The vast battlefield was enveloped in silence.

It seemed as if every living creature was frozen in time.

CREAK... CREAK...

Only the remaining battle automatons were active.

Armed with firearms, they advanced, their electronic eyes equipped with scanners sweeping the area, beginning to collect the scattered remnants of flesh and blood.

The onlooking new bloods stood stock-still, each able to clearly hear their own breathing and heartbeat.

This state was not limited to those new bloods present at the scene.

This was because a live broadcast of the battle had already been shared in the group chat channel.

So, now, the vast group chat channel was also plunged into an eerie silence.

The new bloods, scattered in different locations throughout Smokeless City Number Three, all wore identical expressions—

They gazed fixedly at their mission wristwatches, lost in thought.

Some, rather unluckily, were in the middle of tasks, caught in combat...

Within a short minute, the total count of new bloods, displayed in the upper right corner of the mission wristwatch's main interface, rapidly decreased by several.

Whether they were present at the scene or watching the battle via live stream, all the new bloods experienced an intensely similar feeling.

For some reason, they all slowly, unconsciously, felt an urge to squint their eyes at the figure in the center of their vision.

Despite some being positioned at higher vantage points, and others separated by screens...

There was always this feeling—

A distinct sense of déjà vu, as if they were standing on the ground, gazing up at the sun hidden among the clouds.

After what seemed like an eternity, a similar phrase slowly formed in everyone's mind.

Is... Is that even human?

....

Inside a fast-moving Fly Shuttle.

Su Zhaohui remained motionless, his hand outstretched as if about to tap the light screen and issue a launch command.

His face was dumbstruck, his entire body rigid as if someone had forcibly injected him with a muscle-hardening agent, turning him into a statue.

Song Cong was in a similar state.

Both their eyes were riveted on the demonically captivating figure of the young man on the screen, lost in a profound, indescribable agitation.

Quickly.

The torrent of data scrolling past the figure of the youth, who seemed both demonic and magical, halted on the screen. A massive letter "S" under the "Combat Power Prediction Assessment" heading snapped into focus.

Once they clearly saw this evaluation, the two motionless figures inside the Fly Shuttle instantly "came alive."

HISS—

They both sucked in sharp breaths of cold air simultaneously.

Song Cong was visibly shaken.

For a moment, he was at a loss for words to describe the complex emotions churning within him.

His vision was filled with that enormous "S".

His hands, hanging naturally at his sides, repeatedly clenched into fists and then relaxed.

Shock, amazement, awe, disbelief... a maelstrom of emotions surged through him, reflected on his face.

Ultimately, these feelings coalesced into a profound, inexplicable sense of dejection.

It spread through his chest like ink dispersing in water—

A new blood. A Pure Martial specialist. Power assessment: S-rank.

What S-rank Heavenly Gate? What top-tier Gold Bear? Compared to the young man before him, his own decades of battles and painstaking cultivation seemed as utterly wasted as if he'd spent them on a dog.

Song Cong subconsciously turned to look at Su Zhaohui.

He saw Su Zhaohui's tightly pressed lips twitching slightly, as though he wanted to say something.

But after waiting for a long while.

He didn't hear him utter a single word.

...

Lu Yuan deactivated his limit-breaking Second Transformation.

He found a relatively clean spot and sat down with a thump.

His waist-long hair from the Second Transformation cascaded around him like a black waterfall, spreading out on the ground as he returned to his normal state.

His expression was peaceful, still basking in the wondrous afterglow of comprehending that recent Super Kill, not yet fully emerged from that unique state.

The battle automatons cleaning the battlefield moved around him, creating a strange sense of disconnect with his tranquil presence.

[You have experienced a battle, Experience Points +10,023]

Lu Yuan opened his class panel and immediately received a notification that his Experience Points had increased by over ten thousand.

At this point, Lu Yuan's Lv9 [Fighter] experience had reached 15,000.

On the panel, a new Super Kill skill had appeared—[Super Kill – Thousand Crows Singing at the Moon]!

It seems my line of thinking was correct.

Lu Yuan's eyes, partially hidden under his slightly lowered eyelids, sparkled like gemstones.

Using Spiritual Power instead of Death Qi, using the Crow Dreamscape instead of True Intention... I've truly pushed the Fighter class to a level comparable to the Extraordinary!

When Lu Yuan first cultivated Vigor, he had thought this was the Extraordinary power unique to the [Fighter] class.

Later, he discovered that while Vigor was indeed a remarkable power for ordinary people.

It still fell far short when compared to genuine Extraordinary powers.

His Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength, a fusion of three types of Vigor and far superior in quality to ordinary Vigor, still proved inadequate against an Extraordinary power like Death Qi.

Other Fighters fared even worse.

However, now.

Lu Yuan had pioneered a new path—

A true path of Extraordinary Martial Arts, propelled by formidable mental strength!

Unfortunately, this path would be difficult to replicate.

It not only required breaking the limit of one's intelligence once, causing Spiritual Power to transform into a gaseous state.

But one also needed an experience similar to Lu Yuan's Crow Dreamscape.

Between these two conditions, Lu Yuan even felt the latter was the crucial one.

The Crow Dreamscape is a kind of projection of Lamashtu, the goddess of death worshipped by the Crow God Sect. In a certain sense, it was a real experience for me. This point alone is something no martial art's True Intention can achieve.

Take, for instance, the Dragon Form True Intention of the Dragon Sect, or the Spirit Crane True Intention of the Crane Sect.

Although both were the crystallization of the wisdom and sweat of countless disciples from their respective sects, enriched with numerous martial arts techniques and even True Skill Contemplation Visualization Maps to flesh them out and perfect them.

But!

What's fake is ultimately fake! No one has ever truly seen a dragon that commands clouds and rain, or a Spirit Crane that seeks immortal mountains and mistakenly plucks spirit herbs. But I, Lu Yuan... I have truly seen "Lamashtu," truly seen the Netherworld River flowing beneath the moon!

If I unlock new Extraordinary classes in the future and receive similar Evil God projections like the Crow Dreamscape again, I can absolutely continue down this path...

A strong sense of anticipation welled up in Lu Yuan's heart.

Honestly.

He was also very curious. When those images of Evil Gods from legends made real met the Ancient Martial Arts techniques of a Fighter... what kind of mysterious and brilliant sparks would ignite between them!

Lu Yuan finished organizing the gains on his class panel, then quickly glanced at his mission wristwatch.

After killing the S-rank Bearman-Moly Demon fusion, he had completed the temporary, unique SS-rank mission.

His total accumulated points now amounted to a staggering 2,470,000-plus!

The base reward for the unique SS-rank mission was 500,000 points.

He had exceeded expectations, and the final settlement was two million points!

I've cleared all the A-rank and S-rank missions. As for the rest... whether I grind them or not is of little significance to me now.

The thought of ending the assessment early sprouted in Lu Yuan's mind.

Today was the fourth day of the assessment.

If the Bearman hadn't died, he might have chosen to stay in the gravity field until the assessment ended.

But now that the Bearman was gone.

Staying any longer in Smokeless City would be a pure waste of time.

His phone had been confiscated before the assessment began, and he hadn't communicated with anyone close to him for four days; he felt a little concerned.

With this in mind, Lu Yuan operated his mission wristwatch and submitted an application to end the assessment early.

The application was approved almost instantaneously.

Immediately after, Lu Yuan saw a Fly Shuttle approaching rapidly from the distant sky...

As Lu Yuan boarded the Fly Shuttle leaving Smokeless City Number Three, he couldn't help but turn back for a look.

His gaze swept over the faces of Xu Chengying, Ye Wuqiang, Teng Xiangqing, and other new bloods—faces that were blank yet held a flicker of some inexplicable agitation.

He couldn't help but smile at them.

The moment he stepped into the Fly Shuttle, Lu Yuan thought idly—

This dramatic exit of his, this departing silhouette, would probably be firmly etched into the minds of some people... for a lifetime.

........

"He chose to end the assessment early."

Inside the spacious cabin of the Fly Shuttle, Su Zhaohui and Song Cong had calmed down from their turbulent emotions.

Their Fly Shuttle had already turned around and was heading back.

Neither of them had expected this sudden emergency to be resolved so quickly.

"Has the evaluation been finalized?"

Song Cong sat in his chair, his hands alternating between resting on the armrests and lying flat on his knees.

After doing this several times, he finally couldn't hold back his question.

"It's being calculated..."

Su Zhaohui replied, without looking up, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the stream of information on his retinal display.

After a moment, his whole body jolted slightly.

From Song Cong's angle, he could clearly see Su Zhaohui's pupils dilate and contract several times within a second, impacted by shock.

A full half-minute passed.

Only then did Su Zhaohui break free from this state.

Then he turned his head and slowly spoke a few words to Song Cong.

CRUNCH—

The high-strength alloy steel armrest of the chair was crushed into a twisted shape by Song Cong the instant Su Zhaohui uttered those words.

Song Cong took a deep breath, striving to control his inner emotional turmoil.

After a full three minutes of silence, he finally spoke.

"Old Su."

"This person... I daren't take him."

"And I can't afford to."

"Mm."

Su Zhaohui nodded, his expression complex as he said, "Even if you dared, I wouldn't dare give him to you."

"Besides, after the evaluation came out, Lu Yuan was already chosen..."

"Who?!"

Song Cong's eyes flickered, and he asked subconsciously.

"Which Flying Bear General?"

Su Zhaohui shook his head.

"Not a Flying Bear General."

"Then..."

Song Cong's pupils constricted slightly, his voice dropping, tinged with emotion, "Which of the Lords?"

"Lord Tong."

Su Zhaohui didn't conceal it, directly stating the name.

Even when merely mentioning her name, a hint of reverence was still visible on Su Zhaohui's face.

"Lord Tong... It's actually Lord Tong..."

Song Cong murmured, his expression gradually becoming complex. "Lord Tong hasn't recruited anyone for decades, has she?

I didn't expect... she couldn't resist making a move this time.

Then again, if Lord Tong wants someone, the other Lords would hardly refuse."

"Indeed."

Su Zhaohui sighed. "Who would dare refuse Lord Tong? Especially since she... well, Lu Yuan's potential evaluation is unprecedented. It's not surprising Lord Tong would be interested."

"Mm."

Song Cong nodded and fell silent.

Su Zhaohui, noticing Song Cong's spirits seemed low, thought about how he had called him back, only for him to end up on a wild goose chase.

He felt a little apologetic.

After a moment's thought, his eyes lit up, and he said, "Old Song, don't say I'm not helping you."

"You can forget about Lu Yuan, but I can let you pick freely from the other new bloods..."

"I've reviewed the files on all the other new bloods. Even the most outstanding one, that lad from the Teng Family, still falls short of my requirements..."

"Let me finish speaking."

Su Zhaohui smiled, leaned closer to Song Cong, and said in a low voice, "Lu Yuan's talent as a new blood is extraordinary, and he's caught Lord Tong's eye. Considering his future prospects, no one in the past few decades can likely compare.

Such an exceptional individual, if he were to be your friend, would you agree?"

"Nonsense! In a normal sparring match, I might not even be able to beat him now!

The question is, how could I become friends with him?

Are you suggesting that I, a top-tier Gold Bear, should proactively go and offer him gifts?"

"HEH HEH."

"That, of course, wouldn't do."

"However, we can think about it differently..."

.......

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