42: The teacher is so pitiful (slightly modified, plot unchanged)

The first one to fight Hong Yuantai was Xiang Zixi.

The training ground was massive.

The two stood ten meters apart, facing each other.

Xiang Zixi smiled sweetly; her curved eyes and two small dimples were enough to make anyone's heart melt.

"Teacher, my strength is a bit weak, please go easy on me."

"If you're weak, then level up more and get more combat experience."

"Oh, teacher, I..."

Bao Bao, who was in charge of timing, curled his lip and shouted lazily, "Start."

According to his thoughts, when men deal with pretty girls who know how to act cute, they generally can't bring themselves to be heavy-handed.

With this kind of dilly-dallying, he felt that 'Green Tea Xiang' could probably chat her way through the full ten minutes.

Swoosh!

A distance of ten meters.

It felt as if it were only an inch away.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared in front of Xiang Zixi, and a fist slammed into her face.

Bang!

Xiang Zixi was sent flying, and the health bar above her head was instantly emptied of more than half, leaving only a tiny sliver.

It was a shocking sight.

Bao Bao's hand, which had just finished the downward signal, froze as he was scared silly.

If he was this brutal to a girl, how could it be any better when it was his turn?

Xu Le was also somewhat shocked.

He looked closely at Hong Yuantai's attributes.

[Name] Hong Yuantai

[Age] 48

[Class] Berserk Warlord (SS-Rank)

[Rank] 78

[HP] 33600/33600

[MP] 8300/8300

[Strength] 3140

[Agility] 3340

[Physique] 2360

[Spirit] 830

[Talent] War God's Blessing

[Skills] Savage Charge, Thunderous Warcry, Berserk Blade, Charged Strike, Reckless Swing, Berserker's Rage, Defense-Break Mark... "Holy crap!"

"When did these attributes and health jump up by such a huge margin?"

Xu Le's expression turned strange; this guy had actually equipped every single piece of gear and accessory he had. His HP alone had increased by at least ten thousand points.

He couldn't see the specific increases for the other attributes, but they certainly weren't small.

Xiang Zixi was not only severely injured but also stunned, only now slowly waking up.

"Ah—am I dead?"

Hong Yuantai interrupted her directly: "Since you're awake, go to the side."

"I have to say, you're really trash! You didn't even last a second. Watch closely from now on."

"Okay." After witnessing Hong Yuantai's titanium-grade 'straight man' personality, Xiang Zixi stopped speaking in a delicate voice and walked directly to the side.

The next two, Bao Bao and Song Yixing, learned from Xiang Zixi's experience and fought hard to entangle him, finally managing to hold on for three seconds.

Hong Yuantai looked relaxed, but when he caught sight of Xu Le's unchanging, calm expression, his heart began to drum slightly.

He wasn't afraid of losing or dying, but he was somewhat afraid of losing face.

After all, this was the ruthless guy who kept talking about taking Zhu Daxiang and the others to the Life and Death Stage; Hong Yuantai felt he needed to avoid an upset.

"The three of you go back and reflect properly. Write a three-thousand-word self-reflection for me and hand it in tomorrow."

The three of them said in unison: "Teacher, we want to study Senior Brother's fighting style. Please grant us permission."

Hong Yuantai: "..."

This reason was quite valid, and he couldn't refuse, so he waved his hand for them to hide a bit further away.

More importantly, he had confidence in himself!

Bao Bao rushed to act as the referee, waving his right hand down hard: "Start!"

Xu Le had seen Hong Yuantai's speed; with a single thought, all four little ones took the field.

Hong Yuantai laughed loudly: "I've seen many before who contracted SSS-Rank contracted beasts and swept through their peers, but their weakness is obvious—the Contractor themselves!"

He spoke very fast, and his movements were more than twice as fast as the previous three times.

Before his voice even faded, just as the four little ones appeared, a 'Savage Charge' was already crashing in, and a fist the size of a clay pot appeared before Xu Le's eyes.

Xu Le's damage immunity was terrifyingly high; even if he didn't move and let Hong Yuantai punch him, it would be fine.

However, getting punched hurts, and it ruins one's style.

Without hesitation, he threw out a 'Mental Shock'.

This was followed by the Little Black Snake's 'Despair Strangulation'.

The giant python, over six meters long, bound Hong Yuantai like a human pillar, leaving only his head exposed.

Next was the 'Blazing Shockwave' performed by the ten Little Yellow Chickens; ten massive fireballs blasted toward him.

Gulp!

The three onlookers looked horrified and swallowed hard.

Thinking that if they were in his place... No, they couldn't even think about it.

Senior Brother is too terrifying!

At this moment, the three of them simultaneously decided that Xu Le was their Senior Brother, and no one could change that.

Hong Yuantai's vision went black, and his soul felt as if it were being torn apart.

When performing skills, the immunity to negative statuses provided by his talent 'War God's Blessing' was as high as 90%, and combined with the level difference between them, it was almost 100%.

But he was stunned.

Even if it only lasted for 0.1 seconds.

What's more, he lost 9,520 HP, nearly 1/3 of his health bar.

"A skill specifically targeting the Divine Soul!"

"The damage caused is true damage that isn't affected by any damage reduction."

"This boy is terrifying!"

Hong Yuantai's heart shook violently, and he discovered that the pure black giant python coiled around him was also terrifying.

He couldn't use his brute strength at all.

"Break!"

Hong Yuantai let out a great shout and used 'Thunderous Warcry'.

This was an area-of-effect stun skill.

Then he erupted with massive force, breaking free from the Little Black Snake.

Before he could charge, ten fireballs had already smashed into his face.

Hiss...

The three onlookers sucked in a breath of cold air.

They couldn't help but cover their faces.

They didn't know if this wave of skills could kill a person, but at the very least, disfigurement was certain.

Even though it could be treated, it would be an unforgettable nightmare for a lifetime.

The three of them made up their minds: in this lifetime, they would never spar with Xu Le—no, never spar with Senior Brother.

Hong Yuantai wasn't disfigured, as the 'War God's Blessing' talent gave him high resistance to these negative effects, but his hair was blasted into a bird's nest and his entire face was charred black like coal.

What shocked him even more was that his health bar had decreased by another 1/3.

He was a top-tier SS-rank professional; clearly, the opponent also had top-tier SSS-Rank contracted beasts.

"I can't hold back anymore!"

Hong Yuantai was about to continue his charge.

Xu Le struck first, awakening the Little Black Snake and having it use 'Golden Dragon Ascends to Heaven' the moment it hit the ground.

Hong Yuantai had just taken a step when he was swatted away by a tail.

Damn!

"This kid fights dirty!"

Hong Yuantai activated a ring skill, appearing directly behind Xu Le and slamming a fist into his neck, intending to knock him out.

Bang!

It felt like hitting steel.

Then he saw a red number pop up over Xu Le's head.

-1.

Is this freaking damage?

This is clearly an insult!

He hurriedly used 'Berserk Blade' and 'Defense-Break Mark'.

A dense cluster of numbers floated out.

-1.

-1.

-1... There wasn't even a single -2.

With a thought, Xu Le used the 'Earth Spike' skill.

Hong Yuantai felt the earth elements gathering and circled directly to the front of Xu Le, narrowly avoiding it.

A massive Earth Spike erupted from underground, shattering the ground like a sharp sword.

Watching the mountain-like Earth Spike emerge, the three onlookers were already numb.

"If one were to get hit by that..."

"Sigh, the teacher is so pitiful!"

Hong Yuantai didn't know what the three were thinking; he had already circled back to Xu Le.

Xu Le was prepared and sent a kick flying out.

Although he was only Rank 32, with his equipment, his Agility was as high as 3,605 points, nearly 400 points higher than Hong Yuantai's.

Damn!

Hong Yuantai was furious.

He narrowly avoided it.

After getting close, he launched a fierce attack.

Although his Agility was relatively lower, his experience in close-quarters combat was exceptionally rich.

He not only dodged that kick but also hit Xu Le dozens of times.

Though the damage caused wasn't even as much as Xu Le's health regeneration.

"Stop! I've seen enough of your strength." Hong Yuantai pulled back!