Chapter 211: Chapter 206: Holy Hall! Do You Dare to Accept the Challenge?

"That’s Mu Chen!" Yan Ruoshui declared, her voice firm. She then turned to Mu Bingling, who was staring fixedly at Mu Chen, her expression one of utter disbelief.

"Mu Chen? Who’s that?" Tang Hao asked with a frown.

Yan Ruoshui continued, "Three years ago, when we were in Luofeng City recruiting students, we ran into a disabled, blind teenager on the way. Do you remember?"

"That cripple we met on the street?" Tang Hao paused, stunned. "I remember he couldn’t even qualify as a Martial Disciple. How did he manage to get into the academy?"

Yan Ruoshui’s brow furrowed. "Don’t talk like that. The fact that he’s here at the Imperial Academy proves he’s anything but useless." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Tang Hao scoffed. "He’s just in the Outer Circle. He’s probably just a Martial Artist. He’ll never amount to anything."

"You! Tang Hao, do you know what I can’t stand about you? It’s your superiority complex, your pride, your arrogance! Never look down on anyone. One day, you’ll pay dearly for underestimating someone. This isn’t a lecture. It’s a sincere warning." Yan Ruoshui finally voiced the words she had kept bottled up for so long.

Tang Hao froze. In his mind, Yan Ruoshui had always been as gentle as water, kind and virtuous. He never imagined she harbored such strong resentment toward him.

"I..."

Just as Tang Hao was about to speak, he was interrupted by an old voice, "Students ahead, please clear a path."

Of course, Tang Hao recognized the voice. It belonged to the academy’s Vice Dean, Di Cang. A dark figure descended from the sky, landing before a group of Outer Circle Students as if he were their leader.

"The top ten squads from the Outer Circle’s monthly tournament have been decided! They are: Mu Chen’s squad!"

Mu Chen led Little Tiger, Qing Lei, Ye Shuangshuang, and Mo Qing out of the crowd. Their appearance immediately sent the Outer Circle Students into a roaring cheer.

Yan Ruoshui’s pupils contracted as she murmured, "It really is him."

"Blue Mountain Squad!"

Another squad emerged from the crowd. Upon seeing Mu Chen, they first shouted, "Class President!" before taking their place resolutely behind him. Needless to say, these were the students from Demon Castle.

"Pangde Squad!"

The same process repeated until ten squads had stepped out. Only then did Di Cang speak. "First, my congratulations to you all. You are the sixty who have emerged from the six thousand students of the Outer Circle. You are the best among them." Di Cang paused, then continued, "However, this is not the end. The real battle begins now. Go! All squads, onto the challenge platform. There, you will face your final showdown."

Qing Lei, Little Tiger, Ye Shuangshuang, and Mo Qing all looked at Mu Chen at the same time. Mu Chen nodded and said, "Let’s go."

With that, Mu Chen pushed off from his toes and leaped into the air. In the blink of an eye, he landed steadily in a corner of the challenge platform. As soon as they touched down, the other squads arrived one after another.

Even with ten squads occupying it, the massive challenge platform still seemed quite spacious. The section Mu Chen had destroyed last time was fully repaired; the entire platform looked like it had been completely renovated.

After the ten squads had settled, Di Cang’s figure appeared in the center of the challenge platform. He scanned his surroundings, nodded, and said, "Since everyone is in position, I will explain the format for the finals. Unlike the preliminaries and the Mid Stage matches, we’ve decided to be innovative this time. The rule for the finals is... a battle royale!"

"A battle royale?" the Outer Circle Students asked in unison.

Di Cang continued, "In this battle royale, the ten squads can attack any other squad as soon as I announce the start. There are no restrictions. You can team up with squads you know to attack others. In short, use any means you believe will help you survive to the end. The last squad standing on this challenge platform will be the winner. The second to last will be second place, and the third to last will be third place. Is that clear?"

Mu Chen thought for a moment and asked, "What if all the squads are knocked out of the ring or incapacitated at the same time? How would you judge that?"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Di Cang said directly, "Then they will all be tied for second place."

"Is that so?" The corner of Mu Chen’s mouth lifted. He already had a plan.

Seeing no one else had questions, Di Cang said, "Since there are no more questions, I declare the Imperial Academy Outer Circle finals... begin!"

As soon as Di Cang’s voice fell, Mu Chen shouted, "Little Tiger, Heaven-Shaking Hammer!"

"Alright!"

"ROAR!!!"

With a mighty roar, Little Tiger raised his right arm to the Azure Sky. A thick, crimson aura suddenly enveloped his bronze skin. As if it had a will of its own, the aura rapidly converged on his right arm. In the space of a single breath, his right fist was encased in a solid orb of red light that resembled a giant hammer.

"Heaven-Shaking Hammer!!! HAH!"

With a great shout, the "giant hammer" Little Tiger had raised high slammed down onto the platform.

"BOOM!!!"

A tremor-inducing BOOM, loud enough to shake the entire academy, erupted with Little Tiger at its center. Following the sound was a majestic, expanding shockwave of red energy. As the wave swept outward, Mu Chen and his squad had already leaped into the air. The students from the other squads, however, were frozen in shock by the sudden attack. By the time they thought to flee, their vision went black, and they lost consciousness.

As Mu Chen and his group landed, the entire platform was still trembling. On its surface, every other competing squad lay unconscious.

Mu Chen said helplessly, "Little Tiger, you used a bit too much power, but it’s fine. No one is seriously injured."

Little Tiger scratched the back of his head and said with his head down, "I’m sorry..."

Mu Chen patted Little Tiger’s head with a smile. "It’s alright. You tried your best to control your strength. Once you can fully master this power, you’ll become a true powerhouse."

Hearing this, Little Tiger’s face turned red and he said excitedly, "Really?"

"Mhm, really," Mu Chen said firmly.

Floating in the air, Di Cang stared blankly at Mu Chen’s squad, the only ones left standing on the platform. He was speechless. He finally understood why Mu Chen had asked what would happen if all the other students were incapacitated simultaneously.

The surrounding students stared, dumbfounded, at the fifty-odd people sprawled across the platform, their hearts filled with shock. ’So during the preliminaries and the Mid Stage matches, Mu Chen’s squad wasn’t even using one percent of their true strength. They were just toying with us.’

Of course, while the Outer Circle Students were shocked, they quickly accepted the reality. The students from the Holy Hall, however, found it utterly unbelievable. They had witnessed Mu Chen’s strength before, but why was there such a monster of immense power by his side? ’That display of power just now... it was nearly at the Martial Spirit Realm, wasn’t it?’

"Th-that’s an Outer Circle student?" Yan Ruoshui’s jaw dropped as she stared in astonishment at the boy who was acting like a child in front of Mu Chen, scratching the back of his head.

Tang Hao was just as surprised as Yan Ruoshui. A boy who could wield such immense power shouldn’t just have the fighting prowess of someone from the Outer Circle.

"Sir, is it time to announce the results?" Mu Chen asked after waiting for a while, noticing Di Cang had yet to speak.

Di Cang was taken aback, then gave an awkward smile. "This situation is a bit unexpected. But a match is a match. No matter what method you used, as long as you are the last ones remaining, you are the winners. Hmm... the rest will all be tied for second, then."

Mu Chen and his group looked at each other and smiled. "This is for the best."

Di Cang stroked his beard and said, "Mu Chen, the next match will be you against the team chosen by the Holy Hall. But before that, there’s something you can announce."

"What is it?" Mu Chen asked, confused.

"Don’t you want to take Mu Bingling back from the Holy Hall?"

Di Cang’s words made Mu Chen’s expression freeze. "But, aren’t we about to have a match?"

Di Cang said, "You can treat challenging the entire Holy Hall as your match. Think of it as you going first in the individual competition, one person challenging the whole Holy Hall team. But this time, you’ll be challenging ten Holy Hall students. Are you confident?"

Mu Chen nodded. "Yes. For Bing’Er, I must try, even if I’m not certain of the outcome."

"Hahaha, good! Then let the Holy Hall know that while they have their pride, we have our own!" At this, Di Cang’s voice boomed, "Qin Garden, you don’t need to trouble yourself with choosing a team. Before the Outer Circle faces the Holy Hall, there is an announcement to be made."

Qin Garden’s brow furrowed. ’Is this old fox trying to pull some trick to embarrass me again?’ she thought. Shaking her head, Qin Garden said in a deep voice, "What is it? Say it."

Di Cang smiled. "I wonder if you remember a rule the old Dean once established? Every Outer Circle student has one chance to challenge the Holy Hall. And if that student succeeds in their challenge, the Holy Hall must unconditionally grant the challenger one request, as long as it doesn’t violate ethics or morality and isn’t too extreme."

Qin Garden nodded. "Heh, I was wondering what it was. So it’s that old rule that’s always been treated as a mere decoration. As a dean of the academy, of course I know about it. But why are you bringing it up now?"

Di Cang said, "Hehe, what a coincidence. We have a little fellow in the Outer Circle who happens to want to use this opportunity today to challenge the entire Holy Hall. I wonder if Dean Qin dares to accept the challenge? If not, you could just surrender and unconditionally grant his request."

Qin Garden was stunned, then suddenly laughed. "What a joke. A brat from the Outer Circle wants to challenge the entire Holy Hall? Is it that boy, Mu Chen? Heh, does he think he’s invincible just because he once defeated a Three-Ring Martial Spirit from our Holy Hall?"

Mu Chen took a step forward. "I don’t know if I’m invincible, and I don’t know if I can succeed in this challenge. But no matter what, today I must challenge the Holy Hall. Holy Hall! Do you dare to accept my challenge?!"