Chapter 16: Summer Competition 5

Everyone was ready before the break of dawn and Fu Lin wished them good luck and they all started.

Even though the Zither disciples started together having packed the necessary supplies for the journey, after a while Cai MingZhu stopped in front of Luo and said "Me , Zhong Gui and Zhong Bai will be one team once we reach the starting point.

It's not good to have big teams as the share of the loot will be lesser and there will be more opportunities this way. I wanted to give you this chance to form your own strategy. Master expects a lot from you , but that doesn't mean that I or the others will automatically concede to you. I hope you get that."

The Zhong twins looked at the others and just shrugged and smiled as if they were just going along with what Cai had said just for fun.

Before Luo could thank her she jumped the gun and started using a movement technique to run at high speeds. The Zhong twins were keeping up as well. "Huhh...there she goes" Luo said as he looked at their speed.

He looked at the others and asked if they wanted to form a team like what Cai had just said. Hua and Xun eagerly agreed and Hao Qi said "Why not?" and then went back to being expressionless.

Luo set the pace since he knew that he did not have to run at full speed to reach the destination in 2 days. Just before noon, on the second day after departure they spotted the outskirts of the Dai Shan forest and even saw a lot of other applicants who had passed and those that had not as well making their way towards the entry point for the final test.

After an incense sticks time they reached the entry point and they saw that there was a huge board with 80 green crystals on it. As the applicants who had passed registered their names, they were given a Jade slip.

Luo spotted that Cai MingZhu and the Zhong twins had already registered and were meditating to recover from their speedy journey.

Luo and the others went to the registration table and got themselves registered. They were asked to insert their Qi into the given jade slips and as soon as they did that, the respective coupled green crystal on the board they saw earlier started glowing.

It was explained to them that the green crystals would be used to monitor their condition during the test and in case rescues were required the crystals would provide information about the location of the contestants.

Luo and the others went near Cai to greet them and to also sit and recover for the remaining time of an incense stick before the competition had started. However, since they had not hurried they were not tired.

After an incense stick of time, Luo approached Cai and the Zhong twins and told them briefly about the monsters he had fought when he had come here earlier and their weaknesses and the strategies to use. The Zhong twins were listening intently but Cai's face was a mix of emotions which Luo could not understand.

Cai thought to herself 'If he really did kill all of those monsters then ..then isn't he stronger than me? And he is giving me pointers while I have only been rude to him. I will see how many monster cores he will collect and if he wins, then I will acknowledge him. Yes..Let's do that. Hmm.'

Cai then looked at Luo and thanked him for the pointers but then with a serious face said "I will try to beat you with all I have." With that she turned and left towards the small podium where master Gu Ryu had just arrived and was getting ready to make an announcement.

Gu Ryu walked onto the small podium and in a booming voice he announced "Good job to all the applicants who have made it here in 2 days. I know that it would be a little taxing but that is the point of putting the test here.

Now, you have been given jade slips that we will be using to track you once you're inside. Remember the exciting prizes but better than that remember that if you are alive then you can live on to fight for another day. And with that I announce the 4th and final test of the summer tournament has begun."

Even before he got down from the dias, a lot of people just started rushing into the forest in a myriad of directions.

Cai and Zhong twins also rushed. Hao Qi xun looked towards Luo but Hua was the one who spoke up "Well Luo, do you have a plan in mind or shall I lead us to victory. Remember it is also a competition between me and you to see how many beasts we have killed."

Luo smiled and after discussing the possible locations the monsters will be based on his fights when he was last there, the four headed into the Dai Shan forest as well.

After a few hours, Luo and the others began to encounter some Tier1 beasts like the trolls and Demon spiders. He used Poison Qi from Layers of Chaos technique to use Qi injection techniques to fell the monsters and relied on his speed to dodge any attacks.

He was supported by Hao Qi and Xun who kept harrying the other monsters and only letting one monster go towards Luo or Hua at a time. Xun was just basically copying whatever Hao Qi was doing and she also received instructions from her from time to time.

Hua was using a wonderful combo of sword attacks switching from one form to another, between deep slashes to parrying and counter attacking, all the while using his Qi to boost his motion.

In a few incense sticks' time they had netted quite a few monster cores.

They then happened upon a clearing where a few trolls were resting and a couple of ogres, bigger than the average, in the middle of the others were wrestling each other.

Luo and Hua looked at each other and nodded. "Leave those 2 to use. You guys should focus on killing the others...and make your first attack a sure kill one."

Saying this, Luo and Hua, as if in a practiced motion, jumped into the air and took opposing positions high in the branches of trees. The trolls had still not noticed their presence. Hai Qi and Xun were waiting for Luo and Hua's signal.

Then Luo and Hua jumped, with Hua diving headfirst with his sword pointed straight in front of him , elongated as if he was a spear and the sword was the spear tip.

Luo also dived headfirst and elongated his arms, one supporting the other, to prepare for a Fire Qi palm attack...a reduced version of the Yin/Yang palm attacks. His palm was covered in Fire Qi as he reached the big troll and when he made contact, the impact of the attack immediately boiled the fluids in the troll's head and like a small bomb, his head exploded with his eyeballs flying and landing with a splat onto some nearby trolls.

Hua had also landed his attack at the same moment that Luo's palm attack flourished. His sword had such momentum that it cut the troll into two halves and he landed on his knees, with the sword's blade embedded a little into the ground. Before he could get a smug expression though, all the blood that exploded from Luo's attack beside him, sprayed onto Hua's white robes.

"AAHHHHHHHHH…. Look at what you have done. Even my big attack that split this troll in two did not leave a single mark on my robes and now look at what you have doneeeeee. You will be buying me a new robe Luo. Promise me, promise me right now."

Luo turned his head away and said "I didn't think that you would be so small as to blame the dirt on your robes as a fault of others. Are rivals supposed to be so stingy in their behavior??"

Hua Geming was left flabbergasted and he could not think of a witty counter so instead he sulked and moved on to killing other trolls.

Luo smiled while looking out for the incoming attacks of Hao Qi and Xun'er.