Qing Huai lay quietly on the ground, looking up at the sky.
He covered his neck with his hands to prevent the blood from escaping too fast.
It was as if he could delay his death, trying to take his life back into his own hands again.
The dark cloud of insects cleared, and the plants were also ignored.
After several hours of running for his life, Qing Huai actually felt a little at ease now.
There were footsteps in the distance, the soft sound of stepping on rotten leaves sounded like a lullaby. Qing Huai felt a little sleepy.
Qing Huai turned his head, trying to see the teenager.
However, the teenager, instead of approaching him, squatted down far away from him, quietly waiting for his death.
"Do you have to be so cautious even at this time?" Qing Huai thought to himself.
His eyeballs became bloodshot, and he finally saw the boy's appearance clearly.
The moment before he died, Qing Huai thought of many things.
He also figured out many things…
The teenager was the new Knight.
But didn't everyone rumor that the Knights were dying away? No one could step beyond the threshold to qualify.
Few people knew what the threshold to become a Knight was, but everyone knew that it must be difficult.
It is said that Li Dongze of the Heng Group almost became the successor of the Knights, but he ended up failing. This was one of Li Dongze's greatest regrets in life.
So, who was the teenager's mater? Chen Jiazhang? Wang Xiaojiu? Li Shutong?
No. Thinking about everything that happened after encountering the teenager, he suddenly thought of a problem: The teenager was merely an ordinary human yesterday, and today their speed was the same.
"That teenager made a breakthrough in the matter of a single day! That's the power of becoming a Knight!" Qing Huai's heart was pounding.
"Why does that teenager look so familiar? And how was he able to use the Autumn Leaf Blade so quickly?"
The questions started churning in his mind as if they wanted to turn his brain into a slurry.
Qing Huai finally remembered where he had met the teenager. A year ago, at one of the direct decedent Qing Xi's birthday banquet, the teenager was sitting in a corner.
Qing Xi went to talk to him, but the teenager seemed very shy and didn't like talking with people.
It wasn't recently did he find out that the quiet kid was called Qing Chen, who somehow joined as a candidate of the Fight for the Shadow.
But the strange thing was that Qing Chen at that time seemed to be a little older than now, several years older.
Moreover, his appearance was not the same either, as if he had a micro-plastic surgery.
Now, Qing Chen, who was supposed to be in Prison No. 18, appeared here, along with Li Shutong's disappearance…
Even if Qing Huai was an idiot, he would understand by now: Qing Chen never provoked Li Shutong; he was accepted as Li Shutong's student!
As for the rumors that Qing Chen was imprisoned by Li Shutong, it was probably just a show for others to see.
Qing Huai's eyes seemed lost. He eliminated the correct answer from the very beginning!
The most inconspicuous and seemingly useless figure had hidden in the dark and become the most terrifying shadow candidate.
Knights and the Heng Group were notorious protectors, and it would only make sense for them to be so involved in helping Qing Chen!
The next moment, Qing Huai's eyes widened. Wasn't he also a part of the other party's plan? Li Shutong brought Qing Chen to Forbidden Land 002 to use him as prey.
Just like that, the Fourth House was out in the first round of the Fight!
Qing Huai smiled with the last of his strength. He really wanted to know what expressions the other shadow candidates would have when they would eventually discover Qing Chen's existence.
He couldn't be the only one tricked.
By now, he was in a pool of blood. At his last living moment, the teenager who had been watching from a distance said softly, "Cao Wei fought back like a fearless tiger even when he knew he would die, but you never gave the idea of fighting to your death a thought. Like what I said, Cao Wei was better than you."
The teenager said very calmly as if he was making a conclusion.
Qing Huai's smile instantly froze on his face, and then he lost all vitality.
It was a stab in his heart.
But Qing Chen was not wrong. He thought at first that Qing Huai would be his toughest enemy, but when he killed Cao Wei, he knew that those who fought hard to get from the bottom up were truly terrifying.
They didn't have a way out.
And never thought about backing out either.
He would return soon.
Qing Chen looked down at the Forbidden Item ACE-019 on his wrist, Marionette Strings.
This was a key component of his plan when killing Qing Chen. At the same time, Qing Chen realized the power of Forbidden Items.
He first killed five federal soldiers and used the souls of those five people as sacrifices.
Qing Chen saw the bodies of the five soldiers turning into ashes and being blown away by the wind.
The horrifying reality of the process was far beyond his imagination: It only took a snap of a finger to turn life to ash.
No wonder the teacher said the Marionette Strings were seen as a devil's Forbidden Item.
After the sacrifice, the Marionette Strings turned from red silk thread to transparent and wrapped around Qing Chen's wrist. It was almost impossible to notice it without looking carefully at it under the light.
After Qing Chen hunted down the soldiers, it took thirty minutes to interrogate Wang Qiang for his name.
Then, he witnessed the Marionette Strings' powers.
When the other end of the silk thread is wrapped around Wang Qiang's wrist, he seems to have become Qing Chen's fingers and arms. Without much deliberate thought, he could control the "marionette" to strictly follow his commands.
No hesitation, no delay. This feeling was quite strange.
The battle was finally over, Qing Chen called out to the woods, "Master, are you nearby?"
"Ahem, I'm here," said Li Shutong as he walked out, "Do you have any questions?"
"What level am I now?" Qing Chen wondered.
"Level E," answered Li Shutong.
"Didn't you say that after completing the first life-and-death test, I will be Level F?" Qing Chen was confused again.
"I don't know what's going on either. Your physical qualities are those of E-level, so you should be considered as a Level E." Li Shutong sighed, "Your path to becoming a Knight has been very different from all others."
Qing Chen seemed to understand it a bit more.
Li Shutong asked with a smile, "How is it? I found that after you killed Cao Wei and Qing Huai, you have become more comfortable with your strength. An E-level killing two C-levels. How does it feel?"
Qing Chen thought for a while and said, "Terrifying, now that I think of it."
"You must remember," Li Shutong looked at his students and said earnestly, "This time you have the right place, timing, and people. You have made the most of being in Forbidden Land 002, and you got those old guys to help you. In the future, you must be careful when you meet another C-level. Of course, in this fight, you have been cautious enough, and you didn't give them a chance to fight back. I just want to remind you."
Qing Chen nodded, and without any swell of emotion, he said "I will remember, Master."
At some point, Qing Chen's address to Li Shutong changed from teacher to master.
Li Shutong smiled and said in a quiet voice, "Well, those old guys must be very happy to see you leapfrogging and killing people. Remember that if you come to the wilderness again in the future, you can come to No. 002 Forbidden Land for a stroll and cheat all the treasures in their hands. hand…"