Online Game: Starting with an SSS-Level Plundering Talent - Chapter 268

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Climbing the Sky Ladder, Enduring Insults
“Oh, really?” John looked at Blood Moon with a gleam in his eye, an idea forming in his mind.

Pulling the group aside, he said, “I’ve got a plan, though it’s not exactly honorable. Our biggest competition is definitely the Shadow Clan. When you’re near any of them, you should intentionally provoke them—mock them, rile them up.”

“Is that really necessary?” Cand-Dragon and Nine-Tails exchanged uneasy glances, clearly uncomfortable.

They were both upper-tier god-level powerhouses, figures of prestige and dignity. Stooping to the level of shouting insults like common rabble didn’t sit well with them—it would tarnish their image.

John rolled his eyes, “What’s wrong with that? Do you still want Tony to make it out alive or not?”

Tony immediately nodded in agreement, saying, “Lord, insulting people is pretty satisfying, especially when it’s those Shadow Clan scum.”

Cand-Dragon shot Tony a sharp glare.

John continued, “If you’re not good at it, let Jolyne teach you.”

“Me?” Jolyne’s eyes widened in protest. “I’m a girl. Have you ever seen a pretty girl like me throwing around insults?”

John looked at Jolyne, whose face was hidden under her loose robes, and couldn’t help but doubt how pretty she really was.

“Don’t act like that. You were the one swearing the loudest before,” John pointed out.

“Hmph!” Jolyne snorted, clearly displeased but not denying it. She then reluctantly began briefing them on the Shadow Clan’s dirty secrets and shameful deeds.

“Those bastards are this despicable?” Cand-Dragon was outraged after hearing her explanations and immediately started cursing them under his breath.

“I can’t wait to teach them a lesson!” Nine-Tails’ eyes blazed with fury.

John reminded them, “Save it for the right moment. Use it when it counts.”

The group nodded in agreement.

Tony, now feeling more confident than ever, said with a grin, “I feel incredibly strong right now.”

No one paid him much attention as they made their way toward the Sky Ladder.

The area was already packed with people, all murmuring anxiously, wary of any hidden dangers.

“It’s just stairs! Step aside and watch me.” A mid-tier god from Skyline Continent boldly stepped toward the stairs.

Boom!

The moment he took a step forward, he collapsed to his knees, feeling a crushing pressure that squeezed his internal organs.

“Hmph, ignorant fool,” Blood Moon sneered as he casually walked past the struggling god and ascended the Sky Ladder with ease.

The other Shadow Clan elites followed suit, climbing the ladder with an air of indifference.

Not to be outdone, the elites of other races began making their way up the stairs as well.

John, with steady composure, also stepped forward, setting foot on the Sky Ladder.

“Hm?” John frowned as he felt a strong force pressing down on his body.

Fortunately, this pressure wasn’t much for him, and he could easily withstand it.

He quickly picked up his pace, soon catching up to the Shadow Clan elites.

Cand-Dragon and the others also stepped onto the Sky Ladder.

The pressure hit them, but it didn’t affect these upper-tier gods at their peak much.

John glanced back at Tony and reminded him, “If it gets tough, reveal your trump card. Whatever it takes, make sure you get into the top 33.”

“Don’t worry, Lord, I’ve got this,” Tony replied confidently as he stepped onto the stairs.

“Hmph, fool,” a Shadow Clan elite nearby sneered at him.

Tony couldn’t be bothered to argue with the guy. Instead, he quickened his pace, moving ahead of the Shadow Clan warrior. Then, with his back to him, Tony stuck out his rear.

Pfffft…

A long, drawn-out sound echoed through the air. Everyone nearby froze, staring at Tony in disbelief.

Did he… just fart?

And in front of everyone? Was there truly someone this shameless in the world?

Tony remained unfazed, looking around and saying, “What? You guys never fart?”

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!” The Shadow Clan warrior, his hair ruffled by the wind, was furious. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life. Enraged, he launched an attack at Tony.

Boom!

Before he could even touch Tony, the warrior was blasted into a cloud of blood and mist.

“Tch, so much for self-control,” Tony scoffed, looking smug.

Nine-Tails couldn’t help but comment, “Cand-Dragon, is this how the Beast Clan acts these days?”

“No, he’s not one of us. I don’t know this guy!” Cand-Dragon was clearly uncomfortable, especially with the odd looks he was getting from those around him.

He sped up, quickly distancing himself from the scene.

Nine-Tails, Jolyne, and the others followed suit, putting as much distance as possible between themselves and Tony.

Godslayer must’ve been a bad influence. Beast Clan aren’t like this!

Cand-Dragon muttered to himself

The others didn’t dwell on the incident either. Surviving the trial was their top priority now.

The rest of the Shadow Clan glared at Tony with murderous intent, itching to tear him apart.

“Calm down. Let’s focus on passing the trial first,” one of them reminded the group, and they reluctantly suppressed their anger, continuing the climb.

“Boring,” Tony muttered, disappointed. They were still at the lower section of the ladder, and the pressure wasn’t enough to concern him. He wasn’t in a hurry to start verbally assaulting the Shadow Clan warriors yet.

However, he kept close behind them, ready to provoke them the moment he hit his limit.

…

Meanwhile, John had already made it to the front of the group, following closely behind Blood Moon, pacing himself steadily.

Behind John were the Shadow Clan members, Cand-Dragon, Lincoln, Beelzebub, Nine-Tails, and Jolyne.

These individuals were the strongest representatives of their respective races, aside from the Shadow Clan’s elites.

As Cand-Dragon climbed the stairs, he kept an eye on Tony, mentally counting how many people were ahead of him.

If the number exceeded thirty-three, his plan was simple: provoke the Shadow Clan warriors.

Luckily, Tony’s defense was remarkable. Though his cultivation was at the demigod level, he wasn’t much weaker than the Shadow Clan elites.

He wasn’t falling behind; instead, he maintained a solid mid-position in the group.

But as they climbed higher, the pressure mounted, and Tony was nearing his limit.

“Should I use Immortal Art?” he thought to himself but quickly dismissed the idea.

The Immortal Golden Body was powerful, but it consumed too much of his energy, making it not worth the cost right now.

His eyes locked onto one of the Shadow Clan warriors ahead of him.

The guy seemed calm, clearly not yet at his limit.

“Hey, buddy,” Tony called out, his voice cheerful as he greeted the man.

“What do you want?” the warrior glared at Tony, his expression wary, his tone hostile.

Tony pressed on, “I heard your clan used to serve a lot of powerful races. Ever been a lapdog for the Beast Clan?”

“Watch your mouth!” The man snapped, anger flaring, though he kept his composure and didn’t strike.

“Tch,” Tony scoffed, continuing, “Is that what your old masters taught you? How about you kneel down and bark a couple of times for me?”

The Shadow Clan warrior took a deep breath, closing his eyes, and chose to ignore Tony, quickening his pace up the stairs.

But Tony wasn’t done. “Oh, so you can take it, huh? I wonder, is your wife this patient when she’s in someone else’s bed? I heard the Shadow Clan traded women for their status. Did your wife get passed around too?”

“You bastard, die!” The man finally snapped.

He was younger and hadn’t lived through the Shadow Clan’s shameful history of serving other races, so he didn’t feel the sting of those accusations.

But his wife had, in fact, been taken by a stronger Shadow Clan member.

Most of the clan’s women had been sacrificed to other races, and since they didn’t think highly of other races’ women, his wife had been stolen by an upper-tier god from within the clan.

Boom!

A blast of blood mist filled the air as the man was immediately killed by the laws of The Secret Area.

“Shame,” Tony muttered, waving the mist away as he continued his climb.

“I get it now! This sly bastard is trying to provoke the Shadow Clan so they’ll get eliminated, pushing his rank higher,” a demon race upper-tier god exclaimed, realizing Tony’s strategy.

The others had a moment of clarity as well, quickly starting to imitate him.

They all feared the Shadow Clan, but failing to make it into the top thirty-three meant certain death anyway.

One warrior turned to a Shadow Clan elite ahead of him and said, “Hey man, why do people keep saying your clan has no moms?”

They didn’t actually know much about the Shadow Clan’s history, so they simply mimicked John and Jolyne’s earlier insults, trying to provoke the warriors.

“Get lost!” The Shadow Clan elite cursed, anger rising. He knew exactly what the other party was attempting, and he resolved not to take the bait or strike back, no matter what.

“Damn, such a filthy mouth. Let me help clean it up for you!” The taunting warrior gritted his teeth, rushed ahead, and, copying Tony, stuck out his rear.

But this guy took it a step further—he straight-up pulled his pants down!

Pfffft…

A muffled sound echoed through the air, landing right in the Shadow Clan warrior’s face.

The stunned elite stared blankly at the pale rear in front of him for three full seconds before he finally snapped, unable to hold back any longer.

“You son of a—I’m going to kill you—”

Boom!

His voice was cut off as blood mist filled the air.

Everyone witnessing the scene stood in shock, eyes wide.

“What the hell did I just witness?”

“I feel like my eyes are forever tainted.”

“If I told anyone about this, there’s no way they’d believe it.”

“Pulling down his pants to fart—what a legend!”

“Shouldn’t we be more mindful of our status? We’re gods, don’t we have any dignity?”

“Who cares about dignity? Isn’t survival more important?”

“Move aside, that next guy’s mine!”

…

The crowd buzzed with conversation, and rather than feeling ashamed, many of them seemed almost proud of the ridiculous spectacle unfolding before them.

Warriors from various races had gone completely mad, coming up with increasingly bizarre ways to humiliate the Shadow Clan.

The air was filled with constant booming sounds and clouds of blood mist, drawing the attention of John and Blood Moon at the top of the ladder.

John had been steadily trailing just behind Blood Moon.

Seeing the chaos below, John called out, “Hey, Blood Moon, looks like your Shadow Clan is putting on quite the fireworks display down there. Want to go check it out?”

“Despicable! Shameless!” Blood Moon spat, his face red with fury. His exceptional hearing had caught every detail of what was happening below, and it enraged him beyond words.

“Hmph, you’re nothing compared to your clan’s dirty history,” John taunted, adding casually, “I heard your Shadow Clan had a pretty sad past—serving countless races. Did you ever play servant yourself?”

“You bastard. You won’t be gloating for long,” Blood Moon growled, fully aware of John’s attempts to provoke him. Without a word, he cut off all his senses, shutting out any external distractions.

“Damn,” John cursed under his breath. He hadn’t expected Blood Moon to be able to block him out like that.

There was no way John was going to stoop as low as Tony by farting in Blood Moon’s face.

That kind of shameless tactic just wasn’t in him.

It seemed his plan to force Blood Moon into action had failed.

Sighing, John resigned himself to continuing to follow closely behind him.