"Come on!"
Zhao Mu stood firmly in the center of the training grounds, his eyes locked on Zhu Meng. His Heavenly Halberd rested in his grip, its blade gleaming faintly under the light. There was no fear in his expression—only calm focus.
But just as he prepared to move, Zhao Mu's eyes narrowed.
He noticed something unusual.
Streams of Spiritual Power began to circulate around Zhu Meng's body, glowing with a faint blue aura. The energy swirled violently, growing denser with every second.
"I won't underestimate you, Zhao Mu," Zhu Meng said in a low, rumbling voice. "I know you're strong."
"So I'll defeat you using my strongest form!"
The next moment, his body began to change.
Dark brown fur rapidly spread across the backs of his hands and along his face. His muscles swelled visibly beneath his clothes. Bones cracked and shifted as his frame expanded upward.
Zhu Meng had already been over six feet tall, but now he grew past two meters, towering over everyone nearby.
His fingers lengthened, nails sharpening into curved claws. Even the broad saber in his hand looked smaller now.
A savage aura radiated from him.
The transformed Zhu Meng resembled a king among beasts.
Someone in the crowd gasped.
"That's Spirit Power Specialization!"
"He's a Beast Transformation user!"
After awakening their abilities, Spirit Power Users could develop along different paths depending on their innate traits.
There were Beast Transformation types, Nature types, Psychic types, Support types, and rare Special Trait users.
Zhao Mu's demonic clown ability belonged to the Special Trait category—something so unusual it wasn't even in the official database.
But Zhu Meng's Beast Transformation ability was far more direct.
It granted him the form, instincts, and physical might of a powerful beast.
Users of this path were terrifying in close combat.
They were born killing machines.
Even Shao Han, who usually carried himself with confidence, stared at Zhu Meng with caution.
"He's developed this far already?"
Zhu Meng flexed his transformed fingers and nodded in satisfaction.
Then he raised his saber toward Zhao Mu.
"Are you ready?"
The surprise in Zhao Mu's eyes faded.
He spun his Heavenly Halberd once, the blade humming through the air.
"Fight."
Zhu Meng moved instantly.
His leg muscles bulged, then exploded with force.
Boom!
Despite his enlarged frame, he charged with shocking speed, blasting forward like a cannonball. The sheer momentum kicked up a violent gust across the field.
Many trainees instinctively stepped backward.
But Zhao Mu did not dodge.
He did not retreat.
His breathing slowed.
His heart became still.
In battle, clarity of mind was everything. A calm heart allowed the body to attack and defend without hesitation.
He tightened his grip.
"Hegemon's Formation-Breaking Halberd."
His voice was soft, almost a whisper.
Then he swung.
The massive halberd carved through the air in a sweeping arc.
During this period of nonstop training, Zhao Mu's mastery of the technique had reached a terrifying level.
Proficiency: 182
For an Intermediate Combat Technique, ordinary Spirit Power Users would need three to five years of relentless effort to reach such a level.
Even the most gifted geniuses would need over a year.
But Zhao Mu was different.
His progress was measurable.
Every strike, every repetition, every battle increased his mastery like numbers climbing on a screen.
And now, that accumulated skill exploded in one motion.
Blue Spiritual Power surged along the halberd—
Then shifted into a dark blood-red glow.
A sharp killing intent burst outward.
The spectators shivered.
Zhu Meng's eyes flashed.
As a lion-form Beast Transformation user, he had no intention of yielding in a contest of raw power.
The king of beasts never stepped back.
With a roar, he raised his broad saber and met Zhao Mu head-on.
His Level 8 Spirit Power erupted in full force.
He intended to crush Zhao Mu in one blow.
The two heavy weapons collided.
CLANG!!
The sound rang like a bell struck by thunder.
At the moment of impact, Spiritual Power burst outward in a violent shockwave.
Dust rose from the earth.
Loose stones skittered across the ground.
Many trainees were forced backward several meters.
Only stronger fighters such as Mo Guanguan and Shao Han remained standing in place.
To retreat now would be admitting they could not withstand the pressure.
At the center of the collision, both Zhao Mu and Zhu Meng changed expression.
"This guy is strong!"
The same thought flashed through both minds.
Zhu Meng stared in disbelief.
His Spiritual Power reserves were more than double Zhao Mu's.
Yet in a direct clash, he had gained no advantage at all.
Worse, the hands gripping his saber felt numb.
"What kind of monster is this?"
"Is he a human-shaped feral beast?"
He could not understand the gap in control between them.
So he assumed Zhao Mu was relying purely on monstrous physical strength.
But Zhao Mu's surprise ran deeper.
Zhu Meng was the strongest opponent he had ever faced.
At Lujiang City No. 12 Middle School, Zhu Meng had long been acknowledged as the strongest student.
He possessed B-rank talent.
Combat Level 8 cultivation.
And since childhood, he had trained under his father, Zhu Wei, master of the Lion Hall.
Their family discipline was infamous.
Its intensity rivaled military camps.
On top of that, Zhu Meng cultivated his family's inherited Intermediate Combat Technique—
Beast King's Wrath.
Strong talent.
A perfect foundation.
Years of training.
An aggressive combat style.
Everything about him marked him as elite.
Even after entering Qingfeng Camp, where geniuses gathered, Zhu Meng still believed he would eventually surpass them all.
Yet today—
A boy with E-rank talent stood before him and forced him to fight seriously.
Zhu Meng slowly grinned.
"Good!"
Zhao Mu grinned back.
At last, he had found someone who could survive one of his halberd strikes.
"Again!"
Without another word, the two charged.
Clash of Kings
The distance between them was barely three meters.
Heavenly Halberd against Broad Saber.
Steel against steel.
Spirit against Spirit.
They crashed together again and again, each exchange louder than the last.
Clang!
Bang!
Boom!
Every collision sent air currents blasting outward.
Dust swirled violently around them.
The spectators were forced farther and farther back.
No one wanted to miss the battle, yet no one could get too close.
Zhao Mu's Hegemon's Formation-Breaking Halberd was fierce and direct, every strike carrying crushing momentum.
Zhu Meng's Beast King's Wrath was savage and explosive, using overwhelming force mixed with beastlike instinct.
Neither of them had reached the Dou Ya Rank long enough to fully unleash the power of Intermediate Combat Techniques.
Yet even the partial release of those arts was enough to leave the crowd speechless.
Watching from the sidelines, Instructor Zhang Biao's expression turned serious.
"What technique is that halberd art?"
Beside him, Instructor Xie Yingxue adjusted her glasses.
"It's not in the military database."
She watched Zhao Mu carefully.
"It should be Bu Yanhuan's own creation."
Zhang Biao nodded.
"That makes sense."
As long as the technique had not been formally registered with the military, private cultivation was not forbidden.
Nearby, Shen Moran's eyes darkened with envy.
"Relying on your good master again, Zhao Mu?"
Her fists tightened quietly.
"If I had that chance…"
"I'd be far stronger than you."
Around them, ordinary trainees were stunned.
"Zhao Mu is this strong?"
"I thought he just had brute force!"
A Level 4 trainee looked utterly confused.
"Why does his Combat Level 4 feel different from mine?"
The others shared the same confusion.
They could not understand why Zhao Mu, who supposedly had weaker cultivation, fought like a monster.
Only a few instructors—and Bai Meimei—understood the truth.
Zhao Mu's control over Spiritual Power was exceptional.
Others used their energy like flowing water—wasteful, scattered, unstable.
Zhao Mu used his like solid ice.
Dense.
Sharp.
Efficient.
Though his total reserves were lower than Zhu Meng's, the actual destructive force of each strike might surpass him.
Rising Fury
Back in the arena, Zhu Meng's breathing grew heavier.
His beast blood boiled.
He had expected victory.
Instead, he was being matched.
Strike after strike.
Blow after blow.
His pride as the king of beasts was beginning to burn.
A low growl escaped his throat.
Blue Spiritual Power surged more violently around his body.
The lion aura behind him seemed to roar at the heavens.
Zhao Mu saw it clearly.
Zhu Meng was no longer testing him.
The true Beast King's Wrath…
Was about to begin.
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