Chapter 71: Come On, Let the Show Begin!
A sharp hiss of indrawn breath spread through the crowd.
The Earthcore Guardian already had the highest defense among them, yet even he could not withstand a single punch...Zhu Xiao truly had not died unjustly!
At the same time, the Skyfire flaming bird, which contained astonishing destructive power, was caught in Panda’s paw as well!
There was no explosion as they had imagined.
Panda merely kneaded the flaming bird twice in its paw, and it crumbled straight into ash!
“What is going on?!” the crowd cried out.
The statuesque red-haired beauty, Su Qing, frowned and said, “Its Fire Element Mastery is probably above 120%!”
When the gap in Element Mastery reached 100%, damage would be nullified.
Su Qing’s Fire Element Mastery was only 20%...And Panda, even before entering the dungeon, had already possessed 54%. After devouring all that equipment, its Fire Element Mastery had now reached a staggering 129%!
With the attack frustrated, Liu Anran spoke at once. “It’s fine. That was only a test.”
The crowd’s emotions eased slightly.
Ye Ze, meanwhile, could not help applauding. “Come on, keep the show going.”
Liu Anran shot him an irritated glare, then turned and said, “Chu He...”
Chu He immediately understood and threw out three scrolls...
The paintings on them were lifelike—each one depicted a giant dragon!
The Painter class could turn what it painted into reality.
The combat power of those creations depended on the strength of the original subject, along with the Painter’s own Spirit, artistic skill, and many other factors.
For the same Painter, drawing a Slime and drawing an ancient dragon would naturally differ in time required, difficulty, and resulting power.
Its combat style was somewhat similar to that of a Summoner.
The difference was that a Painter’s works were all single-use. Once spent, they had to be repainted...
The three scrolls unfurled and transformed into three giant dragons circling in the sky, each of them at the Epic level!
This was already one of Chu He’s trump cards. Epic-level paintings were not easy to create.
Yet at that moment, looking at the people on the city wall and the three dragons overhead, Ye Ze said with clear interest, “With this many people packed together, dropping an area attack should feel pretty satisfying, shouldn’t it?”
The Three-Tailed Demon Fox flicked its tail, and dark violet lightning flashed within its Orb.
Luo Yao’s little face turned pale. Having experienced it firsthand, she still felt lingering fear toward that lightning.
Liu Anran calmly said, “Don’t be afraid.”
“We have the Earthcore Guardian. Lightning-element damage will be greatly reduced.”
Before her words had fully fallen, however, the fox first cast Icicle Spell and Frozen Prison.
Bai Wei stepped in and blocked them with ease. “That level of damage...”
In the very next second, Heavenfall Thunder, empowered by a 100% damage increase, crashed down upon Vanguard City!
“Earthcore Guardian, protect everyone! All healers, follow the order I assigned and keep healing him!”
Liu Anran issued the command immediately.
The boy of the Earthcore Guardian class spread his shield and enveloped everyone within it, absorbing the damage alone while six healers buffed and healed him in sequence.
But then the heavenly thunder descended again!
A second Heavenfall Thunder with a 150% damage increase, then one with 200%, then one with 250%—each strike more terrifying than the last!
The overwhelming lightning crashed down like roaring thunder dragons, blasting the already ruined Vanguard City into a shattered wreck one strike after another.
On the city wall, several healers cried out in panic, “We can’t heal him back up anymore!”
A headache started to pound behind Liu Anran’s eyes...Was this a joke?
Even after the lightning-element damage had been greatly reduced by the Earthcore Guardian, and with six healers restoring health in rotation, they still could not hold it?
“Rotate the Shield Guards!”
The moment Liu Anran gave that order, she already realized it was too late.
As the fourth Heavenfall Thunder fell, the Earthcore Guardian was electrocuted to death right through the healing of all six healers.
Along with him, the second Shield Guard who moved in to take over, as well as the three giant dragons, were all destroyed by the lightning.
【Trial participants killed *2. Experience gained +2000!】
【Level: 15 (8175/26100)】
Ye Ze’s experience rose by another small chunk.
And yet, to his surprise, the students on the wall did not lose heart because of the casualties. Instead, their fighting spirit burned even more fiercely.
Almost the instant the thunder ceased, Liu Anran said, “That was the Three-Tailed Demon Fox. Four consecutive Heavenfall Thunders is already its limit!”
“It must be in a skill downtime now. This is our chance to counterattack!”
The moment the word counterattack was spoken, Chu He made the first move and threw out another scroll...
“My losses this time are far too great...”
His three giant-dragon scrolls had already been destroyed, yet Chu He still took out something even more precious.
This one depicted a Crimson-Gold Venom Scorpion, a level 35 Epic boss!
Some of those from North China recognized the creature at once.
This was the leader of the beast tide that had thrown a border city in North China into chaos several years ago!
Chu He had recreated it from recorded images.
At the same time, atop the city wall, a Class User of the Dragon Rider class took the orange-colored bottled potion being handed over by Central China’s First Team.
“Shen Mu, let’s hope this one doesn’t taste awful again...”
“Relax. It’s orange-flavored.”
The Dragon Rider downed it in one gulp. A strange energy coursed through his body, and his combat power rose dramatically.
Then he fed another bottle to the dragon mount beneath him.
The heavily enhanced Dragon Rider and the Crimson-Gold Venom Scorpion boss both charged at Panda!
But Liu Anran’s order was not to wound it.
It was to pin it down!
Yet not until the moment he charged Panda did the Dragon Rider realize how surreal this entire situation was...
The level 35 Epic boss Crimson-Gold Venom Scorpion was instantly killed by a single burst of Martial Saint Aura from Panda, accompanied by the crimson flash of a critical hit!
“Damn it, is this thing cheating?!”
The Dragon Rider’s eyes nearly bulged out. That had been the leader of a beast tide that once caused chaos along the frontier!
Could it not at least be shown a little respect?!
The one whose heart bled just as much was Chu He...
His most precious painting was gone.
But Liu Anran did not panic in the slightest. In fact, the corners of her lips lifted.
“Take the leader!”
At the same moment, two figures flashed out from Ye Ze’s left and right.
One struck with a combination of magic and martial skill. The other attacked with the ferocity of racing thunder.
Bai Wei, the captain of East China’s First Team, and Fu Wanjun, the captain of South China’s First Team, both charged in as the core of the decapitation tactic.
The Spirit Pact Cloak unfurled a dark blue circular shield beside Ye Ze.
The shield value of the Spirit Pact Cloak was ten times Ye Ze’s Spirit plus the Constitution of all his summoned beasts. By now, it had long since surpassed ten thousand points...
The attacks of these two First Team captains were blocked with ease.
Yet the two only pressed harder. Bai Wei said nothing, while Fu Wanjun’s edge showed in full as he declared, “Use your full strength, Instructor. Don’t underestimate us too much!”
The instant his words fell, a Void Rift swept across his neck.
Fu Wanjun’s head, still wearing that bold and flamboyant expression, dropped to the ground in an instant...
【Trial participant killed. Experience gained +1000!】
“I really am kind. I even grant requests this outrageous.”
Ye Ze smiled.
Beside him, accompanied by a low metallic growl, a savage dark violet monster—the Void Hunter—finally revealed its form from the Void.
In the next instant, it used Void Traverse and teleported behind Bai Wei, the Spellblade.
“So it really has come out!”
On the city wall, Liu Anran’s pupils suddenly contracted, but inwardly she also felt a trace more at ease.
The reason she had refrained from acting all this time was to keep the mantis in check from afar...To make sure it could not freely slaughter the others.
And now, in order to launch their full assault, she needed to lock down the mantis once and for all.
“Spatial Lock!”
She did not use a teleportation skill to save Bai Wei, and Bai Wei did not flee either...
After witnessing Ye Ze’s strength, they already knew that only by using lives of sufficient weight as bait could they guarantee the simultaneous restraint of both Ye Ze and the mantis!
Only then could they win!
【Trial participant killed. Experience gained +1000!】
As the notification of Bai Wei’s death rang out, Ye Ze and the mantis were both struck by Spatial Lock.
That meant Ye Ze could no longer use Swap or other movement methods, and the mantis could no longer traverse into the Void Plane...
But Liu Anran, likewise, could no longer use her other spatial skills.
“Yaoyao, restore my mana. Su Qing, take over command!”
Having done all this, Liu Anran had to devote all of her mental power to maintaining the lock. Even with Luo Yao continuously restoring her, only then could she ensure Ye Ze and the mantis would not break free.
In other words, she and Luo Yao had to trade themselves two for two against Ye Ze and the mantis.
Only then would they have a chance to win!
And from the current result, everything was going smoothly!
The statuesque red-haired beauty, Su Qing, immediately gave the order:
“Wan Sen, Captain Chu He has already used his trump cards. We can’t keep holding back either!”
Wan Sen of Central China’s First Team, whose class was Natural Druid, nodded.
If they could not restrain Martial Saint Panda, then everything they had done so far would amount to nothing more than child’s play.
At that very moment, even the Dragon Rider, empowered by the potion, was still eliminated by a single punch from Panda.
And several more Warriors, along with two more of Chu He’s paintings, followed one after another, practically feeding their bodies to Panda just to create an opening for their teammates.
Then, with a loud boom, four tender shoots broke through the ground beneath Vanguard City.
They rapidly grew into gigantic trunks more than ten meters thick, their surfaces marked with patterns like ancient runes, completely encircling Panda.
Spirit plants! Legendary-grade spirit plants!
A Natural Druid could control spirit plants, and these were Legendary spirit-plant seeds prepared in advance by the forces behind Wan Sen’s family!
If used properly, they could unleash power beyond their rank!
Killing Panda was impossible, but there was still hope of trapping it!
At last, Duan Tianchen, clad in crimson robes, leaped directly down from the city wall.
“It’s over, Instructor.”
“No matter what, the honor of us students of the special training camp cannot be broken here!”
...
At the sight of all this, the various people in charge inside the Monitoring Division could not help sighing in admiration.
“What a brutal tactic...”
“This batch of trainees may not be the strongest in history, but they are definitely the most united!”
“No. With people like Liu Anran and Chu He, they absolutely count as the strongest class of freshmen in history!”
Even Wei Zheng could not help exclaiming at how splendid it was. “They really do deserve to be called the strongest freshmen in history!”
“And Duan Tianchen too. His Hidden Class is ‘Purgatory Adjudicator.’ He is an extremely powerful damage dealer, and dealing with trapped opponents is especially easy for him!”
“It really is over!”
Hearing this, Wan Feipeng finally decided he could not keep holding it in.
He was about to reveal Ye Ze’s identity and let this crowd see who the true strongest freshman really was!
All those students they had praised to the heavens still had to form a group before they could beat Ye Ze.
What were they showing off for?
Wan Feipeng was just about to rise and make his final triumphant point.
But the scene unfolding in the projected image before him made him freeze in confusion.
And not just him. The entire Monitoring Division—the executives and every person in charge alike—was utterly stunned...
...
Faced with the united determination of the crowd while trapped under Spatial Lock, Ye Ze merely smiled.
“All right. I’ve already given you your chance to show what you can do.”
“It’s time to end this.”
The moment Ye Ze spoke those two lines, silence fell across the field.
As the tactical commanders, Liu Anran and Su Qing both fell silent. Duan Tianchen, Chu He, and the others all became intensely vigilant.
No one mocked Ye Ze for delirious nonsense...Because by now, everyone only felt that they had fought to the absolute limit just to reach this point, and what they feared most was that Ye Ze still had another trump card.
“With combat power like this... he still has more hidden away?”
While maintaining her mental focus, Liu Anran’s thoughts raced. “Can we still handle it?”
Beside her, the statuesque red-haired beauty Su Qing clenched both hands tightly. “We still have fighting strength. We may not lose...”
Yet even as she said those words, she saw a phantom glow begin to spread from Panda’s body.
“Skill Enhancement — Primordial Phantom!”
As he activated the skill, Ye Ze spoke in an even tone:
“After all, this is the special training camp. It concerns the training resources each of you will receive in the future, so I’d say I’ve already given everyone a chance to show what they can do.”
“So, what do you think? I’m a kind instructor, aren’t I?”
As he spoke, Ye Ze revealed a wild smile.
But in the eyes of the gathered geniuses, that smile was no different from the smile of a devil.
“What do you mean? You’ve been going easy on us this whole time?” Su Qing asked, her voice almost disbelieving.
Ye Ze answered honestly, “Not really. Going easy on you would disrespect both you and the battle.”
“It’s just that if I had used certain skills earlier, you wouldn’t have had a chance to show what you could do...”
“And of course, if you had used Spatial Teleportation to run away, I would have looked rather foolish.”
“So ending the battle at this moment is just right!”
Ye Ze said it simply, but everyone understood what he meant.
Because Liu Anran, while using Spatial Lock, had also put herself in a state where she could not easily do much else.
Duan Tianchen stared fixedly at Ye Ze, disbelief filling his eyes.
“You’re really that confident?”
Ye Ze thought about it seriously for a moment. “Yes.”
【‘Skill Enhancement - Super’ has taken effect!】
【Enhancement obtained: Primordial Phantom - Super!】
With the sound of a roar, an azure phantom condensed around Panda’s body.
Then the phantom expanded.
This time, it grew to an especially enormous size—a terrifying figure forty or fifty meters tall!
Yet perhaps because Panda had changed from the Jiuli War Beast into the Jiuli Martial Saint...
Or perhaps because Primordial Phantom had undergone super-enhancement...
The phantom that appeared this time was humanoid!
Its sideburns jutted like blades and halberds, its frame overflowed with raw power, and it wore bronze battle armor. Every inch of it was filled with savagery, ferocity, and majesty!
The Phantom of Chi You!
The presence of this phantom was completely different from the Panda phantoms of before...
It was as vast and overwhelming as a mountain range. Merely standing there was enough to make people feel how small they were.
Some dropped their weapons. Others collapsed to the ground...Liu Anran numbly lowered her hand and stopped maintaining Spatial Lock...There was no meaning in it anymore.
Just as Ye Ze had said, if they had faced this from the very beginning, she might still have had some hope of teleporting everyone away...
But now, she had just used Spatial Lock, and her spatial Power of Laws was drained dry. She had no way to construct a large-scale teleportation formation again in such a short span of time.
As for the few Legendary spirit plants of Wan Sen, they were instantly destroyed the moment the phantom appeared.
Chu He let out a sigh. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have wasted so many paintings. If I’d struggled a little less, I might have lost a little less too...”
The statuesque red-haired beauty Su Qing stared blankly, her mind completely empty...
“It’s huge.”
She was a tactician, not a worker of miracles. How was she supposed to fight something like that?
Duan Tianchen lowered the weapon in his hand, already regretting that he had jumped down from the wall...
He was now standing right at the front, bearing the phantom’s pressure head-on. It was terrifying beyond words!
The little Luo Yao blinked dazedly at the Phantom of Chi You, as though the blow was so great she was about to cry...
Then she suddenly threw herself toward Liu Anran.
“Wuwu~ I want to die together with Sister Anran!”