Chapter 25: Seizing the Identity Token—The Snipe and the Clam, the Fisherman Wins!

Ye Qingning’s dark eyes widened slightly. Eavesdropping again, she overheard another astonishing piece of information.

She had only known how cultivators and ghosts earned points, but she hadn’t expected that those with the identity of demons actually gained points by robbing others of theirs.

How thrilling! She kind of wished she had drawn “Demon” herself!

This also meant that the sword cultivator before her could first seize the man’s accumulated points, then verify the man’s identity to eliminate him and earn more points.

Double points—what an explosive way to rack up the score!

Earlier, when she saw her rank was 444, she had wondered how others gained points so quickly and in such large amounts. Now she had her answer—maybe they snatched them!

It also meant that enemies were in play. Once targeted by a demon cultivator, the points you worked so hard for could easily become someone else’s.
Totally doing free labor for others.

Suddenly, the sounds of an intense fight reached her ears. The two had, unsurprisingly, started battling.

[Ningning, what should we do now? That sword cultivator is a demon! Be careful not to let him steal your identity token!]

Ye Qingning silently nodded, but then she took out a handkerchief and covered half her face—leaving the system dumbfounded.

What kind of disguise was this? What was his Ningning trying to do? Would stepping in now make things too chaotic? It was already a crowded two-person showdown!

But Ye Qingning had no intention of barging in—well, not just yet. She was simply concealing her face for now, biding her time, and waiting for the right moment to play the fisherman watching the snipe and clam fight.

Since she happened upon the scene and had confirmed both men were cultivators, it would be such a waste to walk away just like that.

[Ningning, look! That’s the Gale Sword Technique! And the sword has runes engraved on it—three of them! A Lightning Rune, a Fire Rune, and a Power Rune!]

[All of them are Tier Seven or above! This guy’s pretty loaded!]

[You forgot one. There’s also a Tier Eight Weight-Reduction Rune on the hilt,] Ye Qingning added.

She had noticed it the moment the sword lit up with runes.

Don’t ask her how she recognized these weapon runes. In her previous life, she was also a sword cultivator—of course she’d recognize them. Her own sword had a Weight-Reduction Rune.

The Weight-Reduction Rune greatly reduced a weapon’s weight, making it feel light in the hand. It was a favorite among blade cultivators.

After all, a broadsword could weigh dozens or even hundreds of pounds. But with a weight-reduction rune, it became incredibly agile, allowing for fluid, fancy maneuvers with barely any effort.

The Gale Sword Technique was as fast as a meteor, famed for its speed. A lighter sword helped the user unleash the technique to its full potential.

As for the Lightning Rune—its power was formidable and its price steep. Only a handful of weapon forgers could inscribe such a rune.

Regardless of the sword cultivator’s skill, the sword alone was clearly a high-end custom weapon, both potent and expensive.

After all, sword cultivators treated their swords as partners. No amount of spirit stones spent would ever feel wasteful.
Being broke was practically part of the job description.

When she fought Qin Changsheng before, that scumbag’s sword didn’t have a single rune on it.
So, compared to him, this sword cultivator was obviously much stronger.

If she were to fight him now, she wasn’t even sure she—still at Foundation Establishment stage—could win.

Although his cultivation level was unreadable, it was clear that his strength was above hers. If they really fought, she had no guarantee of victory.

And if she lost, since the other party could steal identity tokens, she’d be at risk of getting robbed and eliminated.

[Ningning, Ningning! That alchemy cultivator doesn’t look like he can hold on much longer! He might not last even a few more moves!]

Amid the battle, the fleeing man barely dodged a sword strike. His movements were clumsy, and he was shaken by the sword’s aura.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes full of unwillingness.

Although he realized he wasn’t a match for the sword cultivator, he still seized the moment to hurl a barrage of pills like a rainstorm.

As the pills exploded mid-air, the spiritual energy within burst out, creating a miniature energy storm that surged toward the sword cultivator.

Ye Qingning instantly recognized the shattered pills—there were ones with paralytic effects, ones that caused hallucinations, and ones that, once inhaled, disrupted spiritual flow.
All were common in an alchemy cultivator’s combat arsenal.

To win, the alchemy cultivator had likely thrown out every useful pill he had on him.

But the sword cultivator, agile as he was, summoned a defensive artifact just in time to block the medicinal powder. He even took the chance to counter with a precise sword strike.

By the time Ye Qingning blinked again, the long sword with four engraved weapon runes was already at the alchemy cultivator’s throat.

“Junior Brother, you’ve lost. Alchemy cultivators stand no chance against sword cultivators. Time to hand over your identity token.”
The male sword cultivator smirked. He hadn’t even gone all out.

Alchemy cultivators refined pills year-round. The scent of herbs on them was hard to avoid. With a sharp enough nose, it was easy to distinguish them from ordinary people in the secret realm.

Since he’d suspected the other man was an examinee and an alchemy cultivator, he had prepared for this moment from the start.

Watching the alchemy cultivator get his identity token stolen, Ye Qingning sighed inwardly.

No wonder Bai Wei had said alchemy cultivators didn’t fare well in the trial realm. This one was completely crushed from beginning to end—pretty tragic, really.

“Junior Brother, I’ll gladly accept your points. Many thanks. I’ll write down your name and identity now. Then you can leave the realm and go back to refining pills in peace.”

“Though I must say, I didn’t expect your drawn identity in the secret realm to be Demon instead of Cultivator. That was a surprise.”

The sword cultivator looked at the identity token with a smirk. Seeing the “Demon” character on it, he was no longer worried about guessing wrong.

The confirmation details on the token clearly stated the holder’s identity and name within the secret realm. How could there be a mistake?

Ye Qingning’s eyes sparkled. She had learned something new.

When she eliminated the scumbag, why hadn’t she thought to grab his token and confirm it?

Looked like she’d found a new playstyle. Even without a demon identity, couldn’t she still snatch other people’s tokens? That way she wouldn’t risk a verification error.

The demon identity really was kind of fun. If necessary, she might just consider switching over!

The sword cultivator, in a very good mood, pulled out his own identity token and was about to write down the alchemy cultivator’s name and identity when—

A bright and cheeky female voice suddenly rang out behind him.

“Has Senior Brother Sword Cultivator finished verifying? Then it’s my turn!”

“Thud—!”

With a dull sound, Ye Qingning, smiling with curved brows, brought a massive rock crashing straight down onto the sword cultivator’s head.

Even though her Strength-Amplifying Talisman had expired, the blow was still solid and heavy.

The sword cultivator blacked out and collapsed. Just before losing consciousness, his eyes were full of fury and disbelief.

He never expected that, just like the snipe and the clam locked in combat, a fisherman would swoop in—and that he, careless for a moment, would end up the snipe, handing over the spoils to someone else!