Wieluns, known by the nickname "Golden Lion," resembled an enraged lion when fury took hold of him. His hair whipped about and his face twisted into a savage snarl; anyone foolish enough to provoke him at that moment would surely be torn apart!
Wang Xu had killed his teammate in front of him, a grave humiliation for Wieluns.
"How dare you kill my man? You're seeking death!!"
Boom!
Wieluns rushed past Ying Xing, his figure like a blazing fire, lunging violently at Wang Xu!
Suddenly, a figure clad in black stepped in front of him—it was the stern-faced Ying Xing.
"Damn you! How dare you block me?" Wieluns roared, flames bursting from his fists, even more powerful as he struck at Ying Xing.
Ying Xing's gaze sharpened; black smoke billowed from behind him, wrapping around his body and covering him completely. Wieluns's fiery punch slammed down where Ying Xing had stood just moments before.
Whoosh!
The smoke dissipated, leaving Ying Xing's figure ghostly and insubstantial, as if he didn't exist at all.
"Black Smoke"—that was Ying Xing's title. Among all the students, his agility was unmatched. Though his strength didn't compare to Wieluns's, he could easily glide away from the fight. Wieluns would never catch him, let alone kill him.
However, with his junior disciples present, Ying Xing could only choose to endure and defend passively. The arrival of Wang Xu finally gave him a sense of relief.
Ying Xing recognized Wang Xu as a ruthless individual, unyielding in his attacks. Wieluns's two teammates had been cut in half, more gruesome than a decapitation, yet Wang Xu's expression remained icy and unchanged.
"This man's composure is remarkable!" Ying Xing couldn't help but admire Wang Xu.
Most people who take too many lives have their psyches warped, becoming deranged; vicious criminals often develop a twisted mindset. But not Wang Xu—killing for him felt like merely accomplishing a task, utterly devoid of impact on his mental state.
The mindset of such a person is the most stable and steadfast; shaking him would be an arduous challenge!
"I'll keep Wieluns occupied; you deal with that remaining woman quickly," Ying Xing instructed, without turning his head.
Wang Xu nodded, his gaze fixed on the pale-faced white woman.
"No, no... no! Wieluns, save me! I don't want to die!" The white woman cried out in terror as she saw Wang Xu advancing step by step, feeling as though death itself were looming over her.
Wieluns's attack power was formidable, but he couldn't extricate himself from Ying Xing's onslaught. Instead, he roared at Wang Xu, "You bastard! If you kill her, I swear I'll rip you apart!"
The woman was his woman. Though to Wieluns she was merely a plaything, losing her to Wang Xu would tarnish his reputation irreparably!
Wang Xu slowly drew his knife, closing in on the woman. Panicked, she screamed and began to flee.
However, she stood no chance against Wang Xu's speed.
Thud!
As he left behind a trail of afterimages, Wang Xu closed the distance to the woman in an instant, his long knife showing no mercy as it sliced through her pale neck. Her head flew off, and blood gushed forth like a fountain.
"Damn it! Damn it! I will kill you myself and make you taste the depths of hell!" Wieluns roared, his fury intensifying the flames around him, to the point where his body began to ignite.
Wieluns longed to tear Wang Xu to shreds, yet was consistently held back by Ying Xing. Each time he attempted to break free, Ying Xing would intercept him, landing punches that, while not painful, were enough to hinder his movements, driving Wieluns to the brink of madness.
Adding to his frustration, Wang Xu had just murdered the white woman right before him. Wieluns's face flushed red, veins bulging on his neck and forehead like coiling dragons, his eyes ablaze with rage as he glared at Wang Xu. If looks could kill, Wang Xu would likely have been reduced to ash!
"Wang Xu, take the others and leave first. I'll hold him off," Ying Xing declared, downing another vial of strength-enhancing potion, feeling his power surge once more.
Repeatedly using strength-enhancing potions would exponentially increase the harm to the body. For an ordinary person, the limit is one bottle; post-usage, one would feel weakened for at least a day or two, unable to lift a finger. But for Ying Xing, whose resilience was greater, he could handle two vials without suffering more than a few hours of weakness.
Wang Xu understood the situation. Wieluns was at the fifth level, while Wang Xu was nowhere near his level—even with his determination, he could do little. He nodded, and with Tang Yan, swiftly took a few senior sisters and brothers to escape.
"Stop right there! I'll flay you alive!" Wieluns howled in a fit of rage, his punches gaining more force.
With a snort, Ying Xing charged head-on after taking the strength potion, significantly empowering himself, capable of exchanging blows with Wieluns, forcing him to focus entirely on Ying Xing.
Taking the opportunity, Wang Xu and the others fled rapidly, confident that Ying Xing's abilities would prevent Wieluns from capturing them.
Moments later, they entered an abandoned building.
"Alright, we'll rest here. Both senior sisters and brothers are injured and cannot endure much longer," Wang Xu said, placing his fellow disciples down and retrieving healing potions from his backpack to treat them.
Wang Xu couldn't afford the healing potions; they had been seized from Ouli and others, and now they were finally of use.
"Ahh~" Li Ming winced as Wang Xu applied the potion with significant pressure, weakly complaining, "Brother Wang, please let me be! With you doing this, I might not die but I'll surely be crushed!"
Wang Xu turned red as Tang Yan smiled charmingly as she took the healing potion from him: "Let me do it; I know a bit about medical knowledge."
"Fine." Wang Xu admitted to his clumsiness and stepped outside to meditate.
Tang Yan watched his retreating figure, a smile gracing her face.
...
Within him, an energy vortex began to take form, already outlining a "core."
"The energy is still too sparse; to condense it into a true core is still a long way off," Wang Xu mused.
Moreover, he continually pondered what the so-called forty-nine, sixty-four, and eighty-one procedures were about, noting that this energy core absorbed energy autonomously without any apparent procedures.
While deep in thought, Wang Xu tried to "reshape" the energy vortex, but before he could touch it, the vortex suddenly began to collapse and disperse with a "pop!"
"Oh no!" Wang Xu realized he had acted recklessly. The hard-earned energy scattered, devoured entirely by his cells.
Sighing, Wang Xu concluded that the secrets hidden within "Basic Physical Enhancements" were definitely not easy to uncover.
"Wait?" Suddenly, after all the energy dissipated, a new surge of energy flowed into his body, forming another energy vortex slowly.
"Could this be the so-called 'procedure'?" Wang Xu's eyes brightened.
By absorbing energy to a certain extent then breaking it apart, and subsequently condensing it again only to break it apart repeatedly... as long as he hits the corresponding number of times, he could form a core of the appropriate rank.
Wang Xu's theory was accurate, but he soon faced a difficult realization—the difficulty and energy requirements for forming the second energy vortex were far greater than for the first.
"Indeed, condensing the core involves more than just an easy task," Wang Xu lamented.
Each time it's dispersed, the difficulty to condense increases; at this rate, reaching the forty-nine procedures for a lower-grade core would take an eternity—not to mention the eight-one procedures for a higher-grade core, which seemed insurmountable!
...
In the hall, the number of prominent figures from various factions remained unchanged; for them, one night was insignificant.
As the end of the trials approached, the leaderboard had refreshed multiple times with no considerable changes. Everyone wanted to return safely, with no one willing to take risks.
The buzz about Zhang Xinglin lingered, with inquiries still floating around: which safe zone did this Zhang Xinglin hail from?
No one responded, and the lack of answers only fueled curiosity, prompting many to assign people to investigate his name. Soon, all the details about Zhang Xinglin appeared before everyone.
Seventh Safe Zone???
The gathered bigwigs were taken aback. Among the seven safe zones, the Seventh was the weakest—comparing it to the First was like comparing heaven and earth, describing it as impoverished would not be an exaggeration. Yet, from such a place, a genius like Zhang Xinglin had emerged.
A miracle!
What truly piqued the interest of these bigshots was the fact that Zhang Xinglin had not joined any faction!
A "wild" genius lay before them, causing all the bigwigs to lose their composure and immediately contact their respective factions to offer enticing conditions in a bid to recruit Zhang Xinglin.
The dean watched these eager bigshots shake their heads with a smile.
"Bai Jian, how did you not notice such a genius?" Three-Eyed pondered, baffled. Bai Jian was renowned for his keen eye; it was hard to believe he had so gravely misjudged the situation, missing out on such a dazzling talent.
"No, he was the first person I invited," the dean replied calmly. "But he refused, stating, 'I won't join any faction; I want to see my own limits.'"
"Such a child is deeply ingrained with 'stubbornness'—his heart is firm and hard to sway," the dean added.
Three-Eyed and Silver Armor exchanged glances, amazed that someone would forgo the opportunity to join the world's three great powers, boldly declaring their intent to forge their own path.
"Huh? Bai Jian! Look!" Three-Eyed suddenly exclaimed.
The dean and Silver Armor turned to the electronic screen. The leaderboard had just refreshed; everything appeared stable, but these strong individuals were acutely observant, and quickly noticed the changes.
"Rank 7 Ying Xing: 3560 points."
"Impressive!" Three-Eyed exclaimed. Ying Xing had leaped into the top ten, securing his position as the trials approached their conclusion.
"What's going on?" Meanwhile, Huang Long suddenly realized several contenders on his team had vanished from the leaderboard, falling out of the top one hundred!
...
"Wow, Brother Ying Xing, you've actually taken all of Wieluns's team's backpacks?"
Wang Xu looked at Ying Xing in shock as he watched him cut open several large backpacks, stuffing some into his own bag, while distributing the rest to Wang Xu, Tang Yan, and the others.
"Wieluns won't pursue us for now; there are still two hours until the trials end. Let's head back," Ying Xing, usually reserved, said little before moving to the side to resume his training.
Wang Xu marveled, "Being skilled in mobility makes all the difference; this time, Wieluns must be furious enough to spit blood."