LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 22: **Chapter 22: Mock Exam (7)**
**Chapter 22: Mock Exam (7)**
"Jianliang, do you feel like something is off?"
In front of the cave, Xu Jianliang, locked in a fierce battle with six or seven demon wolves, heard Zheng Liu's question.
With a serious expression, he replied, "It does feel strange. I keep thinking—"
Before he could finish, a scarlet beam of demonic energy suddenly swept toward him.
The attack came out of nowhere. If Xu Jianliang hadn't been fully alert and possessed considerable strength, he might not have avoided it. This unexpected disaster was actually a spell cast by the Blood Amber Wolf during its fight with Su Chen. After Su Chen skillfully dodged the attack, it happened to head straight for Xu Jianliang.
'Was that deliberate, or just a coincidence?'
As Xu Jianliang stood there, his heart pounding from his narrow escape, he glanced at Su Chen battling the Blood Amber Wolf nearby and couldn't help but feel suspicious.
It wasn't the first time this had happened. It had occurred too many times to dismiss as mere coincidence. Once might be an accident, twice a fluke—but three or four times?
How could every demonic attack Su Chen dodged always land near him? It was too accurate—more precise than a guided missile!
Something wasn't right.
'This guy… is he toying with us?'
If even Xu Jianliang had noticed, then Chai Xi—who feigned simplicity but was anything but—had certainly caught on as well. Forcing the Blood Amber Wolves back with his spear, Chai Xi turned to his companions and whispered, "This kid's messing with us. He must've figured out our plan already."
"Messing with us?" Zheng Liu frowned, struggling to reconcile Chai Xi's words with what she saw.
Su Chen was locked in a heated struggle with the Blood Amber Wolf. Every movement looked genuine—his effort, his resolve. Could he really be acting?
'Was his acting too good, or am I just too gullible?' Zheng Liu thought, frustration bubbling inside her.
From what she saw, Su Chen was clearly being suppressed by the wolf. Every dodge seemed barely successful, and every counterattack felt desperate. Could this really be pretense?
To accept that Su Chen was pretending would mean admitting that a student at the third level of Qi Gathering could effortlessly fight a Blood Amber Wolf at the sixth level. That idea was absurd.
'If he's so talented, why is he even in the Human Dao Class?' Zheng Liu reasoned. Surely someone with such skills would be in the Heaven Dao Class, where they value both aptitude and comprehension.
Zheng Liu refused to believe it—until Chai Xi shattered her denial with a single comment.
"Xiao Liu, haven't you noticed? He's not injured at all. And look… we're in an increasingly worse position."
Her eyes widened as she realized the truth. They had retreated into the cave without even noticing, and each attempt to escape had been blocked by Su Chen's "coincidental" positioning during his fight with the wolf leader.
"Damn it! He's tricking us!" Zheng Liu growled, her anger boiling over.
Xu Jianliang's face darkened as he, too, pieced it together. "That bastard…" he muttered. "I thought he was selfless and righteous. But no, it was all fake—just an act!"
He clenched his fists. "No more playing games. Let's stop holding back."
"Agreed," Zheng Liu replied coldly, taking out a magic weapon from her storage bag—the Spirit Fox Pen.
Holding the brush, she dipped it into spiritual energy, and streams of light flowed through its bristles. With a flick of her wrist, a red talisman materialized in the air:
Five Elements Basic Talisman: Red Flame Talisman!
"Go!" she commanded, sending the talisman hurtling forward.
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Minwhile Su Chen, mid-fight with the Blood Amber Wolf, felt a sudden surge of danger and disappeared in an instant. The blazing talisman struck the wolf directly, engulfing it in an explosion of flames.
As the fire subsided, the Blood Amber Wolf's massive body emerged, scorched but largely unharmed. Its sheer size and resilience, combined with the pouring rain, had minimized the damage.
But the surprise attack enraged the wolf. It scanned its surroundings for its attackers, only to find… no one. Zheng Liu, Xu Jianliang, and Chai Xi had vanished.
Even Su Chen, who had been fighting it moments ago, was nowhere to be seen. Confused, the wolf let out an enraged howl, summoning its pack to spread out and search for their targets.
A Short Distance Away
In a forest more than a hundred meters from the Blood Amber Wolf Pack, Xu Jianliang leaned against a tree, clutching a precious orb and breathing heavily.
"The spiritual power in the Hidden Orb is almost depleted," he said grimly. "We need to find a place to regroup and put some distance between us and those wolves."
The Hidden Orb was the secret weapon that had enabled Xu Jianliang and his group to repeatedly escape the wolves. Its powers not only concealed their presence but rendered them temporarily invisible, even to creatures with heightened senses like the Blood Amber Wolves.
However, their original plan had been derailed. Instead of trapping Su Chen as intended, they had ended up expending the orb's energy escaping the chaos Su Chen had orchestrated.
Zheng Liu seethed, her anger spilling out. "That bastard dared to mess with us! Let him deal with those wolves alone!"
She turned to Xu Jianliang. "Do you think he can survive?"
Before Xu Jianliang could respond, his expression darkened as he stared into the distance. Following his gaze, Zheng Liu froze.
Leaning casually against a tree not far away was none other than Su Chen, his lips curved into a faint smile.
"Where are you all headed?" he asked cheerfully. "Mind if I tag along?"
He stepped forward, but Xu Jianliang and the others instinctively retreated.
With a mockingly disappointed look, Su Chen added, "Why so distant? Aren't we classmates? No need to act like strangers."
"Right, Jianliang?"
Xu Jianliang turned, startled, to find Su Chen suddenly beside him—despite having been ten meters away just moments before.
'When did he get here?!'
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