Out on the field, the silver-haired boy was still locked in a staring contest with the creature. When it had first headbutted him, he had screamed himself hoarse, convinced he was about to die. But as the moments passed and he realised he was being shoved around without so much as a scratch on him, his screaming gradually subsided.
He cracked one eye open and found himself staring directly into the creature's round eyes. Whether it was his imagination or not, he could have sworn he caught a flicker of confusion in its gaze.
"What... what exactly is going on?" the silver-haired boy said, bewildered.
The mutant rat seemed to realise its headbutting had produced neither fear nor respect. It paused to consider this, then opened its mouth wide, flashing a set of sharp, gleaming teeth at the sunlight.
"AAAH!"
The silver-haired boy squeezed his eyes shut again and screamed.
"Oh, to hell with you!"
At that moment, a figure appeared at almost invisible speed. The person launched a flying kick and sent the mutant rat hurtling through the air.
*THUD!*
The creature hit the ground hard, skidding several meters before coming to a stop. It shook its head, looking noticeably dazed.
"Nicely done, Zhang Yu! I had no idea you were hiding that kind of strength." Chen Hao called out, having appeared beside them at some point without anyone noticing, clapping as he watched.
"Of course. Everything I've eaten these past few days wasn't for nothing." Zhang Yu replied, rolling his shoulders, then turned to face the remaining creatures with a challenging look.
"A few rats daring to cause trouble at our school. Clearly you don't think much of humans."
"Back off now, and I'll pretend none of this happened. But if you press forward, I'll turn this world upside down!"
He raised a hand and pointed at the creatures, his voice ringing out with authority. It had absolutely no effect whatsoever.
The mutant rats exchanged a glance, then surged forward as one and immediately pinned Zhang Yu to the ground.
"Hey, hey, hey! Where's your sense of fair play!"
"If you've got any spine, fight me one on one! Ganging up on me with a pack of rats is just pathetic!"
Zhang Yu struggled helplessly against the pile of creatures. After a brief and futile resistance, he was pinned flat and could do nothing but shout from the ground.
"Zhi zhi!"
The mutant rats seemed to understand him perfectly. They let out a chorus of squeaks that sounded unmistakably like laughter at his expense.
"AAAH!"
Zhang Yu let out a thoroughly miserable cry. The creatures weren't actually hurting him, but being buried under a heap of things larger than himself was its own kind of suffering.
"Well, see you around."
After watching Zhang Yu's ordeal for a moment with obvious enjoyment, Chen Hao gave a cheerful wave and turned to leave without any hesitation.
"..."
Ye Xuan hadn't expected that in the end, it would be Zhang Yu and Chen Hao who actually stepped up.
Even though Chen Hao appeared to have done nothing and ultimately just walked away, with his Hawkeye ability, there was no chance he hadn't noticed that the creatures had no intention of genuinely harming Zhang Yu.
Chen Hao was simply treating his best friend's suffering as personal entertainment.
But was there really no one else?
In a school this large, with this many students, were there truly only three ability users?
Or were the others deliberately choosing not to show themselves?
If so, they had remarkable restraint.
Ye Xuan looked around. After confirming that no one else intended to act, he stepped forward.
"AAAHHH!" Zhang Yu was still hollering.
Right at that moment, a streak of light cut through the air, followed by a soft whistle.
*CRACK!*
With a sharp, clean impact, every mutant rat piled on top of Zhang Yu was sent flying and crashed hard to the ground, squeaking in pain.
Zhang Yu blinked, then scrambled to his feet and dusted off his clothes with a baffled expression.
"What just happened?"
Ye Xuan stood beside him, calmly drawing back the scabbard he had just sent spinning through the air.
"Nothing in particular."
Zhang Yu looked at the mutant rats struggling to get up, then looked at Ye Xuan's composed expression. A thought took shape.
"Did you awaken an ability?"
"You could say that. Though I think you might want to make a bolder guess than that." Ye Xuan replied with a faint smile, glancing sideways at him.
"Bolder?"
Zhang Yu looked confused. Ye Xuan turned his gaze to the field at large, his tone unhurried.
"At this point, I don't think there's much reason to keep pretending this is a real test, is there?"
"It's been obvious from the start. Even the ones who want to stay hidden have known that all along."
"If you want to keep the act going, these rats are going to end up actually dead."
He didn't know whether the creatures were genuine mutants or summoned beings belonging to someone who had awakened a summoning-type ability or obtained a cross-dimensional treasure. The intelligence and restraint they had shown was impossible for ordinary mutant creatures.
An earthquake that barely registered as magnitude three. Mutant rats that were clearly pulling their attacks. All of it was far too deliberate. This was obviously a way of drawing out students who might be concealing their abilities.
That wasn't an unreasonable thing to do. Not everyone was eager to be noticed.
Parents would be overjoyed to learn their child had awakened an ability, seeing it as a path into a government department. But the students themselves didn't necessarily share that feeling.
People who were cautious, level-headed, and modest were perfectly capable of suppressing every urge to stand out.
At their age, it might be too much to expect them to kill that urge entirely, but at least they would save it for a genuine crisis rather than something as transparently staged as this.
The mutant rats fought their way back to their feet. The pupils of their round eyes gleamed with a reddish light, fixed sharply on Ye Xuan. A moment later, all the Spiritual Energy in their bodies erupted at once. Faint patterns surfaced across their blue-green fur, and their speed multiplied, sending them charging straight at him.
"Ah. I see."
Ye Xuan gave a small nod. He raised the Wangquan sword slowly. Along the blade, golden light suddenly blazed to life, as though the morning sun itself had risen from the edge of the sword. The brilliance was blinding, forcing everyone around to shield their eyes.
In the air above, invisible sword energy began to gather, pulling at the Spiritual Energy from the sky and the earth as though the blade were drawing the whole world into itself. Before the sword light was even released, the air around it had grown dense and heavy, as though time itself had paused at this single moment.
*HMMMMM!*
A deep hum resonated across the field. Ye Xuan swung the Wangquan sword with full force.
In an instant, a magnificent arc of golden light tore across the sky, as though it meant to split heaven and earth in two. Wherever the light passed, the ground cracked and stones flew. Visible fractures appeared in the air itself, as though the very fabric of space had been cleaved by the strike.
*SHRING!*
When the sword light met the mutant rats, there was no resistance whatsoever. The light passed through them without slowing. Crimson bloomed in the air like flowers opening, then vanished instantly, consumed by the trailing force of the sword light.
Several of the mutant rats didn't even have time to cry out. They were swallowed by the light and reduced to ash.
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