Chapter 37: I’ll Rate You A Four-Star Review
Inside the formation, Lordi Payne sat quietly for a while, his ears straining against the oppressive silence. The absence of sound was total—Chen Haunt and his crew seemed to have vanished entirely. His eyes flickered with a mix of suspicion and calculation. Sheathing the Blade of Life Hater, he rose to his feet and picked a direction at random, darting into the dense woods.
The forest around him mirrored the ones he had passed through earlier—thick with towering trees, tangled vines, and a damp, earthy scent. But there was one glaring difference: the eerie, unnatural quiet. No bugs chirped, no birds sang. The only sound was the faint rustle of grass and leaves under his feet as he moved.
Lordi Payne sped up, his steps quick and deliberate. Suddenly, a break in the trees ahead caught his attention—a sliver of light piercing through the gloom. He quickened his pace, his heart pounding as he burst into the clearing—only to find himself right back where he had started, the same spot where he had sat moments ago.
His jaw tightened. He picked another direction and tried again, this time smashing through the undergrowth and marking details along the way. But no matter what he did, the result was the same. Every path led him back to the original clearing. His markers vanished as if they had never existed, the forest resetting itself flawlessly each time.
"No way out," Lordi Payne muttered under his breath. "The only good thing is this array isn't harming me—yet."
He paused, his mind racing. If he couldn't escape, he'd have to make the best of his situation. "I'd better practice the Blood Lothgar Footwork Art first. Master it, and I can call Lady Willow to check my progress. If she's not here... well, I've got one last card to play."
Decision made, Lordi Payne sat cross-legged. He muttered inwardly, "System, I want to cultivate."
At his current cultivation strength, even if he managed to escape this trap, he'd barely match Gum Torin in a straight fight. But Chen Haunt's squad had five members. Beyond Gum Torin, Chen Mave was the weakest, but Hwong Hyun and Sil Deshah were both fifth-layer cultivators—game-changers in any confrontation. And then there was Chen Haunt himself, looming at the sixth layer. A head-on fight? No chance of survival.
He'd have to bide his time, wait for the right moment to strike. With Chen Haunt's crew gone for now, he could stick to his original plan. But he also had to prepare for the worst-case scenario—if all his plans failed, mastering an extra technique might give him a slim chance of survival.
The system's voice chimed in his mind, cheerful and mechanical.
~ Ding! *System Notification Chime*