“Is that so?” Emperor Jing smiled noncommittally at Si Lian’s words.
He had said he prepared a surprise for the Bagpipe Squad.
Now, the moment to reveal that surprise had arrived.
“An Honored One? How is that possible… You’re overthinking it, right?”
Hearing the roar from the distance, Jiang Ke’er did not feel smug about the successful trap. Instead, she grew more tense, and her anxiety unsettled the others.
“A ruler of a whole nation… why would he do something as shameful as sending an Honored One for an assassination? What if he’s caught? Right now, all of Shenzhou is likely staring at us!”
“It isn’t shameful as long as he isn’t caught.”
Jiang Ke’er’s tone was grave. She was 100% certain that Emperor Jing had planted killers among the participants.
The other contestants didn’t worry her much, but the presence of these killers made her skin crawl.
“But… why?” The Little Demons were puzzled. Jiang Ke’er hadn’t informed them of this before the competition began.
To avoid affecting the team’s morale, she still hadn’t told the others about Si Lian being captured.
Jiang Ke’er sighed.
She had been speculating about the reason Emperor Jing took Si Lian.
The Bagpipe Squad wasn’t significant enough for Emperor Jing to resort to such measures.
Only the killer Blue Shadow, who had once crossed the Emperor’s line, could be such a thorn in his side.
Therefore, capturing Si Lian to force her to reveal Blue Shadow’s whereabouts was likely the Emperor’s goal.
However, most interrogation methods were useless against Si Lian. Jiang Ke’er knew the relationship between Si Lian and Blue Shadow.
When she heard Si Lian drunkenly mutter the three words “Qiao Xiaoxian”… she already knew everything she needed to know.
Thus, Si Lian would never betray Blue Shadow.
The only thing that could possibly sway her was the safety of the Bagpipe Squad.
To that end, Emperor Jing would surely plant his “insurance” in this competition to apply mental pressure on Si Lian step by step.
Jiang Ke’er could hardly imagine the mental strain Si Lian was under right now — torn between the team she had poured her heart into, which carried all her life’s hopes, and her own daughter.
Every time Jiang Ke’er fell into a life-or-death crisis, it would be a devastating blow to Si Lian, torturing her spirit.
The only thing Jiang Ke’er could do was end this as quickly as possible. She needed to kill the other participants to force the “insurance” the Emperor planted into the spotlight, making them afraid to show too much of their power.
“So, Qing Yi, why exactly would Emperor Jing send an Honored One to kill us? I don’t understand,” Lin Gang pressed.
“That’s obviously because he’s afraid of us!” Just as Jiang Ke’er was unsure how to explain, Jie Shui laughed and interjected.
“We are the invincible Bagpipe Squad! Isn’t it only natural for that bastard emperor to be afraid of us?”
“That’s exactly it,” Jiang Ke’er said, taking the opportunity to smile.
Anyone could hear that Jie Shui’s words were completely unreliable, and Jiang Ke’er was just following his lead.
However, the other team members didn’t ask further.
They believed that if Jiang Ke’er wasn’t speaking, there must be a difficult reason.
They only needed to follow her commands exactly.
“Continue with the original plan. Find the Canyon,” Jiang Ke’er said.
If the enemy had an Honored One, then any ambushes or sneak attacks were meaningless. The opponent was likely monitoring their movements, waiting for them to show a weakness.
However, the enemy wouldn’t directly use the power of an Honored One for an instant kill.
Because his goal was to drive the Bagpipe Squad into a corner, he would prefer to use the sensory advantages of an Honored One to coordinate the overall situation.
He would guide the other participants to gradually surround and trap the Bagpipe Squad rather than acting personally.
Only in an unavoidable chaotic battle would he personally strike, dealing the Bagpipe Squad a Deadly Strike.
And that was her chance!
The Canyon. The Canyon was the most important part of her plan for this operation.
She had to find the Canyon. If she found it, she would have a chance… Even an Honored One would have to pay a price!
Si Lian stared at the projected competition, her brow furrowing deeper.
In her expectations, the Human Cultivators should have been like a heap of loose sand — fighting individually and harboring their own hidden agendas to compete for the final qualification spots.
In that situation, hiding until the end of the competition would have been the Bagpipe Squad’s only chance of survival.
But in reality, the Human Cultivators had not only avoided those mistakes, but their actions were also highly purposeful.
They stayed firmly a few miles behind the Bagpipe Squad, forming a two-layer encirclement.
No matter how the Bagpipe Squad twisted and turned, the pursuers followed closely without ever losing their way.
They seemed to know the Bagpipe Squad’s exact position.
On the surface, they performed a show of exchanging blows before immediately backing off, adjusting their formation, and swapping positions.
In this way, the outside audience couldn’t see anything wrong.
Instead, it allowed them to form a tight and efficient encirclement, leaving the Bagpipe Squad with no chance to break through.
Undoubtedly, a Super Level expert was overseeing the situation, and this expert’s identity was certainly extraordinary.
“Oh, you noticed?”
Listening to Si Lian’s increasingly rapid breathing inside the box, Emperor Jing let out a relaxed and cheerful laugh.
“I told you, there are millions upon millions of human geniuses; missing a few doesn’t matter… The most outstanding talents from previous years have long been brought under my command. I wonder, are you satisfied with my Imperial Guard Commander?”
Si Lian trembled with rage.
She closed her eyes, her heart filled with despair.
“To think you even sent the Imperial Guard Commander in… You truly have no bottom line!”
“A bottom line? That is just something I set for those commoners so they don’t cause trouble for me. Why would I need a bottom line?” Emperor Jing laughed loudly.
“How about it? Are you interested in telling me Blue Shadow’s whereabouts now?”
“The winner has yet to be decided,” Si Lian said through gritted teeth, though her voice lacked any confidence.
“By then, it will be too late for regrets,” Emperor Jing said playfully.
“Blue Shadow is just a killer. Is she really that important to you? Why sacrifice your life’s work for her…”
Si Lian remained silent.
Emperor Jing continued, “Your current team members are indeed outstanding — so outstanding that even I am taking notice. They are probably the only chance you will ever have in this life. If you miss it, you will never encounter such an opportunity again.”
Si Lian still said nothing, but she knew in her heart that Emperor Jing was right.
Although she always told Jie Shui they were the worst group she had ever led, they were the most talented she had ever seen.
Her heart throbbed with pain.
Seeing the Bagpipe Squad gradually fall into the encirclement, her heart ached so much she nearly fainted, her vision turning dark.
“You can torture me or search my Soul,” Si Lian’s raspy voice was devoid of life.
“But you will never hear Blue Shadow’s location from my mouth.”
“Why? Why be so stubborn?” Emperor Jing shook his head and sighed.
Si Lian gave a bitter smile. “Because, I have already betrayed her once.”
“What do you mean?” Emperor Jing frowned.
Si Lian leaned weakly against the side of the box.
“You… are not the first person to threaten me.”
Emperor Jing fell into silence.
However, neither Emperor Jing nor Si Lian noticed that not far behind them, a guard’s breathing quickened, his body trembling slightly.