41: Proton (Part 3)

Chi Yun's gaze was like he was looking at a group of dead people.

His thin lips parted slightly as he spat out a single word.

"Get lost."

The air froze instantly.

The cruel smile on Chen Feng's face stiffened, replaced immediately by boundless rage.

"You're looking for death!"

"Get him!"

"Cripple his limbs! I want him kneeling on the ground, spitting out that token like a dog!"

Five auras of the Spirit Nurturing Realm erupted simultaneously.

The local student was the strongest, already at the third level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm; with one move, he unleashed a ruthless killing strike aimed straight for Chi Yun's heart.

The other four also blocked all paths of retreat from every angle.

This was a certain-death situation.

However, Chi Yun moved.

At the moment the attack reached him, his figure drifted back like a ghost, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow.

The thought of killing all of them flashed through his mind, but it was quickly swept away.

He couldn't act rashly.

This was the entrance to the mountain range, with many people around; the sound of fighting would naturally attract a lot of attention.

Even though there was no direct confrontation, the commotion still drew some onlookers.

"It's that trash Abyss Empire hostage prince. How does he dare come to the advancement assessment? He overestimates himself!"

"And he even provoked others into surrounding him; it seems his fate is sealed."

Sensing the surrounding gazes disperse, Chi Yun's mind stirred, and he feigned being hit by someone, sustaining an injury.

A trace of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"He's hurt!"

"He's at his wit's end!"

Seeing this, Chen Feng roared with even more excitement.

"Surround him! Don't let him escape!"

Chi Yun snorted coldly, not fighting them head-on.

With a tap of his toes, his figure was like a falling leaf, constantly shifting and maneuvering with the help of the gnarled ancient trees in the dense forest.

His speed was pushed to the extreme.

Though the five's attacks were fierce, they repeatedly missed, leaving them to eat his dust.

"Trash! Are you all trash?!"

Chen Feng shouted in fury.

"Spread out! Flank him from both sides! Force him out!"

The local student also frowned and made a hand gesture.

The five immediately changed their formation, slowly closing in like a large net.

A cold light flashed in Chi Yun's eyes.

The opportunity had come.

He deliberately revealed a flaw, and his speed slowed for an instant.

A hostage on the left, the weakest at only the first level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm, was overjoyed at the sight.

"Found you!"

He grinned hideously and slashed down with a blade.

Chi Yun neither dodged nor avoided it, allowing the blade to carve a deep wound into his arm, exposing the bone.

Trading injury for injury!

In that hostage's astonished gaze, Chi Yun's fist had already imprinted itself on his chest.

Although Chi Yun still controlled his power at the first level of the Spirit Nurturing Realm, his mastery of force was not something these youths could compare to.

Fast, ruthless, and accurate.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed.

The hostage was sent flying, breaking two large trees; he coughed up blood wildly, instantly losing his ability to fight.

One hit!

Heavily wounding one person!

"You're looking for death!"

Chen Feng's eyes nearly split with rage.

Chi Yun's figure vanished again.

He didn't care about the others, instead pouncing like a leopard toward the fallen hostage.

He snatched the Assessment Token and Storage Pouch from the other's waist, then kicked him unconscious.

"Chi Yun! You dare!"

Chen Feng and the others finally caught up; seeing their companion's miserable state, they were furious.

Ignoring them, Chi Yun shattered a boulder with a punch, kicking up a cloud of stone dust.

"Cough, cough! Damn it!"

By the time the dust settled, Chi Yun had long since disappeared from the spot.

"Chase him! Chase him down! If I don't kill him today, I am not human!"

Chen Feng's roar echoed through the forest... Chi Yun shattered a Yao wolf's head with a single punch and cleanly collected the Yao core.

This was already the eighth Spirit Nurturing Realm Yao core Chi Yun had obtained, though they were all low-grade ones.

A day had passed in the assessment; at this rate, it would be difficult to even break into the top three hundred.

Mainly because he had to avoid the search by Chen Feng and the others, which hindered his hunting.

He had thought of dealing with that group several times, but he hadn't found a suitable opportunity yet.

The mountain range wasn't large and there were many students; if an accident occurred and they were tied up for a moment, other students would likely come to investigate the commotion.

It wasn't like he could take them out batch by batch.

He keenly noticed that the Spiritual Qi in this area was much denser than elsewhere.

Soon, he pushed through a thicket of thorns, and the view before him opened up.

A deep valley appeared before him.

Streams of pure Spiritual Qi rose from the valley like mist.

On a rock at the mouth of the valley, he saw a clear paw print.

A faint moon-white aura still lingered around the paw print.

Chi Yun's breath hitched slightly.

Looking at the density of the Spiritual Qi... "It's a wolf king's den!"

A surge of wild joy rose in his heart.

A Shadow Moon Wolf King at the Peak of the Spirit Nurturing Realm!

Its Yao core was priceless! Just one would be enough to instantly propel his assessment ranking into the top hundred.

Chi Yun held his breath.

He silently lurked at the top of a giant tree.

At the bottom of the deep valley, the spiritual power was so dense it was almost tangible.

A massive Shadow Moon Wolf King was locked in a life-and-death struggle with several Genius students of high Spirit Nurturing Realm cultivation.

Moon-white light and spiritual radiance intertwined.

The Shadow Moon Wolf King let out an angry roar.

Its body was pierced by several beams of spiritual light, dripping with blood.

But it remained exceptionally fierce.

With one claw, it tore through a student's protective spiritual shield.

That student screamed and was sent flying.

The leading Genius student roared.

"Beast! Die!"

He summoned a radiant longsword.

The sword light was like lightning, piercing straight for the wolf king's brow.

"Awooo!"

The wolf king let out one last mournful cry.

It crashed to the ground, its massive body kicking up clouds of dust.

That Genius student didn't care about anything else.

He rushed forward, spiritual power surging in his hand, preparing to extract the Yao core.

In that very instant.

A black shadow descended from the sky like lightning.

Chi Yun!

His figure was fast to the extreme.

His right hand reached out, heading straight for the wolf king's brow.

"You're looking for death!"

The Genius student reacted.

He struck out with a palm, spiritual power whistling.

Chi Yun neither dodged nor avoided it, taking the hit head-on.

Using the force to fly backward, he already held a Yao core emitting a moon-white aura in his hand.

"My Yao core!"

That Genius student roared in exasperation.

He gave chase.

Chi Yun's figure flickered a few times in the dense forest.

Completely disappearing.

"Bastard! Come out for me!"

The Genius student roared at the empty forest.

His voice echoed in the valley for a long time.

But there was no response.

Over the next two days.

These Genius students searched for Chi Yun's tracks like they were mad.

They turned over every stone, combing through almost the entire mountain range.

But Chi Yun was like he had vanished from the face of the earth.

Chi Yun deeply understood the essence of "laying low."

With this Peak Spirit Nurturing Realm Yao core, he didn't need to hunt Yao Beasts anymore.

He hid in a remote cave, refining some of the Spirit Medicines he had obtained in the mountain range.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the high platform.

The Palace Master's voice was cold.

"The assessment rankings will now be announced."

"First place, Huangfu Tian."

"Second place, Sun Ming."

"Number seventy-five, Chi Yun."