We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Chapter 132 Advanced Running Skills! (...0527 is no longer able to return.)
The conference room on the top floor of the Tian Shu Building at Tian Gang Academy.

"That's fantastic! Now the children are saved!"

"Phew~, thankfully we had the Twin Space Fighter piloted by 0527 this time, otherwise it would have been really dangerous."

“Indeed.” One teacher nodded in agreement. After all, even if those martial artists were the best among the freshmen, they would probably be no match for an army of tens of thousands of undead creatures.

"Principal, I have a proposal." After a moment's thought, Zhou Yuan, the dean of the Third Academy, suddenly stood up, looked at his colleagues, and spoke with great passion:

"This time, thanks to 0527 and that twin aerospace fighter, we should not only commend 0527 after it returns, but also restart the twin program."

"Yes, we must reward 0527 handsomely. These hundred-plus martial artists are the best among this year's freshmen. Without 0527, the impact on our academy this time would have been unimaginable."

"Yes, we must reward them handsomely and invest in the Twin Project. This combat experience has proven that having an extra backup aerospace fighter is very necessary."

Several deans and teachers, including Duan Wuyai and Huang Qingqing, also expressed their opinions on Zhou Yuan's proposal, namely, they strongly supported it.

If Shen Bailian and the other prodigies die inside the trial this time, it will not be as simple as losing prodigies and the future pillars of the Great Xia Dynasty.

There are other effects as well.

For example, it could affect the subsequent enrollment of Tiangang Academy, and some people might question the rationality of the trials, criticize the school's systemic problems, and even potentially shake the foundation of the nation.

"Hahaha~" Ji Chenghu's face lit up with joy. These children were saved, and he wouldn't have to take the blame for the accident that happened during the trial. He laughed and said:

"After the children come out, I will report to the military headquarters and make sure that Comrade Zhou Xiaowei is properly commended..."

……

Boom~~
In the sky, it was like a huge steel beast roaring, firing one energy cluster cannon after another from its rudimentary muzzle.

Each blinding flash, each deafening roar, represented the turning of dozens of undead creatures into ashes.

"If the fighter jet hadn't been damaged, we would have taken you out with a single shot." Zhou Xiaowei looked out the porthole and saw the bone arrows shooting towards the fighter jet below, so he immediately increased his altitude.

After the hard landing, not only was the main engine destroyed, but the secondary engine, being a twin, was also unable to take off and attack targets due to damage to its space equipment.

However, as an excellent aerospace fighter pilot, Zhou Xiaowei naturally became an excellent fighter jet mechanic after thousands of hours of flying experience.

After more than ten minutes of patching things up from one problem to another, due to the extremely poor conditions, almost all the equipment was destroyed during the hard landing, compounded by the tight schedule.

Therefore, Zhou Xiaowei could only repair the secondary aircraft to its three main functions: takeoff, supersonic flight, and firing of a relatively weak cluster energy cannon.

Fortunately, the energy supply is plentiful, allowing for continuous firing of energy cluster cannons. If the power is insufficient, quantity will compensate. Against these weaker undead armies, it is enough to create an overwhelming situation.

……

"Hooray!!! We survived!"

"Brothers and sisters, we've all survived! We can all go home safely..."

"..."

From the moment the first energy cannon shot was fired, all the warriors recognized it as their own aerospace fighter. The joy of surviving the ordeal made everyone cheer and jump for joy.
"Xiao Li, I'll come pick you up and take you home in a bit." The short-haired martial artist from the narrow pass looked up at the top of the narrow pass, his brows relaxed, and his tightly clenched fists gradually loosened.

In order to retreat quickly, he didn't even have time to collect Xiao Li's remains, but once the fighter jet in the sky deals with the army of undead creatures here, he can go over there to find some remains.

No matter what, he had to get some of Xiao Li's remains or ashes to take home; otherwise, the short-haired martial artist would have no face to go back to his hometown and see his relatives.

Seeing the 'beautiful silhouette' constantly flying across the sky and hearing the deafening roar, Su Ruozhi would have complained under normal circumstances that this was some crudely made fighter jet from somewhere, making such a loud noise.

But right now, all he wants to say is...

That's so cool!
Not only Su Ruozhi, but the other freshmen also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with joy when they saw the fighter jets constantly firing energy cannons in the sky.

"Huh? How come there are still fighter jets available?" Suddenly, one of the tall, thin men looked at the roaring fighter jets in the sky and couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Of course, there probably won't be any area expansion this time, otherwise your smart bracelet would still be usable, right?"

"You didn't understand what I meant." The tall, thin martial artist turned his head. Despite surviving the ordeal, he showed no anger towards the stranger's words; instead, he was filled with a smile: "Didn't those divine favorites destroy the space fighters immediately?"

"I wouldn't know. Maybe the military has some new plans..."

It's not just the many newborns who survived the disaster who are happy.

Shen Bailian was the same.

However, Shen Bailian was happiest because with the reinforcements arriving, he no longer needed to consume his divine matter.

At the same time, he no longer needed to think about how to explain himself to the Heavenly Gang Academy after surviving alone.

"This time, it's fortunate that there was so much divine matter, otherwise I really wouldn't have dared to take the risk."

Shen Bailian watched the roaring space fighters, then separated a portion of his consciousness. His eyes flashed slightly, and in an instant, a illusory yet clear control panel appeared before him—

Character Level: LV7 (1633/1800)

Physical Strength: 15.7; Spirit: 10.6

Divine Skill: Shadow Follows LV1 (0/1) (Energy Storage: 2 times)
Eye of God LV1 (42/400)

[Active Skill: Running LV5 (507/1000)]

Tian Gang Qi LV2 (176/700)

Basic swordsmanship LV3 (463/700)

Basic Breathing Techniques LV2 (0/700)

Passive Skill: Iron Body LV4 (423/1300)

【Cure point: 0】

[Divine Matter: 413]

After more than half an hour of fighting, the experience points gained are as follows:
First, I gained 109 experience points for character level; 106 experience points for running skill; and 46 experience points for the skill "Heavenly Qi".

As for basic swordsmanship, because it was used the most and I was constantly in the most intense battles, I gained 80 experience points in just over half an hour.

If you practice on your own, it's basically equivalent to swinging the knife 8000 times at full power.

After upgrading the basic breathing technique, Shen Bailian stopped paying attention to it, because using the basic breathing technique in battle would only accelerate the consumption of physical and mental energy.

Finally, there's the Iron Body skill, which gained a total of 109 points due to the continuous heavy blows to the body.

Furthermore, after a fierce battle lasting more than half an hour, Shen Bailian also directly consumed five resurrection armors, and his original 913 points of divine matter were reduced to 413 points.

Of course, consuming so many resurrection armors also yields considerable benefits.

After Li Feiyu and the others retreated, Shen Bailian completely relaxed and made perfect use of the passive mechanism of the [Shadow Follows] skill.

After each resurrection, his condition would be refreshed to its most perfect moment, and then he would enter the state of Golden Purification, making it easy for him to ambush and kill several powerful 'divine priests' from behind.

After so many battles, before Li Feiyu and the others retreated, there were still 37,000 to 38,000 undead creatures. However, when Shen Bailian retreated, the number of undead creatures had decreased to less than 30,000.

"That's good." Looking at the dwindling number of undead creatures in the distance, Shen Bailian's heart immediately settled, a secret sense of relief rising within him. He thought to himself:
"Once the fighter jets have wiped out the entire army of undead, no one will know exactly how many undead I just killed."

Li Feiyu, Wang Yuxuan, and Feng Yanqiu breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the flames exploding in the distance.

They all knew that without the timely support of aerospace fighters, they would inevitably be caught in a bloody battle and find themselves in an even more dangerous situation.

Now, they can all safely leave this rocky highland and walk out of this narrow buffer zone unharmed.

At this moment, Wang Yuxuan and the other martial artists stood on the rocky high ground. They looked at their comrades who had fought side by side, smiled at each other, put their arms around each other's shoulders, and shared the joy of surviving the ordeal.

At the same time, their friendship was elevated at this moment, becoming more than just ordinary classmate camaraderie, even years after graduation.

Being able to go through such a life-or-death ordeal together and survive is a rare treasure in life. This experience will be forever engraved in their hearts and become one of the most precious memories of their lives.

however.

At this moment, Shen Bailian's Eye of God switched to extreme detection mode and looked towards the 'Divine Favor Sacrifice' several thousand meters away, but found something amiss.

His brow furrowed slightly. Something was wrong; something was definitely not right.

Those 'divine priests' were too calm. Even though disaster was imminent, they remained unmoved.

“Senior Brother.” Li Feiyu stood beside Shen Bailian. When he noticed Shen Bailian’s slightly furrowed brows, he immediately asked softly, “Did you sense something?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Yuxuan and the others froze on their smiles and looked nervously at the handsome young man with slightly furrowed brows.

They all began to pray.

After the battle at Yixiantian, Shen Bailian's extraordinary and extremely accurate perception had already spread among these people.

"In short, let's prepare for battle first." Shen Bailian took a deep breath, his expression turning serious. He had no intention of hiding anything at this point and spoke directly:

“Those ‘divinely favored’ priests are far too calm. If it were you, would you have watched the army of undead creatures be wiped out like this?”

Yes!

Like lightning cleaving through the fog, everyone was startled upon hearing this. Even if the remaining divine power of the divine priest was insufficient to unleash a domain, it was impossible for them to be completely without any countermeasures against this aerial fighter.

Otherwise, even a powerful nation like the Great Xia could not have relied on the Star Array all day long to take defensive measures.

But at this moment.

call out!call out!call out!
Dozens of massive rocks, each weighing tens of tons, were launched from the direction of the narrow passage like cannonballs, streaking across the sky with a sharp whistling sound, hurtling towards the aerial fighter jets in the firmament.

"Warning! Warning! Devastating attack detected! Devastating attack detected! Please take tactical evasive action..."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiaowei was startled. He hadn't expected the other party to have such an attack. He immediately stopped attacking the undead creatures on the ground and rapidly increased his height, climbing thousands of meters into the air.

At the same time, Shen Bailian and the others on the rocky highlands also noticed the strange phenomenon in the sky, but before they could wonder where the attack was coming from...

boom! boom! boom……

The earth suddenly began to tremble violently, and small stones on the ground bounced up, as if some war machine weighing thousands of tons was walking on the ground.

"You, you...look! What kind of monster is that?!"

Just then, the observers at the top turned deathly pale, sweat rolled down their foreheads, and as they pointed towards the narrow passage, their bodies stiffened and began to tremble violently.

Shen Bailian and the others exchanged glances for a moment, then rushed towards the higher ground without hesitation. The other martial artists did the same; they all wanted to know what the observers had seen.

Stand tall and see far.

Once they reached the top, everyone immediately turned to look towards the narrow passage between the cliffs.

boom!
Suddenly, thunder roared between heaven and earth, and blinding lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the entire dark sky and making the direction of the narrow passage clear.

In an instant, all the martial artists seemed to be frozen in place, their bodies stiffening, their breathing becoming increasingly heavy. They felt as if their hearts were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, each beat accompanied by excruciating pain.

The entire highland fell silent, with only the howling wind and the sharp, piercing sound of boulders being fired at the fighter jets remaining.

"It's over, it's over, everything is over now."

A martial artist's eyes were filled with despair and terror. His body trembled uncontrollably, and his legs had lost their strength, almost causing him to kneel on the ground.

No one stood up to condemn this behavior that was disrupting morale; there was only a silent, almost frozen silence.

A suffocating and oppressive atmosphere filled the air, making even breathing difficult.

"Congratulations, you guessed right." Qin Wuyang mechanically turned his head to look at the blond man beside him, who was already covered in sweat and spoke with a slightly dry mouth.

"I'd rather it was just my imagination." Li Feiyu took a deep breath, feeling only the aura of death, and a bitter smile involuntarily appeared on his lips:
"The blood sacrifice wasn't originally intended to summon an army of undead creatures; that guy was the divine favored priest's backup plan."

"It seems that this time, I really have to prepare for reincarnation."

Shen Bailiang glanced at the remaining 413 points of divine substance on the panel out of the corner of her eye. She hadn't expected that these divine substances would ultimately have to be used to save her life.

What did they see that made them so terrified that even Shen Bailian, Li Feiyu, Wang Yuxuan, and others gave up their last hope of survival?
boom! boom!
Amidst the booming thunder, a huge and somewhat bloated figure slowly descended from the top of the narrow passage, each step as heavy as a mountain, causing the ground beneath its feet to tremble.

The moment it appeared, it brought an unprecedented sense of oppression to this silent world.

Under the light of the lightning, as the distance closed, the majestic figure gradually revealed its true form. It was a huge elemental stone giant, standing seventy or eighty meters tall, like a towering mountain peak standing on the earth.

The stone giant's body was a deep, glossy black, wrapped in pure, bright blood lines. Its material was hard and heavy, and it was made of precious obsidian.

This is why Shen Bailian and the others were so desperate; given the combat power displayed by that fighter jet, it was unlikely to cause any damage to the stone giant.

It's like a toad trying to eat swan meat—a pipe dream.

……

Tiangang Academy, Tian Shu Building Conference Room.

"...Based on data estimation, it is difficult for the current energy cluster cannon to inflict effective damage on the elemental stone giant."

Upon hearing the data message from the quantum communication device, everyone's expression froze, and they couldn't help but sigh and reluctantly return to their seats.

"Damn it!" Cheng Shangwu slammed his fist on the table, gritting his teeth as he said, "These sons of bitches, once the resistance halo wears off, I'll grind them to dust!"

"Count me in!" Duan Wuyai continued, his once deep and serene eyes now burning with raging fury, like wildfire raging across the wasteland, filled with endless anger and discontent.

The same was true for the others. Since the communication with the Heavenly Eye had been cut off, they could only learn about the actual situation inside the Divine Ruins through Zhou Xiaowei's oral account.

First-tier elemental stone giants have many drawbacks, such as being too slow, having a huge body, and being slow to react...

In the eyes of these Sea Opening Realm or Moon Embracing Realm experts, they were just playthings; even in the eyes of Transcendent Realm warriors, they were not that difficult to deal with.

However, for Shen Bailian and other martial artists at the Life Establishment Realm, the lack of the ability to fly, coupled with the support of the undead army on the ground, was a fatal blow.

Furthermore, the Elemental Stone Giant has a shared ability: splitting. If it cannot be destroyed in one go, it can split into multiple smaller stone giants to evade attacks.

"However, it's not impossible."

Upon hearing this, Ji Chenghu and the others' previously heavy hearts were instantly ignited. Their eyes suddenly lit up, and they hurriedly turned their gaze to the quantum communication instrument, filled with anticipation and eagerness.

"What method?" Ji Chenghu's voice trembled slightly, and his heart was pounding in his chest as if it were about to break free from the restraints in his chest.

Inside the Divine Ruins.

Zhou Xiaowei piloted the fighter jet without giving a reply. Through the Luneburg lens and the gaps in the clouds, he saw the group of children below, filled with fear and on the verge of giving up. He couldn't help but feel a pang of pain in his heart.

As a father, he shouldn't have made such a decision, because he had already done the best he could, and he could have chosen to remain unconscious on the edge of the Divine Ruins.

Zhou Xiaowei could even choose to ignore it, as the small fusion energy of the fighter jet was enough to support him hovering in the sky for a month without any problem.

However, as a soldier, Zhou Xiaowei could not turn a blind eye.

"When you have the opportunity to make your own decisions, don't let yourself regret them."

As Zhou Xiaowei recalled what Uncle Li had said, his eyes shifted from confusion to hesitation, then from hesitation to determination, and finally to resolve.

"Previously, we could only fire energy cluster cannons because the muzzle, energy storage device, and launch device were damaged, so we could not demonstrate the combat capabilities of the secondary aircraft. However, there is another way to fully unleash the power of small-scale fusion energy."

"You mean to say?" Upon hearing this, Ji Chenghu's pupils contracted sharply, and a guess began to form in his mind.

“That’s right.” Zhou Xiaowei took a deep breath. As he did, the distracting thoughts in his mind dissipated like smoke, leaving only that firm voice echoing: Make a decision you won’t regret.

"Report to TG (Tiangang) Command: 0527 is unable to return. No reply required."

At the same time, Zhou Xiaowei edited a text message and sent it to the group of martial artists below. Only after seeing everyone looking up at the sky did he finally feel relieved.

Next, while maneuvering the fighter jet to climb higher, Zhou Xiaowei began to leave his last words for his family.

"Today is September 7th, and unfortunately, Dad can't..."

boom! ! !
A deep and awe-inspiring roar resounded across the sky as the massive fighter jet roared and climbed higher, but it was obscured by thick leaden clouds, and its exact destination remained unknown.

"What else is there to prepare?" A freshman stood on a high place, watching the obsidian giant approach with increasingly large strides, each step covering tens of meters. A bitter smile appeared on his lips.

The others did the same, completely disregarding Zhou Xiaowei's message to "prepare for battle." In front of that obsidian giant, the group of martial artists at the Life Establishment Realm were like ants.

However, while some gave up, there were also some martial artists who still wanted to try their best, especially Li Feiyu and other students from the Sun-level Dragon Gate Martial Arts Program.

They were unwilling to give up so easily. They still had the best years of their lives and a bright future ahead of them, but the obsidian giant that was seventy or eighty meters tall was simply beyond their ability to deal with.

"Everyone, prepare for battle! Be ready to charge at any moment!"

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in my ears.

Following the sound, everyone looked towards the source and saw that the young man at the front was gripping a long sword tightly, the blade gleaming with a chilling light. His face was expressionless, but his eyes burned with a resolute flame.

All of a sudden.

With just a simple sentence, the atmosphere of the entire team changed instantly, as if it had been ignited. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, and a surge of heroic spirit welled up in their hearts.

next moment.

The deep, powerful roar faded away in just over ten seconds.

A giant sun suddenly rose out of nowhere on the ground, flames rolled continuously, and the temperature at the very center of the explosion rose sharply, quickly exceeding 10,000, then 100,000... as if it were about to devour the entire world.

The sky became exceptionally bright at that moment, and a strong flash of light tore through the sky, illuminating everything around as if it were daytime.

The shockwave from the explosion spread outwards at an astonishing speed, instantly destroying trees and huge rocks wherever it went, and even pushing the thick leaden clouds in the sky to spread into the distance.

A little over a minute later.

A violent shockwave swept through the army of undead creatures and towards the rocky highlands. Only then did the deafening roar reach everyone's ears, as if it would shatter their eardrums.

At that moment, many freshmen braved the fierce wind, barely managing to keep themselves from collapsing. The rising sun pierced through the gaps between their fingers and was etched into their dark eyes.

They all realized—this is how to prepare for battle.

Shen Bailian stared blankly at the sun rising from the ground, remaining silent for a long time. Although he had already seen the direction of the space fighter through the Eye of God, he was still deeply shocked when he actually saw it.

What kind of mentality is this that allows someone to sacrifice themselves for a group of strangers?

However, Shen Bailian's perspective on this point is too narrow.

Zhou Xiaowei's goal was to save these new students, but it wasn't limited to that. He was also concerned about the honor of the soldiers of Daxia, to continue the military spirit of Daxia, and to ensure he wouldn't have any regrets.

Sudden.

"All troops, follow me and charge!"

Shen Bailian held his breath and focused his mind, deeply imprinting the rising 'sun' in his heart. His eyes suddenly narrowed, his muscles and bones throbbed, and he gathered his energy in his dantian, letting out a loud shout.

The sound briefly drowned out the deafening roar.

After that, Shen Bailian charged towards the undead army below without hesitation. The undead army had not yet regrouped, making it the best opportunity to break through.

After Zhou Xiaowei's repeated attacks, the number of undead creatures was reduced again, and many undead creatures were turned into ashes without even a chance to revive.

Before Li Feiyu, Wang Yuxuan, and the others could react, they saw the leader-like youth charging towards the army of undead creatures below.

"Brothers, in a narrow encounter, the brave shall prevail!"

"Follow our senior brother and kill!"

"Kill!!!"

In an instant, a surge of heroic spirit filled the hearts of the warriors. Their confusion, hesitation, and fear vanished, and with a series of roars, they charged toward the army of undead creatures below.

[Running LV5 (507/1000)]

Shen Bailian, through his Divine Eye, saw the army of undead creatures a thousand meters away. His eyes flickered slightly as he looked at the running skill on the panel and murmured:
"It seems I still can't advance normally."

The reason Shen Bailian didn't upgrade his weakest running skill was because in previous battles, apart from Li Hongling, he had crushed all the enemies he encountered. Very few people or beasts of the same level could last three rounds.

Whether the footwork is advanced or not is no longer important.

Shen Bailian wanted to see what it would be like for a skill to advance normally, and the running skill was the best test subject.

Moreover, running is the best skill for gaining experience. Once an important event occurs, you can use running to gain experience points, thus leveling up your character quickly.

In group battles, poor footwork makes one easily injured, but since Li Feiyu and the others were not present before, he can choose to revive at any time and place.

With so many people around and so many options available, resurrection skills can only be considered a backup option.

"Choose running skills and advance!"

With a slight thought, Shen Bailian selected the running skill and clicked the 'Advanced' option.

All of a sudden.

As the divine substance diminished, Shen Bailian gradually felt a cool liquid rippling through his body, a substance with properties completely different from the warm current.

After the cool liquid was absorbed by his tendons, bones, blood, and flesh cells, he felt his body become much lighter, as if his weight was decreasing, and his steps became much lighter...

To clarify, it's not a nuclear bomb, but a small hydrogen bomb, so there's no need to worry about radiation. Regarding the shockwave, I did a quick look up the blast radius of the Little Boy bomb's core; it's approximately ten kilometers, and at the speed of sound, it would only take about forty to fifty seconds.

Shen Bailian and the others only heard the sound more than a minute later, so they were only affected by the aftershocks, without high temperature or radiation. With the physical strength of the 'Little Supermen', they could withstand these aftershocks without any problem.


(End of this chapter)