Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The Confrontation Between the Fierce Tiger and the Pack of Wolves
"Attack!" The squad leader in the distance, his eyes filled with determination, made a decisive decision and waved his hand forward.
He was utterly shocked and full of admiration for Liam's ability to cause such a disturbance.
However, this is a test, a competition!
To fight and even win against someone of such unimaginable strength—Liam's current state must not be good!
Strike while he's down and finish him off!
Although there was some risk, he knew his team wasn't the only one eyeing this opportunity. He could sense familiar presences not far behind him.
Clearly, Liam was both a fierce tiger and a fat lamb.
And many had their eyes on this lamb.
Liam hovered in the air, feeling discomfort in his organs, but he wasn't gravely injured.
Adjusting his body midair, he found himself about three stories high.
"Why can't I fly even with superpowers?" Liam couldn't help but complain internally as he once again used his usual method—creating an ice pillar, wrapping it with energy chains to cushion the fall, and slowly landing.
"Cough, cough..."
Covering his mouth, he let out a violent cough.
When he lifted his hand, there were only a few traces of blood, not much.
This was a good sign—if he had actually coughed up blood, it would have meant his internal organs were seriously damaged, which would have been a big problem.
In his current state, although he looked quite battered, at least he wasn't paralyzed. He was just overly exhausted, drained to the limit.
Holding his waist with both hands, he stretched hard and muttered to himself, "Ugh... feels like my body is drained..."
"How did a fight put me into such a 'sage mode'?"
He chuckled lightly and stepped forward, looking at the huge crater ahead.
The original lake had disappeared, and lying in the center was a massive "Divine Core"!
This Divine Core was ridiculously large, and unlike the single-colored ones Liam had collected before, it was multicolored.
Liam's sharp eyes immediately noticed several thumb-sized, earth-colored crystals on it.
Those were part of the Divine Core from the sand entity, which he had thrown out earlier to attract the water spirits.
In the previous breakout, he had realized that the water spirits were not after his wristband but the Divine Cores on him, so he threw a portion as bait.
"Wow! So many colors, this must have gathered a lot of other 'Divine Cores' from this secret realm."
"With this, I should be set..."
Liam thought to himself and was about to collect his spoils when something unexpected happened!
His expression changed; without even looking, he flicked his energy chain like a steel whip.
Snap!
The chain's speed was so fast it caused a sonic boom. Liam didn't hold back at all with this strike.
"Ah!"
Along with the sound of the whip came a painful scream, and the ground squirmed as a figure burst out.
His back was now a mess of torn flesh; Liam's strike nearly knocked him unconscious, but he gritted his teeth, threw a ball of condensed earth, and quickly retreated.
Buzz! Boom!
A massive ice shield instantly formed, shattering the incoming earth ball. Even in his nearly depleted state, Liam's defense wasn't breached by this attack.
But Liam's brows didn't relax. His ability to hear the voices of all things told him there were many people around.
During the previous battle, he had focused all his attention on the lake, even blocking out the sounds of the water spirits, unaware of those plotting against him.
He had even turned off his ability to hear the voices of all things after the battle ended.
Dodging his head to avoid a fireball, Liam's energy chain flashed again, binding and pulling down the female student who had launched the fireball.
But before he could exert his strength, attacks from all directions came at him, bombarding him from all sides!
Some he dodged, others he blocked with his shield, and with cold air surging in his hands, he instantly froze a student who tried to get close.
Relying on a shadow clone, the assassin quickly jumped back, looking at the now-empty ice sculpture with a face full of fear. This one ambush had nearly cost him his life!
Soon, the storm of attacks ended. Such fierce and unreserved attacks left Liam scrambling, barely keeping up.
After stabilizing his position, he looked up again, only to find the giant Divine Core had disappeared.
In front of him, dozens of meters away, stood a large group of students, all with their abilities fully activated, staring at him like tigers eyeing their prey.
Liam's face was grim as he scanned each of their faces, his brows furrowed.
The scene resembled a pack of wolves surrounding a fierce tiger!
"Twenty-two of you, are you all so united?"
"We're not united, but because of you, we decided to temporarily come together," said a black-clad, buzz-cut student, staring at Liam warily.
Liam glanced at each of them, suddenly feeling the absurdity of it all.
So this is what competition and looting here are like?
Isn't the hidden meaning behind this test a bit too dark? Should this really be the kind of education an 'academy' provides?
Among them, he recognized a few familiar faces.
Those who had been with Liu Peng, the ones who initially targeted him—it made sense that they would try to steal his prize.
But when his eyes landed on other unfamiliar faces, he spoke, "You people, I don't think we know each other, nor have we had any conflicts."
Despite his question, no one answered. They all remained silent, their eyes locked on Liam, who was surrounded.
"Alright, no need for pleasantries then. Let's get this over with!"
Liam stopped wasting words, stomping hard on the ground. Ice spread out as a menacing frost armor covered his body. The ice staff reappeared in his hands, and eight energy chains swayed behind him, exuding a terrifying aura.
At this moment, the scene looked as if Liam himself were the final boss of this secret realm.
But the twenty-two students surrounding him had no intention of fighting. Without any communication, they all made the same decision.
Retreat!
Everyone quickly withdrew, scattering in different directions, disappearing from Liam's sight in an instant.
They had initially banded together to take down Liam.
But after the brief exchange, they truly realized Liam's combat strength.
—A tiger, even wounded, is still a tiger!
If they had really fought, they might have exhausted Liam to death, but they would have suffered significant losses.
Their alliance was purely for profit, with weak team cohesion—no one wanted to be the sacrificial lamb.
So, having stolen a Divine Core far beyond their expectations, they all made what they believed was the smartest choice—back off! No more fighting!
Liam watched the students who had taken his spoils rapidly disappear into the distance, then slowly crouched down, head lowered, looking dejected.
But no one saw that his face wasn't filled with despair or sadness, but rather a calm expression, as if he was contemplating something.
Weekly Power Status
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