Chapter 224: Chapter 218: Could it be... this is all part of Eldest Senior Brother’s calculations?
"Eldest Brother!"
"I, Dong Changsheng, have low cultivation and shallow daoist attainment! More importantly, you have only just enlightened me—my state of mind is still unstable!"
"I can’t go down there!"
"If I go, I’ll be stealing opportunities from my junior brothers and sisters! It would be a betrayal of the very slaps you delivered to my face!"
"So, Eldest Brother!" he said, his voice choked with tears. "Please, grant my wish! Let me stay here. I’m willing to wave a flag and cheer for them, to bolster their morale!"
"Please... take everyone down and seize the earth-shattering opportunity that belongs to the strong!"
Su Ling’er’s heart skipped a beat when she heard this.
’This mossy path of Mr. Dong’s doesn’t look right,’ she thought. ’Who knows if it leads to a bottomless abyss or some monster’s lair!’
’Is it really okay for him to lead the way like this?!’
Lin Qingfeng looked at him and nodded in satisfaction.
’Since this is the place this child of "strong luck" led us to, then there’s no doubt an opportunity lies ahead!’
’But a thankless, health-draining job like scouting the path is best left to him.’
"I very much approve of the place you’ve chosen!" Lin Qingfeng said approvingly.
"However, how could you think of giving up such a chance to lead the charge to your senior brothers and sisters?"
Hearing this, Dong Changsheng immediately puffed out his chest, his face a mask of tragic misunderstanding.
"Eldest Brother! You are mistaken again!"
"One cannot think like that! The point of this matter is not about who gets to lead the charge!"
"The point is, who is bearing the greatest suffering for this team!"
He pointed to the bottomless path, then to his own heart.
"Going down to scout, facing those visible dangers—that may be difficult, but it’s also a kind of glory! A kind of thrill!"
"And what about me?!"
His voice suddenly rose, filled with indignation.
"I remain here, seemingly safe, but in reality, I’m enduring a mental torment greater than all of you combined!
I have to worry about your safety, pray for your every step, and bear the consequences of the entire team collapsing should you fail!
This pressure, this pain—who among you could possibly understand?!"
"As the eyes and brain of the team, my most important duty is not to scout with my hands and feet, but to bear this heaviest of burdens with my heart and my spirit!"
"I have given the glory of charging into battle to you, while keeping the most painful and agonizing responsibility for myself!"
"Eldest Brother, this is true strategic thinking! This is the path to success I have paved for you and for everyone!"
"Well said." Lin Qingfeng nodded after listening. Then, he flicked his wrist.
"But I refuse!"
The reins instantly went taut!
CRACK!
A sharp whipping sound echoed.
A tremendous force shot through the reins. Before Dong Changsheng could even fully unfurl the rest of his grand theory, his entire body was sent flying at high speed.
He plummeted toward the mossy path below.
"AHHH—!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the valley.
Su Ling’er and Wang Xiedi watched in stunned silence.
’Wait, so... this is what he calls optimal resource allocation?’
’This is how you allocate them?’
’By throwing the "eyes" out to scout the path first?’
’It’s too cruel! Too direct!’
’This demon doesn’t reason with you at all. If he can’t out-talk you, he just gets physical!’
’I’m afraid the odds are against Mr. Dong this time!’
Li Chunfeng watched Dong Changsheng’s flying figure and couldn’t help but sigh.
"Mr. Dong is leading the charge for us. Oh, what a good thing this is!"
THUD!
Dong Changsheng landed on a patch of vines on the cliff face. Before he could even steady himself, the seemingly ordinary vines around him suddenly came to life!
They twisted and writhed, instantly wrapping tightly around him!
[Soul-Devouring Vine]!
Countless barbs sprouted from the vines’ surfaces, piercing Dong Changsheng’s body, ready to frantically drain his blood and qi.
"Help... help me!" Dong Changsheng shrieked in terror.
...
「Meanwhile, at the other end of the secret realm.」
In a swamp, another small team of Guixi Sect players was advancing cautiously.
"Everyone, watch your step! Don’t step on the bubbling spots!"
The temporary captain, "Ximen Chuiling," reminded them in the team channel.
A newly-joined life-skill player was looking down, identifying herbs, and didn’t notice several vines near his feet.
Suddenly, those vines shot out from the muddy water and instantly dragged him down!
"Ah! Help me!"
He didn’t even have time to react before he was wrapped in dozens of layers of Soul-Devouring Vines, forming a giant green cocoon.
Ximen Chuiling facepalmed.
"Seriously? I told you the Guixi Secret Realm was opening, that you’re low-level and might get into trouble. But you still didn’t grind levels. Serves you right!"
"Your health is too low, I can’t save you. Just die, it’ll be a good lesson! You’re low-level anyway, so you’ll only lose a little experience."
"Remember to run back here after you respawn!"
The novice player’s health bar emptied instantly. A flash of blood-red light appeared where he had been, and then he died, respawning at the Great Tree starting point.
...
「Elsewhere, in a dark cave.」
"We’re rich, brothers! This place is full of glowing mushrooms! Even after appraisal, they still show up as a question mark!"
"They might be something good!"
A player shouted excitedly, reaching out to pick the biggest one.
"Don’t touch! Let us leave first, then you can—BOOM!"
Someone in the team had tried to stop him, but it was too late.
The moment the player’s hand touched the mushroom, all the mushrooms in the cave began to glow with a dangerous red light.
"BOOOOOM—!"
A chain reaction of explosions instantly engulfed the entire squad, the firelight illuminating their speechless faces.
’The downside of having too many people really shows...’
’Sigh... gotta start over again.’
...
「Returning to the present.」
Just as Dong Changsheng screamed, a loose rock above his head, destabilized by the vibration of his impact, could no longer maintain its balance.
The rock broke off and plummeted downwards!
’It’s over!’
Dong Changsheng’s eyes filled with despair.
However, the massive rock’s trajectory shifted slightly. It didn’t hit him directly, but instead smashed into the roots of the Soul-Devouring Vines wrapped around his body!
BOOM!
After the loud crash, the roots of the vines were smashed to a pulp, splattering green juice everywhere.
The vines encircling Dong Changsheng instantly lost their strength and went limp.
The impact also revealed a faint glow from within the rock.
It seemed this massive rock that had saved Dong Changsheng’s life was no ordinary stone.
Freed from his bonds, Dong Changsheng gasped for breath, marveling that he had managed to cheat death.
The players at the top of the cliff were also stunned by this scene.
[Guixi Secret Realm Channel (Team)]
[Shi Gandang]: Holy crap! This NPC is so damn useful!
[Lu Wu]: Look at the broken ends of those vines! They’re still leaking green juice! This is definitely a great material for alchemy! Don’t let it go to waste!
[Ji]: That rock that fell doesn’t seem ordinary either. A treasure-finder is a treasure-finder, alright!
Lin Qingfeng mentally ran through the sequence of events, confirming that Dong Changsheng had cleared the traps below. He finally issued a command to the players in the team channel.
[Guixi Secret Realm Channel (Team)]
[Lin Qingfeng]: All units! Bring back the remains of those vines. And that rock, and anything else that glowed and saved Dong Changsheng—strip it all clean!
[Lin Qingfeng]: Remember: leave nothing behind, and pluck a feather from every passing goose!
At his command, the players on the clifftop erupted with excitement.
They pulled out all sorts of tools and slid down the cliff face.
In the blink of an eye, the once-perilous cliff had been transformed into a harvesting site.
Wherever the players passed, not a blade of grass was left standing.
Su Ling’er stood on the clifftop, dumbfounded by everything that was happening.
’So you’re finally going down now that Mr. Dong has scouted the path?’
’But his cultivation is so much weaker than yours. If he could get past it, were you really afraid something would happen to you?’
’And how does Mr. Dong manage to turn every crisis into an opportunity?’
’What is going on?’
’He can’t possibly be this lucky every single time, can he?’
’Could it be that Eldest Brother did something behind the scenes?’
’But then why would Eldest Brother throw him down to scout the path every time, only to secretly save him? What’s the reason for that?’
She couldn’t understand it, but she was deeply shaken!
She looked at Lin Qingfeng’s perfectly calm face, and a thought surfaced in her mind.
’Could it be... that this was all part of Eldest Brother’s plan?’
...
Meanwhile, Dong Changsheng, who had collapsed to the ground and was foaming at the mouth, stared blankly at his fellow disciples.
Their faces were beaming with the joy of a bountiful harvest, but all of it was built upon his near-death experience!!!
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