"Hahaha... Gao Neng, your Merit Points are mine!" Fang Tangtang cheered.

Gao Neng’s legs were currently clamped firmly around Feng Qingqing’s legs, leaving him no room to dodge. He had no choice but to forcefully extend a hand and punch the flat of the Scythe of Death’s blade.

"CLANG!"

The sound of metal striking metal rang out.

The Scythe of Death swerved, grazing past Gao Neng’s forehead.

Beads of sweat formed on Gao Neng’s forehead. If his punch had missed, or had been just a fraction of a second slower, the blade would have at least ruined his hairstyle.

’Fang Tangtang really wasn’t holding back!’

"Watch my Thunderbolt Leg!" Fang Tangtang shouted again. She was clearly prepared. As her scythe missed, she followed up with a Thunderbolt Kick.

Gao Neng had no way to dodge and took the kick straight to his chest. He was sent flying backward like a cannonball.

BAM! He slammed right into Feng Qingqing.

Feng Qingqing’s chest ached from the impact.

She let out another piercing shriek.

As for Gao Neng, his momentum carried him forward, pinning her underneath him.

Fortunately, Gao Neng landed on top of Feng Qingqing.

"Qingqing, are you alright?!" Li Qing roared. He leaped into the air, aiming a vicious stomp at Gao Neng.

"Kill him!" Feng Qingqing, seeing Li Qing make his move, coordinated perfectly. Forcibly ignoring the pain, she grabbed both of Gao Neng’s hands and held on for dear life.

’Motherfucker, I’m screwed!’ Gao Neng roared inwardly. ’If Li Qing’s stomp connects, forgetting the humiliation, I’ll have at least one or two broken ribs.’

’This Feng Qingqing...’

’She’s absolutely ruthless in a fight.’

’Not only does she go for the crotch, but she’s also willing to go for a goddamn mutual kill?’

Gao Neng couldn’t "unlock" himself through normal means anymore. Plus, with both hands pinned, he couldn’t perform a back-handed grab.

’I can only reach down!’

’And grab for dear life!’

’As for the minor detail of *what* he might grab...’

He didn’t have time to think about it!

"Ah... you degenerate!" Feng Qingqing’s expression changed drastically as he grabbed her. Her entire body trembled uncontrollably, and she subconsciously let go of his hands.

’She finally let go?!’ Gao Neng could feel the wind from the attack on his face. Li Qing’s foot was less than ten centimeters from his chest. The moment he felt Feng Qingqing’s grip loosen, he immediately rolled away.

"BOOM!"

A crater, a good three centimeters deep, appeared on the training field.

Gao Neng’s expression flickered.

’This Li Qing is no weakling. The power of that charged-up attack isn’t any less than Kong Kun’s.’

"Shameless! Handsome men are all bastards, just as I thought!" Feng Qingqing cursed. During their close-quarters fight earlier, she hadn’t said anything when Gao Neng had grabbed her... somewhere.

Mistakes were bound to happen in the heat of the moment, after all.

But that downward grope just now...

That was definitely intentional.

"She knew I was handsome and still went for the kill?" What could Gao Neng say? Feng Qingqing wasn’t holding back. If he didn’t grab down there, where else was he supposed to grab?!

He ignored Feng Qingqing’s verbal abuse.

And kept on singing!

Li Qing charged forward to attack again.

Gao Neng didn’t hold back either, lashing out with a kick.

Fist and foot collided.

Li Qing was knocked back several steps by the kick.

Meanwhile, Kong Kun, who had been repelled earlier, charged in again.

Gao Neng was truly in a world of hurt.

’Kong Kun’s strength was immense; I couldn’t push him back without using my full power. That bastard Li Qing was incredibly insidious, always looking for a chance to launch a sneak attack. And Feng Qingqing was nothing like a normal girl, pulling out everything from crotch kicks and mutual destruction tactics to rants about how all men are scum.’

’But the biggest problem was Fang Tangtang...’

’That scythe attack just now was a really close call.’

’He still had chills running down his spine thinking about it. He didn’t even know how he’d managed to land a punch on the flat of the blade.’

’This little loli was a total psycho, not one bit as innocent as she looked.’

’She wasn’t just mischievous; calling her a black-bellied schemer wouldn’t be an exaggeration!’

’These four teaming up...’

’...plus all the "Finishing Dogs" lying in wait all around.’

Gao Neng figured there was a ninety percent chance he was done for this round.

Just as he was thinking this... Kong Kun’s fist arrived.

"BAM!"

Their fists collided.

This time, Kong Kun didn’t budge, but Gao Neng used the impact to launch himself far away.

"Haha, now it’s our turn!"

"Let’s go, boys!"

"Now’s our chance to kick him while he’s down!"

The other Tier Two freshmen, who had been ready for a while, swarmed him.

"You’re forcing my hand!" Gao Neng glanced at the timer: 15 minutes and 29 seconds remaining. ’If I use ’Life Form Transformation,’ at the minimum cost of 2,000 Alliance Coins per minute, it’ll burn through at least thirty thousand Alliance Coins.’

’Thirty thousand!’

Gao Neng felt so pained by the thought that he could barely breathe.

’But if I don’t use it, I’ll be crippled, if not killed.’

’Screw it!’

With a single thought, Gao Neng activated his Iron Life Form Transformation.

’He didn’t use copper because it only increases Defense Power by 70%, whereas iron provides a 100% boost. Right now, he didn’t need resilience; he needed to be hard enough.’

「In an instant.」

Gao Neng felt his entire body become as hard as iron.

’It was super, super hard.’

"Come at me, you losers!" Gao Neng shouted, still singing, as he charged forward like a vicious wolf lunging into a pack of huskies.

"BAM!"

"BAM!"

"BAM!"

A series of loud thuds rang out.

After activating his Life Form Transformation, Gao Neng’s strength and defense increased dramatically. Against these Tier Two Early Stage freshmen, he was practically taking them down one by one with a single punch.

"Such incredible strength!" the freshmen exclaimed in shock.

"Get out of the way, I’ll handle him!" Kong Kun charged over again. Having landed a solid punch earlier, his confidence was surging back.

’I’m the number one freshman!’

’I’m not weaker than anyone!’

"Pulling up the radish!" Gao Neng practically screamed the lyric. He put every ounce of his strength into the punch he threw at Kong Kun, holding nothing back.

"BAM!"

The two fists collided.

Kong Kun’s expression changed in an instant.

The immense explosive power sent him flying before he could even react.

At least ten meters into the air.

"PTOO!"

A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Kong Kun’s mouth.

On the high platform, the four chancellors, along with the deans, vice-deans, and instructors of the various academies, were all stunned into silence by the sudden turn of events.

"That punch... it had an explosive force of at least 3,000 points!"

"I can’t believe it... That Gao Neng was actually holding back?!"

"Is the Fourth Human Limit that powerful? A Tier One Early Stage can send a Tier Two Mid Stage flying with a single punch?! Since when was the Fourth Human Limit this incredible?!"

The instructors were genuinely shaken.

Song Tianyun, however, was lost in thought. ’Gao Neng is absurdly powerful. A normal person at the Fourth Human Limit shouldn’t be this strong. This kid has other secrets.’

Of course, he didn’t voice these thoughts.

At least, he couldn’t say them now.

Down on the training field, the students were also stunned by the power Gao Neng had suddenly unleashed.

"So strong?!"

"He sent Kong Kun flying with one punch?"

"And he’s really only a Tier One Early Stage..."

The students couldn’t believe their eyes.

Gao Neng, however, had no time to worry about them. He realized that the force of his punch had completely shattered the iron energy encasing his hand.

’Pure iron really is no match for chromium-infused Alloy Steel.’

’However, speaking of alloys...’

’I think I have some of my own!’

Copper and tin could be combined to make a copper alloy.

Gao Neng knew this very well. In fact, in the ancient times before the Cataclysm, the alloy of copper and tin had an even more powerful name: Bronze.

He remembered a comic where the Bronze Warriors were total badasses, famous for being practically unkillable.

"CRACK!"

He crushed two more high-dimension capsules.

Instantly, two Alloy Bronze Gloves, formed from copper and tin, materialized over Gao Neng’s hands.

"That’s the aura of copper!"

"And tin!"

"This Gao Neng doesn’t have just two Talents, he has four! Iron, copper, tin, and phosphorus!"

The instructors on the high platform immediately realized.

The Fourth Human Limit plus four Talents... this made him a true genius.

Gao Neng, however, wasn’t paying attention to the instructors’ expressions. With his new bronze alloy gloves, his combat power had reached its current peak. After all, his silver Talent was still useless for now.

The reason was simple: he was broke...

A very practical problem.

Gao Neng scanned the area, his gaze first landing on Li Qing. ’That kid is insidious, but he’s too slippery... He’d probably just run away!’

His gaze shifted.

Gao Neng’s eyes fell on Feng Qingqing, and he charged.

"Do you really think I, Feng Qingqing, am a pushover?!" Feng Qingqing was furious. After being groped high and low by Gao Neng, she was already at her boiling point. Now that he was targeting her again, she truly lost control.

Two serpentine, flexible swords instantly appeared in her hands.

"Let me show you my Cyan Snake Swordsmanship!" Feng Qingqing’s body was incredibly flexible. Combined with the two pliant swords, she truly moved like a cyan serpent.

Everything became a blur in front of Gao Neng’s eyes.

The two flexible swords struck like vipers, one from the left and one from the right, aiming for his armpit and ankle.

’Who plays with snakes in this day and age?!’ Gao Neng snorted to himself. He had no intention of playing a game of thrust-and-parry with Feng Qingqing. With his body’s Defense Power enhanced by 100%, a mere stab wouldn’t cause any serious injury.

"CLINK! CLINK!"

Gao Neng avoided any vital spots, but two cuts still appeared on his upper arm and his foot.

Blood trickled out.

Feng Qingqing clearly hadn’t expected her two strikes to fail to pierce right through Gao Neng. In her moment of shock, Gao Neng had already seized her in a tight embrace.

The moment he embraced her, Gao Neng’s hands immediately started grabbing.

"Ah! You’re shameless!" Feng Qingqing shrieked in fury. Her legs flew up and wrapped around Gao Neng as she twisted her body, attempting a 720-degree flexible-body takedown.

But before she could even begin the flip...

...Gao Neng slammed his forehead into hers.

’Ever heard of the Iron Head Skill?!’

"THUD!"

A muffled thud echoed.

Feng Qingqing’s legs, still wrapped around Gao Neng, didn’t loosen, but she felt the world begin to spin.

"’One more for good measure!’" Gao Neng didn’t hold back.

Taking advantage of Feng Qingqing’s dazed state, he slammed his head into hers again.

’He’d knocked out even Chen Bai with this move before. There was no way Feng Qingqing’s head was harder than Chen Bai’s.’

"THUD!"

Feng Qingqing’s eyes started to roll back in her head.

The legs wrapped around Gao Neng finally went slack.

Gao Neng knew Feng Qingqing was at her limit. He pushed off with his feet, tackling her to the ground. Then, his fists rained down like a storm, pummeling the softest parts of her body.

"BAM! BAM! BAM!"

The sound was deafening, the assault utterly brutal.