Lu Sheng’s expression shifted slightly, and silently he put away the Qingtian. At the same time, he hid his vitality, and as the Life and Death Technique operated, a wisp of Death Qi slowly emanated from his body.
In an instant, he created the appearance of being seriously injured.
Sure enough, when the "seriously injured" Lu Sheng approached the Heaven-Reaching Tree, the students guarding the area turned their gazes towards him.
Although a hint of surprise was in their eyes, when they sensed Lu Sheng’s declining aura, they retracted their gazes and warily watched the other powerful students.
Those outside watching Lu Sheng’s actions suddenly found their expressions turning strange.
"This guy... he’s so sly."
"He’s clearly unscathed, yet he pretends to be seriously injured. And he even fooled the other students, this..."
The crowd was abuzz with voices, and some even started verbally condemning Lu Sheng.
Among the crowd, Murong Xue was infuriated seeing Lu Sheng’s disguise, her fists clenched, feeling the urge to rush in and beat Lu Sheng to death.
Even Yang Zhenyun was amused by Lu Sheng’s actions.
"Hahaha, interesting, quite interesting. Our junior Lu Sheng... he’s becoming more intriguing."
Even the usually stern Third Senior Brother showed a faint smile after seeing Lu Sheng’s disguise.
The spectators outside could see through Lu Sheng’s disguise, after all, his every move was under their watch. But those inside the Heaven-Reaching Mini World had no way of knowing this.
Their understanding of Lu Sheng was merely that he had grasped the Life and Death Realm and owned a Qingtian.
As for how Lu Sheng got seriously injured, they had no knowledge and thus believed it.
Lu Sheng stood quietly at the periphery of the Heaven-Reaching Tree, gazing at the tree emitting a brilliant green light.
Vigorous vitality continuously spread out from the Heaven-Reaching Tree, and among its branches and leaves hung thousands of fruits of different colors.
Although these fruits were not yet mature, one could still sense the immense energy fluctuations within them.
Among these thousands of fruits, there were over a hundred that were nearly fully mature.
The array protecting the Heaven-Reaching Tree emitted a faint buzzing sound, as if it was about to open a corner and release the nearly mature Tier Six Fruit.
"Is this... a top-tier Tier Six treasure?"
Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed slightly, unable to conceal the fiery look in his gaze.
His gaze fell on several fruits emitting a white radiance, his brows showing increased excitement.
"As long as I get this Divine Soul Fruit, I can secure a spot in the top one hundred, and even... Senior Brother Du Bai’s martial path can be renewed!"
"I must get these fruits!"
Lu Sheng said determinedly in his heart.
Just as Lu Sheng was plotting how to obtain the Divine Soul Fruit, a figure slowly emerged near the Heaven-Reaching Tree.
The newcomer’s expression was extremely indifferent, exuding a powerful vitality, piloting a Giant Divine Soldier that looked like obsidian.
"Everyone... this Heaven-Reaching Tree is not for you to touch."
"Those ranked below a hundred, I advise you to leave immediately, otherwise... don’t blame us for being unkind!"
His calm voice carried an extremely powerful energy wave that instantly stunned everyone around.
The formidable aura spread instantly, causing many to change their expressions slightly.
Not only him, after he spoke, several voices sounded.
"Everyone... leave quickly!"
"Leave within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, otherwise... don’t blame us for starting a massacre!"
Voices filled with threats, accompanied by terrifying auras.
These auras were at least from late-stage Tier Five combatants.
Lu Sheng frowned slightly as he listened.
"These people... intend to drive out everyone below the top hundred and then fight among themselves?"
Lu Sheng couldn’t help saying as he looked at his ranking.
Lu Sheng’s ranking had risen from over two thousand to seven hundred during the treasure hunt.
But clearly, he was also a target for these people to drive out.
As powerful auras emerged, many lower-ranked students looked sullenly at those speaking up, but...
The weakest among these people were late-stage Tier Five, and there were even peak Tier Five students. How could they possibly be opponents?
"Damn it, these guys are too overbearing!"
"It’s obvious they want to monopolize and cut off our path to advancement!"
Some spoke indignantly.
They all knew that to get into the top hundred, or to improve their ranking in the remaining time, these Tier Six fruits from the Heaven-Reaching Tree were the best option.
Everyone hoped their luck would favor them with a fruit.
But now, these people’s words had directly killed that hope.
"Since you all don’t want to leave, we’ll have to... force you out."
A loud shout rang out, and the dozens of top-ranked students launched terrifying attacks directly at those not in the top hundred.
And Lu Sheng... was among their targets!