Blocking the News

"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!"

Su Mo flashed above Tang San, his body spinning rapidly through the air.

His raised right leg came down like a sharp battle axe, carrying a howling gale with it.

Only then did Tang San clearly see Su Mo's current state.

Su Mo's face was twisted into an extreme grimace, as though a red-haired evil spirit had possessed him.

At some point, the aura radiating from his body had changed from orange-yellow to yellow-green.

Tang San instinctively tried to defend himself, but the slightest movement of his arm sent piercing pain shooting through him.

Only then did Tang San remember that every bone in his body had long since been shattered by Su Mo's kicks. He could only watch helplessly as Su Mo's heavy kick struck him.

"Boom!!"

Su Mo's kick slammed solidly into Tang San's chest. The tremendous impact instantly sent Tang San hurtling toward the ground like a kite with its string cut.

A deep crater was smashed into the ground, cracks spreading wildly like a spiderweb as clouds of dust billowed up!

When the dust settled, Tang San had been planted headfirst into the ground, with only his legs dangling limply outside.

Su Mo gave Tang San no chance to catch his breath. He grabbed Tang San by the ankle and forcibly yanked him out of the ground.

Looking at Tang San's sunken chest and blood-soaked clothes, Su Mo showed not the slightest mercy.

That bastard Tang San had just tried to kill him. How could Su Mo possibly hold back?

The next moment, Su Mo abruptly exerted force with his arm and flung Tang San high into the air.

"Boom!!"

Su Mo viciously slammed Tang San's body against the marble floor. The ground instantly cracked, stones flew everywhere, and Tang San let out a miserable scream.

Su Mo did not stop because of this. Instead, he swung him with even greater vigor.

With every slam from Su Mo, Tang San's screams grew weaker, and his presence became fainter.

By the time Tang San stopped breathing and his body dissolved into specks of starlight, he was almost unrecognizable as a person.

"Ding~, the Protection System has been restored, and the Teleportation System has been restored!"

"Trial concluded. Assessment complete!"

Wu Zhangkong, who had been contacting Tang Sect Headquarters to ask for a solution, stared blankly at the system that had suddenly returned to normal.

"Hello? Hello? Why did you stop talking?"

When the person on the other end heard Wu Zhangkong suddenly fall silent, they thought something had happened to him too, and their tone immediately became anxious.

"It's nothing. The system just suddenly returned to normal."

Having come back to his senses, Wu Zhangkong looked at the control panel's suddenly restored display in confusion.

"Ah—"

The person on the other end found it hard to believe when they heard that the system had returned to normal.

"What did you—"

"Not now. Something has come up on my end. I'll report the details after I deal with it."

The other party had just been about to continue questioning him when Wu Zhangkong glanced at the screen, his expression changing slightly. He hurriedly hung up.

"Beep~ Beep~"

Listening to the disconnected call, the person on the other end complained unhappily, "I'm seriously speechless!"

A flash of white light passed through the passageway, and Xie Xie was the first to be teleported out.

Compared with before he entered, Xie Xie's usual playful grin was gone, replaced by a gloomy expression. His body was covered in bruises, clearly showing that he had been badly beaten inside.

Before Xie Xie could figure out what was happening, another flash of white light passed through the passageway, and Tang Wulin was teleported out second.

Tang Wulin was no better off than Xie Xie. He had also been badly beaten.

"How many stages did you clear?"

Upon seeing Xie Xie, Tang Wulin instinctively asked.

"One!"

Xie Xie said gloomily, "She was too strong. I couldn't even touch the corner of her clothes and could only take a one-sided beating."

"Is that so?"

Tang Wulin could not help feeling some sympathy for his good friend.

Although he had not been a match for his opponent either, at least he had been able to fight back a little, unlike Xie Xie, who had only been beaten the entire time.

"Gu Yue and Su Mo still aren't out?" Xie Xie asked as he scratched his head gloomily.

"No!"

As soon as Tang Wulin finished speaking, white light flashed through the passageway again, and Gu Yue was teleported out as well.

Compared with Tang Wulin and Xie Xie, Gu Yue was in much better condition.

Other than her somewhat disheveled clothes, a few beads of cold sweat on her smooth forehead, and her slightly pale face, there was not much change in her overall condition.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie had just wanted to ask about Gu Yue's condition when they saw Wu Zhangkong hurrying over with a solemn expression.

"Teacher Wu!"

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie instinctively straightened up and greeted Wu Zhangkong.

But Wu Zhangkong had no mood to pay attention to them. He stared tensely at the passageway ahead.

White light flashed again, and Su Mo was teleported out as well.

Compared with Tang Wulin and the others, Su Mo's condition could only be described as terrible.

Not only were his clothes tattered, but wounds from the battle remained on his body. There was no color in his face, his footsteps were unsteady, and his weak aura flickered like a candle in the wind.

Just as Su Mo was about to collapse face-first onto the floor, Tang Wulin instinctively reached out and caught him.

"So hot!"

The moment Tang Wulin touched Su Mo's shoulder, he was shocked by Su Mo's terrifying body temperature.

A searing pain spread through his palm. Anyone unaware of the situation would have thought he had touched a red-hot steel plate.

"Thanks!"

Leaning against Tang Wulin's shoulder, Su Mo spoke weakly. Then his vision went dark, and he immediately fainted.

Looking at the unconscious Su Mo, Tang Wulin instinctively turned to Wu Zhangkong.

Without saying anything, Wu Zhangkong solemnly took Su Mo from Tang Wulin's arms and quickly headed outside the building. A medical team he had called in advance was waiting outside.

When the Hero Hall system malfunctioned, Wu Zhangkong had immediately summoned a medical team to stand by in case of safety issues.

Tang Wulin and the others exchanged looks as they watched Wu Zhangkong leave directly, unsure whether they should follow him.

When the medical team outside saw Wu Zhangkong emerge, they immediately rushed forward carrying a stretcher.

Only after watching Su Mo, lying on the stretcher, be sent to Donghai City First Hospital did Wu Zhangkong finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Teacher Wu, what happened to Su Mo? Is he all right?"

Tang Wulin and the others, who had remained in Tang Sect Tower, immediately surrounded Wu Zhangkong when they saw him return.

A trace of guilt flashed across Wu Zhangkong's face as he faced their questions. "He's fine. He's already been sent to the hospital."

"The Hero Hall system malfunctioned for some unknown reason just now, causing the Protection System to fail."

"Su Mo probably ended up like this because the Protection System failed."

The Tang Sect's Hero Hall operated differently from the Spirit Ascension Platform. Rather than projecting a person's consciousness inside, Hero Hall used spatial technology to directly teleport people into an independent space.

Although the Tang Sect predecessors inside were simulated through data, they were still genuine entities. This meant that everything that happened in Hero Hall was real.

Furthermore, the Tang Sect had set the strength of its predecessors from past generations extremely high. Without the Protection System, casualties could easily occur.

However, judging from the situation, the system malfunction had only affected Su Mo, the unlucky one.

"Hiss~"

Upon hearing Wu Zhangkong's explanation, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie shrank their necks in fright.

Su Mo was the strongest among them, yet even he had been injured so badly.

If it had been them instead, they might have died in there outright.

This Hero Hall of the Tang Sect was far too unreliable.

Seemingly seeing through their thoughts, Wu Zhangkong spoke coldly, "Remember this. You absolutely must not reveal this matter to anyone outside."