Chapter 1500 — Making a Move to Snatch

Everyone in those two bands knew exactly what sort of man Zhang Nai Pao was, and regret crept into their hearts: they should never have quarreled over a single spirit herb. Had either side simply given way, they would never have run into Zhang Nai Pao.

And now look at the fix they were in: not only was the spirit herb before their eyes gone, but the rest of the spirit herbs in their hands would become another man's spoils.

"What... what are you going to do?" one trial participant in one of the bands asked, still clinging to hope. He prayed that Zhang Nai Pao and his companions were merely passing through, or that they had taken a fancy to the ownerless spirit herb lying on the ground; if so, they might yet slip past this calamity.

"Do? Hand over every spirit herb you carry, nice and obedient, and Lord Pao will spare your lives. Otherwise—hmph—you know what became of that Ling Yi, don't you? If you fancy that you can be drained dry of true qi and still recover, then by all means, come and try your luck!" Zhuangniao Pao snorted coldly.

"So you mean to rob us outright?" The expert in one of the bands, a man at the peak of the late Profound Rank, was rather unconvinced. His strength was the highest among them, higher even than Zhang Nai Pao's, and naturally he had no wish to hand his spoils over with both hands.

"Rob you outright? What a joke. Have you still not worked out the rules of the trial? The trial permits seizing spirit herbs from another's hands. Are you deaf, or is your memory faulty?" Zhuangniao Pao said icily. "What is it—you don't intend to hand them over?"

"Clever!" The trial participant at the peak of the late Profound Rank also gave a cold snort, then roused his internal cultivation art and hurled a punch at Zhang Nai Pao, not far off, shouting as he did: "To catch the bandits, first catch their chief! I will keep Zhang Nai Pao tied up—all of you, come at them together and use the chance to cripple a few of them! Otherwise every scrap of our spoils will end up in another man's hands!"

In the mind of this peak late-Profound Rank trial participant, no one on earth would willingly hand his spoils to another. If he took the lead now, surely the rest would unite and fall upon the enemy as one.

Yet this peak late-Profound Rank trial participant had overestimated the courage of the others. As he saw it, at the very worst the opposing band might hold back—but his own band would surely join the fray.

After all, the interests of all of them were at stake.

But once the peak late-Profound Rank trial participant made his move, neither of his two teammates stirred, to say nothing of the members of the band that had been their enemies a moment before.

His two teammates, too, had been assembled on the spot; their bond was anything but solid, a mere union of convenience. At such a moment everyone's thinking was simple: fighting Zhang Nai Pao was folly. The man's Bee-Devouring Divine Art could turn an opponent into a cripple on the spot—who would take such a risk?

And even if they wounded Zhang Nai Pao, would that truly be the end of it? Behind him stood that ancient sect, the Tomorrow After Tomorrow Sect. To be marked by a colossus like that—not only would one's own days be numbered, one's whole clan would likely be dragged down with him.

So no one moved. They even adopted the attitude of spectators: if the peak late-Profound Rank trial participant could defeat Zhang Nai Pao, then they would gladly sit back and reap the profit; if he could not, what use was it for them to join in? Better to hand over the spoils obediently.

Without those spoils, they could search again; and even if they found nothing and failed the trial, that was no great matter. But to lose one's strength and become a cripple—that would be the end of this life.

And so that hot-blooded, impulsive peak late-Profound Rank trial participant threw himself, like a fool, against the muzzle of Zhang Nai Pao's gun. Zhang Nai Pao merely raised a hand in greeting, took his blow, and straightaway roused the Bee-Devouring Divine Art of the Chrysanthemum Codex, drawing the true qi from the trial participant's body into his own at flying speed.

The face of the peak late-Profound Rank trial participant went ashen with dread. Before, he had only heard tales; now that he had lived through it himself, he understood just how terrifying Zhang Nai Pao was. In the past, though he knew of Zhang Nai Pao's prowess, it was rumor after all. As he saw it, even if Zhang Nai Pao could absorb another's strength, once he himself ceased to circulate his art, how could the man keep draining him?

Besides, last night he had seen that Ling Yi; the man had lost no strength at all—on the contrary, he had broken through. That only confirmed him in the belief that Zhang Nai Pao's divine art was mere rumor and not nearly so formidable in truth.

But at this moment he discovered that he had been wrong—utterly, catastrophically wrong! He had halted the circulation of his art, and yet the true qi within him still poured ceaselessly into Zhang Nai Pao's body, entirely beyond his control.

And his fist—he wished to pull it away, and could not.

Only then did he understand that those rumors were all true, not garbled in the telling at all. Regret gnawed at his heart, and with it a flare of fury at his own companions for refusing to lift a hand.

"What are you doing? Strike, quickly! My true qi is nearly drained!" shouted the peak late-Profound Rank trial participant in alarm and rage.

The members of the bands only looked at one another. Not a single one dared make a move.

What a joke. If even a peak late-Profound Rank trial participant was no match for Zhang Nai Pao, what ability did they have to dare strike now?

"What, you want to try as well? Come right ahead—one comes, one gets drained!" Zhang Nai Pao cackled and sneered.

"Impossible. I refuse to believe it—how many hands do you have, that you can drain everyone who comes?" As if to prove Zhang Nai Pao a liar, the peak late-Profound Rank trial participant swung out his left fist and his right leg at once.

But the very next moment, his left fist and his right leg too were sucked fast to Zhang Nai Pao's body, and could not be pulled free.

What was more, the true qi in his body now drained away even faster.

At this, the other band members, witnessing the uncanny spectacle, dared even less to act rashly.

"We are willing to hand all our spoils to Lord Pao..." The trial participant of the lowest strength, early Profound Rank, was frightened out of his wits. He hurriedly took out all the natural treasures he had gathered in his bosom and laid them on the ground before him.

To show that he had given up everything, he deliberately produced his electronic points card as well, so that others could see the score displayed upon it.

"And the rest of you?" Zhuangniao Pao nodded in satisfaction. "You, boy, at least know what's good for you."

With someone having taken the lead, the others all brought out their spoils one after another. The brothers Zhuangniao Pao and Zhuangniao Qiang happily swept these spoils into their own pockets—though of course the largest share still went to Zhang Nai Pao; they dared not keep it all for themselves.

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