Huh!!!

With just a single sentence, the number of contestants had already been cut by more than half, greatly reducing the competition time. The playboy young masters hurriedly withdrew in fear. Now, only sixty-one contestants remained, which was an odd and inconsistent number. Therefore, one person had to advance to the second round without a fight. That person turned out to be Zheng-Fu, who drew the lucky lot. This worked in his favor as it gave him time to observe and evaluate the other contestants.

"Big Brother doesn't have to fight in the first round—this is very good!" Diao, watching from the nearby edge of the field, spoke in a relieved tone.

"It's good that Big Brother passed to the second round without a fight. But do you think he's happy about it?" Den's thoughts differed from Diao's. He believed Zheng-Fu might be disappointed that he didn't get to fight in the first round.

"No, Master is pleased he didn't have to fight in the first round. It gives him time to assess all the competitors," Jin-Tian suddenly spoke in his usual expressionless tone, explaining to the two young men.

"Oh, I see!!!"

As soon as they heard that, they understood. After all, their plan was to draw out the demons, not simply win the competition. So whether Zheng-Fu fought or not was irrelevant to their main objective.

Four shichens passed...

Finally, the first round of the competition was over. Thirty pairs had finished their matches. Thirty finalists, along with Zheng-Fu, now had to draw lots to determine their opponents for the next day. This time, Zheng-Fu did not draw the lucky lot, so he would be facing an opponent from Han City in the second round.

At the residence of Dan-Ge, inside the large meeting room...

"I've examined everyone who participated in the competition today. Four people seem suspicious—two from Mou-Cai City and two from Han City. I'll fight one of them in the maneuver tomorrow, so I'll know soon enough. If this person is a member of the Demon Tribe in disguise, the other three probably are as well."

After the first day of the competition, everyone returned to their respective residences. Zheng-Fu, Dan-Ge, and the rest of the team gathered to discuss if anyone had noticed anything unusual during the event. Zheng-Fu informed everyone that he had identified four suspicious participants, and one of them he would have to face in the competition tomorrow.

"As for me, I observed a group sitting in the Mou-Cai City section. They had strange expressions while looking at the Monster King," reported Den, who had been assigned to monitor the audience from the right side.

"I received a report from one of the watchmen outside the maneuver. He said a group of highly skilled martial masters gathered at an abandoned tavern in a dark alley. But when my men followed them inside, they disappeared without a trace. All that was found was a dusty abandoned tavern," Wen-Xi, responsible for monitoring the outside, added.

"An abandoned tavern? Where is it, Master Wen-Xi? Can you tell me? I'll go check it out tonight!" Zheng-Fu, intrigued, asked for more details. He found it strange that a large group of people had entered the tavern and vanished. He believed there must be some clues left behind.

"Of course! The tavern is about three streets away from the maneuver venue, in a dark alley that's been closed off due to frequent robberies!" Wen-Xi unfolded a map and pointed out the location to Zheng-Fu.

"Hmm… This is interesting! If I were them, I'd choose this location to prepare for action—not only is it close to the maneuver, but it's also in an area where people don't often pass. I think we should be able to catch these rats tonight!"

After seeing the location on the map, a sly smile crossed Zheng-Fu's lips as he told everyone to prepare to catch the rats. He was confident that the tavern had a secret entrance to the Demon Tribe's underground lair.

"Royal Son-in-law, are you saying this is their secret nest?" Wen-Xi and Dan-Ge exclaimed in unison.

"It's highly probable. But whether it is or not, I can't say for sure until we explore it. Please instruct the great, skilled martial masters to surround the area discreetly, but don't let anyone know what we're trying to do. I'll go in and investigate myself."

Zheng-Fu briefly explained his plan to everyone, giving them an overview before issuing orders to the other skilled martial masters who were not part of the secret meeting. He informed them that they would begin searching for "rats" tonight but did not reveal the exact location to everyone just yet.

The preparations did not take long, and all the skilled martial masters who had been assembled were ready to carry out the mission. Everyone was both excited and eager to finally test their abilities, as they hadn't had the opportunity to do so since their rapid advancement in levels. This mission would serve as a challenge to push their limits even further.

The old tavern, their target location, was only five lis away from Dan-Ge's residence, which is roughly two kilometers when including all the winding routes. Given their energy levels, reaching the destination would only take a moment.

Swish!!! Swish!!! Swish!!!

Thump!!!

"The alley ahead is where the abandoned tavern is located, the same place where a large number of suspects were seen entering, Royal Son-in-law." As they came closer to the tavern's area, Zheng-Fu stopped everyone from moving about a hundred to two hundred meters from the entrance. Wen-Xi then whispered, showing Zheng-Fu a suitable vantage point.

"Mhm... As planned, I'll go in first and check if they're using it as their hideout. If I give the signal, everyone moves in!" Zheng-Fu commanded before vanishing, erasing both his presence and energy aura completely.

Ah!!!

Zheng-Fu's disappearance left the group in shock because they couldn't sense anything of Zheng-Fu at all. Even Dan-Ge, who had reached the Divine King stage, could not sense where he was or what he was doing. So, the lower-level martial masters had no hope of detecting Zheng-Fu's movements.

After having disappeared into thin air, Zheng-Fu swiftly entered the dark alley and reached the abandoned tavern. Using his psychic abilities, he carefully inspected his surroundings to avoid any misunderstandings with the Demon Tribe.

In the blink of an eye, Zheng-Fu's figure had already stopped inside the old tavern. The interior was filled with dust and cobwebs, giving it the appearance of a place that had been abandoned for years. Even the floor was dirty and covered in dust. If anyone had entered this place, there would have been some traces left on the floor or on the equipment. However, what he saw clearly indicated that no one had been here.

But this was only what was visible to the normal eye. For Zheng-Fu, he could see much more. What he saw were numerous spell patterns carved throughout the tavern. Upon closer inspection, Zheng-Fu discovered that these spell patterns were created using the blood of some living creature, which made them invisible to ordinary sight.

"That's why Master Wen-Xi's people saw no one and found no trace. The place is covered with illusion and advanced concealment spells. There are also sealing and attack spells in place. If Wen-Xi's men had touched anything, they would have triggered the traps and died here, alerting the enemy."

Zheng-Fu admired the caution of Wen-Xi's men for not touching anything, which kept the spells from activating, preventing the rats from knowing about them. Loosening these spells would take no time at all for Zheng-Fu because it was more than easy.

Flop!!! Flop!!! Flop!!!

Woooooosh!!!

Once Zheng-Fu deactivated the illusion spells, the scene in the tavern changed. Where there was once dust and cobwebs, everything now appeared clean, without a speck of dust in sight. Most importantly, a secret entrance lay beneath his feet.

"They're down below. Judging by the number of lifeforms, there are over a thousand of them. How can they be comfortable with that many people down there?" After dispelling and modifying the spells completely, Zheng-Fu was able to use his psychic sense to probe beneath the entrance door.

Zheng-Fu sensed more than a thousand living beings underneath. It was clear that these beings were members of the Demon Tribe, who were planning to create chaos this time.

Whist!!!

"Is that the Royal Son-in-law's signal?" Dan-Ge exclaimed as soon as the signal was heard. He then ordered everyone to be in position.

"Yes, sir!!!"

All the martial masters immediately moved towards the abandoned tavern, eager to test their strength in the upcoming battle.

Meanwhile, deep underground, several hundred meters beneath the tavern, the demons were busy preparing their plans. These demons had disguised themselves as members of the Monster Tribe.

"Huh...??"

"What is it, leader?" One of the demons asked, noticing the leader's sudden change in expression.

"A large group of skilled martial masters is gathering above us, in the abandoned tavern," the leader, a muscular demon, replied.

"A large group? Could they have discovered our presence?"

"No, that's impossible. The number of martial masters isn't large, and the strongest among them is only at the eighth level of the Divine Emperor stage. They're probably just looking for accommodation and stumbled upon the tavern."

"If that's the case, then good! But I'm afraid they might trigger the attack spells! If that happens, this place could fall under suspicion."

"It'll not be like that because they'll be the only ones suspected. Our attack spells may activate, but they won't be able to break the illusion spell. At most, they'll see a slightly different tavern, but they'll never find the entrance to our base!"

The leader of the operation spoke confidently, his face filled with a sly and wicked smile. He trusted in the spells crafted by the Demon Tribe experts, believing there was no way they could be detected. But at that very moment, an unfamiliar voice whispered by his ear...

"Will it really be like that?"

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