The white–silver light did not co from the heavens.
It descended.
Controlled.asured.Absolute.
The mont it touched the battlefield, the island itself seed to recoil.
Bai Qianlan and Ouyang Xue’er lifted their heads at the sa ti.
So did Long Hao.
So did Ling Yifan—despite barely being conscious.
A figure stood in midair.
Not floating.
Not hovering.
Standing.
As if the sky itself had hardened beneath his feet, forming an invisible platform that existed solely to bear his presence.
His robe fluttered gently, pristine and untouched by blood, dust, or destruction. The wind bent around him rather than touching him.
His eyes were calm.
Not kind.
Not cruel.
Just... unmoved.
In his hand hovered a silver-white spirit plate, thin and radiant, spinning slowly in a perfect orbit. It humd softly—not with power, but with authority, like a law waiting to be enforced.
This was not a weapon.
This was a verdict.
VICE-DEAN RUI JIN
"Students," the man said, his voice even and unhurried, carrying effortlessly across the ruined battlefield.
"I apologize."
The King-tier ape felt it.
The mont the sound reached its ears, its massive body stiffened.
Its berserk rage shattered instantly.
Instinct—older than thought—scread inside it.
RUN.
It staggered back a step.
Then another.
Its breathing turned erratic. Its pupils shrank violently.
This was not prey.
This was not an enemy.
This was death given form.
"I arrived later than I should have," Rui Jin continued, his gaze sweeping across the devastation.
The shattered earth.The blood-soaked ground.The students who had gone far beyond what they should ever have been asked to endure.
For the briefest mont, sothing softened in his eyes.
Then it vanished.
"But from this point on..."
The silver plate in his hand reshaped itself.
Edges sharpened with surgical precision.
Light condensed, folding inward again and again until it ford a radiant silver blade, so thin it almost didn’t exist—yet so sharp it seed to cut the world simply by being present.
"...this ends."
The King-tier ape scread.
Not a roar.
A shrill, panicked cry.
It turned.
And ran.
Ten ters tall.
Ancient muscle.
King-tier dominance.
And it fled.
The ground shattered beneath its frantic steps as it tried to escape, arms flailing, breath coming in broken gasps. Its berserk state collapsed into raw, animal terror.
Chen Wulian, lying half-buried in shattered stone, stared.
"...It’s scared," he muttered hoarsely.
Bai Qianlan’s lips trembled.
"A King-tier... scared?"
Ouyang Xue’er clenched her fists, frost flickering unconsciously around her feet.
"...It understands," she whispered."...It knows what he is."
Ling Yifan felt it too.
That pressure.
That presence.
Even through broken ribs and fading consciousness, his heart pounded.
"...Vice-Dean... Rui Jin," he whispered.
Relief crept into his chest.
We’re saved.
Long Hao’s pupils shrank to pinpoints.
So this... is the level above us.
Inside him, the Eclipse System went completely silent.
No warnings.No calculations.No probabilities.
Just—
Submission.
The King-tier ape reached the forest edge.
Its massive foot slamd down—
And stopped.
Vice-Dean Rui Jin sighed softly.
"...Troubleso."
He raised his sword.
No chant.
No buildup.
No release of aura.
He did not even look directly at the monster.
Just—
A casual swing.
SHHHHH—
The blade passed through the air.
Through space.
Through distance.
Through concept.
The King-tier ape froze mid-stride.
Its shadow detached from the ground.
A thin silver line appeared across its neck.
For half a second—
Nothing happened.
Then—
FWOOOOSH.
The head slid off.
Clean.
Effortless.
Like cutting through paper.
The massive body collapsed forward, shaking the forest once... then went still.
Dead.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Even the wind stopped.
Chen Wulian stared, blood bubbling at his lips.
"...That’s... it?"
Long Hao’s chest rose and fell violently.
So even at my full power......I wasn’t even close.
Bai Qianlan swallowed hard.
"He didn’t fight it."
Ouyang Xue’er’s voice was quiet, steady—but her eyes burned.
"He decided."
Ling Yifan closed his eyes slowly.
His grip tightened weakly around his spear.
When will I be that strong...?
The thought ca unbidden.
Sharp.
Hungry.
Not envy born of jealousy.
But of aspiration.
Vice-Dean Rui Jin flicked his wrist.
The silver sword dissolved back into a radiant plate and vanished without a trace.
Only then did the oppressive pressure lift.
People collapsed imdiately.
Bai dropped to her knees, hands shaking.
Ouyang steadied herself against a broken tree.
Chen finally lost consciousness, his laughter dying in his throat.
Ling Yifan’s vision dimd completely.
As he was lifted, he heard Long Hao’s voice—strained, steady.
"Hold on."
Long Hao himself barely managed to stay upright.
Blood soaked his sleeves.
His arms trembled uncontrollably.
The Eclipse System spoke once more.
[HOST CONDITION: CRITICAL.][RECOMNDATION: IMDIATE STABILIZATION.]
For once, Long Hao didn’t argue.
Barriers snapped into place.
Golden and blue light sealed the battlefield.
Healers descended in flashes of white.
Ergency squads sward the area with military precision.
Chen was stabilized first—barely.
Ling Yifan was lifted carefully, ribs wrapped in glowing bands of reinforcent.
Long Hao stumbled—and was caught before he fell.
Vice-Dean Rui Jin personally ensured all ten students were accounted for.
Only then did he turn away.
The massive spacecraft descended, engines roaring like restrained thunder.
As the students were carried aboard, Rui Jin stood at the entrance, hands in his pockets, gaze fixed on the devastated island below.
He spoke calmly.
"Students of Azure Dragon Academy."
"This trial..."
He paused.
"...has exceeded acceptable risk paraters."
The hatch began to close.
"The trial is ended."
A beat.
"...Or rather—"
The ship lifted into the sky.
"The trial has been suspended."
Blackfang Desolation disappeared beneath the clouds.
And the island—
Would never forget the day a King-tier monster ran in fear.
[Chapter ENDS]
ANWHILE — FAR FROM THE ISLAND
The market was loud.
Vendors shouted.Children ran.Spirit screens flickered everywhere, broadcasting fragnts of the Freshman Championship.
A small girl stood in the middle of it all, hands on her hips, chin raised high.
"See? SEE?" she said loudly, pointing at the screen.
"That’s my brother!"
A few passersby glanced over.
On the screen, a replay showed Long Hao standing calmly after defeating a group of Gold-tier monsters earlier in the day.
The girl puffed her chest out proudly.
"He’s strong, right? Super strong!""He doesn’t even look tired!"
An old vendor chuckled. "They only showed him for a bit, little one."
She scowled.
"That’s because the cara people are blind," she said confidently."If they showed him more, the whole screen would break."
Her mother, standing nearby, sighed helplessly.
"Lower your voice," she said gently. "You’ll embarrass yourself."
The girl crossed her arms stubbornly.
"I’m not embarrassed," she declared."My brother is on TV."
She pointed again, grinning smugly.
"And he’s gonna be famous."
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