Departing with Serious Injuries

Mu Qing executed a sweeping leg kick, causing several North Campus students nearby to scream as they felt their bones snap; the sound of cracking echoed out as they collapsed to the ground.

However, Mu Qing was only one person, and speed was not his greatest strength, so a few North Campus students still managed to enter the depths of the forest, already in pursuit of Yang Shanshan and the others.

"Mu Qing, take this!"

Wang Haixuan charged over, his soles glowing with white light as he channeled a speed-type martial skill, reaching Mu Qing in the blink of an eye with a pair of fists wreathed in flames.

"Get lost!"

Mu Qing roared, throwing out both fists as streaks of incandescent lightning power erupted and exploded, knocking him back.

The webbing between Wang Haixuan's thumb and forefinger split, blood gushing out.

He bared his teeth, and beside him, Liu Tianyu was also dripping with sweat.

"How is this guy's Origin Force so deep?"

Both of their expressions shifted; they had already seen Mu Qing confront a large number of students earlier, and then fight the two of them for quite some time.

After such intense, continuous combat, both of their Origin Force reserves had been significantly depleted, yet Mu Qing still possessed an astonishingly thick amount of power.

They were unaware that Mu Qing had stored Origin Force in both his dantian and his mind.

"Mu Qing!"

A voice called out.

Mu Qing turned his head to look; from the valley of the Ape Nest, a figure covered in blood charged out, tall in stature with a fierce and sharp aura.

This person was none other than Ling Fei, who had stayed behind to cover their retreat!

"Are you alright?" Ling Fei looked at the wounds all over Mu Qing's body, his eyes trembling.

He immediately grasped the state of the battle, and upon seeing Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan nearby, he understood the general situation.

He quickly insisted on staying behind to help Mu Qing.

"No need, hurry and help Yang Shanshan and the others, someone is chasing them!" Mu Qing refused.

At the same time, Mu Qing asked about the status of the two beast leaders in the valley.

"I beat one into a critical state and took the chance to escape; it probably won't be long before it charges out!" Ling Fei grinned.

Under Mu Qing's repeated assurances, he no longer lingered and ran in the direction Mu Qing had indicated.

He was also at the seventh stage of Blood Qi, and since Mu Qing needed both Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan to work together just to barely hold him back, there was no other force left to stop Ling Fei.

After knocking away several North Campus students who had foolishly stepped forward, Ling Fei headed into the depths of the forest without a moment's delay, fearing that Yang Shanshan and the others might be caught.

"Damn it!"

Liu Tianyu's expression changed, and he moved, wanting to chase after Ling Fei.

He had been too careless, overlooking Ling Fei's presence, and now that he realized Ling Fei was also at the seventh stage of Blood Qi, he immediately sensed trouble.

Those North Campus students were definitely no match for Ling Fei.

Mu Qing grinned, blood still on his teeth, and blocked Liu Tianyu, unleashing a terrifying force that made Liu Tianyu cough up blood and stagger back.

Now it was Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan's turn to feel stifled; the roles had reversed, and it was Mu Qing holding them back.

Wang Haixuan's eyes flickered; he practiced a speed-type martial skill and thought he might be able to shake off Mu Qing to intercept Ling Fei.

"Roar!"

However, at that very moment, a massive figure darted out of the valley.

It was a black ape, its fur stained with blood, letting out a terrifying roar as its eyes instantly locked onto the many North Campus students on Liu Tianyu's side.

Beside it was a Gray Giant Wolf with a horrific wound on its flank, blood still flowing—the one injured by Ling Fei.

After their bloody battle, these two had gone completely berserk.

They scanned the area, and not seeing Ling Fei, they became even more frantic, marking everyone as a target and beginning an indiscriminate slaughter.

The already critically wounded Gray Giant Wolf reached the group of North Campus students, its claws swiping down and tearing deep wounds into them one by one.

The Ape Leader's injuries were not as severe, and its target was Mu Qing's side; it recognized Mu Qing as one of the people who had stolen the Vermilion Fruit.

The Ape Leader smashed a fist down, intending to kill Mu Qing.

But at this moment, Mu Qing moved his feet and arrived behind Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan.

The Ape Leader also remembered the two of them from their previous fight, and without hesitation, it lashed out with two long arms like whips.

The force of a beast was always terrifying, and its speed was extremely fast; Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan had no time to dodge and could only strike out in a hurry to defend themselves.

The Golden Bell Cover on Wang Haixuan shattered, and he retreated a distance, though he was unharmed.

Liu Tianyu, however, had a rougher time; his injuries had only been slightly recovered by Song Yalan, and now, suddenly attacked by the Ape Leader, he vomited blood repeatedly.

They turned their heads to look, and their veins bulged, so angry they nearly coughed up more blood.

They saw that behind them, Mu Qing was nowhere to be found; squinting into the distance, they could faintly see a familiar figure darting through the forest, disappearing from sight.

Wang Haixuan couldn't take it anymore; he spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning crimson, then deathly pale, the veins on his neck throbbing.

He roared, "Mu Qing, I will definitely kill you!"

Liu Tianyu felt extremely uncomfortable deep down.

He had planned so much, yet in the end, he had only paved the way for others. Mu Qing and the others had all fled, the Vermilion Fruit had been snatched away, and he had gained nothing, only to be left facing two beast leaders.

"Let's go!" Liu Tianyu roared. He still maintained a shred of composure, directing the many North Campus students to leave the area.

Wang Haixuan, however, kept screaming in rage. He had lost his grip on his sanity, vowing that he would definitely kill Mu Qing.

The Ape Leader did not care what they were saying. Its arms, as if cast from steel, smashed down repeatedly, creating large craters in the ground.

However, the two injured beast leaders could not stir up much trouble under the combined efforts of Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan, especially since one of them had been severely wounded by Ling Fei earlier.

After repelling the two beast leaders, Liu Tianyu led the many North Campus students away from the scene.

It was only at this moment that a flash of shock finally appeared in the depths of Liu Tianyu's eyes.

He had led over three hundred North Campus students, every one of them at the fifth stage of Blood Qi or higher.

Yet after this battle, only about one hundred and fifty students remained.

Some of these had been eliminated while fighting at the Ape Nest, but the vast majority had been beaten into serious injuries by Mu Qing.

Only now did he realize just how terrifying Mu Qing truly was; despite being covered in wounds while under siege by so many people, he had still managed to eliminate so many of them.

"No matter what, I cannot swallow this insult!" Wang Haixuan's expression was gloomy.

"Neither can I," Liu Tianyu said in a heavy tone.

Afterward, Liu Tianyu issued an order: all North Campus students were to hunt down Mu Qing, and anyone who provided information on Mu Qing would receive a heavy reward after the Mock Exam ended.

Wang Haixuan also utilized the influence of the Wang Family, claiming that if anyone saw Mu Qing and reported his location, he would take it upon himself to provide a large amount of resources.

At this moment, many North Campus students felt both greedy and fearful.

Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan both promised generous rewards to whoever found Mu Qing.

However, the North Campus students were somewhat afraid. Mu Qing had been bathed in blood earlier, beating their companions into serious injuries one by one. If this had happened within the school, it would definitely have been classified as a severe incident; the power Mu Qing had displayed made people feel fear.

In the end, under Liu Tianyu's scolding, the many North Campus students set off to search for the traces of Mu Qing, Yang Shanshan, and the others.

After all, this was a Mock Exam, and with school teachers present, there would be no deaths. At most, they would be beaten into serious injuries by Mu Qing. If they obtained information about Mu Qing or the Vermilion Fruit and received the rewards from Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan, they might be able to improve their cultivation again before the College Entrance Exam.

Not long after, the North Campus students discovered some bloodstains among the trees. Once this news was reported, the expressions of Liu Tianyu and the others suddenly brightened with joy.

Wang Haixuan gritted his teeth, deducing that Mu Qing must be at the end of his rope after such intense fighting, to the point where he didn't even have time to cover his bloodstains.

He believed they shouldn't miss this opportunity; Mu Qing would likely try to rendezvous with Yang Shanshan and the others, and they could wipe them all out at once and seize the Vermilion Fruit.

Liu Tianyu frowned slightly, suspecting instead that Mu Qing might be deliberately exposing his tracks to ambush them.

He had truly been frightened by Mu Qing's terrifying power, and he felt a sense of trepidation.

In reality, Wang Haixuan was partially correct.

Mu Qing was currently in a forest somewhere on Lake Heart Island. His entire body was covered in numerous wounds. He had been forcing himself to hold on, and after seizing the chance to escape, he now felt waves of weakness and powerlessness.

At the same time, due to the excessive use of his Weakness Perception ability, the mental energy in Mu Qing's mind had been completely exhausted. His mind was transmitting intense pain every moment, and he desperately needed rest to recover his state.

However, unlike what Wang Haixuan guessed, Mu Qing did not intend to rendezvous with Yang Shanshan and the others.

Although his mind was throbbing with pain, the shred of reason he had left told him that Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan might be hunting him down. Therefore, so as not to implicate Yang Shanshan and the others, he ran in the opposite direction of the hidden cave.

This time, Mu Qing did not know if he could safely survive this ordeal.

"Perhaps, I will be eliminated after all..."

Mu Qing's figure stumbled. Coughing up blood, he headed into the distance. His speed grew slower and slower, and his consciousness became increasingly blurred.

The exhaustion of mental energy was a very serious condition. That Mu Qing had been able to contend with Liu Tianyu and Wang Haixuan while his mental energy was depleted, and simultaneously deal with so many North Campus students, was already heaven-defying.

Now, his mind was dizzy and heavy, and the sharp pain had turned into a dull numbness.

"This is..."

Mu Qing discovered that he had arrived at a place that looked like a graveyard. Stone tablets stood tall, the trees were withered and yellow, and crows were cawing.

Cold winds howled all around, and the temperature did not match the current season at all. The ground was brownish-yellow and cracked, and the environment was desolate.

He had no time to wonder why such an eerie place would appear on Lake Heart Island. He collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious.

He was too tired.