Strongest Replication

Not far away from where Chu Zhongtian had slaughtered the Wang Family disciples, Wang Chao was fighting Chu Zhongba. When he heard the miserable cries of his fellow disciples, he immediately left his fight despite having the upper hand.    

Even though he rushed back with all his strength, only four Wang Family disciples were left by the time he got back. Furthermore, these four disciples were all trash with poor talent and no potential.    

Wang Chao almost went crazy when he saw the miserable scene in front of him.    

Although he was the Wang Family's younger generation leader, his future development was just as certain as Chu Zhongba's. He could smoothly get the patriarch position, but that was just one of the many possibilities.    

Similar to how Chu Zhongtian's re-emergence had seriously threatened Chu Zhongba's position as the heir, Wang Chao also had many other rivals.    

He was the strongest among the younger generation... for now. Don't forget that there was another younger generation below Wang Chao's younger generation. Wang Chao's younger generation was made of 18–28 years olds, and the younger generation below them had cultivators 16–18 years of age. The age difference between the two eras was very small.    

While the Chu Family didn't have many talents who could become its heir, the Wang Family had way too many talents. Wang Chao's generation alone had three young experts who rivaled him in both talent and potential.    

Despite not being much older than Wang Chao, all three of them had already broken through the Body Refining realm. So, when one said that Wang Chao was the strongest among the Wang Family's younger generation, they actually meant that he was the strongest among the kids with Qi Refining realm cultivation.    

If he wanted to win the endgame and become the patriarch, he had to surpass their strength, prestige, and influence in the family.    

And the Hunting Contest was a great opportunity for both.    

From the very beginning, Wang Chao knew he was no match for Liu Yongjin. So, he formed a single group of all the Wang Family participants and went on a killing and stealing streak with them. He planned on getting enough plates for the champion's spot and then hiding with his clansmen. He would only show himself when the competition was over.    

Over the past ten years, the Chu Family wasn't the only family that had never won the champion's spot. The same could also be said about the Wang and Qi family.    

If Wang Chao could win the competition this time, not to mention the rewards, his reputation and influence in the Wang Family would rise to a new level.    

Getting many jade plates wasn't the only step to achieving his goal. There was a prerequisite: he had to bring all the Wang Family participants back safely. After all, these disciples who had gone through thick and thin with him here could become his loyal followers in the future. They could be his biggest bargaining chip in the fight for the patriarch position.    

When they were fighting for jade plates in the early stages of the contest, the Wang Family lost a few experts. Wang Chao's heart ached for them, but he could still reluctantly accept it. After all, how could no one die in a life and death battle?    

However, when he began fighting with the Chu Zhongba's group, more than a dozen died because of his carelessness. He couldn't bear that.    

Wang Chao could've easily defeated Chu Zhongba with his strength. However, he failed to do so. And it wasn’t because Chu Zhongba was stronger than him. It was because Chu Zhongba had a supreme grade ten times refined steel blade and armor that could withstand the attack of a Level-8 Qi Refiner.    

Chu Zhongba could keep fighting him because of the protection of these two treasures. When he wasn't paying attention, Chu Zhongba launched a sneak attack, resulting in the death of a dozen Wang Family disciples.    

The loss of over a dozen elite disciples wasn't something he could bear. So, he deliberately lured Chu Zhongba away from the battlefield and let the Wang Family disciples slaughter the Chu Family disciples alone.    

Unexpectedly, compared to how many were killed due to Chu Zhongba's sneak attack, he lost way more experts in the hands of some hidden Chu Family expert. By the time he reacted, all the important disciples of the Wang Family were dead.    

Wang Chao looked at the remaining four disciples, and tears began streaming down his face like rain. He roared ferociously into the sky before rushing toward Chu Zhongtian.    

When Chu Zhongba realized that their helper was Chu Zhongtian, he didn't continue to attack; instead, he pretended to be in a daze.    

In fact, his heart was bursting with joy right now.    

Wang Chao and Chu Zhongba were actually in a pretty similar position. The Chu Family had lost a great many disciples because of Cu Zhongba's mistake. After the Hunting Contest ended, he was afraid that he would have to bear a certain amount of punishment. This could also affect his influence; in turn, hinder his dream of getting the patriarch position.    

However, If Wang Chao were to get rid of Chu Zhongtian now, no one could threaten his position as the successor. Then, even the punishment he would've to bear in the future would be totally acceptable.    

Wang Chao was also a sword expert. However, he was proficient in using a dagger, a 20 centimeters long one. His dagger moves had a sort of slyness to them, similar to his personality.    

For the first time, Chu Zhongtian was facing an expert who was proficient in using the dagger. Consequently, he was at a disadvantage in the early stages of the battle.    

Despite being at a disadvantage, Chu Zhongtian was in no hurry to finish the battle using all his strength and trump cards. He did his best to block all of Wang Chao's attacks and absorbed the enlightenment and experience brought along by these attacks.    

'Daggers leave life and death just an inch apart.'    

Wang Chao used all the dagger moves and techniques in his arsenal; each one of them was more dangerous and more insidious than the last. The moves were unexpectedly profound and would've been hard for ordinary cultivators to dodge.    

However, Chu Zhongtian's basic saber technique also had defensive moves. Thanks to them, he blocked all of Wang Chao's attacks.    

As Chu Zhongtian got more and more used to his attacks, Chu Zhongtian began counterattacking while defending.    

Since Chu Zhongtian was at a disadvantage at the beginning, the Chu Family disciples became anxious. When they saw that Chu Zhongba was just standing on the sidelines, they couldn't help but ask him to assist Chu Zhongtian.    

"Young Master Ba, hurry up and help him!"    

Chu Zhongba wanted to get rid of Chu Zhongtian, so he was actually just waiting for the opportunity to reap the benefits. Why would he help Chu Zhongtian then?    

He coughed a few times and pretended to be injured. "I want to help too, but I'm seriously injured now. I can't exert even 10% of my full strength. If I went there now, I might end up being a burden instead of help."    

Chu Zhongba's explanation was by no means unreasonable. With not even 10% of his strength, he might indeed end up being a burden to Chu Zhongtian. Just 10% of a Level-7 Qi Refiner's strength was equivalent to 100% strength of a Level-6 Qi Refiner, so not using even 10% meant that he was truly weak.    

However, Chu Zhongba's face was glowing, and he seemed uncontrollably happy; these weren't the signs of a seriously injured individual. The remaining Chu Family disciples could see it, but they had no way of persuading him.    

None of them were fools. Some of them were even smart enough to notice the little clues, and they knew that Chu Zhongba didn't want to help on purpose.    

Although they were very angry at Chu Zhongba's selfishness, they could not do anything about it. Since they were weak and had no background, they did not want to offend Chu Zhongba. In the end, they could only watch the battle silently.    

Although short weapons were dangerous and difficult to defend, they still had their shortcomings. For starters, their attack range was small. So, after Chu Zhongtian adapted to Wang Chao's attack pattern, he left the defensive position and increased the intensity of his counterattack.