Translator: CinderTL
[Beauty's Inquiry: When facing an opponent or teammate of the opposite gender, attack speed increases by 35%, and damage dealt has a 50% chance to be doubled.]
Jiang Ye's current punching speed is 1.35 times his normal rate.
He can now throw one extra punch per second!
It might not seem like much, but over ten seconds, that's ten additional punches, and the cumulative damage is substantial.
In just three or four seconds, Jiang Ye, like a pile driver, had already thrown over a dozen punches.
Each punch carried nearly 600 kilograms of force!
"Roar!"
The humanoid shadow's face caved in from the relentless assault. With a final roar, its form vanished.
Whoosh!
It hadn't fled; instead, it swiftly possessed the shadows of Tao Xiaogang and the others.
The Shadow Clan possesses high intelligence.
Realizing Jiang Ye was a formidable opponent, it decisively chose to eliminate the others first.
"Roar!"
The humanoid shadow roared, its voice seeming to disrupt the mind. Everyone present felt their heads go numb, their ears ringing.
"Watch out!" Jiang Ye shouted.
He was the first to regain his senses, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
Even in their Infant Form, Shadow Clan members far surpass ordinary humans in speed. They can teleport through shadows, making their movements unpredictable and elusive.
This is one of the reasons why the Shadow Clan is so difficult to combat.
The instant Jiang Ye finished speaking, the pitch-black phantom reappeared, lunging at Xia Qing with claws bared.
"Die!"
Xia Qing was no pushover. With a fierce shout, she slammed her fist into the phantom's body.
But her strike proved far less effective than Jiang Ye's.
Fortunately, Tao Xiaogang and the others quickly joined the fray, each displaying their unique skills as they swarmed the Infant Form Shadow Clan member.
Ordinary weapons—swords, spears, guns, even firearms—struggled to inflict substantial damage on the Shadow Clan.
Conversely, human fists posed a genuine threat to these beings.
This is because the human body generates a peculiar 'magnetic field' capable of repelling malevolent spirits.
Cosmic martial artists harness Cosmic Energy to amplify this magnetic field. Once activated, they can wield specialized weapons that inflict even greater harm on the Shadow Clan.
Those who haven't achieved their first breakthrough, however, must rely solely on their fists.
"Die!"
Jiang Ye and the others converged, relentlessly attacking the phantom.
Though only in its weakest Infant Form, the five of them struggled immensely against the shadow.
Each time the phantom roared, it left them dizzy and unsteady on their feet.
Fortunately, the roars had little effect on Jiang Ye, allowing him to warn the others in time. Without his timely warnings, they would have been severely injured long ago.
Roar!
Another deafening roar shook the virtual space.
This time, Jiang Ye was too late to warn them.
Crunch!
One of them had his arm bitten off, blood spurting everywhere as he screamed in agony.
"Li Xuan!"
"Are you okay?!"
Tao Xiaogang's face paled. The intense battle had made him almost forget they were in a virtual world.
"These damn Shadow Clan bastards have too much vitality!"
Their stamina was limited, but the Shadow Clan seemed to possess endless energy. Worse still, their thick hides made them nearly impossible to kill.
Considering this was a five-on-one fight, facing one alone would be unimaginable.
"It's almost finished!" Jiang Ye shouted, his voice ringing with determination. "Let's finish it off together!"
The humanoid phantom's form twisted and distorted like a melting popsicle, struggling to maintain its shape.
This is a sign of weakness!
"Attack together!" Jiang Ye roared, channeling all his strength into a single, devastating punch.
In that instant, a surge of intuition struck him, sensing that this punch would carry far greater power than usual.
50% damage boost!
After fighting through the entire round, it finally triggered?
Jiang Ye had no time to ponder. His fist slammed into the shadow's head with brutal force.
Boom!
The punch shattered the shadow, causing liquid-like darkness to splatter in all directions.
Yet the shadow still possessed residual energy. Its form flickered, then vanished once more.
The next moment, it reappeared behind Li Xuan, its shadow merging with his own, clearly aiming for a mutual annihilation.
Fortunately, Tao Xiaogang reacted swiftly, delivering a sweeping kick that severed the shadow's head from its body.
"Finally dead," Tao Xiaogang exhaled heavily.
"The Shadow Clan... they're incredibly tenacious," Jiang Ye said, his expression grim.
It was fortunate this was only a virtual world. In reality, the danger would be far greater.
Just then...
Whoosh!
From the shadows nearby, three more humanoid figures materialized.
Each stood at 1.5 meters tall, the lowest-tier Infant Form.
But this time, there were three of them!
"Second stage," the group murmured, their expressions hardening.
The Virtual Cosmos assessment resembled a game of stages.
The first stage had featured a single Shadow Clan member.
The second stage now presented three!
The third stage would likely have five!
The further they progressed, the greater the numbers would become.
"Don't let your guard down! Let's push through the second stage!" Jiang Ye urged.
"Right," Tao Xiaogang and the others replied, their eyes fixed on Jiang Ye, their leader.
While Jiang Ye's team was locked in fierce combat, the other teams were similarly engaged in their own battles.
In one virtual space, Xu Sisi led her four teammates against three Shadow Clan phantoms.
Three members of her team had already been injured, two of them having lost an arm. The team's combat strength had been severely diminished.
Only Xu Sisi retained her peak fighting ability, but even she couldn't hold out much longer.
Hold on! Xu Sisi gritted her teeth. You're your parents' only hope. You have to get into the twenty-five school alliance and buy them a two-hundred-square-meter house!
You can't fall here.
If you can't even secure second place, how can you dream of first place or the twenty-five school alliance?!
Kill!
Fueled by her unwavering will, Xu Sisi unleashed astonishing combat power.
Thwack!
Her fist pierced through the head of one phantom, but simultaneously, the Shadow Clan tore apart her left arm.
Xu Sisi gritted her teeth and charged toward her next target.
In another virtual space,
Boom!
Li Zhichao annihilated the third phantom, blood dripping from his body. He was critically injured, his situation dire.
But when he glanced back, he saw his four teammates pinned to the ground, being brutally beaten by a phantom.
Li Zhichao was about to rush back to provide support when a deafening roar erupted. He clutched his ears in agony as the world spun around him.
It was the roar of the Shadow Clan, capable of disrupting minds and inducing madness!
Taking advantage of his disorientation, a shadowy figure flashed past and struck him with a palm strike.
In the metal hall, Zhang Jianwu stood with his arms crossed, watching the rankings scroll across the massive screen.
"Zhao Qingli has already reached 700 points? Unbelievable," he murmured.
"I remember when she enrolled in high school, her talent wasn't among the top tier. But if she maintains this momentum, she might have a chance at getting into one of the Top Ten Elite Schools next year."
Ancheng Third High School wasn't the city's best.
It rarely produced students who made it into the Top Ten Elite Schools.
Even Ancheng No. 1 High School, the city's top school, only managed one or two such students each year.
Ancheng was, after all, a small city.
Zhang Jianwu's gaze flickered as he shifted his attention to Jiang Ye's position.
"This student does show some potential. Perhaps there's a slim chance he could get into the twenty-five school alliance next year. For Miss Chen's sake, let's give him a trial opportunity."
As he pondered, a young man approached.
"Director Zhang, are you interested in any of the students here?" the young man asked with a smile.
Zhang Jianwu turned to look. The young man was Wang Zi'ang, a student from the Elite Class and currently ranked third in the grade for the final exams.
Wang Zi'ang glanced around the hall, his curiosity piqued. "I only see students from the regular classes here."
Zhang Jianwu clasped his hands behind his back. "Never underestimate anyone. Strong contenders have emerged from the regular classes before. Last year, one student transferred from a regular class to the Elite Class and then placed within the top fifty in the College Entrance Examination."
Wang Zi'ang didn't argue, but sighed. "Such cases are rare. Most of us, including myself, are just average." He sighed repeatedly, acting as if he were hopelessly mediocre.
Zhang Jianwu shot him a sharp look. "Cut the act. You're ranked third in the grade—stop playing coy with me. Focus on surpassing those two girls ahead of you first."
Wang Zi'ang fell silent. "I already said I'm average. Where's the act?"
Zhang Jianwu snorted coldly, refusing to respond further. He knew this kid was always putting on airs. Now that he'd reached third place, he might feign humility, but his nose was practically touching the heavens.
By now, most of Class Nine's students had completed their assessments. The top-ranked students were gradually exiting the Virtual Cosmos. The grade rankings on the giant screen shifted once more.
(End of the Chapter)
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