CHAPTER 111: CHAPTER 111: THE CHASE_1

Wang Zhan observed her cautiously, quickly raising his hands in surrender. "OH, OH, my apologies for the mistake just now. I’m sorry, ma’am! By the way, my name is Wang Zhan, and I’m from Chu State Military Academy."

"What! You dared to call me an aunt! You’re doomed, I’m telling you, you’re absolutely doomed!"

Yuan Mengru was so furious she felt like smoke was about to pour from her ears. She was a beautiful young lady, after all!

In fact, Wang Zhan felt a pang of regret the moment the words left his mouth. Damn my mouth! Don’t I know that women dread facing their actual age more than anything?

Wait a minute...

She was livid, but her teammates, still clear-headed, exchanged several glances.

At that, a female classmate with a rather delicate face quickly grabbed Yuan Mengru’s sleeve. Just as Yuan Mengru was about to explode, the classmate whispered a reminder.

"Big Sis! That’s Wang Zhan! The Wang Zhan from Chu State Military Academy! The one who stole your spotlight, the one who forced out the Royal Martial Arts Academy, the Wang Zhan who’s leading us by thousands of points!"

"Of course, I know he’s Wang Zhan, from Chu State Military Academy... Wait a minute!"

The enraged Yuan Mengru finally regained her senses.

"Aha! So it’s you, you wretched boy! What are we waiting for? Get him! Knock him out of the battlefield, and first place will be ours!"

Saying this, she practically bounced with excitement, her eyes gleaming with a fervent, almost greedy light.

She immediately rushed forward, activating all her Essence Energy and mental energy, and shouted, "You wretched boy, prepare to die! First place in this competition is mine! WAHAHAHA!"

Wang Zhan was bewildered.

What in the world is going on? Which academy are you from? Just say it. If you don’t, how am I supposed to know if I even want to fight you? Besides, even if you did tell me, I still wouldn’t want to fight. There’s nothing in it for me.

However, Yuan Mengru was too reckless, and her teammates too slow to react. This created a major opening for Wang Zhan; their lack of coordination meant they couldn’t provide her any support.

Wang Zhan immediately took a small step aside, dodging Yuan Mengru’s attack, which was clearly empowered by mental energy. Then, his palm snaked behind her, clenched into a fist, and he roared, "Military Way Killing Fist!"

"Don’t!"

Just as Wang Zhan was about to strike, Yuan Mengru would undoubtedly be severely injured, if not killed.

Fortunately, her teammate’s shout—"Don’t!"—made Wang Zhan instantly realize this wasn’t a life-or-death duel. Yuan Mengru wasn’t a beast; she was human.

He hastily retracted his power, his fist morphing into a palm, and slapped Yuan Mengru, sending her sprawling with a mouthful of mud and fallen leaves.

Then, he seized her by the neck and lifted her up, using her as a human shield.

"Don’t move!"

"PTUI..."

Yuan Mengru hastily spat the mud from her mouth.

A moment ago, Wang Zhan’s fist had nearly scared her to death. The potent killing intent it carried felt like a mental storm.

However, Wang Zhan was actually holding her by the neck! She immediately struggled, demanding, "Let go of me, you jerk! Are you really asking for death, daring to treat me like this?"

"Shut up!" Wang Zhan snapped, then looked at the others. "Send out someone who can actually talk sense and whose words carry some weight."

Everyone looked at Yuan Mengru in unison. Her face turned pale, then flushed crimson.

I... who am I? Where am I? I feel like I’m going to die...

Fortunately, her best friend came to her aid. The delicate-looking girl who had reminded her earlier quickly stepped forward.

"Junior Brother Wang Zhan, my name is Xi Yingying. We’re all from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy..."

Wang Zhan frowned slightly, finally piecing things together. So, these were his rivals. But he also knew that Wang Tianyi, the Dean of Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, had nearly come to blows with Edward over him. Thinking of this, he immediately loosened his grip on Yuan Mengru slightly.

"So that’s it. But you can’t blame me. What’s wrong with this woman, anyway? Attacking me with that Bastard Fist right off the bat."

Yuan Mengru wished she could bury her head in the dirt.

Whatever, it’s none of my business. I’m just an adorable little lamb...

"She’s not usually like this. Maybe... maybe she’s been under a lot of pressure lately. Junior Brother Wang Zhan, could you please put her down first?" Xi Yingying asked cautiously, extremely mindful of her Big Sis’s mood.

Wang Zhan was noncommittal. "In a bit. I’ll definitely let her go after I leave. Look, I’m not trying to be critical, but you all should be more careful in this Death Forest. If you go around shouting like that and attract an upper-class Soldier-level beast, you’ll definitely bite off more than you can chew."

No matter what, they were all part of the Human Race. Furthermore, Wang Zhan believed that humanity’s elite shouldn’t be wasted in internal strife.

This only deepened his aversion to the Original Organization.

"It’s... it’s none of your business!" Yuan Mengru mumbled. Though she didn’t dare move, her face was still etched with defiance. Xi Yingying and the others could only manage wry smiles.

Their Big Sis had well and truly been outmaneuvered by Wang Zhan. They’d never seen her like this. Usually, she was so composed, it seemed she would remain unfazed even if the sky itself were falling.

Wang Zhan had no time for her antics and continued his warning. "Also, remember this: besides upper-class Soldier-level beasts, there are also General-level beasts here. If you notice anything unusual, you’d better flee immediately, or you won’t even be able to save your own lives. That’s all. I have things to do. I’m leaving."

After earnestly advising them as if they were his own clan members, Wang Zhan tossed Yuan Mengru into Xi Yingying’s arms and turned to leave.

Yao Yao was still waiting. She didn’t particularly enjoy such scenes. When Wang Zhan emerged, she said with a hint of reproach, "She’s a girl too. Don’t you think you were a bit too harsh?"

Wang Zhan felt helpless. "What else could I do? Just stand there and let her attack me? Let’s go, quickly. I suspect our position has been compromised. Members of the Original Organization are definitely on their way."

Even if Yao Yao hadn’t said anything, Wang Zhan was already keenly aware of the danger he was in.

The Original Organization might hesitate to kill students from Yanjing Academy, but they would absolutely dare to kill him—a minor figure with no powerful backing. Not even Liu Zhenfeng or Lv Zhenglong could protect him.

As for Yun Tianyi? Forget it. A dead genius is worthless, less valuable than toilet paper.

As expected.

At the very moment Wang Zhan encountered the team from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy, in a Death Battlefield roughly a hundred kilometers away...

"We’ve found him!"

A figure in black hastily extracted data from the large screen in front of him.

Who would have imagined that a vast experimental base of the Original Organization, teeming with personnel, was hidden beneath the Death Battlefield?

Yuan Shisan, who was in his office analyzing Wang Zhan’s movements with his researchers, shot up from his seat and roared upon receiving the news, "Move out!"

This time, he absolutely could not let that little ant slip through his fingers again.

"Yes, sir!"

Instantly, at least ten imposing figures in black, their auras potent, appeared silently behind Yuan Shisan.

Judging by their auras alone, they were almost identical to the three Martial General level experts in black whom Yao Yao had encountered earlier.

Evidently, this was a team of Martial Generals, yet they were being dispatched to deal with Wang Zhan—a true case of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, sparing no effort.

In the blink of an eye, however, a line of eerie figures appeared in the Death Forest, which was already a chaotic battlefield. They advanced rapidly.

They ignored the human soldiers and frenzied beasts they occasionally encountered. However, any who dared to challenge them quickly became fodder for massive creatures.

「Ao City.」

Returning to the moment Wang Zhan and Yuan Mengru had met.

In the short span of a dozen breaths, the faint smile that had been playing on Yun Tianyi’s lips slowly stiffened.

Edward, however, burst into laughter, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Not bad, not bad at all! Someone who should have been commanding from the rear foolishly rushed to the front and got herself captured! I didn’t see that coming, old man. The ’genius’ you nurtured is truly eye-opening!"

As his words fell, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

But after Wang Zhan showed mercy and then patiently advised those youngsters...

Yun Tianyi’s eyebrow twitched slightly, his expression relaxing once more. He said leisurely, "It’s simple: if your skills are inferior, you accept defeat. Honor the wager. It’s certainly better than some people who claim to concede while secretly waiting to stab you in the back."

But Yun Tianyi still had a slight headache.

What in the world was wrong with this girl? She used to remain as steady as a mountain even during a massive Beast Tide, and she’d even fought on the Star War Battlefield. Why couldn’t she keep her composure when faced with this damned kid, Wang Zhan?

Yuan Mengru, still fuming about how she’d foolishly become Wang Zhan’s captive, had no idea that Yun Tianyi, that old fox, had already set his sights on her, pondering how to teach her a lesson in caution.

But before the two could trade more barbs, and shortly after Wang Zhan’s image appeared on their screens, a message flashed onto their personal terminals like a bolt of lightning.

The next moment, these two old men, who had been calmly observing from the rear, shot to their feet, their expressions changing drastically as they began to curse.

"Damn it all! Do they really think that just because someone is protecting them, no one will dare to touch them?!"

Even Edward’s face turned exceptionally grim, radiating an overwhelming killing intent.

"Request instructions from the higher-ups! They’ve intervened. This year’s Martial Arts Academy competition is bound to see many unexpected developments. Whatever happens, we must guarantee the students’ safety."

However, the response they received made both of them slam their fists on their chairs in anger, instantly reducing two perfectly good chairs to kindling.

This terrified the three referees, who were supposed to be officiating. Instead, they had been forced to sit silently on the sidelines, now wondering in trepidation what new disaster had struck.

Yun Tianyi said, his face devoid of expression, "Since those bigwigs in the Federation insist on protecting them and refuse to let us act, then let the military handle it."

For the Human Race, the death of any genius was an unacceptable loss.

This catastrophe-prone race should belong to itself, not be pawns in some despicable factional squabble.

Edward looked at him deeply, then nodded. "Alright! I’ll join you in this madness. Let’s see how those bigwigs in the Federation react."

Following that, they both contacted their old superiors, clearly stating their demands.

The Original Organization is running rampant; the military must intervene! Otherwise, if any genius dies in this competition today, the Human Race could lose a future Martial General—or an even greater talent!

As members of the Federation, they were supposed to trust it. Yet, they ended up personally contacting the military.

This demonstrated just how disillusioned they were with the Federation’s high-level officials who protected the Original Organization. It caused the scales of their loyalty to tip towards an uncertain, distant path.