Volume Three: The Academy's All-Out Rampage - Rock-Circle Overlord (I)

The peninsula, its very foundation shattered, gradually calmed the surrounding seawater, which had been swirling with distorted energy, leaving only a scene of utter devastation. Anyone who saw it would have mistaken it for a gigantic junkyard.

"Ugh... cough cough cough!"

With a splash, a blood-soaked figure emerged from the sea and shuffled onto a relatively intact rock.

It is the bright moon.

"Ugh... This is... awful..."

Before her left hand could regenerate, her right arm was shattered, the bones twisted to pieces—no exaggeration, they were truly "shattered," with only a few strands of pink muscle and skin connecting them, making her look extremely pitiful.

Not only her arms, but her body was covered with wounds of all sizes, several ribs were broken, and she had multiple comminuted fractures. If it weren't for her superpowers, she probably wouldn't have been able to even climb back onto the reef.

"But... phew... we actually won..."

She lay sprawled on the rocks, each breath causing excruciating pain in her lungs, the metallic taste of blood constantly rising in her throat, her hazy consciousness threatening to snap at any moment.

However, she still won.

Golden moon, Mirror Flower Water Moon.

One of her strongest trump cards.

In a fleeting moment, the moon's reflection on the water becomes real.

In other words, within the extremely short time and small area affected by the Mirror Flower Water Moon" event, anyone who falls into the water reflecting the moon's image will actually "fall" to the moon.

Gold Moon Innate was actually preparing for this trump card from the beginning.

Since she couldn't harm Raosen, she decided to isolate him forever—that was Haoyue's thought, and she succeeded.

Unless Raosen teleports back to Spirit Star from the moon by distorting space, but that guy shouldn't be that powerful yet, he should have just thrown himself into outer space from the start.

"Yu... Yu Yue!"

A hazy silver light enveloped her entire body, and the bleeding gradually stopped, but the wounds all over her body healed very slowly. There was nothing she could do about it; after all, she had run out of strength.

It's a miracle that he didn't die instantly after unleashing two Black Moon attacks, followed by Gold Moon Innate and Mirror Flower Water Moon.

"It must be the power of Xiao Ye's love... Just kidding."

But maybe it's true~

"Speaking of which, Xiao Ye..."

They narrowly escaped disaster.

What about Xiao Ye?

Where is Xiao Wu now?

What about Xiao and Givinia?

In an undeveloped area not far from the League of Scholars), a man lay on the ground while two others confronted each other.

Lying on the ground was Ling Ye.

The two people facing off are Xiao Wu and Stone Strike.

Just now, Stone Strike declared to Xiao Wu that he would eliminate her.

Xiao Wu's heart was pounding. She racked her brains but couldn't think of a way out of the predicament.

Ling Ye was injured to the point of being unable to move.

Although he possesses extraordinary self-healing abilities, he has repeatedly used demonic transformation and was severely injured by Ling Ye, so he is not currently in a state where he can fight against a powerful enemy.

The man opposite her, who resembled a rock statue, was probably the most powerful enemy she had ever encountered since birth.

It's a hopeless situation no matter how you look at it.

Judging from the Stone Strike created earlier, his ability is probably a simple and brutal one, like controlling rocks. But precisely because it's so simple and brutal, there's no way to counter it. Should they escape? Judging from his physique, he seems to be a rather clumsy type, but who knows how fast he can move? And if they escape, they'll have to take Ling Ye with them. Xiao Wu can't allow herself to execute this person she just considered a friend.

"You, continue."

As she hesitated, Stone Strike suddenly threw something at her, which she reflexively caught.

"... pebbles?"

It was a small pebble, no bigger than a fingernail, pitch black, and nothing special about it.

"Put it in your mouth."

"Ha!?"

"No need to swallow, just hold it in your mouth."

"..."

Xiao Wu was a little confused. What was going on? Why was she being made to hold pebbles in her mouth? Was this some kind of attack method?

But given the current situation, I have no other choice.

... Let's give it our all!

Anyway, I have a super strong self-healing ability to keep me going!

Xiao Wu her teeth, stuffed the pebble into her mouth, and held it tightly.

"--Eh?"

An unexpected thing happened: surging energy erupted from the pebble, permeating every corner of her body! Her previously weakened self-healing ability was revitalized as if she had taken a tonic; not only were her wounds healing rapidly, but the stamina she had lost in the previous battle was also replenished. About a minute later, Xiao Wu absorbed all the strange energy released by the pebble, and now her body was in optimal condition, with abundant power flowing within her, even better than ever before.

"What exactly is this...?"

"The benevolent Earth Mother carries the lives of billions of beings. There is no better tonic than the essence of the earth. The pebble I just gave you is a concentrated form of the earth's essence," Stone Strike explained.

"You... give such good stuff to the enemy? Why?"

"Why? Is that even a question?"

Stone Strike tilted his head slightly.

"Taking advantage of someone in distress is the act of a despicable person. Starting a war with you before you've recovered to your best condition goes against my principles. If possible, I wouldn't want to punish Ling Ye when he was seriously injured, but those who betray their comrades must be punished promptly."

"But I'm your enemy..."

"Whether dealing with oneself or with an enemy, if one cannot be upright and honest, what is the meaning of life?"

"Well..."

That cannot be refuted.

This man named "Stone Strike" is quite a special existence even in that organization full of eccentrics.

Like ancient warriors, they value integrity and morality, making them hard to dislike even though they are enemies.

However, just because he spoke of morality to her didn't mean she had to speak of morality to him in return. Xiao Wu hadn't considered things like taking a gamble and running away with Ling Ye current state.

Faced with such a rare and respectable opponent, she had no reason to back down.

"... Very good, I didn't see any intention to run away in your eyes. You are indeed an opponent worthy of my serious attention." Stone Strike nodded, seemingly satisfied with Xiao Wu's performance. Then he took out the same small pebble, flicked his finger, and sent it into Ling Ye's mouth.

"This pebble also contains the essence of the earth, but it's much less concentrated than the one I gave you. It can only keep him alive, not restore him to a state where he can move freely, to prevent him from doing anything outrageous again, and then..."

With a wave of his hand, Stone Strike caused the rocks on the ground to curl up and wrap around Ling Ye, forming an indestructible stone egg.

"... That way, you won't have to worry about our battle affecting him."

"'He's out of danger, so you should focus on the fight'—is that what you mean?"

"That's right."

"By the way, what would you have done if I had run away as soon as I recovered?"

"I'll kill you by surprise attacking from behind. There's no need for me to preach martial ethics to a coward like her who deserts in the face of battle."

"Just as I thought..."

He's definitely a difficult guy.

After getting a sufficient distance from Ling Ye, Xiao Wu assumed a fighting stance.

My heart was pounding wildly.

Facing such a formidable opponent for the first time, she was extremely nervous.

Stone Strike stood straight, without striking any pose, yet without revealing the slightest flaw.

"Starting from the moment the stone falls to the ground."

Stone Strike threw out a small stone, which flew upwards and then accelerated downwards under the influence of gravity.

It was still ten meters from the ground.

Xiao Wu tensed her muscles and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Five meters to go.

Put aside your conscious thought and let your subconscious mind handle the details, analyzing the possible actions your opponent might take.

One meter.

Spread your legs apart, pull your fists back.

The stone fell to the ground.

"Table 64 - Lion's Fang!!!"

Xiao Wu vanished from her spot in an instant, shooting towards Stone Strike like a bullet, her fang-like hook aimed at his chest—

Boom!!!!

After a loud bang, Xiao Wu's fist froze in place.

"How--"

Xiao Wu's eyes widened.

Stone Strike has no defenses.

He just stood there, letting the fist land on his chest.

Fine stone dust peeled off his chest.

There were no other external injuries.

"Not bad strength, but--"

Click!

Just as Xiao Wu was staring in disbelief, the lead-gray hand grabbed her arm as if it were a tiny toothpick.

"--Still too green!"

Throw it out!

The surrounding scenery rushed past me, a strong wind blew through my long hair, and Ling Ye's shouts sounded so distant...

"... Tsk!!!"

Xiao Wu spun in mid-air, slamming her legs into the ground to stop her retreat, but the moment her feet touched the ground, the ground suddenly shook violently!

Earthquake!?

Xiao Wu was startled; the sudden tremor disrupted her movements, causing her to lose her balance! At the same time, a huge shadow descended from the sky, enveloping her!

"Take this punch!"

Xiao Wu rolled away at the last moment, a gust of wind brushing past her hair and slamming into the ground just centimeters from her cheek! The leaden-gray fist slammed into the ground, spiderweb-like cracks blooming on the earth, each crack radiating outwards to form countless deep trenches!

The impact sent Xiao Wu flying dozens of meters away; because they had been so close, her cheekbone was shattered! Before it could even heal, Stone Strike the ground in the distance—

"Stone Tower!"

Right where Xiao Wu, a colossal gray stone tower suddenly burst forth from the ground!

"Form 107-1 - Crooked Sky!!"

Almost reflexively, Xiao Wu delivered a powerful downward kick, her leg colliding violently with the stone! With another loud bang, the upper half of the Stone Tower shattered, and Xiao Wu's leg bone broke! She used the recoil from the kick to spring up, quickly adjusting her stance, while in the distance, Stone Strike stomped the ground again, this time with far greater force!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

More than a dozen Stone Tower simultaneously erupted from the ground, stabbing towards Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu quickly used her "Form Three: Air Walk" technique, forcefully kicking the air and using a double jump to create distance.

"Stone Piercing Punishment!"

With a low roar, Stone Strike sent dozens of Stone Tower soaring into the air, raining down on Xiao Wu like cannonballs—a barrage far more powerful than Black Crystal's Black Feather Sniper Shot! Xiao Wu, caught off guard, drew her twin pistols with lightning speed and pointed them downwards—

"Po Jun, exert 90% of your strength!!!"

The bursting purple light rained down on the Stone Tower cannonballs, triggering a second explosion upon contact. Even so, many fragments of rock still managed to escape and hit Xiao Wu repeatedly!

"Are you kidding me...? It's clearly just stone, how come it's so much harder than steel...?"

Xiao Wu landed on the ground, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood. Although her external and internal injuries were healing rapidly, the pain still lingered.

The Stone Tower rose from the earth's surface... which means it's made of stones from this land? But its hardness is comparable to ancient, solid rocks in the earth's crust or the foundation stones of a temple.

"Wait, he's stopped attacking?"

Xiao Wu looked at Stone Strike strangely, only to see him still standing there, his thick, long fingers touching his chin, as if he were thinking about something.

"Hey, what's your name?"

Why ask this?

"... Xiao Wu."

Even if I try to hide it, the other person will surely find out soon enough if they're interested, so I might as well just tell them directly.

"Xiao Wu Mai... but that's just her first name, not her last name, right?"

"..."

"If I'm not mistaken, your full name is... Urahara Sakura Dance?"

"--!!"

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CUHK in the morning, Polytechnic University in the afternoon, and I still have to buy cosmetics for my mom tomorrow. I'm so tired!