Chapter 159: One Must Know One's Limitations

It seems there will be no sleeping tonight.

After pointing the way for the young girl and watching her struggle to leave, I walked over to the man in white and kicked him squarely in the head.

"If it weren't for scum like you, there wouldn't be so many tragedies in this world."

Without further hesitation, I splashed some water on my face again and set off in the direction the girl had pointed.

Crossing mountains and ridges all the way, I had expected to encounter more of the Golden Cicada Society's riffraff, especially since Lin Feng already knew I was coming.

Yet there was none; the entire journey was completely safe and sound.

The more peaceful it was, the more something felt off. Given the Golden Cicada Society's usual M.O., they surely should have come out to intercept me.

Since they hadn't, could it be that they weren't afraid of my arrival at all?

Or was it because they had captured Song Zhong?

Perhaps Song Zhong's appearance had thinned out the guards watching the captives, allowing that young woman to escape just now.

Thinking along those lines, it made a certain amount of sense.

If Song Zhong really had been caught, what should I do?

Amidst a flurry of unanswered questions, the sky gradually began to brighten.

I had already reached the summit of the mountain.

Looking down, after descending the mountain and walking another few hundred meters or so, I would reach the so-called Wetan Ravine (Withered Pool Ravine).

It was originally a low-lying basin, but seen from the top of the mountain, it resembled a massive fissure, hence the name.

Even though I hadn't reached it yet, just standing on the peak, I could feel the intense, eerie baleful aura emanating from the depression.

This was formed through the accumulation over time, consisting not only of the grievances of those persecuted by the Golden Cicada Society, but also the fierce souls of enemies who had died here.

Over the long passage of time, they had merged into one, and this immense baleful aura had completely enveloped the entire Wetan Ravine.

Yet, amidst this pitch-black baleful aura, I spotted faint flickers of lamplight.

Spitting out the cigarette butt in my mouth, I stamped it out, pulled my jacket tighter around myself, and walked downward without a single glance back.

After descending the mountain, I felt the surrounding temperature drop even lower. The chilling wind howling against my skin sounded just like the wails of malevolent ghosts.

Just as I was approaching the entrance to the basin, a stone tablet appeared before me.

Carved onto the stone tablet were two large characters: Corpse Pool!

I narrowed my eyes. The original color of the tablet was no longer visible; it had been thoroughly stained crimson with blood.

The characters "Corpse Pool" were stark and chilling to the bone.

"Well, you sure kept me waiting. What took you so long? Did you crawl all the way here?"

A mocking voice echoed in my ears. Raising my head, I saw a young man with a buzz cut, a head shorter than me, walking toward me step by step with his hands shoved in his pockets.

The steel stud piercing his eyebrow made it clear that he was another candidate I needed to send on his final journey.

I put down my backpack and stood in place, watching the young man without moving an inch.

The young man let out a wicked chuckle and said, "The old crone said that anyone who manages to bring back your corpse can become the grand supervisor here. So, for the sake of my promotion, I must ask you to die."

As soon as his voice trailed off, the young man pulled his hands from his pockets, revealing a pair of bizarre daggers.

Cackling strangely, he charged right at me. I stood my ground, not moving at all.

Watching him lunge forward, dual daggers thrusting at my head from two different angles, I remained rooted to the spot.

"Go to hell!"

The very moment he closed the distance, I threw my upper body backward while simultaneously pulling a stun baton from my lower back.

Zzzzt!

The stun baton struck his Adam's apple with pinpoint accuracy.

I pressed the switch, and his entire body began to convulse as the daggers dropped from his hands to the ground.

Smoke rose from his Adam's apple, and his limbs went limp as he collapsed to the earth.

He foamed at the mouth, his eyes rolling back.

I tilted my head, looking down at his body, and pondered for a moment.

I picked up the daggers from the ground and, without a moment's hesitation, slashed the tendons in his wrists and ankles.

Life and death are up to fate; this had nothing to do with me.

Slinging my backpack back over my shoulders and gripping the stun baton in my hand, I swaggered right into the Corpse Pool.

"If you want to pass this road, leave behind one of your arms."

I simply don't understand if everyone in the Golden Cicada Society has something wrong with their heads. What era is this? Why are there still so many useless words?

If the identities of Lin Feng and me were reversed, I would unhesitatingly dispatch everyone to wipe out the enemy. How could anyone behave like this, coming to throw away their lives one by one?

Originally, I thought everyone in the Golden Cicada Society was as formidable as He Chuan and Uncle Li whom I encountered earlier.

Now it seemed I had truly overestimated the Golden Cicada Society. Most of them were just individuals with mediocre cultivation and utterly arrogant mouths.

In truth, there weren't that many truly powerful people.

However, if they all swarmed me at once, it would still give me a run for my money. If anyone was to blame, blame Lin Feng for coming up with that ridiculous reward-and-punishment system where killing me would make someone the grand supervisor here.

This had pumped everyone full of adrenaline, and each one of them wanted to be the one to kill me. They grossly overestimated themselves.

Thus, all along the way, all of them had been crippled by me.

The moment the seventh person collapsed at my feet, the fellow who had still been itching to charge forward swallowed hard, turned around, and bolted back the way he came.

Just as I was about to give chase, I heard the sound of gongs and drums.

The sound bore an uncanny resemblance to an ancient wedding procession.