Brian Brooks, though crude and boorish, is by no means stupid. He hid to the side, secretly watching and looking for an opportunity to ambush his opponent.

Charles Bennett is handsome and quite popular in the cultivation world. However, this guy has a different face in public and in private—sinister and ruthless at heart, yet warm and bold on the surface. Those unfamiliar with him are often completely fooled.

Brian Brooks had been tricked by him before, but since Brian Brooks is extremely powerful, he confronted him directly upon realizing he’d been deceived. The two fought to a standstill, both suffering heavy injuries, and ultimately became mortal enemies.

There were four people in total. Charles Bennett was clearly the leader, while the other three were also decent cultivators. Although not on the same level as Brian Brooks and the others, their strength was not bad. It was obvious these three had been lured here by Charles Bennett's tricks. The reason someone as rough as Brian Brooks could see through it was because he’d suffered losses before.

“Senior Brooks, this formation’s barrier... it looks really powerful. How can we get inside?”

Brian Brooks was still puzzled—did this bastard change his name? Wasn’t his surname Chu?

In an instant, Brian Brooks understood. This guy was using the last character of his name—“尘” and “陈” are homophones—so he was using an alias. And this bastard had even suppressed his cultivation by a whole level.

Charles Bennett smiled slightly and said, “This formation will weaken soon. The barrier won’t last much longer... Look, the formation has flattened the original mountain range, which means it’s already used up at least half its energy. We just need to be patient and wait for it to weaken before going in.”

Only then did Brian Brooks realize why William Harris wasn’t anxious at all—so this was the reason.

The three cultivators looked at Charles Bennett with great admiration, which made him feel wonderful. He laughed and said, “We can wait here. It won’t be long—at most a few days—before the formation loosens in some places... At that time, we’ll be the first to enter. Maybe we’ll get a lot of benefits. The first move always has the advantage, haha!”

These three cultivators, who knows which sect they were from, foolishly followed such a guy. Brian Brooks found it amusing—once they suffer a loss, they’ll know what kind of person Charles Bennett really is.

Of course, if they survive. According to Brian Brooks's estimation, these three were already as good as dead.

Brian Brooks let out a cold laugh.

Charles Bennett shouted loudly, “Who’s there? Who’s spying!”

Brian Brooks's massive body suddenly shot into the air, laughing loudly: “Charles Bennett! Still tricking people, huh? Haha, it’s your Grandpa Brooks! ...Hahaha! If you’ve got the guts, come after me!” He turned into a wild gust of wind and flew off into the distance.

Brian Brooks! You bastard!

The three cultivators’ faces changed instantly. They had never seen Charles Bennett or Brian Brooks before, but they knew these two were top experts in the cultivation world.

Charles Bennett had gone to great lengths to recruit three cannon fodder, but with just one sentence from Brian Brooks, his plan was completely ruined. The three looked at Charles Bennett with disbelief and now felt a sense of fear toward him.

“Haha, don’t be nervous. I am indeed Charles Bennett. I just felt a connection with you three brothers, so I joined you. I also suppressed my cultivation so you wouldn’t feel pressured. You don’t blame your brother, do you?”

Charles Bennett didn’t chase after Brian Brooks, knowing that even if he caught up, he couldn’t do anything to him and would lose his three cannon fodder in the process. He wasn’t that stupid, so he chose to explain right away, first calming the three down.

The three didn’t know what kind of person Charles Bennett was. Seeing a senior so eager to befriend them, they were moved and excited, but had no idea they were being deceived!

“No, no... Senior, you’re too kind...”

“Don’t call me senior, call me ‘shixiong’ or just ‘big brother’!”

Charles Bennett said with a look of sincerity, instantly making the three dizzy with excitement. Who was Charles Bennett? They knew very well—one of the five top experts in the cultivation world—yet he was calling them brothers. They were overjoyed.

“Shixiong!”

“Big brother!”

“Thank you, Senior Bennett!”

Charles Bennett was overjoyed, his face beaming with smiles: “Haha, hahaha, now that’s what I call good brothers! From now on, just call me big brother. I’ll take you as my brothers!” In his heart, though, he hated Brian Brooks—that bastard nearly ruined my plan!

“We’ll just wait here. I believe we’ll be able to enter the ruins soon. If we find the treasure inside, we’ll be rich! Haha!”

He continued to coax them, making the three’s eyes light up as their greed was slowly drawn out.

“Big brother, we’ll listen to you!”

“Yes, yes, we’ll follow shixiong’s lead!”

Charles Bennett finally felt relieved—at last, he had some scapegoats to use.

Brian Brooks flew back to the summit of Gagong Snow Peak, only to find, to his regret, that Charles Bennett hadn’t chased after him. He believed that if Charles Bennett had come, he could have stirred things up and then Mr. Harris would have struck, definitely dealing a heavy blow to Charles Bennett.

Chapter 7: Gathering of Experts

William Harris was still fully focused on observing the ruins, as if he could see a flower blooming, remaining completely still and silent.

William Harris was extremely cautious. He knew well the dangers of these ancient ruins. He had explored many ruins before and gained some rewards, but had never seen such a complete, large-scale sect ruin.

Brian Brooks couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “How come you’re still not done looking?”