The Earthling Genius Who Outshone the Exotic Humans

"Principal Yuan has been defeated!"

"The Ninth Elder of the Divine Plant Cult is rapidly approaching us!"

"His target is me, I'll distract him!"

Upon seeing the Hunchbacked Masked Man, Lin Zichen immediately spoke to the people around him.

Without pausing for even a second after saying that, he immediately leaped into the deep, unfathomable sea and disappeared.

On land, with his Biological Rank of only ordinary Tier 9, he had no chance of escaping from the Hunchbacked Masked Man, whose Biological Rank was as high as Rare Tier.

Only in water can one have the chance to create an escape miracle by virtue of the Biological Attribute of [Water Fusion Fortune].

The people still in the tree were caught off guard when Lin Zichen suddenly jumped into the water and disappeared.

It wasn't until Lu Tianrong also saw a hunched figure rapidly approaching in the distance that he reacted first and shouted:

"Everyone, follow me! Run in the opposite direction from Lin Zichen!"

He had barely finished shouting and hadn't even had a chance to move when he noticed the hunched figure in the distance suddenly change direction.

Instead of rapidly approaching the towering tree where he was, it made a sharp turn and sped off to the right to catch up.

Following the direction the hunched figure was heading, he saw a figure that surprised him.

It's Lin Zichen!

Lin Zichen had only been in the sea for less than 10 seconds!

Lu Tianrong was stunned by what he saw.

How could someone have swum hundreds of meters in less than 10 seconds after jumping into the sea?

And it wasn't underwater swimming, but freestyle swimming while floating on the surface of the water.

Even someone at the Advanced Tier 6 couldn't achieve that speed in freestyle swimming.

To be more precise, it doesn't even reach half the speed.

Lu Tianrong was filled with disbelief, unable to comprehend what he was witnessing.

Lin Zichen is just an Ordinary Rank creature, so how could he swim so fast in the water?

Could it be that it incorporated genes from a water-related Exotic Beast?

But that's not right. Lin Zichen is following the Pure-Blood Human Path, so he can't fuse with the genes of Exotic Beast.

What exactly happened?!

Lu Tianrong was completely baffled and even suspected that he was hallucinating.

"Instructor, why aren't we leaving yet?"

Seeing Lu Tianrong shouting that he wanted to leave, but then standing there motionless in the tree, Li Moyu was very puzzled.

Hearing Li Moyu's voice, Lu Tianrong snapped out of his reverie and said:

"Let's go, we need to get out of here quickly."

After saying that, he took the lead and jumped straight into the seawater below, swimming freestyle in the opposite direction from Lin Zichen.

Seeing this, Li Moyu and the others followed suit and jumped down.

"Qinghan, what are you still standing up there for? Jump down now!"

Seeing that Shen Qinghan was still standing in the tree, Ma Xiwei shouted at her with a puzzled look on her face.

At this moment, Shen Qinghan was gazing in the direction where Lin Zichen was, her face full of worry.

Her eyesight is poor, and she cannot see Lin Zichen.

However, she could accurately sense Lin Zichen's location by observing the ripples in the water.

"It's all my fault..."

"If I were strong enough, I wouldn't always need Xiao Chen to risk his life to draw danger away from me when we're in danger..."

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault for being useless..."

Shen Qinghan gazed in the direction Lin Zichen was, her heart filled with self-reproach, feeling increasingly depressed.

She felt like a burden, never offering Lin Zichen any help and only hindering him at crucial moments.

She felt that Lin Zichen would be more at ease when encountering danger if she weren't there.

Instead of always being hesitant and unable to act freely.

"Qinghan!"

"What are you doing?!"

"Come down quickly!"

Seeing that Shen Qinghan had no reaction at all, Ma Xiwei in the water became anxious and shouted at her at the top of her lungs.

Shen Qinghan finally heard her shout and quickly came to her senses, apologizing:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm coming right now."

After saying that, he immediately jumped down and smoothly plunged into the water.

Not a single drop of water was splashed.

Yes, there are, but they are just ripples spreading gently across the water's surface.

Ma Xiwei rubbed her eyes, thinking she must have seen wrong.

How come there wasn't a single splash after jumping from tens of meters above the water?

What's going on?

Before she could figure out what was going on, Lu Tianrong shouted from ahead:

"You two girls, stop standing there like idiots, swim!"

"They're here!"

Ma Xiwei and quickly swam up.

Shen Qinghan, unusually silent, swam quietly behind, occasionally glancing back in Lin Zichen's direction with a look of worry on her face.

On the other side.

With the blessing of [Water Fusion Fortune], Lin Zichen was swimming freestyle at an extremely fast speed on the water's surface.

If he chooses to swim underwater, he can be even faster.

He chose the slower freestyle because he needed to float on the surface and expose himself to attract the Hunchbacked Masked Man.

He wasn't sure if the Hunchbacked Masked Man would notice him once he submerged in the water.

If they fail to detect it, Shen Qinghan might be in danger.

After swimming several hundred meters of freestyle.

Lin Zichen noticed that the Hunchbacked Masked Man had finally changed his direction of travel.

They stopped heading towards Shen Qinghan.

Instead, it changed course and sped towards him.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief and then suddenly sped up, swimming freestyle like crazy.

After swimming quite a distance, they confirmed that the Hunchbacked Masked Man was catching up.

He decisively dived underwater and increased his swimming speed to its maximum.

The Hunchbacked Masked Man has been successfully attracted.

The next step is to shed the Hunchbacked Masked Man and escape.

The direction to escape was the direction from which the waves had surged in earlier.

If the previous wave was indeed created by Yuan Dongzhi using his abilities.

If we follow the direction of the incoming waves, we will most likely encounter Yuan Dongzhi.

Lin Zichen guessed.

Although Yuan Dongzhi was defeated, he most likely did not die.

Instead, like Lu Tianrong before him, he was trapped by the enemy with vines.

This conjecture is based on evidence.

The basis for this is that the Hunchbacked Masked Man did not appear to be seriously injured, which indicates that his battle with Yuan Dongzhi was not intense.

When two equally powerful individuals clash, it's impossible to kill the other without a fierce battle.

After all, they are both strong opponents of the same level, and the difference in strength is unlikely to be so great that one side can kill the other without taking any damage.

In conclusion, the possibility of Yuan Dongzhi dying in battle is almost zero.

It's highly likely that they've been trapped by the Hunchbacked Masked Man using vines and won't be able to escape for the time being.

Based on this, the next plan is to find a way to help Yuan Dongzhi get out of her predicament.

Afterwards, Yuan Dongzhi was made to fight the Hunchbacked Masked Man again, which in turn helped him escape.

"I hope Principal Yuan is trapped by the vines, rather than killed in battle..."

"Hopefully, this newly acquired [Lord of the Forest] Biological Attribute will be able to control the Ninth Elder of the Divine Plant Cult to restrain Principal Yuan's vines..."

"I hope I haven't been captured by the Ninth Elder of the Divine Plant Cult before I find Principal Yuan..."

Lin Zichen prayed silently as he swam forward with all his might, his nerves taut with fear that he would fail.

On the water.

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was chasing Lin Zichen at top speed.

When Lin Zichen dived underwater and his swimming speed suddenly increased to an extremely exaggerated speed, the Hunchbacked Masked Man was filled with shock.

How can an Ordinary Rank creature swim so fast?!

Moreover, this Ordinary Rank creature is Pure-Blood Human Path and has not integrated any water-related Exotic Beast genes.

What exactly happened?

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was completely baffled.

He had lived for nearly two hundred years and had seen countless geniuses from Earth and the Origin Land, but he had never seen anyone as special as Lin Zichen.

They clearly follow the Pure-Blood Human Path.

It has not been fused with any Exotic Beast genes.

However, his physical and mental strength far surpasses that of Gene Fusionist of the same age.

Now, it's even demonstrating underwater capabilities that rival those of Gene Fusionist of the same age.

Wrong!

It's not that we didn't lose, it's that we far surpassed them!

Lin Zichen's powerful underwater abilities at this moment far surpass those of other water-based Gene Fusionist of the same age!

Such an incredible performance completely shattered the Hunchbacked Masked Man's understanding of Earthling!

It turns out that even Earth, with its scarce evolutionary resources, can nurture Exotic Human geniuses who Origin Land!

"This child is truly a prodigy."

"We must act quickly and bring him back to Main Cult."

"To avoid complications if we delay."

Hunchbacked Masked Man thought to himself, his speed suddenly increased dramatically, leaping forward at lightning speed across the towering trees.

In just a few seconds, she closed the distance between herself and Lin Zichen, bringing them within arm's reach.

Then, with a sudden thought, he manipulated several vines to dive into the water and chase after Lin Zichen, who was swimming underwater.

The vines moved incredibly fast, catching up with Lin Zichen in no time, and one after another, like pythons, they coiled around him.

Faced with the attacking vines, Lin Zichen easily dodged them with a smooth, serpentine movement.

With the blessing of [Water Fusion Fortune], the water is his home turf.

Conversely, vines encounter significant resistance in water, greatly reducing their pursuit speed.

This increase and decrease greatly improved his chances of escape.

"How can a creature of such Ordinary Rank possess such powerful underwater abilities?"

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was very puzzled.

Lin Zichen's underwater abilities, as he is currently displaying, are comparable to those of Advanced aquatic Gene Fusionist.

Moreover, it is comparable to a "Advanced mid-tier" water-type Gene Fusionist.

This behavior is completely illogical.

Even most of the Exotic Human from the Origin Land pale in comparison to Lin Zichen.

"Bang... bang... bang!"

The Hunchbacked Masked Man summoned a large number of vines, which shot into the water like raindrops and rushed towards Lin Zichen at high speed.

If a few vines can't catch Lin Zichen, then bring dozens or even hundreds.

No matter how agile Lin Zichen was underwater, he could only surrender obediently to the vines surging from all directions.

Underwater.

Lin Zichen's blood vessels dilated, continuously unleashing the power of his blood and qi.

With the blessing of [Water Fusion Fortune].

He swam faster than the sailfish in his previous life.

Its swimming speed is close to 100 meters per second.

Even so, the vines attacking from behind kept closing the distance.

One is the Ordinary Rank.

One is of the Rare Tier.

The difference in their Biological Rank is too great.

The resulting gap in strength cannot be bridged by a mere [Water Fusion Fortune].

"Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh!"

A sound of water splashing followed.

The vines controlled by the Hunchbacked Masked Man had already caught up with Lin Zichen ahead.

After catching up, it did not immediately entangle itself.

Instead, it accelerated and rushed towards Lin Zichen.

Once the vines had completely blocked Lin Zichen's hiding space in all six directions (front, back, left, right, up, and down), they launched a concentrated attack at the same time, rapidly coiling around him like pythons.

Lin Zichen wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to hide.

There were too many vines; there was no room to maneuver.

Before it even had a chance to struggle, it was instantly entangled by the surging vines and unable to move.

Immediately afterwards, the person was suddenly pulled upwards, about to fall into the hands of the Hunchbacked Masked Man.

The moment he was pulled up, Lin Zichen had a thought and used [Lord of the Forest] to consume his Mental Power, attempting to control the vines on his body.

I can sense the vines, but I can't control them.

His mental strength was far inferior to that of the Hunchbacked Masked Man, and he couldn't compete for control of the vines.

Fortunately, the [Higher Spirit] Biological Attribute can provide an amplification, strengthening one's own Mental Power.

Under the blessing of [Higher Spirit].

Lin Zichen expended a great deal of Mental Power to finally regain a small portion of control over the vines.

Just as they were about to be pulled out of the water, they managed to loosen some of the vines that were wrapped around their bodies.

Then, it instantly broke free from the layers of vines, quickly dived back to the bottom of the water, and frantically swam away as far as possible from the Hunchbacked Masked Man on the surface.

On the water.

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was dumbfounded.

They were almost pulling him up, so why did the vines suddenly let go uncontrollably?

What exactly happened?

Ignoring my doubts.

Soon, the Hunchbacked Masked Man made his move again.

Controlling even more vines than before, they surged towards Lin Zichen at lightning speed.

In just a brief moment, the vines surged out and tightly bound Lin Zichen.

Just as they were about to pull him out of the water.

Just like before, the vines wrapped around him inexplicably loosened.

They watched helplessly as he broke free from the Death Entanglement vines, swam hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye, and escaped once again.

What happened?

Why are the vines loose again?

The Hunchbacked Masked Man frowned, bewildered by the scene before him.

He thought about it carefully and noticed a detail.

Just as the vines loosened, a subtle spiritual fluctuation seemed to emanate from the water.

Could it be that... Lin Zichen can control the vines using his Mental Power?

The thought flashed through the mind of the Hunchbacked Masked Man.

But soon, he began to doubt himself.

Lin Zichen's mental strength is high, but that's compared to his peers.

Compared to him, Rare Tier powerhouse, it's like the difference between an ant and an elephant—there's no comparison whatsoever.

Let alone Lin Zichen, even if Yuan Dongzhi, whose Biological Rank is also Rare Tier, came, he wouldn't be able to compete with him for control of the vines.

Unless Yuan Dongzhi also fused with the genes of the [Wood Spirit] and gained the ability to control plants.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to win control of the vines by relying solely on mental manipulation of objects from a distance.

After considering all of this...

The Hunchbacked Masked Man attacked Lin Zichen again.

Just like the previous two times, this time he easily manipulated the vines to tightly entangle Lin Zichen.

To avoid a situation like the previous two times where the restraints were suddenly and inexplicably loosened.

This time, the Hunchbacked Masked Man deliberately manipulated vines to entangle Lin Zichen into an impenetrable pupa.

The vines are all intertwined in a spiral, so tightly that there is no possibility of them breaking free.

However, just as the cicada pupa was about to be pulled out of the water...

A strong mental fluctuation emanated from inside the cicada pupa.

The next second, the airtight cicada pupa instantly disintegrated on its own, turning into scattered vines.

Once trapped inside, Lin Zichen immediately shot out like an arrow after escaping, swimming over a hundred meters in one go.

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was completely stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief, unable to believe that what he was seeing was real.

It's not an illusion!

It wasn't just my imagination!

Lin Zichen can really use his Mental Power to control the vines!

But how could that be!

How did he manage to do that?!

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was utterly shocked, and for a moment thought he was dreaming.

This is no longer just about being comparable to Exotic Human.

It far surpasses even the Exotic Human!

Even the most talented Exotic Human he had ever met paled in comparison to Lin Zichen and had no right to be compared with him!

"There's a secret!"

"This Lin Zichen definitely has a big secret!"

"Bringing him back to the Main Cult would be an absolutely earth-shattering achievement!"

"Perhaps I can gain special support from the sect through this, and hopefully break through to the Epic level!"

Thinking of this, the Hunchbacked Masked Man's breathing became rapid, and his eyes were filled with fanaticism.

He immediately jumped into the water, intending to catch Lin Zichen with his own hands.

They saw that the Hunchbacked Masked Man no longer used vines, but instead jumped into the water to pursue them.

Lin Zichen knew he could no longer seduce her; he had to use his real skills to escape.

Otherwise, if he were to fall into the hands of the Hunchbacked Masked Man, he would completely lose any chance to turn the tables.

"It's time to get out of here. Hopefully, Hanhan and the others have gotten far enough away..."

Thinking it over, Lin Zichen had an idea and used his Biological Attribute [Natural Camouflage] to completely conceal his aura.

It immediately swam quickly towards a towering tree ahead, and using the tree as cover, it instantly disappeared from the Hunchbacked Masked Man's sight.

Upon seeing this, the Hunchbacked Masked Man quickly gave chase.

In less than two seconds, he swam behind the tree.

Then they discovered that Lin Zichen had completely disappeared, and they didn't know where he had gone.

Yes, there were only thick tree trunks soaking in water.

Where are they?

In just two short seconds, where could he possibly swim to?

How could someone just suddenly disappear?

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was filled with doubt.

Soon, a thought crossed his mind, and he unleashed his Mental Power to cover an area within a kilometer radius, using his spiritual perception to search for the missing Lin Zichen.

He guessed that Lin Zichen was probably hiding behind some towering tree.

As long as their Mental Power is released, they can quickly locate Lin Zichen and capture him, bringing him back to the sect.

However, after his Mental Power completely covered the area within a kilometer radius, he still couldn't find Lin Zichen's figure.

What happened?!

Why can't I sense his presence?!

The Hunchbacked Masked Man was dumbfounded, unable to understand how Lin Zichen had completely disappeared.

After the initial shock came the anxiety.

Lin Zichen was his cash cow; he couldn't accept letting the duck that was about to be eaten fly away.

"A person can't just suddenly disappear!"

"They're definitely still around!"

"It must be hidden somewhere!"

The Hunchbacked Masked Man thought to himself, and then, with another thought, he released his Mental Power.

This time, it's no longer about spreading Mental Power to cover the surrounding area.

Instead, he used his Mental Power to control the towering trees around him, shaking them wildly in an attempt to find Lin Zichen's figure.

Unfortunately, no matter how much he shook, he still couldn't find Lin Zichen.

It seems Lin Zichen has already left this area.

Instead of hiding behind or on top of some towering tree, as he had imagined.

"They managed to escape!"

"How could he possibly escape!"

"If I hadn't insisted on capturing him alive, he would never have had a chance to escape from me!"

The Hunchbacked Masked Man grew angrier the more he thought about it, and he manipulated a large number of vines to frantically whip the surrounding towering trees in his anger.

In an instant, dozens of towering trees were uprooted and crashed into the water with a series of loud bangs, splashing water everywhere.

He couldn't accept the fact that Lin Zichen had run away.

To be toyed with by an Ordinary Rank creature when one is Rare Tier powerhouse like oneself is an unbearable humiliation!

After venting his frustrations like that...

The Hunchbacked Masked Man calmed down a little.

He burst out of the water and landed on a towering tree that hadn't been knocked down by the vines.

She looked around, searching for Lin Zichen.

While pondering, he wondered why Lin Zichen, who could swim underwater faster and evade the senses, hadn't used those two skills from the beginning.

After a brief moment of thought, he came up with a possibility.

The reason Lin Zichen didn't use those two skills to escape from the start was to lure him away and buy time for the others to run away.

Now that they had gained enough time, they stopped holding back and immediately revealed their true strength, making a swift escape.

After figuring this out...

The Hunchbacked Masked Man wasted no time, quickly leaping forward and rushing towards the place where Shen Qinghan and the others had been.

He figured that after Lin Zichen escaped, he would probably go back and reunite with Shen Qinghan and the others.

If I go back now to chase after Shen Qinghan and the others, there's a good chance I'll run into Lin Zichen.

"Etc!"

"Wrong!"

"I might be wrong!"

The Hunchbacked Masked Man had only run a few hundred meters when he suddenly stopped at the top of a towering tree.

He considered another possibility.

They suspected that Lin Zichen had not gone back to meet up with Shen Qinghan and the others.

Instead, they went to rescue Yuan Dongzhi and free this Rare Tier combatant.

This suspicion is well-founded.

First, Lin Zichen can use his Mental Power to control the vines.

Secondly, Lin Zichen escaped in the direction the waves were coming from, which is precisely the direction from which Yuan Dongzhi was trapped.

Will Lin Zichen go back to rejoin his teammates?

Will they still go to rescue Yuan Dongzhi?

After thinking for a moment, the Hunchbacked Masked Man finally decided that Lin Zichen was more likely to rescue Yuan Dongzhi.

Without further thought, he immediately turned around and ran towards the direction where Yuan Dongzhi was.

On the other side.

Lin Zichen quickly swam in the direction from which the waves were coming.

At this moment, he didn't know whether he had shaken off the Hunchbacked Masked Man's pursuit.

All he knew was that he could no longer sense the presence of the Hunchbacked Masked Man.

He guessed that he should be safe now.

However, this safety is only temporary.

After all, the Hunchbacked Masked Man is a powerful, Rare Tier expert, and might have some special methods for finding people. He might catch up with them again later.

He had to take advantage of this opening to find and rescue Yuan Dongzhi, who was trapped.

Only if Yuan Dongzhi is saved can he and others be saved.

Otherwise, before the Military District's rescue arrived, they would all probably have been found one by one by the Hunchbacked Masked Man, and then either killed or taken away.

About half a minute later.

As Lin Zichen swam at top speed underwater, he vaguely sensed Yuan Dongzhi's presence.

He surfaced and looked in the direction from which the breath was coming.

Then, what came into view was a giant Tree Cage that was over a hundred meters high.

"Found it!"

Lin Zichen's heart stirred slightly.

Then it immediately submerged back underwater and swam towards the Tree Cage as fast as it could.

About ten seconds later.

Lin Zichen swam over a thousand meters and finally entered the Tree Cage.

He quickly surfaced and saw that Yuan Dongzhi, who was usually aloof and arrogant, was now covered in strange, Blood-Colored Vines, hanging in mid-air, unable to move, looking extremely disheveled.

Upon seeing this, he immediately gave an order to the Blood-Colored Vines wrapped around Yuan Dongzhi: Release them!

Under the influence of the [Lord of the Forest].

Upon hearing Lin Zichen's command to "relax," the Blood-Colored Vines on Yuan Dongzhi's body immediately loosened their grip.

Because Lin Zichen's mental strength was not high, these Blood-Colored Vines loosened only to a limited extent, becoming less tight.

However, this was enough for Yuan Dongzhi.

The moment the Blood-Colored Vines loosened slightly, Yuan Dongzhi instantly unleashed his inner energy, violently breaking free of all the Blood-Colored Vines binding him.

She didn't connect the sudden loosening of the Blood-Colored Vines with Lin Zichen, assuming that she had struggled for a long time and finally broken free from the Blood-Colored Vines' restraints.

"Principal Yuan!"

Seeing that Yuan Dongzhi had successfully escaped, Lin Zichen shouted at her.

Yuan Dongzhi looked up at the source of the voice, her expression somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here? When did you get here?"

Like the Hunchbacked Masked Man, she couldn't sense that Lin Zichen was using [Natural Camouflage].

Lin Zichen explained, "I was just being chased by the Ninth Elder of the Divine Plant Cult. I escaped all the way here thanks to my excellent swimming skills, and just happened to find you here."

He didn't tell Yuan Dongzhi that he was the one who saved her and helped her free herself from the Blood-Colored Vines.

Biological Rank can be revealed, and mental strength can also be revealed, but the fact that you can control the vines must never be revealed.

Yuan Dongzhi looked incredulous. "You actually managed to evade the pursuit of the Ninth Elder of the Divine Plant Cult?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of loud whooshing sounds came from outside the Tree Cage.

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

"Buzz!"

Upon hearing the commotion, Yuan Dongzhi immediately used his Mental Power to sense it.

When she sensed that the Hunchbacked Masked Man was rushing toward the Tree Cage at high speed, her expression changed slightly.

"The Ninth Elder of the Divine Plant Cult is here, let's go!"

After saying that, Yuan Dongzhi jumped into the water, grabbed Lin Zichen and pulled him into her arms. Using her superb swimming skills, she carried him away in the water.

Knowing she was no match for the hunchbacked Masked Man, she understood that escaping with Lin Zichen was the right choice.

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