"Someone’s asking for help?" Wang Zhan was startled for a moment, then, without hesitation, he headed toward the direction of the signal flares.
Just a few minutes later, he saw from afar seven or eight lower Soldier-level beasts, led by three intermediate Soldier-level beasts, tightly encircling the entrance to a valley.
So many beasts? Which Martial Arts Academy’s team is so clueless as to stumble into a Beast Nest? Wang Zhan was somewhat surprised.
He was still several hundred meters from the valley. Standing on higher ground, he could clearly see a team desperately defending the valley entrance, barely clinging to life by using the terrain to their advantage.
I really don’t know whether it’s fortunate or unfortunate, Wang Zhan thought, quietly shaking his head.
With so many beasts attacking simultaneously, even a team from one of the four major Martial Arts Academies would likely be forced to flee in disarray.
Yet this unfamiliar team had managed to survive by taking advantage of the valley’s narrow entrance.
Good, there’s an intermediate Soldier-level beast here. My extreme attributes can be improved, Wang Zhan mused for a moment before heading directly toward the valley.
Although he was no match for this group of beasts head-on, he was confident he could escape after engaging them.
Given this, and the presence of an intermediate Soldier-level beast that could provide a boost to his extreme attributes, Wang Zhan naturally wouldn’t miss this golden opportunity.
Wang Zhan moved quickly. In the blink of an eye, he was about a hundred meters from the valley entrance.
Reaching behind with his right hand, he drew the Liyun Blade. Then, dragging it with one hand, he bolted toward the group of beasts.
His steps grew swifter, his feet a blur, almost an afterimage as he moved. He fully activated the Five Thunder Deity Refinement Method, and tiny arcs of electricity began to shimmer around him.
When he was about fifty meters from the pack, the beasts finally noticed the enemy approaching from behind.
An intermediate Soldier-level beast immediately turned and roared angrily at Wang Zhan.
"Why roar so loudly? Haven’t you ever died before?" Wang Zhan grinned, then leaped high into the air.
As he swung the Liyun Blade, a two to three-meter-long blade light suddenly erupted. Wang Zhan was using his full strength for this strike.
"Wind and Cloud Break, Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon!"
After breaking through to the Warrior stage, Wang Zhan could finally use the third technique of Wind and Cloud Break: Wind Tiger Cloud Dragon.
The moment he spoke, all the Internal Breath of Essence in his body converged onto his Liyun Blade.
Additionally, Spiritual Energy from a radius of several hundred meters gathered toward him, and a faint, wondrous spectacle of intertwining dragons and tigers appeared behind him.
Under Wang Zhan’s full power, the third technique of the Earth-level martial art, Wind and Cloud Break, now possessed power approaching the Heaven-level! The phenomenon behind him was the best proof.
The saber fell with the roar of a dragon and the cry of a tiger.
The intermediate Soldier-level beast before him didn’t even have time to react before it was completely engulfed by the dazzling blade light.
A few seconds later, the phantoms behind Wang Zhan dispersed, but the blade light remained, continuing forward. It slew two more lower Soldier-level beasts before finally dissipating.
Wang Zhan gasped for breath, his chest heaving violently.
That last strike had taken all his strength. To unleash anything stronger, he would have to use his Fatal One Slash, a move of no return.
The soldier-level beast that had been so imposing just moments ago was now a pile of mangled flesh, with fresh blood pooling everywhere.
As expected of an intermediate Soldier-level beast! All three Full Attributes increased, and by a good amount too, Wang Zhan thought, a hint of pleasure on his face.
At this rate, if I kill seven or eight more such beasts, I’ll be able to max out all the extreme attributes for a Level 1 Warrior.
With this thought, Wang Zhan rested briefly before turning his gaze to the other beasts.
I’ll leave the two intermediate ones for now and deal with these lower-level ones first.
Wang Zhan raised his Liyun Blade and charged toward the group of beasts once more.
「Meanwhile, inside the valley.」
The team from Sky City Martial Arts Academy had also witnessed the spectacle outside—the blade light and the slain soldier-level beasts.
"The rescuers from the competition have arrived!" Captain Wu Yao was overjoyed. Ignoring his injuries, he shouted to his team, "Everyone, hang on a little longer! A powerful expert has arrived outside! With a single strike, he killed one intermediate and two lower Soldier-level beasts!"
Wu Yao deliberately described the situation in detail to boost his team members’ morale.
Since accidentally stumbling into the Beast Nest, finding this valley had been a stroke of immense luck. Their earlier defense had left them heavily wounded and exhausted.
If rescue didn’t arrive soon, they would find it immensely challenging to hold on for even ten more minutes.
Fortunately, rescue arrived before they were all wiped out.
"That’s great! Someone’s finally here!"
"We won’t have to die!"
Hearing the shouts from his team members, Wu Yao exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Senior outside, we’re safe for now, but we can’t hold on much longer!" Wu Yao yelled out of the valley again.
Despite saying this, Wu Yao quickly discovered that the beasts that had been besieging their valley entrance were now turning their attention to the senior martial artist outside.
Instantly, the pressure on Wu Yao and his team lessened considerably.
However, they didn’t dare make any reckless moves. They remained cautiously at the valley entrance, watching with a mix of excitement and trepidation as the senior martial artist outside fought the seven remaining beasts.
"He’s incredible! Effortlessly handling two intermediate Soldier-level and five lower Soldier-level beasts."
"Yeah, and that senior looks so young," another team member chimed in.
「Meanwhile, Wang Zhan, finding all the beasts now targeting him, cursed his luck.」
The previous attack had been too spectacular. It had alarmed these simple-minded beasts, causing them to shift their focus and unite to eliminate him first.
What about those people in the valley? Why aren’t they coming out to help? Wang Zhan wondered, dodging a beast’s attack while glancing toward the valley.
What he saw nearly made him swear out loud.
Those people were just sitting there at the valley entrance, eagerly watching the show?
Just then, an elephant-like beast charged fiercely at Wang Zhan.
"Wind and Cloud Break, Wind Rolls Away Clouds!"
He immediately executed the second move of Wind and Cloud Break, Wind Rolls Away Clouds. A fierce gust of wind sent the beast stumbling backward.
Wang Zhan closed the distance in two swift strides and slew it instantly with his Liyun Blade.
Indeed, after reaching the Warrior stage, the Military Way Killing Fist isn’t as useful anymore. With the boost from mental energy, a martial art like Wind and Cloud Break, which requires manipulating Spiritual Energy, is much more practical, Wang Zhan thought.
He had killed another lower Soldier-level beast, but two intermediate Soldier-level beasts were still eyeing him menacingly, ready to attack at any moment.
Although there was only one level of difference between lower and intermediate Soldier-level beasts, the gap in their actual strength was immense.
Enough, I can’t drag this out any longer, Wang Zhan knew. If this continued, even if he managed to kill the remaining three lower Soldier-level beasts, he would have exhausted more than half of his stamina.
Wind and Cloud Break might be powerful, but its energy consumption was far too high.
Wang Zhan was already feeling a dull headache, a sign of overusing his mental energy.
After pondering for a few seconds, Wang Zhan made a decision.
He ignored the three lower Soldier-level beasts before him and instead charged toward the two intermediate ones on the other side.
Once close enough, he raised his Liyun Blade and slashed.
Two consecutive strikes were blocked, and Wang Zhan was sent flying by the immense power of the intermediate Soldier-level beasts.
However, as he was sent flying, Wang Zhan skillfully exerted force to alter his trajectory, managing to position himself so that the two intermediate Soldier-level beasts and the three lower Soldier-level beasts were aligned in a straight line.
Wang Zhan’s eyes widened. In a single second, he unreservedly absorbed all the Spiritual Energy within range of his mental energy into his body. Check latest chapters at NoveI-Fire.ɴet
He felt his meridians swell as if to bursting, and his entire body seemed to distend slightly with the influx of energy.
The next moment, a colossal blade light, extending over ten meters, converged terrifyingly upon the Liyun Blade.
"Fatal... One Slash!"
The Liyun Blade descended from above with a momentum that seemed capable of splitting the heavens and sundering the earth.
The blade light erupted from the Liyun Blade, engulfing all five remaining soldier-level beasts in the blink of an eye.
Including the two intermediate Soldier-level beasts, all of them were instantly reduced to piles of mangled flesh, utterly lifeless.
The blade light continued onward, only dissipating after nearly a hundred meters.
From where Wang Zhan stood to where the blade light finally dissipated, a terrifying trench gashed the earth, a silent testament to the horror of that single strike.
However, Wang Zhan had no time to admire his handiwork. His legs gave way, and he was on the verge of collapsing.
Just then, a figure appeared behind him, catching him and holding him steady.
"Who’s there?" Wang Zhan, startled, hurriedly turned to find a Westerner with blond hair and green eyes.
However, the man wore a Federation battle suit, presumably one of the rescuers drawn by the signal flares.
"You... took your damn time," Wang Zhan couldn’t help but grumble.
"If I said I’d been here for a while but didn’t want to interrupt your impressive display of power..." the rescuer said with a smile. Then, meeting Wang Zhan’s murderous gaze, he introduced himself, "Karl, peak Martial General."
Wang Zhan rolled his eyes.
"Wang Zhan, Level 1 Warrior from Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy."
"I know you. You eliminated the Royal Martial Arts Academy’s team yesterday. Now, the Federation is in an uproar," Karl commented with a touch of schadenfreude. "The Dean of the Royal Martial Arts Academy went straight to the head of the Academy System, and the two old men nearly came to blows. Then, Dean Yun from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy also arrived and, surprisingly, spoke up for you. Kid, you’ve got some serious backing."
"In short, Wang Zhan, you’re famous in the Federation now."