At this moment, upon seeing Liu Yuan's familiar smiling face in front of them—
Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, Ma Rulong, and the others were first stunned, then overwhelmed by joy.
They quickly stepped forward, bombarding him with excited greetings and questions.
Liu Yuan responded with a smile, but his attention soon returned to what he had just said.
"So?" he asked lightly. "What I said earlier still stands. Do you want to spar?"
Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, and confidence once again surfaced on their faces.
Ma Rulong puffed out his chest, slightly lifting the Rank 6 soul tool cannon in his hand, his expression eager.
"Heh, Captain, since you've said so, then we won't hold back!"
Xiao Hongchen brushed his bangs aside in a flashy motion, his eyes blazing with battle intent.
"Brother Liu Yuan, then you better watch closely! We're not the same as we were a month ago!"
With that, everyone began loosening up, clearly preparing for battle.
Originally, according to their usual sparring routine, they planned to go up one by one—taking turns receiving Liu Yuan's "guidance" while showing off their individual strengths.
However, just as Ma Rulong was about to step onto the stage first, Liu Yuan suddenly raised his hand.
A meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth as he spoke words that stunned everyone.
"One by one is too slow. And…"
He paused, his gaze carrying an overwhelming, world-dominating aura.
"In a one-on-one fight, you don't stand a chance at all."
"So, to save time—and to let you experience what real battle feels like—"
"You might as well all come at me together."
"What?!"
The moment those words fell, the entire group was stunned.
All of them—together?
No matter how strong Liu Yuan was, he was still only one person!
"Captain… are you serious?" Ma Rulong swallowed and asked hesitantly.
"Isn't it a bit much for all of us to gang up on you?"
Liu Yuan raised an eyebrow, crossed his arms, and replied calmly,
"Bullying? That assumes you actually have the ability."
"What—don't dare? Or are you not as confident in your progress this past month as you thought?"
Hearing such blatant provocation, how could the proud Xiao Hongchen tolerate it? He snorted coldly.
"Fine! Since Brother Liu Yuan is in such high spirits, if we refuse again, it'd look like we're afraid of you!"
"Brothers! If the Captain wants to play big, then we'll play along! Let him learn that two fists can't beat four hands!"
"Good! Let's go together!"
"Show him what we've got!"
Provoked by Liu Yuan, everyone's fighting spirit instantly surged to its peak.
They also vaguely sensed that in a one-on-one fight, they really stood no chance—but if they attacked together, supported by overwhelming soul tool firepower, they might actually be able to knock the Captain down!
At Liu Yuan's signal, all official members of the Sun Moon Team leapt onto the widest main stage of Trial Ground No. 1, their battle intent boiling.
"Are you all ready?"
Liu Yuan stood alone on one side of the stage, facing the aggressive crowd, his expression relaxed and calm.
"Ready!"
"Spirit, Possession!"
"Soul tools—charging!"
With a series of low shouts, the stage instantly erupted in brilliant, multi-colored soul power light!
Ma Rulong quickly pulled out a uniquely shaped pair of goggles from his storage ring and put them on.
At the same time, he raised a heavy Rank 6 defensive soul tool shield.
"Brothers!"
"I'll block the Captain's advance! Don't worry about defense—pour out all your long-range firepower!"
"Understood!"
"Fire!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom——!!!"
In an instant, deafening cannon fire filled the stage!
Dozens of soul tool beams and shells, mixed with Xiao Hongchen's Metal Storm and Meng Hongchen's Poisonous Ice Mist, descended toward Liu Yuan like a torrential storm!
Yet in the face of this terrifying barrage—powerful enough to flatten a small hill—Liu Yuan merely shook his head.
"The momentum's decent. Unfortunately…"
"It's useless against me."
He stood in place, not moving an inch.
This time, he deliberately did not activate Extreme Speed to dodge. Instead, he slowly raised his right hand, fingers spread, pointing toward the storm of attacks.
The fifth spirit ring he had just obtained suddenly lit up.
That deep-black glow shone with breathtaking intensity!
"Fifth Spirit Ability—"
"Draco Meteor!"
As Liu Yuan shouted inwardly, the clear sky instantly darkened!
A terrifying Dragon Might descended upon the entire stage!
"What… what is that?!"
Xiao Hongchen and the others, who had been unleashing their attacks, sensed danger and instinctively looked up.
High above them, hundreds of meters in the air, enormous meteors engulfed in blazing dragon flames began to form!
"Are… are those meteors?!"
Ma Rulong stared at the rapidly enlarging fireballs reflected in his pupils, completely dumbfounded.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The meteors crashed down!
All the soul tool shells flying toward Liu Yuan were instantly pulverized—shattered into nothing without causing even the slightest ripple!
The remaining meteors continued their descent, mercilessly blanketing the area where Ma Rulong and the others stood.
"Not good! Defend—now!"
The team was terrified, their souls nearly scattering as they frantically activated their defensive soul tools.
"Bang——!!!"
Even with Liu Yuan deliberately restraining its power, Draco Meteor was still overwhelmingly strong!
Ma Rulong's pride—his Rank 6 defensive shield—lasted less than three seconds after taking a direct hit. He was knocked backward repeatedly, his arms going completely numb!
The others fared even worse, sent flying in all directions by the shockwaves as their formation collapsed instantly.
When the smoke finally cleared—
Liu Yuan stood where he had always been, completely unscathed.
Ma Rulong and Xiao Hongchen sucked in a cold breath, their eyes filled with disbelief.
"Cap… Captain, when did you get such a ridiculously broken skill?!"
"This is cheating! How are we supposed to fight this?!"
A large-area, high-damage AOE like this was nothing short of a team-battle annihilation weapon!
Liu Yuan brushed off imaginary dust from his hands and smiled at the stunned crowd.
"Oh, this?"
"On the way back, I had a breakthrough by accident and picked up a new spirit ring."
"Well? Not bad, right?"
Accidentally… breakthrough?
Picked up a spirit ring… on the way?
Is that even something a human says?!
Everyone's mouths twitched violently, feeling as if they'd just taken massive critical damage to their hearts.
They had trained themselves half to death for a month just to make progress—while this guy went for a casual stroll, leveled up "by accident," and crushed them effortlessly?!
How is anyone supposed to live like this?!
"Don't rush to be shocked—it's not over yet."
As if this still wasn't enough, Liu Yuan's smile deepened.
Since he was testing things anyway, he might as well test the whole set.
"Next, I'll give you all a bath to wake you up."
Before his words even finished, the soul power around him surged again.
"Storm!"
"Surf!"
"Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh——!!!"
In an instant, violent winds rose on the stage!
Then, towering waves surged up from beneath Liu Yuan's feet as if from nowhere!
Several meters high, the waves carried immense force, and driven by the raging wind, they slammed straight into the already unsteady Sun Moon Team members!
"Holy—!"
"Gurgle—gurgle—!"
Caught between wind and water, the team—already broken in formation and defense—had no ability to resist.
One by one, they were soaked head to toe like drowned chickens and unceremoniously washed straight off the stage!
Splash—
The flood receded, leaving the stage in utter chaos.
Below it—
Ma Rulong, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and the rest lay sprawled on the ground, drenched and miserable.
They looked up at Liu Yuan, who stood neatly dressed on the stage, smiling down at them, and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness rose in their hearts.
Is the gap… really getting wider and wider?
They had thought their progress this month was impressive. They had believed that by working together, they might stand a chance.
But in the end—
The guy didn't even move his feet.
Two abilities, and they were completely wiped out.
What was even the point of fighting?
Ma Rulong wiped water from his face and lay flat on the ground, utterly defeated.
"No more! What's the point?!"
"We surrender! Completely!"
Xiao Hongchen shook his head with a bitter smile.
"A monster… a true monster…"
"I thought there was a slim chance. Now I see—there's no chance at all."
At this moment, they finally understood one undeniable truth:
Your senior will always be your senior.
And the Captain will always be a mountain they can never surpass.
-------------Author---------------
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