High above the sky!
Seven figures plummeted at tremendous speed, the wind howling past them amid bursts of squealing like pigs at slaughter.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
"I'm still single! I don't want to die!"
"Why wouldn't you let me bring a parachute? I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"
Vortex tumbled through the sky, his screams growing louder and louder.
"Quiet down! You're so annoying!" Rose shot Vortex a glare and snapped impatiently.
"We jumped from thousands of meters up without parachutes! I'm scared!" Vortex said, his voice thick with tears. "I'm afraid of heights!"
"Relax. It's just a skydive!" Wang Mian folded his arms, his tone calm.
"Captain, Quan only told us to make a cool entrance and intimidate the recruits! There were plenty of other ways!" Vortex kept yammering. "What if we fall to our deaths?"
"Don't worry. We won't die!" Wang Mian remained composed.
"Exactly. With me here, it's all a piece of cake!" Tian Ping's voice brimmed with unmatched confidence.
"Are you sure? I've put on weight lately! Can you hold me up? You have to protect me! I'm too young to die!"
Vortex rattled on like a machine gun.
Tian Ping let out a long sigh, looked at Wang Mian, and asked irritably, "Captain, can I let this guy fall to his death?"
"No!"
"Ah! What a shame!"
"Hey, I'm right here!" Vortex was speechless.
"We're almost down. Stop shouting, or you'll embarrass us!" Wang Mian reminded him, then waved to Wang Quan, knowing he could see them.
Wang Quan gave him a thumbs-up, as though saying, "When it comes to showing off, nobody does it better than you!"
As the seven drew closer to the ground, their blurry silhouettes became perfectly clear. Someone exclaimed:
"Wow! It's the [Mask] Squad!"
"This training camp was worth it! Not only do we get to see [Daybreak], but [Mask] came too!"
"I'm so happy!"
Seeing the seven about to splatter into pulp, some recruits covered their eyes in fear. Yet a second before impact, Tian Ping gently moved two fingers, and gravity vanished around the [Mask] Squad.
Like seven feathers, they floated lightly to the ground, their toes touching down first. In the blink of an eye, they stood firmly in place, even striking a stylish formation.
In the sunlight, their cloaks fluttered in the wind, and their varied masks gleamed.
The recruits' eyes shone with both amazement and envy.
Wang Mian slowly spoke, his cool, resonant voice making the [Mask] Squad seem even more impressive. "We are..."
Just then, Vortex's legs buckled...
Wang Quan saw it happen. To keep [Mask] from losing face, he caught Vortex at the fastest speed of his life.
To everyone else, Wang Quan was still standing where he had been. They could not even see an afterimage.
The mishap never happened, and Wang Mian finished his introduction.
Vortex gave Wang Quan a grateful look. Wang Quan rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, determined to fleece him for a hefty meal.
Vortex tearfully agreed. The last time he had treated Wang Quan to dinner, it had cost him an entire month's salary.
Now that the people backing him up had arrived, Yuan Gang swept his gaze over the defiant recruits, his booming voice ringing out. "Here's your chance to show what you've got!"
"It's three in the afternoon. Before ten tonight, whatever methods you use, if you can remove the mask of any member of the [Mask] Squad, you win!"
"If you can defeat a Special Squad, that'll prove you're genuinely badass. I can apply for your graduation tomorrow."
The moment Yuan Gang finished, Wang Quan became interested. He fetched a chair from the office in an instant, sat in the middle of the raised platform, and looked confidently at everyone as he added:
"I'll offer an extra special reward. Until ten, I'll be sitting right here. If anyone can touch me, this Forbidden Item is yours."
As he spoke, Wang Quan raised [White-Cleaver] and introduced it. "[White-Cleaver], one of the Baili family's treasured Forbidden Items. The genuine article."
"I swear on the honor of the Night Watchers that I'll keep my word!"
With that, he let go, and the tip of [White-Cleaver]'s scabbard touched the ground.
Wang Quan rested one hand on the hilt and the other on the chair, crossed his legs, and wore an arrogant expression that said, "Come at me."
The members of the [Mask] Squad looked utterly bewildered, and the instructors were dumbfounded too.
Never mind the recruits-even they were tempted to give it a try.
That was [White-Cleaver], Forbidden Ruins sequence 061, a priceless treasure that money could not buy.
"Instructor, that's unfair!"
"Their realms are too high! Even ten thousand more of us couldn't beat them!"
"Exactly!"
The recruits were no fools. There was no uncertainty whatsoever about the outcome of this battle.
"They'll suppress their realms to the Lamp Realm. What?"
"You don't dare?"
Yuan Gang sneered, his voice mocking.
"Two hundred and thirty-nine against seven. Do you dare?"
At those words, the recruits' eyes burned, and their breathing quickened.
Yes!
Why wouldn't we?
Just then, Wang Mian spoke. "We don't need seven. Five will be enough to deal with you!"
With that, he signaled two members of his squad with a glance, and they left with the instructors.
Wang Mian's words fired up every recruit, leaving them all itching to try. What Wang Quan said next drove the atmosphere to its peak.
"I'll suppress myself to the Lamp Realm too. Touch me just once, and [White-Cleaver] is yours!"
"Whether you defeat [Mask] or snatch [White-Cleaver] from [Daybreak], either will prove you're a one-in-ten-million genius!"
An irresistible reward lay before them, and the highest honor seemed within easy reach.
The instructors withdrew one after another. On the raised platform, the five members of [Mask] stood with their heads held high and chests out.
Wang Quan sat there, his gaze like that of a proud lion king, looking down on everyone equally.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
The recruits stared hungrily at the remaining six, their gazes as scorching as molten lava.
"Excuse me, when do we start?" someone asked, raising a hand.
Tian Ping pointed a finger at him. Immediately, the questioner's body shuddered, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward.
The next second, Wang Mian's voice drifted into the unsettled crowd.
"Everyone, it's already one minute past three!
The battle started a while ago!"
"This is your first lesson: don't ask your enemy. Learn to judge for yourselves!"
As soon as he finished, more than a dozen recruits charged toward the Martial Arts Platform.
Flames, ice, lightning... countless abilities were unleashed at once. In an instant, half the sky was awash with colors, as though embodying the recruits' fighting spirit.
The atmosphere on the training ground erupted like a volcano that had slumbered for ages.
A small portion of them broke in from the flanks. They had no interest in defeating [Mask]; they preferred the saber in Wang Quan's hand.
Besides, dealing with one person was easier than dealing with five, especially when all they had to do was touch him once.
Watching the recruits close in around him, Wang Quan could not help smiling.
The all-out melee began!
Before you continue