In the depths of the mountain forest, Li Bai and the other four continued advancing, each of them surging with thick spiritual power to protect themselves.
They were now not far from the mountain summit, so all the spiritual beasts they encountered were of the Heavenly-Tier. Most of these Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts were only at the early-phase Heaven Fusion Realm, so the five of them could still deal with them without much difficulty.
With Li Bai's Soul Seizing Arrow, a Heavenly-Tier spiritual beast at the Early-phase of Heaven Fusion Realm could often be killed in just a few moves. At this point, not only outsiders but even Su Xuan and Li Qing were shocked by the ghostly unpredictability of Li Bai's arrows and his one-shot kill style.
As they sped forward, Guo Xiong, who was on the left side, suddenly swung his fist backward. Majestic spiritual power swept out and smashed directly into the ground below.
Bang!
A black shadow was blasted away by Guo Xiong's punch and crashed heavily into the ground, creating a massive crack in the earth.
With a sharp hiss, the ground split apart, and a pitch-black leopard without a single strand of fur emerged swiftly from the fissure. Its body looked like black iron, and on its back were a pair of wings. Its eyes were filled with a savage gleam.
"A Phantom Leopard?" Li Bai raised his brows slightly upon seeing this strange black leopard whose body was like forged metal and whose back bore a pair of wings.
Another Heavenly-Tier spiritual beast at the Early-phase Heaven Fusion Realm had delivered itself to them.
Just as Li Bai was about to strike and finish off this spiritual beast, Su Xuan suddenly grabbed his sleeve and pointed solemnly toward the distance.
Following her gaze, Li Bai saw several more black shadows slowly emerging from the forest over there. Violent spiritual power instantly swept through the mountain forest.
Six Phantom Leopards?
Now this was troublesome!
A moment ago, Li Bai had thought this was a gift of easy experience, but now even he felt his scalp go numb.
Although they were only on par with the Early-phase Heaven Fusion Realm, the Phantom Leopards possessed extremely strong defenses, astonishing speed, and excelled in ambushes. If entangled by them, even with the five of them working together, it would take a long time to break free.
The group exchanged glances, and without needing to speak, they simultaneously burst forth, rushing toward the mountain summit.
However, as they moved, Li Bai drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Then, using the "Backwards Glance at the Moon" technique, he shot at the nearest Phantom Leopard behind them.
Roar!
The Phantom Leopard roared in fury, leaping aside to dodge the arrow, then turning into a streak of black light as it chased after them at astonishing speed.
Seeing that the Phantom Leopards were relentlessly pursuing them and were even slightly faster, by the time they rushed out of the forest, the distance between both sides had already closed to within arm's reach.
"No, we can't keep this up, or we'll definitely be caught!"
All five realized this at the same time, and without hesitation, they turned around and unleashed their most powerful attacks.
Screech!
With an ear-piercing cry, the Northern Golden Stripe Seahawk, with its icy blue body, swooped down, freezing the ground solid.
"Tidal Wave!"
The alluring Sea Spirit Mermaid stepped upon surging waves, instantly sweeping away three Phantom Leopards that had been caught in the freezing blast.
"Ice Storm!"
Behind Li Qing, a massive Snow Demon Beast loomed as she struck with both fists. Two torrents of ice and snow crashed into the waves, instantly freezing the surging waters along with the three Phantom Leopards caught within.
The combined surprise attack of the three women trapped three Phantom Leopards, giving Li Bai the opening to act.
"Guo Xiong!" Li Bai shouted.
"Coming, hahahaha!"
Laughing wildly, Guo Xiong raised a massive black-gold shield, and behind him appeared a towering pitch-black beast as if forged from iron. It stood firm at Li Bai's side, directly meeting the attacks of the other three Phantom Leopards head-on.
Clang!
A metallic clang rang out as two terrifying forces slammed into the shield, driving Guo Xiong backward, scraping across the ground for more than ten meters, nearly breaking through his defense.
Li Bai's expression remained unchanged. Without even glancing aside, he gripped the Swiftwind Bow as golden energy rapidly condensed into an arrow. The bow bent like a full moon, the arrow like a thunderbolt, shooting in the blink of an eye toward one of the frozen Phantom Leopards.
Bang!
Shards of ice flew as the arrow pierced straight through the beast's skull, shattering its head.
"Ding, congratulations to the player for slaying a low-grade Heavenly-Tier spiritual beast, obtaining 6000 experience points and 10 Beast Soul Points."
The pleasant system chime rang in his ears, but Li Bai had no time to listen. He put away the Swiftwind Bow, spun around, and smashed his fist backward.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, five Death Seals appeared on his fist and detonated instantly, blasting a black shadow flying away.
The shadow crashed heavily into the ground, creating a deep crater, but soon climbed out, shaking its dazed head. It was the Phantom Leopard that had slipped past Guo Xiong.
"Cunning beast!"
Li Bai sneered coldly, then drew his bow once more.
Having been struck by the Death Seals, even with its terrifying defense, the Phantom Leopard's insides were in chaos, leaving it unable to dodge Li Bai's lightning-fast arrow. The arrow struck its leg.
Normally, such a shot would only injure it and hinder its movement, but this time the arrow's Soul Seizure effect triggered. Just as it was about to escape, the Phantom Leopard stiffened and collapsed to the ground like the previous Leopard.
"Ding, congratulations to the player for slaying a low-grade Heavenly-Tier spiritual beast, obtaining 6000 experience points and 10 Beast Soul Points."
Just as Li Bai was about to continue, a series of roars echoed from other directions, growing closer and closer.
Li Bai turned toward the sound, and his expression stiffened.
In his field of vision, massive spiritual beasts wreathed in terrifying spiritual power were charging madly toward them. Ahead of these beasts were several figures fleeing in desperation, just like he and his companions had earlier.
Their route matched Li Bai's, all heading straight for the enormous stone platform leading to the summit.
Li Bai's lips twitched as he counted at least thirty Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts in the horde. This Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy was truly ruthless, releasing so many Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts here. How could anyone possibly fight against this?
"Move!"
Li Bai immediately urged, no longer caring about the remaining Phantom Leopards. He accelerated toward the massive stone platform.
If they were caught by those Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts now, the outcome would be grim.
Su Xuan and the others naturally saw the same scene, their faces turning pale as they hurried after Li Bai toward the stone platform.
Before long, Li Bai recognized the fleeing figures chased by the Heavenly-Tier beasts — Li Xuantong, Shen Cangsheng, and He Yao. There were also Ye Tian of the Xuan Gang, Mo Feng of the Judgement Hall, Ling Yu of the Demon Gate, and unexpectedly, Xu Huang, ranked eighth on the Spirit Ranking.
Xu Huang was also a newly admitted student who had recently broken through to the Heaven Fusion Realm. What surprised Li Bai was that Xu Huang's strength allowed him to reach the stone platform ahead of Zhou Fan, who had broken through while still in the Northern Heaven Realm.
The scene of dozens of Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts rampaging was so overwhelming that not only the new students below but even the senior students watching from above were stunned.
"I thought the previous beast tide was already large enough, but I didn't expect an even bigger one. The academy is really trying to push this group of new students to the brink."
"Indeed, how can they possibly fight against so many Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts?"
"Haha, these new students are really unlucky. They must have thought this year's New Students Assembly would be simple, but it's harder than ever before. Against this many Heavenly-Tier spiritual beasts, victory is impossible."
"Yes, and while defending against those beasts, they also have to watch out for the other new students."
"Haha, this is going to be a good show. This way, it will be much more interesting."
In the crowd, three figures stood in the sky. Within a hundred meters of them, no one dared to stand alongside them.
The young man in the center wore black robes and had a head of white hair, yet it was not the whiteness of age but rather a silvery glow that shimmered with brilliance, looking strikingly unusual.
To his right stood a handsome young man whose appearance was unremarkable except for his flawless looks and ever-present gentle smile that hid any sharpness.
To his left was a red-robed youth with crimson hair like burning flames. The air around him wavered with heat distortions, as though scorched by high temperature.
These three were none other than the current top three of the Heavenly Rankings: first place Lin Zheng, second place Zhou Qingshan, and third place Gu Tianyan.
"Hehe, Boss Lin, who do you think will take first place in this year's New Student Assembly?" asked Gu Tianyan with a smile, his fiery red hair dancing like flames.
"This matter has nothing to do with me. I am here merely to see the quality of this year's freshmen and whether there is anyone who can hold up the Heavenly Rankings after we leave in the future" Lin Zheng's voice was calm and indifferent.
On the other side, Zhou Qingshan raised an eyebrow and said, "What, have you already decided to accept the invitation from the Hall of Punishment's Hall Master?"
"Could it be that you are not planning to accept it?" Lin Zheng did not answer directly but instead asked in return.
Zhou Qingshan smiled faintly. Though he did not respond with words, his meaning was clear without further explanation.
It was, after all, the Hall of Punishment, an institution that held extremely high status and power within the entire Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy, for most of the Academy's security and defense matters were under its control.
The majority of the Hall of Punishment's members were composed of students who had already graduated yet chose to remain within the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. Generation after generation, it continuously infused fresh blood into the Hall.
Of course, once one entered the Hall of Punishment, one could no longer be called a student, nor could one take part in the various competitions between students. For this reason, it was generally very rare for ordinary students to encounter members of the Hall of Punishment in the Academy.
Similarly, the missions carried out by members of the Hall of Punishment were far more dangerous. This was no longer an ivory tower, and the rules were much stricter.
This was because it had been established to protect the Northern Heaven Spiritual Academy. The enemies they faced were no longer fellow senior or junior students sparring with each other, but rather the various ferocious and hostile forces on the Northern Heaven Continent, both overt and covert.
Compared to the gentleness of the Academy, the Hall of Punishment clearly contained much more iron-blooded resolve and cold severity.
To be personally invited by the Hall Master of the Hall of Punishment meant that Lin Zheng and the others' talent and strength were undoubtedly at the absolute pinnacle.
The three fell silent again, their attention once more returning to the New Students Assembly below. Before long, they saw that this year's freshmen truly did have some reason to be called "the strongest batch in history".
Liu Bai, holding An Ran in one hand and Li Qing in the other, called out loudly to Su Xuan and Guo Xiong, "Once we get onto the stone platform, do not stop for a moment. Charge straight to the mountain peak in one go!"
He remembered very clearly that in the original events, there was an extremely terrifying existence beneath this stone platform which, without even revealing its face, directly killed numerous Heaven Beasts and nearly prevented everyone from setting foot on the mountain peak.
Although Su Xuan and the others did not understand Liu Bai's intent, they would never doubt his words and immediately nodded in agreement.
Because Liu Bai's group was further ahead, when the five of them rushed onto the stone platform, Li Xuantong and the others were still a step behind.
However, what Li Xuantong and the others did not expect was that after Liu Bai and his group charged onto the stone platform, they did not stop at all but headed straight toward the higher mountain peak.
"What in the world, what are they trying to do? Are they planning to rush all the way up in one go? Are they not going to restore their Spiritual Energy?" Ye Tian beside Li Xuantong exclaimed in shock.
Li Xuantong was also somewhat puzzled. Even he, after such consecutive fierce battles and being chased by so many Heaven-tier spiritual beasts, felt his Spiritual Energy was nearly depleted. This stone platform was clearly prepared by the Academy for everyone to rest upon.
Moreover, even after reaching the stone platform, if these Heaven-tier spiritual beasts still did not retreat, then working together with the others here would be the best way to handle it.
Otherwise, with the pursuit of dozens of Heaven-tier spiritual beasts, they might all be completely wiped out.
"Despicable! They want us to hold off these spiritual beasts for them!" He Yao was the first to curse loudly.
At this moment, he was already at his limit, and upon seeing Liu Bai and the others' actions, his first thought was that it was a ploy against them.
In truth, they were not far from correct. Liu Bai's group was indeed having a hard time at this point.
Especially Liu Bai, who had made the most moves so far and was also carrying along the heavily drained An Ran and Li Qing. His consumption was naturally greater.
If not for his extraordinarily vast reserves of Spiritual Energy, he would have already become the one being dragged along instead of doing the dragging.
"Boss, I can't do it anymore, I am running out of steam..." Guo Xiong said, his face pale.
His style of attack had always been open and forceful. He had just now blocked the assault of two Phantom Leopards with all his strength, and now he truly could not keep up.
Liu Bai looked at their current position. They were not far from the stone platform, but he did not know whether they were still within the range of that mysterious beast's attack. Thus, they could not stop here.
"Right now we have only two choices: go down the mountain or go up. We must absolutely not stay in this place, otherwise our lives will be in grave danger" Liu Bai said in a deep voice as he looked at Li Qing, An Ran, and Guo Xiong.
"Choose your path yourselves"
.....
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