One week later, only a day and a half remained before the Team Extra Time Competition.

Deep within Death Forest.

Scattered sunlight slipped through the gaps in the tree canopy, falling softly onto ground strewn with fallen leaves, twigs, and mottled bloodstains. Countless human figures darted about, while the beasts' trails were difficult to decipher. The silent battlefield was shattered by human martial might. Powerful beasts tore through one peaceful patch of land after another, incessantly splattering the battlefield with the color of blood.

"Eight Extremes Fist!"

"The Eight Styles of Golden Vajra - Mountain Splitting Palm!"

BOOM!

An upper-class Soldier-level beast, nearly three to four meters tall and heavy, was slammed to the ground by a handsome young man, its limbs weakly splayed.

After the palm strike, Wang Zhan immediately shouted, calling for his team members to press the attack and employ guerrilla tactics.

"Song Dongming, Huang Pufeng, keep your eyes on their front! Chen Mengshu, find an opportunity to strike its soft underbelly! Zhou Weiya, Zhou Weiqing, guerrilla tactics, don't let it stop! Sun Kelan, stand behind me, ready to take over command at any time and coordinate the entire field!"

"Yes, sir!"

With a single command, the Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy Team, having trained together for a week, finally revealed the fruits of their hard work.

In perfect, disciplined order, all six surrounded the upper-class Soldier-level beast—an opponent comparable to a Level 7 Martial Master. They continuously dealt damage, keeping the beast on the defensive. Chen Mengshu, in particular, wielded a heavy long saber. Its blade glinted sharply, and her strikes were merciless, occasionally leaving cuts on the beast's soft underbelly from which blood oozed.

Wang Zhan's task was even simpler. Although he couldn't use Essence Energy, his Martial General-level defense was no mere bluff. He could shatter large stones with a single punch. The surrounded upper-class Soldier-level beast regained consciousness and prepared to counterattack. Wang Zhan immediately met it with an Eight Extremes Fist, heavily bombarding its head. This once again muddled the beast's consciousness.

Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng continued to exhaust the beast's physical strength. Eventually, they reached a point where Wang Zhan didn't even need to intervene for them to have the upper hand. At that moment, Chen Mengshu finally slashed open the beast's soft flank with her Liyun Blade. The strike left a deep, bloody groove, revealing the crimson viscera within.

BOOM!

Even the upper-class Soldier-level beast could no longer support itself and collapsed heavily. Besides its hide and bones, the precious beast core earned the Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy Team an additional 1,000 points.

On the points leaderboard, the Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy Team was now leading the second-place Yanjing Martial Arts Academy by nearly 20,000 points. They had reached an unprecedented score of 33,500, leaving all others far behind.

Whew!

But seeing his teammates sprawled about, nearly depleted of strength, Wang Zhan's expression turned stern, and he roared, "All of you, get up and gather your spirits! You're on a battlefield, and you dare to relax like this? Do you want to serve yourselves up on a platter for the beasts? If so, just tell me your bank card passwords. I'll send you right into the beasts' mouths!"

"Hehe..."

"Haha..."

Wang Zhan's words made the team members unable to hold back their laughter, and some collapsed to the floor, breathless. Immediately afterward, they shut their mouths and composed themselves, struggling to stand. In that instant, the once somewhat disorganized and unfamiliar Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy Team completely matured. Like soldiers weathered by trials and tribulations, they stood solemnly before Wang Zhan.

Only Chen Mengshu, who had been timid when facing Wang Zhan before but had nearly snapped after he activated his 'dark mode,' mumbled resentfully, "You're enjoying this, always bullying people as soon as you get back..."

'Stand to recover, lie down to rest. Move like the wind, sit like a pine tree.' This was the first command Wang Zhan issued as team leader upon his return. He demanded not only swift action and seamless cooperation but also that everyone maintain a high level of vigilance and awareness at all times. He allowed no relaxation, making him even more terrifying than the icy Mingyue.

The Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy Team members, who had hoped for some peaceful days, felt their spirits sink. Originally, they only had one 'icy mountain'; now, another had appeared.

Fortunately, no one objected. Song Dongming, who had always admired Wang Zhan's changes, even raised both hands in agreement. Huang Pufeng, one of his close friends, naturally followed suit. Sun Kelan, Chen Mengshu, and the Zhou Weiya siblings naturally had no objections.

Just like that, Wang Zhan effortlessly brought the Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy Team under his control.

"Alright, recover your stamina first. Stay hidden. I'm going with the mentor for a bit. I'll be back soon."

Wang Zhan waved his hand and greeted Mingyue. She immediately darted into the deeper jungle battlefield, leaving Huang Pufeng staring wide-eyed.

"Hey, Dongming, you don't think this kid and the mentor... why has he seemed so secretive these days?"

Song Dongming's expression tensed slightly, and he glanced at him. "Isn't living well good enough for you? Are you also hoping the mentor will give you 'special lessons' when she returns?"

"Haha... What a joke! I'm not worthy of the mentor's special attention. Let's leave that to tough guys like Wang Zhan..."

Huang Pufeng broke into a cold sweat and could only awkwardly shut his mouth, trying to maintain some decorum.

...

Wang Zhan charged wildly through the dense forest.

Mingyue, meanwhile, moved continuously between the tree canopies, as nimble as a forest elf.

「Half an hour later.」

Mingyue, graceful as an elf despite her military attire, landed delicately on a tree branch.

Her eyes flickered as she pointed in a direction. "There's an intermediate General-level beast a kilometer that way. Its talent, skills, and form are unknown."

Wang Zhan nodded and smiled lightly. "Thanks, mentor. By the way, when we get there, could you hit it with a palm strike first? Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to beat it."

"Heh."

Mingyue sneered. His use of 'mentor' still lacked the slightest sincerity.

Because the Blood Essence Pill had indeed raised Wang Zhan's defense to the Martial General level, he currently felt no pressure to advance. If this weren't the case, Mingyue, as a Martial King, would hardly bother with him, as he always used her like a tool.

But every time he thought of the Blood Essence Pill, Wang Zhan felt a pang of regret and indignation, silently cursing Li Chengyuan.

Blood Essence Pill, you've led me astray!

Although the Blood Essence Pill was good, its complications were truly more than an ordinary person could bear. Unfortunately, Wang Zhan was one of those ordinary people.

He just had a System that allowed him to level up rapidly; once it started, it was unstoppable. And his Martial General-level physical defense had even caused the System to make a slight misjudgment.

If the System only focused on panel awakening, he would still be just a mediocre Level 3 Warrior. That way, it would have been much more fun to be a relative newbie bullying even weaker opponents and gain attribute points.

But now? Although he gained attribute points from challenging General-level beasts and earned extreme attribute points from slaying them, creatures below the Martial General level were practically useless to Wang Zhan.

How pitiful...

Fortunately, Mingyue, this rather eccentric woman, might rant and joke, but she never took Wang Zhan's life lightly.

So, leveraging her powerful strength as a Martial King, she directly overpowered the beast. With a single palm strike that nearly took all nine of its lives, she beat the innocent intermediate General-level beast to within an inch of its life, then immediately handed the battlefield over to Wang Zhan.

Wang Zhan faced the intermediate General-level beast, now ravaged by Mingyue and clinging to its last breath.

After taking a deep breath and tensing his entire body, he launched his attack. His hands executed the ancient boxing method with powerful, sweeping motions, completely disregarding physical defense as he unleashed his full power.

The ancient Eight Extremes Fist was originally full of constraints, almost like a bottomless pit. However, as Wang Zhan's physical power grew, it became increasingly easy for him to handle. Although there were no flashy displays, every fist that landed on the beast sent its heavy body crashing into the ground, creating new pits each time.

This General-level beast had never been treated like this. First, a life-threatening palm strike, and then it was relentlessly hounded by this young brat. It immediately roared madly, fighting back with all its might. Even on its last breath, it was still a peak existence in Death Forest and couldn't be underestimated.

However, Wang Zhan carelessly landed another punch on its forehead. The force behind the punch was comparable to a speeding truck. It made the General-level beast's head ring, and its barely recovered senses and ferocity once again dissolved into a dazed, reeling state.

Kick 'em while they're down.

Wang Zhan loved to strike while the iron was hot. He immediately leaped into the air, clenched his fist, gathered momentum, and roared, "Eight Extremes Fist, The Eight Styles of Golden Vajra - Riding Elephant Punch!"

A punch, like a lightning bolt, shot down from above and landed precisely on the beast's eye. The tremendous force bypassed all flesh and blood defenses, striking straight into its brain.

One move, and it was done.

'Strength +23'

'Agility +15'

'Physique +31'

After ruthlessly killing four weaker, low to mid-tier General-level beasts (each comparable to a Level 6 Martial General), Wang Zhan had completely maxed out his basic and extreme attribute points for the Level 3 Warrior stage.

Host: Wang Zhan

Strength: 2,100

Agility: 2,100

Physique: 2,100

Charm: 60

Wisdom: 50

Mental Power: 600

Just one final step, and Wang Zhan could ascend to the ranks of a Level 4 Warrior.

His actual strength had lagged by almost two weeks due to the Blood Essence Pill. However, compared to the many students from other Martial Arts Academies who were just now entering the Level 2 Warrior stage, his terrifying talent was self-evident.

Wang Zhan retrieved the beast core of this General-level beast.

Handing it in to the officials would definitely be a loss. But since he had hired 'external help,' turning it in through official channels wasn't an option according to the rules. Therefore, he could only hand it to the Military Department for military merit or sell it on the Black Market. Heh, a blood profit.

"Let's go. I'm about to break through."

"...Oh."

Mingyue was stunned, her face blank. It took her a long moment to reply.

She suddenly had a strong urge to dissect Wang Zhan and see what his core was made of. Why was leveling up a matter of life and death for everyone else, yet for Wang Zhan, it seemed as casual as eating and drinking?

Of course, if she knew she wasn't alone in these thoughts—that Song Dongming, Huang Pufeng, Duan Kun, Liu Zhenfeng, Lv Zhenglong, Yun Tianyi, Edward, and others felt the same—perhaps she would feel a little better.

...

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