The moment Zhao Mu spoke, everyone around him froze in shock.
"You're going to carve the Spirit Pattern now?" Zhu Meng asked in disbelief.
"In the middle of battle?"
Only then did the others suddenly remember something important.
Zhao Mu was not merely a powerful combatant.
He was also a quasi–Jinhai Master.
The memory of him carving the Spirit Rune Diagram Path during the earlier assessment instantly resurfaced in everyone's minds.
At that time, his control over spiritual power had already stunned the instructors and recruits alike.
Mo Guanguan narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, a strange light flickering within them.
"Right here?" she asked. "While fighting a Beast King?"
Zhao Mu nodded calmly.
"That's right."
His tone remained steady, as though he were discussing something completely ordinary.
"Compared to creating ember remains, carving a one-time Spirit Pattern is much easier."
He looked toward the massive Beast King in the distance while continuing his explanation.
"An ember remains must be stable enough for repeated use, which requires absolute precision."
"But a disposable Spirit Pattern is different."
"As long as it can unleash enough power to kill the target, slight errors don't matter."
"Even if the Formation collapses immediately after activation, it's fine."
Everyone listened carefully.
Zhao Mu's gaze sharpened.
"Besides…"
"We probably only have one chance to kill this thing."
The atmosphere instantly became heavy again.
Not far away, the Beast King slowly climbed back to its feet.
Earlier, Mo Guanguan's arrow had blasted it into the ground, leaving a huge wound in its chest.
Even now, blood still dripped from the injury.
The power of a Rank-3 ember remains was undeniably terrifying.
Yet everyone could clearly see that the attack had failed to inflict fatal damage.
The Beast King was still alive.
And now it was furious.
Fortunately, Mo Guanguan had already reached Combat Level 13. Her spiritual power reserves were enormous, allowing her to unleash attacks of that level multiple times.
Zhao Mu suddenly raised his left hand.
The silver-gray ring wrapped around his little finger emitted a faint flash of light.
Then, with a soft metallic sound, the ring split apart.
"Rustle…"
A strand of extremely thin metal wire extended from it.
The wire was thinner than hair itself, yet it continuously stretched outward until it exceeded fifty meters in length.
Under the sunlight, it emitted a cold metallic sheen.
The moment Zhao Mu infused it with spiritual power, a pale blue glow spread across its surface.
Meng Qiuqiu stared at it curiously.
"Brother Xiao Mu… what is that?"
Zhao Mu smiled faintly.
"My paintbrush."
Everyone blinked in confusion.
The wire was not made from exotic beast remains. Instead, it was forged from A-grade conductive alloy Zhao Mu had obtained from the Engineering Department laboratory.
Currently, it was the toughest artificial metal humanity could create.
Most importantly, it possessed excellent spiritual conductivity.
Although it wasn't a true ember remains weapon, it was extremely close to becoming one.
Zhao Mu turned toward Meng Qiuqiu.
"Qiuqiu, from this point onward, you'll be the main force."
Meng Qiuqiu instantly widened his eyes.
"Me?!"
The others were equally stunned.
Meng Qiuqiu pointed at himself awkwardly.
"Brother… are you serious?"
Zhao Mu glanced at the large square shield in Meng Qiuqiu's left hand and the strange bobo gun in his right.
Both were extremely expensive second-grade remains constructs.
And given Meng Qiuqiu's family background, nobody believed those were his only treasures.
Zhao Mu nodded decisively.
"I've already observed your ember remains."
"They're all universal-type constructs with simple activation methods."
"That makes them perfect for defense."
He pointed toward the Beast King.
"I need time to complete the Spirit Pattern."
"You just need to hold the line for me."
Meng Qiuqiu swallowed nervously.
"How long?"
"Five minutes."
Zhao Mu's expression remained calm.
"Five minutes is enough."
Hearing those words, everyone's eyes lit up slightly.
Until now, they had felt almost hopeless against the Beast King.
But Zhao Mu's confidence reignited their fighting spirit.
Zhu Meng clenched his fists tightly.
"Are you certain the Formation can kill it?"
"Yes."
Zhao Mu answered without hesitation.
His certainty caused everyone's hearts to steady.
After all, the people who had chosen to remain here were not ordinary recruits.
Every single one of them was among the elite of the new generation.
Several even possessed rare ember remains.
And among them stood Zhao Mu—a quasi–First-Level Jinhai Master.
If they worked together, defeating a Combat Level 30 Beast King was not impossible.
Zhu Meng gritted his teeth.
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Let's do it!"
Lu Yan immediately walked behind Meng Qiuqiu.
"I'll help activate your guardian shield."
Although Lu Yan's combat ability was limited, he had already reached Combat Level 12.
His spiritual power reserves were four or five times greater than Meng Qiuqiu's.
Even if he could not directly fight the Beast King, he could greatly support the defensive line.
Meng Qiuqiu instantly became excited.
"Perfect!"
At that exact moment, the Beast King suddenly raised its head and let out a deafening roar.
"ROAR!!!"
The sound shook the entire sinkhole.
Its massive mouth opened wide as violent fire-attributed spiritual power gathered within.
The next second—
"BOOM!"
A blazing flame wave shot forward like an artillery shell, hurtling directly toward the group.
The terrifying heat distorted the surrounding air.
However, Mo Guanguan remained completely calm.
Three girls immediately stepped forward beside her.
Shen Moran.
Zhang Yuan.
Xu Yurou.
Zhang Yuan raised a first-grade Jinhai Shield while the three simultaneously poured spiritual power into it.
A massive transparent barrier instantly appeared before everyone like a towering wall.
The flame wave slammed into the shield violently.
"BOOOOM!!!"
The impact produced thunderous explosions.
The shield trembled heavily under the pressure, yet it did not shatter.
Clearly, after witnessing Shao Han's earlier defeat, everyone understood one thing:
They absolutely could not confront the Beast King recklessly.
Defense and coordination were essential.
Zhao Mu immediately seized the opportunity.
"Let's move!"
"Young Miss Mo, cover me!"
The moment he finished speaking, he leaped directly off the cliff toward the sinkhole below.
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
That action was unbelievably dangerous.
To carve the Spirit Pattern, Zhao Mu had to approach the Beast King directly.
And everyone had already witnessed the monster's terrifying strength.
Without defensive ember remains protecting him, even a single strike could severely injure Zhao Mu—or kill him outright.
Mo Guanguan clicked her tongue.
"What a lunatic."
Yet instead of being annoyed, a smile appeared on her face.
She had always admired brave people.
Especially those willing to gamble their lives in battle.
"Still…"
"I kind of like this type."
Her playful smile quickly disappeared.
In an instant, her expression became sharp and focused.
She raised the Crimson Twin Tiger Heaven-Shaking Bow with both hands and slowly drew the bowstring into a perfect full moon.
Violent fire-attributed spiritual power gathered around the arrow.
A flaming storm condensed into a single point.
The terrifying pressure made the surrounding recruits instinctively step backward.
Then—
"Whoosh!!!"
The flaming arrow shot through the air like a meteor.
This time, however, the Beast King was prepared.
It raised its massive flesh hammer-like arm and smashed it downward violently.
"BOOM!!!"
The arrow exploded upon impact.
The Beast King staggered slightly but did not fall.
Meanwhile, Zhao Mu had already rushed into the battlefield like a phantom.
[Light Spirit Steps]
Life-type skill.
Proficiency: 325.
Relying solely on physical strength, Zhao Mu could already sprint at an astonishing speed.
Once enhanced by spiritual power, his speed more than doubled.
His figure became a blur.
However, he did not attempt to engage the Beast King directly.
That would be suicidal.
The moment Zhao Mu could attack the Beast King at close range, the Beast King could also hit him.
And one strike from that monster would be enough to cripple him.
Therefore, Zhao Mu's objective was not direct combat.
It was Formation carving.
The thin A-grade metal wire wrapped around his finger instantly shot outward.
Controlled by Zhao Mu's terrifying spiritual precision, the wire sliced across the ground rapidly.
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
"Swoosh!"
Deep grooves dozens of centimeters deep appeared across the earth.
The wire moved like a living thing.
Everyone watching from above felt their scalps tingle.
The level of control required for this was horrifying.
The Beast King obviously did not understand what Zhao Mu was doing.
But it knew one thing.
Food had approached it.
And hunting prey was instinct.
The Beast King roared and charged toward Zhao Mu with earth-shaking footsteps.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
"BOOM!"
The ground trembled violently beneath its weight.
Yet Zhao Mu remained completely calm.
Instead of retreating directly, he began circling around the Beast King at high speed.
While running, he continuously carved the Spirit Pattern into the battlefield.
The enormous Beast King chased after him furiously.
One human.
One monster.
They moved in circles around the sinkhole like hunters locked in a deadly dance.
High above, everyone watched nervously.
Sweat covered Meng Qiuqiu's forehead.
Even Mo Guanguan's expression became serious.
Because everyone understood:
If Zhao Mu made even the slightest mistake, he would instantly die beneath the Beast King's attack.
Yet Zhao Mu's movements remained astonishingly smooth.
Every step.
Every turn.
Every swing of the metal wire.
Everything was perfectly calculated.
The Spirit Pattern gradually took shape across the battlefield.
At the same time, inside the monitoring room, several instructors stared blankly at the live footage.
Silence filled the room.
Finally, one instructor spoke weakly:
"…Am I seeing things?"
Another instructor rubbed his face heavily.
"No reference diagram."
"No preparation."
"And he's carving a Spirit Pattern during battle against a Beast King…"
He paused for several seconds.
Then he looked at Zhao Mu's rapidly moving figure on the screen with a complicated expression.
"Tell me honestly…"
"Is he insane?"
Or perhaps…
"A monster?"
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)