[Vol. 6] Chapter 204: The Strategy of Driving the Tiger to Devour the Wolf
After the flashy swordsman, whose grand introduction went something like, "Greetings! I am Cheng Fengqi, one of the top 100 elites of the [Ancient Spirit Realm], known as the [Rising Wind Swordsman]!" then ran off in tears, crying, "This can't be happening!"
A young girl emerged from the bushes with a puzzled look. She walked up to the black-haired girl nearby.
"Boss, is this really all we had to do? What's the point of going through all this?"
The priestess, who had just thoroughly crushed their opponent both mentally and physically, turned back and wagged a finger with a sly smile.
"Of course, it has a purpose. Think about it, if you were someone as proud and justice-driven as him, and some random girl on the roadside robbed you of every single [Crystal Jade] you had, what would you do next?"
"Uh… what would I do? Boss, that scenario doesn’t apply to me at all. You’re asking for too much imagination here…"
"I think it's quite straightforward," the priestess said casually, her tone calm and deliberate. "Remember what I mentioned before: there are two conditions to advance in this survival competition. First, you have to survive in the forest for five days and successfully reach the final rendezvous point. Second, you need to have at least ten [Crystal Jades] on you by the end."
She continued explaining, "I just stole all his [Crystal Jades], so now he doesn’t meet the second condition. If he doesn’t want to be disqualified and eliminated, he’ll have to find another way to get those [Crystal Jades]."
The thief girl furrowed her brow. "But you saw him. He’s full of justice and an upright guy. He wouldn’t just go and steal from others. What’s he going to do, then?"
"There’s only one option left for him," the priestess said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Wait… don’t tell me…"
"Exactly," she said, her smile widening. "He’ll go out and ‘punish evil and promote good.’"
The priestess chuckled lightly. "His sense of justice and reputation won’t let him target innocent or weak people, so his only choice is to go after those who aren’t innocent and just so happen to be carrying a good stash of [Crystal Jades]."
"If they have enough [Crystal Jades], they might fight the robbers cautiously, trying to avoid unnecessary trouble. But if they’re broke and have no way out, wouldn’t they have to face off against the 'bad guys' head-on?"
"People like that don’t need to be many. As long as they go all-out against those blocking their way, their reputation will naturally draw other participants rushing to the meeting point to join the fight. Before long, we’ll have a full-scale brawl on our hands."
Finally, Violet summed it up. "With all that chaos, how many people do you think will still have time to come bother us on this route?"
"Wow, boss, you’re so sneaky! Isn’t this basically using others to do your dirty work?"
Le Qiaoqiao didn’t hold back with her comments, but Violet simply smiled, unfazed.
"I’m just making good use of external forces to minimize trouble for us. There’s a saying, ‘letting others fight each other is much better than running into trouble every few steps ourselves’, don’t you think?"
"Besides, I fought them openly and fairly. Whoever wins gets the [Crystal Jades]. It’s all above board, and they agreed to it. How could that be considered scheming? Even if the organizers wanted to question us, they wouldn’t have anything to say."
"Sure, if you say so…"
Shaking her head in a mix of amusement and exasperation, Le Qiaoqiao took the bag of [Crystal Jades] Violet had just snatched from the so-called [Rising Wind Swordsman] and added it to the larger stash they already had. After glancing around, she asked, "That’s the seventh one, boss. Are we still going?"
"That should be enough," Violet replied thoughtfully. "The ones we dealt with earlier must have gone far ahead by now and probably already run into those treasure-hungry guys waiting for them. If we stay a safe distance behind, we can avoid most of the hassle."
"With this many [Crystal Jades], getting into the top 100 should be a sure thing."
The black-haired girl patted the now-overflowing bag of [Crystal Jades] with a satisfied smile.
"Let’s go. It’s time to head to the meeting point."
……………………………….
The meeting point for the survival competition was set in only one location. On the western edge of the forest, near the outskirts of Xingyuan City, not far from where Violet had started her journey five days ago.
In other words, the participants had essentially made a long round trip, only to end up back where they began.
Of course, completing this journey and arriving at the meeting point with enough [Crystal Jades] was no easy feat. The number of people capable of doing so was likely quite small.
Although Violet didn’t know the exact numbers, her evaluation was based on her own experience. Surviving alone for five days in this perilous forest required far more than just brute strength.
It demanded wisdom, experience, mental resilience, and skill. None of which could be lacking. Alternatively, someone could succeed if they were overwhelmingly exceptional in just one area.
Thanks to their earlier preparations, Violet and Le Qiaoqiao encountered very little trouble on the way. Although Violet had only robbed a few unlucky but powerful individuals, the chain reaction it triggered had a surprisingly significant impact.
Most opportunists looking to grab a large stash of [Crystal Jades] in one go were forced to abandon this route after clashing several times with skilled competitors also desperate for [Crystal Jades]. They turned to other routes, seeking easier targets, since their goal wasn’t to eliminate anyone but simply to steal.
As for whether participants on the alternative routes could reach the meeting point, that had nothing to do with Violet. The forest had numerous paths leading to the final area, and there were certainly more than just a few opportunists lurking about. If someone failed to reach the meeting point because they were robbed, it could only be chalked up to a lack of strength.
When Violet and Le Qiaoqiao finally reached the camp at the meeting point, the area had already been declared a no-combat safe zone by the [Eastern Origin Guard]. Many participants who had arrived earlier were busy checking in with staff, verifying their identities, and submitting their [Crystal Jades].
While some looked disheveled and exhausted after barely meeting the minimum requirements, their eyes sparkled with joy and excitement at having advanced.
Most of the eliminated participants had already left the forest through various means over the past five days. Those who had made it this far generally still had at least the basic required number of [Crystal Jades] to qualify.
Many of the people who resorted to robbing [Crystal Jades] on the final day of the competition didn’t take all of their target’s [Crystal Jades]. They were primarily aiming to gather enough to boost their ranking. Unless the target was an easy mark, there was no need to push too hard and risk a desperate, all-out fight.
For those who weren’t trying to secure a high rank, if handing over their extra, unneeded [Crystal Jades] could ensure their safety, they usually chose to avoid conflict. It was a simple and practical decision.
Violet scanned the crowd but didn’t spot Xiao Kong or Murong Yun, who had also participated in this survival challenge. She wasn’t sure if they hadn’t arrived yet or had already checked in and left. After all, due to their earlier efforts to avoid unnecessary trouble, Violet and Le Qiaoqiao hadn’t arrived particularly quickly, though their journey had been much less stressful.
There was, however, another matter to address.
The black-haired girl raised the heavy bag she was holding and casually tossed it to the thief girl beside her.
"Qiaoqiao, count how many [Crystal Jades] we’ve got in total, and let’s split them evenly between us."
Over the four days they spent in the forest, Violet had dealt with plenty of competitors who practically delivered themselves to her. While Le Qiaoqiao’s appetite was astonishing, the exchange rate for [Crystal Jades] was high, meaning she didn’t consume much by just eating. They still had nearly 2,000 [Crystal Jades] left from their starting supplies.
On top of that, the [Crystal Jades] they won from direct confrontations with the stronger participants were quite a large amount. Most of these individuals carried at least a few hundred [Crystal Jades], and some, like that [Rising Wind Swordsman], Cheng Fengqi, had over a thousand [Crystal Jades]. It seemed likely that he had won them in a series of battles as well.
With this haul, the total number of [Crystal Jades] Violet and Le Qiaoqiao had amassed was likely over 5,000. Even splitting them equally would leave each with more than 2,000 [Crystal Jades], a number very few participants could have achieved in just five days.
After all, this was a survival competition, not a full-blown PK tournament. Combat carried risks and consumed significant energy, so most people preferred to avoid it whenever possible.