Chapter 138: Chapter 131: First Place and a Proposal
When Guan Tong finished speaking, another wave of laughter swept through the camp.
The long-haired, dark, and heavyset man, however, had a cautious look in his eyes. He figured an old man who could survive so many rules must have some real ability.
He gave a meaningful look, and the others in the camp understood immediately. They fanned out to the left and right, surrounding Guan Tong.
"Old man, it’s impressive that you’ve managed to survive this long and even climb the mountain to take on my challenge," the long-haired, dark, and heavyset man said with a sinister sneer. "But there are a lot of us and only one of you. I’d advise you to cooperate."
"Exactly. An old fossil like you has a lot of nerve."
"Hand over your Sublimation Coins and tradable items nice and quietly, and we’ll let you go back down the mountain. Otherwise, we’ll be leaving your old bones right here!"
Guan Tong noted their bandit-like ways and the fact that they were using violence to prevent others from taking on the challenge. He now understood their true colors.
He had no intention of wasting any more time on them.
A murderous glint appeared in his eyes. The long-haired, dark, and heavyset man sensed something was wrong and yelled, "This old fossil is up to something! Get him!"
At his words, the dozen-plus people in the camp all began summoning their items or preparing to use their abilities.
But they were far too slow. Before Guan Tong, they didn’t even have a chance to make a move.
"SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK SHLICK!"
Shadows shot out from Guan Tong’s feet, erupting to pierce through everyone’s bodies. It happened with such speed and power that each person only had time for their mouth to fall open in a terrified grimace before they died.
The only one who didn’t die instantly was the long-haired, dark, and heavyset man, who seemed to be the leader. He apparently had a defensive item on him that blocked the piercing attack of the Shadow Thorns.
But that changed nothing.
The man realized this as well. He dropped to his knees with a THUD and began kowtowing, begging for mercy. "Sir, you are a magnanimous man! Spare me, please spare me! You... you couldn’t be..."
As the man kowtowed and begged for his life, the way his men had died suddenly made him recall something.
"You’re ’Shadow’?! I... I was at Holy Grail Island, too! I died to these same black spikes back then... Shadow God, I beg you, spare my life! Or else..."
"Or else?"
"Or else I’ll tell everyone who you are!" the man threatened, gritting his teeth. "I’ve seen your face! And I’m using a Communication Secret Scroll to talk to a friend telepathically right now. If you don’t spare me, I’ll describe you to him immediately! I can definitely do it faster than you can kill me!"
"Is that right? Be my guest." Guan Tong raised his hand, and the Silver Hunter from his Storage Ring appeared in his palm.
Seeing Guan Tong draw his gun, the man decided to go for broke. "Shadow is an old man in his sixties! He’s about five-foot-four, with a spot on his nose, and—"
"BANG!"
Guan Tong pulled the trigger. A single No. 2 slug took the man out.
Guan Tong didn’t care who the man had been talking to with the Communication Secret Scroll.
After all, his current appearance as an old man wasn’t real; it was just a random form generated by the [Bystander Transformation Device]. Even if the description got out, anyone searching for a person who looked like this would come up empty-handed.
Looking at the carnage all around him, Guan Tong felt no particular stirrings within.
Ever since the battle on Holy Grail Island, he was no longer the combat novice he used to be.
One could say that the challenge had brought him more than just tangible gains; it had also given him a wealth of hidden combat experience.
Thanks to the buff from his Infinite Psychic Power and the massive brawl against hundreds, even thousands of people, he had accumulated vast experience in using his shadows to kill.
As a result, these ordinary Ascenders were now no match for him at all.
He sent his shadow down the mountain toward the ticket hall at the challenge’s finish line.
He, meanwhile, waited by the stone monument. With time to kill, he rummaged through the various tents, tossing all the useful supplies he found into his Storage Ring.
’They say crime is the most profitable business, and it’s true,’ he thought. ’No wonder the lands outside the city are crawling with gangs. What could be faster than raiding other camps, compared to the hard work of finding your own supply channels?’
Still, if he had a choice, Guan Tong wouldn’t want to be doing this sort of dirty work. But if anyone was to blame, it was these people for bringing it upon themselves. They just had to attack an "old man" like him.
In his view, this camp’s actions were a microcosm of a larger problem.
Some of the more tyrannical Ascenders, in order to stop others from taking on challenges they created, would resort to violence to stop and attack any would-be challengers.
This would undoubtedly create a great deal of chaos.
People came to take on the challenge, not to get into a fight with you.
But from the perspective of the Ascender who created the challenge, their logic was also sound: ’What am I supposed to do if you succeed and take my first-place spot? If I can’t take someone else’s spot during the Rule Stage, I’ll fail this whole Rule.’
With this mindset, they’d see attacking challengers as a reasonable way to protect their number-one spot.
Challengers felt they were doing nothing wrong by playing by the rules. Creators felt they were doing nothing wrong by protecting their top spot. The conflict was irreconcilable, leaving violence as the only solution.
’But isn’t this exactly what the Fire Thief wants to see?’
Guan Tong understood this perfectly. All of the Fire Thief’s rules, both overt and hidden, were designed to incite conflict between people.
’Unfortunately, even knowing this, people have to fight for their own survival, walking right into the Fire Thief’s open conspiracy.’
By the time Guan Tong finished collecting the camp’s supplies, his shadow had already reached the ticket hall at the foot of the mountain.
He opened his challenge list, selected the entry for Skytop Mountain, and began the challenge.
