70: Chapter 68 Countermeasures

"Alright." Although Xiong Meng was simple-minded and honest, he wasn't stupid, and he quickly realized what was happening.

Killing Xia Tao was a matter with incredibly severe consequences. Losing points was a minor issue; once exposed, it would completely offend the Earth Martial Artist backing him. Now, Fang Yu, Qin Yang, and Bai Chen were all involved.

If he and Xia Yao stayed out of it, what would Fang Yu and Bai Chen think of them?

*Whoosh!* Xiong Meng drew the short blade from his waist and handed it to Xia Yao.

Then, he drew his long saber, carried Xia Yao on his back, and walked straight toward Xia Tao.

"Cough..." Xia Tao lay on the ground, coughing up large mouthfuls of blood, almost unable to speak. His eyes were filled with despair.

This spear strike to his abdomen had damaged his lungs, leaving him unable to speak. However, with Xia Tao's powerful vitality, as long as his head wasn't severed and his heart wasn't crushed, he wouldn't die completely right away.

"Don't kill him directly. You two, each of you chop off one of his hands," Bai Chen said, brimming with Killing Intent. He didn't pull out his spear immediately. If he pulled it out now, the accelerated bleeding would only make Xia Tao die faster.

*Whoosh!*

*Whoosh!*

Xiong Meng squatted slightly. He and Xia Yao didn't dare to hesitate, swinging their blades almost simultaneously. Unleashing over a thousand kilograms of force, they instantly severed a section of the defenseless Xia Tao's arms.

Blood splattered.

"Xiong Meng, apply some hemostatic spray to him. Don't let him die too quickly." Bai Chen lifted Xia Tao, who was like a dead dog, unable to speak due to his damaged lungs.

His eyes were icy cold. "Come with me. Throw him to that beast pack we passed by earlier. Let the Vicious Beasts deliver the final blow. That will reduce our liability."

"Alright! Let's go!" Xiong Meng immediately sprang into action.

Soon, Bai Chen lifted Xia Tao, while Xiong Meng picked up Xia Tao's severed arms. The two of them quickly disappeared into the mountain forest.

Along the way, the Chiyan Team had also encountered some Vicious Beasts, but most were of very low Ranks and not worth killing. Now, however, they would serve a purpose.

The nearest beast pack was just a kilometer away.

Fang Yu, Qin Yang, and Xia Yao waited where they were.

"Qin Yang, let's clean up this place together first," Fang Yu said in a low voice.

"Alright." Qin Yang nodded. The two of them quickly cleaned up and covered the traces of battle... Three minutes later, Fang Yu received an alert from his Communication Star Ring: 'coefficient score reduced by 0.1, 30 primal points deducted.'

Xia Tao was completely dead.

Soon.

Bai Chen, carrying his long spear, ran back with Xiong Meng.

"Fang Yu, let's leave here first," Bai Chen said in a low voice.

"Okay," Fang Yu nodded.

*Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!* This time, Fang Yu carried Xia Yao on his back as the members of the Chiyan Team ran rapidly, fleeing five or six kilometers away in a very short time.

Beside a hidden cliffside.

The group finally stopped again.

"Fang Yu, rest assured. I didn't touch any of Xia Tao's belongings, including his medicine and such—I threw them all away. Xiong Meng and I also watched Xia Tao get eaten bite by bite by that pack of Vicious Beasts. Probably not even a bone fragment is left," Bai Chen said in a low voice. "Dead men tell no tales."

"Now, the only evidence..."

"...is the coefficient score."

"As far as I know, the school cannot check our primal points, only our coefficient score," Bai Chen said solemnly. "Any change in our coefficient score, whether it goes up or down, will be recorded by the school, and the recording time is precise down to the minute. So, this is unavoidable."

"However, we aren't in the same team as Xia Tao, and his direct cause of death was a Vicious Beast, so the coefficient score deducted from us won't be too much."

When warriors of the same civilization kill each other, the deducted coefficient score and primal points won't be very high.

"Most importantly, the five of us share the burden."

"So, by my estimation, each of us will lose at most 0.1 coefficient score," Bai Chen said. "My coefficient score was reduced by 0.1."

"Same here."

"Me too," Xiong Meng and Qin Yang said one after another.

"I... I was only deducted 15 primal points," Xia Yao's voice was a bit timid. No one was surprised by this; Xia Yao was injured and had barely participated.

"It's good that no coefficient score was deducted," Bai Chen nodded. "Fang Yu, what about you?"

Everyone looked at Fang Yu.

"Also 0.1," Fang Yu said in a low voice.

Only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"Actually, I didn't want to drag you all into this," Fang Yu shook his head, a trace of Killing Intent still lingering in his eyes. "But just now, I really couldn't bear it anymore."

After the battle ended, Fang Yu calmed down and realized he had been a bit impulsive.

But!

When they first met, because they weren't strong enough, Fang Yu and the others had endured it. Over an hour ago, when they encountered the Wolf Tide, the other party had almost gotten them wiped out. Fang Yu had been holding back a stomach full of anger, and the thought of killing them had already crossed his mind.

With a sharp blade in hand, the desire to kill naturally arose, and Fang Yu's strength was already sufficient.

How long had it been?

Xia Tao came to pressure him again, and Fang Yu didn't want to take it anymore.

At twenty-one, it was an age of hot-blooded youth.

"If I still have to endure, why even practice martial arts? If I kill him, so be it. What if his background is big?" That was Fang Yu's thought at the time.

Fang Yu knew he was a bit impulsive.

But he didn't regret it.

If it happened again, he would still make his move.

"Brother Fang, I've wanted to stop holding back for a long time," Xiong Meng growled. "If we killed him, we killed him. There's no evidence now. A 0.1 reduction in coefficient score isn't ironclad proof that we killed Xia Tao."

"Right," Qin Yang agreed.

"Fang Yu, none of us wanted to endure it either; we only regret that our strength was insufficient," Bai Chen said solemnly. "As for talk of dragging us into this, there's no need to say it. You saved all of our lives."

"Besides, we are a team. We share the treasures, and we shoulder the burdens together."

"What is there to be afraid of?"

"What Xia Tao relied on was nothing more than having an uncle who is an Earth Martial Artist," Bai Chen sneered. "But let alone an Earth Martial Artist, even a Sky-Patrol Martial Artist might not necessarily be able to investigate the specific details on the Primal Star."

"Besides, I've never heard of any Martial Artist being sentenced just because their coefficient score dropped by 0.1."

"According to school regulations, unless there is direct evidence of murder, such as testimonies from multiple people in different teams, or a direct drop of over 0.5 in coefficient score... we will at most be investigated," Bai Chen said.

Everyone couldn't help but nod. This was also why Xia Tao had been so arrogant before.

On the Primal Star, supervision was virtually non-existent. Simply injuring someone was almost impossible to prosecute.

"Just now, I thought about it carefully."

"Our coefficient scores dropped collectively, synchronized with Xia Tao's time of death, so we will definitely be the school's primary suspects," Bai Chen said in a low voice. "Moreover, if an Earth Martial Artist wants to investigate, they might very well use a 'psychic lie detector'."

"A psychic lie detector?" Fang Yu's heart skipped a beat.

This wasn't like the lie detectors of the past.

When martial arts cultivation reaches a profound level, one's Mental Energy becomes so powerful that it can easily influence the minds of ordinary people. Under the pressure of a powerful Martial Artist, it is almost impossible for an ordinary person to lie.

A psychic lie detector is an instrument used in conjunction with powerful Martial Artists who specialize in Mental Energy.

However, the members of the Chiyan Team were all Intermediate Martial Artists, so their ability to resist mental pressure was much stronger.

"Therefore..."

"...if we are investigated separately, we cannot claim that Xia Tao's death has absolutely nothing to do with us. That would leave too many loopholes, and we wouldn't be able to escape the investigation," Bai Chen said. "We must stick to one point."

"We didn't kill him. We did have a conflict with Xia Tao, but we had just survived the Wolf Tide and were severely exhausted, making us no match for him... On this point, the two members of the Xuanbing Team can actually serve as our witnesses."

"At the critical moment, he was attacked and killed by an Advanced Vicious Beast that suddenly lunged out."

"This also aligns with the facts; he really was bitten to death by a Vicious Beast," Bai Chen said slowly. "Seven parts truth, three parts falsehood—only then do we have a hope of evading the investigation."

Fang Yu sighed inwardly.

He had to admit that Bai Chen's handling and response strategy were indeed much more meticulous than his own.

"But these methods only treat the symptoms, not the root cause."

"Fang Yu."

"The key to breaking this deadlock actually lies with you." Bai Chen's gaze fell upon Fang Yu.

"Me?" Fang Yu's heart stirred.

"Your background isn't small either," Bai Chen said in a low voice.

Xiong Meng and Xia Yao's eyes lit up. They both knew that Teacher Jiang Wei was Fang Yu's Senior Martial Uncle, and Fang Yu's family also seemed to be very wealthy.

In their eyes, Fang Yu's background might not be as grand as Xia Tao's, but it shouldn't be too far off either.

"My background isn't enough," Fang Yu shook his head.

"But your talent is enough," Bai Chen said. "Once we return to the Starry Sky Base, you need to immediately inform Teacher Jiang Wei and the school authorities about your Awakening of an Intermediate Astral Constellation, your Awakening of forty-six star acupoint, and your comprehension of the 'Micro-realm Secret Technique'."

"And not just them."

"You must also tell your family immediately and have them contact the Eight Great Martial Artist Groups... As long as you display high enough talent and value, let alone 'suspected of indirectly causing Xia Tao's death'..."

"...even if there is clear evidence, there will still be people who will protect you!"

"If you are fine..."

"...we won't be in any major trouble."

—

PS: Regarding updates, I wanted to mention that since it's the beginning of the book, writing many things is slow, and I don't have any stockpiled chapters, so I can only try to adjust as I go. In terms of sheer volume, the book was launched on March 1st, and as of today, March 29th, there are 68 chapters and over 190,000 words. This shouldn't be considered small for a free period. I hope you brothers can understand.

There will be 4 more free chapters before the book goes premium.

It will go premium on April 1st at 12:00 PM. There will be several launch events and benefits, which you can check out then.

It's the end of the month, so I'm asking you brothers for monthly tickets!

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