Chapter 157: Outsmarting the Cai Kun Squad

Everyone gathered around him, waiting to see his skill trigger, but there was still no reaction. A breeze seemed to blow past the tip of his staff, yet it appeared entirely unrelated to magic.

The mage student pulled up his skill panel. "Look, this skill has entered its cooldown, which means I successfully cast it, but it simply had no effect."

The archer student waved a hand. "Keep going! Try all your skills!"

The mage student complied helplessly, waving his staff back and forth as he called out the names of various skills. Yet, not a single one was released. Nonetheless, every skill on his class panel was displayed as being on cooldown.

Watching the mage student’s repeated attempts, the archer student couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

*If this die is truly the effect of a skill or piece of equipment, how could it be used without any cooldown?* the archer wondered to himself. *Cai Kun’s rival is too tricky; I have no idea how many more mysterious methods he has yet to reveal. Is it really worth wading into this mess for such a meager reward?*

He was already starting to consider retreating.

Just then, Wang Chen’s voice echoed from within the smoke: "Don’t waste your breath! Use as many of your skills as you want! None of them will activate properly!"

Hearing this, Cai Kun immediately retorted, "Don't get cocky, Wang Chen! There are five of us; I refuse to believe you can cancel all of our skills!" He added with a sinister tone, "You must be using some kind of equipment, right?"

Cai Kun’s deduction was logical. Because the phantom of the die kept appearing, if it were a skill, the cooldown seemed far too short. Furthermore, its effect was so powerful that it defied reason. Cai Kun had all but convinced himself that Wang Chen was using a piece of equipment.

"An equipment skill this powerful surely can't have a short cooldown. And since you’ve triggered it multiple times in such a short period, you must have burned through quite a bit of its durability, right?" Cai Kun’s tone was laced with schadenfreude. "You’ve really spent a fortune just to stall us. An auxiliary skill this potent must be incredibly valuable, isn't it?"

"But tell me, can you really afford to keep paying that price?"

Hearing Cai Kun’s self-righteous posturing, Wang Chen nearly burst into laughter. Yet, he couldn't blame Cai Kun; how could he possibly guess that Wang Chen possessed a system capable of reversing the side effects of potions, allowing for infinite skill usage as long as he had the supplies?

Wang Chen coughed softly to mask his amusement. "Kun, you’ve guessed wrong. It isn't equipment that cancels the skills, nor is it even a person—it’s my war pet."

"What?" The entire Cai Kun squad froze upon hearing this.

A moment later, Cai Kun snapped out of it and sneered, "Stop spouting nonsense. Even if your pet has this skill, how do you explain it ignoring the cooldown time?"

Wang Chen replied mysteriously, "I have my own methods. Why should I tell you?"

"I can guess even if you don't say it!" Cai Kun scoffed. He frowned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened. "Did you feed it a cooldown-resetting potion? Using its beastly constitution to force it to withstand the potion's side effects?"

Wang Chen was stunned. *Is that even possible?*

Seeing Wang Chen’s silence, Cai Kun assumed he had uncovered the truth. He curled his lips into a mocking smile. "I thought you were some kind of decent person, Wang Chen, but you don't hesitate to do something so cruel!"

"If Lu Shiyu knew about your conduct, I imagine her opinion of you would change drastically, wouldn't it?"

Cai Kun’s words were a clear insinuation that he intended to tattle to Lu Shiyu. Wang Chen laughed wildly in his heart; if Cai Kun actually did that, he would have to thank him, as it would be the perfect way to get rid of Lu Shiyu.

Wang Chen feigned a look of being exposed and cleared his throat. "Those things aren't important. What I want to warn you about is that if my war pet cancels a person’s skills too many times, it will steal them, and that person will never be able to use those skills again."

The mage student panicked. "My skills will be permanently disabled?"

Cai Kun scoffed, "He’s just trying to scare us. There’s no such thing as a skill that powerful; if it existed, it would have to be God-tier." He shouted into the smoke, "Stop the bluffing, Wang Chen! We’re all going to charge in together. Even if your pet can cancel skills, it won't be able to keep up with all of us!"

"Heh, you still don't believe me, Kun?" Wang Chen laughed. "Then let me show you."

The phantom of the die hovered over Wang Chen’s head, and a cool breeze seemed to emanate from the tip of his Sen-Lan staff.

*Wind Vortex!*

A small swirl of wind flew from the staff, spiraling toward Cai Kun and his group.

They scrambled to dodge it. In the process, the mage student caught a clear look at the vortex.

He cried out in anxiety, "He’s telling the truth! That’s the Wind Vortex! My skills are about to be stolen!"

A single Wind Vortex was a minor issue, but if his other exclusive, high-powered mage skills were stolen as well, it would be a disaster. At that point, he would be no different from a cripple.

Cai Kun frowned. "Maybe it’s just a coincidence that Wang Chen knows Wind Vortex? After all, it’s a common spell; any spellcasting class can learn it from a skill book."

The mage student retorted urgently, "Then go ahead and try it yourselves! I’m not doing it!"

His words struck at the heart of the issue. Yes, even if Wang Chen were bluffing or trying to intimidate them, who would be the one to test it? Once a professional lost their skills, what difference was there between them and an ordinary person, aside from their physical attribute bonuses?

"Are you going to violate our agreement?" Cai Kun glared at the mage student with murderous intent.

The latter was no longer intimidated. He straightened his back and declared, "Our deal didn't include helping you strike at your enemies! I’m not taking this risk just for that measly million or so!"

"Our team could have competed for the top spot, but look at how much time we’ve wasted accompanying you to find your rival! Now we can only settle for second place!" The mage student ranted, figuring that since the bridge was already burned, he might as well say it all. "I didn't even know you were all classmates. How could there be such a grudge that you'd ignore your own future just to come here and cause trouble for someone?"

The mage student was about to continue, but Cai Kun roared with bloodshot eyes, "If you’re so incapable of understanding, then get lost! I don't need you to take down Wang Chen!"

The mage student said coldly, "I’ll go, but let’s be clear: this isn't my fault. Your father still has to pay me as agreed."

"Money! Damn it, you beggars only ever care about money!" Cai Kun roared. He flicked his wrist, throwing a bank card at the mage student. "Take it and get the hell out of here!"

The mage student was struck in the face by the card. His expression turned grim; he picked up the card from the ground and walked away without another word.

Wang Chen watched this farce from behind the smoke and shook his head. Cai Kun didn't understand the first thing about managing people. They had accompanied him this far, yet he trampled on their dignity—how were the other team members supposed to feel? Were they also just "beggars" in his eyes?