Chapter 11676 — Brother Nan Worries Too Much

By contrast, Di Liankong himself, as the core figure of the little clique, would inevitably obtain the most essential resources.

Not only could he secure his own place, but he could also dictate which of the remaining trainees stayed and which left.

Deep scheming.

The crux was that this was an open stratagem: so long as Instructor Lord Song did not step in to stop it, opposition from others would be useless, for in the end someone would always be tempted, and those who opposed would only be eliminated first.

Sure enough, two men immediately declared their allegiance.

Then two more.

Di Liankong's little clique swelled to six in an instant, an absolute majority, and the few remaining were visibly beginning to waver.

At this moment, a short, stout young man named Nan Kezi suddenly spoke up: "Brother Di, we can't let everyone join, can we? Otherwise, whom would we eliminate?"

If everyone joined, joining would amount to nothing.

Of course, this did not much affect Di Liankong as the core figure; once the clique took shape, he was already sitting pretty.

Di Liankong laughed: "Brother Nan worries too much. Setting aside what comes later, at least in this round the one eliminated certainly won't be me, and certainly won't be you."

Nan Kezi's eyes lit up: "Where does that come from?"

As members of the little clique, they could exchange experience and insights among themselves, which was no small advantage.

Yet to say that alone made them absolutely safe was going too far.

After all, when all was said and done, no matter how many insights one accumulated, it still came down to who first achieved the concretization of the True Mandate.

Who was to say that those outside the clique might not, like Ye Yinxiao, possess keener comprehension and move faster than they did?

Ye Yinxiao and the others all turned to look at Di Liankong.

In a sense, the first round of eliminations was itself a test of the little clique; only by eliminating those outside it could its value truly manifest, and only then could it draw people to cluster even more tightly.

Otherwise, it was a joke.

Di Liankong, however, was utterly certain. He swept his gaze across their faces with a meaningful look: "Say no more. This much I can guarantee. Just wait and see."

As he spoke, Wei Zhao distinctly felt the other's gaze fall upon him, seeming to carry a touch of mockery.

Seeing that Di Liankong meant to keep them in suspense, the others exchanged glances and did not press further.

After all, the pressing task at hand was to comprehend the concretization of the True Mandate as quickly as possible.

Di Liankong and the other five at once began exchanging divine sense, and to keep Wei Zhao and the rest from prying, they deliberately erected a divine sense barrier.

The others, even with powerful divine sense, could probe inside and hear only a blur of noise.

Under Ye Yinxiao's explanation, Di Liankong and the others all lit up.

Although the jade talisman contained a systematic and complete account of the concretization of the True Mandate, in essence it remained an abstruse textbook; even reading it through word for word, an ordinary person would struggle to digest it in short order.

But with Ye Yinxiao's explanation, it was entirely different.

The difference was like a teacher lecturing in class versus a classmate explaining a problem: many fail to follow the teacher, yet once a classmate points the way, they often grasp it at a touch.

Such was the truth of it.

With Ye Yinxiao's insights shared among them, someone in the clique soon succeeded in comprehending and achieved the concretization of the True Mandate.

The forms were much the same—an exceedingly thin, transparent aura of life released outward.

The difference lay in this: Ye Yinxiao had but one layer, while this man had two tightly superimposed.

"So the concretization of the True Mandate has degrees of strength?"

Everyone grasped it in an instant.

Though the jade talisman did not state it explicitly, one layer of True Mandate and two layers were plainly not the same.

Even by the crudest judgment, the burly man who had manifested two layers of True Mandate clearly possessed a far richer aura of life than Ye Yinxiao—entirely in keeping with common sense.

Moments later, a third succeeded in manifesting it.

This time it was Di Liankong.

At the sight of the incomparably dense aura of life shrouding his whole body, everyone's eyelids twitched in unison.

Five layers of True Mandate!

The corners of Di Liankong's mouth curled into a smug arc: "Just as I thought—the sturdier the foundation of the physical body, the more layers of True Mandate one manifests. The Heavenly Dao Academy's methods are truly wondrous beyond compare."

At these words, everyone turned as one to look at Wei Zhao.

Surveying the whole field, judging solely by performance since being transported in, Wei Zhao was unmistakably the most outstanding.

He alone had gained a firm foothold the moment he arrived; everyone else, even the strongest, Di Liankong, had needed a good while to steady themselves.

If anyone present could manifest more than five layers of True Mandate, by common reasoning it would have to be Wei Zhao.

At this, Di Liankong walked over to Wei Zhao of his own accord: "Brother Lin, how are you faring?"

Wei Zhao looked up at him: "Is Brother Di planning to give me some pointers?"

Di Liankong waved his hand with a smile: "Brother Lin jests. With your abilities, there is no need for me to gild the lily. Of course, if you truly are of a mind to join hands with us, I would welcome it with both hands."

Wei Zhao raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that a little insincere, Brother Di?"

Di Liankong choked on his words.

To establish himself as the leader of his team, apart from the arts of winning hearts, he also needed to ensure absolute superiority in strength.

Once a powerhouse like Wei Zhao joined and threatened his position, his first choice would inevitably be to suppress him with all his might.

Otherwise, whose word would carry weight afterward would be another matter entirely.

Put plainly, everyone present might join his clique—everyone except Wei Zhao.

In his design, Wei Zhao had best be eliminated in the first round, so that no one could ever threaten his position again!

Di Liankong smiled: "Brother Lin, you may have misunderstood me. My greatest hobby is making friends, especially friends like you, Brother Lin."

Wei Zhao regarded him with an odd look: "If you truly wish to make friends, then at a time like this you should either offer your insights freely or stay far away and let me focus on comprehending the True Mandate. Bothering me with such idle pleasantries and disturbing my concentration—that seems rather hard to justify."

"Then I have been rude. Brother Lin, do continue."

Di Liankong seemed only now to realize, and withdrew with an apologetic face, going back to share insights with the others.

Nan Kezi sneered at the sight: "That man truly has no sense of occasion. A pity your good intentions, Brother Di, were taken for the liver and lungs of a donkey."

"It's fine. To each his own aspirations."

Di Liankong wore a magnanimous air, then said in a low, lingering tone: "Our fate with this Brother Lin, I fear, extends no further than this very trial."

Everyone was slightly taken aback.

At present, the three who had achieved the concretization of the True Mandate were all members of their little clique, which had already fully proven the clique's advantage; but after all, there were still four outside it, and Wei Zhao was only one of them.

Was it not too early to draw conclusions?

Di Liankong, however, was utterly certain.

Soon, another member of the little clique succeeded in manifesting the True Mandate.