Chapter 52: When the power goes out, you have to find a socket; you call the child, and then the elder comes along?
A deathly silence fell over the martial arts arena.
This silence wasn't due to fear, but because the brain couldn't process the information in front of it.
Lei Gang, the vice-captain of the War God Reserve Corps and a Physical Body powerhouse at the eighth stage of the Organ Refining Realm, was currently embedded deep into the reinforced concrete wall of the spectator stands in a spread-eagle shape, looking like an abstract mural. With a collapsed chest and twitching limbs, one would likely need an engineering shovel to pry him out.
Meanwhile, in the center of the ring...
The youth wearing silk pajamas and cartoon slippers merely rubbed his bleary eyes lazily, as if the Iron Mountain Lean he just used hadn't sent a person flying, but had merely swatted away a buzzing fly.
"Does anyone else find my pillow an eyesore?"
Jiang Chen held his pillow, his voice soft and thick with a nasal tone, yet it carried clearly throughout the entire venue.
The members of the War God Reserve Corps below the stage looked at each other, their Faces pale, as if they had fish bones stuck in their throats.
The Military Dao Killing Techniques they took so much pride in were like a toddler just learning to walk in the Face of this youth's bizarre Sleepwalking Steps.
"Good! Very good! I didn't expect a greenhouse like Imperial Capital Martial Arts University to raise a monster like you."
An extremely cold voice broke the silence on the field.
A young man in black, who had been watching with arms crossed, slowly stepped forward.
He carried a long saber on his back and had a slender build. With every step he took, the alloy floor beneath his feet let out a dull thud, as if he were stepping directly on everyone's hearts.
An Evil Qi even more condensed and bloody than Lei Gang's instantly locked onto Jiang Chen in the ring.
The Captain of the War God Reserve Corps, Xiao Jian. Peak of the ninth stage of the Organ Refining Realm!
"Jiang Chen, you indeed have some skill," Xiao Jian said, his eyes sinister as he stared at Jiang Chen like a venomous snake. "But you shouldn't have crippled my vice-captain in public. To beat the dog, you must answer to the master. For this debt, if you kneel now and break both your arms, I can..."
*Yawn—*
Before Xiao Jian's oppressive threats could be finished, they were ruthlessly interrupted by a long, vibrating yawn.
Jiang Chen's body swayed, looking like a holographic projection with a bad signal that could disconnect at any moment.
[Ding! Warning: Mental Yuan Energy (Mana Bar) has been exhausted.]
[Source Analysis: 'Sleepwalking · Iron Mountain Lean' burst was too intense. System forced shutdown countdown: 30 seconds...]
[Side Effect Warning: Due to the residual Pure Yang Charm Fire from Su Manyu in the body not being fully digested, the host will enter a 'High-Heat Standby' state after mental suppression is lifted. Please find a cold source immediately!]
Jiang Chen's vision was already blurred.
In his eyes, the murderous Xiao Jian opposite him was nothing more than a blurry black shadow that was constantly making noise.
"Uh... who are you?"
Jiang Chen looked at Xiao Jian dizzily, his brain no longer functioning. "If you're selling insurance, please turn left at the door. If you're here to deliver a pillow... you don't look like someone who has a good pillow. Too hard, one star."
"Selling insurance?!"
Veins popped on Xiao Jian's forehead as he laughed from pure rage.
Since joining the War God Camp, he had slain countless aliens and had never been so ignored! This was not just an insult, it was a trampling of his dignity!
"Since you want to sleep so badly, I'll send you to your eternal rest in Hell!"
*Clang!*
The black long saber on his back was unsheathed half an inch, and a sharp Saber Qi instantly sliced through the air, heading straight for Jiang Chen's Face with a piercing whistle. This strike was launched in anger; although not at full power, it was enough to kill an ordinary Organ Refining Realm martial artist.
Just as the Saber Qi was about to erupt and the freshmen screamed in shock...
"Stop!"
A white figure swept onto the stage like a startled swan, blocking the path in front of Jiang Chen.
A burst of cold air erupted.
The moisture in the air instantly condensed into frost. Mu Qingxue was surrounded by a visible ice-blue aura. Her beautiful eyes gazed coldly at Xiao Jian as she condensed a crystal-clear ice sword in her hand, forcibly pushing back Xiao Jian's saber intent.
"Xiao Jian, this is Imperial Capital Martial Arts University, not your War God Camp's backyard."
Mu Qingxue's voice was cold and carried an unquestionable authority. "This is a freshman sparring match; it ends when the point is made. Lei Gang's skills were inferior, and he brought this upon himself. You want to bully the young as an elder? Have you asked me first?"
"Mu Qingxue..." Xiao Jian's eyes narrowed, his hand tightening on his saber.
What he feared was not Mu Qingxue's strength, but the desperate stance she was showing now.
Moreover, he also felt several powerful auras—school high-levels—locking onto this location.
"Fine, since Teacher Mu has stepped in to protect this trash, I'll give you this Face."
Xiao Jian took a deep breath, sheathed his long saber, and swept a cold gaze over Jiang Chen. "But don't think this is over. In three days, the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield qualifiers begin. The first stage is the Gravity Tower. Jiang Chen, I hope you can still be as tough as you are today. Inside the tower, life and death are irrelevant; it's a place where even teachers cannot intervene."
After speaking, Xiao Jian gave a cold snort and led his defeated group away, his back looking particularly pretentious.
Once the outsiders had left, the pressure on the field drastically decreased.
Mu Qingxue's tense body finally relaxed. She turned around and looked at the still-swaying Jiang Chen, feeling both angry and fearful.
"You bastard, do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You clearly had no strength left, yet you dared to provoke him..."
She was about to scold him a bit to show her authority as a mentor.
But when she turned around...
*Thud.*
Jiang Chen fell straight forward, accurately... burying his Face in her bosom.
"Mmh... so cool... high-power air conditioner... I'm saved..."
Jiang Chen's eyes were closed, like a dying fish returning to water. His hands instinctively wrapped around Mu Qingxue's slender waist, and his burning cheeks rubbed against her cold collarbone, letting out a comfortable hum.
"Jiang Chen! You!"
Mu Qingxue's body instantly stiffened, and her mind went blank.
She was about to push him away, but his skin felt scalding to the touch.
"Why is he so hot?"
Her expression changed. At this moment, Jiang Chen's skin was flushed red like a cooked shrimp, and his body temperature was terrifyingly high. The restless aura belonging to Su Manyu within him was spiraling out of control.
"Damn! With his Mental Energy exhausted, he can't suppress that Charm Fire?"
Mu Qingxue bit her lip. Looking at Jiang Chen, who had completely fallen into a deep sleep and was clinging to her like an octopus, she felt angry, anxious, and a trace of inexplicable... shyness.
The surrounding freshmen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
"Holy crap! Is that... a Face-to-breast burial?"
"Sleep God is awesome! After a fight, he even gets to recharge in the goddess's arms?"
"Eating soft rice like this... why don't I have that kind of luck!"
Hearing the discussions around her, a blush flashed across Mu Qingxue's Face, and she glared fiercely at her surroundings.
"What are you looking at! Something went wrong with his cultivation; I'm taking him for... for emergency treatment! Everyone, disperse!"
With that, Mu Qingxue picked Jiang Chen up in her arms (not just a princess carry, but with his head still buried in her chest) and, under the envious and jealous gazes of the freshmen, turned into a streak of ice-blue light and rushed toward the office building.