Despicable Outsider

After running half the distance, Jiang Liu glanced at the remaining time. There were 18 minutes left, meaning he had three minutes to spare.

Despite having ample time, he didn't relax at all; in fact, his nerves grew even tighter.

As he got closer to the finish line, the traps on the path increased.

He would often step on a landmine while running, making his feet go numb.

Or a burst of flames would rush at him, or a basin of ice water would be poured down. Although he was protected by the Thousand Hammer Golden Body, it was still slowly chipping away at his health bar, which was now only at eighty-five percent.

He wanted to dodge and evade, but he was powerless to do so.

Jiang Liu could see seven or eight traps within his line of sight just by glancing around. The trigger buttons were placed in plain sight, no longer hidden.

Either you face the trap's bombardment head-on and lose health.

Or you dodge to the side and waste time.

Heh.

There were more traps, and he was closer to the finish line, but he hadn't encountered many players.

Jiang Liu had been sprinting all the way, crashing through traps, and no one could keep up with his speed. He had already left the other players far behind.

Ten kilometers.

Eleven kilometers.

Twelve kilometers.

Jiang Liu thought that with his speed, he wouldn't encounter any other players.

But the reality was that the players who made it to the third round were rarely simple. No matter how fast or strong he was, someone could still match his speed.

"Footsteps!"

Jiang Liu heard hurried footsteps again, and his heart skipped a beat. A hint of vigilance flashed in his eyes. I'm already this fast, and I'm still encountering other players?

Who could it be?

No matter who it was, they were the biggest obstacle to him becoming the Parkour King!

His speed didn't decrease, and his gaze was fixed on another alley entrance, ready to draw the Sunrise Sword at any moment.

Two seconds later, a lock of golden hair first appeared in his vision, and a figure stepping on lightning, trailing sparks and lightning, suddenly burst out of the alley.

As the two met, only three meters apart, they simultaneously stopped in their tracks, staring at each other with astonished and vigilant eyes.

"Edward?!"

Upon seeing the golden hair stepping on lightning, Jiang Liu instantly recalled the other person's name and subconsciously called out.

On this vast map, he actually ran into the main player from First Middle School!

What kind of luck is this? Just you watch, my dear uncle!

After recognizing Edward, he immediately understood why the other person was keeping pace with him.

Born with a top-tier Lightning Spirit Root, stepping on lightning, it was clearly a lightning-element footwork. To be able to buy lightning-element footwork, what incredible luck!

When Edward heard Jiang Liu call his name, he couldn't help but be slightly stunned. Then, as if he had thought of something, he suddenly realized, and the hostility in his body instantly disappeared. He flashed Jiang Liu a brilliant smile and said, "Hello."

As he spoke, he took out a pen and a notebook, scribbled a few lines, tore off a piece of paper, and handed it to Jiang Liu: "Here, thank you for your support."

Jiang Liu: "?????"

Jiang Liu subconsciously took it and looked down. The paper read "Ai·Xinjueluo·Dehua." He looked bewildered and asked, "What do you mean?"

"An autograph."

Edward ran a hand through his hair, looking as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I don't know you, but you know me. Clearly, you're my fan."

"Classmate, which class are you in? I haven't seen you at school before?"

Jiang Liu: "."

Jiang Liu crumpled the piece of paper with a dark expression and said expressionlessly, "I'm from Third Middle School."

"Third Middle School?"

Edward was even more surprised. "Third Middle School has my fans now?"

"Sorry, classmate. The only person I know from Third Middle School is Su Weiyang."

Heh.

Interesting.

Jiang Liu took a deep breath and said with a dark face, "My name is Jiang Liu, remember that!"

"Mm-hmm, Jiang Liu, my fan, I'll remember it."

Edward nodded, pointed ahead, and said with a friendly smile, "You go left, I go right. We don't interfere with each other. Let's race peacefully, how about it?"

"Agreed."

Jiang Liu nodded slightly, returned a friendly smile to Edward, and then turned to walk to the other side of the street.

Turn.

One step.

Then turning back.

In an instant, Jiang Liu turned and turned back again. As he turned, the Sunrise Sword flashed from his palm, a cunning glint in his eyes, and he thrust it towards Edward's chest!

Peaceful coexistence?

Competing for speed with an ultimate Lightning Spirit Root and lightning-based footwork?

What a joke!

Threats must be dealt with in advance!

The sword thrust forward sharply, and an extremely crisp metallic clang erupted. The cunning smile on Jiang Liu's face froze instantly. What was that sound?

He looked and saw that the tip of the Sunrise Sword hadn't struck Edward. Instead, it had met the tip of a white long sword precisely.

His gaze shifted along the white long sword, and he saw Edward holding it. Moving up further, he saw Edward's stiff expression.

The two met eyes, both seeing a trace of awkwardness in the other's gaze.

"Fuck!"

Jiang Liu froze for a second, then roared, "You actually ambushed a fan, how despicable!"

This blonde actually thought the same thing I did!

Edward, hearing Jiang Liu's curses, also got angry. "Fuck! Weren't you trying to eliminate me too, you shameless bastard!"

He felt an immense threat from Jiang Liu. He had only managed to reach this point through his ultimate Lightning Spirit Root and lightning-based footwork, and he never expected someone else to be just as fast.

For the Parkour King, the threat had to be eliminated as soon as possible!

He had pulled out his magic tool long sword the moment Jiang Liu turned, but who could have expected Jiang Liu's turn, retrieval of his sword, and thrust to be so fluid, causing the tips of their two long swords to meet directly.

What should they do now?

He didn't want to waste HP here!

Jiang Liu also didn't want to waste HP. With nearly half the journey remaining, who knew what traps awaited him ahead.

Moreover, the opponent was at Qi Refining level six with an ultimate Lightning Spirit Root and extremely strong offensive capabilities. If a fight broke out, even with the Thousand Hammer Golden Body's damage reduction, a large chunk of his HP would be lost.

Their minds raced in sync. After a few seconds of stalemate, Jiang Liu proposed, "Let's not waste time. Three, two, one, retract your swords together, no interference, and let's compete for speed peacefully, how about it?"

"I agree."

Edward also didn't want to waste time here and let others benefit from their conflict.

"Three, two, one, retract!"

The two remained motionless, instead increasing their strength!

The moment the word "retract" left their mouths, Jiang Liu's body surged with water spiritual energy, which attached itself to the Sunrise Sword and shot towards Edward!

Simultaneously, a flash of lightning erupted from the tip of the white sword in Edward's hand.

The water spiritual energy and lightning spiritual energy clashed and intertwined, and the resulting shockwave forced both of them back several steps, creating distance.

We're on the same wavelength again!

"Heh, people from the West Coast are indeed cunning."

Jiang Liu stabilized himself, sneering, and condensed the Heart Piercing Drop in his palm, striking empty air towards Edward's chest!

Since the opponent was also cunning and treacherous, there was no need for sneak attacks. It was better to crush him head-on!