Chapter 119: Forbidden Magic (An Extra Chapter for Wan Xuanxiu—Thank You for the Generous Reward)

It was not just Chen Mo who sensed that the situation had taken a turn for the worse; the "old foxes" hiding in the shadows felt it too.

A student from Kyoto No. 1 High School whispered, "Captain, what do we do? The opponent is Cang Gou—that’s the boss of our own boss. Should we retreat?"

Xiao Sanyue’s face darkened. "Retreat? Don't be ridiculous! This is an S-rank zombie! If we miss this one, we might never encounter another in our entire lives! Everyone has those F-rank black cloaks, right? They don't provide any attributes, but they can hide our identities! Besides, don't the instructors always say that the weak are prey to the strong and that power is paramount? What’s wrong with taking what we can with our own abilities? It’s just one Cang Gou. I’ve heard of Nalan Xingde—he’s a lecherous, greasy middle-aged man..."

"Who are you calling a greasy middle-aged man?!" Before anyone knew it, Nalan Xingde had charged 500 meters from the perimeter right into the bushes where the "old foxes" were hiding.

Realizing he had been exposed, Xiao Sanyue stopped caring. What if he offended White Cloud Cang Gou? He could always join the Shadow Legion later; personal strength was the only true path to success.

Xiao Sanyue threw caution to the wind. "I don't know you, you blond freak! Brothers, kill him! We are determined to get this S-rank zombie. Don't you want the reward for the S-rank first kill?"

The PUBG-style instance allowed for a maximum team size of 20, so even if Xiao Sanyue wanted to cooperate with Fudan High School, it was impossible. He had no choice but to fight.

The 20 students from Kyoto No. 1 High School swarmed Nalan Xingde. Nalan proved to be exactly the "greasy" man they described; he was slippery and agile, moving like a slick fish. He didn't kill the students, but instead wove through them, landing one palm after another on their backs and sending them flying.

Seeing that his team was no match for Nalan, Xiao Sanyue shouted at the bushes behind them, "You old foxes, stop hiding in the grass and watching! If we die, you’re next. With him here, the S-rank zombie definitely won't be ours. Let’s work together to take him out, and we can argue about the zombie later!"

Xiao Sanyue’s words worked. From the grass, team after team emerged, all wearing F-rank black cloaks to mask their identities. There were over a hundred of them, all collectively swarming Nalan Xingde.

Among them were students, members of legally registered organizations from the Evolution Center, individuals from the Zhi Zi Legion, and lone wolves—all driven by the desire for the S-rank first-kill reward.

They thought a black cloak could hide their identity, but they were wrong. As soon as Chen Mo activated his data scan, their character names—and even their real-world names—appeared above their heads. Among them, Chen Mo even spotted Shen Yifei, who had provoked Zhang Shengmo before the instance began. Shen Yifei’s strength was at the peak of the General rank, which meant a team from Changjun High School was also involved in the assault.

"Good grief," Chen Mo thought, staying hidden to watch the show. Nalan Xingde was incredibly strong; it would likely take his own most powerful sword strike after Demonization to kill him.

Meanwhile, with the help of magic potions, Sang Ru felt like a parched earth receiving a torrential downpour—she was revitalized. Her ten water elementals unleashed wave after wave of impact, never stopping. The S-rank zombie’s health was dropping—10,000, 10,000—every two minutes.

Seeing that Nalan Xingde was struggling, Fudan High School joined the fray, turning the encounter into a chaotic brawl.

Nalan Xingde was furious. "You little brats, if I don't teach you a lesson today, I’ll change my name to 'De'!"

Even with Nalan’s strength, he couldn't fight off a hundred people at once. Lacking the energy to sustain such a battle, he soon sustained minor injuries and began to fight while retreating. The Fudan students also suffered heavy casualties, with over a dozen knocked to the ground.

On the other side, Chen Mo used his AI map to perfectly avoid everyone, sneaking to within 50 meters of the S-rank zombie. At such a close range, one could spot the target with a careful glance. However, Sang Ru was so focused on controlling the water elementals with her ten-fingered water lines that she couldn't spare a second to look around.

1.12 million!
1.11 million!
1.10 million!
1.09 million!

Chen Mo’s heart raced with every impact. It was almost time—the health was approaching 1 million! The Kyoto No. 1 group had said that once the S-rank zombie’s health dropped below 50%, a hidden quest would be triggered. Chen Mo was waiting for exactly that moment.

1.02 million!
1.01 million!
1 million!

It was time! 50% health! Regardless of the outcome between Nalan, the schools, and the other scavengers, if he dragged this out any longer, everyone else would arrive, and Chen Mo might not be able to handle it. Now was the best moment.

*Whoosh.*

Chen Mo flicked his Vampire Cloak, his entire body enveloped in a mist of blood as he lunged toward the S-rank zombie.

As a mage, Sang Ru had highly sensitive spiritual awareness. She sensed the intruder immediately and prepared to shift her focus from the zombie to the newcomer. Suddenly, a calm voice drifted into her ears like a gentle breeze: "Student Sang Ru! Don't stop! I am Zhang Shengmo from Pingli High School in Star City! I’m here to lend you a hand!"

*Shing!*

A black sword, like a calligraphy brush, streaked through the air, leaving a trail of black ink that blocked Chen Mo’s path.

*Damn it! Zhang Shengmo! How is he here? The red dot on the map didn't detect him!*

There was no time to ponder how he had stayed hidden. Chen Mo didn't want to get tangled up with Zhang Shengmo. He performed a double jump, his feet snapping in mid-air as he changed direction, executing a Z-shaped strike to bypass the black blade.

But the black sword followed closely, refusing to give Chen Mo a chance to escape. Even more incredibly, wherever the blade passed, it was like a brush moving across white paper, leaving behind black ink that formed a massive, imposing character: "KILL!"

*Boom!* The character expanded infinitely, pressing down on Chen Mo.

*What a cunning technique!*

Through AI data analysis, Chen Mo immediately understood the brilliance of Zhang Shengmo’s move. Only a Marquis-rank powerhouse could alter the shape of energy, and only a King-rank could solidify energy into a physical form. Yet, Zhang Shengmo had done the opposite: he fused intangible sword qi with tangible ink, achieving energy solidification—a feat theoretically possible only for a King-rank!

It was a giant, physical "KILL" character!

Although it was less than one-hundredth as powerful as a true King-rank technique, the fact that Zhang Shengmo, a high-stage General-rank, could simulate the outline of a King-rank move proved his genius. He was truly worthy of being one of the five geniuses of Pingli High School.

But Chen Mo had no time to play with him.

*Eight-Fold Gale Blood Claws!*

In Killing Mode, Chen Mo’s attack speed blurred the naked eye, his blood-red shadows stacking layer upon layer.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Sparks flew. Within a single second, Chen Mo clashed with Zhang Shengmo’s black sword and the "KILL" character eighty times!

*Again!*

Red light and black light collided repeatedly in the air. Sang Ru watched in a daze; even with her high spiritual power of 220, she couldn't follow the battle, seeing only red and black light intertwining. It was a clash of lightning and thunder.

*Boom!*

A sudden explosion rang out. Both bodies were repelled in mid-air, landing heavily on the ground.

*Hah... hah...*

Chen Mo and Zhang Shengmo were both panting heavily. In that one-minute exchange, both had unleashed their ultimate techniques, every strike a lethal blow. They had predicted each other’s flaws and lured one another into traps. It was a battle between true experts, exhilarating and intense—the most satisfying fight Chen Mo had ever had.