Jun Wu emerged from the underground vault only to find various gazes directed at him. Standing near the Mystic Path Academy students was Yuan Lim, glaring daggers at him.
"Kid, drop everything you have and disappear immediately," a boy from the Mystic Path Academy shouted, his face filled with disdain.
A gloating smile appeared on Yuan Lim's face. Since he couldn't defeat Jun Wu, he figured he could borrow another weapon to do his bidding.
"Are you talking to me?" Jun Wu asked coldly, turning to look at the boy.
"Who else if not you? Drop everything and get lost," the boy named Hu Zhou sneered.
How could a nobody dare go against him, a student of the prestigious Mystic Path Academy?
But to his surprise, Jun Wu ignored him and continued walking toward the exit. This show of confidence left everyone stunned.
Why wasn't he afraid of the Mystic Path Academy student?
Even Yuan Lim was taken aback for a moment before his face twisted into a sardonic smile.
Hu Zhou was furious. He gritted his teeth and prepared to attack Jun Wu when the cold girl stopped him.
"Do you look down on us, or do you simply not know what's good for you?" Jiang Yawen's voice was icy.
Although Jun Wu piqued her interest, it was just that—interest, nothing more.
Anyone below the level of a First-Rated Martial Artist meant little to her, so she hadn't taken anyone in the ruins seriously.
When Jun Wu heard her, he stopped and turned to face her. "And who the hell are you to tell me what's good for me? Idiot."
He hated pretentious people like her.
She wanted to steal from him but acted self-righteous.
Jiang Yawen was stunned for a moment before her expression darkened. How dare he call her an idiot!
Before she could reply, Hu Zhou charged at Jun Wu, swinging his sword to kill him. His ruthless intent was evident in his movements.
Jun Wu's expression didn't change as he quickly dropped the weapons and box and cast a formation.
He wasn't someone who liked being passive. He had been passive for the past eighteen years, and now, anyone who stood against him would be attacked ruthlessly.
Instantly, two wind strikes appeared out of thin air and flew toward the furious Hu Zhou.
Seeing the two swift wind strikes, Hu Zhou's heart skipped a beat. He dodged the first strike but failed to evade the second in time.
Bang!
"Ahhh!"
Hu Zhou's miserable scream filled the air as the wind strike cut deep into his thigh. He crashed to the ground, wailing in pain.
Though an Initial Second-Rated Martial Artist, Hu Zhou had thought himself strong. But Jun Wu, a Peak Third-Rated Martial Artist, was far stronger than him.
Seeing how easily he defeated Hu Zhou, everyone was stunned. Jiang Yawen quickly recovered and dashed forward.
Her speed was impressive. She unsheathed her sword and unleashed a martial skill: Crimson Jade Slash.
Seeing the deadly slash, Jun Wu didn't get complacent. He cast a stronger formation, summoning four wind strikes that flew swiftly toward his attacker.
Confused and surprised by the four wind strikes, Jiang Yawen thought, 'What type of fighting style is this, and where are these wind strikes coming from?'
Still, she didn't hold back. Her blade cut through two wind strikes, and she evaded the other two. She closed in on Jun Wu and aimed a killing strike.
Bang!
Her sword was deflected, sending tremors through her body, and forcing her to step back.
"What!"
Everyone in the room was stunned by the sudden appearance of Jun Wu's shield. Yuan Lim, who thought it would be easy for the Mystic Path students to kill Jun Wu, now felt fear creeping up from the depths of his soul.
As for Jiang Yawen, her expression turned solemn as she looked at Jun Wu. All traces of pride vanished; she realized she had met a strong foe.
Jun Wu didn't care about their thoughts. He stepped forward and cast four wind strikes. These were faster and stronger than before.
Danger!
Jiang Yawen's mind screamed, but she wasn't scared. She split the first two wind strikes, only to face two more.
A wind strike nearly cut her neck, but she managed to lean back in the nick of time
A bead of sweat dripped from her forehead as she dodged the second sneak attack.
'That was close.'
Still, she dashed toward him, increasing her speed to the limit, leaving a gust of wind in her wake.
Bang! Bang!
The Crimson Jade Slash struck swiftly, delivering three deadly blows at Jun Wu in the blink of an eye. However, his shield deflected all her attacks.
She wasn't ready to give up, pushing herself to the limit.
Within minutes, she and Jun Wu exchanged hundreds of attacks.
Watching the terrifying battle, everyone in the hall held their breath. Hu Zhou felt his heart pounding heavily in his chest.
He knew that if Jiang Yawen lost, his life would be over. He wasn't the only one thinking that.
"What are you doing? Support Senior Sister!" he shouted.
The other three students snapped out of their stupor and rushed instantly to join the battle. Normally, Jiang Yawen would have stopped them out of pride, but now, she didn't.
Each strike brought her closer to death. She truly needed help.
Seeing three more people join the battle, Jun Wu knitted his brows and stretched his defense, moving in a strange pattern.
His clothes were drenched in sweat, and his breathing labored. Maintaining both a defensive formation and attacking took a toll on his body, and his blood Qi was nearly exhausted.
'Just a little more… just a little more,' he cried.
If he could hold out for another ten seconds, the fight would work in his favor. But his enemies believed they were winning.
"Increase your attacks! His tortoise shield is about to break," Hu Zhou shouted excitedly.
Quickly, everyone intensified their attacks when they saw cracks spreading across Jun Wu's shield.
In the back, Yuan Lim's smile deepened as he sighed in relief.
'Hmph! What if you're strong? You're still naïve.'
Everyone was focused on the shield, failing to notice the strange patterns briefly appearing on the ground before disappearing.
At the last minute, Jun Wu stopped retaliating and focused solely on defending while inscribing a pattern on the ground with his feet.
"Die!" Hao Zan shouted, hurling his spear.
He was Hu Zhou's friend and was furious seeing him lying in a pool of blood.
Bang!
Jun Wu's shield shattered, defending against the spear attack. But something else appeared in the hall.
Before the Mystic Path Academy students could celebrate, the ground lit up, and a formation appeared around them.
"What the hell!" they all cried in panic.
Jiang Yawen looked at the blue light surrounding them and realized things had taken an unexpected turn for the worse.
"This is nothing! Let's rush out and kill this bastard," Hao Zan shouted bravely.
But to his dismay, no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape the confinement of the trapping formation.
"Fool. You're trapped. Now it's my turn," Jun Wu announced, his face filled with a ruthless glint.
Realizing they were trapped, fear gripped their hearts.
"Impossible! You can't trap us," Jiang Yawen shook her head in disbelief.
'How could a weak Third-Rated Martial Artist trap us?'
She prepared to attack the trapping formation when a sound came behind her.
"Ahhh!"
A miserable scream tore through the air. Her junior sister clutched her throat, emitting guttural sounds as she fell to the ground, blood pooling beneath her.
She was dead.
"You killed her! I'll kill—"
"Ahhh!"
The boy shouting didn't anticipate the ruthless wind strike that sliced his body in two. Dead.
"No… please, don't kill me!"
Realizing things were spiraling out of control, Hao Zan dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, begging for his life.
"Ahhh!"
Trying to evade the oncoming strike, Hao Zan found insufficient space and was cut down from behind. Dead.
Jiang Yawen trembled, fear gripping her heart. She hadn't expected things to turn out like this. She realized none of this would've happened if Yuan Lim hadn't instigated them.
She looked around for him, but he was long gone. 'That snake used me and thought he could escape. When I catch him, he'll regret it,' she vowed.
Gritting her teeth, she looked at Jun Wu and said, "This isn't over…"
She took an ancient talisman from her pouch, tore it, and vanished from the ruin.