Chapter 55: Battle of Interests (Extra Chapter for Alliance Leader Zhibai 1/11)

“Buzz!”

Three immobilizing heads soared through the air, instantly freezing Yang Yufeng—the man who was about to reach the peak of his life—and sending him plummeting from a height of more than twenty meters, his fate uncertain.

The other two heads shot toward Zhou Wu and Tang Xiaojun; they were positioned too far forward, posing a serious threat to the safe firing range of the antlered demon.

At the same time, the second boar demon shattered against Wei Cheng's Immovable Bell. Compared to the massive fireball, the boar demon's head was simply no match, hardly making a dent in the Immovable Bell's defense.

Yet, in that instant, the tide of battle reversed dramatically.

Qin Douzi, Qu Xiong, and the others groaned in distress, held back by over a dozen black giant apes, while a horde of purple-skinned demons overwhelmed Zhou Wu and Tang Xiaojun.

It looked as though their doom was imminent.

Suddenly, a violent gale swept in, carrying nearly two feet of purple clouds—Zhou Wu's trump card: Xu Guoliang, the Five Cycles Purple Cloud master.

In a flash, purple palm shadows covered a hundred meters in every direction, and within them, a divine dragon could faintly be seen spiraling!

It was the Dragon Visualization, every bit as formidable as the Golden Bell Visualization!

In just one second—only a single second—Xu Guoliang seized control of the battlefield, obliterating all the purple-skinned demons and black giant apes, rescuing Zhou Wu, Tang Xiaojun, and the others.

Sadly, it was still too late. Fourteen antlered demons atop the city wall had already spent three seconds condensing their colossal fireballs, unleashing a devastating barrage.

“Immovable Bell!”

Zhou Wu, freshly rescued, shouted desperately, tackling Xu Guoliang to the ground as they were engulfed by the terrifying explosion and its even more terrifying shockwave.

That single blast left Zhou Wu gravely wounded and near death; Tang Xiaojun was severely injured, Qin Douzi and Qu Xiong were badly wounded, as were more than a dozen other mountain-moving experts of the sixth and seventh cycles. A group hoping to scavenge advantage also suffered heavy injuries. The entire team was nearly wiped out!

All except Wei Cheng.

The four boar demons, despite their terrifying appearance, only managed to shatter one of his Immovable Bells. After all, he was no longer the man from the fifth trial.

He took the fireball’s impact head-on with his second Immovable Bell, and at the very first opportunity, charged toward the city wall.

Six more fireballs remained; if he could trigger them, victory would be theirs.

At that moment, he no longer cared about the outcome, acting purely on instinct. As a mountain mover, hesitation was not an option.

His intervention was perfectly timed, arriving at the most critical juncture of the battle, drawing those last six fireballs toward himself.

---

Thus, he forced the antlered demons to choose: either finish off Zhou Wu and the others, or let Wei Cheng close within a hundred meters—practically melee range.

As expected, the six fireballs crashed into Wei Cheng with no restraint. His last two Immovable Bells were obliterated, the flame shield from his ring vanished, and he spat blood, falling unconscious from his wounds.

At last, several Purple Cloud professionals—including the well-protected Xu Guoliang—rushed the city wall, forming the main attack force of the third wave. They had finally seized the perfect moment.

And it showed: once up close, the combat prowess of the Purple Cloud professionals was undeniable.

They managed to seize the wall just seconds before the antlered demons could condense a second wave of fireballs!

A monument, larger than any before and surrounded by floating arcane runes, descended slowly—they had won.

Yet, screams immediately echoed: two Purple Cloud professionals who had rushed the wall tried to touch the monument first and were executed on the spot by Xu Guoliang!

Only Liu Sui and another Four Cycles Purple Cloud, trembling with fear, were left—they leapt off the wall, terrified.

At that moment, Xu Guoliang seemed possessed by a god of slaughter!

After all, he was the top scorer on the fifth trial kill rankings.

“This monument is partly my achievement! Xu Guoliang, I swear on my ancestors—how dare you try to take it all for yourself?”

Yang Yufeng’s voice rang out once again—he had survived!

He was ranked third on the kill rankings, wielded a +6 defense ring, and had landed near the city wall, avoiding the blast wave. His survival made sense.

Though battered, he gripped his blade, blue Spirit Swallowing energy coursing around him, an illusory Spirit Swallowing bird forming behind, ready to strike at Xu Guoliang.

He had the ability and confidence, if he was willing to pay the price in energy.

Xu Guoliang grew cautious, retreating to three meters away from the monument.

“Of course I won’t take it all. This victory belongs to everyone, not just you or me. Now, treat the wounded—priority to the injured!”

Xu Guoliang shouted down from the wall, signaling Qin Douzi and the others.

Unfortunately, Zhou Wu’s team core was badly wounded, unable to respond.

Of their hundreds, only a few dozen were still able to fight.

As for Xu Shan, she had lured away a boar demon, while Cheng An, Yu Liang, Wang Wei, Mei Renli, and Han Dong had just managed to kill another together.

“Wei Cheng should be the first to touch the monument. He contributed most!” Liu Sui mustered his courage and shouted from below.

---

“I know, but so what? He’ll survive; Zhou Wu is about to die! We’re all classmates—whose side are you on?” Xu Guoliang’s eyes were bloodshot, fierce as a tiger.

Liu Sui shuddered—Xu Guoliang was his classmate, too, and had bullied him often in school.

“Then Wei Cheng should be second. He’s unconscious anyway.”

“Fine!” Xu Guoliang agreed readily.

“I’ll be third!” Yang Yufeng shouted excitedly, “Or else I’ll kill Zhou Wu and Wei Cheng right now—try and stop me if you can!”

“Damn you, Yang Yufeng! Are you just going to give up? Always refusing help, huh? Just wait—in this battle, you’re getting kicked out!” Qin Douzi roared in anger.

“I don’t care. I’m about to become a Seven Cycles Spirit Swallowing master. Catch up if you can!” Yang Yufeng shrugged. Everyone knew the rewards for this trial would be immense.

He hoped to obtain the second stage of the Spirit Swallowing technique.

He knew his actions would cut him off from the team, but he was ready to risk everything.

Let fate decide!

“Fine, you’re third.” Qin Douzi conceded.

“I want to be fourth,” Tang Xiaojun said weakly.

“Get lost! Who do you think you are? If I hadn’t saved you, you’d be dead already!” Xu Guoliang’s fury erupted. Wei Cheng, at least, was a worthy figure, so he got respect—but Tang Xiaojun was nothing.

“I’ll take fourth. Anyone object?” No one dared, and Xu Guoliang’s contribution was indeed among the greatest.

“Can I be fifth?” Tang Xiaojun pleaded. His old comrades were all dead, leaving him alone.

No one supported him.

But as the third strongest mountain mover, he had survived six fireballs, never faltering, giving his all. Was it so wrong to ask for fifth?

No one answered; Qin Douzi and the others tended to the unconscious Zhou Wu, Liu Sui supported the newly-awakened Wei Cheng.

Sorry, the cake had already been sliced.