Shi Yan knowingly asked a pointless question. He knew the other party was the target, yet he was also deeply alarmed.
Black Robe's pressure on him was immense, his Blood Vitality like a lake.
For martial artists, First Order Blood Vitality ranged from 10 to 99; Second Order ranged from 100 to 499; Third Order ranged from 500 to 999.
At Fourth Order, the bones began to transform, and Blood Vitality broke past the threshold of one thousand calories, reaching a maximum of five thousand.
The person before him had incomparably solidified Blood Vitality, making Shi Yan feel as though he were submerged in a viscous liquid.
He had clearly crossed beyond the realm of a Fourth Order Master and entered the realm of a Fifth-Order Grandmaster, where the blood itself began to transform.
And he might not have merely entered the Fifth Order.
As for exactly how far he had gone, Shi Yan did not know. His own realm was simply too low.
He only knew that the other party could crush him at will. A Fifth-Order Grandmaster had at least five thousand Blood Vitality; one finger was enough to grind him to death.
"Who I am isn't important. What matters is that you've now become one of my bargaining chips."
Black Robe gave a sinister cackle, his withered palm reaching for Shi Yan.
The moment he moved, a nauseating stench of blood spread through the air.
Just as when Zhang Yunya had acted before, Shi Yan was unable to move at all.
Though he knew someone was protecting him in secret, his feeling of helplessness was magnified without limit at this moment.
The thought of becoming a top-tier martial artist instantly flooded his mind.
"You're courting death!"
Just as the withered claw came within three feet of Shi Yan, a cold snort rang out.
It was followed by the whistling sound of something tearing through the air. A giant axe the size of a door slammed down five feet in front of Shi Yan.
Naturally, that axe strike did not hit Black Robe.
Judging by his aura, Black Robe's aura was even denser than Zhang Yunya's. It was impossible for him to be killed in a single move.
Instead, the Boar Demon's corpse on the ground was cleaved in two.
What astonished Shi Yan was that the axe blade had split the Boar Demon's corpse perfectly, without cutting even a fraction deeper.
That control over force was simply absurdly powerful.
One had to know, the giant axe had been thrown from her hand.
Thinking of how he had previously driven the Lava Spirit Devouring Saber into the ground, he could not help feeling ashamed.
"Zhang Yunya, you really are a lingering ghost that refuses to scatter."
More than ten meters away, Black Robe's figure emerged. His gaze at Zhang Yunya was incomparably gloomy.
"Don't think that killing my two brothers means you can deal with me."
"Is that so? Then why did you run?"
Zhang Yunya had already lifted her giant axe and gestured for Shi Yan to retreat.
Who would have thought that Black Robe had no martial virtue? A mass of dark green energy burst from his hand and smashed toward Shi Yan.
Zhang Yunya's expression changed. She had no choice but to pull back and block the attack for Shi Yan.
Terrifying energy surged in all directions. Even with Zhang Yunya shielding him, Shi Yan was struck by the aftershock and sent flying, his saber falling from his hand.
Only after crashing into a large tree did he slide down its trunk.
Fortunately, it was only an aftershock. After the transformation during the College Entrance Examination, his body had become much stronger. This blow only made his Blood Vitality churn slightly.
"Watch carefully. Focus and sense the energy fluctuations on their bodies."
Shi Yan struggled to his feet, panting, when Lin Ye's voice reached his ears.
The man himself was nowhere to be seen, but his voice could be heard.
Shi Yan nodded almost imperceptibly and fixed his gaze on the battlefield.
Then he saw Zhang Yunya, who had blocked the attack for him, raise her axe horizontally to block.
Sparks flew as a dagger was knocked away.
"Attacking you was a feint. Sneak-attacking Zhang Yunya was the real goal."
Lin Ye's voice sounded at just the right time.
"Lei Ku is at Fifth Order Peak, with Blood Vitality exceeding nine thousand. Zhang Yunya is at the Late Fifth Order. If his sneak attack succeeded, her movements would be affected."
In the blink of an eye, after blocking the sneak attack, Zhang Yunya swung her giant axe at Black Robe.
As fierce force churned through the air, a ten-meter-long axe blade swept out, parting earth and splitting stone as if it would cleave open the dark night.
Lei Ku was startled and hurriedly shifted aside to evade.
He did not dare take that strike head-on either.
At the same time, Shi Yan sensed that at the instant Zhang Yunya swung that axe, her Blood Vitality fluctuations became incredibly powerful, even showing signs of surpassing Lei Ku's.
Lei Ku's evasion was simple and brutal. He poured Blood Vitality into both legs and shifted sideways directly.
"Zhang Yunya's ability is Blood Vitality Amplification. Within the same major realm, very few people dare clash with her head-on." Lin Ye's voice rang out again. "Lei Ku possesses the 'Poison Wolf' ability. He excels in speed and poison, and he has already escaped from Zhang Yunya's hands twice."
Shi Yan was slightly shocked when he heard that.
A Fifth Order Peak against a Late Fifth Order, yet the word used was "escape." And his two brothers had also been killed.
Just how strong was this Senior?
As he pondered, the battle between the two erupted once more.
Zhang Yunya pressed her advantage without mercy. Axe blades flew out one after another, as though they consumed no Blood Vitality at all.
Lei Ku relied on his speed and continuously dodged.
Only after his Blood Vitality had been greatly depleted and a chunk of flesh had been sliced from his arm did this "drawn-out battle" come to a halt.
Even a Fifth-Order cultivation could not withstand continuously using Blood Vitality at such high intensity.
"Hehe, it's been a month, yet you haven't improved one bit."
Lei Ku sneered coldly, paying no attention to the minor wound on his arm.
Zhang Yunya's consumption was greater than his, and her Blood Vitality was weaker than his. When it came to attrition, he had never been afraid.
"If you've got the guts, stop dodging!" Zhang Yunya's ample chest rose and fell continuously, and her axe-wielding right hand had begun to tremble slightly.
"Dodge? No. Now this old man is going to take your life!"
Seeing that Zhang Yunya was in poor condition, Lei Ku could not help growing bolder.
A pair of dark green daggers instantly appeared in his hands, and he charged forward like a phantom.
He had thought Zhang Yunya would dodge, but when he reached her, she not only did not evade, she actually revealed a smile.
Lei Ku immediately cried out inwardly that things were bad. Almost instinctively, he tried to retreat, but Zhang Yunya flicked her finger. With a boom, a violent burst of flame erupted from the ground, blocking his retreat.
That scorching heat seemed ready to burn everything around it to ashes.
With no other choice, Lei Ku could only shift sideways at high speed as he had before.
But that decision made him regret it instantly.
The axe blade that had been waiting for him swept past. Lei Ku's body was severed at the waist, and his scream echoed through the night.
Lei Ku's eyes were filled with madness as he tried to launch one final counterattack. Unfortunately, his severed body no longer obeyed him, and Zhang Yunya retreated quickly, leaving him unable to reach her at all.
In the end, he could only die amid boundless resentment.
Seeing this, Zhang Yunya let out a long breath and then sat down on the ground without a shred of grace.
"He's finally dead. It's just a pity for those dozens of wronged souls."
"Senior, that was freaking awesome!"
Shi Yan picked up his saber and walked toward Zhang Yunya.
Who would have thought that it was his saber that had rendered the great service?
Just now, Zhang Yunya had flicked out a small black object, aiming it directly at his saber.
Only when the black bead struck the Lava Spirit Devouring Saber did that burst of raging flame erupt.
"This is what battles between martial artists are like—filled with danger, but also brimming with all kinds of opportunities."
Lin Ye descended from the sky and spoke to Shi Yan.
"Realm, abilities, Blood Vitality, and the like are the foundation of battle. But making use of all kinds of things, even the environment itself, is the wisdom of a martial artist's combat."
As he spoke, he walked over to Lei Ku's corpse and began searching through it.
Lei Ku and his two brothers had long been criminals wanted by the Monster Suppression Bureau. Zhang Yunya had accepted the bounty.
Now that the last of them, Lei Ku, had been brought to justice, the bounty mission was complete.
With Lin Ye present, Zhang Yunya could skip the step of bringing back the head for verification.
After resting for a while, dawn pierced the darkness, and a new day arrived.
By the time Zhang Yunya recovered from being drenched in fragrant sweat to her youthful, lively appearance, morning light had already shone across the earth.
Shi Yan climbed into Zhang Yunya's sports car once more. Lin Ye had already carried Lei Ku's corpse into the sky before disappearing from sight.
"Senior, thank you. I gained a great deal this night."
After the sports car started moving, Shi Yan spoke sincerely.
He had earned more than a thousand Martial Virtue Points, and his understanding of powerful martial artists had risen by a great margin. It was truly a double blessing at the same time.
"Junior, I should be thanking you. Besides, you gave me quite a fright too."
Zhang Yunya was pleasantly surprised now. When she had received her teacher's call, she had thought her teacher's words were somewhat exaggerated.
After all, she often... occasionally did things out of the ordinary, so her teacher would make things sound more serious when giving instructions.
But after observing Shi Yan for an entire night, she felt that her teacher had actually been too conservative.
For example, the information she had received said "saber technique beginner," but Shi Yan's actual saber technique looked like that of an old hand who had trained for over a decade. It also said "Blood Vitality in the thirties," yet the force with which Shi Yan had slapped a Bear Demon to death required at least Blood Vitality above fifty.
And that was not all. Shi Yan's courage and eagerness to learn directly filled her with delight.
He was a genius one could not find even by searching with a lantern. She absolutely had to recruit him into Magic Martial University.
Just as she was thinking this, Shi Yan's phone rang.
"Hello, Principal... I'm on my way back."
It was the principal of Baiyun No. 1 High School calling. He said that someone from a prestigious school was waiting for Shi Yan at the school.
"Please don't worry, I'll be there soon... What? I'll receive a ten-million scholarship the moment I enroll in Tianfu Martial School!?"
Before you continue