A torrential downpour cascaded, the thick curtain of rain partially obscuring their vision. From the howling gusts of wind, the earth-shaking rumble of a charging force could be distinctly heard.
The three-person team in D1 stood facing a residential building. To their left, the General-rank Dragon Abomination led the vanguard, charging forth relentlessly.
To their right, numerous Dragon Abominations encircled their retreat, and behind them stretched an endless green ocean.
Without a doubt, they would be forced into battle with the Dragon Abominations before any reinforcements could arrive.
Huang Xiu, too, noticed this grim reality.
Thus, she decided to unleash a saturation strike upon the horde of Dragon Abominations blocking their path ahead.
“Archers and artillery, hit them with everything you’ve got!” A sharp, predatory grin, revealing her pointed canine teeth, curved on her lips.
Before her words fully faded, the verdant ocean, which had been surging forward, suddenly split open. Several patches of plants halted their advance.
Blank spaces appeared, only to be swiftly filled by the plants from behind. Those stationary plants adjusted their angles, and projectiles—or rather, seeds—were loaded into their mechanisms.
Within the urban village, there was no space for plants like sunflowers to grow, hence no sunflower Gatlings. However, other mutated plants with similar structures offered Huang Xiu the perfect opportunity for artillery modifications.
Foxtail grass, burdock, pine needles, and even chrysanthemums—these mutated plants meticulously aimed at the Dragon Abominations in front.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
The first volley concluded with an array of bizarre sounds, and the unique, pungent aroma of plant sap permeated the air. Without the propulsion of gunpowder or the roar of explosions, these plant attacks seemed deceptively light.
Yet, their coverage and destructive power were far from negligible. Serrated chrysanthemum petals, spinning with self-rotational force, burdock bombs that exploded upon impact after being launched from above, and pine needles and flower spikes as sharp as steel.
These attacks rained down, an overwhelming, carpet-like saturation that engulfed the entire Dragon Abomination horde ahead. Then came the second volley, and the third.
Huang Xiu had always been clear about her role: she was a summoner who required time to develop and grow. Given sufficient time, she could raise a formidable army, fearless in the face of death.
‘Never try to restrain Batman, and never give me time to develop!’
Huang Xiu sat with her legs crossed, her distinct black-and-white eyes reflecting the hellish scene of slaughter unfolding before her. Bodies were torn apart by exploding burdock, heads and torsos severed by serrated petals, and riddled with holes like a hornet’s nest by pine needles.
These Dragon Abominations from another realm, for the first time, understood the sheer terror of modern warfare’s saturation strikes. There was no room to evade; death could descend at any moment, and even the very ground subtly trembled.
One building even had its outer wall shattered by the lingering shockwaves.
‘Insufficient firepower is my greatest fear!’
Huang Xiu listened to the roaring din, her eyes comfortably narrowed.
As everyone knew, Void Realm monsters possessed no human rights or pain receptors. Therefore, strictly speaking, they were not living beings, but rather walking academic credits!
If it was still ten points per monster as before…
She clenched her fists abruptly, her face alight with excitement. “Scholarship, I, Huang Xiu, am absolutely claiming it!”
****
While one side was consumed by extreme excitement and exhilaration, the other was plunged into profound astonishment.
“Is this… *the hell*… a freshman?”
Huai Nannan’s form flickered, agilely dodging a stray projectile. The ensuing explosion’s shockwave tousled the long strands of hair across her forehead.
Such offensive power, such a wide range of attack—surely most second-year students couldn’t compare? Even if it were her, without employing the Jidao Flow system, she might regrettably face defeat.
“So… could she be *that* S-rank?!”
She abruptly turned to Ying Zhiyu, receiving an affirmative nod in return. Before the freshman ceremony, whispers of an exceptionally powerful S-rank freshman in this cohort had been circulating wildly among the senior students.
A-rank freshmen were common, but S-rank freshmen were rare. An S-rank freshman possessing such formidable combat power even before enrollment was even more uncommon, truly countable on one’s fingers since the academy’s founding.
Consequently, some ‘fishing masters’—those who valued experience over official records—had dubbed her the ‘strongest freshman in ten years’ based on her re-examination results, sparking a heated debate on the campus forum. Even Huai Nannan herself had not been on board with this title.
She wasn’t concerned about being overshadowed; rather, she genuinely believed Huang Xiu didn’t deserve the moniker. After all, when speaking of the ‘strongest freshman in ten years,’ there was one individual who simply couldn’t be overlooked or avoided.
But now… Huai Nannan found herself somewhat agreeing with the statement. Even *that* person, upon initial enrollment, likely couldn’t have achieved this level of power.
****
The third round of saturation bombardment had yet to cease when the General-rank Dragon Abomination from behind finally caught up. It had plowed through countless Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations, forcing its way from the very rear to the forefront.
It then charged forward, leading its own army. Its much leaner body, compared to ordinary Dragon Abominations, kept its center of gravity low, while its crocodile tail maintained balance as it sprinted close to the ground. To the three, the General-rank Dragon Abomination moved with the speed of a low-flying beast.
“Step back, I’ll block it!”
Wei Xing, usually a man of few words, suddenly roared, stepping forward proactively. His ability [Steel Body] and Void Arts [Wind Boost] and [Strong Gravity] activated simultaneously.
Having just entered his second year, he hadn’t yet had the chance to inscribe the final Mercury Rank Void Art onto his Chakra, completing the fundamental Void Art of the Extreme Fist Society: ‘Heavy Punch.’
Yet, at this moment, as a man, and as the only one present with tank-like attributes, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and push forward. The gravity on Wei Xing suddenly intensified. With a single step, the concrete ground beneath his foot cracked directly.
*Crack!*
Under the crushing high-gravity suppression from head to toe, veins bulged on his forehead, and his muscles trembled incessantly. “Come!”
He abruptly widened his eyes, charging forward himself. When they closed to within a meter of the General-rank Dragon Abomination, close enough to smell its foul stench, the Dragon Abomination’s eyes flashed crimson in response to such a fierce attack.
Its body contracted like a spring before releasing, its legs bending and drawing close to its abdomen. The next second, a black shadow shot skyward—the creature, which had been practically hugging the ground, leaped several *zhang* high!
It did not meet the attack head-on! A cunning beast always knew how to protect itself!
Wei Xing’s swinging punch produced a terrifying sonic boom, grazing just beneath the tip of the General-rank Dragon Abomination’s tail by mere millimeters. ‘Foolish!’
A flicker of amusement crossed its eyes as its right claw slammed down towards the human’s crown. If that blow landed, brains would undoubtedly splatter.
However, Wei Xing’s attack missing did not mean Huai Nannan’s and Ying Zhiyu’s attacks would miss! They were a team; how could they abandon their comrade?
A highly compressed miniature water ball swiftly flew in, and several meters above it, a marble-sized, crystalline seed followed. The highly-leaping Dragon Abomination had not been schooled in combat.
Naturally, it didn’t know that the first lesson in Tiandu University’s combat classes was never to jump rashly. As it descended in the air, pulled by gravity, with no leverage to be found, it was naturally unable to dodge.
The miniature water ball swelled in its scarlet eye, then slammed into its face, bursting open. Fine sand left scratches on its facial scales, and the immense impact sent it stumbling backward.
But it wasn’t over yet. The marble-like seed exploded with a *bang*, transforming back into its uncompressed original form: a roadside ‘old man’s leisure car.’ This was the largest and heaviest everyday object Ying Zhiyu could currently transmute into a seed!
The leisure car smashed into the Dragon Abomination, pinning it to the ground. While not highly damaging, the humiliation was immense.
“Aaaargh!” The General-rank Dragon Abomination roared in fury, flipping the dilapidated leisure car off its body with a claw. ‘Unbearable! Unbearable! Weak humans!’
Just as it prepared to spring up with a carp-like flip, its extremely acute dynamic vision made it suddenly detect a green human rushing in from its peripheral vision. It was Wei Xing, having recovered from his previous punch and attacking once more.
Being easily outmaneuvered last time made him realize that, without completing the final Void Art inscription, he was no different from a crawling turtle in the Dragon Abomination’s eyes. Therefore, he resolutely abandoned punching, instead lunging forward to embrace the Dragon Abomination’s tail.
“Heave!”
All his Void Energy surged into his ability core, and the fiber density of his arm muscles increased further. Then, using himself as the pivot, he began to spin. At the moment of maximum rotational inertia, he abruptly released his grip.
The General-rank Dragon Abomination was sent flying backward at an even greater speed than it had arrived, landing amidst its charging legion and sending several other Dragon Abominations scattering. Everything happened within mere seconds.
Huai Nannan’s trio capitalized on the General-rank Dragon Abomination’s misstep, executing an exceptionally beautiful combo. However, even with two Mercury Rank Awakened individuals and one Awakening Period Awakened, this was all they could achieve.
The General-rank Dragon Abomination rose from the pile of monsters, its scales merely caked with mud, otherwise unharmed. Even the Dragon Abominations, often looked down upon by the people of Tiandu and dubbed a combat power measuring unit, became an insurmountable chasm once a level suppression was established.
What’s more, it was accompanied by numerous Soldier-rank Dragon Abomination subordinates. Therefore, Huai Nannan had always harbored thoughts of escape. By this time, the third round of artillery fire had ended, and a large portion of the Dragon Abominations blocking their rear had lost their combat effectiveness, becoming disabled.
The retreat path had been opened, and the distant green ocean was rapidly spreading closer. Yet, Huai Nannan’s trio dared not turn and flee. Facing an enemy far superior in speed, exposing their backs would be a foolish act.
The foremost Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations had already reached the trio. Wei Xing once again transformed into a meat shield, actively stepping forward to block them, while Huai Nannan and Ying Zhiyu provided covering fire from the side.
The General-rank Dragon Abomination launched another charge from within the monster heap, rapidly approaching the trio. This time, it was determined to tear their bodies to shreds, avenging the previous humiliation.
“Senior Male Student, Senior Female Student, hold on tight, and be careful not to twist your ankles!”
The Sophora tree giant’s right long blade had just been re-modified by Huang Xiu back into its arm. At this moment, Yun Ning and Wen Erya were crouching in its palm.
“Junior Female Student, you’re truly audacious and meticulous. During the Hundred Regiments Battle, come join our Blood Attack Society!” Wen Erya said with a smile, while Yun Ning beside her wore a grave expression, silently staring at the battlefield ahead.
With its right foot retracted and its left foot forward, the Sophora tree giant leaned its right arm back, assuming the posture of a baseball pitcher. Huang Xiu knew the situation was dire. Simply running would be too slow; by the time they arrived, it might already be too late. So, she devised a rather unconventional solution: if running wouldn’t work, then flying it was!