How had he done it? He was given no time to analyse that brutal exhibition of dominance.

It was the strangest fight Xiao Wu had ever witnessed. Both parties simply held each other's gaze and stayed still as a statue. Yet every few seconds, Mu Ran was being thrown around like a rag doll, slamming repeatedly into the thickest trees in the vicinity.

Bang!

Boom!

Thwack!

Xiao Wu felt resigned to his fate. Mu Ran was the most overbearing peer he knew, as well as being one of the most talented disciples of his sect. If even he couldn't make a stand against this guy, keeping the manual with him was just a pipe dream.

"I was actually intimidated by how confident you seemed in your combat prowess. But to think that you'd make use of astral techniques against me..." the leader of the infiltrators, Meng Shan finished his mockery with a chuckle.

Xiao Wu recalled that so far, they had officially received no lessons from their master Kong Ye on cultivating their astral bodies. Mu Ran had been regularly consulting the man for quite a while, though. His enthusiasm for astral combat meant that he probably did have some former association with an astral cultivation technique. However, his expertise in that field couldn't be high.

Why would he choose to make use of this technique that he had no expertise in a moment like this?

The sympathy and helplessness he was feeling overwhelmed with suddenly evaporated by a large margin. His gaze tracking Mu Ran's movement held a tint of disbelief and puzzlement.

Was something wrong with martial brother Mu Ran's head?

In light of his past behaviour....yeah...that wasn't out of the question.

"Aren't you a resilient one, awww!" Mu Ran's opponent exclaimed as he got up once more after a brutal thrashing. "Here, maybe this will do the trick."

For the first time in the fight, the youth moved his hands and made a strange motion in the air, as if he was holding the handle of something heavy.

Mu Ran's eyes shifted toward the space above his hands. Xiao Wu could still see nothing, but he inferred that being able to sense astral bodies would have made their battle actually discernible.

Meng Shan made a swinging motion, his fists clenched. Xiao Wu sensed a staggering wave of qi roiling in the air, surrounding the man.

His eyes shifted instantly towards Mu Ran, unsure of what that madman was thinking by standing still. Was he planning on taking this strike head-on as well?

That was when he noticed that Mu Ran was smiling faintly.

In a fraction of a second, Mu Ran disappeared from his original spot and appeared a couple of meters away from Meng Shan, leaving behind a trail of dirt in the air.

Both palms closed into fists, Mu Ran's hands were fast as lightning, crashing down on Meng Shan's chest mercilessly.

Yet, his punches never managed to land.

Two jet-black lashes whipped out from the ground beneath Meng Shan's feet and wrapped around Mu Ran's legs much faster than anyone could react. Mu Ran's body was yanked down to the ground harshly, making his head crash into Meng Shan's feet.

"Did you really think my teammates are going to stand there and watch you hit me? I mean...this is just sad," Meng Shan responded to the hateful glare Mu Ran sent him from the ground. "For someone so confident in his combat prowess, your strategies sure are transparent! I had to go out of my way to bait you into making your move."

Xiao Wu's eyes were glued to the strips of shadows coiled around Mu Ran's legs, tracking their origin. The shadows beneath Meng Shan's feet stretched all the way to the six of his teammates surrounding them.

Subconsciously, Xiao Wu's palm held the manual even tighter than before.

The shadowbeasts of the Nightblood faction!

His father used to tell him the legends of all sorts of spirit beasts. The shadowbeasts had been one of the most prominent ones in his stories.

Born of darkness, grown within soulslots, nourished by spirit qi, manifested by heart-harmony, the shadowbeasts were not uncommon in the legends surrounding the Beasthaven sect; their reputation, however, was terrific.

All six of Meng Shan's teammates were from the Nightblood Faction as well, it seemed. And their participation in this fight spelled doom for both Mu Ran and Xiao Wu.

Why had he assumed that this was going to be a fair fight? Who would be stupid enough to bring along six powerful teammates and face an opponent alone for no reason?

"Stay down if you don't want your backbone smashed into twenty-six parts," Meng Shan threatened, slamming a foot down on Mu Ran's back.

"You," he pointed at Xiao Wu, "unless you want a similar friendly exchange, better hand that manual over. I haven't yet ordered them to break all five of your limbs purely based on the respect I have for your grandfather. Don't make me sideline that."

'Should I fight it out?

Should I scream for help?'

Xiao Wu hated how powerless he was at the moment. But before he could make a choice-

"AAAAAAHHHHH!!! HELP! INFILTRATOOOORSSS!!!"

A high-pitched howl nearly ruptured everyone's eardrums.

Everyone collectively swerved around to look at the sky, the origin point of the scream. A red skeleton of a bird was afloat overhead, they discovered. Before anyone could make a move, it disappeared from their sight without a warning.

Mu Ran barked out a laugh and twisted his body at an impossible angle, slipping away from the foot Meng Shan had been holding him down with.

"You're not the only one with friends to back you up in a fight," he asserted, standing up slowly.

Xiao Wu's spirit sank. But he also realised that this might very well be the best outcome he could've asked for. Regardless of the revelation of his little secret, he still could possibly retain the manual for now.

Meng Shan's gaze returned from the sky and fixed on Xiao Wu, completely disregarding Mu Ran as a threat.

"So this is your final decision? You wish to keep that manual with you by any despicable means?"

"Despicable? You've come to my doorstep for a treasure belonging to my clan for three generations, claiming it doesn't belong to me. And you dare to call me the despicable one?" Xiao Wu's anger finally exploded.

"Screw your elders and their arbitrary rules. My grandfather earned this! This belongs to us, and as the rightful heir of my clan, I have all the rights to do whatever the hell I want with this manual. You should be thanking the heavens that I haven't sold this manual to the Crimson Snow sect yet! I'd like to see you try to claim it from master Xuan Zi then!"

Meng Shan fell silent. All of them could hear the sound of countless voices closing in on them. This was a competition between all sects. And infiltrating disciples of foreign sects would certainly be given a good beating and be robbed of their equipment before they were let off.

The Crimson Snow sect, as a competitor that had spent a whole day and night inside the archipelago, had already familiarized itself with the rules of this round. Other than direct, severe harm, any sort of punishment could be delivered to spies, thieves and robbers from other sects.

In this game where all of them were vying to attain the maximum amount of resources, anything within certain limits was fair game.

"Then you leave me with no choice. Xiao Tang!"

For a brief second, Xiao Wu was confused, not understanding what Meng Shan was trying to do. Then he watched one of Meng Shan's teammates come out of the circle they had formed around the grove.

"Take off your mask," Meng Shan ordered.

A faint suspicion bloomed inside Xiao Wu's heart, the name 'Xiao Tang' ringing a bell.

It couldn't be...

The mask was taken off from the youth's face, and recognition dawned on Xiao Wu.

Xiao Tang, one of his cousins, was looking back at him with impassive eyes.

In a second, a lot of past incidents suddenly connected in his mind. He realized that this was the Beasthaven Sect's last method of persuasion.

"Looks like you haven't forgotten this cousin of yours. Elder Di Qian of the Deepworld faction took him in as a disciple a few months ago while he was on a trip. His father, your uncle, pledged his allegiance to the Deepworld faction soon after, alongside the rest of the branch-heads of your clan. The Xiao clan is now prepared to sever all connections with the Nightblood faction and join Deepworld's territory as a subordinate clan. So, unless you want your father's branch to be expelled from the clan, better make your choice carefully."

Xiao Wu cursed inside his heart. What the hell was this? Since when was Xiao Tang talented enough to be personally recruited by an elder from the Beasthaven Sect? Something fishy was afoot!

As the commotion around them grew closer, Xiao Wu made his decision, heart hardening with the image of his family floating in his mind.

"I'll voluntarily deliver this manual to elder Meng Hao when this tournament ends. Give me this small period of time to consult my family."

Meng Shan nodded after a moment of silent reflection. "Fine. But swear a heavenly oath that not a single word of that manual will be leaked to any outsider. Otherwise, your family will suffer the consequences firsthand."

"I swear by the heavens, I will not reveal a single word of this manual in my hand to anyone until I've delivered it to elder Meng Hao."

Xiao Wu's oath was quick and decisive. However...

"Wait a damn moment, did you say 'the manual in my hand'? Are you trying to trick me?" Meng Shan harrumphed coldly.

Xiao Wu coughed awkwardly and threw the manual away. He had been carrying that decoy for months now, having foreseen such sneaky attempts from the Beasthaven sect. Who knew this guy would see through the trick?

"Fine! I swear by the heavens that I will not reveal a single word of the 'Shadowbeast Nurturing Manual' to anyone until I have returned it to elder Meng-"

"Xiao Wu, don't test my patience!" roared Meng Shan. "Are you implying you'll be free to reveal it to the world once you've delivered it to elder Meng?"

"Damn, when I go to deliver the manual, just make me swear another oath at that time! I can't think of anything more flawless than that!" Xiao Wu shrieked in frustration.

"You could say you'll never reveal a word of it to anyone!"

"...I swear by the heavens, I shall never reveal a single word of the 'Shadowbeast Nurturing Manual to anyone!"

"Hey, I've found them! Come, brothers and sisters! It's clobbering time!"

A voice familiar to Xiao Wu and Mu Ran came from within the woods. The commotion increased manifold instantly, growing closer every second.

Seeing that Xiao Wu had relented, Meng Shan made a gesture at his underlings. All of them sprinted close to him in a flash.

"Take care. Any rational man should know not to play with fire."

With that threat hanging in the air, Meng Shan bent down toward the ground and punched the soil.

An array of blue light appeared around the team of seven disciples of the Beasthaven sect. Clearly, it was some sort of an escape mechanism.

"Return MY treasure first, you thieving assholes!" Mu Ran suddenly yelled in fury, rushing toward them with waves of qi emanating from him, about to cast a spell.

But before he could execute the spell, all seven of them disappeared, leaving behind an explosion of blue light.