Ninety-Nine Percent
Incited by Gao Peng's words, or rather, driven by their proud pride, they frantically sought excuses for themselves.
In an instant, all the Prodigies seemed to have been injected with a violent stimulant, squeezing out every bit of power from their bodies, burning their Qi and Blood, urging their Divine Fire, and rushing madly toward the direction Chen Fan was clearing out.
They want to completely crush this cheater in terms of hunting efficiency!
Thus, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield of the Huangzhe Star.
On one side was a raging torrent of dozens of Prodigies. Their fists howled, their Sword Qi surged, and the light of their supernatural powers painted the sky with iridescent colors. Every strike caused the heavens and earth to shatter, and blood and flesh to fly everywhere. The scene was grand and tragic.
On the other side, a golden Stream of Light glided quietly by.
Wherever he passed, there were no explosions, no roars, only countless crystalline dark green Life Cores, like a dazzling downpour, drawn by an invisible force, precisely flying into his Student Badge.
"Die!"
Gao Peng exerted all his strength, and with a single Mountain-Crushing Fist, he blasted the three locust -Devouring Locusts into dust at the same time. A surge of pride welled up in his heart, and he thought his efficiency was astonishing.
But when he looked up, he was horrified to find that Chen Fan's figure had appeared hundreds of meters in front of him at some point.
Between the two of them was an "absolutely safe passage" that had been cleaned spotlessly, without a single trace of debris.
"Impossible!"
Gao Peng roared and activated his technique again, increasing his speed dramatically as he frantically chased after him.
The other Prodigies did the same, unleashing their most secret skills, each one acting like a madman.
However, no matter how hard they tried or how much they pushed their limits, the distance between them and that golden Stream of Light not only didn't get any closer, but instead... got further and further apart!
That golden light seemed to be forever ahead of them, unhurried yet unattainable.
Gradually, the roars of Gao Peng and the others subsided.
The initial frenzy of fighting spirit began to cool.
Instead, a sense of horror and chilling coldness spread from the depths of one's bones.
They finally realized, albeit belatedly, that the difference between the two sides was not a difference in skill or strength.
That's an insurmountable barrier on a life-level scale!
A Prodigies of a New Martial Arts School, having exhausted his last bit of strength in a frantic chase, stopped in place, trembling all over, staring blankly at the figure that had almost become a small black dot, muttering to himself in despair.
"Are we... are we and him... really on the same level?"
These words struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Their pride, their confidence, all the glory of being the chosen ones of the Star River Martial Academy, shattered inch by inch at this moment.
High in the sky, by the porthole of Starship.
On team leader Lei Ao's cold face, the disdain had vanished without a trace, replaced by undisguised shock and astonishment.
Others might not understand, but as Seventh Grade Immortal Realm expert, he saw it clearly!
That's not some kind of secret treasure at all!
That was an extremely subtle control over one's own Undying Divine Fire, even surpassing the limits of theory!
Each Divine Fire precisely located the most vulnerable point in the Devouring Locusts's Life Origin, causing the most thorough annihilation with minimal consumption, which is why not a single bit of excess energy was lost!
"One month... from the Golden Body Mid-Stage, to igniting the Divine Fire, and then to cultivating the Fire-Contemplation Realm to perfection..."
Lei Ao felt his throat was incredibly dry, and his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.
"This... this is fucking... how is this possible?!"
Just then...
Below on the battlefield, the golden Stream of Light finally stopped.
Chen Fan glanced around and found that there were no more swarms of Devouring Locusts. He sensed the mountain of Life Cores piled up in the badge and felt that it was enough for him to complete the first step of Adding Fuel.
He turned around and looked behind him.
The group of companions who had been so aggressive just moments before were now standing still, panting heavily like dead dogs, staring at him blankly with the look of utter disbelief.
Chen Fan tilted his head in slight confusion.
He casually took out a newly acquired, top-quality Golden Body Peak -level Life Core from his storage space and tossed it between his fingers.
Then, in a tone of pure curiosity, devoid of any emotional coloring, he asked:
Why are you all so slow?
"I'm almost dozing off."
Gao Peng stood frozen in place, his boiling Qi and Blood, which had been surging like a furnace, had somehow cooled down.
Shame and helplessness washed over him like the coldest tide, almost suffocating him.
His proud physique, his years of arduous training in boxing, and all the glory he had as a top genius of the Ancient Martial Arts School seemed like a complete joke in front of that child whose physique had not even changed.
In the midst of this deathly silence, a figure descended from the Starship high in the sky.
Lei Ao landed before the crowd with a grim expression.
His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept across the entire room in a flash, finally lingering on Chen Fan for less than a second before abruptly looking away.
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart with the powerful will of the Seventh Grade Immortal Realm, but the slight contraction of his pupils still betrayed his inner turmoil.
"First Tier the clearing operations is complete."
Lei Ao's voice regained its leader's authority and coldness. He raised his hand, and the Student Badge projected a beam of light.
"Now, settle the contribution."
Before the words were even finished, a huge Light Screen unfolded above the battlefield, clearly displaying the real-time contribution leaderboard to everyone.
All eyes were drawn upwards, eventually settling on the top spot.
First Place: [Life School - Chen Fan]
Following the name is a long string of numbers that is dazzling and even impossible to count at first glance.
And what followed closely behind...
Second place: [Ancient Martial Arts School - Gao Peng]
His contribution was less than a fraction of Chen Fan's figure.
If the previous battles were a visual shock, then this absurdly disparate number was like the heaviest, coldest hammer, shattering the last vestiges of hope, luck, and illusion in their hearts.
"Oh..."
Gao Peng let out a dry laugh that was hard to understand. He looked at the Light Screen and recalled his earlier taunts and mockery. His face burned with pain, so much so that he couldn't even muster any jealousy.
All that's left is numbness.
And a kind of bewilderment stemming from the difference in levels of life...
Not only him, but all the Prodigies, including those who had previously egged them on, lowered their heads at this moment, no longer daring to look at the blinding Light Screen, as if what was recorded on it was not their achievements, but their shame.
Lei Ao took in everyone's reactions, took a deep breath, and continued to announce in a flat tone:
"Distribute the spoils according to the mission rules and based on contribution."
"Over 99% of all Life Cores obtained in this cleanup operation belong to Chen Fan."
His words were like a final verdict.
Under the staring gaze of dozens of blank eyes, the communal storage space for the Student Badges was opened.
The mountain of dark green Life Cores, radiating a rich life force, transformed into a mighty torrent of energy, like a verdant galaxy overflowing the heavens, and poured entirely into Chen Fan's Student Badge.
The massive amount of contribution points fluctuated wildly before finally settling.
Throughout the entire process, Chen Fan simply watched calmly, as if he were merely reclaiming what rightfully belonged to him.
He raised his wrist, glanced at the astronomical figure inside the badge, and, confirming that this "Kindling" was enough for him to complete the first step of "Adding Fuel," nodded in satisfaction.
Thus, this high-risk extermination mission, involving the top Prodigies of the Star River Martial Academy, came to an end in an almost absurd manner.
Seeing the morale of the crowd plummeting and cracks appearing in their Dao Hearts, Lei Ao was about to give the order to rest and revitalize their spirits.