Chapter 54: Kicked Out of the Party? The Yan Family's Fatal Blow!

Li Yao was in no hurry.

If he were to strike at one of them right now, the others might sense the danger and attempt to flee, and he had no absolute certainty of keeping all of them trapped.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Right at that moment, a deafening roar echoed through the surroundings.

"Hey guys, we've hit the jackpot!"

Hearing the roar, Shang Hao instantly perked up and said excitedly.

A lava hound, a level 22 boss monster.

For their party, unless they stumbled upon it amidst a cluster of trash mobs, this was a gift delivered right to their doorstep!

Li Yao looked toward the source of the sound.

A giant hound cloaked in a mantle of roaring flames was charging furiously toward them.

Every step it took left a molten footprint burned into the ground.

"Could they have been lured here by the Yan family?"

Li Yao muttered to himself, feeling a trace of suspicion.

The timing was simply too coincidental.

Those professional classes had just formed a tight encirclement, and immediately afterward, the fourth-floor boss monster appeared.

"What did you just say?"

Shang Yana heard his voice, but failed to catch the exact words.

Seeing that Li Yao offered no response, she did not press the matter further, but instead spoke up:

"Lava hounds possess immense strength. If it's convenient for you, Classmate Li Yao, please lend us a hand."

Li Yao glanced at Shang Yana, giving a reply that had nothing to do with her question.

"Try not to use your skills later."

"Huh?"

Shang Yana was taken aback.

Before she even had time to ponder his words, the lava hound had already closed in on them.

Without a moment's hesitation, an oversized claw wreathed in flames lashed out toward Shang Hao, who was standing closest to it.

Shang Hao let out a fierce shout as a dense halo of light surged across his shield.

"Clang!"

The resounding clash of metal rang out.

Shang Hao was forced back several steps.

[-1049]

Seeing the damage figure, Shang Hao didn't get angry; instead, he laughed defiantly.

"You beast, let's see if you have the guts to kill your grandpa!"

Simultaneously, Shang Qian's healing spell landed upon him.

Most boss monsters possessed a certain degree of intelligence.

Ignoring Shang Hao's provocation entirely, the lava hound lunged straight toward Shang Qian.

Shang Yana arrived just in time to intercept it.

Though she didn't understand what Classmate Li Yao had meant by his warning, she figured there must be a reason behind it.

Shang Yana murmured inwardly to herself.

"Clang, clang, clang!"

Every single claw strike from the lava hound was parried by her slender sword.

Shang Mingxu stood at the rear of the formation, continuously launching fireball after fireball.

Shang Hao glanced at Shang Yana, then turned his gaze back to Li Yao, who was still standing motionless in his original spot.

A sneer of disdain curled the corners of his lips.

As expected, he's holding back his true strength to deal with his second-transition trial!

Well, that suits me just fine...

"Xiao Ya, I'll help you."

With that, Shang Hao gripped his heavy shield and charged toward the lava hound.

Under the joint assault of all four members, even a lava hound could not gain the upper hand.

Unable to bypass the defense to reach Shang Yana, the beast could only focus its attacks on Shang Hao.

Since Shang Hao possessed extraordinary defensive capabilities, whenever the healing magic lagged behind the rate at which his health dropped, Shang Yana would step in to hold the line for a few crucial seconds.

The lava hound simply had no counter against this team composition.

"Elder Sister Xiao Ya, why aren't you using your skills?"

Shang Mingxu asked, casting his spells in an orderly, rhythmic fashion.

"It's fine."

Shang Yana shook her head without offering a detailed explanation, her longsword moving with the grace of a dance as it struck blow after blow upon the lava hound.

Even without utilizing her skills, her damage output was undeniably the highest in the entire party.

"Your Sister Xiao Ya is heading to the sixth floor for her second transition, so naturally, she needs to conserve some of her mana."

Shang Hao chimed in, stepping forward to offer an explanation on Shang Yana's behalf.

Amidst the fierce onslaught against the lava hound, the group even found time for casual chatter.

In just a little over ten minutes, the hound's health bar had dwindled down to its final third.

"If someone were going to strike, this would undoubtedly be the optimal moment."

With the lava hound reduced to near-death and the entire party lulled into a state of maximum relaxation, anyone plotting against them would surely choose this exact juncture to make their move.

Just as Li Yao was pondering this internally, a notification suddenly popped up on his system interface.

[You have been kicked from the party!]

Simultaneously,

"Awooh!"

The lava hound let out a final, mournful shriek, its body a mangled mess of flesh and blood as it slowly collapsed to the ground.

Golden light simultaneously erupted from the bodies of Shang Hao and Shang Mingxu as both broke through to level 19.

Shang Yana froze for a moment.

The very next second,

Her delicate face turned instantly frosty.

"Shang Hao, what do you think you're doing?"

When conquering a boss, if a party member fails to contribute adequately to the kill, the party leader holds the authority to expel them.

Yet Shang Hao had actually kicked Classmate Li Yao out of the party in the very last second?

Shang Yana felt a wave of anger unlike anything she had ever experienced before.

"Xiao Ya, aren't I just looking out for the best interest of the team?"

"Ask Shang Qian if she'd be willing to let someone who hasn't contributed anything share the experience points."

Shang Qian's expression shifted; she hadn't expected this guy to shift the target onto her!

However, having teamed up for years, the two shared a tacit understanding. She looked straight at Shang Yana and offered a consoling remark:

"With a lava hound showing up like that, Li Yao just standing by and watching really was a bit inappropriate."

"You guys!"

Shang Yana was choked with fury.

Yet, being naturally gentle-tempered, she lacked the sharp tongue required to properly argue back and defend Li Yao.

Still, she had her own way of showing her stance.

[Professional class Wind Zephyr Swordsman has left the party.]

Shang Qian's expression immediately darkened. In the past, even when Shang Yana was angered, she would never have taken such an extreme step.

This time, they had truly pushed this little princess too far!

"Shang Hao, hurry up and invite Li Yao back in!"

With a livid expression and fighting hard to suppress his rising anger, Shang Hao reluctantly sent a party invitation to Li Yao.

"Hmph, we don't need your invitation."

"Since you guys don't like Classmate Li Yao, from now on, the Tower to the Heavens can just be cleared by the two of us."

"You guys are free to leave."

Shang Yana gave a cold huff, then turned to Li Yao, just as she was about to send him a party invitation.

She suddenly noticed that right behind Li Yao, a massive, towering entity had materialized out of nowhere.

A bug?

Shang Yana felt a jolt of alarm.

Before completing the second transition, weren't Summoners restricted to summoning only two creatures at a time?

The rest of the group also noticed Li Yao's new summoned beast.

However, at this precise moment, they had no spare attention to waste on such details.

Shang Hao's eyes bulged with rage. "As a mere Summoner, what right does he..."

Overcome by frustration, Shang Hao suddenly realized his tone was entirely inappropriate.

No matter how amiable Shang Yana's personality was, she was still the second young miss of the Shang family.

He had no right to shout or bark orders at her.

Suppressing the fury raging in his chest, Shang Hao forced out: "Xiao Ya, the most crucial thing right now is your second-transition trial. Join the party first, and I'll pull Li Yao in as well."

"There's no need."

Shang Yana's voice was flat, the palpable sense of alienation in her tone shocking everyone present.

"Xiao Ya, the floor you need to reach is the sixth, or even the seventh."

"Are you really going to abandon your second-transition trial just for this kid?"

"Xiao Ya, I know you're mindful of your sister's face, but how can a mere Summoner possibly protect you?"

"Without our protection, you won't even be able to complete the fifth-floor elimination quests all by yourself..."

Right at that instant,

Before Shang Hao could even finish his sentence,

A terrifying, bone-chilling wave of energy erupted without the slightest warning.

"Whoosh!"

Several elemental flying arrows came streaking in from all directions at a velocity that defied reaction time, moving so fast it was virtually impossible to dodge.

"Boom!"

The sheer force of the resulting explosion blasted the group flying dozens of meters away.

And the very center of that devastating blast was precisely the spot where Shang Yana had been standing just moments before.

"We're finished."

Shang Mingxu's expression sank to the absolute bottom.

"Damn it!"

Shang Hao roared furiously.

Instead of rushing out blindly at a time like this, he slammed his heavy shield into the ground in front of him and vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

The enemy hadn't even shown themselves yet—peril lurked everywhere!

"Is this how you protect your young miss?"

Seeing this, Li Yao let out a scornful, light chuckle.

"A mere Summoner, and yet you still have the nerve to run your mouth at a time like this."

Hit dead-on by that previous burst of energy, what good was talking about protection now?

Better to focus on saving your own skin instead.

Yet,

As the smoke and dust gradually dispersed,

"Crack."

A massive, armor-plated insectoid creature pushed away the rubble weighing down upon its head and slowly hoisted itself up.

And right underneath its protective body,

Stood Shang Yana, completely unharmed.