Ch. 28
Chapter 28: Could You... Hit Me with One Strike?
The second floor of the Multimedia Hall also fell silent at first.
A moment later, the Deputy Minister of Resources suddenly slapped the railing and shouted, “Good! Well done!”
Even the group of stern old men among the school leadership started clapping and shouting in praise!
Of course it was well done.
Just moments earlier, Zhang Zhiwei had already had absolutely no chance of surviving!
Who would have dared believe that Li Mu could save Zhang Zhiwei with a single strike of his staff?
True, that giant python’s attention had been completely fixed on Zhang Zhiwei, which was effectively the same as being locked down.
But everyone had seen that python’s defensive power with their own eyes.
Even the golden light Zhang Zhiwei released in his death throes had only managed to slice open its flesh.
Yet Li Mu had actually shattered its scales!
More importantly, the coordination among the three of them afterward had displayed their extraordinary strength.
Compared to some of the Abyss-Suppressing Army veterans who struggled on the edge of life and death, their methods were naturally still somewhat immature.
But they were still students. It was their first time entering the Abyss.
To have this level of practical combat ability already made them geniuses among geniuses.
Lu Chenfeng’s terrifying body and overwhelming defensive power.
Zhang Zhiwei’s terrifying spear technique and heaven-defying offensive power.
And Li Mu... defied description!
With an F-grade talent, he possessed offensive power second only to Zhang Zhiwei.
He had astonishing combat intelligence, calm command on the battlefield, and bizarre battle methods!
He had drawn the monster to himself to create an opening for Zhang Zhiwei. After hard-controlling the giant python, he had still possessed the ability to instantly kill it in one strike!
Especially that shout of “Freeze!”
Many people could not see it clearly amid the chaos of the battlefield.
But these big shots had seen it perfectly clearly. Li Mu had actually hard-controlled that giant python for around 0.5 seconds with a single shout!
What kind of bizarre technique was that?
Was that the power to make words become reality?
How the hell could this be the strength of an F-grade talent holder?
Yin Changming was already so excited that he could not speak.
As for the principals who had mocked Yin Changming before, every one of them now had faces full of awkwardness and jealousy.
Yet they still had no choice but to clap along with the leaders.
The feeling was so disgusting they could hardly bear it.
Just a short while ago, they had been making sneering remarks about Yin Changming’s so-called “66 tactic.”
They had mocked him for supposedly loving his students like his own children, and laughed at how few students his school had sent in.
Who could have imagined that Blackwater High School would produce a Li Mu?
By his own strength alone, he had raised Blackwater High School to a height that did not belong to it!
Meanwhile, back on the battlefield, the three of them exchanged glances.
Li Mu lifted his chin toward Zhang Zhiwei.
“Hey! Don’t you even know how to say thanks?”
“A great kindness needs no thanks. I’ll remember this life-saving favor,” Zhang Zhiwei said, his face somewhat flushed.
He was different from other rich second-generation kids.
His family clearly owned a business, yet he had no interest in beautiful women or luxury cars and only loved cultivation.
He even looked down on ordinary martial artists, carrying a kind of inborn pride, so he always came across as very cold.
But toward Li Mu, the one who had saved his life at the moment of death, Zhang Zhiwei felt not only gratitude, but even a faint trace of awe.
Only he had personally experienced the terrifying force of Li Mu’s overhead strike.
If that blow had landed on his own head, it would have killed him just as easily.
And today, both Lu Chenfeng and Li Mu had saved him once each!
Put that way, it was honestly a little embarrassing.
“That won’t be necessary. Just say thanks and we’ll call it even,” Li Mu said indifferently.
The corner of Zhang Zhiwei’s eye twitched fiercely. Stubbornly, he forced out a single word.
“No.”
“Gentlemen, now doesn’t exactly seem like the time for idle chat.”
As Lu Chenfeng said this, he pointed behind Li Mu.
In the distance behind Li Mu, dust was rising into the air. Then, in every direction, more dust clouds appeared.
And within that dust, countless giant pythons were slithering toward them in converging waves.
The black mass of them made one’s scalp tingle.
“They all seem to be Second Grade pythons. That peak Third Grade python probably triggered some kind of alarm before it died,” Zhang Zhiwei said in a deep voice.
At this point, activating a Return Stone was already too late.
Their technology watches sounded again with the voice of a military officer.
“Li Mu, Zhang Zhiwei, Lu Chenfeng!”
“Our rescue team is rapidly approaching your location!”
“Retreat toward the yellow zone and rendezvous with our rescue team!”
It was clear from the officer’s tone that he was extremely anxious.
Those three were the current top three of this opening battle.
Every one of them possessed extraordinary potential!
Although all the pythons appearing around them were only Second Grade Strange-Tailed Pythons, there were simply too many of them!
If those three died here, it would truly be an unforgivable loss.
As soon as the voice from the watch fell silent, Li Mu flicked his horse token again and summoned Yao Gu.
With so many giant pythons, victory was absolutely impossible. There was no option other than to run.
Yao Gu was also acting extremely excited at that moment. Today was its first time ever going into battle.
But when faced with those terrifying monsters, it showed no fear whatsoever. On the contrary, it kept neighing sharply.
If Li Mu had not taken a moment earlier to return it to the horse token, Yao Gu would have wanted nothing more than to charge up and smash one of those giant pythons to death head-on.
What surprised Li Mu even more was that Zhang Zhiwei also had a horse token. With a wave of his hand, a snow-white warhorse leaped out into the air.
That white horse was nearly the same size as Yao Gu. Though it was not as sturdy as Yao Gu, it was still an exceptional warhorse.
Its body and tail were white, its mane black, and its pair of golden eyes made it look extraordinarily magnificent!
Zhang Zhiwei also swung himself up onto the horse.
At the same time, he shouted to Lu Chenfeng, “Quick, get on!”
The moment Zhang Zhiwei said that, the white horse actually tilted its head and glanced at Lu Chenfeng’s huge frame almost by instinct.
Its golden pupils visibly widened by a full circle.
Lu Chenfeng clearly weighed over three hundred jin.
If that thing leaped onto its back, the white horse had already mentally prepared itself to cough up blood today.
As if he had seen the white horse’s distress, Lu Chenfeng burst out laughing.
“Fear not, little horse. I’ll race the two of you!”
After saying that, Lu Chenfeng raised his hand and smacked both horses hard on the rump.
The white horse let out a cry and suddenly accelerated, turning into a white meteor.
Li Mu’s warhorse also abruptly sped up, instantly overtaking the white horse.
Lu Chenfeng drew in a fierce breath, and his body suddenly swelled by another half size, blue light swirling all around him.
The veins in both legs writhed back and forth like little snakes as his entire body launched forward like a cannonball made of muscle!
He was sprinting on sheer leg strength alone!
Lu Chenfeng actually caught up to the two warhorses in no time at all!
“Holy shit!!”
Li Mu and Zhang Zhiwei cursed almost in unison from horseback.
One man and two horses charged toward the only gap not yet surrounded by monsters.
Trailing a plume of dust behind them, they burst through the encirclement of the Strange-Tailed Pythons and raced for the yellow zone.
An announcement came through their technology watches.
“All students, attention. An abnormal situation has occurred in the examination zone.”
“The opening battle assessment has ended. All students are to return to the city immediately!”
The announcement repeated three times.
The purpose of the Abyss opening battle had simply been to let the students experience the combat strength of monsters at their own level.
Since an exceptional circumstance had already appeared, and enough time had passed anyway, it was easier to end the assessment early.
After racing for several miles, the three of them saw a line of rescue troops charging toward them.
Every one of them rode fast horses and carried light blades, dressed in Abyss-Suppressing Army uniforms.
As they passed the rescue squad head-on, those Abyss-Suppressing Army soldiers cast their eyes toward Li Mu and the other two.
With only a single glance exchanged, Li Mu was inwardly shocked.
Among those Abyss-Suppressing Army soldiers, the vast majority were also only Second Grade martial artists.
There were only a few Third Grade martial artists, and those seemed to be squad leaders.
Yet the killing intent on those martial artists was dense and solid, enough to make one shudder in fear!
The aura of people long tempered on the battlefield was utterly incomparable to ordinary martial artists of the same grade.
After running another several dozen miles, the three finally came to a stop.
Aside from the Multimedia Hall, the command hall of the Abyss-Suppressing Army had also been continuously monitoring this opening battle.
The order to end the assessment had been given by Wang Longcheng.
At that moment, Wang Longcheng and Qin Zhanye looked at Li Mu and the others on the screen and both revealed knowing smiles.
Wang Longcheng murmured meaningfully, “A genius cannot be hidden.”
After stopping in an open space, Zhang Zhiwei withdrew his warhorse.
Lu Chenfeng dropped to the ground on his backside, panting like an ox. He took out a Return Stone and waved it toward the other two.
“Hey, use mine. Wait a moment, and let’s head back together.”
Li Mu was more than happy to save himself a Return Stone. Buying a spare one alone cost three thousand yuan apiece.
A Return Stone was essentially a teleportation array.
But it could only be activated when the user’s energy fluctuations were not too chaotic.
Even in a calm state, it still took twenty to thirty seconds to activate the teleportation array.
If one used a Return Stone in combat, it would take at least three to five minutes, and one could not leave the teleportation zone during that time.
Lu Chenfeng crushed the Return Stone, and array energy immediately began gathering slowly in the open ground ahead.
While the array was starting up, Lu Chenfeng braced both hands behind him on the ground and looked toward Li Mu.
“Brother Li Mu, can I ask you a favor?”
“Hm?” Li Mu looked at him questioningly.
“Could you... hit me with one strike?”