CHAPTER 93: CHAPTER 93: ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY_1

After the slash, Wang Zhan landed on the ground.

He was now only two or three meters from the Single-horn King Fairy’s long horn. At such a distance, the Single-horn King Fairy merely needed to shuffle forward slightly to run him through.

But Wang Zhan didn’t care at all. After landing, he sat directly on the ground, gasping heavily, experiencing an extreme weakness he had never felt before. The consumption of this Fatal One Slash is even more extreme than I thought.

At this moment, Wang Zhan’s physical strength was completely depleted, so much so that he couldn’t even stand.

Beyond that, his mental energy also receded like a tide, shrinking to the area immediately around him. It flickered precariously for a few seconds before he could no longer maintain it, and it dissipated completely.

He felt as if his entire body was filled with lead, a crushing weight that made even sitting a burden. Left with no alternative, he simply lay down.

"My physical strength, mental energy, and all the Internal Breath of Essence in my body are gone. I don’t even have the strength to sit... Truly worthy of the name Fatal One Slash. After this slash, it’s either you die or I live," Wang Zhan said with a bitter smile.

Meanwhile, Song Dongming and the others hurried to Wang Zhan’s side and helped him up.

No one spoke. After supporting Wang Zhan, they all subconsciously looked towards the Single-horn King Fairy on the other side. They had all clearly seen the slash, tens of meters long, that had completely penetrated the Single-horn King Fairy. But precisely because of this, they found themselves speechless.

"That slash you just made..." Huang Pufeng began, choosing his words carefully, unsure how to continue.

Wang Zhan nodded slightly. "It’s the Fatal One Slash I obtained in Flame Valley, Wang Yidao’s signature technique. My current condition is its side effect."

Sun Kelan quickly examined Wang Zhan’s body, then nodded to the others. "No major injuries, just complete exhaustion. To be honest... this is the first time I’ve seen someone exhaust themselves to this degree."

"Then you should thank me for the eye-opening experience," Wang Zhan managed a weak smile.

Meanwhile, Chen Mengshu had somehow made her way to the Single-horn King Fairy’s side.

The Single-horn King Fairy’s life force had completely dissipated after Wang Zhan’s slash; it was obviously dead beyond any doubt.

But Chen Mengshu was curious.

As a heavy weapon user herself, she understood that the damage from techniques like slash light shouldn’t be so minimal.

Even though the Single-horn King Fairy was dead, its corpse was still intact, showing no trace of the damage from that recent slash. There were only the minor wounds inflicted by the others.

It shouldn’t be like this... Chen Mengshu subconsciously looked at Wang Zhan, only to find him looking back at her, lips pursed.

Upon noticing Chen Mengshu’s gaze, Wang Zhan sighed internally. This girl seems timid and shy, but she’s incredibly fierce in battle. Her observational skills right now are also surprisingly sharp. Knowing he couldn’t hide it, Wang Zhan simply nodded.

"It’s just as you thought," Wang Zhan said with a smile.

His sudden remark left Song Dongming and the others beside him rather confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Look at her," Wang Zhan gestured towards Chen Mengshu with his chin.

Curious, Chen Mengshu reached out and lightly touched the massive body of the Single-horn King Fairy, which was thirty to forty meters long. With just that light touch, the colossal body began to tilt.

The toppled body was only half of it! The other half still stood firm on the ground. Between the two halves was an incredibly smooth incision, like an ingredient sliced in two by a sharp cleaver!

RUMBLE... Half the enormous body crashed to the ground, shaking it violently.

A large amount of strangely colored, viscous blood and fluids flowed out, accompanied by an odd smell that made Wang Zhan frown.

The others, however, were already staring wide-eyed, their mouths agape, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"You didn’t just snuff out the Single-horn King Fairy’s life with that slash—you actually split it in two?! Holy shit!" Huang Pufeng couldn’t help exclaiming. "Is this the Fatal One Slash? The Saber technique you spent three days learning?"

During their joint practice two days before the competition, Wang Zhan had taken time to cultivate the Fatal One Slash, along with several other practical Saber techniques he had obtained from Duan Kun.

At the time, Huang Pufeng and the others had merely thought Wang Zhan was eager to learn a few new moves because he had acquired a new weapon.

But they had never imagined that Wang Zhan was cultivating such a terrifying Saber technique.

"Enough about that. Dongming, go dig out the beast core, and take its single horn with you," Wang Zhan ordered, fighting his fatigue. "The rest of you, go find a place to hide. It’s getting late. Our top priority now is to find a safe place."

Everyone agreed and quickly dispersed, leaving only Sun Kelan to look after Wang Zhan.

After that battle, everyone was thoroughly impressed by their captain, Wang Zhan! It was no exaggeration to say they had emerged from the dangerous encounter unscathed primarily because Wang Zhan had been at the forefront, taking the brunt of the assault.

If Wang Zhan hadn’t been there, their group would have found it difficult to even escape from the Single-horn King Fairy.

After everyone else had left, Sun Kelan helped Wang Zhan to a large boulder, where they sat down.

She watched quietly as Wang Zhan closed his eyes to rest and recuperate, then asked curiously, "Captain, you could have actually dealt with the Single-horn King Fairy by yourself, couldn’t you?"

Wang Zhan opened his eyes, glanced at Sun Kelan, but said nothing.

His silence only served to confirm Sun Kelan’s suspicion.

"You went toe-to-toe with the Single-horn King Fairy, and you’re much more agile. If we hadn’t been here, you could have toyed with it until it died, couldn’t you?"

"Why do you assume I wouldn’t be the one killed? That was a lower Soldier-level beast, and not the weakest of its kind," Wang Zhan chuckled lightly.

Sun Kelan shook her head. "I can tell you wanted to train us, right? After all, the weakest beasts in this area seem to be soldier-level, while we’re only at the Martial Artist level. There’s a huge chasm between us..."

Wang Zhan waved his hand. "What else did you figure out?"

"That final slash... was it to establish your authority?" Sun Kelan asked tentatively.

Wang Zhan gave a helpless laugh. "Just keep it to yourself; don’t go spreading it around."

Sun Kelan quickly nodded like a chicken pecking at rice. "I understand, I definitely won’t tell anyone."

Meanwhile, Wang Zhan mused internally, So, the elites selected by the Academy are never simple or gullible types.

In the recent fight, Sun Kelan, as a support member, hadn’t engaged directly at all.

Wang Zhan hadn’t expected Sun Kelan to see through his little calculations so clearly.

Just as she said, the Single-horn King Fairy hadn’t actually posed a significant threat. In fact, from the moment Wang Zhan first laid eyes on it, he was confident he could take it out alone. In his eyes, this big guy was, at best, a large sandbag.

Of course, killing it alone would have taken a long time, but Wang Zhan indeed possessed that capability.

However, apart from Wang Zhan, Huang Pufeng, and Song Dongming, the other four team members clearly showed anxiety, tension, and worry.

This was unlike Wang Zhan, Huang Pufeng, and Song Dongming, who had participated in the Beast Tide, encountered countless high-level beasts, and just a few days prior, had personally slain the Soldier-level beast, the Cang Lei Ying.

The other four clearly lacked such extensive experience. In their eyes, Soldier-level beasts were probably invincible.

That’s why Wang Zhan had deliberately engaged and contained the Single-horn King Fairy—to boost his teammates’ confidence and show them that Soldier-level beasts weren’t so formidable after all.

Originally, Wang Zhan had planned to let his team members wear down the Single-horn King Fairy and eventually kill it. But then he remembered Zhou Weiya’s earlier questioning. In the midst of battle, Zhou Weiya had dared to question his ability as team captain! It wasn’t that Wang Zhan disallowed questions, but such things depended on timing and place. Zhou Weiya’s casual remark at that moment had angered him. If I truly couldn’t handle it, what could you, Zhou Weiya, do besides wait for death? To speak out like that in such a situation was sheer stupidity. That’s why Wang Zhan had decided impulsively to use the Fatal One Slash—to demonstrate his strongest power and establish absolute trust among his team members.

Because Wang Zhan knew very well that for this mission in Oceania, he was undoubtedly the core of this team. Therefore, he had to establish absolute authority. He didn’t need to worry about Song Dongming and Huang Pufeng; they had known each other for too long and had sufficient mutual trust. However, with the other four, Wang Zhan needed to establish his absolute authority in their minds.

「Soon it was evening.」

The brothers Zhou Weiqing and Zhou Weiya were the last to return to Wang Zhan’s side. "We found a Melted Cave," Zhou Weiqing reported. "There are no beasts nearby. The interior isn’t large, but it’s big enough for the seven of us to hide. It looks like it experienced a collapse; it’s only a small part of the original Melted Cave and is sealed off. The entrance outside is only one person wide, making it ideal for hiding."

"Lead the way," Wang Zhan commanded with a wave of his hand.

The others hadn’t found any suitable hiding spots, so the Zhou brothers’ news was a welcome relief.

Led by the Zhou brothers, the group of seven soon arrived at the so-called Melted Cave.

It was a deep pit in the forest. Below was a Pool, and beside it, a small waterfall cascaded continuously.

The entrance to the Melted Cave was on a Stone platform set into the rock wall of the deep pit. And just as the Zhou brothers had said, the entrance was only wide enough for one or two people to pass through simultaneously.

The group entered the Melted Cave.

"Not bad. This is a good spot," Wang Zhan remarked, surveying the surroundings with a satisfied nod.

"Let’s all get some rest first. We’ll discuss the details tomorrow..."

He had barely finished speaking when a loud BANG echoed from afar.

Wang Zhan and the others quickly moved to the Melted Cave’s entrance. They saw the brilliant light of a flare streaking across the distant sky.

"A team from the Academy has withdrawn from the game," someone remarked.