58: Chapter 58: The S-Rank Standoff, A Lively Scene

In the lush jungle stood a hundred-meter hill, covered with ancient trees and scattered stones.

On this mountain, a swarm of spiders crawled out of a cave, spinning webs in the surroundings and spraying toxic gas, surrounding the entire mountain.

Leading the spider swarm was a Yao Beast called the Human-Faced Spider. Its body was a ghostly purple, and its head was strangely humanoid, looking extremely eerie.

However, the Human-Faced Spider seemed to be in some trouble, with several burn marks on its body, especially on its face.

"Boom!"

Standing opposite the mountain was a red-haired woman. Her vibrant red clothes complemented her exaggerated figure, making her look like the most brilliant flame in the forest.

Not long after Chu Li started her attack, she felt a powerful surge of energy coming from afar.

Along the way, many people had attacked, including even Ability Users of the ninth level of the Divine Sea Realm, but they could only slightly delay her progress.

"Light System, S-class." Chu Li glanced back nonchalantly and knew exactly who was coming.

"Roar—!" The Human-Faced Spider flew into a rage upon finding itself ignored.

It hissed and immediately retreated into the cave, where it had set up an inescapable web, waiting for the opponent to enter.

Under the Human-Faced Spider's command, a swarm of small spiders emerged from the cave, densely covering the hillside as they crawled out.

"I'm running out of time... I'll have to do this, then." Chu Li's gaze turned deep.

"Boom!"

In the next second, a crimson war robe draped over Chu Li's body; it was her natal treasure.

Flames erupted, and a brilliant blaze shot into the clouds, the crimson radiance illuminating the entire forest.

Her cultivation rose from the sixth level of the Divine Sea Realm to the eighth level.

"Roar—!"

Chu Li clenched her fist, and a red phoenix appeared, its entire body wreathed in flames as it let out a long cry toward the sky.

This was the combination of the S-Rank Combat Technique "Flame Secret Tome" and the S-Rank Combat Technique "Phoenix Cry Secret Tome." She had practiced for over a year to achieve this perfect fusion.

"Fire Punch!"

Chu Li chanted inwardly, then assumed her stance and threw a powerful punch.

"Bang!"

In the next instant, the terrifying firelight, like a giant beast, directly engulfed the entire mountain.

With a thunderous boom, the massive impact and explosion destroyed the entire mountain. The toxic mist and spider webs were as fragile as paper in that moment.

On the cleared ground lay the charred corpse of the Human-Faced Spider, devoid of life.

"Contestant [Chu Li] has slain the Red Challenge Beast [Human-Faced Spider]. All members of Niliu Academy gain one thousand points."

Following the System announcement, Chen Xing finally approached the scene, but he came to a halt.

Only ten seconds had passed from the moment he discovered the battle until the Human-Faced Spider was defeated; he was still a step too late.

"It seems my footwork still needs improvement; I'm too slow," Chen Xing muttered to himself.

To arrive at the scene from such a distance, and having to bypass a group of Divine Sea Realm Ability Users on the way, yet taking only ten seconds—was that slow?

His single sentence left countless people in silence.

They had realized that the words coming from these top-tier geniuses were not meant for normal people to hear; if they didn't know better, they would think he was humblebragging.

On the field, everyone stopped and stared intently in the same direction.

A meeting between an S-class and another S-class was extremely rare.

"Chu Li, don't attack."

Just as the two sides were about to engage, reinforcements from Niliu Academy arrived at the scene, led by another S-class.

The newcomer was a young man in white with blue hair. He had a cold expression, a resolute face, and a tall build. It was Shangguan Xu of the S-class Divine Ice System.

Chu Li glanced at him and ignored him.

"It's not ideal to clash with an S-class. Su He should be arriving soon; let's leave first," Shangguan Xu hurried forward to dissuade her.

"We can't leave now."

"Boom!"

A beam of heavenly light descended. It was Su He. She wore white clothes as pure as snow, yet her surroundings were dim, as if she carried a piece of the starry sky with her.

"You brought her here to me?" Seeing this, Chu Li gave him a surprised look.

"Cough... you can't put it that way. Wu Hang told me to come find you," Shangguan Xu coughed, looking embarrassed.

"Don't worry, we have reinforcements too," he comforted her.

Chen Xing turned his head and saw that Su He had already arrived by his side, her speed equally swift.

"Reinforcements are almost here. In a moment, you hold off Chu Li, and I'll come help you after I deal with Shangguan Xu," Su He said without any pleasantries.

"Hmm?" At that moment, the four S-class powerhouses present all felt a surge of power from afar that made them feel uneasy.

Accompanied by the collapsing of large swaths of trees, everyone saw a purple mist slowly approaching the area.

At this moment, everyone understood.

Zhang Zhiyu of Shengyuan Academy!

"Is this the reinforcement you were talking about?" Chu Li asked.

"No, they're further back!" Shangguan Xu shook his head.

Sure enough, within that toxic mist, a sudden dust storm swirled up, disrupting the poison field as large amounts of rubble flew out.

In the chaotic scene, many people saw clearly that two figures were actually fighting.

S-class Poison System, Zhang Zhiyu, was fighting against S-class Earth System, Chang Qinian!

"What a coincidence. I'm just passing through. How about letting me go?" Zhang Zhiyu grinned.

"If you're going to beat it, then beat it. Don't get in our way," Chang Qinian said in a deep voice. He was tall, about over two meters, with shoulders as broad as door panels.

"Hehe..." Zhang Zhiyu gave a cold laugh and didn't answer.

This was a fast path to the Central Region. Most importantly, this was the last Red Challenge Beast before entering the Central Region.

Therefore, all the different factions wanted to take down this Challenge Beast before entering the Central Region, so they had all rushed to this place.

As a result, Zhang Zhiyu, traveling from the Northern Region to the boundary of the Eastern Region, happened to run into the two sides facing off.

Consequently, he chose to hide his people in the shadows, attempting to watch the tigers fight from the mountain to reap the rewards of the bystander.

Who would have thought that Chang Qinian of Niliu Academy would arrive nearby? The two glared at each other as soon as they met and then started fighting without a word.

"It really is lively," Chen Xing remarked.

"It's alright. People from the Zhenyan System are also nearby. Although they don't have an S-class, they have quite a lot of A-classes, which makes them a bit troublesome to deal with," Su He nodded.

"In that case, why don't we call a temporary truce?" Shangguan Xu shouted.

"If you and I start a war while Zhang Zhiyu and those Zhenyan System people are watching, it's easy to fail. Why don't we head to the Central Region first and compete for the Challenge Beasts based on our own abilities?" he said.

Su He's gaze was deep, and she did not rush to answer.

As if to show his stance, Chang Qinian also stopped his attack, then immediately came to Shangguan Xu's side and stood tall.

Zhang Zhiyu chuckled and retreated backward to prevent the people from these two academies from suddenly uniting against him.

However, with such a poison-using S-class Ability User watching greedily from the shadows, who would dare to act rashly?

"Contestant [Wu Hang], together with twelve fellow students, has defeated the Central Challenge Beast [Golden Roc]. Niliu Academy gains two thousand points."

This announcement immediately disrupted everyone's plans.