57: Chapter 57 My apprentice is not talented, so please do not praise me further.

With an S-class Esper leading the way, the group experienced what it meant to "lie flat," completely unconcerned about safety.

Outside, on the rostrum, the deans of the Four Great Academy Departments or their representatives sat quietly, their eyes sizing up the young man who was currently in the limelight.

"This lad... has a promising future!" said the Dean of Shengyuan Academy, who was sitting near Yue Shanhai.

"Whether it's reaction speed, combat techniques, or control over Ability power, he doesn't seem like a freshman who has only Cultivated for six months," the female Dean of the Zhenyan Department said in a heavy voice.

"If he really achieved this in just six months, his talent assessment could rise another Rank," the Dean of the Counter-Current Department remarked.

"My disciple is untalented, everyone please stop praising him," Ye Jianxing said, cupping his fists with a cheeky smile.

This one sentence silenced all four deans.

Who wants to praise you? Have some shame!

Chen Xing found crushing the weak quite boring, and since everyone had a broadcast time limit, the channel was switched.

The screen flashed, showing a jungle crowded with people.

However, looking at their uniforms, they all seemed to be from Shengyuan Academy, and no conflicts broke out.

Clearly, this area had been occupied by students from the Shengyuan System, including the nearby Challenge Beast markers.

"Roar—!"

In a massive open-air sinkhole, a giant brown bear roared at the sky. It was a Black Armored Bear, covered in a layer of black armor resembling scales, possessing extraordinary defense.

However, it was currently in a wretched state. Its signature armor was gradually corroding, and several pieces had even fallen off, revealing its fur.

Yet, even this fur couldn't be saved. In just a moment, all the healthy hair fell out, and even the skin began to age along with it.

In front of the Black Armored Bear stood a tall, thin man with a handsome, somewhat indifferent face, remaining calm throughout.

"Zhang Zhiyu, he has always been very low-key," the Dean of the Zhenyan Department remarked.

"When outnumbered, it's not shameful to be low-key. Besides, he always brings his own people along, advancing and retreating together," the Dean of Shengyuan Academy said.

"His lethality is not small, but his Physical Body and Soul are weaknesses. His old rivals all know him very well," Yue Shanhai said.

"It's no longer that extreme. After this year's bitter Cultivation, he has long since made up for his shortcomings and is no longer the glass cannon he once was," the Dean of Shengyuan Academy said.

"It's best to make up for shortcomings; at least he's not stupid," Ye Jianxing smiled faintly.

Nowadays, everyone has a weakness, even the strongest S-class Espers.

For instance, Chu Li, Zhang Zhiyu, Shangguan Xu, and others—their abilities lean more toward Ability power attacks, while their Physical Body and Soul are their weak points.

But nowadays, unless someone is extremely foolish, no one would want their weaknesses to persist and would always find ways to compensate.

Therefore, the Physical Body strength of these people is comparable to adult Yao Beasts, or even more terrifying.

"Awoo...!"

Inside the sinkhole, greenish mist was everywhere. That was Zhang Zhiyu's S-Rank Divine Poison; where it passed, no grass grew.

The Black Armored Bear was enveloped by the poison, its body gradually losing strength. Its attempt to jump out of the sinkhole failed, and pain made it howl repeatedly.

This poison was truly formidable, easily corroding even the black armor that was as tough as metal.

"Just right, I'll test it on you," Zhang Zhiyu said slowly, pointing a finger at the Black Armored Bear.

"Divine Poison, Soul Breaker!"

S-Rank Combat Technique: "Secret Tome of Poison Arts."

S-Rank Combat Technique: "Minds Eye."

The combination of the two erupted with shocking power. A beam of light, hard to detect, instantly pierced through the Black Armored Bear's forehead, sending blood splattering.

This time, there was no wailing, only a thud as the Black Armored Bear collapsed.

"He's already reached this level?" the Dean of the Zhenyan Department was surprised.

"His poison... can already corrode the Soul!" the Dean of the Counter-Current Department said solemnly.

Indeed, Zhang Zhiyu had transitioned from internal attacks to physical attacks, and now he could even poison a person's Soul!

The Soul is a taboo thing; it rarely gets injured in normal combat because it is the foundation.

If one were touched by the poison mist laid out by Zhang Zhiyu, their Soul would likely be affected invisibly, and in the end, they wouldn't even know how they died.

"Participant [Zhang Zhiyu] has defeated the red Challenge Beast [Black Armored Bear]. All students of Shengyuan Academy receive one thousand points!"

Soon, the announcement rang out.

This made the group of Shengyuan Academy students waiting in the distance extremely excited; this was another massive amount of points!

"The progress is still very slow." However, after glancing at the rankings, Zhang Zhiyu shook his head helplessly.

On the leaderboard, the Shengyuan System was still in third place, with a significant gap between them and the fourth-place Zhenyan Academy.

But there was also a gap between him and the top two.

Rank 1: Niliu Academy, Total Points: 1,800,000 points.

Rank 2: Tianhe Academy, Total Points: 1,750,000 points.

Rank 3: Shengyuan Academy, Total Points: 650,000 points.

Rank 4: Zhenyan Academy, Total Points: 290,000 points.

Because the Zhenyan System had no S-class leader, they didn't snatch many Challenge Beasts and basically settled into the bottom spot.

Because the Shengyuan System only had Zhang Zhiyu, their efficiency was also greatly reduced, not even reaching a million.

The Tianhe System and Niliu Academy both had three or four or more, so they could act separately, which gave them a lot of room for development. After all, they could save a lot of travel time.

For S-class individuals like them, killing Challenge Beasts wasn't the hardest problem.

The hardest problem was that the distance from one Challenge Beast's location to the next was very far; it wasn't something they could reach in the blink of an eye.

By the time they arrived, others might have already finished the fight.

...

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Chen Xing rampaged all the way like a heavy-duty truck with aimbot, punching through whoever he met. If one punch didn't kill them, he'd use two.

He possessed too many advantages, making it impossible for others to face him.

Not to mention his S-class Ability Rank—that was an old story—there were other factors, such as the information gap.

It should be noted that before this, hardly anyone knew of Chen Xing's existence, let alone his appearance or Cultivation level.

Consequently, the participants in this competition didn't know Chen Xing's true appearance.

Not knowing what he looked like was one thing, but the problem was that Chen Xing was so fast that before his face even came into view, his fist would already be planted on theirs.

"Boom!"

An explosion rippled in the distance; some powerful experts were fighting.

Chen Xing glanced at the map and found that the location was exactly the same as a Challenge Beast spawn point on the map.

"Not good, it's about to be taken." Chen Xing's eyes narrowed, and he immediately rushed over.

"Let's go, keep up." Everyone broke into a run and hurried in that direction.