For the Shānguī faction, if they need to select the strongest five-person combination within their own ranks, it would be A-I, the Plump One, Only Me, the Nine-Leaking Fish, and the Hundred-Without-Obstacles. This quintet would easily handle nine elite officers at the official team level. However, if those nine elites are top-tier players such as Sun Miaomiao, Guan Zhongkui Bao, and Tianxia Guihuo, the five-versus-nine formation becomes less secure. First, Ye You Shen is a peak-tier combatant, on par with or even surpassing the power of evil-type professions, and they also have Yin Shi and Ling Pu units. Second, players like Sun Miaomiao, Tianxia Guihuo, Maoshan Master, and Guan Zhongkui Bao possess combat strength that is only slightly below A-I—actually not weaker than the other top-tier talents in the Shānguī ranks. In contrast, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn’s side fields only five players, plus two Yin Shi units, totaling at most six. Meanwhile, the Shānguī side has nine players, all of whom are elite talents. With all "Choosing the side of Sun Miaomiao means five against fifteen, since they still have the undead. Sun Miaomiao, Yuan Ting, and others are all elite among elites—difficult to handle." Ban Wu Jinian said, "I believe our chances of defeating Yuan Shiyuan are the highest. Of course, Yuan Shiyuan is no easy opponent, but I think facing him offers us a better chance. Moreover, our objective is to eliminate Yuan Shiyuan. If the odds of success are roughly equal between both sides, why not choose Yuan Shiyuan?" His argument convinced everyone. With no objections, Ban Wu Jinian immediately selected the team members tasked with hunting down Yuan Shiyuan and delivering the Blood Jade. They were: A-1, Only I Am Supreme, Ban Wu Jinian himself, Jiulou Yu, Liang Chen Zhe Zhu, Hong Wei (My Fate Is My Own), Ta Si Ling Xiao, Tian Xia Jie Bai, and Kou Beiyue. ——Kou Beiyue volunteered actively, fiercely declaring that Yuan Shiyuan intended to kill her brother, and thus, she would never bear to see him alive. Although the team members have been thoroughly indoctrinated, Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun's recent scheme to sow discord has still planted seeds of distrust within the Shan Gui faction. The eight elite warriors thought, after all, that the remaining members were roughly equal in ability, so choosing someone who harbored resentment toward Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun would surely be better than someone who was merely afraid to face danger. At that moment, someone in the crowd suggested, "What if we try a rotating system? Instead of sending nine people in, we send eight, leaving one spot open so the formation won't close. If one of the eight is injured, we can immediately replace them, bringing in fresh reinforcements." Bai Wu Jinan glanced at him and scoffed, "You must realize that even a nine-on-five match isn't guaranteed to win. If we lose one person, making it eight-on-five, does that suddenly improve our chances? With one after another getting injured and one after another stepping in—aren't you effectively cutting yourself down with a slow, steady blade?" "And this tactic is easily broken—the opponent only needs to wear us down for a few rounds, then send a few defensive, lawful characters from the other formations to reinforce, bringing the total to fourteen. At that point, not only will our advantage shift from nine to five to eight to six, but the remaining members will also lose the ability to launch counterattacks against the other formations." The wood spirit added. "Moreover, the other three formations are still understaffed, so they won't close. If I were the Mountain God's faction, I would definitely dispatch shadow corpses, spirit servants, or animal controllers to quietly monitor the final formation. What you call a rotating strategy will soon become obvious to the Mountain God's forces." No one spoke. Bai Wu Jian continued: "Then it's settled. Now, let's discuss the second tactic." "The second tactic?" Kou Beiyue asked. He thought to himself—how clever this person is! He still has a second plan. This one is truly hard to handle. Bai, with a subtle smile: "Now, the Primordial Sovereign and his companions have only five people, while we have eighteen. Our second strategy is... to launch an assault on them!" The Prime Heavenly Sovereign belongs to the White Tiger's military contingent; whether another Fu Qingyang emerges within this organization will depend entirely on this battle. The elder of the Red Flame Sect remains deeply concerned about Jiang Jingwei. Although the sect's master has always said that once a spiritual realm practitioner is established, life and death are predetermined, if Jiang Jingwei truly perishes within the combat quest, the master will still be profoundly saddened—sorrow will lead to anger, and the wrath of the current Flame Emperor is one that no one can endure. "I'm genuinely looking forward to the upcoming clashes and rivalries," said the King of Fear, smiling as his gaze pierced through the quest, fixed on the abandoned park. "Six-Finger probably will be thrilled and eager to take the lead, rallying everyone to place their bets." "Yet you didn't bring him along, despite his persistent appeals," the furious general replied. At this moment, he is already eager to leave, showing no interest in the outcome of the combat quest, and yearning deeply for answers as to whether his wife is truly the servant of the Desire Deity. "Of course I can't bring him along—I'd bet he'd kneel down and beg everyone to join him in a game!" The King of Fear, with his handsome face, expressed clear disdain. Turning to the female marshal, he smiled and said, "Guess what props we've given to the younger members of the organization. I'll give you a hint: it's a rule-based item, tied to the Night Wanderer class, and importantly, no one will ever get it." The female marshal replied calmly, "You're still just as talkative as you were back in school—always chattering, never stopping." Before the King of Fear could speak, the president of the Spirit Energy Council slowly added, "He is indeed a talkative one. Just stay quiet and watch." The King of Fear shrugged, his smile unchanged: "Freedom of speech is the most fundamental right of an individual. Unfortunately, organizations and governments around the world aren't giving people enough opportunities to speak." At that moment, the Lady of the Three Mountain's gaze settled on him: "You do talk too much. If you keep on being so noisy, I'll extinguish your divine awareness right here." "The King of Fear sighed, saying, 'Your Grace, this won't be good. You'll end up at odds with me. And among my enemies, besides the Marshal and the beautiful lady from the Water Shrine Palace, none have survived to this day.'... Watching Sun Miao-miao and the others enter the central commercial district, Zhang Yuanqing, accompanied by his four teammates, made no stop and quickly headed toward the abandoned park. 'Speed up! Run! Move faster! Faster still!' Zhang Yuanqing shouted, 'We are the most dangerous.' Before entering the formation, the pilgrims from the Mountain God's faction, analyzing the task description, unanimously concluded that only when the four Forest Hearts returned to the array's center within the specified time could the seal be formed. Thus, they devised a plan: after the final team entered the formation, the team stationed at the Bank Tower would be the first to return the Forest Hearts. Then, the teams from the Bank Tower and the central commercial district would follow, and finally, the team at the abandoned park." Every time a piece of the Forest Heart returns to the center, it takes about nine minutes—thus, the final group has twenty-seven minutes. To confirm that the last team has entered the formation, it's simple: the Wood Spirit can command animals to share its view, and the night wanderers' spirit servants or the shadow corpses can serve as observers. However, there's a vulnerability: the final team consists of only five members, and the Mountain Spirit faction will never miss this opportunity. They will surely intercept and eliminate the five-member group halfway. "I know it's dangerous now, but could you please speak faster when you're saying this?" The leading Crane Spirit, Jiang Jingwei, turned around and loudly complained. Shina Ryō isn't behind me, is he? Zhang Yuanqing isn't particularly fast within the group—whether it's Guan Ya, Zhao Chenghuang, or Jiang Jingwei, they all move faster than him. Zhang Yuanqing turned to look at the Japanese high school girl and scolded, "You're exactly right—speed up, Ryō-san!" Shina Ryō bit her lip, remained silent, tightened her posture, and quickened her pace. He's such a pushover—never fights back, never speaks up, just too gentle… he was thinking. Five people, two ghostly figures, moving swiftly and darting through the streets choked with trash, stones, and abandoned vehicles. After about fifteen minutes, they could see the entrance to the abandoned park ahead. But just then, the birds overhead began to cry out sharply and urgently, warning them. These were the birds under the control of the Wood Immortal, the Peony Immortal, Lady Mu. Along with the bird calls, a low hum of wings filled the sky, and a dark figure descended from above—Yu, a young man with a blank expression—dashing down from the sky, plunging straight into the rear of the group to strike Shallowo Masahiro.