70: Bai Xiaoxiao's inner drama

A voice rang out.

Everyone found a simple, ancient bracelet appearing out of thin air on their wrists.

The appearance of this bracelet signified the official start of the second phase of the Path of Exile.

Immediately, no one bothered with Night Shadow and Zhao Peng’s matters.

They all rushed towards the labyrinth entrance.

Everyone knew that compared to the first phase,

what came next was the real challenge.

Ye Xiao also glanced at the bracelet on his wrist, which clearly displayed 200 points.

Ye Xiao was not surprised by this.

With a nearly 13-fold experience bonus,

he believed no one could have gained more experience than him in the first phase.

As for the number of rounds of monster kills, he had killed until no more monsters could appear.

Naturally, he was first.

Adding the points gained after each round of kills, it was exactly 200 points.

These points were the base points for the second phase.

In the upcoming labyrinth competition, to gain points, one needed to kill other participating personnel and plunder the points they obtained in the first phase.

This was the competition rule for the second phase of the Path of Exile.

Personnel who were killed would have their points plundered by the killer.

However, under the special rules of the labyrinth, the killed would not truly die but would instead lose 1 level as a penalty for death.

Afterward, they could revive at the resurrection point and re-participate in the point plundering.

Under these rules, new players with low levels were clearly at a significant disadvantage.

Therefore, if the upcoming second phase was not treated carefully,

once killed too many times consecutively,

the levels diligently gained in the first phase would all be for naught.

Even more seriously,

once a Professional’s level dropped to 0 and they were killed again,

they would truly die, as there would be no more levels to substitute for the penalty.

This was also the plan the Eight Great Families had made for Night Shadow earlier.

If Night Shadow was unwilling to join any of them,

then all the new recruits belonging to the Eight Great Families’ factions would unite.

They would kill Night Shadow until he reached level 0, and then completely eliminate him.

Moreover, doing so would also silence the public.

Although, by now, the Eight Great Families didn't care much about the opinions of ordinary people,

they still tried to reduce unnecessary trouble as much as possible.

In fact, regarding the plan of the Eight Great Families,

Ye Xiao, though not entirely clear, had vaguely guessed some of it due to Bai Xiaoxiao's unintentional disclosure.

After all, it was quite easy to guess.

Ye Xiao was not overly worried about this.

On the contrary, he also had his own plan in mind.

Prey and hunter are never absolutely fixed roles.

Thus, the moment he heard the voice, he had already moved.

He directly activated Void Phantom, disappearing from everyone's sight.

To obtain more points with less effort, he needed to enter first.

This was a plan he had thought of when he entered.

However, Ye Xiao's sudden disappearance immediately shocked everyone.

Among them, Lin Yong, as a Shadow Assassin, widened his eyes even more.

"He can also use invisibility?"

Someone responded:

"No, he's holding a staff, so he's clearly a magic-user, and magic Professions don't have skills with similar invisibility effects."

Lin Yong said in a deep voice, "Common skills don't have this ability either."

At this moment, Zhao Peng suddenly realized.

That guy just now must have been Night Shadow.

Otherwise, why would he flee?

He was guilty.

So, Zhao Peng called out loudly:

"Night Shadow, I am Zhao Peng. I now represent the Zhao Family to give you one last chance. Choose to join my Zhao Family and help me reach the top of the Path of Exile's points. The Zhao Family guarantees that the other families will not trouble you in the future."

Zhao Peng's sudden words made the entire crowd in the labyrinth fall silent instantly.

However, a moment passed.

Still, there was no response from Ye Xiao.

This made Zhao Peng frown and let out a cold snort.

"Night Shadow, do you think it's interesting to deceive yourself like this? Constantly hiding is useless. If you still refuse to show yourself, don't blame me for being impolite."

Just then, Ye Xiao's voice came from the labyrinth entrance.

"Haha! I'll be waiting for you in the Path of Exile labyrinth. If you've got the guts, come on in."

The next moment, a ripple of light appeared at the labyrinth entrance's barrier.

Everyone suddenly reacted.

"He entered the labyrinth!"

Seeing this, Zhao Peng's face instantly turned incredibly ashen.

Night Shadow's words carried a very clear threat.

He then looked at the few people around him.

"Night Shadow has rejected my Zhao Family. So, according to the plan, you should all know what to do next."

Wang Cheng and the others all nodded, indicating they understood.

What else could be done next?

Such a person with unlimited potential, since he could not be used by the Eight Great Families,

could only be made to perish prematurely.

Regarding this, although Wang Cheng and the others felt that the Eight Great Families were somewhat overbearing, they did not object.

Because when facing weaker factions, they did the same.

This was how families monopolized the alliance's survival.

It had been this way for a hundred years.

And while Night Shadow's leveling speed was extremely fast,

they were not slow either; with the triple experience bonus in the first phase of the Path of Exile, they had all reached level 60.

Night Shadow's previous lead was gone.

What could he use to fight against their side?

Behind these people, Bai Xiaoxiao's eyes flickered.

Ye Xiao had indeed seen her just now.

However, he didn't greet her; instead, he smiled at her.

This smile made Bai Xiaoxiao suddenly realize something.

Ye Xiao must have known her predicament and pretended not to know her, worried about getting her involved.

Indeed, he still had feelings for her.

Bai Xiaoxiao thought this.

As for her private messages not being replied to,

she attributed it all to a little man throwing a tantrum.

Hmph! No matter how strong you are, you will ultimately fall under my skirt.

Thinking of this, Bai Xiaoxiao was suddenly full of confidence.

Her view was different from others.

Perhaps in others' eyes, Ye Xiao was just fast at leveling.

But as early as when Ye Xiao achieved an SSS-rank score in the Novice Secret Realm, Bai Xiaoxiao knew very well that

Ye Xiao's combat power was by no means that simple.

Cooperating with others to take down Ye Xiao was clearly less beneficial than her and Ye Xiao teaming up to take down these people.

As long as she got first place, she would have more leverage.

Then, she would have more paths to choose from.

Zhao Peng naturally didn't notice Bai Xiaoxiao's unusual thoughts.

"There are too many people right now. Don't scatter after entering. Although Night Shadow is only one person, being too careless can also lead to being ambushed."

Lin Yong, who was beside him, scoffed, "Don't worry, with me here, no one under level 60 can escape my perception."

Zhao Peng knew that Lin Yong's Shadow Assassin's perception was top-notch and trusted it quite a bit.

However, they all forgot.

When Ye Xiao disappeared just now, Lin Yong hadn't detected his whereabouts.

Perhaps, in Lin Yong's subconscious, he simply thought Ye Xiao's invisibility was too sudden,

so he didn't have time to investigate.

"Let's go! Get in there, Night Shadow is sure to die!"

After saying that, Zhao Peng led a few people towards the barrier at the labyrinth entrance.

Bai Xiaoxiao followed closely behind them.