Chapter 67: Chain Guess

Before Feng Kong could even respond, the person on the rockery let out a scoff, their voice turning completely cold.

"Thinking of running?"

"I already gave you a chance..."

As these words fell, the air itself seemed to grow hot. Even the falling rain began to sizzle and was directly evaporated.

Shao Yi was startled, but not by the change in the surrounding environment after the person spoke. Rather, it was by that particular phrase...

"Thinking of running?"

Who was thinking of running?

I certainly wasn't thinking of running!

Wait...

Could it be...

He looked at Feng Kong with a hint of panic, unable to believe that Brother Akong, who was usually so confident, would be scared into wanting to run away.

The other person happened to look over at that moment, and Shao Yi was surprised to see an unusual look in Brother Akong's eyes as well.

Was he scared?

A killer, losing confidence before even making a move? What was the point of fighting then?

Shao Yi hadn't been panicking before, but now he truly was.

***

"Shao Yi is panicking. Does he want to retreat?!" This was Feng Kong's internal thought.

He turned back in surprise, only to see the panic in the other's eyes intensifying. At this point, Feng Kong knew the situation was completely out of control.

Shao Yi was caught off guard by the opponent!

It could be that he was directly scared, or perhaps it was because of himself...

"If it's the latter, then this person is truly terrifying!" Feng Kong's heart trembled.

Regardless of how it happened, this fight was destined to not continue.

The person on the rockery was too composed. Their grasp of human psychology was precise, giving them just enough time to panic the two of them, but not enough to allow them to think further.

They couldn't even synchronize their thoughts.

As he pondered, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the figure on the rockery shifting. With a flick of their sleeve, fire-attribute spiritual energy enveloped their palm.

Spiritual energy?

Feng Kong felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"He has spiritual energy!"

"He's not Xu Xiaoshou!" Shao Yi's telepathic message also conveyed unconcealed panic.

Xu Xiaoshou might have been able to break through to the ninth level of spiritual refinement immediately after the competition, but no matter how talented or monstrous he was, he absolutely couldn't have broken through the ninth and then the tenth level, and then additionally reached the Innate Realm, right?!

Yet the person in front of them, seemingly at the ninth level, possessed fire-attribute spiritual energy. This was definitely an Innate master who had concealed their true cultivation.

He had deceived both of them!

He was definitely not Xu Xiaoshou!

"Let's go!" Feng Kong said in a low voice.

Shao Yi immediately retreated without a word, following closely behind him.

"Can you escape?"

The person on the rockery let out a faint chuckle. Before the two could even leave the courtyard, they felt everything around them tremble violently. Even the falling rain hovered in mid-air, an incredibly eerie sight.

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

The accumulated water on the ground formed a large vortex, and bubbles burst one by one, as if boiling!

Xu Xiaoshou actually wished they would run faster, preferably to the ends of the earth and never return. But he had no choice but to act and keep them there.

If these two ran and he stopped his attacks, wouldn't that expose himself?

Moreover, Xu Xiaoshou had a faint suspicion that even if the two turned and fled, it could still be part of that enigmatic person's scheme.

He couldn't give the opponent even the slightest chance!

Therefore, he had to make a move, but without genuinely detaining them.

His two actions were nothing more than meaningless bluffs, empty threats.

The first move, "Cinderfall Heaven-Burn," only raised the environmental temperature and increased pressure, misleading them into believing he was a master whose anger could affect the very world.

The second move, "All Things Are Sword," caused the world to tremble, creating a chilling atmosphere of "I'm about to strike," but without revealing his sword intent.

So...

Could he force these two to leave?

Xu Xiaoshou's "Perception" was maxed out, his heart pounding in his throat, when it suddenly skipped a beat and stopped.

He saw the enigmatic figure without a hood reach the threshold, then raise a hand to stop the other person, halting their movement.

Had he found out?!

Was there a flaw in my plan?!

Xu Xiaoshou froze completely.

"Suspected, Passive Points +1."

"Suspected, Passive Points +1."

"..."

The information panel was once again scrolling wildly. Something was definitely wrong!

But Xu Xiaoshou mentally reviewed hundreds of branching possibilities and still couldn't find the source of the problem.

A spine-chilling dread washed over him at that moment!

***

He fell for it!

He was bluffing me!

Feng Kong ignored Shao Yi's confused gaze; his mind was once again active.

The person on the rockery seemed terrifying, creating an atmosphere of extreme dread, but the most inexplicable thing was that even when the two of them were about to run, he continued to merely bluff.

The most inexplicable part was...

He still hadn't turned around!

Feng Kong's lips curled into a chilling smile. This guy had also fallen into a trap!

His act of running with Shao Yi was originally a trap within a trap. The fact that he hadn't moved to seize Feng Kong, who had deliberately slowed down, already proved the point.

All his doubts dispelled, he immediately concluded that this person was Xu Xiaoshou!

Feng Kong subtly transmitted a message: "Shao Yi, follow my lead, first..."

"Have you two forgotten, this is my territory!" The eerie voice once again interrupted Feng Kong at just the right moment.

"Buzz!"

As the words fell, the courtyard's formation surged, a barrier enveloped them, and the large gate creaked shut once more.

Feng Kong's voice caught in his throat. He stared at the barrier wall, now within arm's reach, feeling his mind tie itself in knots.

Wasn't he Xu Xiaoshou?

According to his own deduction, he was Xu Xiaoshou!

But if he was Xu Xiaoshou, how dared he lock them inside?

Letting wolves into the house and then closing the door — wasn't that suicidal?!

Feng Kong was bewildered, desperately trying to think.

Could it be...

He wasn't Xu Xiaoshou?

Or...

He was Xu Xiaoshou, but he guessed that I was guessing that he had already guessed my intentions?

"..."

Absurd!

In such a high-pressure situation, who could possibly think so many layers deep?!

Feng Kong was utterly confused. The activation of this formation truly almost shattered his thoughts completely.

"There's still hope, just need to sort this out... Stay calm!" Feng Kong's eyes were filled with tension.

Beside him, Shao Yi had no idea how many thoughts had flashed through his Brother Akong's mind in that instant. He had only heard the instruction to follow the lead and immediately felt a surge of excitement.

Brother Akong had finally regained his usual calm demeanor. That was great!

He immediately transmitted a message: "Brother Akong, what lead, you..."

"Shut up, you idiot!" Feng Kong roared.

Shao Yi was stunned by the harshness, standing motionless. What just happened?

Feng Kong turned his head, his eyes bloodshot. He was just a hair's breadth away from piecing his thoughts back together and understanding the rockery person's intentions.

Shao Yi's single sentence seemed to crush his thoughts underfoot, leaving no possibility of putting them back together.

"It's over!"

"It's all over!"

Feng Kong's eyes held nothing but panic. He...

Had he lost his judgment?

Before he could even attempt to think again, the voice from behind seemed close enough to whisper in his ear.

"Turn around, look at me?"

Feng Kong's heart almost stopped at that moment. Did the person know what he was thinking?

Yes, the only thing Feng Kong had been certain of was that the person on the rockery wouldn't dare to turn around. That was the only remaining point...

Yet, just as his mind descended into chaos, the opponent exposed it.

Didn't this mean that everything he had just been thinking had truly been anticipated by the other?

Feng Kong tried to turn his head, but his neck seemed to have stiffened, completely unable to move.

For a killer...

To see meant death!