Chapter 202: Although I

In the skill bar.

【The "Ice Spike Spell" conjured its enchanting figure.】

【It excitedly rubbed its tiny hands: "Oh yeah! Is it finally my turn to shine?! Master, Master! Hurry! Use me! Even if you're rough, it's fine!"】

The "Fireball Spell" raised its head haughtily: "Leave it to me. When my Meteor Fire descends, everything will kneel."

"Enough."

Lin Mo said quietly in his heart:

"Stop arguing. Today is Xiao Bing's debut."

"Xiao Bing, do your best. Don't let Xiao Huo and the others laugh at you."

Hearing Lin Mo's words,

【The "Ice Spike Spell" immediately resumed its lofty Ice Queen demeanor.】

【It glanced coldly at the "Fireball Spell" beside it and let out a disdainful snort.】

【"Heh."】

【"Watch closely. Today, I'll show you what true slaughter looks like."】

At that moment,

The countdown reached zero.

【Countdown ended!】

Boom—!!!

The entire wasteland trembled violently!

From the swirling dust ahead came a chilling, rustling sound.

Then,

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless sand mounds exploded outward.

Endless demonic creatures surged forth like a black tidal wave from beneath the sand.

Lin Mo looked over.

【Desert Scorpion, Level: Lv. 5】

They were giant scorpions, as large as adult wolves.

Their bodies were dark yellow, covered in hard carapaces.

Two massive front claws whipped wildly through the air.

Their raised tails dripped venom that sent shivers down the spine.

They gathered in dense, overwhelming numbers, filling the sky and earth.

The Longxu Class students, seeing this, nearly suffered from claustrophobia.

"Prepare to fight!"

Ye Kong growled, his Tang blade already humming faintly.

Meanwhile,

Lin Mo, standing at the front, raised his right hand.

His gaze turned icy, cold as a glacier.

"Xiao Bing."

【The "Ice Spike Spell" beamed with excitement: "Here I come, Master!"】

Array of Ten Thousand Ice Spears!

Hum—!!!

In an instant,

A terrifying, frigid storm erupted from Lin Mo, sweeping outward toward the surging insect tide.

Even moisture in the air froze instantly into a thousand glittering ice crystals.

The once scorching desert plummeted in temperature.

The domain of absolute cold spread like a storm, crushing all in its path.

Wherever it passed,

The sand froze into dead-white glaciers.

Broken stone pillars were encased in thick ice armor.

The charging Desert Scorpions, the moment they touched the frigid storm, turned instantly into ice statues.

One row, ten rows, a hundred rows!

Even the scorpions continuously emerging from underground,

As soon as a single leg stepped into this domain, they froze solid into lifeless ice statues, utterly motionless!

The entire battlefield fell silent.

Utter stillness.

Only the swirling ice crystals danced, refracting a chilling glow.

…

Gazing at the vast, lifeless glacier ahead,

The students behind Lin Mo stared, dumbfounded.

"Holy shit…"

Wang Dawei's eyes bulged like bells: "This… this is the high-level skill the class leader just learned today?"

Ye Kong was equally stunned:

"Such powerful ice control!"

"And… compared to the class leader's fire and lightning, this ice ability erases everything silently!"

As everyone reeled in shock,

Lin Mo, ahead, still wore a cold, indifferent gaze.

His raised right hand clenched into a fist.

"Explode."

The next second,

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff—!!!

A series of muffled explosions erupted simultaneously from within the countless ice statues of scorpions.

Then,

Crack!

All the ice statues shattered at once, crumbling into fragments…

Everyone looked on, their scalps prickling.

The Desert Scorpion corpses weren't just broken into pieces—they were riddled with countless holes…

Countless ice blades erupted from within them, shredding them into pulp.

The ground was littered with severed limbs and ice shards mixed together.

As the last scorpion fell,

A notification appeared in everyone's interface:

【First checkpoint cleared!】

【Time taken: 20 seconds!】

【Countdown: 10 seconds until teleport to second checkpoint.】

Han Mengyao stared at the lifeless glacier ahead.

As a top-tier ice combatant,

Her perception of ice elements far surpassed anyone present.

Thus, her shock was the strongest.

Too monstrous…

Instantaneous freezing at absolute zero…

Combined with sudden internal ice blades shredding from within.

Such extreme micro-control and mastery over ice elements—she couldn't imagine a peer achieving this.

Han Mengyao took a deep breath.

Looking at Lin Mo's back, her eyes held nothing but deep reverence.

Whether she admitted it or not,

On the path of ice, Lin Mo, having just begun, had already left her far behind—she couldn't even see his taillights.

…

Lin Mo's lips curled slightly.

"Xiao Bing, you did well."

【The "Ice Spike Spell" blushed faintly: "Hehe, of course! When I act, no problem is unsolved!"】

"Good, good! Keep it up!"

Lin Mo nodded in satisfaction.

【10, 9, 8...】

【Teleportation activated!】

Hum—

A flash of light.

Everyone's vision twisted.

When the scene cleared again.

They had left the sandy wasteland and appeared inside a grand, ancient underground temple.

Torches burned along the temple's walls.

At the center stood a massive altar.

【You have entered the second trial: The Sacrificial Hall.】

【Hint: All members, click Prepare. When the countdown ends, the 'Sand Storm High Priest' will be awakened.】

Looking at the eerie temple.

The team's atmosphere grew noticeably heavier.

Han Mengyao took a deep breath, turned to the group, and said solemnly:

"We've reached the second trial. A roll call will surely trigger soon."

"We can only pray the High Priest doesn't call out the class monitor."

Hearing Han Mengyao's words,

everyone began to pray.

"Don't call the monitor, don't call the monitor!"

"High Priest, call me! I'm tough, I can take it! If you call the monitor, we'll all be stuck here wasting time!"

Watching the group, Lin Mo couldn't help but smile faintly.

He glanced at them and said calmly:

"Enough praying."

"Xiao Han, didn't you say earlier that a summoner's pet counts as a target for the roll call?"

Han Mengyao looked at Lin Mo in confusion, then nodded.

"Yes, it counts as a target."

"Perfect."

Lin Mo smiled slightly. "I'm a mage, but I happen to know a bit of summoning."

At these words, everyone's faces filled with question marks.

【???】