Chapter 265

"That goes without saying, it's naturally Huo Wanyang!"

"Even if Huo Wanyang wasn't as good as Lin Qi before, their martial arts skills weren't far apart."

"But now he has awakened, his cultivation talent has transformed, and his comprehension has improved."

"Comprehension is the hardest thing to improve; the changes brought about by even a slight improvement are enormous—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a rebirth."

"In one month's time, he is more than capable of surpassing Lin Qi."

"Moreover, his force also has the Crimson Flame property, which can unleash greater destructive power; Lin Qi simply cannot compare."

"The Academy Head will reclaim the first-place spot."

A student from the Vault of Heaven First Academy analyzed the situation and said firmly.

"You're overthinking it. You probably don't know how formidable Lin Lin Qi Ge is; you've been slapped in the face so many times and still haven't learned your lesson." A student from the Vault of Heaven Sixth Academy retorted.

"It changed!"

Someone suddenly shouted. Upon hearing this, the hearts of those from both academies jumped to their throats, each hoping that the one passing the trial was their own Academy Head.

"It's Lin Qi!!" one person shouted, announcing the final result.

"Impossible!"

The faces of those from the Vault of Heaven First Academy changed drastically, unable to accept such a result.

Everyone looked toward the leaderboard of the Vault of Heaven Sixth Academy, which had already changed.

【First Place: Lin Qi, Floor: 4→5】

Looking again at the Vault of Heaven First Academy's leaderboard, the floor number behind Huo Wanyang was still "4," with no change whatsoever.

Many people felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar; endless disappointment surged in their hearts, as if their bone marrow had been drained, leaving them without any strength.

"Lin Lin Qi Ge is awesome!!"

In contrast, the people from the Vault of Heaven Sixth Academy were jubilant, cheering loudly.

"As expected of Lin Qi, he is as strong as ever!" students from other academies exclaimed.

"Now that Huo Wanyang is an SS-rank genius, he still hasn't been able to surpass him after a month."

"It seems that if he wants to surpass Lin Qi, he will still need a long time."

……

Fourth Floor of the Disaster Beast Trial Tower

"Pfft~"

The burly Huo Wanyang swung his red great halberd, severing the head of the last Single-Horned Black Boar.

"It's finally over; I am definitely the first to pass the fourth floor."

He revealed an excited look, looking at the popped-up information.

【Student Huo Wanyang, congratulations on successfully passing the fourth-floor trial. Yes/No to proceed to the fifth-floor trial?】

Upon seeing the information, Huo Wanyang's expression suddenly froze.

"How is it possible? I'm actually not the first to pass?"

"How could Lin Qi be faster than me?"

"Crack, crack!!"

He clenched his fists, his bones cracking, forced to accept this fact.

"I am an SS-rank genius, I have already awakened; give me more time, and I will definitely be able to surpass Lin Qi!"

Thinking of this, Huo Wanyang pulled himself together and began the fifth-floor trial.

……

In another space, 45 minutes after the fourth-floor trial began

"Hoo~ hoo~"

"Boom!!"

An Iron-Spiked Wild Boar let out an unwilling roar, falling heavily onto the concrete road and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Lin Qi raised his hand to shake off the blood on his black great spear, looking around at the corpses of disaster beasts covering the ground.

Yet he was only breathing slightly; possessing Stage Three spear technique, he was already capable of killing 200 disaster beasts with a Qi and blood value of 9.99.

【Student Lin Qi, congratulations on successfully passing the fourth-floor trial. Congratulations on being the first freshman student to pass the fourth-floor trial.】

【You will receive generous rewards. Yes/No to start the fifth-floor trial?】

……

When Lin Qi saw that he was the first to pass the trial, he knew he had won.

Just as Jiang Tao said, Huo Wanyang had been suppressed by him once again.

"People who have been defeated by me cannot surpass me again, let alone now that my talent and comprehension have also improved."

【Yes】

With a little time left, Lin Qi chose to continue directly to the fifth-floor trial.

"Hum!"

The next instant, the corpses of the Iron-Spiked Wild Boars and Single-Horned Black Boars around him vanished instantly.

【Fifth-floor trial: Kill 230 disaster beasts within 60 minutes, including 150 Level One Iron-Spiked Wild Boars, 50 Level Two Single-Horned Black Boars, and 30 Level Two Iron-Scaled Hawks!】

【Killing 350 disaster beasts within the allotted time counts as passing the assessment; otherwise, it is considered a failure!】

【Countdown: one minute...】

……

After reading the trial content, Lin Qi's expression changed slightly; this time there were 30 more Level Two disaster beasts, and the difficulty had increased by a large margin.

As the Fierce Tiger Dog snapped the One-Horned Black Boar's throat, the battle officially came to an end.

"Boom!!"

"Hoo~ hoo~"

In front, behind, to the left, and to the right of him, he was surrounded by Iron-Spiked Wild Boars and Single-Horned Black Boars, the gray tsunami launching its charge.

"Skree~"

He saw a gray-black cloud in the sky approaching rapidly, forming a large shadow that shrouded Lin Qi within it.

This was a flock of iron-gray avian disaster beasts—the Level Two disaster beast: the Iron-Scaled Hawk!

They resembled hawks in appearance, were huge in size, had a wingspan of up to two meters, and were covered in hard, iron-gray scales that shimmered with a metallic luster in the sunlight.

Their feathers were scales, with edges as sharp as blades, like natural armor.

Their red eyes were sharp and fierce, their beaks were as sharp as hooks, and their claws were thick and powerful.

Lin Qi's expression was solemn; now that both the ground and the sky were surrounded by disaster beasts, they really weren't leaving him any space.

"Whoosh~"

However, he transformed into black lightning once again, swinging his black great spear as he charged out. "Pfft~ pfft~"

He thrust out several times in succession, leaving bloody holes in the throats of the Iron-Spiked Wild Boars at the front; the force exploded, severing their vitality, and they instantly fell to the ground dead.

Suddenly, Lin Qi felt intense danger, sensing that something dangerous was approaching rapidly from the sky.

"Shriek~"

"Shoo~"

An Iron-Scaled Hawk turned into a black wind, extending its thick iron claws to pounce; its speed was incredibly fast, like a gust of wind.

"Clang~"

Lin Qi braced his spear to block; the sharp claws struck the shaft, creating a shower of sparks and claw marks, the force vibrating him back a step.

So fast!

Lin Qi frowned; the Iron-Scaled Hawk's body was even leaner than the Single-Horned Black Boar's, which gave it a faster explosive speed.

!

The thick, sharp claws, aided by speed, could easily tear his skin and even penetrate human flesh.

"Shriek~ shriek~"

At the same time, 30 Iron-Scaled Hawks surrounded him, launching attacks around Lin Qi's head; once hit, the trial would be over.

Lin Qi had to use the "Thunder Shadow Instant Kill Step," dodging rapidly, his figure shifting like lightning.

The Iron-Scaled Hawks also used their sharp wings, beaks, and claws as weapons, attacking incessantly.

Leaving Lin Qi exhausted from dealing with them!

In his perception, warnings kept going off; from the front, back, left, right, and the sky—every direction was a signal of danger.

The Iron-Scaled Hawks were waving their claws, having already pounced; he had become the prey of all the disaster beasts.

The space he wanted to use to dodge attacks was compressed to the extreme.

"I can't keep dodging!"

Lin Qi knew his body technique realm had reached its limit; he couldn't dodge anymore.

Thinking of this, he immediately swung his long spear, thrusting it fiercely at the Iron-Scaled Hawk in front of him.

He channeled force through his body, the Mountain-Shaking Force forming in an instant and exploding outward, surging like a spirit snake to gather at the spear tip.

"Hum!"

"Ssh~"

The spear tip vibrated continuously, cold light flickering.

"Pfft~"

The Iron-Scaled Hawk revealed a panicked expression, watching helplessly as its neck was pierced, the explosive force instantly shattering its brain.

The Iron-Scaled Hawk was dead!

"Pfft~ pfft~ pfft"

Lin Qi swung his long spear, tracing a circular trajectory, continuously slashing through the necks of three Iron-Spiked Wild Boars.

Die, die, die!

In a continuous moment, he killed ten disaster beasts in a row; the spear tip vibrated, tearing through the sky, the wind howling as he stabbed one Iron-Scaled Hawk after another to death.

The "Mountain-Shaking Spear Technique" also erupted with its power, every spear swing carrying the force of a thunderbolt.

With one thrust, the black great spear was like an angry dragon in the wild, possessing the momentum to collapse mountains.

Lin Qi also let go, killing crazily, the Mountain-Shaking Force erupting; whoever touched it died!

In just over ten minutes, he had hunted more than half of the disaster beasts.

But the consequence was that bloodstains also appeared on his body—those were left by the Iron-Scaled Hawks.

"Courting death!"

Facing the Iron-Scaled Hawks diving down, the long spear in his hand thrust out fiercely, once again easily piercing through the neck of an Iron-Scaled Hawk.

"Shriek~"

Its screech lingered in the air, and at the same time, Lin Qi felt a pain in his shoulder, seeing thick, sharp claws piercing through his collarbone.

He only had a Qi and blood value of 9.99, his skin and membranes had not yet been tempered, and his combat suit was only Stage One.

Unable to withstand the sharp claws of the Iron-Scaled Hawks, his body was surrounded by a flock of iron-scaled beasts, and finally, he was completely submerged.

A few seconds later, Lin Qi returned to the starting point, all the disaster beasts dissipated; Lin Qi shook his head—in the end, he had died.

"With these 30 Iron-Scaled Hawks, the difficulty for me to achieve victory has increased several times over."

Lin Qi silently recalled the entire battle process; the Iron-Scaled Hawks' body speed was extremely fast, faster even than the Single-Horned Black Boars.

And they could fly, having a spatial advantage; harassing him from time to time was enough to distract his attention.

What he needed to worry about most was being lifted into the air; once there was no leverage point, he couldn't execute his body technique, and he would be a lamb waiting for slaughter.

"No wonder there are no avian disaster beasts in the actual combat training camp or the disaster beast hunting competition."

Lin Qi also understood that once there were avian disaster beasts, if they gathered together, they would cause huge damage to martial artists, and the death toll would also rise linearly.

【Student Lin Qi, it is a pity that you have died!】

【Vault of Heaven Sixth Academy trial ranking: 1】

【Academy overall ranking: 21001】

【You have unlocked the freshman Ten Academies genius ranking. Yes/No to view?】

Lin Qi was not surprised to see the overall ranking; the school's four grades had a total of 36,000 students, and even excluding students who died from various accidents, there were still over 35,000 people.

He was already ranked in the top 21,000, which was already formidable enough.

It meant that many sophomore seniors had already been surpassed by him.

Immediately, he looked at the last item: "Ten Academies genius ranking?"

He then clicked it open:

【Disaster Beast Trial Tower Ranking (Ten Academies)】

【First Place: Yu Zhuoran, Floor: 6】

【Second Place: Pei Jiu, Floor: 5】

【Third Place: Xiang Long, Floor: 5】

……

After reading it, Lin Qi's eyes lit up; it was indeed the Disaster Beast Trial Tower ranking for the Ten Academies' geniuses.

And the first-place Yu Zhuoran was the only SS-rank genius among this year's freshmen at Vault of Heaven Martial University before Huo Wanyang awakened.

Seeing that the other person's floor was 6, Lin Qi was shocked.

The other person had actually passed the fifth floor; Lin Qi was secretly shocked—how strong was this martial arts skill?

……

(End of chapter)