62: Chapter 62 Key Theft

Central Region, towards the south.

Surrounded by mountains and lush vegetation, there was a large lake at the bottom, about a kilometer wide, with deep blue water.

It's worth mentioning that this was also a spawn point for Challenge Beasts.

Before long, the Niliu Academy team stopped here.

"We're here. Everyone, get into formation. All those in the Light Opening Realm provide power from the back. Divine Sea Realm, protect them," Shangguan Xu said.

"I'll take the lead." Chu Li raised her hands, her fists wrapped in blazing flames, then bumped them together.

"This looks like an aquatic Vicious Beast, likely a Dragon. You'd better be careful," Shangguan Xu nodded.

"Dragon or not, I don't care. It's not like I haven't eaten one in reality," Chu Li's fiery eyes flashed with a hint of disdain.

Hearing this, the two were speechless.

"Boom!"

Chu Li stepped onto the water and threw a fire punch, disturbing the calm lake surface.

A large amount of white steam filled the air, followed by a surge of waves—a vibration from the bottom of the lake, as if a fierce beast was breaking out of its cage.

"Bang!"

A massive figure surfaced, and everyone saw it clearly. It was something like a whale, its body seemingly composed of a starry sky.

"A Kunpeng?" Chu Li paused. She hadn't expected the organizers to be so bold as to simulate such a creature.

"It's much weaker than a real Kunpeng. Look at its size; it's only a hundred meters. A real Kunpeng is thousands, even tens of thousands of miles long," Shangguan Xu shook his head slightly.

"Whatever. I've eaten Kun meat too," Chu Li said, then charged forward, her entire body enveloped in flames.

"Supports, get to work!"

At Shangguan Xu's command, the team responsible for boosting power immediately performed Battle Techniques, stacking their strength onto Chu Li.

With the power of nearly twenty people stacked, Chu Li's cultivation reached the seventh level of the Divine Sea Realm at that moment without even needing to activate any Divine Abilities.

The Kunpeng let out a long roar toward the sky, stirring the clouds, and then dove back into the water.

"Ice team, get ready!" Shangguan Xu said in a low voice.

He called a group of people to the lakeside.

Crack—

In an instant, the power of nearly twenty Divine Sea Realm Ice System Ability Users froze the large lake, greatly compressing the Kunpeng's space for movement.

Seeing this, the Kunpeng was enraged and burst out of the water.

"Bang!"

Chang Qinian seized the moment, calling down a giant boulder from the sky that struck the Kunpeng the moment it surfaced.

"Boom!"

Chu Li didn't give it any breathing room either, unleashing a Phoenix Cry Punch that sent out a Flaming Heavenly Phoenix, exploding in the lake.

Boom, boom, boom—!

With the team's coordination and seamless attacks, even the Kunpeng's full-power outburst could hardly withstand it.

Moreover, many here were at the ninth level of the Divine Sea Realm, completely overwhelming it in terms of power.

Repeating this, Chu Li kept her distance and remained uninjured, but the Kunpeng was a different story.

"Good, prepare to finish it off."

A moment later, Shangguan Xu called his team.

Immediately, the finishing team moved out, quickly approaching across the ice.

"Hmm?"

However, at that moment, the three S-class powerhouses were all startled, as if they had sensed something.

"Chu Li, he's on your side!" Shangguan Xu's gaze turned fierce.

"I see him!" Chu Li was ablaze, increasing her speed with a powerful burst and rushing toward the shore.

Because just now, Chen Xing had arrived.

Unfortunately, Magical Artifacts that could hide one's aura couldn't be brought in here, and the three S-classes had corresponding sensing Battle Techniques, so he was detected.

"It's actually you!" Chu Li was surprised when she saw his face.

Thud!

Chu Li's arrival was like a falling meteor, causing the shore to collapse and trees to incinerate, but he still managed to dodge.

Chen Xing glanced at her, then turned his gaze back to the lake and immediately raised his hand.

"Don't even think about it!"

Seeing this, Chu Li threw another fire punch.

Roar—!

This time, Chen Xing didn't dodge. Instead, he directly activated his Dragon Soul Armor, choosing to take the hit.

Boom!

At the critical moment, Chen Xing fired a briefly charged [Judgment] light.

Just as the Kunpeng was at its lowest health, a pillar of colorful light suddenly descended from the sky, striking its head and piercing through the ice.

Contestant [Chen Xing] has successfully snatched the kill at the critical moment, slaying the Red Challenge Beast [Kun]! All students of Tianhe Academy gain two thousand points!

The announcement left everyone on the battlefield dumbfounded.

Far from this place, Su He and Li Baxian stopped in their tracks, calling up their Panels in disbelief.

Looking at the Virtual Assistant's announcement, every word was striking. They were once again dumbfounded, unable to believe it.

"Didn't he say he was going to scout for information?" Su He's expression was strange.

"This is a robbery!" Li Baxian laughed on the spot.

While some were happy, others were naturally Life Qi.

"You bastard!"

Chu Li, Shangguan Xu, and Chang Qinian all looked cold, their deep eyes projecting terrifying killing intent as they stared at one person.

Facing a group of murderous glares, Chen Xing appeared completely unfazed.

He didn't say a word. With a flash, he turned into a meteor and quickly left the battlefield.

"Stop right there!"

Chu Li and Chang Qinian quickly rushed out.

However, as they ran, they realized the distance between them and Chen Xing was widening; they couldn't even touch the corner of his clothes.

"He's too fast, we can't catch up!" Chang Qinian said in a heavy voice.

"How can he be so fast?" Chu Li frowned.

"Don't forget, that guy has the Light Element. We might beat him in other areas, but in terms of speed... he is peerless." Shangguan Xu caught up and pulled them back.

"I miscalculated. Sorry, I didn't stop him." Chu Li clenched her fists and lowered her head, falling into thought.

"It's fine, this was also my negligence. Subconsciously, I thought he was just a freshman with low cultivation, so he wasn't a big threat..." Shangguan Xu apologized.

What kind of opponents had they encountered in the past?

Counting only the S-classes, among them, there wasn't a single Light System, Thunder System, or Wind System user—no one who completely outmatched them in speed. So, they didn't have a very intuitive sense of it.

Now, Chen Xing's appearance served as a wake-up call, making them realize how shameless an S-class Esper specializing in speed could be.

"If it were a one-on-one, I could take him!" Chang Qinian clenched his fists.

"What's the use of winning if you can't keep him there? This isn't a fight to the death," Chu Li snorted coldly.

None of them were weak; they were confident they could best Chen Xing in a duel. But so what?

Chen Xing was just there to harass them, not to fight. If he wouldn't fight you, what could you do?

Suddenly, everyone realized a very serious problem.

If Chen Xing didn't fight them and just kept harassing them from the side—unable to be driven away or caught—wouldn't that mean they could no longer steadily search for Challenge Beasts?

"We have to find a way, otherwise our whole group will be pinned down by him alone!" Shangguan Xu said.