116: Chapter 116 How could they get killed like that? Do they even know how to play?

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

The expressions on the other four people's faces visibly stiffened. Hunt the Nether Soul Clan members who killed them as easily as slaughtering chickens?

This was a thought they had never even entertained.

Seeing the crowd's silence, Luo An continued, "Although it's not explicitly stated in the trial rules, if..."

"If we can successfully hunt a member of the Nether Soul Clan, our score will definitely be much higher than those who simply hide and survive until the end. The final rewards will inevitably be on a completely different level."

Their eyes flickered, and their breathing quickened slightly, though they hadn't yet made up their minds.

Looking at the obvious hesitation and struggle on his companions' faces, Luo An paused before continuing, "One step slow, every step slow. In this continuous Assessment, if you don't have a bit of initiative and only think about hiding and relying on luck... you'll die sooner or later. If not this time, then the next."

These words pierced through the final bubble of hope in their hearts.

It was true.

Playing it safe might let them survive this time. But what about the next? And the time after that?

Silence spread across the top of the clock tower.

Finally, Aila bit her lower lip, the struggle in her eyes fading. "You're right. How do we do it?"

A faint smile finally appeared on Luo An's face.

His gaze swept over his companions, but the smile didn't reach his eyes as he said, "We definitely can't do it alone; we need to find more people."

Those Nether Soul Clan members were at least one level higher than them. Relying on just the five of them wouldn't be enough to take one down; they might even be wiped out instead.

Therefore, they had to find more people to ensure a higher chance of success.

...

In the stone building complex.

Gu Changming hummed an unknown tune in his heart as his translucent body leaned forward, silently passing through a thick stone wall to enter the interior of another building from the air.

More than a day had passed since he entered this examination hall.

He had been wandering between buildings the entire time, and to "delay" time, he hadn't even hunted many of the Eclipse Clan.

After entering a new building, Gu Changming habitually glanced at the edge of his vision.

The gray intrusion progress bar was still hanging there.

[intrusion progress: 23%...]

"Tsk," Gu Changming uttered softly.

Too slow.

At this rate, it definitely wouldn't finish by the time this round of Assessment ended.

He didn't know how many more Assessments there would be... to allow him to fill the progress bar.

Retracting his gaze, Gu Changming was about to continue floating forward when...

Suddenly, a translucent prompt box jumped out in front of him without warning.

[Notice: One of our 'Examiners' has been killed.]

Seeing this prompt, Gu Changming's figure paused slightly.

But in less than half a second, his body resumed its movement and continued floating forward.

Noob.

With the racial traits of the Nether Soul Clan and being C-rank against D-rank, they still managed to get counter-killed.

Do they even know how to play?

After a glance, Gu Changming stopped paying attention and continued forward, maintaining his leisurely, stroll-like pace.

...

On the top floor of a towering building somewhere in the city.

Luo An and more than ten other Eclipse Clan members sat quietly in the shadows. There was no conversation; their four eyes occasionally scanned different directions, maintaining vigilance.

They were waiting.

Before long, a lithe figure leaped several times across the continuous rooftops in the distance, finally landing steadily on the edge of the platform where they were located.

It was Aila.

She walked over quickly, her face filled with uncontrollable excitement.

As she approached, she lowered her voice, but her tone was still cheerful.

"It worked!"

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on her.

"A team tried and succeeded," Aila said. "They hunted a Nether Soul Clan member... our plan is feasible!"

A light flashed through Luo An's eyes. He leaned forward slightly and asked, "How many people were involved?"

"About the same as us, around ten people. One died, three were injured..." Aila reported.

Luo An nodded; this casualty rate was acceptable.

Moreover, they had more people and stronger strength here; it was possible they might not even have any casualties.

"They really killed one?" a male Eclipse Clan member nearby couldn't help but interject.

"Yes!" Aila nodded vigorously. "I was hiding on top of a tower not far away and saw it with my own eyes. After that Nether Soul Clan member died, their body didn't disappear; instead... it turned into a translucent, grayish-white crystal, about the size of a fist."

This detail finally convinced everyone.

Luo An rubbed his fingers, the last trace of concern in his heart dissipating.

After confirming the idea yesterday, they had found these Trial Takers who were quite strong and knew each other.

However, even though they had enough people, Luo An remained cautious and wasn't in a hurry to act.

Instead, he chose to spread some intelligence about the Nether Soul Clan: their weaknesses in healing and Holy Light Spells, as well as the limitations of their perception range.

As expected.

Just as he had anticipated, some teams couldn't hold back and chose to strike.

And they succeeded.

Since others could do it, there was no reason for them to fail.

They could also improve their own scores and rewards by hunting those Nether Soul Clan members...

"Phew..." Luo An slowly exhaled, his gaze sweeping over the excited crowd.

"Since the method has been confirmed, we can also choose to act..." Luo An said slowly.

"What about the target? Who do we pick?"

Aila asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

They looked at each other, but no one immediately replied.

A subtle hesitation permeated the air.

"They're all... about the same, right?" a male Eclipse Clan member spoke up hesitantly. "Aren't they all Nether Soul Clan? Their strength should... not be that different?"

"No," another voice immediately countered, four eyes narrowing slightly. "I've observed them. Although they look the same, their combat styles and efficiency vary greatly. Some focus on one-hit kills, while others like to kite. There are definitely differences in strength."

The crowd began to discuss in low voices, their gazes shifting between each other's faces.

Eventually, the voices faded, and they all looked toward Luo An, who had remained silent.

He was the one who had gathered them; he was effectively their "leader" now, so they naturally had to listen to him.

Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Luo An also moved.

He reached out, his palm pressing against the cold stone floor as he slowly pushed himself up.

After standing, he turned around and leaned against the stone railing, casting his gaze down at the city divided by the night and the silhouettes of buildings.

"Don't worry," he said. "I already have a target selected."

Hearing him say this, everyone else also stood up and gathered by the railing, looking down in the direction of his gaze.

Buildings were staggered, and shadows loomed.

Luo An's gaze moved slowly between the buildings. A few seconds later, his eyes fixed on an area of stone buildings to the northwest that was relatively low but densely structured.

Then, he reached out and pointed.

"Look there."

Following the direction of Luo An's finger, everyone peered intently.

Between two buildings, a translucent ghostly silhouette silently "seeped" out of the wall of one stone building and smoothly entered the adjacent one.

The target's movements appeared exceptionally lazy and nonchalant, looking remarkably different from the other Nether Soul Clan members who were hunting them in the streets.

Luo An's voice rang out again at that moment.

"Him."