On the Sports Field, the Silver-haired Boy was still staring eyeball-to-eyeball with that "Mutated Rat." When the "Mutated Rat" first nudged him, he had been shouting, thinking he was going to die, but as time passed and he realized he was only being nudged around without even breaking the skin, he gradually stopped shouting.
He tried to open his eyes and his gaze met the "Mutated Rat's" eyes. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but he actually saw a hint of confusion in the "Mutated Rat's" eyes.
"What—what is going on here?" The Silver-haired Boy looked utterly bewildered.
The "Mutated Rat" seemed to realize that what it was doing had no deterrent effect, so it thought for a moment, opened its large mouth, and its sharp teeth glittered with a sharp Light under the sun.
"Ah—!"
The Silver-haired Boy closed his eyes and screamed again.
"Get lost!"
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared, moving so fast it was almost invisible. A person delivered an aerial kick, sending the "Mutated Rat" flying away.
"Bang!"
The "Mutated Rat" slammed heavily onto the ground, sliding several meters before stopping. It shook its head, seemingly a bit dazed.
"Well done, Zhang Yu, I didn't expect you to have this capability."
Chen Hao appeared beside the two of them at some point. Seeing Zhang Yu's kick, he couldn't help but clap and say so.
"Of course, the food I've eaten these past few days wasn't for nothing."
Zhang Yu said, stretching his shoulders, then looked at the other few "Mutated Rats," his tone carrying a hint of provocation.
"A few mere rats dare to run rampant in our school. I see you don't put us Humans in your eyes at all."
"Retreat now, and I can pretend nothing happened; if you advance further, it will be catastrophic!"
He raised his hand, pointing at those "Mutated Rats," his voice loud, but it was completely useless.
Those few "Mutated Rats" glanced at each other, then quickly rushed forward, pinning Zhang Yu to the ground.
"Hey, hey! You guys don't fight fair!"
"If you have the guts, fight me one-on-one! What's the point of a whole pack of rats ganging up on me!"
Zhang Yu's fists were no match for four hands. After a brief struggle, he was pinned down and unable to move, only able to shout on the ground.
"Squeak—"
The "Mutated Rats" seemed to understand his words, letting out a few squeaks, as if mocking his overestimation of his own abilities.
"Ah—!"
Zhang Yu let out a piercing scream. Although those "Mutated Rats" weren't actually harming him, being pinned down by a group of creatures larger than himself would make anyone uncomfortable.
"Bye-bye."
After watching Zhang Yu being tormented for a while, Chen Hao waved his hand and turned to run away without hesitation.
"."
Ye Xuan hadn't expected that the ones who would finally step up would be Zhang Yu and Chen Hao.
Although Chen Hao seemed to do nothing and also turned to leave without hesitation in the end, with his "Eagle Eye" Special Ability, how could he not have noticed that those few "Mutated Rats" had no intention of actually harming Zhang Yu.
He was just enjoying his good brother's amusement.
"However, is there no one else?"
"In this huge school, with so many students, are there only three Ability Users?"
"Or are they still unwilling to reveal themselves until now?"
"Then they certainly have a lot of patience."
Ye Xuan glanced around and, seeing that indeed no one intended to intervene, slowly walked forward.
Zhang Yu was still shouting, "Ah, ah, ah!"
Just then, a streak of light flashed by, and a faint sound of air being pierced echoed in the air.
"Bang—!"
Accompanied by a crisp sound, all the "Mutated Rats" surrounding Zhang Yu were sent flying, slamming heavily onto the ground, letting out a few pained "squeaks."
Zhang Yu froze for a moment, then scrambled up from the ground, dusting himself off, his face blank.
"What happened?"
Ye Xuan stood beside him, recalling the Sword Scabbard spinning in the air, his tone calm.
"Nothing happened."
Zhang Yu looked at the Mutated Rats struggling to get up on the ground, then looked at the calm Ye Xuan, and a guess surfaced in his mind:
"You Awakened an Ability?"
"Sort of, but I think you can guess a bit bolder."
Ye Xuan glanced at him and said with a light smile.
"Bolder?"
Zhang Yu looked somewhat confused, while Ye Xuan looked around at this moment, his tone indifferent:
"It's already reached this stage; there's no need to keep testing, right?"
"The display was so obvious, anyone who wanted to hide it would have already seen through it."
"If you want to continue, these few rats are going to die."
Ye Xuan didn't know if these "Mutated Rats" were genuine Mutated Creatures or summons obtained by someone who Awakened a summoning-type Special Ability or acquired Treasures of the Heavens. To possess such Spirituality and strength, normal Mutated Creatures could never achieve it.
Just a level three earthquake, and the calculated restraint shown by the few Mutated Rats clearly indicated they were trying to see if any of the students were hiding their true strength.
This was not impossible; not everyone liked showing off in front of others.
For parents, they would be happy if their child Awakened an Ability and even had the potential to join a national department, but that wasn't necessarily true for the students themselves.
Cautious, steady, and secretive—those who wish to hide themselves can restrain all desires.
Perhaps at their age, the urge to "show off" is unavoidable, but at the very least, it should be during a real crisis, not such an obviously staged pretense.
Those few "Mutated Rats" struggled to rise, a hint of Scarlet flashed in their black pupils, and their eyes stared fixedly at Ye Xuan. The next second, their entire bodies surged with Spiritual Power, faint textures appeared on their pale green fur, and their speed increased several times over as they charged straight toward Ye Xuan!
"Is that so? I understand."
Ye Xuan nodded slightly, slowly raising the Wang Quan Sword in his hand. Golden Light suddenly erupted from the blade, as if a rising sun was emerging from the sword's edge. The dazzling Light forced everyone to close their eyes.
In the air, invisible Sword Qi began to gather, as if the Spiritual Energy between heaven and earth was being drawn by this single strike. Before the Sword Light even appeared, the surrounding air had become viscous, as if time itself had frozen at that moment.
"Buzz—!"
A Sword Cry echoed through heaven and earth, and the Wang Quan Sword in Ye Xuan's hand slashed down fiercely.
In an instant, a brilliant Golden Sword Light tore through the sky, seemingly splitting heaven and earth in two. Wherever the Sword Light passed, the ground cracked, gravel flew, and visible fissures even appeared in the air, as if space itself had been cleaved open by this strike.
"Swish!"
The moment the Sword Light collided with the "Mutated Rats," it passed through their bodies without any resistance, easily penetrating them. Scarlet Red blood bloomed in the air like a blossoming blood-colored flower, only to instantly evaporate under the residual force of the Sword Light.
The few "Mutated Rats" were consumed by the Sword Light and turned to dust before they could even let out a scream.