Song Qing's Shock

"Roooar!"

Just as Song Qing was in utter despair, a dragon's roar suddenly echoed in his ears.

Immediately after, a palm imprint a full three feet wide swept past him, blasting the approaching Zombie Puppet back several meters!

"Teacher, what the hell are these things?"

Lu Chuan's voice rang out abruptly.

Following the sound, he saw Lu Chuan weaving and dodging while striking out several palms, forcing back multiple Zombie Puppets in succession.

Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Lu Chuan, Song Qing stammered in shock, "When did you break through to Second Rank?"

Song Qing clearly remembered that a month ago, Lu Chuan was only at First Rank.

Now, just one month later, he was already Second Rank?

Breaking through one rank in a month—this speed was monstrous!

The surrounding students, upon hearing this, momentarily forgot their fear and stared at Lu Chuan in shock.

He was actually Second Rank?

In all of Third Middle School, there weren't many students who could break through to Second Rank.

Seeing Song Qing and the students frozen in place, Lu Chuan was exasperated.

What kind of time was this for them to be worrying about other things?

"Don't space out, teacher! Use your Third Rank strength!"

A loud shout snapped Song Qing back to reality.

Immediately, Song Qing stepped forward two paces, shielding Lu Chuan behind him, and said, "Lu Chuan, take the students and run. I'll hold off these Zombie Puppets!"

Lu Chuan shot Song Qing a glare. "Run? Run where?"

"Take a look at these bastards—did they leave us any room to escape?"

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

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

But as a teacher, not only could he not guarantee the students' safety, he had to rely on their help just to barely survive.

If word got out...

Forget it. The students' safety mattered more. Face was worthless!

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

"As for what the Heavenly Principle Cult is, we'll talk about that later."

"Zombie Puppets are at least Third Rank in strength. When fighting them, you must be careful!"

"But Zombie Puppets aren't without weaknesses. Their glabella is extremely fragile—even a First-Rank Martial Artist can damage it."

"Everyone, attack their glabellas together to slow them down and hold out until the school's reinforcements arrive."

With that, Song Qing leaped forward and slammed a palm toward a Zombie Puppet's glabella.

Bang!

With a heavy crash, the Zombie Puppet's glabella shattered instantly, and its entire body, like a broken machine, emitted a series of "crack crack" sounds.

Seeing this, the students followed suit, summoning their courage and charging at the Zombie Puppets.

But unfortunately, even though a First-Rank Martial Artist could damage a Zombie Puppet's glabella, the gap in strength made it nearly impossible for the students to even reach that spot.

Within three seconds, many students were severely injured.

Two students, unable to dodge in time, were killed on the spot!

Witnessing this, Lu Chuan frowned. He knew that if things continued like this, they wouldn't last until the school's reinforcements arrived.

It seemed he had to fight to the death.

With that thought, Lu Chuan shouted, "Everyone, gather together! The stronger ones on the outside, the weaker ones on the inside."

"Don't attack one by one—that's no different from suicide!"

As he spoke, Lu Chuan frantically channeled his spiritual energy, and a green barrier of energy instantly enveloped an area several meters wide.

Seeing this, the students, forgetting their fear, hurriedly followed Lu Chuan's instructions and scurried into the barrier.

At the same time, each student frantically mobilized their spiritual energy, continuously reinforcing the barrier.

With everyone's efforts, the barrier began to emit a solid, dense fluctuation.

Judging by this fluctuation, only a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist could possibly break through it.

Sensing this fluctuation, everyone was overjoyed.

They were safe now.

But Lu Chuan's face showed no trace of joy.

This barrier was indeed sturdy, but it probably wouldn't hold for much longer.

Surrounded by so many Zombie Puppets equivalent to Third Rank martial artists, even a Fourth Rank expert probably couldn't hold out much longer.

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

Though it hadn't shattered yet, Lu Chuan still saw cracks forming.

To win—

Or rather, to hold out a bit longer—he would have to take the initiative, just as Song Qing had said.

With that thought, Lu Chuan stepped out of the barrier and said without looking back, "You all hold on. I'll go deal with these beasts."

"Lu Chuan!"

Seeing Lu Chuan leave the barrier, the students' faces filled with anxiety.

What was he going out there for? Wasn't that just asking for death?

But Lu Chuan didn't turn back. Once outside the barrier, he grabbed a Zombie Puppet's arm and punched it square in the chest.

The Zombie Puppet staggered back several steps, then shifted its target and charged at Lu Chuan.

There was no fear in Lu Chuan's eyes. He raised his right hand, spiritual energy surging into it, parted his lips slightly, and a cold roar shook heaven and earth!

"Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon Palm!"

"Roooar!!!"

With a dragon's cry, a three-foot palm imprint shot forth.

If you stared closely at the imprint, you could faintly see a divine dragon's phantom coiling around it!

Boom!

The palm imprint struck the Zombie Puppet's brow in an instant, sending it flying several meters until it smashed into a tree and finally stopped.

Looking at the Zombie Puppet now, its brow was shattered, and a cracking sound came from its entire body. Clearly, it had lost all strength to fight.

Lu Chuan had killed a Zombie Puppet in one move!

"Hiss!"

"How is this possible!"

Song Qing, who had witnessed the whole process, sucked in a cold breath, shock spreading across his face. "Lu Chuan, your strength is already on par with a Third Rank martial artist?"

No—

He should say Lu Chuan was even stronger than an average Third Rank martial artist!

At the very least, he, Song Qing, couldn't pull off something like that.

The students inside the barrier were also stunned. Was Lu Chuan already this powerful?

Even stronger than the teacher!

In an instant, the students burst into wild joy.

With Lu Chuan here, they could definitely hold out until the school sent reinforcements!

"Teacher, what time is it now, and you're still worrying about me!"

After blasting back another Zombie Puppet, Lu Chuan couldn't help but complain.

"Who told you to be such a freak? In just two months, you've grown to this level—already on par with me!"

"Who wouldn't be shocked by that?"

Lu Chuan gave an awkward smile. Maybe he was a bit of a freak.

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!

At a time like this, how could he let himself get distracted!

"Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon Palm!"

After taking down another Zombie Puppet, Lu Chuan couldn't help but turn his head to look toward Lin City.

It had been so long. The school should have reacted by now.

If they didn't come soon, he wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

"How dare you, beast!"

As if answering Lu Chuan's prayer, a loud shout rang out from the horizon.

Then, a figure shot out from the sky, striking down with a palm from midair.