Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Emperor Slime
ăIn the proctoring space.ă
Pang Zhangming said, "Did you see that? Zhao Chi cleared it without taking any damage again. The eighth stage didnât have the difficulty it was supposed to! How is this supposed to test his Ability?"
Li Ruanyu shook her head. "Clearing it without taking damage is a testament to Zhao Chiâs strength! More than ten top students have already quit. You call that not difficult? Youâre a Chief Instructor too, why are you being so childish?"
Pang Zhangming huffed, "I know Class 4 has always been subpar. Now that you have a Zhao Chi, youâre trying to defend him, but you canât just throw fairness out the window. If he had a different Race, Zhao Chi would have definitely been eliminated this time!"
Li Ruanyu sneered, "All this whining. Why are you acting like a woman?"
Pang Zhangmingâs tone faltered.
"You... Why are you making personal attacks?"
Li Ruanyu said, "Stop your incessant complaining over a little bit of bonus money. Iâve had plenty of money deducted from my pay and never said a word. The test is almost over, so just be quiet."
Pang Zhangming sneered, "Itâs not about the money. What I want is an opportunity. I canât compare to you. Everyone knows your family is..."
Pang Zhangming left his sentence half-finished, stopped by Li Ruanyuâs icy glare.
Unlike their earlier argument, this glare from Li Ruanyu held genuine Killing Intent.
Pang Zhangming waved his hands dismissively. "Thatâs not what I meant. Ah, forget it. It is what it is. Let things be as they may."
Li Yin said, "Ruan Yu, calm down. Instructor Pang really just misspoke."
Jin Haibiao added, "Thatâs right. Ruan Yu, your class is guaranteed a top-three finish this time. Congratulations."
Li Ruanyuâs expression softened slightly.
She nodded. "I think Zhao Chi might even take first place."
Pang Zhangming opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Li Yin smiled. "That kid has some real potential, and his luck is great too. To think he managed to get a mutated Human Race right off the bat. His future is promising."
Yue Chong sighed. "Indeed. My territory was also full of women back in the day. Unfortunately, reality taught me a harsh lesson, and I learned to behave after that. I hope he doesnât repeat my mistakes..."
Head Instructor Saint Monarch You walked over.
He shook his head. "He wonât. Zhao Chi... Never mind. In any case, heâs a promising talent. It doesnât matter which class heâs in; heâs from our Eighth Academy."
Li Yin nodded. "Exactly. Later, when weâre competing with other academies for resources, the studentsâ strength will be a major factor. As long as heâs from our Eighth Academy, we all have to support him."
Li Ruanyu nodded. "Sigh... Yes. I hope he keeps up the good work."
A little over ten minutes passed quickly.
In truth, Gu Qing, Tang Ruan, and the others hadnât rested well at all.
But there was no other choice; the battle had to continue.
Zhao Chi said, "Weâre in the final moments. Everyone, just hold on a little longer!"
Gu Qing smiled. "Letâs go, everyone! If we can clear this stage too, weâll definitely level up again."
Zhao Chi nodded. "Thatâs right."
Though Tang Ruan and the others were exhausted, they still got to their feet one after another.
Zhao Chi checked their Morale.
[Zhao Chi Army Morale]
[Gu Qing] 93%
[Tang Ruan] 91%
[Female Militia] 64%
[Female Craftsman] 61%
Gu Qing and Tang Ruanâs Morale were both over 90%. This was likely unrelated to the Encourage skill Zhao Chi had just used.
After using Encourage, the Morale would slowly decrease, with the recently added portion declining first.
Just a moment ago, both of their Morale stats had exceeded 100%. From this, he could determine that the current 90-odd percent was their own base Morale.
Needless to say, Tang Ruan was always obedient and hardworking, with high Morale.
In the previous few stages, Gu Qingâs Morale had been a little lower than Tang Ruanâs, but now she had actually surpassed her.
âIt seems Gu Qing is the type who gets stronger the more sheâs tested.â
âShe might have been careless at the start, but she gets serious later on.â
As for the Female Militia and Female Craftsmen, their situation was perfectly normal.
After all, they were all very tired.
To have to fight increasingly strong enemies while this exhausted and still maintain Morale above 60% was already no easy feat.
Zhao Chi wouldnât make any unrealistic demands.
But then again, Morale in the 60% range corresponded to a roughly 60% level of enthusiasm.
It was already affecting their combat performance.
Everyone was starting to slack off due to exhaustion.
There was no way they could pass the ninth stage by relying on Gu Qing and Tang Ruan alone.
âLooks like Iâll have to use Encourage on a large scale to raise their Morale.â
Just as Zhao Chi was thinking this, a formal notification came from the system:
[Ninth Stage, Begin!]
"Everyone, pay attention! The enemy is about to appear."
All the women roused themselves and looked ahead.
The Fog Wall began to tremble once more.
This time, it seemed to take much longer. It was quite a while before all the fog finally dispersed.
The women stared blankly ahead, but they didnât see the ninety enemies they were expecting.
There was only a single object directly in front of them, one larger than the Lordâs House itself.
It was generally oval-shaped, like a sphere.
It was as transparent as a drop of water, yet its outline was clearly visible.
On that outline, two large eyes seemed to be looking at the group.
Zhao Chi watched in astonishment.
"Quick, go, charge! Attack immediately, with all your might! Attack relentlessly! Thatâs an Emperor Slime!"
The women stared ahead, stunned.
Gu Qing was also extremely surprised.
âThat giant water droplet was a Slime? A Slime could be that big?â
It was, indeed, a Slime.
A tremendously huge Slime.
On top of this Slimeâs head sat a translucent Crown.
The Crown was inlaid with crystals of various Colors, glittering brilliantly in the sunlight.
Aside from this enormous Slime, there were no other Magical Beasts around.
Gu Qing tightened her grip on her Weapon.
âThis was the first time she had ever seen Zhao Chi in such a hurry. Was there not even Time to explain the enemyâs situation?â
But Gu Qing knew Zhao Chi must have his reasons.
So, after only a second of thought, Gu Qing charged forward.
However, Tang Ruan didnât even take that one second.
The moment Zhao Chi gave the order, she charged out without a second thought.
The other Female Soldiers and Female Craftsmen charged after her.
Zhao Chi took a deep breath.
He focused all the Power in his body into his palms.
The next moment, light burst forth.
Several rays of gentle, yellow light shot into Gu Qing and the others.
The women felt a pure light flow through them, a warm current seeping into every inch of their bodies.
Their Morale rose one by one.
Zhao Chi continuously swallowed High Level Spiritual Power Pills, no longer caring about building a tolerance.
He had originally planned to save them for the final stage, but if he didnât use them now, he definitely wouldnât make it to the next one.
Zhao Chi constantly recovered his Spiritual Power and continuously cast Encourage.
The rays shot into one woman after another.
Without exception, the warm current spread through each of them, and their Morale surged.
There were now 81 women, which required him to cast Encourage 81 times.
It was incredibly tedious.
Once he became a Junior Lord today, he would be able to unlock Range Skills, which would make things much more convenient.
But that was for later.
Encourage could only boost each person once.
Otherwise, Zhao Chi would have boosted Gu Qingâs Morale until it maxed out, and then boosted it some more.
[Zhao Chi Army Morale]
[Gu Qing] 93% â 111%
[Tang Ruan] 91% â 106.5%
[Female Militia] 64% â 79%
[Female Craftsman] 61% â 76%
Gu Qing and Tang Ruan went wild again.
The two of them shrieked as they charged, their voices filled with excitement and drive.
The other womenâs Morale was also high, and their Combat Power recovered and rose.