Chapter 108: On the Warship (Part-7)

With the arrival of the Lord Rank expert, the tide briefly turned. Elder Lu moved like a raging tempest, his speed terrifying.

Each casual palm strike shattered an Upper Exalt’s body, killing them instantly. A single punch sent another flying, the shockwave alone enough to crush bones and tear flesh apart.

Against a Lord rank expert, the Upper Exalts of the Skull Warship were nothing more than lambs before a tiger.

But then, a cold snort echoed from the Skull Warship. A figure clad in black robes and wearing a golden mask rose into the air, his presence instantly oppressive.

“Your opponent is me.”

The golden-masked man charged straight at Elder Lu, blocking his path and engaging him head-on. Another Lord rank expert had entered the fray.

Ryan’s eyes narrowed sharply as he watched from below.

This was the terrifying presence he had sensed earlier. With this newcomer restraining Elder Lu, the balance in the sky shifted once more. The Western Mansion examiners were again pushed into desperate straits.

Yet the most horrifying scene unfolded on the deck.

At the trestle, the Western Mansion guards finally began to falter.

Overwhelmed by sheer numbers, gaps appeared in their defense. Masked warriors surged through, spilling onto the Void Warship like a flood and immediately launching a merciless slaughter.

Screams erupted as candidates fell one after another.

Against Exalt-rank enemies, they were no different from helpless chicks. Within mere moments, more than a dozen young cultivators lay dead, blood soaking the deck as the scene descended into hell.

As more masked warriors poured in, casualties skyrocketed. Those who had once called themselves geniuses collapsed in terror, some crying, others frozen in despair, their courage completely shattered.

Amid the chaos, Ryan remained eerily calm. “Stay behind me. Don’t move,” he said firmly.

Wang Bi’er, Mu Xianling, and the Li Clan disciples were pale with fear, but they obeyed without hesitation, pressing close behind him.

A masked warrior spotted them and raised his blade, charging forward. In his eyes, Ryan and the others were no different from the rest of the frightened prey.

Ryan merely lifted his hand. A sharp gust condensed instantly in his palm, forming a crescent of compressed wind.

“Wind Blade.”

With a flick of his wrist, the blade screamed through the air, slicing forward in a flash.

The masked warrior who charged forward froze mid-step, confusion still lingering in his eyes. Then his head flew up into the air, spinning once before tumbling away, while his body collapsed in a headless heap on the deck.

A crisp system chime echoed inside Ryan’s mind.

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing a masked warrior. Gained 70000 experience points. God of War value: 0.”

That familiar sensation surged through his body, warm and intoxicating. The anxiety he had been suppressing shattered in an instant, replaced by an uncontrollable thrill.

This feeling… this was it.

Ever since slaughtering the Wolf Sky Mercenary Corps during the qualification exam, Ryan had not experienced real combat or gained experience for many days. He had almost forgotten how addictive the rush was, the moment when power flowed into him without restraint.

Now it was back.

The battlefield was collapsing, candidates were dying by the dozens, and even Elder Lu was locked in a life-and-death struggle. Yet instead of fear, Ryan felt excitement burning in his chest.

Wasn’t this chaos exactly what he needed?

A chance to grow stronger.

“Kill.”

The word echoed in his heart. His eyes sharpened, and killing intent surged like a tide.

With a flick of his wrist, three compressed arcs of wind condensed instantly in his palm.

“Wind Blade.”

The blades screamed through the air. Three masked warriors who had just broken through the defenses and were hacking down fleeing candidates were struck simultaneously. Heads flew, blood sprayed, and three more bodies collapsed lifelessly onto the deck.

System notifications rang out one after another.

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing a masked warrior. Gained 76,000 experience points.”

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing a masked warrior. Gained 87,000 experience points.”

“Ding. Congratulations to player Ryan for killing a masked warrior. Gained 65,000 experience points.”

The rescued candidates stared blankly at the corpses around them.

“What… what just happened?”

“I’m not dead? I’m alive?”

Someone burst into sobs, another laughed hysterically, while others fled without even daring to look back. In this hellish situation, no one had the presence of mind to search for their savior. Survival was the only instinct left.

The ship was too chaotic. Ryan had acted swiftly and cleanly, and apart from those standing directly behind him, no one noticed that the masked warriors had died by his hand.

Behind him, reactions varied.

Wang Bi’er remained surprisingly calm. She had already seen Ryan’s terrifying strength before, and standing behind him felt safer than anywhere else.

Li Wujie, Li Shu, and Li Baijie were the opposite. Their faces were flushed with excitement and pride, their eyes burning as they looked at Ryan.

This was their Li Wei.

The pride of the Li Clan.

Mu Xianling, however, stood frozen in shock. Her eyes were wide as she stared at Ryan’s back, disbelief written across her face. Transparent blades of wind, invisible to the naked eye, killing Exalt-rank enemies instantly?

If she hadn’t seen it herself, she would never have believed it.

She knew Ryan was strong. She never imagined he was this strong.

Exalts, who slaughtered candidates like grass, fell before him without resistance. A casual gesture, a flick of the hand, and they died.

What level had this man truly reached?

In that moment, his back no longer looked ordinary. It felt tall, unshakable, like a mountain shielding her from the storm. Standing behind him brought an overwhelming sense of safety, and with it, a strange warmth she could not describe.

The realization made her cheeks burn, but she did not look away.

Around them, the Void Warship had become a slaughterhouse.

Western Mansion experts fell one after another, overwhelmed by numbers. Masked warriors continued pouring in, and candidates screamed as they were cut down.

Ren Tianyu, the once-arrogant five-star Upper elite from Hangzhou City, fought desperately with his long staff, brilliance flashing with every move. Yet even such a genius lasted only a few breaths before a silver spear pierced his throat. His body was lifted, then casually thrown off the ship, vanishing into the void below.

A prodigy, erased in an instant.

Nearby, another candidate collapsed to his knees, begging through tears and snot for mercy, his courage utterly broken. The masked warrior showed no hesitation. A single slash split him in two, ending his life on the spot.

That man was Su Sidao.

Once hailed as one of Fengyue City’s five seeds, once dreamed of entering the Western Mansion and rising to greatness. Now he lay in pieces on the deck, never even given the chance to take the entrance exam.

Despair spread like a plague.

Faces turned pale, eyes hollow. The fall of one genius after another crushed the last remaining hope in many hearts.

“Dead… Zi Wenxia… she’s dead…”

A young man sat dazed beside a female corpse, whispering her name over and over. His eyes were empty, his mind shattered. He did not even react when a masked warrior approached from behind, blade raised high.

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