“Let's check it out,” Jonathan said and walked away.
At that moment, he looked like a leader, and he definitely had the aura of one.
The others followed him and walked over to the body.
When they neared it, Jonathan realized who it was.
It was Walter Norris.
Walter was not the most outstanding person, but he was the leader of a group he established with four other candidates.
Jonathan's expression turned somber.
There was definitely a reason why Simon murdered Walter - he wanted the remaining three candidates to be left without a leader.
Walter's body lay lifelessly on the beach. His eyes had been pierced right through and were covered in blood.
It looked like Simon had punctured it with his fingernails.
Walter was a handsome man. However, after this attack by
Simon, he looked terrifying. His death caused an invisible weight on Jonathan and the others’ hearts. What happened to Walter may one day happen to them.
At that, they could not help but feel sorrow and fearful.
Jonathan quickly recovered from his misery. He knew that Chester was right to be wary of Simon.
Especially since they were in this situation, Simon showed how heartless and malicious he was. The rules of the jungle suited him.
“What are you doing?” At that moment, Elijah suddenly called out in surprise.
Chester had bent down and was holding Walter's head like a watermelon. He appeared very strange doing that.
Chester looked up at the sound and said, “The rules say that we have to collect all the heads of the other members.
Since he's already dead, naturally, we will need to keep his head safe.” As he spoke, Chester moved and twisted Walter's head off
his neck. The scene was too gruesome to watch.
Jonathan was used to scenes like this. Hence, he did not show any reaction. All he thought about was to be wary of Chester. Though he looked like a tactful person, he might be even crueler than Simon.
Catherine was also unfazed by it.
However, Elijah could not stand the horrendous scene. He looked away and vomited.
At that moment, all of them finally realized how insane the rules were.
Chester held on to the severed head and said, “You guys go ahead and find some food. We have an advantage now.
Because Simon did not have the time to take his head, he will need to return for it to win. I'll go and hide it somewhere for now.” “Let's go, then,” Jonathan agreed and gestured for everyone to follow him into the jungle.
Elijah glanced at Chester before looking back at Jonathan and Catherine. He suddenly felt afraid of Chester.
Before this, Elijah thought of Chester as a big brother who always took care of him.
Right now, his earlier display of cruelty made Elijah shudder.
Instead, Elijah felt that Jonathan and Catherine were more trustworthy now.
‘When Elijah noticed how Chester was still fiddling about with the head, his heart gripped with fear, and he quickly caught up with Jonathan and Catherine.
They went into the jungle.
When Elijah finally caught up with them, his face was pale.
“Jonathan, we won't be able to find the head if Chester hides it. Why would you allow him to do so?” Jonathan looked over at him and smiled. “Do you find the rules of the Divine Realm's assessment reasonable?” “Not at all,” Elijah replied. “But what can we do about it? The rules have already been set in stone. We have no choice but to abide by it,” he continued in confusion.
“Divine Realm recruits people every year. What do you think their aim is?” Jonathan asked.
“To recruit talented professionals,” Elijah replied immediately. “What are you trying to say?” Jonathan said, “You're right. They're looking for talented individuals. But it looks like they are trying to kill everyone with how absurd their rules are. | was just thinking if they really wanted to recruit us, and if the last man standing did not manage to collect nine heads, would Divine Realm reject the winner simply because of that?” “I don't think so?” Elijah replied in a doubtful voice. “So, are you saying that we will be fine even if we don't collect nine heads?” “Actually, I've thought of another possibility. Maybe, in order to win the assessment, you don't need to be the last man standing. I'm guessing that as long as we fight as well as we can, winners will definitely emerge from battles. The ones who manage to survive will be qualified. Maybe the actual criteria to victory are to break the rules?” Jonathan
said thoughtfully.
“But this is all just your speculation. What if you're wrong?” Elijah asked worriedly.
Jonathan replied, “I'm just mindlessly thinking about it. Not everyone will believe me anyway. They will still slaughter each other like animals. After all, no one in their right mind would take their lives lightly.” The atmosphere in the jungle was moist and smelt like wet soil.
As they walked, there were some poisonous bugs and scorpions crawling about.
Some of the trees nearby had poisonous snakes wrapped around the bark. They hissed at the group of humans as they walked past.
The three of them were elite fighters, which explained why they were unfazed by it. As they walked around, nothing came to disturb them.
Soon, Jonathan and the others found a peach tree. They
climbed up the tree and plucked nearly all of the peaches.
After a while, Elijah spoke up. “So, what are we going to do now?” “Didn't Chester ask us to find food? Since we've found ‘some, we should head back,” Jonathan replied.
Elijah looked at Jonathan. “I don't get it, Jonathan.” “Get what?” Jonathan asked calmly.
“You're a smart guy,” Elijah started. “I've noticed that the moment we met. But why are you listening to Chester? The three of us can form our own team and kill Chester right now. I've already seen how selfish and cruel he can be. He can no longer be trusted,” he said in a breath.
Jonathan only smiled at Elijah's worries. “Actually, | have a better idea. I'll just Kill you now, then Kill Chester later.” Elijah's eyes widened in shock as he staggered backward.
He looked at Jonathan in fear.
Jonathan chuckled at his reaction. “Don't worry. Why would I tell you that if | really wanted to kill you? Furthermore, |
had so many chances to do so just now. Yet, you're still alive, aren't you?” “Why don't you do it, then?” Elijah asked curiously as he slowly let his guard down.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt“It's simple. Even if Chester is a despicable person, I'm not.
| made a promise to him when we were on the plane.
Therefore, | will stick by my words unless he breaks his side of the promise first.” Elijah looked at him with a weird expression. “I can't believe there's still someone like you in this world.” Jonathan dropped the conversation and walked toward the beach.
In a few minutes, they reached their destination.
Chester had already thrown Walter's body into the sea.
Furthermore, he had hidden Walter's severed head well. No one would be able to find it anytime soon.
When the three of them emerged from the jungle, Chester was sitting on the sand with his legs crossed.
He opened his eyes and got up when he heard the sound of their footsteps approaching.
“Food is here,” Jonathan said as he passed some peaches over to Chester.
In truth, they did not have to worry about starving to death in the jungle.
Moreover, Jonathan had a lot of experience living in jungles. That was why he was so calm.
Chester took the peaches over and said, “We can't survive on fruits forever. Let's do this instead. Let's split up and work together. Elijah and | will go to collect some firewood.
See if you and your wife can catch some fish from the sea.
Grilled fish for dinner sounds good.” “All right,” Jonathan instantly agreed.
Chester took a bite of the peach and looked at Elijah. “Let's go, Elijah.”
Before he left, Elijah looked back at Jonathan before scurrying off.
Both of them soon entered the jungle, leaving Jonathan and Catherine on the beach.
The sunset was beautiful.
The golden rays of the setting sun shone on Catherine's beautiful face. She looked just like an ice princess.
After all that had happened, Catherine still remained expressionless.
Jonathan could not help but feel a little sad inside.
Naturally, he did not actually go to catch some fish. He sat down on the beach instead. Jonathan patted the spot beside him and looked up at Catherine. “Have a seat, Catherine.” Catherine obediently sat down next to him.
Jonathan reached out and took her small hands into his own. Her soft hands were still as cold as ever.
Catherine looked at Jonathan in confusion.
The latter forced a smile in response and noticed that a piece of hair had fallen in front of her eyes. He reached out and put it behind her ear.
“You seem unhappy,” Catherine pointed out.
“Catherine, will you be sad if | died one day?” Jonathan asked instead of replying.
Catherine shook her head. “I don't know what sadness feels like.” Jonathan smiled bitterly and looked away.
Why am | putting so many expectations on her? | must not forget that she's a cold-blooded person.
“I'm going to catch some fish. Wait here.” Jonathan took a deep breath and stood up.
An hour had passed when Elijah and Chester finally returned.
They managed to collect a lot of firewood.
Jonathan also managed to catch quite a number of fish.
“Start the fire, Elijah. I'll cook the fish,” Chester instructed with a smile. “I'm really good at grilling fish, Jonathan. Stay tuned for the best meal you'll ever have.” Jonathan smiled and responded, “All right.” And Chester started doing just that.
After an hour, he had finished grilling four fish.
The delicious aroma wafted through the air.
Chester served Catherine first. He gave a large fish to her, which she flatly accepted.
Chester then passed one to both Jonathan and Elijah before taking the last for himself.
“Eat it while it's hot,” Chester said as he bit into his fish.
Jonathan was about to start eating when he noticed that ‘something was up.
Chester kept looking at him.
He looked like he was anticipating for Jonathan to eat.
Although Chester had concealed his thoughts well, he always wondered who Jonathan was. On the other hand, Jonathan was no fool. He instantly sensed that something was wrong.
Soon after, he realized what was going on.
However, he pretended not to know about it. He brought the fish to his lips and acted like he was about to eat it.
At the same time, he secretly tugged on Catherine's clothes.
Although Catherine did not have emotions, she was not dumb. She instantly understood what Jonathan was trying to say.
Right at that moment, Elijah suddenly shouted at Jonathan, “Stop! It's poisoned!” Instead of freaking out, Jonathan looked over at Elijah
calmly and smiled. “What are you talking about? Why would it be poisoned?” he asked.
Chester visibly paled as he glared at Elijah. “What do you mean, Elijah? | grilled these fish. Are you accusing me of poisoning Jonathan? | was the first to eat it.” Elijah instantly stood up and rushed over to Jonathan's side.
Both Jonathan and Catherine stood up as well.
Of course, Chester followed suit.
Suddenly, everyone had their guards up.
“Chester caught a poisonous snake in the jungle. He extracted the venom from its fangs. He told me that you and Catherine are a team and that this would be putting him and me at a disadvantage.
Chester suggested to poison you to death, Jonathan, and then capture your wife and take advantage of her before killing her off,” Elijah explained.
Chester's expression turned pale. “Stop accusing me without any concrete evidence, Elijah.” Jonathan glanced coldly at Chester and spoke. “He's not accusing you. The truth will be revealed once you eat this fish.” Then, Jonathan passed the grilled fish in his hand to Chester.
Chester extended his hand and accepted the fish before throwing it upward and harshly stepping on it. He glared 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 | 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 | give you the permission to leave?” Jonathan said.
“What a joke!” Chester shouted. “Do | even need your permission to leave?” “Lay down!” Jonathan ordered with a cold gleam flashing 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 Seal landed on him.
Suddenly, there was a black 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 occurred. 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. | owe you my gratitude for that. If | were to kill you, that would mean that | am black-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 | tag along with the both of you?” Jonathan glanced 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 were comrades, 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 relatively safe and silent.
The three of them enjoyed some peaches after eating the strawberries and bananas. They nourished themselves and it felt comforting.
Night fell gradually. In the dead of night, a bright moon was hanging in the sky.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThe air was dead silent on the deserted island. 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 accompanied 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 island.
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 recommended 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, they lacked 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 the late-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 | wanted to kill you, you would have been dead by now.” James' emotions stabilized after hearing what Simon said.
Simon asked, “How are you planning to help me?” James answered, “I can tell Lesley and the others that you are too strong as an opponent. | 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 | gain their trust, | can leave a signal for you to come and ambush them.”
“Are you not afraid that | would Kill you in the end?” Simon questioned.
“To be honest, Simon, | 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 | bring you over to Kill Lesley and Tony, | 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'l 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.
Itis my only chance, so | have to put everything | have on the line,” James clarified.
Simon glanced at James. “Okay. Let's go with your plan.” 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 was composed, 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 planned how Simon would kill them afterward.
However, James' true intention was to get someone to ambush Simon when the time was right.
His plans were very detailed and meticulously thought out.
James' cultivation was at a disadvantage when compared 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 hour later, Lesley's team managed to locate Jonathan's team.
Jonathan and the others heard the sound of footsteps and jumped down from the tree.