60: Chapter 60 Zhou Xiong's Scheme

The crowd parted.

A young man stepped out.

He wasn't tall, but standing there, he exuded a sense of pressure. His skin was slightly reddish, as if flames were burning within him.

Wan Jiesheng.

Qingyun City's purple trait Awakener, Rank Two, Tier One.

He walked to the edge of the arena and looked at Lin Mo on the stage, his eyes burning with battle intent.

"I've heard about you, but I haven't seen you in action. So, I want to see if you're really as strong as the legends say!"

The crowd below instantly erupted.

"Wan Jiesheng wants to challenge Lin Mo?!"

"Holy crap! This is going to be good!"

"Purple trait versus white trait? No, wait, Lin Mo doesn't seem to be white..."

"Who cares what color it is? We'll know once they start fighting!"

Lin Mo looked at him calmly, his face expressionless.

The referee frowned. "Wan Jiesheng, you're already the captain of Team One. You can't keep challenging people. Don't cause trouble!"

Wan Jiesheng paused for a moment, then showed a look of regret.

He looked at Lin Mo and spoke seriously.

"Then after this, I want to have a match with you."

Lin Mo looked at him.

Silence for two seconds.

"Not interested."

Wan Jiesheng's smile froze on his face.

The Qingyun City students below the stage exploded.

"Not interested? Who does he think he is?"

"Our Qingyun University's Wan Jiesheng challenging him is giving him face!"

"Exactly! If you're afraid to fight, just say so!"

"I think he's just scared!"

Shen Fei stood in the crowd, watching this scene, his brow furrowing.

He had some understanding of Lin Mo's personality.

This person wasn't afraid.

He was truly just not interested.

But those Qingyun City students didn't know that.

They only knew that Wan Jiesheng had a purple trait, was Rank Two, Tier One, and was the pride of their school.

While Lin Mo was just a student from Jiangcheng.

A student they had never seen in action.

The voices of doubt grew louder and louder.

"Lin Mo, you're not just all talk, are you?"

"Killing a whole pack of Rank Two Shadow Leopards alone? Why don't I believe that?"

"You don't even dare to accept Wan Jiesheng's challenge, and you have the nerve to be a captain?"

Standing on the stage, Lin Mo listened to those words. His face remained expressionless as he said calmly:

"Whoever wants to fight, come up."

The audience went silent for a moment.

Then, a student from Qingyun City jumped onto the arena.

At Rank One, Tier Eight, with a broad build and a machete in his hand, he looked at Lin Mo and grinned.

"Lin Mo, right? I've been wanting to test your—"

Before he could finish.

Lin Mo moved.

No fancy moves, no power-up, he just took a step forward and kicked the man square in the face.

"Bang!"

The man's body flew back as if hit by a truck, crashing into the crowd and knocking down seven or eight people.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

That kick was so fast that no one saw it clearly.

That Rank One, Tier Eight student didn't even have time to react before being kicked away.

Lin Mo stood on the stage, withdrew his foot, his face still maintaining that expressionless look.

He looked down at the crowd.

"Anyone else?"

No one spoke.

No one dared to move.

All those who were questioning him just now had shut their mouths.

Wan Jiesheng stood in the crowd, looking at the figure on the stage, his expression finally changing.

He hadn't even seen that kick clearly just now.

He had no idea how Lin Mo moved; it seemed like a casual flash, and he appeared several meters away, then the opponent was sent flying.

If it were him, could he dodge it?

He thought about it and realized he didn't seem to be certain either.

But he gritted his teeth and comforted himself in his heart.

"I'm an Elemental System Awakener. Lava Overlord can attack from a distance, can alter the terrain on a small scale to affect his speed, and significantly boosts my defense. No matter how fast he is, he won't be able to break through my Lava Overlord..."

"Right, if he can't use his speed, he's finished. With my defense, I can completely wear him down!"

Shen Fei stood on the other side of the crowd, looking at Lin Mo, his fists clenched tight.

His battle intent had reached its boiling point.

He really wanted to fight.

He wanted to try.

He wanted to test the gap between himself and that person.

But he held back.

In this state, he definitely didn't have a shred of a chance of winning.

Unless...

He gave himself enough time to activate Tyrant to its maximum power...

Lin Mo stood on the stage, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below.

Among more than three thousand people, not a single one dared to meet his eyes.

The referee swallowed hard and raised his hand.

"The winner, Lin Mo! Is there anyone else who wants to challenge?"

Silence reigned.

"Captain of Team Three, Lin Mo! Confirmed!"

Cheers finally erupted from below the stage.

Especially from the hundred or so students who had already been assigned to Team Three.

Because they knew that from today on, they had a terrifyingly strong person as their captain.

Lin Mo stepped down from the arena.

Yi Xiaoyu and the others squeezed through, surrounding him.

"You were going to run for captain, why didn't you say so beforehand? Luckily, the few of us hadn't applied for a team yet."

Shen Yi's eyes were sparkling as she approached Lin Mo, saying with a look of adoration, "Lin Mo, you were so cool just now!"

The selection continued until dark.

Ten major teams, ten captains, all selected, and the list was announced immediately.

Team One Captain: Wan Jiesheng (Qingyun University, Rank Two, Tier One, Purple trait [Lava Overlord])

Team Two Captain: Shen Fei (Lingwu University, Rank One, Tier Nine, Purple trait [Tyrant])

Team Three Captain: Lin Mo (Jiangcheng University, cultivation approximately Rank Two mid-to-late stage, trait suspected to be White [Swift Step])

Team Four Captain: Lu Yun (Beihe University, Rank One, Tier Nine, Blue trait [Lord in the Clouds])

...

Team Ten Captain: Gu Wushuang (Beihe University, Rank One, Tier Seven, Blue trait [Earth Rumble])

When the list was announced, everyone's eyes fell on the same name.

Lin Mo.

Jiangcheng University.

cultivation unknown, trait unknown, battle record terrifying.

The other captains looked at that name with only one thought in their minds.

Please don't let us be assigned to the same mission area as him.

...

The next day, the sun had just climbed over the eastern mountain peak.

Lin Mo led over three hundred people, heading into the mountains in a grand procession.

Lin Mo walked at the very front, his short hair slightly lifted by the morning breeze. He looked as if he were going on an outing rather than a hunt.

Behind him were Yi Xiaoyu and the other three, and further back were the 298 students of Team Three. Some carried blades, some had guns on their backs, and some held detection instruments, looking like an expeditionary army.

No, they were an expeditionary army.

Their target was the ferocious beasts in the mountains.

At the camp entrance, Zhou Xiong stood motionless in the shadow of the sentry tower.

His gaze passed through the crowd and landed on the figure at the very front. A curve slowly formed at the corner of his mouth.

Once the team had gone far, he pulled something from his chest.

The object was pitch black, small and flat, with no markings on the surface. It was a communicator, but not a military one.

He brought the communicator to his lips, pressed the button on the side, and spoke:

"The item wasn't delivered to Jiangcheng."

The other side was silent for a second.

"It's still in that kid's hands?"

"Yes. In his spatial ring."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Zhou Xiong's gaze followed the team, which had already turned into small black dots in the distance.

"A spatial ring can isolate perception to a large extent. Once you're within two kilometers of him, you'll be able to sense the object's presence!"

The other side was silent for a few more seconds.

"What do you want to do?"

Zhou Xiong licked his lips.

"Kill him and take the item back."

...