Chapter 117: Formation
Chen Kong's command still held sway within the Imperial Academy group. Everyone turned to look at Li Sheng.
It was well-known that Chen Kong and Li Sheng did not get along, but Li Sheng was cowardly and afraid of death despite his thick skin. This was precisely why Chen Kong chose Li Sheng to take over command. Although he might not achieve great things, he could at least ensure fewer casualties among the disciples.
Setting aside his poor character, Li Sheng came from the Li family in the capital and was loyal to the empire. Despite their internal conflicts, Chen Kong believed he wouldn't waver on major issues.
Seeing the top three on the Young Qilin Ranking gathered and about to fight, Li Sheng knew he couldn't participate in such excitement. He had entered the same cohort as Chen Kong, but now Chen Kong had far outpaced him.
Looking at the group of new recruits from Imperial Academy, all waiting for his orders, Li Sheng raised his hand to calm them down: "Stay calm."
Seeing that Chen Kong was determined to block them on his own, Lu Feng and Situ Yu grew anxious. Mo Qingkuang had already vanished, possibly far away by now. They both recognized Chen Kong's strength, making it difficult to break through his defense. Delaying further would be disadvantageous for both their factions.
Reluctantly, they instructed their teams to spread out and search the various passages for Mo Qingkuang.
"You guys, stay here and keep an eye on these three. I'm going in to find Mo Qingkuang!" Zhong Nian ordered several disciples from the Dazhi Gate.
Upon entering the Fallen Leaves King Tomb, Zhong Nian became the leader of the Dazhi Gate. They were not after treasures or opportunities, only intelligence.
Technically, a fight between the top three on the Young Qilin Ranking was more newsworthy, especially with Chen Kong's rise prompting the first and second to team up against him.
To some extent, this was bigger news than the Fallen Leaves King Tomb itself.
However, Zhong Nian firmly believed that wherever Mo Qingkuang was, a greater event might unfold.
The other members of the Dazhi Gate didn't argue. They knew Zhong Nian had traveled a great distance from the southern province to the Zhenyu Mountains just for Mo Qingkuang.
As he was about to head inside, they heard several blood-curdling screams.
"Ah—"
At the exits of various passages, leaves began to swirl, and the mechanisms on the ground were triggered by the disciples from different sects who had entered first. Leaves like sharp blades started to spin and fly in mid-air.
These blade-like leaves seemed to be controlled by some formation power, indifferent to which sect or disciple you belonged to, and unconcerned with targeting vital areas. They simply spun rapidly, causing blood to flow wherever they touched.
The speed of the leaves was incredible, and their sharpness was nearly equal to that of daggers and throwing knives, easily cutting through the disciples' clothes and skin.
The fortunate ones only had a few cuts on their bodies.
The unlucky ones had their eyes gouged out or their throats slit, resulting in gruesome deaths.
"There are traps! Everyone be careful!" Chen Kong, about to make his move, immediately shouted.
It turned out this deadly game wasn't just about hunting Mo Qingkuang. The rumours about the Fallen Leaf King's bloodthirstiness were true; the tomb was filled with deadly traps.
Everyone quickly retreated, many sustaining injuries.
However, under Li Sheng's command to stay put, the Imperial Academy group remained unscathed.
Seeing the wounded disciples and the unlucky few who returned with eyes gouged out or throats slit, Zhong Nian withdrew the foot he had just lifted: "I think staying here is a good idea."
He was also secretly glad he hadn't rushed out. With his strength, he might have been one of those unlucky ones.
At the same time, he couldn't help but admire Mo Qingkuang. When they arrived, there was no sign of any triggered traps. Could it be that Mo Qingkuang had found a way through in such a short time?
Lin Yang shared the same thought.
Mo Qingkuang had entered the tomb almost at the same time as them. When they came in, they saw his figure disappearing around the corner of a passage, and Lin Yang had memorized which passage it was.
But just now, Lin Yang saw that the passage Mo Qingkuang had taken also had traps.
"Teacher, what should we do?" Lin Yang couldn't help but feel anxious.
Mo Qingkuang had been gone for a while now and must have already discovered the secrets of these traps. But no one knew how large the tomb was. If they were all blocked by these traps, they would have to watch helplessly as Mo Qingkuang reaped the rewards.
The Saint Alchemist sighed lightly, "These traps are not very powerful. Forcing our way through with strength is possible. But the problem is, we have no clue where they are triggered from."
Lin Yang furrowed his brows. He had already noticed that these traps were controlled by some kind of formation. As a formation master, he should have been able to discern something. However, the reckless actions of the others had already triggered the formation, causing the leaves to fly. Observing the situation now was much more difficult than before.
Seeing this, Chen Kong said indifferently, "It seems that Senior Fallen Leaf King doesn't want you all to go in either."
"Don't be so smug! These minor formations can't stop us!" Situ Yu and Lu Feng responded coldly.
They had been too careless, thinking that the game was just about hunting Mo Qingkuang. They hadn't realized that, just like Mo Qingkuang, they themselves were also the Fallen Leaf King's playthings, leading to the unnecessary loss of more than a dozen lives.
"Let's break the formation together!" Situ Yu spoke up first.
The disciples of Tian Dao Sect responded in unison, each drawing long swords from their backs and launching a powerful attack at the swirling leaves.
With the combined strength of dozens to hundreds of people, not to mention those at the master level, even grandmasters would have to retreat.
With a unified shout, the sword lights flashed, and the formation at the entrance of one passage broke apart, scattering the swirling leaves to the ground.
The formation at the entrance was not very strong; it had just caught them off guard, costing many lives. Now that they were breaking it together, there was no chance for it to survive.
As the formation shattered, Lin Yang observed carefully and noticed that among the chaotic fallen leaves, one green leaf stood out in particular.
"A green leaf among the fallen leaves! I understand!" Lin Yang was elated. He had discovered the pattern of the formation!
In the Fallen Leaf King's tomb, green leaves were an anomaly. If they existed, there must be a reason. Lin Yang was 80% sure that these green leaves were the eyes of the formation. In other words, these green leaves were also the safe spots to navigate through the traps!
Looking up at the passage where the formation had been destroyed, Lin Yang keenly noticed that at irregular intervals, a green leaf was slightly exposed. If one wasn't paying attention, they would never have noticed.
***
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