Zhou Lin put on an indignant look, as if he would fight anyone who dared to tarnish his reputation.
The metaphysics professor and Guo Liang exchanged glances, deeply fortunate for Samer. Had he not agreed, he would likely be dead by now.
Protected by the Azure Dragon, the entity could no longer approach Samer.
Zhan Tan looked at Zhou Lin beside him, realizing it was all because of this man.
Then, a massive tree branch lunged directly towards Zhou Lin's position.
The moment the branch attacked, Zhou Lin's figure vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, the Azure Dragon Sword in his hand swung directly at the branch.
Clang—
The branch was severed by Zhou Lin and fell to the ground.
He then saw all the branches that had previously attacked the mercenaries now surging towards Zhou Lin alone.
It was like a heavenly net, with branches several feet high chasing after Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin's aura surged. Just as the branches were about to reach him, he suddenly disappeared into thin air.
Not only Zhou Lin was stunned, but the metaphysics professor and Guo Liang, who were watching, were also bewildered.
What was happening? Why did he disappear?
The next second—
Boom—
A cluster of branches suddenly emerged from the ground, encircling the archaeological team.
And then they were hoisted up by the branches.
As the archaeological team and others were suspended, they looked at Zhou Lin in panic.
"Professor Zhou Lin, save us."
"Professor, help."
The students began to panic, calling out anxiously.
Seeing this, Zhou Lin was about to step forward when he saw the previous tree stump blocking his path.
The withered face on it began to clear, and the skin on its face became distinct.
A handsome face was revealed, but it was identical to Zhou Lin's.
In the livestream.
"Holy crap, this thing actually has a trick like that, using a feint. It's amazing!"
"But now is not the time to discuss that. Why does this thing look so much like the boss? Did this guy steal the boss's face?"
"Ask him, only he can know what's going on."
"Are you guys from Great Xia that capable? Why is this thing not working? Isn't it very powerful?"
"Yeah, what's going on? How did the archaeological team get hung upside down?"
"Stop with the sarcastic remarks. If Zhou Lin dies, your professor won't survive either. You'd better shut up."
"That's right, stop talking, or I'm afraid I won't be able to resist cursing you to death."
...
Dean's conference room.
"Is it interested in Zhou Lin's face?"
Professor Hu looked at the identical face, bewildered.
"Does this thing have that ability?"
Professor Wen looked at the large screen and then at the professor who had found this thing.
"It should be. Based on the information Zhou Lin provided earlier, I did find it. Zhan Tan is a thousand-year-old tree spirit with agile thinking."
"It also likes to learn from others and compensate for its shortcomings. It's very interested in Zhou Lin's face now, likely because it likes it."
The professor displayed the information he had found on the large screen.
"This thing has been around for a thousand years and should be very intelligent. Is Zhou Lin going to be alright?"
Professor Hu began to worry.
"No, no matter how smart it is, it's still a tree spirit. Zhou Lin is not to be trifled with, so don't worry."
The dean, hearing this, was more concerned about the archaeological team than Zhou Lin.
Inside the tomb.
Zhou Lin looked at the tree spirit that looked exactly like him, peering through the tree stump to see what was behind it.
Although the archaeological team was hanging upside down, they were not in any immediate danger, so there was no need to worry.
"You like this face so much, you like to copy?"
Zhou Lin sneered.
As his voice fell, the tree stump became identical to Zhou Lin, as if looking in a mirror. Two Zhou Lins stood facing each other.
The archaeological team was stunned. What was going on?
"Metaphysics Professor, can you explain what's happening? You should know a lot about metaphysics, right?"
Guo Liang, hanging upside down, had a slightly flushed face.
"How would I know? I understand metaphysics, but I have no idea about this thing."
The metaphysics professor had also never seen anything like this before. How could he know what Zhan Tan was doing?
This was truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
"Professor, let's think about how to get down. If this continues, our brains will be overloaded."
One student, uninterested in the professors' conversation, felt that the immediate priority was to resolve their predicament.
"Don't you have daggers on you? It's less than a meter down, so it should be fine."
Jia Er looked at the students and said unceremoniously.
"You're right. Why don't you try it first?"
The student closest to Jia Er, upon hearing his voice, picked up his dagger and severed Jia Er's branch.
Jia Er fell straight down.
A sharp pain shot through his neck.
Finally, the students from the Eagle Country next to them managed to free their countrymen.
Once they were sure they were safe, they began to cut down their own branches one by one.
Captain Bai was trying to figure out how to break open the large net made of branches when he saw the archaeological team members descending like dumplings, one after another.
And they were all grimacing.
"Professors, how are you?"
Captain Bai asked urgently.
"We're fine, just a bit of neck pain. We need to find a way to break through these branches. We're very vulnerable here, and it's not good for Zhou Lin either."
Guo Liang looked at the giant net woven from branches and said anxiously.
Seeing that the professors were safe, Zhou Lin then turned his attention to the tree spirit opposite him.
"What do you want? Tell me."
Zhou Lin sneered at him.
"I want to replace you."
Zhan Tan looked at Zhou Lin, his words filled with confidence.
"Replace me? Do you really think you can replace me like this? What good will it do you to replace me?"
Zhou Lin was confused by Zhan Tan's words. What was going on? Did Zhan Tan have this kind of fetish? He had never heard of it before.
"I felt a different aura from you. When I was sealed, I found people with a similar aura to me and used their blood to break the seal.
"But their blood all had a disgusting smell. Only your aura was clean, and I really liked the scent of your being."