Brother Yang, just now you said there are five people from the Young Genius Ranking in our freshman class. Then… do you know that student named Forth Woll?
Since even Elder Cai evaluated her as the strongest of the new students, she should at least have a place on the Genius Ranking, right?"
With a walking encyclopedia right beside him, Tang Wulin naturally had to dig for information.
Yang Nianxia recalled that striking figure—the beautiful girl who once boldly challenged the whole class, claiming she'd fight everyone alone. He shook his head.
"I haven't seen Forth Woll's name on the Genius Ranking.
But since she was praised even by the teachers, her strength must be formidable. She's probably about on par with Wu Siduo."
Yang Nianxia felt her power wasn't weak, but since she wasn't listed on the ranking, she couldn't be that strong. Giving her a level comparable to Wu Siduo was already generous—and only because of Cai Yue'er's earlier words.
"Mn." Tang Wulin nodded. Though a little disappointed not to hear more about Forth Woll, he wasn't too disheartened.
After all, when it came to raw ability, their teammate Gu Yue was definitely not inferior to any of those so-called prodigies. He firmly believed that if Gu Yue revealed her full power, she'd make it onto the Genius Ranking—and at a very high spot.
Even though Forth Woll might not necessarily be able to defeat her.
Half an hour had passed since the competition began.
Nan Fusheng had been following Forth Woll in a straight line. Strangely, despite not bothering to conceal themselves, they hadn't run into a single opponent.
Just then, a vast voice echoed across the sky:
"Remaining participants: forty-eight. Battlefield shrinking by fifty percent."
The voice sounded like Shen Yi's, magnified to resound across the forest.
Even as the words rang in their ears, the scenery around them warped and twisted. In the next instant, everything snapped back into clarity—but they had been relocated to a different place.
Half an hour in, and already shrinking the field?
Nan Fusheng immediately noticed: in front of him, a crowd had appeared.
At forty meters ahead was a seven-person squad, none other than Luo Guixing's team—the same group that had once tried inviting Forth Woll. Xu Xiaoyan was also among them.
On the far left was a three-person team: Tang Wulin's group.
On the left front, a lone female student stood—it was Wu Siduo!
On the right front were two unfamiliar male students.
In this suddenly compressed space, more than ten people appeared at once.
"Forth Woll!"
The first to act was Wu Siduo. She charged straight toward Nan Fusheng and Forth Woll's position, her four purple soul rings glowing—thousand-year rings, every one of them!
"…This is your fault."
Nan Fusheng turned to Forth Woll helplessly. Clearly, her earlier provocative words had done the trick: Wu Siduo was ignoring every other threat and going straight for them.
Yet by logic, the most dangerous should have been Luo Guixing's seven-man team.
History had proven it: three-person squads, five-person squads, and seven-person squads all had their uses, but seven was the optimal number—balanced between offense and defense without being unwieldy.
So in this situation, everyone should've been joining forces against Luo Guixing's team. Instead, Wu Siduo abandoned that choice and charged them instead.
"Hmph. Just a little kitten. Watch me wipe them all out."
Fourth Woll snorted dismissively at Nan Fusheng's comment.
On the other side, Luo Guixing reacted quickly. He barked, "Clear the field!"
At his command, the vanguard of his team—a shield-bearing youth—charged directly at the two closest students. Instantly, the entire seven-man squad moved in unison, speed swift, formation flawless.
"Should we run?" Tang Wulin asked Yang Nianxia.
But Yang Nianxia shook his head. "No need. This is a good chance."
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward Forth Woll's position.
Is he planning to attack her together with Wu Siduo?!
The thought flashed across Tang Wulin's mind. He immediately gave chase. He didn't care much about Forth Woll's life or death—but just now, he'd seen clearly: his good brother Nan Fusheng was with her.
So he had to check if Nan Fusheng needed backup.
But when he arrived, what he saw was Nan Fusheng standing behind Forth Woll, gesturing wildly at him.
It was one of their long-practiced hand signals from years of team life. The meaning was clear: Run. Quickly. RUN!
Tang Wulin's instincts sharpened immediately. He didn't know why Nan Fusheng was signaling that, but when it came to his brother, he never doubted.
Without hesitation, Tang Wulin spun on his heel and dashed toward Gu Yue's direction. His lips shaped the words: Run, quick!
Seeing his mouth movements, Gu Yue instantly turned as well, sprinting away without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Wu Siduo lunged at Forth Woll—
But Forth Woll didn't even look at her. She casually flung a shimmering lotus behind her.
A Five-Colored Lotus.
Beautiful on the surface—but Wu Siduo's pupils shrank. Her skin prickled with instinctive terror.
If I touch that, I'll die. Absolutely die!
Her sixth sense screamed danger. Without a thought, her first soul ring flared.
"First Soul Skill—Nether Stab!"
But this time, she didn't use it to attack. She used it to boost her speed—
to escape.
Her body blurred, darting away with even more explosive velocity than her charge.
Yang Nianxia, seeing Wu Siduo suddenly retreat, instantly felt something was wrong. He opened his mouth to call out—
But before he could, a shadow streaked past him. It was Wu Siduo, fleeing in panic.
The next second—
The Five-Colored Lotus bloomed.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
There was no deafening explosion.
Only the expansion of five-colored dissolving light, devouring everything it touched. The very air trembled, producing an eerie resonant hum.
At ground zero stood Yang Nianxia.
He took the full force of the Five Elements Divine Light at point-blank range. His body disintegrated instantly, eliminated without resistance. Even the mighty defense of the Darkgold Bear martial soul was as fragile as paper before that light.
The brilliance spread further and further, consuming everything in its radius.
When the light finally faded, what remained before everyone was a massive circular crater—five meters deep and over fifty meters wide.
Perfectly smooth, as though the very land itself had been erased.