When the thirty upright figures of Yellow Class Nine, straight as spears, finally disappeared beyond the doors of the Mission Hall beneath countless gazes filled with shock and pity, the deathly silence that had been forcibly suppressed for so long was at last torn apart by an earth-shattering uproar erupting like mountains collapsing and seas roaring!
"They've gone mad! They... they really left!" "My heavens! Am I dreaming? A group of Yellow Class students whose average cultivation hasn't even reached the Body Refinement Fifth Level actually dared to challenge the wolf disaster in the Black Wind Mountain Range?!" "This isn't arrogance or confidence. This is simply... stupidity! Utter, complete stupidity! They'll die! Every last one of them will be torn alive into pieces by those hundred-plus Ironback Demonic Wolves!" "What a waste of Lin Xiao. He clearly has talent enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Chief Instructor of Heaven Class, yet he is... a complete idiot! Not only is he going to his death, he's dragging his twenty-nine pitiful companions down with him!"
The entire Mission Hall descended into a frenzy of discussion. Pity, mockery, schadenfreude... all manner of emotions intertwined and fermented among the crowd.
Almost at the same moment, the news that "Yellow Class Nine has accepted a High-level B-grade Mission of death and is heading to the Black Wind Mountain Range to wipe out the wolf disaster" spread through every corner of the outer academy as though it had grown wings, at a speed more terrifying than ever before!
Countless students poured out from the dormitories, cultivation towers, and Library Pavilion, gathering along both sides of the road leading to the academy gates. They all wanted to see for themselves what this "most foolish team in history," about to march into the Yellow Springs, looked like.
Yet when they truly saw that team, the mocking, spectacle-watching expressions on everyone's faces froze unconsciously.
What kind of team was this...
Thirty youths in identical black combat attire stood in an incomparably orderly formation, as neat as though carved by blade and axe. With silent yet powerful strides, they advanced unhurriedly toward the academy gates.
There was not a single unnecessary expression on their faces. No fear of facing death, no tragic grandeur of heading to the battlefield, not even the slightest trace of youthful passion and excitement.
There was only a calm so still it made one's heart tremble, like an ancient well without ripples.
It was as though they were not carrying out a death mission with nine chances of death in ten, but merely taking the most ordinary stroll after dinner.
The iron-blooded Killing Intent naturally radiating from them had nearly condensed into substance, forming an invisible force field that shut out all the surrounding noisy discussions beyond three feet.
Every student swept by those icy gazes felt as if an invisible giant hand had gripped their heart. They instinctively closed their mouths and made way for them.
A pin drop could be heard.
Under the watch of tens of thousands of eyes, the road leading to the academy gates fell into an eerie, deathly silence.
Only after those thirty figures had completely left the academy and vanished from everyone's sight did that terrifying atmosphere, so oppressive it nearly suffocated people, finally dissipate in silence.
"Gulp..."
No one knew who it was in the crowd that swallowed with difficulty, then muttered in a dreamlike, uncertain tone, "Were they... really... Yellow Class Nine?"
No one could answer that question. Yet an absurd thought surfaced in everyone's heart at the same time: Perhaps... perhaps those lunatics really could... create a miracle?
At the same time.
Within an extravagantly luxurious courtyard located in the deepest part of the Heaven Class district, where spiritual energy was at its richest.
A burly young man with rugged features stood quietly listening to a subordinate's report. His entire body radiated a domineering aura like that of a primordial savage beast.
He was the president of the Heavenly Martial Society, the Chief Instructor of Heaven Class One, and the man known as the "number one person in the outer academy"—Wu Tianxiong!
"Oh?"
When he heard that Lin Xiao had not only publicly humiliated Zhao Wuji but had also seized the High-level B-grade Mission that the Heavenly Martial Society had long designated for themselves, Wu Tianxiong narrowed his hawk-sharp eyes slightly, and a dangerous glint flashed through them.
"You're saying that brat called Lin Xiao led that bunch of Yellow Class trash and forced Wuji, who is at the middle stage of the Body Refinement Seventh Level, back through nothing but combined Killing Intent?"
"Y-Yes, President!" the student reporting stammered fearfully. "Everyone there saw it with their own eyes! Those Yellow Class people were incredibly strange! The Killing Intent they unleashed together was simply... simply like a genuine ancient ferocious beast!"
"Interesting."
Wu Tianxiong slowly rose from the stone bench. His burly body stood a full head taller than ordinary people, exuding explosive pressure!
It seemed that this newly risen "number one genius of the outer academy" not only possessed astounding talent, but was also first-rate at training subordinates.
A cruel, violent smile curved across his lips.
"But that is fine."
"Killing a sheep is far too dull."
"Only a pack of young wolves beginning to bare their fangs is worthy of becoming the final whetstone before I, Wu Tianxiong, enter the inner academy!"
He turned to Zhao Wuji, who had been standing at the side with a face so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water, and issued an unquestionable command.
"Wuji, immediately gather all the elites of the Heavenly Martial Society."
"Our 'training expedition' should begin as well."
"Our destination is also the Black Wind Mountain Range!"
"I want that brat who doesn't know the height of heaven or the depth of earth, along with his laughable companions, to understand one unbreakable truth clearly."
"In the outer academy of Cloud Creek Academy, no one can take what I, Wu Tianxiong, have set my sights on!"
"And those who offend the Heavenly Martial Society..."
"Have only one ending."
"That is—death!"
Lin Xiao and his group had long turned a deaf ear to the monstrous waves they had stirred up within the academy.
After leaving Cloud Creek City, they headed north at full speed.
Under Lin Xiao's leadership, the thirty-person team moved without the slightest sluggishness or disorder.
At times, they transformed into a sharp blade cutting through rugged mountain paths; at others, they became agile fish silently slipping into the dense forest.
Everyone's steps, breathing, and even heartbeats seemed connected by an invisible thread, achieving an unimaginable degree of unity!
This was one of the most precious treasures they had forged in that endless "hellish weighted run"—team coordination!
In only half a day, they crossed three hundred li and arrived at the blood-red mountain range that made countless outer academy students turn pale at its name—the Black Wind Mountain Range!
Before they had truly entered the mountain range, a dense bloody stench that was nearly impossible to disperse came rushing toward them with the cold, sinister mountain wind!
The mountain range was deathly still.
Not a trace of birdsong or insect chirping could be heard. There was only an oppressive silence that made one's scalp crawl.
It was as if this vast forest had become a graveyard of death belonging solely to predators!
"Everyone, listen to my orders!"
Lin Xiao stopped at the entrance to the mountain range. His deep gaze slowly swept over the twenty-nine equally solemn young faces behind him, and his voice was cold, devoid of emotion.
"From this moment onward, you are no longer students of Cloud Creek Academy."
"You are one whole."
"A wolf pack that lives by hunting!"
"And I am your alpha wolf!"
"Here, there are no Chief Instructors, no companions—only... absolute obedience!"
"You must carry out every order I give without any discount! Even if I order you to die!"
"Do you understand?!"
"Understood!"
Twenty-nine low growls, suppressing excitement and fighting spirit, rang out in perfect unison!
"Very good."
Lin Xiao nodded in satisfaction.
"Shi Lei!"
"Here!"
"You will lead the first squad of five as the team's Sharp Shield, responsible for frontal defense and charges!"
"Su Yue!"
"Here!"
"You will lead the second squad of ten as the team's Fangs, responsible for harassment and assassination on both flanks!"
"Monkey!"
"Here!"
"You will lead the third squad of ten as the team's Ghost Shadows, responsible for rear vigilance, support, and... finishing blows!"
"The remaining people, including me, will form the central force and provide support!"
"Now, immediately execute the 'Wolf Pack Hunt' formation!"
"Target: the rocky slope three li ahead, where the scent of blood is coming from!"
"Move out!"
"Yes!"
Following Lin Xiao's command, the team that had been gathered together instantly began operating at high speed like the most precise machine!
Shi Lei roared and led his four equally burly teammates, all wielding heavy shields and battle axes, charging to the very front of the team like a humanoid armored war chariot!
Su Yue and Monkey, meanwhile, each led their members like two bolts of black lightning, silently melting into the dense woods on either side of the road and vanishing without a trace!
Lin Xiao led the remaining few members behind Shi Lei's squad at an unhurried pace, like a chess player controlling the entire board.
A true wolf pack, brimming with killing intent, finally bared the sharpest fangs it had possessed since arriving in this world!
Rocky Slope.
As its name suggested, this was a complex area formed from countless strange black boulders.
The dense smell of blood was emanating from the center of this area.
Just as the Sharp Shield squad led by Shi Lei stepped into the area.
"Awooo—!"
A wolf howl brimming with brutality and bloodlust suddenly rang out from behind a massive boulder!
Immediately afterward, seven ferocious giant wolves, each over three meters long and covered from head to toe in black fur that gleamed with metallic luster like steel, their eyes crimson as blood, burst out from all directions!
Ironback Demonic Wolves!
Low-grade Second-order Demonic Beasts!
They were swift as lightning! Their incomparably sharp claws and fangs gleamed with chilling cold light beneath the sun!
In the time it took to blink, these seven Ironback Demonic Wolves, enough to drive any ordinary student team into despair, had already pounced before the faces of the Sharp Shield squad!
Yet faced with this sudden, fatal charge of death, Shi Lei and his four teammates showed not the slightest panic!
"Raise shields!"
Shi Lei's roar, as forceful as a great bell, echoed through the area!
Boom!
Five massive tower shields forged from refined steel, heavy beyond measure, smashed viciously into the ground at the same time!
The shields fitted together seamlessly, forming an impregnable steel barrier in an instant!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A dense string of dull, teeth-aching impacts rang out!
The seven Ironback Demonic Wolves slammed hard into that indestructible shield wall and were struck so badly by the terrifying rebounding force that they became dizzy and disoriented, their assault abruptly stalling!
Yet this was only the beginning!
At the instant they stiffened briefly from the collision.
"Fangs! Attack!"
Lin Xiao's icy voice rang clearly beside everyone's ears like death's judgment!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Fangs and Ghost Shadows squads, which had long lain in ambush on both sides, moved!
Twenty black figures, like twenty grim reapers crawling out of hell, silently shot out from behind those huge boulders!
In their hands, they tightly gripped the razor-sharp blades they had exchanged for at the Merit Hall, blades capable of slicing through hair with a breath!
Their targets were exceptionally clear!
The Ironback Demonic Wolves' comparatively soft bellies and throats, unprotected by armor!
Squelch!
Squelch!
Squelch!
The dull sounds of blades piercing flesh rang out in rapid succession!
Blood soared into the sky!
Those seven Ironback Demonic Wolves, which had been so ferocious and arrogant moments ago, did not even manage to let out a proper cry before the twenty blades thrust from the most tricky, most deadly angles instantly stripped them of all life!
Their bodies crashed to the ground.
A trace of confusion and incomprehension still lingered in those crimson wolf eyes.
It was as though, even at death, they could not understand why... why these humans, as weak as ants in their eyes, could be so... terrifying?!
The battle had not even lasted ten breaths from beginning to end!
The entire process flowed like drifting clouds and running water, completed in one continuous stroke!
There was not a single superfluous movement, nor the slightest hint of dragging things out!
When the last member of the Ghost Shadows squad expressionlessly withdrew the dagger in his hand from a demonic wolf's throat, Rocky Slope returned once more to deathly silence.
Only the dense, nauseating stench of blood silently told of the one-sided slaughter that had just taken place here, a slaughter that could only be called art!
"C-Clean up the battlefield."
Shi Lei slowly lowered his heavy shield. He stared at the bloody scene of wolf corpses scattered everywhere, then looked at his companions, whose expressions were all perfectly normal as though they had merely done something insignificant. His honest face was filled with incredulous shock!
This... this was the strength of Yellow Class Nine now?!
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