"Wang Xu, let us three form a team; that way, it will be safer..."
Tang Yan's voice came from behind. Wang Xu, wearing an apologetic expression, replied, "Sorry, this time I want to act alone."
Having finally come out, Wang Xu needed to hunt down more bug beasts to elevate his realm. If he was accompanied by Tang Yan and Zhang Xinglin, he would be hesitant to show his mysterious flame for fear of being exposed.
"But if you go alone, aren't you afraid…" Tang Yan said worriedly.
Wang Xu's concern was echoed by Tang Yan; in the wilderness, one could easily kill without fear. If he happened to encounter a team with ill intentions, his life could end abruptly.
"Don't worry, I will come back alive." Wang Xu gave a bright smile, waved to Tang Yan, and after casually choosing a direction, he continued walking away with his backpack.
"I choose to go alone too."
Zhang Xinglin, who had been following closely, added a quick comment before heading off in another direction.
Tang Yan watched Wang Xu's departing figure, feeling a sense of loss in her heart.
"Junior sister, come with me; I'll protect you." At that moment, a red-haired guy approached with a grin, inviting Tang Yan.
"Hong Fa, what are you doing?!" an older sister shouted.
"Yun Shijie, it's too dangerous for this junior sister to go alone for her graduation trial. We're from the same academy; let's just help her out," Hong Fa replied.
Tang Yan wanted to refuse, but Hong Fa pulled her gently. After a moment's hesitation, Yun Shijie reluctantly said, "Fine, you can come with us, but you must obey our orders and not run around."
"Yun Shijie, you're the best! Little junior sister, let's go!"
...
Wang Xu ventured alone into the wilderness, searching for a safe spot to rest.
"Roar!~~" A massive bug beast suddenly roared forth, sporting two tiger-like horns and covered in yellow fur, looking exceedingly strange.
"Tier Three?" Wang Xu's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected to encounter a Tier Three bug beast so soon.
The horned bug beast sprang at Wang Xu the moment it saw him, slamming its four legs to the ground and opening its bloody maw, propelling itself towards Wang Xu with the force of the earth.
Wang Xu didn't rush to draw his Blood Bone Giant Blade. As the horned bug beast lunged, he slightly dodged, and the beast flew past him without even brushing against his clothing.
"Roar!"
Unyielding, the horned bug beast charged again, leaping at Wang Xu once more, its claw-like insect legs ready to swipe.
Suddenly, Wang Xu's figure flickered, creating countless overlapping illusions that danced around him in confusion. The horned bug beast was momentarily stunned, unable to determine where to attack, and once again missed.
Using the "Miro Body Technique," Wang Xu was applying it for the first time in actual combat, creating a multitude of images of himself in an instant, leaving the bug beast perplexed.
"Alright, enough playing."
Before the horned bug beast could charge again, Wang Xu strode forward, followed by several phantoms that formed a long shadow-like tail. Though it appeared slow, he reached the horned bug beast in an instant and threw a powerful punch.
The beast flew backward, and Wang Xu quickly shifted his position, grabbing the horned bug beast in mid-air and pulling with all his might.
"Crack!" It was as if he tore open a snack bag, splitting the horned beast's body in half, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
A Tier Three bug beast was thus slain!
Wang Xu didn't even get scratched; it had no chance to resist and was directly torn apart.
After removing a horn as proof of the kill, Wang Xu sat down cross-legged, unleashing his mysterious flame to rapidly consume the corpse of the horned bug beast, replenishing some energy.
Feeling the warm energy circulating within his meridians, Wang Xu smiled and continued on his way.
Along the way, he encountered several other Tier Three bug beasts. This time he showed no hesitation, drawing the Blood Bone Giant Blade and slaying them all, absorbing their energy for himself.
...
In a room crowded with dozens of strong presences, the massive electronic screen transformed from various surveillance views into a real-time updated "Leaderboard."
The graduation trial took place in a special zone where monitoring devices couldn't penetrate. However, the organizers had installed intelligent scanners in each participant's backpack, capable of recognizing parts of a bug beast's body to tally points.
This measure was unknown to all trial participants, and even the strong individuals present were only just learning about it.
"Meng Ander's points have already exceeded a hundred; he firmly holds the first place. It's no surprise—the genius from the first safe zone is quite impressive." Someone remarked.
On the giant electronic screen, the name ranked first was indeed "Meng Ander," with a score of "109." This was barely an hour into the trial, reflecting how formidable this participant was.
Speaking of Meng Ander, no one among the powerful present was unaware of him. He hailed from the major Meng family in the first safe zone, with extraordinary abilities. To think that such talent emerged from a younger generation; at such a young age, he already possessed Tier Five strength, easily overwhelming peers of the same tier, and even elders who had lingered at Tier Five for long could not contend with him.
"The second-place Wells is not far behind; he's nearly reaching a hundred points and catching up to Meng Ander." Someone noted.
Wells, a Caucasian, possessed remarkable talent and was the only one capable of competing with Meng Ander. His family background was just as influential, and he once sparred with Meng Ander at Tier Four, resulting in a draw.
The tight race for first and second place saw their scores remain within twenty points of each other, while the third place lagged significantly with just over fifty points, making it difficult to surpass the second.
The dean quietly observed the electronic screen, looking for the names of their own Seventh Safe Zone participants. "Ying Xing" ranked 35th, "Yun Yang" 57th, "Li Ming" 78th, and several others beyond the eightieth rank. "Zhang Xinglin" was 89th, while he was particularly disappointed that Wang Xu hadn't even broken into the top hundred.
"Old Bai Jian, I've searched twice and still haven't seen the Wang Xu you invited. What's going on?" San Yan inquired.
"Ying Xing's ranking continues to rise; at this pace, he should easily make the top fifteen." Yin Jia added.
The dean withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and smiled, "It has only just begun. Let's wait and see."
...
On the sixth floor of an abandoned building, dust swirled as glimmering blades clashed, two shadows rapidly converging.
Clang!
A cold light flared as the Blood Bone Giant Blade whistled down with tremendous force, targeting a "Rhinoceros Pig Beast" about the size of a car!
The beast, with its crimson eyes gleaming with bloodlust, emitted a white smoke from its nostrils, as its iron hooves scraped the floor, advancing toward Wang Xu in its iron-like armor, glowing ominously.
"Thud!" The Blood Bone Giant Blade smashed through the Rhinoceros Pig Beast's armor, piercing into its flesh, causing it to let out a painful howl. One of its horns charged directly at Wang Xu!
Wang Xu's clothing was torn apart, revealing black-scaled armor beneath, which absorbed nearly half of the attack's power, leaving Wang Xu to endure the remaining force.
"Indeed, a Tier Four elite bug beast; its speed, power, and physical resilience far surpass that of a Tier Three bug beast!"
Just moments before, Wang Xu had settled on a building as a temporary refuge when the Rhinoceros Pig Beast suddenly sprang forth, charging without hesitation. Wang Xu reacted swiftly, drawing the Blood Bone Giant Blade to execute a "Bloodshed Hit." The blade struck the beast's armor but barely made a dent.
Wang Xu was slightly astonished; even among Tier Four elite bug beasts, there were differences. This Rhinoceros Pig Beast had likely reached "mid-Tier Four"!
This understanding came from what Wang Xu had learned in the Extreme Path Ancient Hall. Once reaching Tier Four, there were subdivisions—early, mid, late, and peak states. The power difference between these subdivisions was significant; just a slight increase in rank could lead to overwhelming strength.
After six months of training, Wang Xu's realm had made no progress, still stuck at the early stage of Tier Four.
Relying on the "Basic Body" at level four and the elusive "Miro Body Technique," Wang Xu fought fiercely against the Rhinoceros Pig Beast.
Blood flowed from the beast; its defenses were indeed strong. However, Wang Xu had honed his blade skills for half a year, mastering precision, power, and angles with expert finesse.
Could one strike not break through? Then make two!
Still not enough? Then three!
After executing a series of over a dozen strikes at the same spot, even if the Rhinoceros Pig Beast's armor was robust, the gaps in its armor only grew larger. Finally, Wang Xu unleashed "Hundred Blades Thunder," slashing four times in the blink of an eye, completely shattering the beast's armor!
Despite being called Hundred Blades, the actual limit of speed was merely ten blades.
After six months' training, Wang Xu could only manage four blades amid the thunder, still distant from the ultimate limit of ten.
"Grr…" With blood loss, the Rhinoceros Pig Beast began to sway unsteadily but refused to give up. It charged again, even faster and more powerfully than before!
It seemed to realize its imminent death and was determined to take the human in front of it down with it.
Faced with this charge, Wang Xu focused his mind. The Miro Body Technique activated once more, conjuring countless images that disoriented the Rhinoceros Pig Beast, causing it to miss.
"Die!"
Without mercy, Wang Xu drove the Blood Bone Giant Blade down into the previous wound, twisting it mercilessly!
"Thud!" The pig-headed creature's head shot into the air, blood spurting out, its decapitated body collapsing to the ground.
After severing a horn, Wang Xu immediately settled onto the ground, a heat rising within him.
Swish!
The mysterious flames appeared, instantly cascading down onto the Rhinoceros Pig Beast's corpse, enveloping it entirely and gradually consuming it. Once the beast's body vanished completely, the mysterious flames returned to Wang Xu's abdomen.
"What immense energy!"
The overwhelming energy spread throughout Wang Xu's body, and every cell seemed to have been starved for days, ravenously absorbing this massive energy as Wang Xu's body gradually warmed, his aura steadily rising.
The energy from a Tier Four beast was over a hundred times that of a Tier Three. If a Tier Three's energy was just a sip of water, then Tier Four was a bucket, awakening the still dormant realm Wang Xu had been stuck in for half a year.