21 Chapter 20: Behemoth (2/2)

”Classmate Fei Wu is correct,” Bai Ning Xue admitted. ”With our current level, we have no way of defeating the Behemoth.”

”All of us will either perish here together, or you guys escape while I hold this Behemoth off!” Xiao Zhang growled. ”Hurry up and go! Don't let my sacrifice be in vain!”

Was the dude so eager to be a martyr or something?

”Actually, I can distract the Behemoth long enough for you guys to escape.”

”Huh? How can you do that?”

”The only martial arts you've learned are level one techniques!”

”You're being too reckless!”

Zhu Jiao, Ban Zhang and Qing Xin Xia stared at me in disbelief. Bai Ning Xue treated me as if I didn't exist, while a shadow flickered over the principal's eyes. He probably wondered if I had some trick up my sleeve – and if I did, then it surely had to be the Heaven and Earth Formula.

I would love to disappoint him, but now wasn't the best time to be mischievous.

”I'm great at playing tag.”

”Huh?! What does tag have to do with anything?” Zhu Jiao demanded. I smirked.

”The Behemoth won't be able to catch me. I'll get it to chase me and run around in circles, then catch up with you guys. I'm much faster than any of you.”

”Oh, right. You've been running thirty kilometers everyday…”

Zhu Jiao nodded. Ban Zhang and Qing Xin Xia appeared unconvinced, but when they saw Zhu Jiao's trust in me, they didn't object.

Xiao Zhang nodded.

”We'll be relying on you then.”

There was a sliver of unease in his tone that suggested to me that he didn't believe me. However, even in the unlikely chance that I somehow restored a fraction of the highly sought after Heaven and Earth Formula, he still thought of me as trash with only a One Star Constitution. Compared to the Four and Five Star Constitution treasures that he held as gold in his hands, I was expendable and disposable. If he could save the talented prodigies of Wu Ling Academy, he would be more than willing to sacrifice me for it. My life would be a small price to pay to ensure their survival.

But none of my classmates picked up on the principal's intention. Moreover, as I wasn't a mind reader, this was all speculation. I could just be overly cynical and was completely wrong about what Xiao Zhang was thinking. He did covet the heaven and Earth Formula after all, and also treated me fairly and somewhat decently.

”We'll release the barrier in three seconds. Three…two…one…now!”

The golden barrier vanished and the Behemoth tumbled through. At the same time, I used Jin to dash forward and stab the Behemoth in its eye. Unfortunately, the Behemoth's eye was too thick and the tiny blade barely made a dent. Instead, it snapped.

Bloody hell, the quality of this sword was really poor. I wished they equipped me with a much better weapon.

”GUOOOO!”

”How?!”

”Whoa! That's really fast!”

”He's really telling the truth!”

My three classmates ogled at my display, almost unable to believe their eyes. Only Bai Ning Xue remained unmoved. She glanced at me coldly, then turned to leave without a word.

”Hurry! Get to the chopper…I mean stairs!”

Yelling, Xiao Zhang snapped my classmates out of their stupor and shoved them forward. He turned to spare me one last glance, his eyes wide in astonishment.

”That's…footwork techniques?! How and when did he learn them!?”

”Last month!”

I couldn't resist telling him. Xiao Zhang stared at me in disbelief, then he shook his head sadly.

”Perhaps I was wrong about you after all.”

”Huh?”

While dodging the Behemoth's crushing paw with my footwork, I slightly turned my head. Xiao Zhang continued to keep his eye on me, his lips pursed in regret and sadness. Why so dramatic, old dude?

”If you've been given more time and was taught properly by an actual master, maybe I wouldn't need to do this…”

The guy really believed that I would die here. A vein twitched, but I didn't bother to argue. Instead, I turned my attention back to the Behemoth and danced around the base of its feet, deftly evading and avoiding its multiple attacks. The sheer force and brute strength of the Behemoth left countless craters in its wake, but I managed to stay one step ahead with my footwork.

”GRRR!”

The Behemoth swung at me again in frustration. A trickle of blood flowed from its eye, my crude attempt having damaged the delicate membrane, but it was clear from the dilated pupil that I failed to blind it.

Well, I could try blinding it with blinding speed…

”Whoa!”

The Behemoth was growing increasingly frustrated and the speed of its swings grew ever more. I found that I was actually able to put Duo into practice and successfully evade the Behemoth's ruthless barrage of attacks. The ground was growing more and more uneven, with an increasing number of craters and the rock growing soft from the continuous abuse. Kicking off the ground, I jumped away before its paw obliterated a great chunk of rock into dust.

We danced a deadly tango, with me matching my partner's steps and elegantly evading whatever twists he threw at me. Waltzing to his back, I avoided another blow and then retreated, luring the Behemoth to follow me. The Behemoth whirled around on the relatively narrow bridge without any hesitation and lunged at me again.

”Hah!”

I snorted as I vanished from the Behemoth's sight, only to appear further away. The Behemoth bounded after me, determined to crush me between its fangs or under its paws.

And just like that I was gradually luring the Behemoth away from my classmates. I couldn't defeat it, but I didn't have to. All I needed to do was distract the Behemoth and buy time for the rest of them to escape. I continued to dodge, duck and tactically withdrew, beckoning the Behemoth to follow me. It mindlessly pursued, unaware that I was leading it further and further away from my classmates. We were actually nearing the other end of the bridge.

Where are the others?

I looked up and saw that Zhu Jiao and the others had finally reached the other side of the bridge. Zhu Jiao punched the ground and sent a row of earth spikes upward, impaling the unfortunate terracotta soldiers and destroying their bodies. Beside him, Bai Ning Xue punched the ground with her delicate-looking fist and executed Thunder Break. Millions of volts of electricity surged across the space, frying the army of terracotta soldiers as well as the freshly arrived reinforcements.

Compared to Bai Ning Xue's Thunder Break, Qi Fu Ren's was nothing.

Whatever the case, my classmates had forced an opening. Good. Now was the time.

As the Behemoth lunged at me again, I disappeared from its sight using Duo and evaded. My foot scraped against the broken, ruptured ground of the beleaguered bridge, but I didn't waste too much time trying to balance on the uneven earth. I was already transferring more qi into my feet and surging forward using Jin.

Even with Jin, I could only cross a hundred meters at a time, so I couldn't appear at the other side of the bridge in one second. Perhaps I would reach there in another two Jin.

”GUOO!!!”

Behind me, the Behemoth bellowed in rage and frustration. It whipped around once again, and began bounding forward, getting ready to pounce on me. Unfortunately, I was too far ahead, having crossed a hundred meters in a single second. And I was about to cross another hundred meters in the next second…

”Everyone, attack! Bombard the Behemoth with every long-range technique that you possess! Cover Student Fei Wu's retreat!”

Xiao Zhang ordered fiercely. I noticed that he was finally considering the possibility that I might actually survive this ordeal. That was flattering, somewhat.

Unfortunately, my other classmates didn't seem to believe him.

”Eh? What?”

”Classmate Fei Wu?”

”What's he doing there?”

”Don't tell me…?”

”Fei Wu was distracting the monster and buying us time to escape!” Zhu Jiao snapped at everybody. ”He risked his life for us! Now we have to help him!”

Despite his and the principal's words, my other classmates remained unconvinced. There were a few of them who glanced in my direction, their expressions regretful. They had thought that I was useless, but now they saw that Xiao Zhang and Zhu Jiao were telling the truth.

”Amazing…”

”How is he moving like that?!”

”So fast…!”

”He's quicker than even that monster!”

I had already crossed that hundred meters in that second while they were all murmuring amongst themselves. Unfortunately, the Behemoth had also covered a considerable distance and was closing in on our position. This was causing no small amount of panic.

”Ready? Fire!”

Xiao Zhang didn't hesitate and issued the order. My classmates snapped out of it and began readying their techniques. Fire arrows from the Red Phoenix Sect streaked out to meet the Behemoth in its charge. Lightning from Bai Ning Xue and her entourage of girls crackled across the distance toward the Behemoth. Earth spikes from Zhu Jiao slammed into its ugly mug. Green and golden light of flames burst from the Green Dragon Sect disciples to sear through the Behemoth's fur. Barrages of icicles were delivered from those students from the ice sects.

”GUOOOO!”

The Behemoth momentarily stopped. As expected, despite its high rank and immense power, even the monstrosity would be fazed by a relentless onslaught of long-range techniques bombarding it from a cohort of genius martial artists. Of course, its armored fur protected it from damage, and it was highly resistant and resilient to simple qi attacks from mere Qi Gathering Stage practitioners (with Teacher Jiao and Xiao Zhang being the only exceptions). But the tremendous force behind the bombardment was able to stop it in its tracks momentarily.

And that moment was all I needed.

I was about to move that last Jin to cross the final hundred meters and reach the other side of the bridge. None of the lethal attacks were aimed at me – they were all passing over my head. I could relax a little, and I had no choice but to do so. I had been using my footwork techniques repeatedly, and I needed to pause for a second to gather my qi and reuse that footwork. It was just a second, but it was more than enough to produce a gap.

And someone exploited that gap.

When I paused to catch my breath one final time before making that last advance, I suddenly noticed something.

Amongst the endless stream of long-range techniques, there was a single technique that had slightly veered off course and headed straight toward me with deadly, unerring accuracy. No matter how I looked at it, this bolt of lightning was clearly aimed at me.

There was only one person who would snipe me, and he was the same guy who used lightning martial arts techniques.

Qi Fu Ren?! That bastard!

I tried my best to use Duo to evade the incoming lightning bolt, but whether intentionally or not, the fucker had targeted me right at my most vulnerable moment, when I was forced to pause to take a breather in the midst of continuously using footwork techniques. Fortunately, I was able to half-execute it, but it turned out to be a sloppy Duo that was mistimed and clumsy. As a result, I ended up tripping over myself and falling over way short of where I wanted to move to.

Boom!

On the bright side, the lightning bolt completely missed me. Thanks to avoiding a direct hit, I didn't receive any real damage. Unfortunately, I was still buffeted by the shockwaves, and the intense voltage slightly paralyzed me, rendering me unable to move for a few seconds.

And those few seconds were more than enough to prove fatal to me.

”!”

I desperately lifted my head a little…just a little, because my body was otherwise paralyzed.

Damn it…

I could only watch the Behemoth helplessly. Unable to stand, unable to move…unable to even lift a single finger, I could only await my impending doom. The barrage had faltered, my classmates needing to pause after delivering such a vicious onslaught. The Behemoth, unhurt by that sheer volume of attacks, had been incensed.

”GUOOO!”

Bellowing, the Behemoth reared back on its haunches, then sprang forward. Its fangs and claws glowed as they descended upon myself.

”Kuh!”

I forced myself to move. The paralysis was gradually wearing off, and I was finally able to move, if only a little. Unfortunately, that paralysis still affected my movements greatly, and despite using Duo again, I was only able to just barely escape the beast and appear just outside its attack radius. The moment I landed, I felt the violent tremors ripping across the bridge, which shook from the Behemoth's powerful attack.

Then the bridge finally had enough.

SNAP!

Unable to endure the abuse, the beleaguered structure finally fell apart. Massive cracks spread out from the epicenter of the enormous crater that the Behemoth had carved into it. There was a loud groan, and then the bridge suddenly snapped.

”GUOOOOOH!”

”Waaaaaaah!”

The Behemoth desperately clawed at the falling pieces of rubble, struggling to find a place to grab onto. There was some sweet irony in realizing that the Behemoth had effectively killed itself. By rampaging mindlessly and not showing restraint in its assault, it destroyed its own footing and caused itself to fall to its death.

Unfortunately, the Behemoth was not alone. Even as it plummeted into the abyss, accompanied by falling rubble and debris, I descended with it.

…or not.

I clutched onto the edge of the crumbling bridge, having kicked off a piece of debris to hurl myself upward.I hauled myself upward, determined not to fall with the Behemoth. Like hell I would die in a place like this!

Crack!

I watched numbly, cold horror spreading across my body as the edge of the bridge finally gave way. Even the ground which the bridge was built into had shattered, and the whole thing collapsed into the abyss. Despite finding a handhold, I ended up crashing back into the bottomless depths, still gripping the piece of rock that I thought was my salvation.

”Fei Wu!!!!”

I looked up at the voice. Zhu Jiao was yelling my name and lunging forward, only for Ban Zhang and Bai Ning Xue to grab him and pull him back. Most of my other classmates were horrified, unable to believe what they were seeing. Only Qi Fu Ren alone smirked in the back, a smug smile spreading across that bloody ugly mug of his.

That bastard!

Teacher Jiao's expression was blank, as if he couldn't decide if he was in a nightmare. Xiao Zhang's expression was tainted by both regret and resignation. He slowly shook his head and then turned away.

Bai Ning Xue's face was a cold mask, as if she didn't care if I died or not. After all, I was not her beloved Zhu Jiao. Nearby, Tang Qi Hong had fallen to her knees, tears trailing out of her eyes, as she watched me plummet in horror. I wondered why. I was never close to her to begin with. Not that it mattered. I was still being yanked away from my classmates by the sheer force of gravity. Unfortunately, it seemed that I had yet to understand the…uh, gravity of my situation.

I really ought to learn how to throw my weight around. If I did, Qi Fu Ren would never have dared to pull a murderous stunt like this off.

Unfortunately, that would remain a what-if, and the resulting regret weighed down upon my shoulders forever.

And just like that, I fell into the abyss, the light above gradually dimming and fading away as the distance between me and my classmates widened abysmally.