...

As Gui Zian cursed under his breath in the viewing hall, out on the desert battlefield, Hua Youque—who’d just taken a boot to the face—was doing the exact same thing.

As for Gao Neng...

He wasn’t thinking about any of that.

’Isn’t it just a one-on-four? I can take out one person with a single Half-Step Kill, so I can kill all four in two steps. Although, so far, no one’s actually shed any blood on this battlefield.’

’But it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?’

Gao Neng’s momentum was unstoppable. After landing two successful hits, he chased after Hua Youque and began hacking away at him wildly.

"Sisters, go!" Ling Feiyan could finally take it no longer. If this kept up, Hua Youque might actually get hacked to death—something she had never even considered possible before.

A Tier Three Mid Stage expert being chased and hacked at by a Tier One Late Stage fighter?

If they hadn’t seen it with their own eyes...

...no one would have believed it!

But whether they believed it or not didn’t matter anymore.

Under Ling Feiyan’s lead, the two other female team members charged swiftly toward Gao Neng.

A true one-on-four.

Gao Neng didn’t hold back, ready to cut down anyone who came at him.

Steam continuously jetted from his arms, releasing waves of heat. He used the momentum to leap up in an 89-degree parabola, soaring over Ling Feiyan’s head.

"Behold, my Inverted Hook Bright Moon!" Ling Feiyan also wielded a longsword, her body and arms covered in a layer of cyan armor.

As for this so-called "Inverted Hook Bright Moon"...

Gao Neng didn’t quite understand it at first glance.

He just felt that Ling Feiyan’s combat technique was quite flashy. It looked like she was waving her sword around to form a flower-like shape.

Then, he struck down with a Half-Step Kill.

BOOM!

Ling Feiyan was struck so hard she was driven into the sand.

Gao Neng followed up by bringing his foot down hard on her head.

"AARGH!" Ling Feiyan let out a miserable shriek as she was driven headfirst into the ground like a carrot, her mouth likely filling with sand.

Of course, as he was stomping on Ling Feiyan, the other two female team members arrived, one on his left and one on his right, both wielding short daggers.

They fought with the close-quarters style of an assassin.

SHIING!

A gash was cut into Gao Neng’s leg.

Then, he felt an electric current surge through him, starting from his feet and shooting straight to his head, leaving him with a tingling, numbing sensation.

’Ling Feiyan can use electricity?’

BOOM!

A loud bang.

Ling Feiyan burst out from the sand.

Her body was wreathed in electricity.

’She really can use electricity!’ Gao Neng reacted instantly, grabbing Ling Feiyan’s calf.

The color drained from Ling Feiyan’s face!

’You were just electrocuted!’

’How can you move so quickly?’

’Are you hacking?!’

’This isn’t scientific! It’s not fair!’ 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Of course, these feelings were quickly replaced by shock.

Because, just as Gao Neng grabbed her calf, a black monster burst out of the sand, its two gleaming scythes swinging out to either side.

SHIING!

The two female team members were forced back.

And then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The monster’s body latched directly onto Gao Neng’s back. Then, its two hind legs kicked off, taking both Gao Neng and Ling Feiyan with it...

BOOM!

...and burrowing into the sand.

’A combination technique, Earth Escape Kill. Never seen that before, have you?’ Gao Neng sneered inwardly, holding Ling Feiyan in an iron grip. He ignored her screams and ruthlessly dragged her down into the sand.

Ling Feiyan was indeed screaming.

But the more she screamed, the more sand poured into her mouth.

Then, she felt two hands groping all over her body, moving from her legs up to her throat before clamping down hard.

"Mmph! Mmph!" Tears were about to stream from Ling Feiyan’s eyes.

Dying like this...

...was truly agonizing.

Above on the desert surface, by the time Hua Youque rushed over, it was already too late.

All that was left was a sand pit that had yet to fully collapse. As for Ling Feiyan and Gao Neng, they had vanished, having burrowed completely into the sand.

"Captain Feiyan was dragged into the sand?!"

"That monster can do that...?"

"..."

The two female team members were utterly horrified.

Being dragged into the sand and then forcefully killed—it was something they had never seen before.

"Gao Neng, let go of my Feiyan! If you’ve got the guts, come at me!" Hua Youque roared. He wanted to charge in and save her, but the problem was, he couldn’t burrow into the sand.

He could only claw frantically at the sand with his bare hands.

One minute.

Two minutes.

A human figure and a monster burst out of the sand.

As for Ling Feiyan...

...she was gone.

"Gao Neng, you’re shameless!" Hua Youque seethed with rage.

"Shameless? What are you talking about? I took on the four of you by myself and, while surrounded, openly captured and killed your captain. What’s so shameless about that?" Gao Neng blinked.

’It’s a one-on-four.’

’Are you telling me I’m not even allowed to use my abilities?’

"..."

The two female team members were silent.

Gao Neng was telling the truth. It was indeed a one-on-four. If anything could be called shameless, it was only that he had performed the kill on Ling Feiyan under the sand.

But did that really count as shameless?

"Aargh, I’ll kill you!" Hua Youque charged forward, ignoring his injuries.

But Gao Neng, once again latched onto by the super Earth Dragon, simply dove headfirst back into the sand.

After that, the scene descended into chaos.

Another female team member’s leg was grabbed, and she was forcibly dragged into the sand.

"Aah, you shameless beast... Let me go! Sob..."

Crying?

It was useless!

Even though this was the Virtual Battlefield, Gao Neng’s mindset was completely serious. He always treated practice as a real battle, so he didn’t care one bit whether you cried or not.

After dragging her into the sand, Gao Neng used the same old routine.

He felt his way up her body, all the way to her neck.

Then, he choked her to death!

...

In the viewing hall.

The once-calm students were now in an uproar.

"That’s too cruel!"

"How could he use such methods on a girl?!"

"This isn’t a real battlefield. Does he have to be so brutal?"

The students were indignant.

Meanwhile, the eyes of Song Tianyun, Gui Zian, and the others flickered. Listening to the surrounding discussions, their expressions gradually turned grim.

’A reform is truly needed.’

The students of the four major military academies were supposed to be among the Human Alliance’s most elite future combatants. Yet now, their words made Song Tianyun and the others feel deeply ashamed.

Cruel?!

If this was called cruel, what did that make a real battlefield?!

This was still the Virtual Battlefield.

A virtual battlefield where no one actually died...

If these students were thrown into a real warzone, what would the outcome be? Song Tianyun and the others couldn’t even bear to imagine it.

"All of you, shut up!" an instructor from the War Academy stood up.

"..."

The viewing hall fell silent once more.

"You are all students of a military academy. You should understand the cruelty of the battlefield. The training room is for practice, yes, but it is also a battlefield!" the instructor said, furious. He then glanced at Song Tianyun.

"..."

The students fell silent, not understanding why this instructor had suddenly become so enraged.

"As long as it can kill the enemy, you use whatever means are effective! Besides, Gao Neng used the ’Earth Dragon’ to execute an underground attack. This is his own ability. What’s cruel or not cruel about it?

"The difference between men and women? What a joke! If you encounter a woman on the battlefield, are you not going to kill her? If you don’t kill them, they will kill you!

"Students, this is a military academy! The Eastern Capital Military Academy, one of the Alliance’s four great military academies! Since you chose to enter a military academy, you must be prepared to face the battlefield in the future!

"There is no such thing as cruelty, only life and death! Do you understand?!" The instructor’s gaze swept over the new and old students, his tone incredibly stern.

"Understood!" Although some students still seemed unconvinced, their military academy training showed. Their reply was thunderous.

"Teacher Qin, thank you for your trouble." Song Tianyun glanced at the instructor who had spoken and nodded. As the principal, some things were not appropriate for him to say.

"It was my duty." Teacher Qin said no more and sat down.

The atmosphere in the hall grew somewhat oppressive.

No student dared to curse Gao Neng’s hunting methods anymore. Everyone truly settled down to watch this hunt of a challenge match.

On the screen.

Right under Hua Youque’s nose, Gao Neng once again dragged a female team member into the sand.

"A triple kill!"

"He’s only Tier One Late Stage, but he got a triple kill. He’s so strong!"

"It’s not just a triple kill... He might actually be able to pull off a 1v4. Hua Youque is already injured. Is he really no match for Gao Neng?"

"What about his energy consumption? You have to factor that in, right? Gao Neng killed three people and used energy materialization. All that energy use has to be taken into account, doesn’t it?"

"That makes sense..."

Once the students calmed down, they began to see things more clearly.

At this moment, they truly felt Gao Neng’s power. He had already surpassed the vast majority of the senior students, making them feel ashamed of their own abilities.

"It looks like Gao Neng has taught these senior students a harsh lesson today." Wang Qixing smiled. A first-year freshman had managed to stir up the entire Eastern Capital Military Academy. Even he was a little shaken.

"It’s not enough. They need a deeper understanding of what a real battlefield is like!" Song Tianyun shook his head, his gaze turning to the silent Shen Fei. "Division Commander Shen, when does the Military Department want to begin?"

"The sooner, the better. Time waits for no one," Shen Fei replied, his eyes fixed on the screen.

"What about the other military academies?"

"They’ve already started. The reform begins with the military academies. Those are the orders from above. After the military academies, it will be rolled out to other universities, as well as those reclusive clans and sects that rarely show themselves!" Shen Fei glanced around, then conjured an Energy Barrier and spoke in a low voice.

"Understood. Since it’s the Military Department’s proposal, the military academies should naturally take the lead!" Song Tianyun nodded. If the military academies were going first, then the four great academies had to set an example.

The Eastern Capital Military Academy.

Absolutely could not fall behind.

...

On the desert battlefield.

When Gao Neng emerged from the sand again, he could feel a severe lack of energy. His red magnetic core was almost completely depleted.

"We’ve lost..." Hua Youque’s face was deathly pale. He was beyond anger now, feeling only humiliation and despair. "But the Flying Swan Team will not be defeated by you alone, no matter what! Your energy consumption is too great. You’re as good as dead!"