“All the monsters along the way were killed by you lot?”
Bai Feifei looked at Ling Xiao and the other three, her face full of astonishment.
They had struggled greatly to reach the main path, expecting danger, but found nothing but corpses along the way.
“That’s right!”
Ling Xiao said calmly, “The final gatekeeper should be up ahead. Defeating it will likely yield plenty of rewards.”
“You’ve broken through?”
Bai Feifei ignored his words, instead noticing the clear improvement in Ling Xiao’s cultivation.
Ling Xiao’s current template was at the peak of Mortal Realm Sixth Layer.
Though not his true cultivation, it was still a significant leap from when he entered the Moonflower Tower, obvious to anyone with eyes.
At her words, Dantai Lingzi, Wu Yang, and Qin Wu’s faces darkened.
Especially Wu Yang and Qin Wu, who harboured thoughts of avenging their fallen brothers but hadn’t found an opportunity.
They had hoped Ling Xiao might be injured in the second stage, giving them a chance to strike, but not only was he unharmed, his cultivation had surged.
The situation was worsening, and they were running out of time to delay.
“We can’t wait any longer! If there’s even the slightest chance, we must act!”
Wu Yang and Qin Wu exchanged a glance, sharing the same thought.
“This guy’s too uncanny. We need a plan to get that thing!”
Dantai Lingzi also made up her mind.
She had no personal grudge with Ling Xiao but coveted something he possessed, and killing him was the only way to get it.
Even she, usually so composed, was growing anxious.
Ling Xiao’s breakthrough was too alarming, and she needed to act soon.
Bai Feifei’s expression was equally grim.
She was held back by a secret Ling Xiao knew, making her wary of acting rashly, but now she was itching to make a move. If Ling Xiao kept growing like this, the gap between them would narrow.
Soon, he might surpass her even without arrays.
If that happened, things would take a bad turn.
From fighting Ling Xiao, she strongly sensed that he was someone who needed to be eliminated early, or he’d become an unbreakable force.
He was like a young tiger—if not killed before it matured, it would become an invincible beast.
“Just got lucky and broke through by chance. It’s no big deal,” Ling Xiao said with a faint smile.
This wasn’t nonsense. Since entering the Moonflower Tower, every moment of persistence brought more gains.
Including Wang Nan, who hadn’t yet appeared, the eleven survivors had all improved in cultivation and strength to varying degrees, with Ling Xiao’s progress being the most terrifying.
Next were Leng Hao, Shangguan Lei, and Dai Yuling.
Then came Bai Feifei, Dantai Lingzi, and the others.
“Hmph, who knows how many good things you’ve hoarded? I wonder if someone’s secretly helping you,” Bai Feifei snorted, falling silent.
She suppressed her anger, holding back from challenging Ling Xiao to a fight.
Her strength had also improved through the tower’s trials, though not as quickly as Ling Xiao’s. Since this was only the second stage, she planned to let him grow stronger before taking him down.
She refused to believe Ling Xiao could reach Half-Step Heavenly Venerable inside the Moonflower Tower.
“What do you all think of my proposal? Let’s not split up anymore. We charge forward together and break through the monster nest!”
Ling Xiao didn’t care who was friend or foe—since they could be useful for now, he’d use them. The next gatekeeper wasn’t something he could handle alone.
“I agree!”
Dantai Lingzi thought for a moment and said, “But we need a detailed plan and to investigate the monster nest’s specifics. Otherwise, it’s as good as suicide.”
At that moment, Wang Nan appeared silently nearby, approaching and standing to the side, keeping a low profile.
The others paid him no mind, as he was the only one without backing and currently the weakest.
But Ling Xiao glanced at Wang Nan, his expression shifting slightly.
Wang Nan’s cultivation was only Mortal Realm Third Layer, comparable to Dai Yuling before her breakthrough, and he showed no signs of advancing.
Yet, he bore no traces of injury.
That was too strange.
Was this guy hiding his strength?
Ling Xiao never underestimated anyone. He had his own hidden strength template—why couldn’t others have similar secrets?
“This Wang Nan needs watching!”
Ling Xiao secretly messaged Leng Hao, Dai Yuling, and Shangguan Lei, warning them to keep their distance from Wang Nan and not mention it.
Though puzzled, the three accepted his advice.
After addressing Wang Nan, Ling Xiao returned to the earlier topic.
“Sister Dantai, I’ve already scouted the monster nest. It contains venomous snakes, blood-sucking bats, straw puppets, underworld wolves, and grey skeletons—five types of monsters, ranging from first to fifth-grade ferocious beasts, about five thousand in total!
There’s also one Golden Inch Snake King, one Blood-Sucking Bat King, one Straw Puppet King, one Underworld Wolf King, and one Skeleton King, all seventh to eighth-grade ferocious beasts.
But the most formidable is the gatekeeper, the ‘Five-Faced Monster.’ Its strength is terrifying, at Half-Step Heavenly Venerable, with ninety percent accumulated power, far stronger than Sister Bai.”
“What!”
Everyone was shocked by his words.
The ordinary monsters alone were daunting enough, but five king-level monsters, plus a powerful gatekeeper, made their scalps tingle.
Based on Ling Xiao’s information, they discussed and devised three strategies: best, middle, and worst.
Best: Bai Feifei distracts the gatekeeper, while Ling Xiao and Dantai Lingzi, with their superior agility, steal the treasure chest. Wu Yang, Qin Wu, and others handle the remaining monsters, grabbing the loot and fleeing quickly.
Middle: Forget the loot, everyone fights to carve a bloody path and escape. With the eleven of them, breaking through was feasible if they avoided prolonged combat.
Worst: The most desperate option—everyone fends for themselves, escaping if they can.
Naturally, most preferred the best strategy, but one person disagreed: Bai Feifei.
She flat-out refused to face the gatekeeper.
Without her cooperation, the best strategy was scrapped.
As for the middle strategy, it was unrealistic. With everyone harbouring their own motives, uniting to break through was a pipe dream.
