Chapter 3662 — Initial Encounter with the Enemy
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Then, under the direction of the Back Mountain Hall's experts, the beasts split into three groups and carried the newcomers of the Three Stack Pavilion to their respective assigned trial zones.
Judging by their bearings, the zones lay in completely opposite directions from one another, which maximized the impossibility of the Three Stack Pavilion newcomers crossing paths—even if they wanted to run into each other, they could not.
After flying for roughly the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the newcomers standing on the beasts' backs began, one by one, to be dropped at random at the orders of the Back Mountain Hall's experts.
Wei Zhao made a rough estimate: the initial drop points of any two newcomers were at least several dozen li apart. Even on a broad, level road, a distance like that would take a long while to cover, let alone in this vast, trackless forest where every step was hard going.
Seen this way, even if the newcomers had plans to meet up and team with one another beforehand, within a single day they would be hard pressed to find anyone else. Generally speaking, managing to regroup after two days would already be good.
This deployment pattern clearly served a special purpose. Though the newcomer trial encouraged competition, it did not wish to see vicious competition among the newcomers.
If the newcomers were dumped together in one place from the start, the result would most likely be constant chaotic fighting among them. No one would bother searching for herbs; from the very beginning, everyone would pin their hopes on plundering the fruits of others' labor.
That obviously ran counter to the Three Stack Pavilion's original intent in having newcomers gather herbs as a strategic reserve. With everyone now spaced far apart as they were, at least for the first two days the newcomers would not fixate on slaughtering one another and would turn their attention to searching for herbs. As for competition among them—that was a matter for two days later.
Once everyone had accumulated enough points, the competition would only grow fiercer. Was that not so?
Having seen through this bit of calculation on the trial organizers' part, Wei Zhao could not help but smile. Still, this suited him perfectly—at least for the first two days, no fool with more guts than sense should be coming to trouble him!
The only remaining question was whether he could find the Heart-Devouring Linglong Herb. The long-suffering senior brother had said there was Heart-Devouring Linglong Herb in the back mountain, but the back mountain was vast; whether he could find it within a mere three days was truly uncertain. And even if it existed, it was not necessarily in the outer fringes—if it grew only in the inner reaches or even deeper, that would be a real kick in the teeth.
Here's hoping things aren't too bad! Wei Zhao offered a silent prayer, then, at a signal from one of the Back Mountain Hall's experts, leaped down from the flying spirit beast's back.
To make deployment easier for the newcomers, the flying spirit beasts did not fly very high; the tallest treetops could be touched with an outstretched hand. And when Wei Zhao sprang down, it was into just such a vast, impenetrable canopy.
Whoosh—!
Dropping from the flying spirit beast's back, before he had even steadied himself, Wei Zhao immediately sensed killing intent from behind. At the same moment, his jade pendant gave warning. With no time to turn and look closely, he activated Butterfly Microstep at once, and only just managed to evade the ambush.
Even as Wei Zhao dodged aside, a crudely made but exceptionally sharp wooden spear whistled past, grazing the hem of his robe, and buried itself whole in the trunk of a giant tree.