Chapter 34: The Battle to Break Hearts, a Bold Scheme Reappeared!

They intended to crush those Ascension Group chores with the fastest speed and the most brutal posture, giving them no chance to employ any trick!

In everyone’s view, Ascension Group at that moment had only two choices.

Either, like in the first match, quickly form the “Turtle Shell Formation” and hold to the death.

Or, like in the second match, take pills, split up and launch surprise attacks, engaging in a deathlock.

However, in the next second what happened caused the thinking of the tens of thousands in the arena to freeze completely once more.

Just as the Aotian Alliance’s sword edge was about to touch the opponent, Zhang Daniu from Ascension Group let out a roar that echoed through the clouds.

But that roar was not “form up,” nor was it “charge.”

It was——

“Execute the final contingency! ‘Core Asset Preservation Liquidation’! Withdraw!”

“Withdraw?”

A huge question mark popped into everyone’s heads.

Then they saw the most absurd, most preposterous scene that had never appeared in the ten-thousand-year history of the Cultivation World.

Those twenty Ascension Group members who had already taken their stances and seemed ready to fight to the death, upon hearing the order, actually……

All in perfect unison, turned and ran!

They did not hesitate at all; using every last bit of strength, they sprinted like a hundred-meter dash toward the edge of the arena.

Then, to the stunned gazes of Li Aotian and the others, one after another, like dumplings being thrown into boiling water, they “plop-plop” jumped down from the arena of their own accord!

The whole process was smooth and seamless, as if rehearsed a thousand times.

Three breaths later.

Only Li Aotian and his nineteen teammates remained on the enormous arena, still in their forward-pressing postures, standing there dazed.

Before them—there was nothing.

The enemy had completely gone.

The whole place fell into a deathly silence.

One could hear a pin drop.

Everyone’s mouths were wide open, their eyes bulging as if struck by a heavenly thunderbolt, collectively petrified.

What had happened?

Was I… dreaming?

They… just… jumped down?

Li Aotian’s line—prepared for a long time to humiliate Chu Feng after victory—got stuck lifelessly in his throat, neither up nor down, flushing his face red.

He felt like a boxer who had wound up to throw an earth-shattering punch, only for his opponent to lie down at the exact moment he struck.

That sense of hitting cotton—no, hitting air—left him feeling nearly sick from impotence and absurdity.

“Pfft……”

Someone couldn’t hold it and laughed first.

That laugh was like a switch that detonated the whole arena instantly.

“Hahahahahaha!”

“My heavens! I’m dying laughing! They actually just conceded right there!”

“What the hell kind of immortal-level play is this? I don’t understand it, but I’m deeply impressed!”

“Li Aotian is in for awkwardness now; he spent all that time on a big move and the opponent quit! Hahaha!”

Bursts of laughter, ridicule, and chatter surged toward Li Aotian in the arena like a tidal wave from all directions.

He felt like a clown who had stripped naked and stood before the whole world!

That hurt more than death!

“Chu! Feng!”

Li Aotian snapped his head around and stared at the chief culprit with bloodshot eyes.

Chu Feng stood in his corner, clapping with a face full of satisfaction.

“Beautiful! Perfect!” he loudly praised his teammates who had “voluntarily withdrawn.” “Family, you executed my ‘strategic loss’ plan perfectly! With minimal cost, we preserved our ‘core assets’ and laid the firmest foundation for our group’s eventual ‘Ring the Gong’!”

Then, as if only then noticing the puzzled gazes across the arena and Li Aotian’s murderous stare, he picked up his conch and, in a tone of “let me enlighten you mortals,” he announced: “I know everyone is confused about why we chose to ‘withdraw from listing’ during a much-anticipated decisive match.”

“The reason is simple!”

His voice shone with rational brilliance. “Because we, Ascension Group, are a responsible ‘enterprise’! Our existence is not to satisfy some people’s bored vanity by fighting a ‘malicious price war’ that will only ‘hurt both sides’!”

“Our target was clear from the beginning! It was to get into the top three!”

“That’s right—the top three!”

Chu Feng held up three fingers. “As long as we enter the top three, we can fulfil our promise of ‘triple returns’ to our ‘shareholders’ (the members who bought the war bonds)! That is our ‘core KPI’!”

“Now, by voluntarily conceding, although we lost this semifinal, under the tournament rules we qualified for the ‘Third-place Contest’! Our opponent will be the loser of the other semifinal—a team that has just undergone a brutal battle and will be heavily depleted!”

“With our intact, well-rested ‘quality assets’ facing a ‘bad asset’ team, tell me, what are our chances of winning?”

Chu Feng’s words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone’s heads, making them understand in an instant.

So…… so that was it!

They gave up a head-on clash with the strongest Li Aotian, preserved their strength, and secured a stable third place!

This…… was simply a genius-level calculation!

“A soul-strike! This is a plan to strike the heart!” someone murmured.

Everyone’s eyes carried a trace of sympathy as they looked toward Li Aotian trembling in the arena.

He had won the match yet lost utterly in dignity.

Chu Feng had not only made him the sect-wide laughingstock, but had also achieved his strategic goal in a way Li Aotian could not comprehend.

This was no longer just a slap in the face.

It was a full-spectrum, dimensionality-reducing blow—from body to soul, from strength to intelligence!

“Pfft—”

Li Aotian could not hold back any longer and spat a mouthful of blood.

He pointed at Chu Feng, eyes bloodshot, but he could not utter a single word. His body wavered and then, stiff as a board, toppled backward.

Chu Feng did not even glance at him.

He turned and flashed a brilliant smile at his Angel Investor, who was staring dumbfounded.

“Elder Liu, our ‘pre-market bidding’ phase has concluded successfully. We have locked the ‘industry top three’ position, our ‘brand prestige’ has reached its peak, and our major ‘competitors’ have been ‘played to ruin’.”

“Now……”

A wolfish green light flickered in Chu Feng’s eyes.

“It was time to begin the real ‘harvest’!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep