Chapter 249: Ascending to The Throne, Ranked First (II)

Bidding farewell to An Fuqing, Chen Chu swiftly moved through the wild mountains and forests, his body becoming a black and red streak of light as he maintained a speed of two hundred meters per second.

Boom!

A mountain rock over ten meters high was shattered by Chen Chu's punch, with fragments scattering everywhere and dust filling the air. As he leaped across a valley, a level 4 mutated beast, seventeen meters long, suddenly pounced from the cliff.

Roar!

The roar of a dragon and the trumpeting of an elephant echoed in the air, with golden-red light flashing.

Boom!

Under the domineering force of Chen Chu's Dragon Elephant Stomp, half of the level 4 mutated beast's body exploded, and the rest of it flew through the sky in a shower of blood.

Soon, Chen Chu had burst out of the Yunwu Mountain Range and stepped into the Jiuhuan Mountains. The aura around him grew even more oppressive, filled with a sense of power. The invincible aura that had fused into his body after a failed condensation attempt seemed to be showing signs of activation.

Roar— Boom!

A level 3 mutated beast was halfway through its roar when it was blown apart by a single punch from the sprinting Chen Chu.

Boom!

A giant tree, so large it would take five people to encircle it, was directly snapped in half and came crashing down.

When he encountered a hundred-meter-wide river, Chen Chu exploded with supersonic speed, raising enormous waves as he dashed across the water like a sharp arrow.

A mutated beast lurking beneath the water was barely able to surface before being blasted apart by his fist.

From a bird's-eye view, one could see Chen Chu charging almost in a straight line toward the Nantian base. Crossing mountains, leaping rivers, he created a direct path through the wild forest. Trees shattered, mutated beasts exploded. Nothing could halt his progress.

He was using this method to build momentum and stimulate his will. To condense an Invincible Battle Will, he needed his body and mind to unite and achieve a state of invincibility, moving forward without hindrance.

Of course, this state of invincibility meant sweeping through opponents of the same level, progressing relentlessly without anyone being able to obstruct him. It did not mean foolishly charging at higher-level enemies to meet certain death; that was nothing more than stupidity.

At eleven in the morning, the Nantian base was bustling as it had been for the past couple of days, filled with people everywhere.

These second- and third-year students, accustomed to fighting and wandering in the mountains daily, were becoming extremely bored and slightly stir-crazy from being unable to leave. Some sat on the steps chatting, while others squatted in the mission hall bragging. The thirty or forty first-year students were too few to really be noticed among them.

Outside the mission hall, Xia Youhui, Li Meng, Liu Feng, Bai Mu, and Yuan Chenghuang were sitting on the steps, staring into space out of sheer boredom.

Xia Youhui looked around, puzzled. "Strange, why hasn't Ah Chu come back yet?"

"I heard from Hong Tianyi that Chen Chu had gone to the Yunwu Mountains the morning the demon cultists invaded. He’s probably hiding out somewhere." Yuan Chenghuang laughed. "That guy always likes to show off. This time, he's met his match, huh?"

Liu Feng also laughed. "Definitely. Chen Chu’s strong, but he’s still a bit outmatched against those demon cultists, especially the ones that are supposed to be in the late stage or peak of the Fifth Heavenly Realm."

Three days had passed, and everyone had pieced together the current situation through subtle inquiries with their teachers and official reports meant to stabilize morale. It was now common knowledge that there were over twenty demon cultists who had invaded, all with pre-invasion strengths above the Sixth Heavenly Realm.

Due to injuries sustained while entering the mutated beast battlefield, their realms had dropped to the late stage or peak of the Fifth Heavenly Realm, yet their combat power remained above the Sixth.

Meanwhile, Chen Chu’s highest achievement so far had been slaying a peak Level 5 Flame Serpent. The gap between the peak of the Fifth Heavenly Realm and the Sixth, while seemingly small, was actually vast.

Despite thinking Chen Chu couldn’t match those cultists, however, they weren't worried about his safety. After knowing him for so long, they understood that, although Chen Chu appeared to be a reckless and domineering fighter, he was actually very cautious and wouldn’t take unnecessary risks. In addition, he had cultivated a secret art to conceal his aura. As long as he was careful, he should be fine, considering how vast the Yunwu Mountain Range was.

Bai Mu, looking at the individuals around them who radiated Fourth and even Fifth Heavenly Realm auras, expressed his envy. "I wonder when we’ll be able to break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm. Being in the Third Realm here feels like being a minor character, completely insignificant. Even killing a level 4 mutated beast is so tough."

Li Meng nodded. "Yeah, the Fourth Heavenly Realm is a transformative stage. Our strength might multiply several times over, and we might be able to fight across realms like Chen Chu."

As soon as Li Meng finished speaking, Bai Mu, Liu Feng, and the others looked at him with strange expressions.

"Uh

...

why are you all looking at me like that?" Li Meng asked, puzzled.

Xia Youhui said with exasperation, "Li Meng, are you dreaming? Even if you guys break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm and your strength skyrockets, being able to fight two minor realms above would already be impressive."

Yuan Chenghuang nodded. "Exactly, Chen Chu’s an exception. We definitely can’t compare."

Although they were geniuses too, with a deep understanding of high-level arts and combat skills, they also had a realistic grasp of their own abilities. Even if they broke through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm, their battle prowess would at best allow them to fight two minor realms higher. Fighting late-stage opponents while being at the beginning stage would be their limit.

That was just for the Fourth Heavenly Realm. By the Fifth, the gap in arts narrowed, and unless they had breakthroughs in their arts or wills, they would only be able to fight one minor realm higher at most.

"Wait, why just us? Xia Youhui, you’re in the same boat as us." Liu Feng suddenly realized.

At this, Xia Youhui smiled smugly. "Hey! I'm different from you guys. When I was at the beginning stage of the Third Heavenly Realm, I could withstand the frontal attacks of the Golden-Backed Rampage Ape. Now, at the late stage, I can take on a peak level 4.

"So, my talent is higher than yours. When I break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm and my Black Tortoise Earthly Art transforms, I’ll be able to fend off ordinary level 5s."

Xia Youhui's smug expression irked the others. Li Meng said sarcastically, "Sure, you might be able to block the attacks of a level 5 beast, but you probably won’t be able to kill even a late-stage level 4."

"Hahaha

...

right, what's the use of strong defense if you can't beat opponents of the same level?"

Xia Youhui retorted disdainfully, "

Hmph!

Who says I can't beat them? Just wait until I reach the Fourth Heavenly Realm. Even a turtle can bite when the time comes. And the second batch of high-quality resources my brother sent me is about to arrive. It won't be long before I break through."

"Damn!"

"Let's go, let's go."

"I heard there's a beautiful sea of flowers at the back of the mountain. Do you guys want to go take a look?"

"Let's go together."

Facing Xia Youhui, who had an advanced cultivator brother constantly sending him high-quality resources, the other four could only envy him, so they decided to leave him aside in retaliation.

Just as the four of them stood up, however, an ominous aura appeared in the distance below the mountain. Even though it was invisible, its presence made everyone feel a tightness in their chests.

Soon, many people saw the air on the path leading to the base continuously ripple under the imposing aura, forming circles of transparent invisible waves.

Such a formidable aura surpassed even the Sixth Heavenly Realm teachers.

"Who is it?!"

"Such a terrifying aura!"

Many people instinctively stood up, their expressions serious as they looked toward the distance. There, a burly figure clad in black and red crystal armor slowly stepped onto the square.

With each heavy step, the ground trembled slightly, and the dust stirred up by the footsteps was blown away by the surrounding winds, creating a breathtaking scene.

Substantive power surged around Chen Chu, heavy and domineering. Even the air seemed to distort under this invisible force, appearing as if it was collapsing.

"Ah Chu!"

"Chen Chu."

"Isn't he the freshman genius?"

"That aura seems to be of the Fifth Heavenly Realm, but how is that possible!?"

Amid everyone's astonished and shocked gazes, Chen Chu arrived at the bottom of the big screen and placed his hand on the terminal beneath it after verification.

Instantly, rows of red characters appeared on all fifty-nine screens of the school bases.

"Chen Chu, Nantian Martial Arts High School, middle stage Fifth Heavenly Realm, ranked First on the First-year Genius List."

First-year, middle stage Fifth Heavenly Realm.

In an instant, everyone looked at the row of red characters in disbelief, their faces filled with shock.