Pfft—
The instant Tang Jian's fist struck his enemy, he felt as though he had punched into a pool of water.
Water splashed everywhere. The ripples surrounding his opponent spun at high speed, generating twisting currents that immediately knocked Tang Jian's fist off course and bounced it out of the watery shield.
But at that very moment, a pale green energy bullet shot toward him. Without hesitation, Tang Jian forcefully kicked off with his right leg, and his mostly exposed body immediately dodged to the left.
Screech!
He felt as though his right arm had been grazed by a sharp dagger, a faint sting spreading through it.
The pale green energy bullet swept past him and shot directly into the water-ripple shield opposite him.
With a puff, the water-ripple shield caved in from the blow. The boy inside let out a muffled grunt, his expression panicked and furious as the shield visibly thinned.
The girl who had fired the energy bullet looked even worse. She shrieked as she constantly shifted her firing angle, but with Tang Jian's companion standing so close beside him, she was restrained and too afraid to act freely.
"Truly stupid!"
In the enormous conference room of the science museum outside, several teachers had already noticed the two students' performance. A middle-aged teacher who seemed to be their instructor angrily rebuked them, shaking his head with disappointment in his eyes.
At that moment, Tang Jian seized the opportunity he had created and immediately threw another punch.
When he punched, he looked like a boxer. His legs were slightly bent, his rear heel raised, his waist twisting and body leaning forward with every strike. Each punch was more powerful than the last.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His powerful fists crashed forward at incredible speed. Even the swiftest current could not stop a massive boulder from plunging downward, and the water-ripple shield shook violently under the barrage.
Softness could overcome hardness.
But when hardness reached a certain degree, softness could only be crushed beneath it.
After several heavy muffled impacts, Tang Jian's fists broke through the water-ripple shield like a pile driver and slammed into the boy opposite him.
His bluish-black stone fists were incomparably hard and ferociously powerful.
Protected by the water-ripple shield, the boy was like a punching bag that could only take a beating. He could not fight back at all. Amid screams and muffled groans, he was quickly knocked to the ground.
"Impressive, Teacher Sun. I never expected that, aside from Liu Kun, your class would have another promising student like this. He acts decisively and ruthlessly. I suppose your class's usual combat training is very strict?"
In the conference room, a half-bald male teacher looked somewhat surprised as he watched Tang Jian in a corner of the large screen and smiled at Sun Yiying.
Sun Yiying smiled and nodded, but said nothing as she watched Tang Jian in the corner of the screen. She, too, felt somewhat surprised and conflicted.
She knew that Tang Jian's combat skills were quite good. During the intensified training some time ago, apart from Liu Kun, only Tang Jian could hold his own against the others. The combat skills of the rest were somewhat inferior to his.
Yesterday, she had also secretly witnessed Tang Jian's battle with Mosquito. Although Tang Jian had still shown some shortcomings in that fight, his performance had been excellent.
Yet today, Tang Jian had familiarized himself with the cards in his hands so quickly and expanded his advantage to eliminate his enemies. That was somewhat beyond her expectations.
Perhaps this was a kind of exceptional talent for battle? Sun Yiying thought.
This was not particularly unusual.
At least, although some of Tang Jian's current displays were praiseworthy, they were not overly astonishing.
After all, his opponents were simply too weak. One had not even mastered the correct way to fire an Energy Bullet Card, while the other was an idiot who knew only how to defend and not how to fight back.
The other teachers merely offered a few simple words of praise in response to Sun Yiying's compliment. Many then turned their attention back to the other battle zones, particularly the performances of elite students like Wu Chun and Wang Ba.
Tang Jian's success might have come from his own strength, but his opponents had simply been too useless. It did not prove much.
Wu Chun and Wang Ba, on the other hand, were far more eye-catching.
For one, they were already well-known. For another, both possessed exceptional combat talent and high vitality. The instant the assessment began, they had displayed strength far beyond ordinary people.
Aside from those two, many others performed extremely poorly.
Either they could not adapt to such brutal life-and-death combat, hesitated when attacking, and failed to strike ruthlessly.
Or they were unfamiliar with the initial cards they had received—or perhaps they knew them but could not wield them skillfully—resulting in unsatisfactory performances.
"Sigh, this batch of students is even worse than the last. It seems that times have become too comfortable. People have grown complacent, and once real combat begins, they perform terribly."
A teacher shook his head regretfully. His students had performed terribly—far worse than he had expected—and he was deeply disappointed.
"This still isn't a true battle to the death. Even the death scenes in the Interstellar Tower have been toned down. The moment someone dies, their corpse is immediately cleared away. Otherwise, I reckon even more students would be vomiting and too weak to hold their weapons."
A stern-looking middle-aged teacher said discontentedly.
He was speaking the truth.
Real death scenes were far more terrifying than what the Interstellar Tower displayed now. Intestines and brains splattered all over the ground were common sights.
But now, after nearly every student died, their corpse was immediately cleared away. There was no horrifying, bloody atmosphere at all. It was practically just an overly realistic game.
Yet even so, some people's hands and feet went weak after they killed someone. Some even vomited, giving others an opportunity to take advantage of them.
"Sigh, they're still just children in the end. They've never encountered scenes of life and death like this. We can't put too much pressure on them," a kind-looking teacher sighed.
"They all have to go through this. The Old Kingdom Organization is becoming increasingly rampant, while the otherworld entrances suppressed by our Federation have repeatedly fallen into chaos. I fear the situation will only worsen in the future.
"The Federation needs talent—not greenhouse flowers from ivory towers, but iron-blooded warriors tempered by blood!"
Vice Principal Zhou Dongbo said firmly.
Pfft—
Tang Jian took an energy bullet head-on. With a cold expression, he suddenly hammered his fist into the cheek of the screaming girl opposite him, knocking her straight to the ground.
Seeing that she was not dead yet, he immediately stepped forward and struck her several more times, finally beating her to death in a flurry of punches.
As he watched the mangled corpse rapidly get cleared away,
Tang Jian pretended to be overwhelmed by the nausea of killing someone. He dropped onto the ground, breathing heavily with a vacant look in his eyes. Yet from the corners of his eyes, he and his thoughts remained alert, observing any enemy who dared approach.
Sun Yiying watched Tang Jian on the corner of the large screen. After beating a classmate to death, he sat on the ground staring blankly into space, and she could not help finding it amusing.
That brat had been quite ruthless just now. She had thought he was naturally cold-blooded.
But the moment the battle ended, he immediately revealed the truth behind his tough exterior.
Please vote with recommendation tickets! And thanks to Gentle Brother and "Illusion Knight Asked Me" for their tips! A bow to all of you, esteemed readers!
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