Chapter 903: The Overnight Yellow Sparrow Army Has Moved

In the core area of the Yunlun Shanmai,

The Jiulong Mai is divided into nine mountain peaks, with their coordinates marked on the Trial Jade Pendant.

After one night, it's fair to say that all nine of these dragon veins are now occupied by large groups of trial participants.

Among them, the first, sixth, and eighth dragon veins have already been successfully claimed by the trial participants, as indicated by the Trial Jade Pendant, and their coordinates have changed from gray to a dazzling gold.

As long as a dragon vein is held for one full day, the dragon lord and dragon guards of that vein will receive corresponding points rewards.

Now, it all depends on whether they can defend it...

At the fourth dragon vein,

This is the dragon vein closest to Xu Bang.

Because Xu Bang's forces had previously rampaged through the surrounding territories, the trial participants were still haunted by fear. Anyone with any sense didn't dare to claim this area as their own and instead went elsewhere to compete.

However, not all trial participants were involved in the battles for the Da Ze Source Stones.

There were still many who were out of the loop on the news and chose the fourth dragon vein, which was nearest to them, to undertake the second round of the Wangcheng Trial assessment.

After a night of fierce fighting, the fourth dragon vein was soaked in blood.

Yet, even under these conditions, the vein had not been declared captured, and its true owner had yet to emerge.

"Brothers, hold on!"

"We're just two 'Dragon Guard Flags' away from taking the 'Dragon Lord Flag' of the fourth dragon vein!"

"Once we do, everyone who distinguishes themselves in this battle will be rewarded based on merit."

"Those who qualify will become dragon guards, and those who don't, I, Luo Yin, still have plenty of resources to support your future cultivation!"

On the peak of the fourth dragon vein, Luo Yin, his body covered in muscles and his clothes drenched in blood, roared at the top of his lungs while pulling up the sixth Dragon Guard Flag in front of him with force.

Luo Yin, a successor of the Tai Xu lineage from Luotian Palace in Dayuan Fuchao, possesses the Sahua Shengti. He has lived a wild and unrestrained life, rarely tasting defeat.

But during the Tianluo Battle in Dongtian Wangcheng, he encountered Xu Shao, a successor of the Ban Sheng lineage, and was cut down by the opponent's annoyingly flashy sword techniques.

That didn't bother him much.

Luo Yin could accept losing to a Ban Sheng successor, so he picked himself up and started over.

When he regained eligibility for the Wangcheng Trial, he resolutely chose to battle in the Yunlun Shanmai.

While everyone else was forming alliances, Luo Yin had no interest in that.

He only gathered a few close brothers and, relying on his own formidable strength, forcefully led them to the forefront of the points leaderboard.

At his peak, Luo Yin even ranked in the top five.

But he never expected that the second round of the Wangcheng Trial would be a team battle!

Luo Yin suffered a silent setback, quickly recruiting troops and buying horses overnight. He finally arrived at the fourth dragon vein just before it was about to be captured, seizing control for himself.

After pulling up the sixth Dragon Guard Flag and securing it on his back, Luo Yin scanned his surroundings, his eyes surging with killing intent.

The area was filled with shouts.

"Kill!"

"Kill them all, kill Luo Yin!"

"The dragon lord and dragon guards are ours!"

The entire mountain echoed with battle cries, with hundreds of people from various factions launching an assault.

Blood flowed like rivers across the slopes, but strangely, not a single body was in sight.

Witnessing everyone around him going berserk, Luo Yin felt a momentary daze.

He had no idea how many trial participants he had sent away that night...

A few dozens?

A few hundreds?

He didn't care about that.

He only knew that since he, Luo Yin, had come to this mountain, no one could take the flags from his hands!

The vibrant Dragon Guard Flags—two still planted on the sides of the peak—and the towering, golden Dragon Lord Flag fluttered fiercely at the summit.

The brothers at Luo Yin's side were repelling invaders, each with wounds of varying severity, but they gritted their teeth and held on.

Whoosh!

While lost in thought, a faint sound reached his ears as another trial participant broke through the defenses and thrust a long sword at him from behind.

Luo Yin didn't even need to turn around; he simply tilted his head, and the spirit sword grazed past his ear.

He bent his knees, lowered his body, and struck backward with his elbows.

Thud!

The powerful force of his Sahua Shengti blasted the attacker into stardust, sending them out of the Yunlun Shanmai.

"A mere speck of light, daring to shine?"

Luo Yin sneered.

With his strength, as long as he didn't encounter the top-tier participants in the Yunlun Shanmai, these insignificant pests couldn't even withstand a single punch from him.

Without hesitation, Luo Yin rushed to the next Dragon Guard Flag.

The rules of the Jiulong Mai competition were brutally intense.

Pulling up a Dragon Guard Flag required a full quarter of an hour.

During that time, the person pulling the flag could only continuously channel their lingyuan and couldn't perform any other actions.

Luo Yin's biggest disadvantage was that he had too few people with him.

Generally, with a large force for defense, the flag-puller could work in peace.

But with only a few dozen people by his side, they were barely managing to hold off the attackers, and occasionally a few would slip through.

He had to rely on his Sahua Shengti to pull the flags while enduring sneak attacks and waiting for his teammates' support.

Despite the grueling defense, Luo Yin, thanks to his Sahua Shengti, had made it to the seventh Dragon Guard Flag.

The battle was brutal, but victory was within reach.

"Come on!"

Luo Yin activated his Sahua Shengti, his eyes fierce, and gritted his teeth as he gripped the seventh Dragon Guard Flag.

He was prepared to withstand the onslaught from the attackers.

"Kill!"

"Charge! Luo Yin's pulling a flag again!"

"For the next quarter of an hour, he can't move—that's our chance!"

The attackers' eyes turned bloodshot at the sight of Luo Yin's actions.

The hundreds of attackers from various factions couldn't break through the defense of just a few dozen spirit masters because of the one leading them: Luo Yin.

His Shengti was too powerful!

Luo Yin seemed immune to all damage, using his immense physical strength to absorb various master-level spirit techniques while forcefully pulling the flags.

In other dragon veins, attacks and defenses relied on sheer numbers.

But in the fourth dragon vein, it was Luo Yin using his head to hammer against iron!

This seemingly impossible endeavor had, through his Shengti, progressed more than halfway.

If he truly pulled up the seventh Dragon Guard Flag, it would mean that the hundreds of attackers could no longer stand against him alone.

This was a humiliation!

Who could tolerate it?

"Charge! Let's do this!"

The attackers went mad, assaulting like tireless war machines. They quickly tore through the defenses of Luo Yin's people, allowing several sneak attackers to reach the peak.

"Kill, kill, kill..."

The sneak attackers channeled their lingyuan or built up their power, aiming to strike Luo Yin, who couldn't move.

But just then,

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

The mountain of the fourth dragon vein began to tremble slightly, and a deep sound echoed from afar, like war drums beating or the march of thousands, full of momentum.

"What's going on?"

In an instant, both attackers and defenders froze.

What could cause the towering peak of the fourth dragon vein to shake?

Even if the tremors were slight, it shouldn't be happening...

An earthquake?

Everyone was puzzled.

"Report!"

At that moment, a scout from the attacking side climbed to the peak, his face panic-stricken, his voice trembling as he shouted.

"What's happening below?"

The attacking side's leader paused all actions and asked gravely.

The scout was out of breath, but he didn't dare stop speaking, clearly indicating an urgent situation.

"A large number of trial participants have suddenly entered the territory of the fourth dragon vein. They're marching while beating drums—it's quite imposing, as if they're here to seize the dragon lord!"

Marching and beating drums?

The attacking leader frowned.

This description sounded like two armies about to clash. Which spirit master would bring war drums into the Yunlun Shanmai?

Are they insane?

"How many are there?" the attacking leader asked.

"A whole..." The scout panted heavily.

"A whole what? Explain yourself clearly!" The attacking leader's tone grew impatient. I'm asking for numbers, and you say 'a whole'?

The scout took a deep breath, paused, swallowed hard, and said, "A black mass... countless of them. Just from what I could see, there must be over a thousand!"

The attacking leader: "???"

His face changed immediately.

Not just him—all the attacking factions on the peak received reports from their own scouts, and everyone's expressions shifted dramatically.

Even Luo Yin's people vaguely sensed that the situation was turning delicate.

Things were heating up here.

But from afar, it seemed another force was approaching—and a large one at that.

"So, how many exactly?"

One of Luo Yin's brothers, while blocking with his blade, asked the attackers in front of him. Seeing their grim faces, he added, "No harm in sharing. We don't want to fight to the death only to let someone else reap the benefits."

Attacker: "How the hell should I know? I'm busy fighting you here!"

This brief exchange made everyone lower their weapons.

They were all smart.

No one wanted their hard-won victory to slip away.

If the spoils were meant for just the two sides, why fight all night only to hand it to a third party?

"How many!" The attacking leader saw that Luo Yin had stopped pulling the flag and was looking over curiously, so he turned back and demanded of the scout.

There was no real grudge between them; the deadly fight was just due to the Jiulong Mai rules.

Luo Yin respected the attackers' persistence, and they admired how he single-handedly held the line.

Neither side wanted to be the mantis or the cicada in this scenario.

The scout was stunned to see the battle halt because of his words, but he quickly responded: "A black mass of people, too many to count. From my estimate, there are probably over a thousand—all real people, all with auras!"

"Could it be other small groups teaming up?" Luo Yin's brother glanced at the surrounding attackers. "Like them?"

Luo Yin pondered.

That was indeed a possibility.

The situation on the mountain stalled.

The attackers and defenders suddenly stopped, creating an awkward atmosphere.

After all, they had just been in a brutal fight, so even without grudges, there was some resentment.

But the thousand-plus people below weighed heavily on everyone, leaving no one daring to act rashly.

"So..." Luo Yin opened his mouth, about to speak and share his thoughts.

Suddenly,

A clear, commanding voice rang out from below the mountain, full of energy, reaching everyone's ears.

"People on the mountain, listen up! You've been surrounded by Xu Bang! Surrender peacefully, lay down your weapons, and bow your heads!"

"Xu Shao promises to only brush your Trial Jade Pendants once—we don't want more. You have ten breaths to think it over!"

"It's your choice: life or death!"

—Xu Bang!

Everyone on the fourth dragon vein's peak was struck like lightning.

How could it be Xu Bang?

Why exactly Xu Bang?!

The nightmare that all trial participants feared, how could it appear here?

After one night, shouldn't they have already captured other dragon veins?

Luo Yin hadn't expected it.

The attackers hadn't either.

After all, they were just spirit masters with limited scouting abilities.

The moment the Jiulong Mai competition began, everyone was on the move—who had the energy to send people to watch Xu Bang?

Besides, how would they communicate intel?

In the Yunlun Shanmai, any communication methods below the Zongshi level were useless.

Sending scouts would just waste manpower.

So, they had to rely on guesswork: after one night, if Xu Bang hadn't come to the fourth dragon vein, they must have gone to other veins to claim territory.

That's why everyone had gone all out to fight for the fourth dragon vein.

One day meant a million points.

Even if they couldn't hold it later, grabbing it for a day was still a win!

But now, the voice from below openly declared that Xu Bang wanted the fourth dragon vein—what was going on?

"Could they have already captured one dragon vein and started a second operation?" Someone thought of something, their face turning pale. "Is Xu Shao going for the 'Lord of Nine Dragons' title?"

"Impossible!" Luo Yin flatly denied it. "The nine dragon veins are far apart, and capturing one takes time. Even for Xu Bang, it's a big effort. If they're launching a second operation, they wouldn't mobilize the whole army—they'd travel light at most."

"But how do you explain the Xu Bang below? Over a thousand people—can that be fake?"

The attacking leader was also baffled. The situation was too bizarre. It couldn't be that Xu Bang had rested all night, could it?

Who had that kind of pull to make over a thousand from Xu Bang stop for a whole night?

Not even the trial officials could do that!

As everyone pondered, the counting from below had already started.

"Ten..."

"What do we do?" People on the mountain panicked.

By now, which trial participant hadn't heard of Xu Bang's notorious reputation? Only the most reclusive schemers would be unaware.

If Xu Bang wanted the fourth dragon vein, who could stop them?

"Let me think—we still have ten breaths!" The attacking leader started pacing.

But as soon as he lifted his foot,

"...Nine eight seven six five four three two one!" The counting from below finished in one breath after a pause.

Then the voice continued: "Time's up! Since you're choosing to resist, don't blame us Xu Bang members for being ruthless!"

People on the mountain: ???

What the hell is this?

Wasn't that less than one breath?

The count is already done?!

"Brothers! What's our latest slogan?"

Without any pause, that devilish loli voice rang out again.

Right after, the Xu Bang members roared in unison amid the clamor of gongs and drums:

"Xu Bang on the march, leaving nothing in its wake!"

"Xu Bang in action, let's kick their asses!"

"Kill, kill, kill!"