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Before leaving, Song Chen checked his panel. Very good.

[Song Chen]

Rank: Second Rank

Vitality Value: 15.4

Mental Power: 10.5

Combat Skills: Blood War Blade Technique (Grandmaster Level, cannot be upgraded), Wings of Gale (Mastery Level, can be upgraded to Great Mastery Level by consuming 10,000 Killing Value.)

Abilities: Space-Splitting Lightning (B-Grade, can be raised to A-Grade by consuming 30,000 Killing Value), Eye of True Sight (B-Grade, can be raised to A-Grade by consuming 30,000 Killing Value).

System Level: 2 (50,000 Killing Value can upgrade the system)

Current Killing Value: 168

Song Chen raised his head to look at the sky. With a thought, two pale cyan Wings of Wind condensed behind his back, their wingspan exceeding three meters.

Over the past few days, he had already enhanced this movement technique to Mastery Level. His flying speed was far faster than running on the ground.

He pushed off with both feet and shot into the sky.

The wind howled past his ears as the treetops below rapidly fell away. At this speed, he could return to Anning City in a little over an hour.

He felt somewhat excited.

He had been away from home for so long. His parents must have been worried sick. He wondered how their move had gone, whether their new home was comfortable, whether...

"Whoosh!"

A piercing cry came from above.

Song Chen looked up, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

A massive black shadow was diving down from the sky.

It was a Mutant Giant Eagle, with a wingspan of over twenty meters. Its feathers were black as iron, and its talons gleamed with cold light.

Its eyes were locked onto Song Chen, brimming with a predator's greed.

Third Rank.

This was a Third Rank Mutant Giant Eagle!

Cold sweat instantly broke out across Song Chen's body.

He had forgotten—this was the sky above Vast Wild Mountain!

"Fuck!"

Without another word, he turned and fled.

The Wings of Gale flapped at full force. His speed surged to the limit, leaving behind a pale cyan afterimage in the air.

But the giant eagle was even faster. It was the king of the skies, a Third Rank existence, and its speed was more than twice Song Chen's.

A few seconds later, the giant eagle caught up.

Its talons tore through the air, reaching straight for Song Chen's back.

Song Chen swung his blade backward. The Thunderbolt Blade left its sheath, purple lightning coiling around its blade as it slashed against the giant eagle's talons.

Sparks flew in all directions.

The giant eagle's talons were incomparably hard. That strike left only a faint white mark on them.

Yet it was still jolted by the power of lightning, its body trembling slightly as its dive stalled for an instant.

In that instant, Song Chen seized the chance and plunged sharply downward.

He gave up flying and dropped straight into free fall.

The giant eagle reacted and dove again.

Song Chen desperately descended while swinging his blade to block. Clang after clang exploded through the air. Every strike was thrown with all his strength, yet every one could only barely fend off the giant eagle's attacks.

But the giant eagle was simply too fast.

It attacked from every direction—talons, beak, wings—each strike carrying terrifying force.

Song Chen was stretched thin, dodging left and right, peril hanging by a thread.

He gritted his teeth without making a sound and glanced below.

Two hundred meters remained to the ground.

One hundred fifty meters.

One hundred meters.

Fifty meters.

Thirty meters.

Just as the giant eagle pounced again, Song Chen abruptly spread the Wings of Gale and forcibly slowed himself down.

"Bang..."

He smashed heavily into the ground, rolling more than a dozen times and snapping two trees before finally coming to a stop.

The giant eagle circled low in the air, hesitating over whether to pursue him. The forest below was too dangerous for it. Towering trees stood everywhere, making it difficult for it to exploit its speed advantage.

After circling several times, it finally gave up. It beat its wings, soared high into the sky, and vanished into the clouds.

Song Chen lay on the ground, gasping for breath. If not for the B-Grade Battle Armor protecting him, he would have long since been torn to pieces.

He struggled to his feet, pulled out a healing pill from his chest, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Damn it... Third Rank... truly fucking terrifying..."

This time, he obediently ran on the ground.

But the disturbance earlier had already drawn a large group of mutated beasts. Before long, he was surrounded.

Song Chen looked coldly at the beasts. There was even a Third Rank Swift Wolf among them, famous for its speed. Escape was impossible.

He slowly drew the Thunderbolt Blade. The battle just now had already stoked the fire in his chest.

"If you're looking to die, then come."

A flash of blade light swept out, and flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Elsewhere, in Anning City, Third Martial Arts High School.

The field was packed with people.

Today was the final day to register for the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam. Students from across the city who were taking the exam had gathered here to complete their final confirmation procedures.

The crowd surged like a tide, flags fluttered in the wind, and candidates in uniforms from every school stood everywhere alongside the parents accompanying them.

On the stage, the director of the city Education Bureau was giving a speech.

"Students, the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam is the most important examination of your lives. It concerns not only your futures, but also the martial arts legacy of all Great Xia! I hope you will give it everything you have, compete at your highest level, and show your finest spirit..."

Below the stage, students whispered among themselves. Hardly anyone was listening.

"Hey, did you hear? That Song Chen from Third Middle School still hasn't come to register!"

"Song Chen? The core member of Divine Dragon Martial Hall?"

"Yeah, him. I heard his Vitality Value is 9.6, and he even has an ability!"

"Holy shit, he's that fierce? Then why hasn't he come yet?"

"No idea. I heard he went outside the city for special training and never came back."

"Today's the last day. If he can't make it back..."

Within the crowd, the students of Senior Year Class Three gathered together, every face filled with anxiety.

Lin Qingxue kept checking her phone, her fingers clenched so tightly they had turned white.

"Still can't reach him?" the class monitor asked.

Lin Qingxue shook her head, her eyes reddening.

"It won't connect. He's been out of service range the whole time."

"It's over, it's over. He couldn't have gotten into trouble, could he?"

Farther away, a middle-aged couple was also waiting anxiously.

Li Xiuying's eyes were red as she clutched Song Zhengye's sleeve.

"Old Song, why isn't our son back yet? Could something have happened to him?"

Song Zhengye patted her hand without speaking, but his brows were tightly furrowed as well.

On the stage, the Education Bureau director's speech finally ended. The teacher in charge of registration stepped forward and picked up the microphone.

"Students, registration will close at five o'clock this afternoon. Those who have not yet confirmed their registration, please proceed to the registration desk as soon as possible. Once five o'clock passes, no exceptions will be made!"

The crowd stirred restlessly.

"Where's Song Chen? Song Chen still hasn't come?"

"He's not really going to show up, is he?"

"A Vitality Value of 9.6, and he isn't taking the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam? What a pity!"

Lin Qingxue's tears finally fell.

Li Xiuying's legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.

Just then, a figure was rapidly approaching from the sky.

Someone looked up and cried out in alarm.

"What's that?"

Everyone looked up.

A black dot in the sky grew larger and larger.

Closer, closer—it was a person, a person covered in blood. Two pale cyan wings of light spread behind him as he dove down at incredible speed!

"Bang!"

The figure crashed into the center of the field, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The dust dispersed.

A young man knelt on one knee, covered in blood.

A savage wound ran across his left shoulder, still seeping blood, but his back was ramrod straight. His right hand gripped a silver-white combat blade, purple lightning coiling around its blade.

He wore a set of dark cyan battle armor. Though it was damaged in several places, it still looked imposing and majestic.

A bulging backpack hung at his waist. A tear had split it open, revealing densely packed Crystal Cores within.

Pale red ones, dark red ones, and even one glowing with purple light—it was the Crystal Core of a Third Rank mutated beast.

The entire field fell silent.

A deathly silence.

Then someone cried out.

"Song Chen, it's Song Chen!"

"My god, he's back!"

"Those Crystal Cores on him... how many mutated beasts did he have to kill?"

"What kind of battle armor is he wearing? It looks so cool."

Song Chen slowly raised his head and looked at everyone. "Sorry. On my way back, I ran into a rather valuable Third Rank Swift Wolf and killed it while I was at it. It delayed me a little."

"I can still register in time, right?"