Chapter 81 – Ownership of the Prey

Luo Han?

Lin Ze raised an eyebrow and looked toward the crowd across from them.

So this was the Gaoshan Club’s team?

Lin Ze shot a questioning glance at Liu Man.

The latter gave a slight nod and lowered her voice, saying:

“It’s the Gaoshan Club’s exploration squad. The one leading them is their Vice President, Xu Bing.”

Vice President?

Lin Ze understood somewhat.

At Ningjiang Academy, once students reached Fourth Year, they generally began devoting themselves to various major factions and rarely participated in academy courses or activities.

Because of this.

The heads of the various clubs within the academy were basically all Third Year students.

As far as Lin Ze knew.

Aside from the Club President, the Gaoshan Club had three Vice Presidents.

All of them were elite students ranked in the top fifty of the Third Year without exception.

Just as Lin Ze and Liu Man were conversing in low voices, the Gaoshan Club’s team began to stir for some unknown reason.

They stared at the Pale Lord’s skeletal remains, which had been stripped bare and left in tatters, and their faces turned ashen with fury.

Many of them glared angrily at Lin Ze and the others.

Luo Han suddenly stepped forward and barked coldly:

“Hand over the goods!”

Liu Man narrowed her eyes and frowned at him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Stop playing dumb. Hand over what you got from the Pale Lord!”

Guo Xinyi was instantly both shocked and furious: “And why should we?”

Luo Han let out a cold laugh.

“Because this Pale Lord was our prey!”

“Stealing another team’s prey inside the Secret Realm is forbidden—surely you all know that unwritten rule!”

At these words, Liu Man and the other girls exchanged glances.

Now they finally understood why the Pale Lord had been bearing wounds.

So it had been attacked by the Gaoshan Club.

For whatever reason, the Pale Lord had escaped their encirclement, only to coincidentally run into them.

Having pieced together the situation, Song Ting gave a light snort and refused to back down:

“Don’t you dare slander us! Who stole your prey?”

“The moment you let the Pale Lord escape, it stopped being your prey!”

As soon as Song Ting finished speaking, Liu Man and Guo Xinyi immediately chimed in.

“Well said!”

“Exactly. If you lack the strength to deal with a Ferocious Beast, then shamelessly insisting it’s your prey—I’m embarrassed for you!”

The girls’ words left the Gaoshan Club members red-faced with fury, and many shouted out in anger.

“What did you say?!”

“Looking for a death wish?”

“I’ll tear your mouths apart!”

Facing countless hostile glares filled with malice, the girls remained unshaken. Instead, they raised their chins slightly and stared back at their opponents with cold smiles.

Watching this scene, Lin Ze felt a hint of surprise.

Although the current conflict stemmed from the dispute over the prey, the speed at which tensions escalated between the two sides was far too fast.

It felt as though even without the issue of the prey’s ownership, the two sides already held deep disdain for one another.

“Could it be that the Gaoshan Club and the Dragon Heart Club have always had a terrible relationship?”

A guess flashed through Lin Ze’s mind.

Just as the atmosphere was about to ignite, Xu Bing, the leader, suddenly let out a cold snort and turned to leave.

“We’re leaving!”

Luo Han and the others were stunned for a moment, and after snapping back to their senses, they seemed at a loss.

But ultimately, fearing Xu Bing’s usual authority, they dared not say anything more. They could only glare fiercely at Liu Man and the others before striding off after Xu Bing.

“A bunch of pretentious bastards!”

Liu Man made a funny face at the backs of the Gaoshan Club members.

It was a rare moment of playfulness from her.

Beside her, Song Ting nudged her waist with her elbow.

“Hey, Junior Lin Ze is still right there. Mind your image a little.”

Liu Man snapped back to reality and glanced at Lin Ze.

He casually looked away, pretending he hadn’t seen anything.

“Alright, let’s get out of here quickly. We’ll find a place to rest for a bit, then continue on our way.”

Song Ting clapped her hands to draw the team members’ attention.

Although Liu Man was the captain, ever since entering the Stone-Condensing Secret Realm, it had been Song Ting who coordinated the team’s itinerary.

And both Liu Man and Gu Lengyan had grown accustomed to it.

Clearly, this wasn’t the first time.

“Based on the map, if we keep going for about another hour, we should be able to reach the second ring.”

Everyone nodded and immediately set off.

After walking for some distance.

Luo Han finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. He hurried over to Xu Bing’s side and asked urgently:

“Club President, why did we let those people go? That Pale Lord was clearly our prey!”

The surrounding club members also wore indignant expressions.

Not to mention the conflict with the Dragon Heart Club—just that Pale Lord alone, along with the hundreds of Pale Guards, had materials worth at least thirty to forty thousand Resource Points.

Split among everyone, that would still be a considerable sum for each person.

Giving it all away to others for nothing was truly painful to stomach.

Xu Bing shot Luo Han a glare and said coldly, “Then what do you suggest? Snatch it from them by force? What if they report us to the academy afterward?”

At the end of the day, they weren’t the ones in the right here.

Once prey escaped and fell into someone else’s hands, there was naturally no justification for taking it back.

Otherwise, given Xu Bing’s usual domineering style, he wouldn’t have turned and left without saying a single word.

Luo Han understood this perfectly well, but the resentment in his heart remained hard to swallow.

Then Xu Bing asked again: “Who was that guy just now? Judging by your expression, it seems you have some grudge with him?”

At the mention of this, Luo Han’s expression turned somewhat unnatural. It took him a long while before he gritted his teeth and answered:

“That person is Lin Ze!”

Losing to Lin Ze in the Wager Duel had long become Luo Han’s greatest humiliation.

Many of his rivals had used this incident to mock him.

Now seeing Lin Ze again, Luo Han wished he could bite the man to death.

Xu Bing showed a look of sudden realization, then a hint of confusion.

“How did Lin Ze end up with the Dragon Heart Club people? Could it be that he joined the Dragon Heart Club?”

By the end of his sentence, Xu Bing’s expression had turned serious.

If a peerless genius like Lin Ze were to join the Dragon Heart Club, that would be bad news for the Gaoshan Club.

The two clubs had always been irreconcilable, clashing frequently.

If Lin Ze’s addition caused the Dragon Heart Club’s strength to surge, then the Gaoshan Club’s days ahead would be difficult indeed.

As thoughts raced through his mind, Xu Bing had already formed a plan. Narrowing his eyes, he barked:

“Turn around. We’re following the Dragon Heart Club people.”

Luo Han was momentarily stunned, then immediately caught on, his face lighting up with joy.

“Club President, you’re going to deal with them?”

Xu Bing’s gaze flickered, and he didn’t answer, but the cold smile on his face said it all.

If it were only about the Pale Lord, he wouldn’t have harbored malicious intent.

But add Lin Ze into the equation.

And he had no choice but to act.

Threats must be nipped in the bud!

Luo Han rubbed his hands together excitedly and asked, “Club President, what’s the plan?”

“Have you forgotten why we came to the Secret Realm?”

Xu Bing cast a sidelong glance at Luo Han.

The latter’s eyes darted around, and he immediately caught on, a sinister grin involuntarily spreading across his face.