Impassable Mountains (Part 2)

With Xia Mi joining the fight and smashing through the Lionheart Society's line from the flank, the Student Union's morale surged. Within minutes, they had taken control of the entire classroom.

A petite, cute Swedish girl came over, her face full of admiration.

"Minister Xia Mi, you really are..."

Before she could finish, Xia Mi suddenly drew the UMP45 strapped to her waist, pressed it against the girl's forehead, and pulled the trigger hard.

A short burst followed, sweeping across the room and dropping her Student Union comrades in the blink of an eye.

Xia Mi's goal was to become the final winner of the Day of Freedom, so both the Student Union and the Lionheart Society were her enemies.

After collecting the weapons, Xia Mi returned to the desk where she and Li Lin had originally been hiding. The moment she saw Li Lin stand up, he gave her a thumbs-down.

"Hm?" The female bandit who had just cleared the classroom raised an eyebrow, unable to understand what she had done wrong to deserve Li Lin's condemnation.

Could this guy have suddenly developed a sense of collective consciousness and disapproved of her backstabbing her Student Union comrades?

Thinking that, Xia Mi's attitude softened considerably. She was about to explain the philosophy behind the Day of Freedom to Li Lin when the bastard opened his mouth and instantly shattered her defenses.

"There's a toothpaste stain on your safety shorts. Of course, that's not actually what I wanted to say, but I think you understand what I mean."

"Damn it, you dare act like a pervert with this heroine? I'll beat you to death right now!"

Xia Mi had just raised her fist when she lowered it again, because Li Lin's AR-15 had already aimed at her forehead during the instant her attention wandered.

"Little Li, you're seriously invincible. You saw under a pretty girl's skirt and didn't react at all?"

"To be honest, I did blank out for a moment. But I figured saying it outright would probably make you reveal an opening."

"Fine. Put the gun down now, and I won't hold it against you for peeking under my skirt."

Li Lin pretended not to hear her. He slowly backed away, always keeping a distance that Xia Mi could not cross quickly, his muzzle trained on her head the entire time.

"Hey, put the gun down already! Your martial artist's soul is crying!"

"What kind of nonsense are you talking about? This is the West Coast Five Thunder Righteous Method I just learned."

Hearing Li Lin use her own words against her made Xia Mi grit her teeth in fury.

Li Lin kept retreating. He needed to make sure he reached a position where Xia Mi could not snatch his gun the instant he formed the intention to pull the trigger.

But Xia Mi slowly shifted her feet, inching closer and closer.

"Don't move. Xia, just stand there obediently and take a Frigg Bullet. After Master Li takes the win, he'll come to the infirmary and brag to you."

"In your dreams. Don't think I'll let myself go out that pathetically."

Li Lin backed toward the podium along the steps while Xia Mi pressed forward step by step. Finally, just as Li Lin's heel touched a "corpse"—

Xia Mi vanished from before Li Lin's eyes.

Just as Li Lin knew how to use topics that embarrassed Xia Mi to create openings, Xia Mi also knew that Li Lin had never handled firearms before. When faced with an unexpected situation, he would inevitably hesitate for an instant because of the unfamiliar weapon in his hand.

This was Xia Mi's only chance.

So fast—

Li Lin immediately lowered the muzzle, aimed at Xia Mi as she rushed in low, and pulled the trigger.

It was already too late.

The girl's flying long hair spread before him like a mass of windblown Dandelion, blocking Li Lin's vision.

Xia Mi acted the moment Li Lin began thinking about how to counterattack with the rifle. The AR-15 in Li Lin's hands only had time to fire one bullet before Xia Mi knocked it away.

But Li Lin knew perfectly well that he was not good with guns, so he had long prepared himself to abandon it.

As Xia Mi used Bagua Palm to deflect Li Lin's weapon, Li Lin was already bringing his elbow down toward the back of her head.

Li Lin had fully adapted to the explosive increase in physical ability brought by awakening his bloodline. The lightning-fast strike landed squarely on Xia Mi, and the heroine let out a "meow" as she toppled to the floor.

Li Lin was about to seize the AR-15 in Xia Mi's arms and finish her off with a Frigg Bullet's anesthetic effect.

But the moment he reached out, he realized the girl was only pretending to be unconscious. She kicked him in the chest, knocking him back as she drew the gun and aimed it at him.

Now that Xia Mi had a gun, Li Lin did not hesitate. Using the force of her kick, he leaped sideways, smashed through the window, and escaped into the corridor.

Only then, standing alone in the empty classroom, did Xia Mi finally let out a breath.

An ordinary Mixed-Blood would have collapsed unconscious after taking Li Lin's elbow to the back of the head.

Fortunately, Xia Mi was not ordinary—and she was not human either—so she had endured that heavy blow head-on.

Li Lin was improving far too quickly. Xia Mi herself was not sure whether she could defeat him while staying within the bounds of ordinary Mixed-Blood common sense.

She did not want to reveal too much of her true strength over something as trivial as the Day of Freedom. Being able to separate from Li Lin on a battlefield full of unknown variables was exactly what she wanted most.

At that moment, Li Lin, having left the tiered classroom, was weaving through the teaching building, where intense close-quarters fighting had broken out.

Using the gunfire as cover, Li Lin slipped behind a Lionheart Society officer, slapped him unconscious, took his MP5A5, then charged into the crowd and went on a rampage.

After sparring with Xia Mi for ten years, combined with the experiences of his previous life, Li Lin utterly outclassed these students in experience, awareness, and skill.

What was more, he was the only S-Rank student in the entire college. The hybrid world had strict hierarchies, and Mixed-Bloods with superior bloodlines held an absolute advantage in every respect.

Having just fought Xia Mi and then immediately fighting ordinary Mixed-Bloods, the sheer cliff-like drop in difficulty briefly left Li Lin feeling almost lost.

It felt like none of the upperclassmen he encountered could fight at all.

Usually, he could subdue someone in a single move upon meeting them. Occasionally, he ran into so-called elite students in full gear, and then Li Lin did need to use the environment to circle, probe, and maneuver repeatedly before winning through several close-range exchanges.

But overall... there was no challenge at all.

The Lionheart Society camp suddenly lost contact with a large number of members in a short time, and the society headquarters immediately sent out a request for reinforcements.

Li Lin had just managed to find a ballistic shield and an unclaimed light machine gun, preparing to charge toward the Lionheart Society headquarters.

Just as he was about to leave, a storm of Frigg Bullets forced him back. From afar, he could see an autocannon aimed at the entrance.

Li Lin quickly discarded the battered shield and retreated into the teaching building. But at the same time, a decapitation squad entering through the side door had already cut off his retreat.

In the dim library, darkened because the power had been shut off, a youth in deep crimson combat gear cautiously reached for the switch.

But a sudden chill made him stop.

"With this crappy school covered in guns and artillery, why is someone still carrying a Japanese sword?"

Li Lin could not help complaining.

The student standing behind him, who looked two years older, remained unmoved. "Although you have only been at the college for a short time, I've already heard many stories about you, Li Lin. Every upperclassman says you're a monster when it comes to close combat."

"You came specifically to challenge me one-on-one?"

"First-year student of Alchemical Mechanical Engineering, Chu Zihang. Please teach me."

"Fine, I get it. Then tell the sniper on the second floor to move her crosshair off my head first."

At that, Chu Zihang immediately complied, pressing a hand to his skeletal headset.

"Su Qian, give me ten minutes."

"Ten minutes? bro, the Lionheart Society reinforcements are fighting the Student Union around the teaching building. Isn't our mission to decapitate the target and withdraw immediately?"

Chu Zihang ignored Su Qian and tossed away his headset before charging at Li Lin in the darkness.

That earnest, stubborn martial fanatic image earned Li Lin's favor.

Failing to turn on the lights instead gave Li Lin an advantage in combat. He was long accustomed to locating enemies without relying on his sight. He was better at sensing the earth element and using the vibrations in the ground to judge his opponent's state.

So he kicked over a desk, using it to block Chu Zihang's face-to-face robe-cutting slash, then smashed through the tabletop with a straight punch that descended directly toward Chu Zihang's chest.

Chu Zihang had never seen anyone break through a palm-thick solid wood desk barehanded before, but now he had. He reacted immediately, urgently pulling his blade across to block.

Li Lin remained wary of the sniper above. Although he recognized her as Xia Mi's roommate, they were enemies now, so he did not dare use wide, committed attacks. He tried to keep himself moving at all times.

His fist struck the blade directly, and the tremendous force drove Chu Zihang back again and again. Only after crashing through a bookshelf did he barely manage to steady himself.

"Not bad combat instincts." Li Lin had finally seen a freshman who could react to his attacks in a direct confrontation.

Feeling the stinging pain in the web of his hand gripping the sword, Chu Zihang immediately abandoned all hesitation caused by using a real blade. He charged forward again without hesitation, this time aiming at Li Lin's undefended waist, intending to use a reverse robe-cutting slash from Li Lin's abdomen up to his right shoulder!

His sword was too fast! On the second floor, Su Qian saw Chu Zihang unleash that astonishing killing strike. In the darkness, the youth swung his sword so quickly that one could only make out the outline of the blade, while a terrifying howl of wind tore toward Li Lin ahead!

Even with a sniper rifle in her arms, Su Qian could not help breaking into a cold sweat for Li Lin. If he failed to block that strike, he would at least spend half a month in the college hospital.

But Su Qian had overlooked the most important thing: Chu Zihang had no intention of killing a fellow student. He dared to use such a vicious offensive precisely because he understood that, even armed with a weapon, his chances against Li Lin were still slim.

A real blade was far less threatening to Li Lin than Xia Mi's fists.

Almost the instant Chu Zihang's blade brushed Li Lin's clothes, Li Lin had already counterattacked. It was as though he had completely read the path of Chu Zihang's attack. He twisted aside and, at the same time, drove an upward punch at Chu Zihang's temple!

In the darkness, Chu Zihang gritted his teeth and lowered his head at the last possible moment, avoiding the fatal strike to the temple and taking Li Lin's blow with his cheekbone instead.

But Li Lin's next move followed in an instant, his palm thrusting toward Chu Zihang's wrist.

He was clearly fighting barehanded, yet every punch and palm strike was as swift and sharp as a sword. His attacks came so fast that all they could hear was the crackling sound of clothing slapping against flesh!

Chu Zihang barely recognized it as Xingyi Boxing, yet it was mixed with the techniques of Wudang swordsmanship. It was truly "the six harmonies united, intent spreading across heaven and earth." Were the Mixed-Bloods in the preparatory class all monsters, capable of such effortless fusion of martial mysteries recorded only in books?

He desperately twisted his blade to force away Li Lin's thrusting palm. If that strike landed solidly, his wrist would definitely break.

Taking advantage of the opening created when Li Lin was forced back, Chu Zihang quickly retreated. His face burned with pain, but he forced his eyes open to watch for Li Lin's next move.

Li Lin stood in the pitch-black aisle. His shadow overlapped with the outline of his body and merged into some immense shape. Chu Zihang felt as though he were seeing a range of silent mountains from afar. Like an ancient scholar trying to climb a peak, composing poetry and prose, reverence and yearning rose naturally within him—and then he wanted to trample those mountains beneath his feet.

Until Li Lin stepped forward.

Now the mountain had collapsed! A torrent of shattered stone swelled rapidly in his vision. The person standing beneath the mountain could not resist at all, and even the entire library floor seemed to tremble because of it!

One bookshelf after another was knocked down. Even Su Qian upstairs was knocked unconscious when Li Lin took advantage of the chaos to throw several Chinese dictionaries at her like hidden weapons.

Chu Zihang set the current record for longest combat time among Lionheart Society members. Though he had not lasted more than a minute even with the terrain and weapon helping him, his beastlike combat instincts still made Li Lin acknowledge his talent.

After all, Chu Zihang had only been enrolled for a short time and had received almost no professional training. Being able to fight like this through instinct and intuition alone was already quite impressive.

Li Lin took guns and ammunition from the two of them. By then, the battle between the Lionheart Society and Student Union outside was nearing its end. He pulled the trigger, dropping Lionheart Society members who were about to enter close combat, then casually finished off several Student Union comrades hiding behind cover.

After receiving intelligence over the radio that the leaders of both groups were confronting each other in the gymnasium, Li Lin hurried toward the scene.

But the explosion that greeted him the moment he reached the gymnasium made his entire body jolt.

Powdered brick and shattered glass covered the ground. Xia Mi stood outside the door and tossed aside an empty rocket launcher. The alchemical warhead, filled with anesthetic gas, had already simultaneously taken down the Lionheart Society's and Student Union's last hopes.

Yet even that did not reassure her. She climbed into the vehicle-mounted autocannon she had seized and began spraying the gymnasium with bullets.

The radio channel had long fallen silent. The Lionheart Society and the Student Union had practically beaten each other's brains out across the entire college, while Xia Mi went around "breaking up fights." Wherever people were fighting, she went and swept everyone up in one go.

The last small group had also been sent off by Li Lin's finishing shots in the teaching building.

No one remained who could stop this female demon, who was unleashing a barrage of firepower.

Watching this super bandit, who seemed poised to top Cassel College's Day of Freedom knockout rankings, Li Lin began considering how to persuade her to put down her firearms and grenades.

Xia Mi noticed Li Lin emerging from the tree-lined path behind her. The roar of gunfire stopped abruptly as she slowly turned the autocannon around, its twelve thick barrels aimed at her childhood friend below.

Li Lin quickly threw away the weapons in his hands and raised both hands in a French military salute.

But after thinking for a moment, Xia Mi actually jumped down from the vehicle herself. She even tossed aside the M4 rifle strapped to her back and the string of grenades hanging at her waist.

She clasped her fists toward Li Lin in salute.

The female bandit transformed back into a wandering martial heroine.

"Now it's just us. Let's fight."

The outcome of this battle would determine three months of dating privileges. To avoid being personally appointed by Xia Mi as her "exclusive manservant" and reduced to scrubbing her clothes in Norton Hall every day—even changing her foot-washing water—Li Lin now had an absolute reason not to lose.