Chapter 130: Invitation

"Boom!"

The thunderous sound of an explosion echoed along the riverbank. The massive body of a red-tailed crocodile was suddenly torn asunder, its flesh and blood spraying into the air. Before Fang Lin, Zhou Hailong, and the others could react, a series of hums resonated through the air.

*Hum! Hum! Hum!*

Nine more ferocious arrows descended from the sky, striking down nine red-tailed crocodiles and leaving their corpses on the spot. Because of their immense size, the seven or eight crocodiles crowding together had blocked the path, but in this moment, a channel was carved through them by sheer force.

Tang Mubai stood atop the canopy, bow in hand. Looking at the stunned group, he shouted, "What are you dazing for? Get moving!"

"...Go!" Wang Chan'er snapped back to reality. She sliced through a charging red-tailed crocodile and shielded Fang Lin and the others as they rushed into the newly opened path.

"You... be careful!" Fang Lin called out, looking up as he ran.

"Don't worry," Tang Mubai replied casually. He drew his bow and notched another arrow, continuing to clear the path from the treetops and picking off the red-tailed crocodiles. Wang Chan'er covered their rear and defended their flanks.

Half a minute later, Fang Lin and his group successfully escaped before the other crocodiles could surround them. Tang Mubai did not leave. Once his quiver was empty, he unleashed his "Cloud-Rolling Palm" to continue the slaughter. The red-tailed crocodiles lashed their tails, spitting jets of fire that scorched the trees and ignited the fallen leaves, but not a single strike managed to touch Tang Mubai.

[Vitality +58]
[Vitality +47]
[Vitality +62]
[Vitality +39]
[Vitality +50]
...

The recovery notifications flashed rapidly through his mind. From the treetops, Tang Mubai moved with agility, slamming down palm prints. After killing over a hundred red-tailed crocodiles, the beasts finally retreated, no longer daring to show themselves. Satisfied with the surge in vitality, Tang Mubai departed.

***

At one of the entrances to Forbidden Zone No. 9, the survivors sat slumped on the ground, gasping for air in exhaustion. After a long while, Zhou Hailong scrambled up, staring at Fang Lin with burning eyes.

"You... what are you doing?" Fang Lin jumped in surprise.

"Who is he?" Zhou Hailong continued to stare at him intently, voice trembling with excitement. "What is his name? Which martial arts academy is he from? What is his cultivation rank?"

*Swish!*

The others immediately pricked up their ears, waiting to listen. Even Wang Chan'er wore a serious expression, focusing on the conversation.

"...His name is Tang Mubai. He just inherited his family's mercenary group, and we're on good terms," Fang Lin said, rolling his eyes at Zhou Hailong and explaining with a complex expression. "As for an academy, he didn't get into a martial arts university..."

"How is that possible!" Gao Lianhu couldn't help but interrupt. "With his level of archery, slaughtering those red-tailed crocodiles like chickens, how could he fail to get into a martial arts university?"

"Old Fang, you're not joking with us, are you?" Zhou Hailong added. Although the others remained silent, their gazes were filled with skepticism.

"...It's the truth! What would I gain by lying to you?" Fang Lin said, torn between laughter and tears. "He just graduated from high school this year, but he was eliminated in the first round of the martial arts entrance exam because his blood-qi value was only 3 units."

Zhou Hailong: "..."
Gao Lianhu: "..."
Wang Chan'er: "..."
The others: "..."

Everyone stared at Fang Lin in silence.

"I'm really not lying to you!" Fang Lin explained, feeling helpless. "He really only had 3 units when he was tested back then, but for some reason, when he was tested again yesterday, it suddenly jumped to 31 units!"

No one replied. Everyone continued to look at him with suspicion.

Fang Lin grabbed his hair in frustration and muttered, "Forget it, believe it or not, his current blood-qi rank is Professional Grade Three."

"Pfft," the crowd scoffed, most of them clearly unconvinced.

"Blood-qi isn't the only metric for combat strength," a handsome young man with sharp, sword-like eyebrows suddenly said. "The rank Fang Lin mentioned might be true, but Tang Mubai's combat power is not fake. His archery has reached at least the state of perfection. The movement technique he used is likely at the same level."

"This..." Gao Lianhu froze. The others also paused, falling into deep thought.

If his archery and movement techniques were truly at the state of perfection, then even if his blood-qi rank was only Professional Grade Three, his combat effectiveness would be stronger than a Professional Grade Four! Everyone present knew the terror of a master archer.

*Rustle.*

The sound of rustling leaves echoed. Tang Mubai’s figure flashed, drifting down from the top of a large tree. Seeing this, the silent group hurriedly stood up.

"Many thanks, Commander Tang!" The handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows stepped forward, representing the group. "I am Ye Xiu, a sophomore at Canghe Martial Arts Academy and the temporary leader for this mission. We are deeply grateful for your life-saving intervention! This is our faculty advisor, Teacher Wang Chan'er, and this is Zhou Hailong, and this is Gao Lianhu..."

Ye Xiu introduced everyone. Finally, everyone, including Wang Chan'er, thanked him in unison once more.

"No need for such formalities. Fang Lin is my childhood friend, and since you are his classmates and teacher, helping out was the right thing to do," Tang Mubai said with a wave of his hand, attributing the credit to Fang Lin.

Fang Lin gave a dry laugh, feeling a wave of gratitude. With Tang Mubai phrasing it this way, the debt of gratitude for saving everyone had been shifted onto him. This was a massive favor.

"Be that as it may, we will keep Commander Tang's kindness in our hearts. If there is ever anything you need from us, please do not hesitate to ask. We will do our utmost," Ye Xiu said, glancing at Fang Lin with a smile.

"Understood," Tang Mubai said, smiling back. He looked at Fang Lin and said, "Since you’ve safely exited the forbidden zone, I’ll be taking my leave."

"Wait!" Wang Chan'er, who had been silent, suddenly called out. "I heard from Fang Lin that you didn't apply to a martial arts university?"

"...That's correct," Tang Mubai said, turning to look at her. This beautiful teacher was a solid 90 out of 100 in terms of appearance, but her demeanor was too cold. She wasn't his type. As for the "didn't apply" part, Tang Mubai implicitly accepted it. Not applying and failing to get in were two different things. The former was a choice, the latter was an inability. Given the strength he had just demonstrated, claiming he was incapable would be an insult to everyone's intelligence.

"May I ask, Commander Tang, why you didn't apply?" Wang Chan'er softened her tone, a faint smile appearing on her face. "I don't mean anything else by it, I just wanted to invite you to join our Canghe Martial Arts Academy! Our academy has been established for over two hundred years and has produced hundreds of Master-level experts. If you join us, I believe we could create something legendary together!"

Legendary? What kind of legend? None of the people present were fools; they understood exactly what she meant.

To become a Master!