The buzz-cut middle-aged man was forcibly dragged away by Mr. Ya, leaving the three students from Lin Hua Noble Academy at a momentary loss.
But Tao Qian quickly regained his composure and comforted his juniors, "Mr. Jee is obviously stronger than that peasant. We donāt need to worry about him."
He then looked at Su Ze and sneered, "Did your companion leave you here because he thought you could hold off the three of us alone?"
Su Ze shook his head with a straight face. "Not exactly."
"So you are self-aware." One of Tao Qianās arms suddenly swelled, and he got ready to fight. "Forget the three of us. I alone can take care of you easily."
Su Ze corrected him, "My companion didnāt leave me here because he thought I could hold you three off. He left me here because he thought I could crush the three of you."
Tao Qian laughed out loud as if heād just heard the funniest joke. "Your training uniform looks a bit like the ones from Dongli. You must be a student from the Dongli Kingdom, right? You people from backwater places like that always have such a narrow view of the world, thinking youāre some kind of amazing genius. But if we put you in any academy in Lin Hua, youād find out youāre nothing!"
The girl in the short skirt clutched her mangled, bloody face, her words a hateful, indistinct slur: "Senior Tao Qian, kill āim anā āvenge me!"
The other male student also sneered, "Thereās a big difference even among those in the Cocoon Stage. Senior Tao Qian is an elite from our academyās master class. Heās not someone you geniuses from backwater places can compare to."
"Alright, thatās enough. You talk way too much, just like those villains in novels who are about to get put in their place," Su Ze said impatiently. "I canāt wait to do it."
Su Ze was also a little worried about Mr. Ya, so he planned to end this fight quickly.
If Mr. Ya hadnāt used that ultimate life-saving skill, Su Ze wouldnāt have been worried. But as it happened, Mr. Ya had just used it a few hours ago to investigate the treasure in the black soil.
Tao Qian handed the leash of the Treasure Hunting Mouse to the male student behind him, clearly preparing to handle this himself.
He was about to spout a few more taunts to provoke him, but Su Ze had already lost his patience. He used Rhino Charge to rush forward and threw a punch.
It had to be said, Tao Qian lived up to his reputation as a genius from the Sovereign Country. He actually had some strength, managing to block Su Zeās punch.
And this was a punch enhanced by Su Zeās "Ant Power". With his current terrifying strength, where his basic attacks were as strong as skills, an ordinary Cocoon Stage practitioner couldnāt have taken that blow.
"Impressive!"
Su Ze commented.
"Impressive, my ass... PUFF!"
Tao Qian spat out a mouthful of blood. He had used a defensive skill and was still hit so hard he coughed up blood. How was that impressive?
To him, Su Zeās praise sounded like the most piercing mockery.
"I was giving you a sincere compliment, and you curse at me?" Su Ze kicked out, embedding Tao Qian into the dirt wall of the tunnel.
"Even though I donāt have a mother, I still get angry when you curse at me like that."
The girl in the short skirt and the other male student watched, dumbfounded. The girlās mouth hung open, revealing the gaps where her teeth had been. She seemed so shocked she forgot the pain.
It didnāt even look like Su Ze had used a single skill, yet he had beaten their "genius" Senior Tao Qian so badly he was completely helpless.
āWhat kind of monster is this?!ā
āCan a poor backwater like the Six Kingdoms really produce a genius like this?ā
Su Ze raised his fist again and smashed it toward Tao Qian.
Tao Qian raised his armānow swollen to twice its sizeāto meet Su Zeās fist. With a loud CRACK, Tao Qianās arm fell limply to his side, the bone shattered in several places.
Tao Qian shrieked in pain, then suddenly let out a furious roar. Black fur sprouted all over his body as he rapidly expanded, transforming into a large black bear in the blink of an eye. He swiped at Su Ze with his unbroken arm.
A layer of golden dust and sand instantly covered the ground at Su Zeās feet. He began to familiarize himself with the new skill he had just obtained.
The black bear that Tao Qian had transformed into suddenly became sluggish. He felt an invisible force working against himāthe effect of Gravity Dust Sand manipulating the surrounding gravity.
Su Ze punched again. This time, he used gravity to amplify his attack, pushing his fist forward with maximum gravitational force to deliver a momentum-assisted blow.
The punch landed on the black bearās paw, shattering Tao Qianās other, previously unharmed, arm.
Tao Qian howled in agony and rage, instantly reverting from his bear form back to human. He then immediately used his Earth Escape Skill.
He had recognized the massive gap in strength between himself and Su Ze. All he wanted now was to escape!
However, Su Ze had been waiting for this exact move.
āFor Tao Qianās group of four to have made it this deep underground, one of them must have the Earth Escape Skill. The buzz-cut middle-aged man didnāt use it when he was chasing Mr. Ya, so it was highly likely that Tao Qian, the one in the Cocoon Stage, had it.ā
The moment Tao Qian escaped into the ground, Su Ze stomped his foot and activated the skill "Furious Waves."
The tunnel shook violently, threatening to collapse under the impact of the shockwave from Furious Waves.
Underground, Tao Qian was rattled by the blow, coughing up more blood and falling into a state of Dizziness.
Su Ze used his gravity control to dig him right out of the ground, then landed a punch on his forehead that knocked him unconscious.
āAt first, Su Ze considered just killing them, but then he had a second thought. He still didnāt know what had happened with Mr. Ya and the buzz-cut middle-aged man.ā
āIf the buzz-cut man was still alive and Su Ze killed these three, it would be a huge problem. If news got out, the families of these three students, not to mention the Lin Hua Noble Academy they attended, would probably come after him.ā