Chapter 47: I Only Need to Outrun You

Just as Lin Xiao had predicted, a large horde of spirit beasts soon appeared behind the three of them. At a glance, there were at least a hundred, if not more. Faced with such overwhelming numbers, even though Shen Yao had absolute confidence in her own strength, she too could only think of running for her life. At best, she could handle four or five first-level spirit beasts at the same time.

The three of them raced toward a direction with no spirit beasts in sight, wishing fervently that they had been born with two more legs. But Lin Xiao’s group was not the only one under attack—similar situations were unfolding with the other two teams as well.

At this moment, everyone made the same decision: to flee.

The spirit beasts were clearly being driven by someone, their purpose to herd the survivors together. Under relentless pursuit, the three teams soon ran into each other. Under normal circumstances, such a meeting would have sparked conflict, but now was hardly the time for that—survival was all that mattered.

As the three teams merged, their numbers grew, but so did the number of spirit beasts chasing them. Looking back, the dense swarm numbered at least three or four hundred. Against such a tide, they truly stood no chance.

Ji Boxiao’s expression darkened when he caught sight of Lin Xiao. He hadn’t expected Lin Xiao to have survived this long. Liu Ruyan, too, looked incredulous; she simply couldn’t fathom how someone who had awakened an F-level non-combat ability could last this long.

As Lin Xiao passed by, Ji Boxiao couldn’t resist a taunt. “Who would’ve thought you’d still be here and not eliminated? Your luck must be incredible!”

Lin Xiao rolled his eyes—was Ji Boxiao really picking a fight now of all times? Wouldn’t it be better to save his energy for running?

Ignoring Ji Boxiao, Lin Xiao grabbed Zhou Zhi and picked up the pace. Shen Yao said nothing, silently keeping in step with Lin Xiao.

Ji Boxiao felt slighted by Lin Xiao’s lack of response. When he caught sight of Shen Yao, a lascivious glint flashed in his eyes. Now he understood—Lin Xiao must have latched on to Shen Yao, and that’s why he hadn’t been eliminated yet. Truly, luck was on his side.

Among the spirit beasts, there were many species, some particularly swift. The gap between their speed and that of the examinees was closing rapidly. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before they were overtaken.

Chu Ran was the first to realize this. He immediately accelerated to catch up with Ji Boxiao. “Ji Boxiao, you’re the captain of this team, right? And Shen Yao—listen, I hope we can work together. Now’s not the time for in-fighting, or else we’ll all be eliminated!”

Ji Boxiao nodded, knowing Chu Ran was right. He didn’t believe their combined strength was enough to overcome the spirit beasts. “I agree to cooperate. But do you really think just the few of us can take on this horde?”

Shen Yao spoke up at once when she heard Chu Ran call her. “Don’t ask me. I listen to Lin Xiao. I’m just a hired hand.”

Her words left both Chu Ran and Ji Boxiao momentarily stunned. Neither had expected even Shen Yao to defer to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao, having been ready to keep running, nearly stumbled at Shen Yao’s words. This girl—wasn’t she making things difficult for him? But running endlessly was no solution. He decided to see what plan Chu Ran had.

“I have no objection to working together,” Lin Xiao said, “but surely you don’t think we can hold back this beast tide ourselves?”

Fleeing as he spoke, Chu Ran replied, “Of course not. But if we keep running like this, it’s only a matter of time before we’re caught. My idea is that we work together to create some obstacles for the spirit beasts, slow them down a bit, and see if we can make our escape in the meantime.”

Neither Lin Xiao nor Ji Boxiao objected to this. Lin Xiao was quick to respond, “No problem, now’s not the time to be picky. Chu, you give the orders—we’ll follow your lead.”

Ji Boxiao felt a little resentful—why should Chu Ran be in charge and not him? But on second thought, being in command right now was hardly enviable. He could let Chu Ran take the helm for now. “I agree as well.”

“That’s all I needed to hear,” Chu Ran said. “From now on, everyone follows my command! All earth element users, set up earth walls in the path of the spirit beasts. Don’t worry about harming them—just slow them down!”

As soon as Chu Ran’s command rang out, the four remaining earth element awakeners in the group—including Zhou Zhi—immediately erected earth walls.

The sudden appearance of the walls startled the spirit beasts for a moment, but they soon charged headlong into them. Compared to the pressure of the powerful figures behind them, the earth walls were less intimidating.

The walls were soon toppled by the stampede. Still, they weren’t useless; they managed to slow the beasts’ advance considerably.

Seeing his plan work, Chu Ran gave another order.

“Water element users, get your abilities ready—soak the ground ahead and make it slick, that’ll slow the beasts further. Earth users, prepare another round of earth walls!”

Chu Ran’s tactics proved effective—the spirit beasts’ speed was indeed reduced.

But Lin Xiao knew things weren’t so simple. After a moment’s thought, he grabbed Zhou Zhi and started running again, with Shen Yao close behind.

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yao asked. “Chu Ran’s plan seems to be working.”

“It’s only temporary,” Lin Xiao replied. “There are too many spirit beasts. All we can do is slow them down for a bit. Once everyone’s spiritual energy runs low, it’ll all be for nothing.”

Shen Yao thought about it and realized he was right. Best to focus on running!

Their actions didn’t go unnoticed. Chu Ran sighed—he knew Lin Xiao’s choice was correct, but slipping away without a word was hardly honorable. Still, he ordered the team to keep moving. Fortunately, the earlier tactics had bought them some distance as the beasts slowed.

Ji Boxiao wasn’t stupid either; he quickly led his team away. As a wind element user, he had a natural speed advantage and soon caught up to Lin Xiao’s group.

“Lin Xiao, you just ran off without a word. Isn’t that a little underhanded?”

Lin Xiao sneered, “You have numbers on your side. There’s just three of us, and we can’t help much. Our presence or absence makes no real difference—why should we stick around and get ourselves killed?”

Ji Boxiao: o(′^｀)o

He supposed that made sense.

“Heh, I won’t argue with you. But do you really think you can outrun these spirit beasts?”

Lin Xiao grinned, “I’ve never planned to outrun the spirit beasts. I just need to outrun you.”