Chapter 178
Chester''s expression turned pale. “Stop using me without any concrete evidence, Elijah.”
Jonathan nced coldly at Chester and spoke. “He''s not using you. The truth will be revealed once
you eat this fish.” Then, Jonathan passed the grilled fish in his hand to Chester.
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Chester extended his hand and epted the fish before throwing it upward and harshly stepping on it.
He red at Jonathan. “What are you implying? Do you doubt me?”
Jonathan scoffed in return. “You must be a fool. Did you truly believe that no one can rebel against you
because you''re the team leader? Do you think you''re god? Why can''t I be doubtful of you?”
Chester was stunned at Jonathan''s words. He never expected someone as mild-mannered as
Jonathan to be so intimidating.
“Fine then. Since you say so, there''s nothing left for us to discuss,” Chester said and turned away.
“Stop!” Jonathan yelled.
Jonathan turned around to look at Chester. “What do you want?”
“Did I give you the permission to leave?” Jonathan said.
“What a joke!” Chester shouted. “Do I even need your permission to leave?”
“Lay down!” Jonathan ordered with a cold gleam shing through his eyes. He decided to stop
dawdling with Chester.
Immediately after, Jonathan activated his spirit.
Jonathan expanded his Great Sage Force Field, and his spirit filled the air as if it was smoke.
At that moment, Jonathan activated the power in his Haemocore.
Jonathan''s strength reached the final stage of Nascent Soul, which allowed him to exert a force equal
to two thousand kilograms.
In a blink of an eye, he used Shadow Step and appeared before Chester''s eyes.
The color drained from Chester''s face as his heart stopped for an instant when faced with Jonathan''s
terrifying force field.
Chester was utterly stunned and did not know how to react for a second. All he wanted was to escape.
But just as Chester turned around, Jonathan''s Great Sage Sealnded on him.
Suddenly, there was a ck force field on Chester''s head, and he felt like ten thousand pounds were
weighing down on his head. Chester had nowhere to hide.
Amid danger, Chester''s eyes reddened with rage. He pushed upward against the force field with his
hands.
Under Jonathan''s Great Sage Seal, the Destino Art crushed Chester''s fist into dust.
Jonathan forced through Chester''s vitality using his force field. At the same time, he attacked using the
Great Sage Seal and smashed it on Chester''s head with one swift action of his palm.
A crunch was heard and blood poured out from Chester.
As cruel and sly as Chester was, he died immediately.
Jonathan then retracted his force field. He gradually calmed down as his rage vanished like how his
force field disappeared.
It was as if the previous events had nothing to do with Jonathan at all.
Elijah stood aside in shock as he watched the events unfold before him. Both Elijah and Chester
believed that Jonathan was the weakest. Now, Elijah realized that they were outrageously wrong.
He could not believe that Chester could not fight against Jonathan even though Chester had solid
cultivation.
In reality, it wasn''t Jonathan who turned the tables. It was Chester that had weak psychological
resilience. Chester was frightened at that moment, and all that was on his mind was to run. Chester lost
his fighting spirit. It was equal to gods losing their godhood. Hence, it was expected that Chester stood
no chance against Jonathan.
After Jonathan murdered Chester, he walked to Catherine''s side. Catherine remained expressionless
despite all that had urred. Jonathan held Catherine''s hand and said, “Let''s go.”
“Sure!” Catherine replied obediently.
The two then headed toward the forest.
Elijah couldn''t help but ask, “Where are the both of you heading to?”
Jonathan answered, “Staying at the beach will make us an open target. It''s way safer to hide in the
woods.”
Elijah had mixed feelings. “Since Chester is dead, our prior promise is now null. Aren''t you going to kill
me?”
“You just reminded me of our promise. I owe you my gratitude for that. If I were to kill you, that would
mean that I am ck-hearted. Don''t you think so?” Jonathan said.
“We eventually have to face off against each other. Don''t forget our current terms of victory,” Elijah
reminded.
Jonathan felt conflicted at Elijah''s words. He stayed quiet for a few seconds before he spoke. “I never
forgot the rules. Even if you are fated to die, you shall not die by my hand.”
Jonathan wanted to leave with Catherine as soon as he uttered those words.
To his dismay, Elijah continued the conversation. “Can I tag along with the both of you?”
Jonathan nced at Elijah and noticed the hope twinkling in Elijah''s eyes.
Jonathan thought about it and realized that Elijah was in a pinch. First of all, it was because Elijah''s
cultivation was no match for Simon''s. Other than that, the other candidates had formed groups of their
own, leaving no room for Elijah to join them.
Jonathan and Catherine were a pair, leaving Elijah to fend for himself alone.
Jonathan sighed and agreed, “All right!” He could not reject Elijah''s request due to the circumstances.
Jonathan felt in debt to Elijah for reminding him of their promise.
Even without Elijah''s reminder, Jonathan would remember what Elijah did for him.
Jonathan would remember the favor Elijah did for him even if he did not mention their promise. In
addition, if it weren''t for what Jonathan did, Elijah would not be in such a pitiful state. Elijah and Chester
wererades, but Elijah betrayed Chester to help Jonathan.
Elijah felt a wave of relief when Jonathan agreed.
Soon, the three of them entered the forest.
Jonathan found some wild bananas in the forest and offered some to Elijah.
Then, Jonathan continued to pick some wild strawberries rich in water content.
After that, Jonathan brought Elijah and Catherine to a tree to hide from the other candidates.
The top of the tree was rtively safe and silent.
The three of them enjoyed some peaches after eating the strawberries and bananas. They nourished
themselves and it feltforting.
Night fell gradually. In the dead of night, a bright moon was hanging in the sky.
The air was dead silent on the deserted ind. The hustle and bustle of the city were nowhere to be
heard, nor were there any lights. It was as if they were cut off from the rest of the world.
All that apanied them were poisonous snakes and fierce beats.
However, the wildlife did not attack Jonathan and the others. The animals most likely sensed that
Jonathan and the others were not beings they could intimidate.
It seems that the animals had sharp instincts.
On the other hand, Jonathan had no clue what would happen next. All he could do was go with the
flow.
Meanwhile, something was stirring up among another group of three.
There were now only seven survivors on the ind.
Jonathan''s group consisted of three people, while Simon was alone. The remaining group was a group
of three.
Initially, Walter was the leader of the other group. After Walter died, everyone rmended Lesley as
the next group leader because Lesley was dependable, earnest, and had the strongest cultivation
among the three group members.
Therefore, Lesley was the best choice to be their leader. His strategy was to remain hidden in the forest
and observe the situation.
The other two members of Lesley''s team were James Garnes and Tony Duffy.
Although they were all at the middle stage of Nascent Soul, Lesley was the only one adept and brave in
battle.
James and Tony were trained with prominent families and lived a sheltered life. Thus, theycked the
courage to fight.
For now, Lesley ordered them to hide on top of a tree and take shifts. One person would stay awake
and guard the other two while they rested.
Lesley let James handle thete-night shift while he watched over the other two during the early night.
To conserve energy, Lesley and Tony fell into a deep slumber.
James sneakily hopped off the tree after making sure that Lesley and Tony were fast asleep.
He swiftly headed into the darkness of the woods without waking Lesley or Tony up.
After walking for five hundred meters, James stopped in his tracks. James was shivering. It was
apparent that he was scared.
It was also at this moment that James heard the soft sound of someone approaching.
James turned to see Simon, who stared back at James as if he was the reaper of death.
Simon''s had a cold and murderous look. He remained expressionless as he stared at James.
A chill ran down James'' spine. “Simon, I''m willing to help you. Please spare my life.”
Simon spoke without an ounce of emotion. “If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead by now.”
James'' emotions stabilized after hearing what Simon said.
Simon asked, “How are you nning to help me?”
James answered, “I can tell Lesley and the others that you are too strong as an opponent. I will then
suggest that we team up with Jonathan''s team and cooperate to attack you. Otherwise, it would be
difficult for us to kill you since you''re hidden alone in the forest. It would be hard for us to deal with you
unless we work together.”
“And?” Simon asked.
James added, “Then... Then as long as I gain their trust, I can leave a signal for you toe and
ambush them.”
“Are you not afraid that I would kill you in the end?” Simon questioned.
“To be honest, Simon, I have my reasons for helping you. Once my group teams up with Jonathan, we
would all be in a stalemate, and it wouldn''t be easy for you to fight us. If we remain in a deadlock,
everyone will die. On the contrary, if I bring you over to kill Lesley and Tony, I won''t have the chance to
join Jonathan''s group because they won''t trust me. They will be wary of me by then. If we go over and
discuss cooperation as a team, it would be easier. I''ll sit aside and wait for my chance to reap the
benefits when you try to kill them. If you run out of energy or are injured, I''ll take advantage of the
situation and try to kill you by myself. It is my only chance, so I have to put everything I have on the
line,” James rified.
Simon nced at James. “Okay. Let''s go with your n.” Simon vanished into the dark once more.
James returned to where his teammates were too. At first, James was quivering as he spoke to Simon.
After Simon left, James wasposed, and a ferocious glint filled his eyes.
Everyone had schemes in their minds. No one was a fool in this battle.
James hid his intelligence and stayed humble, unlike Chester. James knew that Simon was keeping an
eye out for him, so he walked away from the others.
James hoped to bring Lesley to meet Jonathan to team up with Jonathan. He also nned how Simon
would kill them afterward.
However, James'' true intention was to get someone to ambush Simon when the time was right.
His ns were very detailed and meticulously thought out.
James'' cultivation was at a disadvantage whenpared to the others present. Hence, he needed to
rely on his intelligence to grasp the chance to survive.
After sealing a deal with Simon, James sneaked back to the tree and rested for the remainder of the
day.
Lesley and Tony did not wake up from their sleep, and Lesley took after James after James'' shift was
over.
It was James'' turn to sleep.
The next morning, the sun shone through the trees and spilled onto the ground.
James told Lesley and Tony his suggestion to work with Jonathan''s team to hunt Simon down.
Simon came and went as he pleased like a ghost, which was a threat to their survival.
As long as Simon was alive, everyone would live in anxiety.
Therefore, James'' suggestion gained Lesley and Tony''s agreement instantly.
The three of them quickly went to search for Jonathan and the others.
Half an hourter, Lesley''s team managed to locate Jonathan''s team.
Jonathan and the others heard the sound of footsteps and jumped down from the tree.