Song Qing's Shock

"Roar!"

Just as Song Qing's face filled with despair, a dragon's roar suddenly rang out beside his ears.

Immediately afterward, a palm imprint nearly three feet wide swept past him, blasting the approaching Zombie Puppet several meters away!

"Teacher, what the hell are these things?!"

Lu Chuan's voice suddenly rang out.

Following the sound, Song Qing saw Lu Chuan darting and weaving as he unleashed several palms in succession, driving back multiple Zombie Puppets.

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Lu Chuan, Song Qing stared in stunned disbelief. "When did you break through to the Second Rank?"

Song Qing clearly remembered that Lu Chuan had only been a First-Rank Martial Artist a month ago.

And now, only one month later, he was already Second Rank?

Breaking through an entire rank in one month—wasn't that speed monstrously insane?

Hearing this, the surrounding students forgot their fear for the moment and all stared at Lu Chuan in shock.

He was already Second Rank?

There were only a handful of students in the entire Third Middle School who had broken through to Second Rank.

Seeing Song Qing and the students frozen in a daze, Lu Chuan was speechless.

What time was this? They still had the leisure to focus on something else?

"Don't stand there spacing out, Teacher! Show us the strength of a Third Rank Martial Artist!"

The loud shout snapped Song Qing back to his senses.

Song Qing immediately stepped forward, shielding Lu Chuan behind him. "Lu Chuan, take the students and run! I'll hold these Zombie Puppets back!"

Lu Chuan rolled his eyes at Song Qing. "Run? Where would we run to?"

"Look at these beasts. Have they left us any room to escape?"

"Only if we all fight together and hold on until the school sends reinforcements will we have a sliver of hope to survive."

Song Qing frowned. He knew Lu Chuan was telling the truth.

But as a teacher, not only could he not ensure his students' safety, he even needed their help just to barely cling to life.

If word of that got out...

Forget it. The students' safety was what mattered. Pride was worth less than a speck of dust!

With that thought, Song Qing quickly explained, "Students, these things are called Zombie Puppets. They are evil creatures refined by the Heavenly Principle Cult, rather similar to zombies."

"As for what the Heavenly Principle Cult is, I'll tell you after we get back."

"These Zombie Puppets are at least as strong as Third Rank Martial Artists, so you must be careful when fighting them!"

"However, Zombie Puppets are not without weaknesses. Their glabella is extremely fragile. Even a First-Rank Martial Artist can injure it."

"Everyone, attack the Zombie Puppets' glabella together. Slow down their movements and hold on until the school sends reinforcements."

As soon as he finished speaking, Song Qing sprang forward and struck a Zombie Puppet's glabella with his palm.

Bang!

With a thunderous blast, the Zombie Puppet's glabella instantly shattered. Its entire body began making incessant cracking sounds, like a machine that had malfunctioned.

Seeing this, the students followed suit, mustering their courage as they charged at the Zombie Puppets.

But unfortunately, even though First-Rank Martial Artists could harm a Zombie Puppet's glabella, the gap between them made it difficult for the students to even touch that weak point.

In just three seconds, quite a few students suffered severe injuries.

Two students had even failed to dodge in time and died on the spot!

Seeing this, Lu Chuan frowned. He knew that if this continued, they would never last until the school's reinforcements arrived.

It seemed they had no choice but to fight with their backs against the wall.

With that thought, Lu Chuan shouted, "Everyone, gather together! Those with greater strength stand on the outside, and those weaker stay inside!"

"Don't charge in one at a time anymore! That's no different from throwing your lives away!"

After speaking, Lu Chuan frantically activated the spiritual energy in his body. A green barrier of spiritual energy instantly enveloped an area several meters wide.

Seeing this, the students no longer had time to be afraid. They hurriedly followed Lu Chuan's instructions and jogged into the barrier.

At the same time, every student desperately mobilized the spiritual energy within their bodies, continuously reinforcing the barrier.

After everyone strengthened it, the barrier actually began to emit a dense, solid fluctuation.

Judging from that fluctuation, only a Fourth-rank Martial Artist would likely be capable of breaking through the barrier.

Sensing that fluctuation, everyone was overjoyed.

They were safe now.

Yet there was not the slightest joy on Lu Chuan's face.

The barrier was indeed sturdy, but it probably would not last very long.

After all, being besieged by so many Zombie Puppets comparable to Third Rank Martial Artists, even a Fourth-Rank Expert likely would not be able to hold out for long.

Sure enough, when one Zombie Puppet smashed its fist into the barrier, ripples spread across its surface.

Though it had not yet collapsed, Lu Chuan could still see cracks appearing one after another.

If they wanted to win—

Or rather, if they wanted to hold out a little longer, they still had to follow Song Qing's advice and take the initiative to attack.

With that thought, Lu Chuan walked out of the barrier and said without looking back, "Hold on. I'm going to meet these beasts head-on."

"Lu Chuan!"

Seeing Lu Chuan walk out of the barrier, the students' faces filled with anxiety.

Why was he going out? Wasn't that simply courting death?

But Lu Chuan had no intention of turning back. Once outside the barrier, he grabbed a Zombie Puppet by the arm and slammed a fist into its chest.

The Zombie Puppet immediately staggered back several steps, then changed targets and charged toward Lu Chuan.

There was not a trace of fear in Lu Chuan's eyes. He raised his right hand as spiritual energy continuously surged into it. His lips parted slightly, and an icy shout echoed through heaven and earth!

"Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon Palm!"

"Roar!!!"

Accompanied by a dragon's roar, a three-foot palm imprint shot forth.

If one looked closely at the palm imprint, one would discover that a phantom image of a divine dragon seemed to coil faintly around it!

Boom!

The palm imprint instantly struck the Zombie Puppet's glabella, sending it flying several meters away. It only barely came to a stop after smashing through a tree.

Looking at the Zombie Puppet again, its glabella had shattered, and cracking sounds came from all over its body. Clearly, it no longer had the strength to fight.

Lu Chuan had instantly killed a Zombie Puppet in one move!

"Hiss!"

"How is that possible?!"

Song Qing, who had witnessed the whole process, sucked in a cold breath. Shock filled his face. "Lu Chuan, your strength is actually not far from that of a Third Rank Martial Artist?"

No!

It would be more accurate to say that he was even stronger than an ordinary Third Rank Martial Artist!

At the very least, Song Qing himself could not accomplish such a feat.

The students within the barrier were also aghast. Had Lu Chuan already become this powerful?

He was actually even stronger than their teacher!

In the next instant, the students were swept up in wild jubilation.

With Lu Chuan here, they would definitely be able to hold on until the school's reinforcements arrived!

"Teacher, at a time like this, you still have the mind to focus on me?"

After knocking another Zombie Puppet back, Lu Chuan could not help but complain.

"Who told you to be such a monster? In only two short months, you've grown to this extent. You can already stand shoulder to shoulder with me, your teacher!"

"Who wouldn't be shocked?"

Lu Chuan smiled awkwardly. It did seem like he had become a little too monstrous.

Pah, pah, pah!

At such a dangerous time, how could I let my mind wander?

"Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon Palm!"

After dealing with another Zombie Puppet, Lu Chuan could not help turning to look toward Lin City.

After so long, the school should have reacted by now, right?

If they did not come soon, he really would not be able to hold on.

"You beasts, how dare you!"

Perhaps his prayer had been heard. A furious shout rang out from the horizon.

Immediately afterward, a figure swept down from the sky and struck out with a palm in midair.