41: Unpredictable and treacherous

"Who on earth are you?!" Su Ze questioned while struggling to block the opponent's attack with his weaponized void spirit shield.

Zhang Jian's moves were lethal, all aimed at Su Ze's vital points. This had clearly moved beyond the scope of a normal sparring match.

Su Ze even suspected now that the reason the number of students in this class was odd was intentional on his part.

Everything was orchestrated so that he would be matched against him.

But Su Ze didn't recall ever offending a teacher at the Beast Taming University. He hadn't offended many people, and most of them had turned into charcoal back at Tianyun Volcano.

Su Ze questioned him tentatively, "Are you also one of the Fusang Dark Guards? I didn't expect you to have infiltrated the school!"

However, Zhang Jian remained silent, gritting his teeth as he swung his gauntlets, unleashing sharp gusts of astral wind in his attack.

The others below the stage had noticed something was wrong with the fight from the beginning. Especially when Su Ze shouted that the opponent was a member of the Fusang Dark Guards, Xu Yao flew up, wanting to rush onto the stage to help.

But she was blocked by a thin protective barrier outside the arena.

Zhang Jian was a school teacher, after all; he had the authority to activate the protective barriers on these small arenas.

They were originally intended to ensure that practical exams on the stage were not interfered with. They weren't incredibly strong, but they were enough to stop students like them.

"Damn it... Brother Su Ze, hold on! I'll go get help!"

She then hurriedly ran toward the administration building; her only option was to find other teachers to help.

Hearing her words and knowing time was tight, Zhang Jian increased the intensity of his strikes, but he still couldn't break through Su Ze's defense.

"This damn turtle shell! Why is it so hard!"

His time was running out. Once the other teachers arrived, he would surely be dead.

Zhang Jian didn't seek to kill Su Ze; as long as he could severely wound him, cripple him, and make him unworthy of possessing a Diamond-rank Spirit Beast, it would be enough. That was his goal.

When he first heard that Su Ze couldn't summon his Diamond-rank Demonic Beast, Zhang Jian had breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his mission was possible.

But the outside world only knew that Su Ze had been lucky enough to form a contract with a Diamond-rank Demonic Beast.

They didn't know that his own strength had actually reached the twenty-third level, which was a staggering achievement at his age!

Even Zhang Jian, who was nearly forty, was only in his early thirties, and his Black Wind Leopard was only a bronze grade demonic beast. Faced with a void spirit shield specializing in defense, he really couldn't crack it for the time being.

However, Su Ze wasn't having an easy time either.

The opponent's punch was very chilling. After penetrating the shield, it impacted his body, causing a trace of blood to seep from the corner of his mouth.

Moreover, the wind from the punches bypassed the void spirit shield, constantly cutting Su Ze's body.

Su Ze was still hesitating whether to forcibly borrow Feng Qingyi's power through the contract, just like when he burned the Fusang Dark Guards before.

But if he did that, his relationship with Feng Qingyi would worsen. It would be troublesome if she didn't follow orders in future battles.

Currently, he could still hold out for a while relying on the defense of the void spirit shield, as long as he waited for people to arrive.

It was just that the feeling of being a passive punching bag was truly unpleasant.

While he was struggling to endure, Su Ze felt a flicker of flame appear beside him, which then wrapped around his right hand.

Accompanying the flames was a warm power that injected into his body.

"As my master, to be beaten to the point of spitting blood by such a weak human is truly pathetic!"

"I'll lend you a portion of my power for now. Give him a harsh lesson for me!"

A smile appeared at the corner of Su Ze's mouth. It seemed that the favorability he had cultivated earlier was showing some results.

He slowly clenched his right hand, and Phoenix Fire instantly surged up, enveloping his entire fist.

"Now, it's my turn to attack!"

Su Ze withdrew the void spirit shield, abandoning his defense.

A smile appeared on Zhang Jian's face, thinking that Su Ze's defense could no longer withstand the attacks.

Just as he was about to press his advantage, he saw a flaming fist swinging toward him.

"Let's see whose fist is stronger!"

Zhang Jian hurriedly crossed his fists to block, but he was struck hard by the punch and sent flying instantly.

The Black Wind Leopard, which had weaponized into gauntlets, took most of the hit and was knocked directly back into its original form. It fell to the ground, its life or death unknown, still burning with the inextinguishable Phoenix Fire and emitting a scent of roasted meat.

Zhang Jian flew out and crashed into the light barrier at the edge of the arena.

The protective shield only held for a moment before shattering into pieces, and Zhang Jian was sent flying out.

He happened to brush past Xu Yiming, who had been called over by Xu Yao.

Xu Yiming looked at this unrecognizable former colleague, then at his daughter, who had just described Su Ze's situation as incredibly dangerous.

His gaze seemed to ask: who exactly was the one in danger?

He stepped forward to check Zhang Jian's breathing and breathed a sigh of relief when he found he was still alive.

He couldn't die yet; it wasn't clear which faction had infiltrated the Azure Dragon Beast Tamer University, and it needed to be investigated thoroughly.

Su Ze was also quickly sent to the school clinic. His injuries were not serious.

He only had some external injuries from the wind of the punches and some minor internal injuries.

But while receiving treatment, he heard a piece of bad news.

"Zhang Jian is dead?" Su Ze looked at Xu Yao, who had informed him of the news, somewhat confused.

He had actually restrained the force of that punch; he hadn't intended to take the man's life.

He also wanted to know who was targeting him so he could respond in the future.

But now, Zhang Jian was dead anyway.

Xu Yao replied, "Yes. His injuries looked serious, but they weren't actually life-threatening. However, while his wounds were being treated, Zhang Jian suddenly woke up, grabbed a nearby scalpel, and committed suicide..."

"Suicide..."

Su Ze suddenly felt a headache coming on.

To be able to commit suicide so decisively meant he was an assassin trained by an organization.

"The Fusang Dark Guards? Or some other organization?"

Regardless of the organization, Su Ze knew he was being targeted... Meanwhile, in the principal's office, Xiao Xu sat in the chair behind his desk and asked the shadow beside him, "Is this your response?"

An indistinguishable voice came from the shadow, "This crude assassination was not our doing. It seems someone else made a move first."

"I warned you before that it's not just you who have your eyes on that kid, but many others as well. You'd better move faster!"

"Please rest assured, captain Tanaka has already conveyed the message to the higher-ups. You will have a response soon."

"I hope so..."

As soon as Xiao Xu finished speaking, a blustering voice rang out, "My student was actually assassinated in the school? Principal Xiao, there's a problem with how you're doing your job!"

The voice in the shadow was interrupted and turned back into an ordinary shadow.

Outside the office door, the cleaning lady glared fiercely at the old man who had previously vomited all over the floor.

Seeing the dirty footprints on the floor she had just mopped, she had no choice but to mop it all over again.