Chapter 90 - 89: Snatching Food from the Tiger’s Mouth

Chapter 90: Chapter 89: Snatching Food from the Tiger’s Mouth

Ji Zhixing swam forward silently, keeping close to the riverbed. His breaststroke movements made almost no sound underwater, leaving only faint currents stirred by his kicking legs. His eyes were glued to the battlefield above, observing everyone’s position and movements.

Although the Red-Scaled Blood Beast was ferocious, it was gradually losing its strength under the siege of over a dozen Genius Class students. Covered in wounds, its fresh blood dyed the surrounding bloody water an even darker shade. Its movements were slowing down; every swipe of its claws and lash of its tail lacked the power they once had.

"Almost there..." Ji Zhixing calculated the distance in his mind. He was less than twenty meters away from the cave. Meanwhile, the battle above had reached a fever pitch.

"I wonder if I can snatch the prize right from under their noses," Ji Zhixing thought to himself as he approached via breaststroke. He was self-aware enough to know that he was currently no match for these Genius Class students. His only advantage was his ability to swim underwater while remaining completely undetected.

He continued to swim forward, drawing closer and closer to the cave. Ten meters. Eight meters. Five meters...

Just then, the Red-Scaled Blood Beast let out a deafening roar. It swiped a claw outward, sending an approaching Genius Class student flying. Controlled by the white-clad teacher and knowing it was backed into a corner, the Red-Scaled Blood Beast no longer guarded the cave entrance. Instead, after swatting away the student, it lunged forward and charged at another Genius Class student. Its speed was astonishing. The massive body churned up huge waves in the water, sending bloody spray flying in all directions. The student hastily retreated, but the Red-Scaled Blood Beast was too fast. In the blink of an eye, it closed the distance, opening its gaping, bloodstained maw to bite him.

"Now is the time!" A sharp glint flashed in Ji Zhixing’s eyes. The Red-Scaled Blood Beast’s charge had completely exposed the cave entrance. Although it was only for a split second, it was enough.

Ji Zhixing kicked his legs fiercely, shooting out from under the water like a loose arrow. SPLASH! His body traced an arc through the air as he dove toward the cave.

"Someone’s there!"

"There’s someone underwater!"

The Genius Class students on the shore noticed the sudden anomaly and looked up. Gu Zheng also looked over, his pupils shrinking violently.

"Ji Zhixing!" He recognized the figure, a flash of fury igniting in his eyes. It was happening again!

"Stop him!" someone shouted. Several attacks hurtled toward Ji Zhixing. But his appearance was far too sudden. With a burst of acceleration, he tumbled straight into the cave.

The interior of the cave sloped downward, so once Ji Zhixing was inside, the people outside could no longer see him. After rushing in, his gaze rapidly swept his surroundings.

The cave was quite spacious, covering a good twenty to thirty square meters. The floor was paved with crushed gravel and mud, and a thick, rancid stench permeated the air. This was very likely the lair of the Red-Scaled Blood Beast. The bones of unknown Blood Beasts were scattered in the corners; some had already turned black, clearly having been there for a long time.

Five silver-white Tokens lay quietly on a flat rock, emitting a faint glow in the dim cave. The Tokens were small, only about the size of a palm, and engraved with complex patterns. Ji Zhixing did not hesitate. He stepped forward and grabbed all five Tokens. They felt slightly heavy, a cold sensation seeping into his palm.

"Five of them..." he quickly calculated in his mind. "If I take them all, those people outside will definitely chase me like madmen. By myself, it’s impossible to escape from over a dozen Genius Class students.

"I wouldn’t even be able to charge my way out.

"If I rush out now, they’ll absolutely focus all their fire on me.

"I have to toss some out and let them fight over it themselves."

With a plan in mind, he took out three Weapon Orders, grabbed a handful of gravel from the ground, and mixed the Tokens in with the stones.

"I’m giving them to you! I only want one!" he shouted toward the outside of the cave, then forcefully hurled the mixed gravel and Tokens outward. The three silver-white Tokens, hidden among the flying stones, shot out in different directions.

Outside the cave, the Genius Class students were dodging the Red-Scaled Blood Beast’s attacks while keeping their eyes locked on the cave entrance, waiting for Ji Zhixing to emerge.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a cluster of objects flew out of the cave, scattering through the air.

"The Weapon Orders!" A sharp-eyed student immediately spotted the silver-white glow mixed in with the gravel, his eyes lighting up. One of the Tokens was flying right in his direction. He instantly sprang into motion, darting toward the Token.

"It’s mine!" Just then, another person rushed over, reaching out to grab the same Token.

"In your dreams!" Seeing this, several people attacked simultaneously. Some swung their swords at the outstretched hand, while others unleashed their abilities at the Token, refusing to let anyone easily claim the prize.

In an instant, the area descended into utter chaos. There were those fighting over the Weapon Orders, creating a chaotic display of flashing blades and colliding abilities that produced incessant booming sounds. There were also those dodging the Red-Scaled Blood Beast’s lethal pounces. Even though the Blood Beast was heavily wounded, its ferocity remained undiminished as it frantically attacked anyone in sight.

"There’s one here too!" Someone else spotted another Token and immediately dashed toward it.

The three Tokens Ji Zhixing threw spun through the air, falling in different directions and successfully drawing away the attention of most of the Genius Class students. However, there were still some who did not go after the Weapon Orders.

Gu Zheng stood frozen in place, his gaze firmly locked on the cave entrance. From the moment he saw Ji Zhixing, he abandoned all other thoughts. In his eyes, there was only Ji Zhixing. The Weapon Orders were important, but at this moment, driving Ji Zhixing out of the Blood Beast Secret Realm to avenge his past humiliation was far more critical to him.

"Last time in the Otherworldly Secret Realm, I let him escape. This time, he actually dares to show his face in front of me!" Gu Zheng tightly gripped his silver longsword. A faint silver light surfaced on the blade as his Genetic Source Power began to surge.

Not far away, several other Genius Class students remained unmoving. They, too, clearly had their sights set on Ji Zhixing.

"Interesting. A Regular Class student actually dares to snatch things from our hands," a slender boy said, crossing his arms with a faint smile on his lips. "He’s got a lot of nerve."

"He won’t get away," another person said indifferently. "There are no other exits inside the cave. The moment he comes out, he’s dead."

Of course, it wouldn’t literally mean death, but he would undoubtedly be expelled from the secret realm by them. As for the Weapon Orders... they were specially made by the academy and possessed spatial interference properties, meaning they couldn’t be stored inside a Genetic Furnace. Therefore, the Tokens would eventually end up in their hands anyway.

"Next up is a tough battle," Ji Zhixing muttered, taking a deep breath inside the cave. He knew there would definitely be people waiting outside for him. Gu Zheng, in particular, would never let this opportunity pass.

"Boulder Physique." With a single thought, he activated the Boulder Physique at full power. A grayish-white keratinous layer rapidly emerged from beneath his skin, covering his entire body like a thick suit of Rock Armor. Compared to when he was at Tier 1, the Rock Armor on his body was visibly much more solid and dense.

"Gigantification!" With another thought, his body began to rapidly shoot upward. One point eight meters... Two meters... Two point two meters... Two point five meters... Two point seven meters!

His bones CRACKED as his muscles bulged and expanded. Thanks to the effects of the Golden Chapter, his clothes grew proportionally, clinging tightly to his towering frame. He took out the Tide Listening Rod and infused it with his Genetic Source Power, causing the two-meter-long staff to abruptly expand to over three meters.

"Divine Staff Mastery..." Clenching the staff tightly, he could clearly feel that his connection with the weapon was much closer than before. It felt as if the staff had become an extension of his own will.

"Charge!" Without further hesitation, he slightly bent his body, explosively pushed off with his legs, and rushed straight for the cave entrance. The massive, three-meter-long staff dragged behind him, carving a deep groove into the cave floor.

"He’s coming out!" Outside the cave, one of the Genius Class students waiting for Ji Zhixing immediately shouted upon seeing a figure appear at the entrance.

"Wait, what is..." When Ji Zhixing’s gigantified figure charged out of the cave, the few people waiting outside all revealed expressions of profound shock.

A towering height of two point seven meters, wielding a massive staff over three meters long, and covered entirely in grayish-white Rock Armor—he looked incredibly domineering and formidable.

"What kind of ability is this?"

"Gigantification?"

"Interesting. For a Regular Class student to actually possess such an imposing aura!" A flash of surprise crossed everyone’s eyes.

"Sever!" Right at that moment, Gu Zheng made his move. With a soft shout, he slashed forward with his silver longsword. The blade was snow-white, its sword light arcing like a rainbow.

From over ten meters away, he instantly unleashed a barrage of over a dozen sword lights. Those sword lights fanned out like a peacock’s tail, overwhelmingly enveloping Ji Zhixing. Every single beam was incredibly fierce, carrying a bone-piercing chill.

"Break for me!" Ji Zhixing bellowed, directly sweeping his three-meter-long Tide Listening Rod horizontally forward. With indomitable momentum, the long staff smashed into the incoming sword lights.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Staff and sword light collided, emitting dense rings of clashing metal and sending strings of sparks flying.

Some of the sword lights were struck squarely by him, instantly shattering and dissipating. However, the trajectories of a few other sword lights were highly unpredictable; they slashed from unexpected angles, bypassing his long staff.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Several sword lights cleaved into Ji Zhixing’s body, instantly slicing through the stone skin and striking the flesh and blood underneath. Blood splattered.

Ji Zhixing grunted, feeling streaks of burning pain across his body. Yet he didn’t stop his footsteps—he didn’t even slow down.

"Good... it’s not fatal," he quickly assessed in his mind. The Defense Power of the four-star Boulder Physique was stronger than he had imagined. Although the sword lights broke through his stone skin, their power had been mostly depleted by the time they reached his flesh, leaving only superficial wounds.

"Truly powerful!" he marveled internally. If he had been just a bit weaker, Gu Zheng’s sword strike would have likely cut him into several pieces.

"Is this the power of a Tier 4 Morning Star gene?" But he had no time to dwell on it. He had already charged out of the cave and withstood Gu Zheng’s attack. The next step was to leave this place as quickly as possible.

SPLASH!

Without a moment’s hesitation, he leaped right out, plunging into the Blood River below. Water splashed violently as his figure vanished into the dark red river.