Chapter 178: A Mere Freshman, Countered by Senior Genius (II)

Ever since Zhang Lin had entered the top one thousand on the achievement leaderboard last week, there had been some Fourth Heavenly Realm students from Longshan's base challenging him. Compared to slowly accumulating points by killing mutated beasts, defeating Zhang Lin directly would propel them up the achievement list much more quickly.

However, all of those students had been defeated and ended up losing many wagers.

Ding Chen's expression grew serious. "I didn't expect this beast to be a peak level 4. The opponent's strength is quite formidable."

He looked at Zhang Lin and advised, "Zhang Lin, it's better to let it go. There's no need to spar with him over a level 4, even if it’s at the peak."

"Indeed." The other three nodded in agreement. For these geniuses, the prestige of their rankings on the achievement list were much more valuable than a few hundred contribution points.

However, Zhang Lin chuckled lightly. "I've decided to accept his challenge."

"What!" the other four exclaimed, taken aback.

Zhang Lin continued slowly, "I already know who this person is. He's from Nantian, Chen Chu. Don't you think this name sounds familiar?"

After Zhang Lin's reminder, Tang Tian hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, "The sixth on the Genius List for first-year students?"

Zhang Lin nodded. "Exactly, it's him."

They had returned to Longshan's base quite late last night, so they hadn’t seen the glowing red letters on the base's big screen. However, they did hear from other students while heading to the cafeteria about the freshman who had surged to sixth place on the respective Genius List.

"It's actually him."

Zhang Feng, clad in red battle armor, squinted. "It seems this new student wants to follow in the footsteps of An Fuqing from this morning. He’s challenging you to enter the Achievement List. This freshman's strength should be formidable, for him to dare to challenge you in the first place. And his ranking is higher than the freshman from this morning, so we shouldn't underestimate him."

Zhang Lin nodded. "I'm aware. But I'm also interested in him. This is a challenge from a freshman to a senior, and I'm not weak, am I?"

Indeed.

The other four nodded slightly.

As geniuses who had practiced for an additional year and spent half a year in the mutated beast battlefield, their accumulation far surpassed that of freshman like Chen Chu, who had only been practicing for six months. Especially Zhang Lin, whose cultivation was two stages higher than Chen Chu's, nearing the peak of the Fourth Heavenly Realm.

In addition to his powerful transcendent battle armor and weapons, Zhang Lin had pushed both his defense and his attack to their limits. He had also spent nearly 1,000 contribution points to cultivate secret arts that enhanced strength, speed, and the augmentation of sword qi to an intermediate level.

As a result, despite only being in the late stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm, he wasn’t to be underestimated; his combat prowess had already surpassed that of the Fifth.

If it hadn’t been for the limitations of his realm, he would have broken into the top five hundred of the Achievement List long ago.

This freshman’s cultivation speed is enviable, to have reached the Fourth Heavenly Realm in just half a year. But whether he can win against Zhang Lin remains to be seen.

Since he’s only been practicing for one semester, he may not have had time to learn all of the secret arts, and judging by the appearance of his weapon, it's probably just ordinary alloy. So Zhang Lin still has a good chance of winning.

Zhang Lin's face showed a confident smile. "Contribution points and Life Crystals that come to us without effort shouldn't be wasted. Let's go, we'll see how strong this genius from Nantian is."

With that, the five of them flew down the hillside one after another, swiftly crossing the small forest and appearing in the valley.

Staring at the tall figure about a dozen meters away, Zhang Lin said in a deep voice, "Chen Chu, I'll ask you again, are you sure you want to fight me? My cultivation is currently in the late stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm. I have cultivated three secret arts and possess transcendent armor and weapons. If you lose later, don't say I bullied you."

Zhang Lin was very straightforward, stating all his advantages.

"Zhang Lin, you must be joking. I was the one who proposed this challenge. If I lose, it's because my skills are inferior," Chen Chu replied modestly. "I've just arrived at the mutated beast battlefield and I’m unfamiliar with everything here. I happened to encounter you today, so I wanted to see the strength of a senior from the previous year. I want to see how big the gap is between us and strive harder afterward."

Chen Chu's attitude surprised Zhang Lin and the others. They had originally thought this talented individual who had challenged them upon meeting them would be arrogant, but they hadn’t expected him to be so modest.

Seeing this, Zhang Lin smiled and nodded. "Alright, win or lose today, you're now my friend. When you have time, come visit Longshan's base."

Chen Chu also nodded with a smile. "Sure, I'll definitely come visit when I have the chance."

After that, the atmosphere between the two became serious. They both tapped their wrists and brought up the virtual touchscreen options, clicking to lock in their positions.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

In an instant, a high-definition satellite camera adjusted slightly in the sky tens of thousands of meters above, focusing on the scene unfolding in the valley below. While it could only roughly capture the images of the two individuals, it still served as a witness to this challenge.

After Chen Chu and Zhang Lin's positions were locked in, their detailed information was also synchronized to the supercomputer, assuming they had entered a “match” state by default.

If Chen Chu won, he would replace Zhang Lin's position. If he lost, nothing would happen.

Tang Tian and the others tensed, and they started to distance themselves from the battlefield.

Boom!

A powerful surge of golden true power erupted from Zhang Lin's body. The patterns on his golden scale armor lit up one by one, emitting a golden light that formed a transparent armor layer five centimeters thick.

Under the dual-layer protection, an aura of invincibility and durability spread, compressing the surrounding air into a fierce wind that stirred up dust within several meters.

Then, a three-meter-long, door-wide black saber appeared in Zhang Lin's hand. It also emitted a faint golden light, exuding a sharp and formidable aura. As a genius who had accumulated contribution points for a year, Zhang Lin had also exchanged for the Sumeru Bracelet.

"Chen Chu, the true martial art I practice is called the Eight-Armed Rampage Ape, with a corresponding high-level combat skill called the Eight-Armed Rotating Slash, which focuses on powerful and domineering slashes. Be careful."

"Thank you for the warning. I practice the Dragon Elephant Tyrant Body, with the combat skill Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd, which also emphasizes domination and oppression," Chen Chu replied, his body erupting with a surge of black and red true power.

Boom!

With the force of his powerful and materialized aura, the air around Chen Chu almost solidified, and the ground within a three-meter radius beneath his feet sank slightly.

Facing a senior genius like Zhang Lin, Chen Chu didn’t dare to underestimate him. With the amplification of his Dragon Elephant True Power, his muscles swelled, exuding an oppressive aura. Whether it was due to absorbing the high-quality dragon essence or because of his evolved avatar, he now resembled an awakened draconic beast.

The invisible draconic aura emitted a pressure that made Zhang Lin and the others catch their breath.

"How is this possible? Isn't he just a freshman in the beginning stage of the Fourth Realm?!" Tang Tian paled slightly, surprised as she looked at Chen Chu in the distance. As a senior in the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm, she was actually startled by his explosive aura.

Suddenly, both Chen Chu and Zhang Lin roared into action, the ground exploding beneath their feet as they shot out toward each other in streaks of light, one black and red, and the other golden.

Clang!

The Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd instantly clashed with the golden saber, the intertwining black and red halberd light and golden sword qi momentarily locking in a stalemate, then exploded.

Boom!

In an instant, the earth trembled around the two figures as the black and golden halos exploded outward, the violent true power compressing the air into a white shockwave that swept over a dozen meters.

Amid the howling wind, Chen Chu stood firm, as heavy as a mountain, exuding a dominance and fierceness akin to a Dragon Elephant.

On the opposite side, Zhang Lin's dazzling golden light flickered, but the immense power emanating from the halberd only caused him to stagger slightly, blocked by his golden true power.

This exchange was merely a probe, so neither side had attempted to evade.

Feeling the overwhelming dominance from his opponent, Zhang Lin's face lit up with excitement.

Previously, he had been worried that this freshman might not have enough strength, and he would accidentally injure him if he used too much force. Now, however, it seemed that the opponent's strength was indeed formidable.

Meanwhile, Chen Chu was also somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected that under a third of his strength, the opponent's figure would only sway slightly. It seemed that the combination of that transcendent battle armor and arts resulted in formidable defense.

In that case, he could afford to exert a bit more force.