As soon as Xing Wu finished speaking, he saw a group led by Li Zhichao and Xu Yan emerge from the Red Maple Forest.
This group of students was even more disheveled than the previous groups. Almost all of them were covered in bruises, and some were being carried by their companions, their faces deathly pale.
Not only that, they also discovered that several people were missing from the group, including Jiang Fan.
Upon seeing this, Xing Wu's heart skipped a beat. Without further delay, he rushed to Li Zhichao and the others.
The tone was urgent.
"What happened to you all? How come you're all so badly injured? And—why are so many people missing?"
Li Zhichao's face was grim, and he honestly replied, " Teacher Xing, we encountered tens of thousands of Red Maple Ant in the Red Maple Forest, as well as a Two Star Red Maple Ant King."
Upon hearing this, Xing Wu's expression changed drastically, and the other teachers were also shocked.
"My God! Tens of thousands of Red Maple Ant, and a Red Maple Ant King! How did so many of you survive!"
Some teachers couldn't help but sigh deeply. When they first saw Li Zhichao's team, they thought they had an unusually small number of people. But now, after learning this chilling news, they felt that it was a stroke of luck that they hadn't been completely wiped out.
"Where's Jiang Fan? Don't tell me he died inside!"
Xing Wu was extremely agitated, his fists clenched tightly, and his chest heaving.
He knew there was only one explanation for Jiang Fan not coming out with them: Jiang Fan was dead.
But he still wanted to hear Li Zhichao and the others tell him themselves.
When Jiang Fan was mentioned, Li Zhichao's face turned gloomy and strange. For a moment, the name " Jiang Fan " seemed to be stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say it no matter what.
Seeing Li Zhichao remain silent, Xing Wu closed his eyes tightly, his face filled with sorrow.
He had always been proud of recruiting Jiang Fan, but at this moment he regretted it. He should have known better than to hire Jiang Fan.
Such a genius, with such a rare temperament, ultimately died during the freshman trials at the start of the semester.
Just then, a familiar voice rang out from not far ahead.
" Teacher Xing, you've arrived."
Um?
Xing Wu was taken aback at first, then suddenly opened his eyes and saw a handsome young man in a black hoodie strolling leisurely out of the Red Maple Forest.
The boy's face was fair and clean, without a trace of blood. His clothes were also intact, with hardly any wrinkles. He was clean and relaxed, as if he had just come out from a spring outing.
"Jiang... Jiang Fan, are you... are you alright?"
Jiang Fan looked completely bewildered by the question. "What could possibly be wrong with me?"
Seeing this, Xing Wu shifted his gaze to Li Zhichao and noticed that the latter's expression was strange, which made him even more suspicious.
He withdrew his gaze and looked Jiang Fan up and down, finding that he was indeed completely unharmed. Moreover, compared to Li Zhichao and the others who were covered in bruises, Jiang Fan truly had no injuries whatsoever.
"I heard from Li Zhichao that you encountered tens of thousands of Red Maple Ant?"
This is a question, and it's clear that Xing Wu is beginning to doubt what Li Zhichao just said.
"Yes, that's right." Jiang Fan replied frankly.
"Is that so?" Xing Wu opened his mouth, paused for two seconds, and continued to ask.
"We even encountered a Two Star Red Maple Ant King?"
"Yes." Jiang Fan nodded again.
Xing Wu's mouth gaped open even wider. "Then, how did you all survive?"
Before Jiang Fan could answer, the fat man who had just come out of the Red Maple Forest chuckled and came over.
"Of course, it was my Brother Fan who showed his might, drawing his bow and shooting arrows, killing those Red Maple Ant one by one, sending them running home to their mothers. Oh! And that Red Maple Ant King, he was also cleaved in two by my Brother Fan with a single stroke. How about that? Isn't my Brother Fan amazing?"
Li Zhichao rolled his eyes. "Tch! It's like you killed those Red Maple Ant. What's there to be so arrogant about?"
After hearing what the fat man said, Xing Wu's face showed an expression of disbelief, while the other teachers all looked at each other, speechless.
For a moment, you could hear a pin drop.
"Is that really true?"
Xing Wu asked this not because he didn't believe it, but because the truth was too unbelievable.
"But aren't you Late-Stage First Rank?"
Can someone tell him how Late-Stage First Rank could kill so many Red Maple Ant that they had to go home to find their mother? And how could he cleave Two Star Red Maple Ant King in two with a single strike?
"Actually, I'm currently at the Middle-Stage Second Rank," Jiang Fan replied.
Their strength had already been exposed before, so there was no need to continue hiding it.
"What? You're now—you're now at the Middle-Stage Second Rank? This—you—you're not kidding me, are you?"
Seeing Xing Wu's ghostly expression made the fat man feel a bit better.
The fat man reached out and put his hand on Xing Wu's shoulder. "When I first heard this news, I was just as shocked as you were. I couldn't believe my ears. But it's true, so you have to accept it calmly. Don't let it get to you."
Xing Wu slapped the fat man's hand off his shoulder speechlessly, thinking to himself, "Whose fat kid is this? So disrespectful!"
He's a teacher, not a student like Jiang Fan, so why was he so upset?
Besides, even if Jiang Fan is only at the Middle-Stage Second Rank, he is at the Middle-Stage Fifth Rank, a full three major realms higher. What reason does he have to be discouraged?
Even if he suffers a setback, he will wait until Jiang Fan catches up with him.
Who knows when that day will come?
Anyway, by the time Jiang Fan reaches the Middle-Stage Fifth Rank, he will definitely have already graduated from school, so he won't be able to see it, and he won't be discouraged.
Xing Wu was so certain because the breakthrough of the Lower Three Ranks and the breakthrough of the Middle Three Ranks were not even in the same league.
It is said that breaking through from Martial Apprentice to First-Rank Martial Artist is an insurmountable hurdle, and many people can only stay at the Late-Stage Martial Apprentice for their entire lives.
Therefore, breaking through from the Third Rank to the Fourth Rank is an even more insurmountable chasm. Without sufficient talent or opportunity, one may be stuck at the bottleneck of the High-Stage Third Rank forever.
Moreover, improving one's strength at the Middle Three Ranks is dozens of times more difficult than improving it at the Lower Three Ranks.
The First Rank from first to Third Rank are considered the Lower Three Ranks, the Fourth Rank to Sixth Rank are considered the Middle Three Ranks, and the Seventh Rank to Ninth Rank are considered the Upper Three Ranks.
Therefore, even if Jiang Fan has extraordinary talent and advanced from Late-Stage First-Rank Martial Artist to Middle-Stage Second Rank martial artist in just two months, it is impossible for him to advance to Middle-Stage Fifth Rank before graduation.
Because so far, those who have been able to do this are extremely rare, practically nonexistent.
Those who have accomplished these things are now the undisputed pillars of their Great Xia Dynasty.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Xing Wu looked at Jiang Fan curiously and asked, "Have you studied archery before?"