Absolute Choice

“The thirty-second round shall begin immediately. Death Epaulette wearer has been randomly chosen. The wearer’s name is Sunless Ye!”

The moment the authoritative voice faded away, two images appeared in Shi Xiaobai’s mind once again.

One of them was the entire map of the mountainous region, indicating where his and Sunless’ respective locations were on the map. At this moment, the two were separated by a great distance, almost more than half the entire mountainous range.

The other image was fixed on Sunless. She was dressed in an azure dress and she was expressionless. Her eyes looked somewhat in a daze, but her beauty made people have the feeling that this girl should be in heaven. The mortal world could not afford her.

Compared to Ye Sheng’s wretched form of fleeing, the current Sunless was standing in the same spot motionless, as though she had no intentions of fleeing.

Sunless had given up?

Of course not. Just as the ten seconds of the image were up, a rookie had appeared at the boundary of the image. Clearly, the rookie was one of the eager pursuers. However, before he reached a hundred meters away from Sunless, a strong wind blew, sending the rookie flying backwards. The Life Epaulette on his shoulder suddenly shattered as the rookie transformed into a beam of golden light and was transported out of the trial.

Sunless held a silver sword in hand and remained expressionless. She did not even turn her head to look at the rookie that had suddenly appeared. She was just standing there quietly. Her silence was golden, but she also exuded an inexplicable dominance.

Life and Death Assault?

Why must I run? I’ll stand here waiting for all of you. If you have the guts, then try your best. Let’s see who ‘kills’ who!

The image slowly dissipated. Shi Xiaobai could not help but reveal a smile. Sunless had done what he was thinking. They were just a bunch of spicy chickens, what was the need to flee? If one came, kill one. If a group came, kill a group. Who cares what monsters or demons they were, they would be killed!

An Mo was a little alarmed as he said with a frown, “This is Sunless, third on the rookie forecast? Although this courage is commendable, isn’t this too reckless!? Indeed, no one is her match in a one-on-one situation, but if it were one against ten, or one against a hundred, how is she to deal with it? Why doesn’t she flee and attack at the same time. With her strength, it is not a problem to protect her epaulette while running.”

Shi Xiaobai heard this and glanced at An Mo. He said, “No wonder your flute’s music sounds terrible, it’s because your thoughts are problematic. This King shall bestow you a sentence—The value of a treasured sword depends on whether you regard it as a treasure or a sword.”

After saying that, Shi Xiaobai ran off without even turning his head again. Although he was not worried for Sunless, she was his friend. And in a sense, she was his confidant. With her being in a situation with others laying a siege on her, he obviously could not sit idle.

Shi Xiaobai ran towards Sunless’ location at full speed!

An Mo stared at Shi Xiaobai’s back blankly as his brows furrowed even deeper.

“Is my flute’s music really that terrible? Why must you say that my thoughts are problematic?”

An Mo ruminated over the final words Shi Xiaobai had said. Moments later, he shook his head as he said with a sigh, “The value of a treasured sword depends on whether you regard it as a treasure or a sword? As for what profound meaning this sentence has, I really…can’t figure it out.”

An Mo thought for a moment before he gave up thinking. He then began heading towards Sunless’ location.

The value of a treasured sword. Was this problem something worthy of study?

If he had the time, he might as well investigate the price of this large treasured sword.

…

…

In the quiet woods, the area was reeking with smoke as whispers filled the air.

Sunless was standing alone on an empty plain. There were no trees around her in a hundred meter radius.

She stood there silently with her eyes calm. She looked somewhat indifferent, and to a stranger, she looked like an ice-beauty who could topple countries with her beauty.

The Life and Death Assault had gone on for three minutes. During this period, there was no lack of pursuers that had rushed here. However, they were in no hurry to charge through the forbidden zone of a hundred meters. Even the best rookies of first-tier organizations could not withstand more than a few strikes.

The hundred-meter zone seemed to be an area no one could step through. Droves of rookies that came in pursuit had their Life Epaulettes shattered one after another. The most one could reach was a distance of fifty meters. It was no doubt a thrashing.

Sunless was this year’s super rookie, a rare sword fanatic that appeared once a century. She was forecast to be third among the rookies, and her strength was redoubtable. She was on a completely different level from the other rookies.

The rookies obviously realized that attempting to make a breakthrough one after another was impossible. However, they were unwilling to give up at this moment. Hence, they began to spontaneously wait in the forest a hundred meters away from Sunless. They were waiting for enough pursuers to arrive.

One person was not enough, so were ten. But if a hundred people charged forward at the same time, regardless of how powerful Sunless was, there was no way for her to instantly kill a hundred people in those short hundred meters!

And if they could eliminate Sunless, who was bound to take a spot in the top ten, they would have an additional chance of entering the top ten candidates for the collective training. Hence, this was not a simple ‘Life and Death Assault’. It had deeper meaning behind it, so it was worth it to do it at all costs, despicable or not!

More and more rookies gathered in the forest a hundred meters away. They were in whispers and waiting for their numbers to accumulate. They planned on rushing forward at the same time.

Sunless was still standing there silently. Even though the atmosphere which resembled the calm before the storm was repressing, she did not bat an eyelid. She did not choose to take the initiative to attack while the rookies were slowly gathering together. She was only waiting, as though she did not care how many people would rush at her when the time came.

In some people’s eyes, this was the confidence and the courage of the strong.

But in the eyes of others, this was hubris, an act of thinking too highly of herself.

…

At this moment, on one side of the woods a hundred meters away from Sunless. There was a bunch of rookies gathered. The numbers were about to exceed a hundred people.

For a team on such a scale, it naturally needed a leader. It needed a few key figures with the authority to lead. If the timing and procedure to which the attack was carried out was not agreed upon, it would be a waste of time disputing.

At this moment, in the middle of the rookies were three people clustered together. They had become the temporarily leaders of the hundred-man team that would quickly dissolve.

They did not need impressive leadership skills. All they needed were strength and reputation to convince the crowd.

One of them was a curvaceous girl wearing tight leather clothing. Her hair reached her waist, and her hair was slightly permed. Her looks were delicate, but she was not considered beautiful. However her eyes that accentuated her appearance seemed to have an intelligence to them. She held a whip that could automatically expand and contract, causing others to involuntarily make weird associations.

This girl was rather famous among the rookies. Her name was Zhou Chuchu, ranked tenth on the official forecast.

Beside Zhou Chuchu was a youth dressed in armor. He looked average and there was nothing unique about him. However, his solemn expression and serious look in his eyes made him seem very reliable. This person was ranked ninth on the official forecast, Feng Yuanlin.

The third person was dressed in a loose robes. His hair was coiled up and he held a whisk. He was a youth dressed like a Daoist, named Liu Yu. He was known as the Half-Dao Sage and was ranked eighth on the official forecast!

These three were superstar rookies ranked tenth, ninth and eighth on the official forecast. They excelled in a particular domain, so they were well known by many rookies. Hence, these three were immediately chosen by the rookies as their ‘leaders’. This was because only the three of them could command the masses.

The trio apparently knew each other and they were gathered together as they spoke softly. Their voices were lowered to the point of whispers.

The other rookies did not deliberately eavesdrop, but if they heard the conversation between the trio, they would probably faint from exasperation.

Feng Yuanlin said, “What do we do? Bite the bullet and charge forward?”

Liu Yu said, “Benefactor, this penniless priest notices that your glabella seems dark, that’s an ominous portent. Quickly take a look and see if mine is dark as well.”

Feng Yuanlin nodded and said, “How can it not be dark? That is Sunless. If the three of us take the lead in the fight, aren’t we just dooming ourselves?”

Zhou Chuchu was unconvinced as she said, “Sis Sunless may be mighty, but I can hold her down. Don’t look at my ranking. It’s actually just an illusion. I just prefer to keep a low profile and only use a tenth of my true strength.”

Feng Yuanlin said, “Alright, in terms of bragging, I’ll only believe that you, Braggart Chu, are the best. However, I choose to believe you this time. Go on, since you are so mighty, you should lead the charge!”

Zhou Chuchu curled her lips and said, “No. It’s so bad to have so many people bullying Sis Sunless. I won’t be partaking in such an endeavor. I am only, only here to cheer Sis Sunless on!”

Liu Yu sighed and said, “Actually, this penniless priest does not like such form of bullying either. However…this penniless priest has inferred from Heavenly Dao and peeked into the secrets of heaven, and from that discovered that it’s impossible to defeat Sunless in a one-on-one battle.”

Feng Yuanlin sighed and said, “Your inference of the secrets of heaven sure is accurate. It will be a joke if one can win in a one-on-one fight with her. But to fight hundred against one, I can’t do something like that! Shall…we not do a thing when the battle begins later?”

Zhou Chuchu agreed, “I was not planning on attacking in the first place. If I were to attack, would there be a need for you? I’ll say, I’m here to be a cheerleader for Sis Sunless!”

Liu Yu said, “This penniless priest is in a dilemma as well. If Sunless is eliminated, one of the ten spots would open up. It’s also beneficial for us, but for a group to attack one person, this penniless priest really can’t do it. Just as Yuanlin said, we will not make a move when the time comes!”

Feng Yuanlin added on, “We can rush out halfway and retreat during the chaos midway. We can pretend…pretend to be sick?”

Liu Yu and Zhou Chuchu immediately approved of it with a nod of their heads.

The rookies were in whispers, discussing as to how to lay siege on Sunless. However, they did not know that their leaders had already betrayed them!

At this moment, an exclamation came from the front of the crowd.

“Pulp Farmer, Pulp Farmer is here!”

Everyone turned their heads over. They saw a youth about eight feet tall with thick eyebrows and large eyes, a broad jawline and cut facial features. He held a silver spear in hand as he walked over in a domineering fashion.

Who else was it but fourth on the official forecast, Pulp Farmer?

A number of people had their expressions drastically changed.

This was because they recalled of a rumor. It was rumored that Pulp Farmer had once said in his drunken stupor—Only this girl and her sword is something I can never forget.

Although the two of them had never interacted before, to the point of not even knowing each other, which heroic youth would not have his heart stirred by a girl as beautiful as a snow lotus like Sunless?

When everyone thought of this, they had a sense of foreboding.

However, they never expected that when Pulp Farmer came, the first thing he said was, “I’m not here to help her and it’s completely the opposite. My goal here is to eliminate her myself.”

Everyone was startled, as though they vaguely understood what had happened.

Someone immediately suggested, “Since Pulp Farmer is here, what are we waiting for? Let’s begin attacking!”

…

…

In the mountains, Shi Xiaobai was proceeding forward at full speed. However, due to the great distance, he needed a little time before he could reach where Sunless was.

Suddenly, Shi Xiaobai saw a black-robed youth holding a bloody sickle walking slowly in front of him. The way he walked appeared extremely slow, but his speed was actually extremely fast.

However, Shi Xiaobai’s speed was even faster. In a few seconds, Shi Xiaobai had overtaken the youth. When he passed by the youth, he turned to glance at him. All he saw above the black robe was an ugly face that seemed disfigured, but there was no attempt to hide it.

Shi Xiaobai frowned. He could sense an aura from the ugly youth that he extremely detested. He could not help but feel a sense of irritation.

However, Shi Xiaobai did not have the time to investigate this. He forcefully repressed the inexplicable sense of irritation as he quickly left the youth behind.

The ugly youth looked at Shi Xiaobai’s back. Suddenly he took out a crumpled piece of paper, and on it, there were a few names.

“Sunless, kill!”

The ugly youth’s voice was hoarse and dry, as though he was an old man in his seventies. “The list doesn’t have…Tu Dahei.”

“But…there’s this urge to kill him. Then he shall be killed!”

…