Qin Feng strutted smugly up to Ao Yue. "Brother Ao Yue, I had no wish to strain our relationship like this. Once the Demon Empire is established, we'll still need to exchange insights and advance together. "How about this: keep ten soul essences for yourself, hand over the rest to me, and I'll let you through. What do you say?" Ao Yue snapped his head up, glaring murderously at Qin Feng, his draconic eyes bloodshot—a look that gave Qin Feng quite a fright. Yet Qin Feng quickly recovered. What good did glaring do? It was nothing more than powerless fury. After agonizing back and forth, bowed by harsh reality, Ao Yue surrendered his soul essences. A full twenty of them. "As expected of Brother Ao Yue, to have slain so many demon beasts," Qin Feng sneered playfully as he accepted the soul essences. Seeing Ao Yue capitulate, the other prodigies also handed over their soul essences, keeping only ten for themselves. If someone had only ten, Qin Feng simply refused to let them through. Looking at the mountain of soul essences, Qin Feng smiled so widely his jaw nearly split. Following the prearranged distribution, he handed them out to all the Demon Alliance prodigies. Qin Feng claimed the largest share, receiving fifty-three in total. Behind the Demon Alliance sat a massive chest, pasted with the words 'Soul Essence.' Qin Feng dumped all fifty-three soul essences into the chest. Once again, that emotionless voice echoed. "Qin Feng, fifty-three soul essences. Please proceed to the second level." Seeing that time was running out, the prodigies of the Demon Alliance also turned over their soul essences to the ancient realm, securing their qualification to advance. Then came Ao Yue and the rest. "Ao Yue, ten soul essences. Please proceed to the second level." "Dong Shu, ten soul essences. Please proceed to the second level." "..." Seeing that there was still some time left, Qin Feng sauntered over to Lu Yang's trio. He ignored Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou entirely, having no intention whatsoever of letting those two eyesores into the second level. Approaching Jiang Shishi, who had her head bowed, Qin Feng chuckled. "Shishi, I told you long ago that those two lackeys you recruited were useless. Look, now they can't even pass the trial. "As long as you agree to become my fiancee, I'll make the call: you won't need to hand over any soul essences, and I'll let you through. How about it?" Jiang Shishi suddenly raised her head, a smile gracing her lips. "Qin Feng, do you really think you've got everything wrapped around your finger?" "What do you mean?!" Seeing her smile, an inexplicable panic gripped Qin Feng. Beside her, Lu Yang gave a lazy chuckle. "Brother Qin Feng's eyesight is truly lacking, failing to see through even my clone." Meanwhile, the Meng Jingzhou beside him shifted into Lu Yang's appearance. A wood clone! Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind Qin Feng. "Much obliged, Brother Qin Feng, for gathering so many soul essences on our behalf." Qin Feng spun around abruptly, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief at the sight before him. Meng Jingzhou was clambering out of the chest, clutching a massive string of soul essences in both hands! "We knew you were eavesdropping back then. Did you really think just the three of us intended to block the exit?" "The door-blocking plan was spoken entirely for your ears." The rules had never specified how soul essences were to be submitted. Anyone who approached the Heavenly Ladder entrance with preconceived notions and saw a chest labeled 'Soul Essence' would assume it was the designated place to turn them in. Furthermore, with everyone's attention fixed entirely on the Demon Alliance, no one had paid any heed to anything unusual about the chest. In reality, the chest had been cobbled together by Meng Jingzhou on the spot.