At that moment, Gao Tianming was standing at the top of Mist Peak. All around him, the twelve kite puppets who were responsible for collecting resources were moving according to his will. He could collect resources and at the same time use the puppets to survey the distant surroundings and enjoy the beautiful scenery at the foot of Mist Peak. Looking down on everything from here, Gao Tianming, for the first time, felt the thrill of being able to stand on high after obtaining boundless power.

The feeling of power was indeed splendid beyond compare.

For Gao Tianming, Shadow Dao was like getting chocolate after craving sugar for a long time. It gave him a strong mental and physical kick.

Shadow Dao, shadow image, and the unique capability of the latter…

Gao Tianming had no idea that there was a mystical power like this in the world.

Now that he had this special ability, could he still lose this competition?

He could use the shadow image to bring people into his shadow image space, forcibly transform them into his marionettes, and force them to work nonstop. In the long run, his shadow image space would continue to grow infinitely and be able to hold even more puppets. These people whom he had turned into puppets would become his stepping stones to success!

To Gao Tianming, these marionettes were like the rewards one got from a claw machine in a shopping mall. Not only would they be completely reduced to workers in his puppet factory, they would also become part of a unique collection.

“Captain, there seems to be someone at the foot of the mountain.”

At that moment, a voice sounded in Gao Tianming’s ears. It was No. 1 Devil-Subduing High’s vice captain, Xie Ming, a man with naturally curly, yellow hair.

Xie Ming had also become one of Gao Tianming’s puppets.

But Gao Tianming had gone easy on his classmates.

He didn’t put them in his puppet factory. After the competition was over, he would release all the No. 1 Devil-Subduing High students. It was too dangerous to leave them alone to act as he wanted.

Thus, they might as well become his puppets and let him manipulate them all at once so that he could win the competition smoothly.

Given Nine Dragon Mountain’s lush vegetation, he was worried that he might have overlooked something, so he dispatched professional pawns like Xie Ming to hide at the foot of the mountain as human meat shields. Once they spotted the enemy, he could quickly pull them back to the top of the mountain with the strings of the kite puppets to report the situation.

After hearing Xie Ming’s report, Gao Tianming was utterly astonished.

He had noticed that coward Nan Yixiu run away earlier with his scouts.

Then, who else would come?

Zhu Hanyun from Titan High? Or Lotus Sun of No. 60 High?

Gao Tianming pictured his opponent in his mind. Judging from the first elimination round, he felt that these two people were close to him in terms of fighting strength.

If it was Zhu Hanyun, he could take the opportunity to subdue him and turn him into a puppet for the Meatball Tank strategy later.

If it was Lotus Sun…

Gao Tianming thought that if it really was Lotus Sun, he wanted to turn her into his puppet even more.

He still had plans to become the ideal son-in-law of Huaguo Water Curtain Group, and the reason he was working so hard was to stand on the same level as Lotus Sun one day.

There were times when a person’s birth decided where his starting line would be.

Gao Tianming acknowledged the fact that he had started late.

But if he worked a little harder, he might be able to catch up.

Now, this powerful ability that he had obtained was the best proof of his efforts.

However, when he dispatched the kite puppets to check out the person at the foot of the mountain, his expression abruptly changed.

He had guessed wrong.

This person was neither Zhu Hanyun nor Lotus Sun.

It was a person from No. 60 High whom he had never expected.

“This person is…”

Gao Tianming tried hard to recall the young man with the dead fish eyes and expressionless face who had started climbing Mist Peak step by step. His loose uniform fluttered in the wind which blew down from the mountaintop.

Under this massive wind pressure, the young man moved forward at a steady and light pace. Mist Peak could be divided into four stages.

The first stage at the foot of the mountain was the smooth stage. The wind pressure at this stage was normal, and similar to a hurricane.

The second stage was the interim stage. The wind pressure during this stage was more violent. Cultivators who wanted to climb to the top needed to channel their spirit power into the soles of their feet so that they stuck firmly to the ground as they climbed upward. If they didn’t have enough spirit energy at this stage, it was very possible for them to tumble back down after making it halfway up the mountain.

The third stage was called “hell wind mist.” The wind pressure here was the heaviest at over ten tons; it was like a truck falling from the mountaintop, and a constant pressure on the shoulders. One might even lose their life if they didn’t get help in time.

The fourth stage was the safe stage. Thanks to Mist Peak’s unusual geographical location, only the mountaintop had no wind pressure.

Gao Tianming was already on the mountaintop, but when he saw Wang Ling walking through the second stage in such a relaxed manner, like a grandpa strolling through a garden in a straight line, and even revealing a light and contented expression in the third “hell wind mist” stage, Gao Tianming simply couldn’t believe it.

“Why isn’t he the least bit affected by such heavy wind pressure?”

But very quickly, Gao Tianming noticed something about Wang Ling.

He saw a number of talismans which were burning continuously in Wang Ling’s right hand.

It was a huge number of Wind-Setting Talismans! As long as you had this talisman, you could stand firm in the middle of a hurricane.

“So it wasn’t because of his strength.” Gao Tianming’s expression lightened up. He stared at Wang Ling, who was climbing up the mountain with the burning Wind-Setting Talismans, and couldn’t help but sneer in his heart. In his eyes, this was nothing more than a freak who was courting death by coming here.

Indeed, there was no need for Wang Ling to use the Wind-Setting Talismans.

Mist Peak’s petty wind pressure couldn’t crush him.

But taking this competition into account, and the fact that someone might notice their movements here at any time, Wang Ling decided to use the talismans to hide his true strength.

That way, it would seem to outsiders that he had borrowed the power of the talismans.

After successfully climbing to the top, the wind settled down, so there was naturally no need for Wang Ling to continue burning the talismans.

With one hand in the pocket of his school uniform, he walked toward Gao Tianming.

This close, he could already feel the evil power emanating from Gao Tianming.

It wasn’t that the power of Shadow Dao was evil.

Rather, Shadow Dao could arouse the evil in a person’s heart and awaken their inner demons.

If you were an upstanding and good person with core socialist values and well-rounded attainments in morality, intelligence, physical fitness and aesthetic sense, not only would you gain the power of Shadow Dao, you also wouldn’t be corrupted by evil.