“Over there! Over there!” the female trainee shouted shrilly.

“That kid should be enough to keep those ape-ghouls busy for a while,” the bald man said with a cold glint in his eyes, watching Jiang Xiao trying to get up through the dense forest.

“We'll run past him,” the female trainee said, extending her left hand as she ran.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xiao staggered to his feet, spotting the wooden giant blade stuck in the branches overhead, swaying back and forth before falling to the ground.

Suddenly, Jiang Xiao felt a tug on his ankle.

What's going on?

Jiang Xiao looked down and saw several vines emerging from the ground, tightly binding his ankle and restricting his movement.

Enduring the aches all over his body, Jiang Xiao tried to lift his foot, but found he couldn't. The more he struggled, the tighter the vines became.

The roars of the ape-ghouls grew closer. He looked up and saw the bald man's mocking gaze and the female trainee's sinister smile.

The meaning was clear.

He was to obediently serve as bait, allowing the ape-ghouls to tear him apart and buy them time. It was Jiang Xiao's last bit of value.

The hell I will, you think I'm some kind of pushover?

Jiang Xiao waved his hand, and a beam of Blessing landed on the female trainee.

“Ah~” The female trainee was using vines to restrain an ape-ghoul chasing closely behind, when she suddenly felt her body stiffen. Her steps faltered, and she stumbled forward, collapsing.

The enticing shriek from her mouth hadn't stopped when her body slammed heavily onto the ground.

She was already running at top speed, so this impact didn't slow her down. She slid forward across the earth on her stomach.

Chest crash!

It was a very painful chest crash!

The female trainee was lightheaded, her upper body pressed tightly against the ground as she slid forward, her legs bent upwards in a "scorpion tail" shape.

Behind her, four or five burly ape-ghouls swarmed over her, tearing at her body.

A bloody and cruel scene of dismemberment played out before Jiang Xiao's eyes.

“No, no... no!” the female trainee screamed, her hands clawing at the ground, her fingers digging deep into the earth as she struggled to escape.

The sinister smile was gone, replaced by despair in her eyes. Watching the bald man's back rapidly disappear without hesitation, the female trainee screamed her last, desperate cry.

Her limbs were torn off. In her final moments, she still screamed and used her last Star Technique.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, the bald man abruptly swerved, and the vines that suddenly shot up from the ground missed his ankles, flailing wildly. As the female trainee was torn to pieces and lost her life, the wildly waving vines also subsided, falling limply to the ground.

Jiang Xiao felt a chill run through his limbs.

Reality was too cruel. The female trainee's death, and her final act, showed Jiang Xiao how terrifying this world could be.

How valuable is a truly good teammate?

At the very end, the bald man didn't choose to help. He didn't even look back, fleeing with such determination, as if the teammate behind him had never existed.

And the woman's choice was equally frightening. She didn't try to escape from the ape-ghouls, but instead chose to bind the bald man, trying to take his life with her!

For a moment, Jiang Xiao understood why Er Wei valued him so much.

The scene before him was indeed beyond Jiang Xiao's expectations.

The knife in the tree was out of reach, and even if he could reach it, it wouldn't be of much use. It was, after all, made of wood.

But Jiang Xiao still had a dagger on his leg, a very sharp one.

Jiang Xiao drew the dagger and quickly cut at the vines wrapped around his ankle. After the woman was devoured by the ape-ghouls, the vines seemed to have lost their vitality, no longer tightening, but simply maintaining their final state of restraint.

“Use me as bait? Buy time?” Jiang Xiao quickly cut through the vines. Good, his left foot was free.

Jiang Xiao waved his hand, and a beam of Blessing fell.

The instant Jiang Xiao waved, the bald man's body lurched to the side.

The beam of Blessing... missed!?

This scene was just as shocking to Jiang Xiao as the female trainee being torn to pieces.

Blessing actually missed!?

Since he had the Blessing Star Technique, Jiang Xiao had been almost always on target, never missing.

Because Blessing was an instantaneous Star Technique, it was hard to miss.

Unless the enemy was prepared, predicted his movements, and dodged to the side before Jiang Xiao released the Star Technique.

Clearly, the bald man had done it!

The bald man was saying, I don't want to drink milk!

Jiang Xiao didn't believe it, and waved his hand again.

Just take a sip~

Just one sip...

Swish!

Another beam of light landed on the empty ground. The bald man had dodged again!

When I say I won't drink, I won't drink!

The bald man was saying, I'm all grown up, I'm an adult!

And the bald man wasn't taking a loss, a fireball condensed in his hand, and he flung it at Jiang Xiao.

Silver-quality Star Technique *Exploding Flame*!

Although the bald man was a melee-type Awakened, he probably, like Xia Yan, accidentally absorbed Exploding Flame before Scorching Flame.

Not only that, the bald man even changed his course slightly, charging straight at Jiang Xiao!

Compared to the instantaneous Blessing, Exploding Flame was easier to dodge.

Jiang Xiao hastily dodged, and the fiery ball grazed past him.

Too late!

A group of ape-ghouls were devouring the female trainee's corpse, another group was chasing after the bald man, and that bald man was right in front of him!

Jiang Xiao stomped his foot, and a large pit appeared under his feet, clods of earth flying in all directions along with rippling Star Power.

At the critical moment, Jiang Xiao leaped to the left.

The bald man didn't care if he missed the first strike. Whether he hit or not, he would quickly leave, he just wanted to land a solid punch on Jiang Xiao along the way.

In the bald man's mind, it was inevitable that Jiang Xiao would die in the claws of the ape-ghouls, but before that, he was happy to teach Jiang Xiao a lesson.

It was precisely because of this mindset that Jiang Xiao seized a chance.

The bald man's body lunging forward with a punch slightly left the ground. In the air, he couldn't use any force to move!

Teach me a lesson?

Are you out of your mind!

Wouldn't it be better to just run past obediently?

Jiang Xiao waved his hand again, and the bald man lunging forward with a punch was finally bathed in holy light.

This sip of poisoned milk,

You have to drink it even if you don't want to!

I'm going to force-feed you this poisoned milk!

Drink!

The bald man's mind went blank, his body trembled slightly, and the sudden pleasure that washed over him made him lose control.

The bald man's feet stumbled, his body moving at high speed couldn't keep its balance, and he fell headfirst to the ground.

Another chest crash!

However,

The bald man rushed faster, which was understandable, after all... he was flatter...

At this time, Jiang Xiao also quickly cut the remaining vines under his feet, and sent another Blessing to the bald man.

Drink it or not?

I don't need you to drink it, I'll just pour it down your throat!

Jiang Xiao picked up the giant blade that had fallen on the ground and ran away!

Looking back, *tao*... uh, Blessing! (Note: *Tao* is a gaming term, meaning to ambush someone while running away.)

Jiang Xiao didn't forget to look back and bless the bald man as he ran away.

In Jiang Xiao's sincere blessing, the bald man got up trembling, and cursed wildly: “You little bastard, I'll f*** you...”

The next moment, a swarm of ape-ghouls swarmed up, instantly engulfing the bald man.

“Hey, baldy! Why are you talking so dirty?” Jiang Xiao lamented as he ran away. “Look at how broad-minded I am. Come, come, let me continue to bless you.”

As he spoke,

Another Blessing...

Unfortunately, the beam of Blessing landed in the small mountain of ape-ghouls, and he didn't know if the bald man could receive it.

Ah,

Sure enough,

All beings are suffering,

Only my Blessing emits a sweet scent and can save all beings.

Don't you believe it?

Look,

That bald man has already laid down his butcher knife and become a Buddha on the spot under the tearing of a group of ape-ghouls.