Chapter 817: Chapter 816: The Unpredictability of Human Nature_1
The destructive glows within the passageway seemed to appear without any rhyme or reason at first glance, sometimes falling from above, sometimes surging from below, but more often than not, they attacked from the left and right sides.
Anyone present, including Shi Xiaole, would be either killed or severely injured if they were merely grazed by the glows. This was why, previously, no one had been able to get through.
Since mental power could not be extended outside the body, and testing materials were insufficient, under normal circumstances, even Shi Xiaole would have had no hope of finding a way out.
Luckily, at that moment, Sword Heart Enlightenment proved highly beneficial once again.
Through the Sword Qi attached to weapons, Shi Xiaole simulated the effect of mental power, again and again feeling the changes in the aura of the mechanism, and finally he discerned a clue.
Using the few remaining weapon fragments, he continued to refine his hypothesis. Soon, all the weapon fragments were exhausted.
"Ladies and gentlemen, would you lend me your weapons for a moment?"
Shi Xiaole looked towards the people sitting cross-legged.
Their faces twitched violently.
If it had been before, they would not have paid any attention to Shi Xiaole, and might even have scoffed at him. The monsters were watching eagerly, and you’re asking us to hand over our weapons?
Why not use your own?
But now, they could only keep silent.
It was the axe-wielding elder who was proficient in Array Systems and had been together with Shi Xiaole before, who considered for a moment and asked, "Young Hero Shi, could it be that you are confident you can unravel this mechanism?"
"I can’t claim 100% certainty, only that I can give it my best shot."
Before succeeding, Shi Xiaole was not accustomed to making promises too certain.
The crowd furrowed their brows even more, pondering how to decline politely, when they saw the axe-wielding elder pick up his own axe and lightly toss it to Shi Xiaole.
"Young Hero Shi, my life is in your hands now, haha."
The axe-wielding elder sat down with a smile, looking relieved, which made the others want to punch him. Was this old man out of his mind?
What they didn’t know was that the axe-wielding elder had his own calculations.
After a brief contact, he thought he understood Shi Xiaole’s character—yielding to soft approaches but not coercive ones, cold on the outside but warm on the inside. As long as one showed goodwill, one could earn his genuine reciprocity.
In the axe-wielding elder’s view, if Shi Xiaole was not confident, he would never use everyone else’s weapons. And even if he failed, his own action might earn him Shi Xiaole’s care and attention. Wasn’t that better than holding on to his weapon?
Of course, if his guess was wrong, the axe-wielding elder would have to accept his bad luck, but he was willing to take that gamble.
Catching the axe, Shi Xiaole didn’t immediately turn around.
"Young Hero Shi, if there’s anything you need from me, Sun Wei, just say the word."
Following the axe-wielding elder, Sun Wei passed his Crocodile Scissors to Shi Xiaole, indicating his support, but he kept his head down, not daring to look directly at Shi Xiaole.
There were also others, like Xu Fang and the young man in brocade, who followed suit and handed over their weapons. Yu Yourong, influenced by Bai Ruiting, also joined in.
Seeing this, some were worried Shi Xiaole might hold a grudge and thus begrudgingly cooperated.
Others smiled and declined while trembling in fear. Only when they saw that Shi Xiaole did not make a fuss did they let out a sigh of relief and realized that a cold sweat had formed on their back.
Having obtained eleven weapons, mostly lower-grade Spiritual Weapons, Shi Xiaole did not decline and tried once more.
Bang.
Bang bang bang.
Explosions intermittently sounded throughout the hall. Watching their beloved weapons shatter, everyone felt their hearts wrench, especially at such a critical time—it was truly gambling their lives on Shi Xiaole’s ability.
Time ticked away by the second.
In the blink of an eye, eleven weapons had turned into a pile of fragments.
Twenty.
Nineteen.
Eighteen.
The number of weapon fragments dwindled, the intervals between each throw lengthened, and the hearts of Xu Fang and the others rose to their throats, their breathing stilled.
When only three fragments were left, Shi Xiaole let out a long breath.
"I’ve found a way out."
"What?"
Like a sudden bolt of thunder on a clear day, upon hearing this, the first reaction from everyone was disbelief. Then, many leapt up on the spot.
"Young Hero Shi, are you serious?"
The axe-wielding elder approached Shi Xiaole and asked tremblingly, sharing the same curiosity as the crowd.
"I am not fond of lying."
Shi Xiaole responded indifferently.
The air hung still for a moment, and heavy breaths soon followed.
The atmosphere was like a tightly wound spring compressed to its limit. Ecstasy, excitement, mixed with a deliberate restraint to avoid disappointment, created a range of complex expressions on the faces around.
"Miss Bai, Miss Xu, if you trust my words, stay close to me."
Ignoring the others, Shi Xiaole first addressed Bai Ruiting and Xu Fang.
The two women’s eyes shone, and without much hesitation, followed obediently to either side of him.
Shi Xiaole also gave instructions to the rest, and the keen-eyed noticed that all of them were warriors who had previously surrendered their weapons. Gritting their teeth, they chose to trust Shi Xiaole as well, since they had no other options left.
Those who hadn’t offered their weapons were anxious, regretting their past decisions. One said, "Young Hero Shi, if there’s any command you have for us, we are willing to do whatever you say."
Without their contribution, they would definitely be incapable of withstanding the monsters’ assault.
Shi Xiaole’s expression was unchanged, and no one could guess his inner thoughts. Thankfully, he also set tasks for these people, which finally calmed their nerves.
"Follow my directions and do not move recklessly. Let’s go."
Shi Xiaole took the lead, darting out with a sword finger pointing to the left while his body shifted to the right, smoothly dodging the light below. With a pull of his left hand, he invisibly drew Bai Ruiting along.
The next moment, while blocking the second beam of light, he also used Bai Ruiting to pull Xu Fang into the formation, followed by Yu Yourong and the others, one after another.
The group of more than twenty people, like kites, dodged left and right under Shi Xiaole’s invisible control, carefully navigating the corridor, barely missing the beams of light that brushed past them multiple times, yet none were hit.
At first, everyone was on tenterhooks, but after a few hundred feet, they gradually relaxed, their admiration for Shi Xiaole at the front growing boundlessly.
The corridor seemed endless, but once they grasped the pattern, avoiding the beams of light became a mechanical task.
However, after several thousand feet, an accident abruptly occurred.
An Earth Immortal suddenly screamed, struck by the light and severely injured before being hit by more beams. After several strikes, he exploded into a mist of blood.
"What happened?"
The people in front and behind cried out in shock, their faces ashen.
Boom, boom, boom!
The accidents continued; in just a quarter of an hour, two more Earth Immortals were killed in succession, chilling everyone to the bone and almost making them afraid to continue following Shi Xiaole.
Yu Yourong looked intently at Shi Xiaole in front, her beautiful eyes flickering non-stop.
She noticed that those who were killed were the ones who had refused to hand over their weapons before. Could it all be his scheme? If so, it was terrifying.
But with Shi Xiaole’s abilities, it seemed unnecessary for him to do so.
At this point, everyone had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue following Shi Xiaole, fortunate that after six Earth Immortals died, the beams of light returned to normal and no one else was affected.
Half a 2-hour period later, when everyone successfully walked out of the palace after opening another stone door, they all felt weak in the knees, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Having escaped from death’s door, they finally emerged safely!
"Young Hero Shi, thank you for this time. If we meet again in the future, I will definitely repay your great kindness and mercy."
"Young Hero Shi, gratitude is beyond words."
After a brief rest, many people stood up and saluted Shi Xiaole with a fist and palm, then promptly left without looking back, as if they had agreed upon it beforehand.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the world is vast and Sikong Cheng has always been a loner. Farewell."
Sikong Cheng gave Shi Xiaole a glance before choosing to leave as well.
In the end, only Bai Ruiting, Yu Yourong, Su Yichen, and even Xu Fang, Sun Wei, and others remained.
"Brother Shi, let’s adventure together next. It will be safer with you."
In the slightly awkward atmosphere, Bai Ruiting sauntered over to Shi Xiaole, her stunningly playful face adorned with a captivating smile.
"Shouldn’t you be afraid of me?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"What a strange question. Ruiting only knows that Brother Shi saved me and has been taking good care of me. Why should I be afraid of you?"
This made Shi Xiaole laugh as well.
Yu Yourong, of course, would stay by Bai Ruiting’s side, and for some reason, Su Yichen also chose to accompany them, as did Xu Fang, Sun Wei, and the others.
And so, the group casually picked a direction and walked into the distance.
...
Deep in the night, the bright moon hung high.
By the campfire, most people had already fallen asleep, but Shi Xiaole was looking in a certain direction and whispered, "Do you have any questions?"
Under the tree, Yu Yourong blinked her long eyelashes but didn’t open her eyes, whispering back, "I know this question might upset you, but I still want to ask, what exactly happened today, did you deliberately set them up?"
"What if I did, and what if I didn’t?"
"If you did, even if Miss Bai doesn’t like it, I will force her to leave. It’s always dangerous to be around someone who is deeply cunning and likes to scheme everywhere. I don’t like it!"
Shi Xiaole did not speak again.
The next day, Yu Yourong planned to take Bai Ruiting away, but Bai Ruiting stayed close to Shi Xiaole, making it difficult to find an opportunity. Just as she was hesitating, an old voice suddenly reached her ears, "Miss Yu, you might have misunderstood Young Hero Shi."
She turned to see the old ax wielder named Huang Dazhong.
"What are you talking about, old man? I don’t understand," she said.
"Hehe, your expression is well concealed, but you can’t fool this old man," Huang Dazhong chuckled and whispered, "Perhaps you don’t know, but the more ingenious an Array System is, the less it tolerates any mistake. Earlier, when Young Hero Shi led the way, he attracted all the light attacks within the corridor, taking a huge risk indeed."
Yu Yourong gave a non-committal smile.
"Do you still remember before the trial, Young Hero Shi strictly ordered us not to use our powers, lest it cause complications?"
"Ah!"
Upon hearing these words, Yu Yourong initially didn’t think much of it, but soon, a flash of realization struck her: "Are you saying that those six were killed because they secretly used their powers?"
"The first one most likely was, and the others probably did so reflexively because of his death, bringing disaster upon themselves. To say that someone with Young Hero Shi’s abilities needs such schemes to kill a few people is ridiculous."
Yu Yourong felt a bit dizzy.
In that situation, she didn’t believe anyone would dare to scheme, so she hadn’t considered this possibility. But what she overlooked even more were the unpredictability of human nature.
Thinking back, Shi Xiaole was channeling his powers to lead more than twenty people while dodging the light. If he intended to launch a surprise attack, the success rate indeed would be considerable.
Anyway, they already knew the pattern by then, and whether he was there or not was irrelevant.
Thinking bolder, besides Shi Xiaole, could others have also been targets, since everyone refrained from using their powers!
Now that she thought about it, wasn’t the first one to die precisely the one at the furthest back?
Wait, if Shi Xiaole was familiar with the mechanism, could he have anticipated this possibility, therefore also testing the others? But such a test can’t be faulted, can it?
Yu Yourong bit her lip and stamped her foot in frustration.
