Strongest Scammer: Scamming The World, One Death At A Time

The countless small injuries honed Han Yu's instincts, sharpening his awareness of openings and killing intent.

Even his accomplishments in the battles, whether they be saving his fellow disciples or slaughtering beasts, were earning him a steady stream of Eight Emotions Energy too.

The energy not only came from the disciples, but even the elders themselves. Even the elders, who had once seen him as nothing more than a troublemaker in the past couldn't help but see him in an entirely new light now.

In fact, his Soul Cultivation had grown so much that Han Yu felt like he would soon be reaching the peak of the Soul Initiate Stage.

'If this keeps up, I might reach the Soul Adept Stage faster than I reach the Core Condensation Realm.' Han Yu reckoned, feeling both excited and a bit apprehensive.

He had come into the marshes as one more nameless disciple; he was no longer that same person.

And yet, the unease within him deepened. The further they pressed, the fewer safe havens he could find for the Undying Life Charm.

If he fell here, there would be no reliable anchor to return to. Revival might mean reawakening in the very spot he perished, surrounded by beasts or worse.

On long nights when he could not sleep, Han Yu would sit within the faint glow of the barrier, staring out at the swirling mist. The swamp croaked and hissed around him, and he would wonder if fate was simply tightening a noose around their necks.

Still, he pressed on with the rest. Step by step, fight by fight, they inched toward the swamp's inner ring. The ground grew softer, the mists denser, and the air thicker with unseen pressure.

The elders warned them that they were nearing the most dangerous part of the marsh. Soon, the real trials would begin.

And Han Yu knew, with a quiet certainty, that if he did not find a place for his charm before then… the cost might be greater than he could afford.

Still... As the slow, grueling trek through the middle ring of the Southern Marshes stretched onward, the first signs of the inner ring began to reveal themselves.

For two months, the expedition had endured endless battles, insect swarms, treacherous mire, and constant ambushes from beasts.

Now, the vegetation grew taller and denser, while the waters beneath their feet seemed darker, heavier—as though steeped in some ancient, stagnant swamp qi that had been festering for centuries.

Strange calls echoed from afar, guttural and sharp, unlike the ordinary roars or shrieks of swamp beasts. Each step closer carried an oppressive heaviness, and even the elders' expressions grew more solemn.

"Careful," one of the senior elders warned, his voice stern as his gaze swept over the exhausted disciples. "From here onward, you step into a place where even one mistake can cost your life."

The disciples straightened, even if fatigue still clung to them like a suffocating blanket. Sweat, blood, and mud caked their robes, and some looked half-dead already, yet no one dared show weakness here.

Han Yu silently walked among them, his hybrid halberd strapped across his back, his eyes sharper than ever. He had been disappointed these past weeks—his search for a suitable place to plant the anchor of his Undying Life Charm remained fruitless.

Every possible location he scouted either lacked the stability of qi required or was already infested with dangerous presences. Even Chitterfang had been limited in his scouting, the rodent spirit beast hating the thick mists and lurking dangers of the swamp.

Still, Han Yu pressed forward. He couldn't afford to lose focus now.

The days passed with the same cautious advance, until finally, the dense fog parted just enough to grant them a brief glimpse of what lay ahead. Far in the distance, like a wall separating heaven and earth, loomed a darker, denser forest.

The trees there were far larger than anything they had seen so far, towering like colossal pillars with trunks so wide that dozens of men would be needed to encircle even one. Their crowns were lost in shadow, entwined with vines that dripped with a sickly green glow.

"That…" one of the disciples whispered, unable to hold back the awe. "That must be the inner ring."

Even from this far away, the oppressive qi radiating from that region pressed down upon them, heavier than a mountain. Beasts howled and roared from within, the chorus so deafening it made the outer marshes seem like a peaceful garden in comparison.

Excitement and fear rippled through the group. They were close to their true destination, the rumored location of the tomb. But the path ahead was also the most dangerous stretch they had yet faced.

Unfortunately, they did not even get the chance to breathe in relief at the sight.

The first sign of trouble came with silence.

The usual buzzing of insects, the croaks of hidden frogs, and the splashes of marsh creatures suddenly stopped. The entire swamp fell deathly quiet, the kind of silence that made the hairs on the back of one's neck rise.

"Array masters, prepare!" an elder barked immediately, his instincts honed from centuries of battle.

But even before the barriers could be properly erected, the swamp erupted.

The water around them churned violently as massive shapes surged from beneath. Hulking swamp serpents, their scales slick with sludge, broke through the surface with terrifying speed.

From the treeline, swamp panthers and horned lizards leapt in perfect unison, their movements coordinated instead of chaotic. Above, the skies darkened as flocks of venom-feathered crows descended, their screeches forming an ear-piercing cacophony.

"Beast ambush! Protect the disciples!"

The elders' roars shook the air as sword light, flames, and countless talismans exploded outward. Yet even amidst the chaos, something about this tide felt different. It wasn't random. The timing was too perfect, the strikes too synchronized.

Han Yu spun his halberd free just as a serpent lunged at him, its maw wide enough to swallow him whole.