Chapter 26: No Way to Retreat

  In the next eight days, Zong Yin reinforced his soul barrier every day with the baptism of the fierce wind, but the last gust of wind was no longer able to temper his barrier. So he also moved forward step by step like others, but unlike others, only he could stand at a certain point in the fierce wind for a long time.

  It's not just the exercise of soul power shield, but also the power of Zong Yinlian's soul knife blade is condensed and powerful. Now his full-strength slash can already break through the crazy wind within two meters in front of him, and I believe that even an ordinary 6th or 7th level Soul Master's body can be easily cut open.

  On the sixth day, Hei Sen burst into the classroom again in a rage, scolding everyone and pointing at their noses. The reason was simple: other classes had already finished their lessons despite the strong winds, and everyone couldn't help but roll their eyes and curse him for being abnormal, which also brought bad luck to the rest of them.

  At that time, Zong Yin estimated that he could only take eight steps at most, and there was still a long way to go from the destination. Even Yang Jun, who was the strongest, could only move forward thirteen steps.

  The benefits are also obvious. When a group of competitive children learn that someone is leading by so much and has completed the task ahead of time, they all start to work desperately as well.

  The next evening, Yang Jun struggled with his injuries and became the first in the class to reach the opposite side of the classroom.

  Zong Yinhad a competitive heart, originally standing in the fifth step, withstanding the raging wind and tempering his soul force shield. When he learned that someone had already reached the other side of the classroom, he directly walked to his limit, the eighth step, persisting for half a minute, coughing up a mouthful of blood before returning to his initial position due to exhaustion of his soul force.

  On the day of the assessment, the layout of the classroom had changed. The original wall had disappeared and was replaced by a yellow line. Hei Sen stood behind the yellow line with an unpleasant expression, seemingly lost in thought.

  "Today's assessment, those who didn't pass the yellow line are all unqualified, if you don't pass, hum! Let's start!"

  Today, Hei Sen's mood seems to be not very good. According to the past, his last threat was not in such a tone, and suddenly becoming so overbearing has left everyone somewhat unable to react.

  Everyone else isn't a fool either, they know Hei Sen is in a bad mood and no one dares to be careless. In the few minutes before the strong wind started, except for Yang Jun, not a single person moved, everyone was adjusting their state, adapting to the strong winds around them, trying to get through it all at once.

  Yang Jun has always been an outlier, and as soon as the wind picks up, he moves.

  Two sturdy arms were even more muscular than the first time Zong Yin saw him, with visible veins on the surface of his muscles. His five fingers clenched together, and his hands wrapped around two axe-shaped soul power shields. He swung them like two wheels, cutting through the fierce winds in front of him. He himself was like a nimble monkey, darting forward through the cleared path. In just three to five breaths, his hands had already crossed the yellow line, heavily pounding on the ground behind it.

  Looking at Yang Jun's appearance, it is clear that there is no strong wind in the yellow line afterwards, so you don't have to worry about being blown away by strong winds after exhaustion.

  Yang Jun was the first to complete the task, undoubtedly giving others a great deal of courage. The other forty or so people also moved one after another, and for a time the entire classroom was even more chaotic and turbulent, with intense collisions everywhere. Nobody had expected that so many people advancing at the same time would produce such an effect, and in an instant several students who were not well-prepared were blown back by the chaotic winds.

  Zong Yinheng secretly congratulated himself in his heart that he hadn't rushed forward, and by the time he started moving, he was already among the third batch of students following up.

  Only to see Zong Yin's expression was relaxed, without any movement, just like taking a stroll forward. It seemed that the strong wind could not cause him any harm. His footsteps were very steady and even. However, after only two steps, his eyebrows were tightly furrowed together, as the people around him caused the strong wind to become even more violent, his soul power was consumed at a faster rate than usual.

  Zong Yin's expression solidified as he took the fifth step, and with a swift motion, his Soul Power blade slashed downwards from above, cutting through the raging winds in front of him. Seizing the brief opening, he took two consecutive steps forward, followed by another slash of his blade, advancing two more steps. By the eleventh step, his Soul Power blade could only manage to advance one step further. He continued with three more steps, but by the fourteenth step, he was no longer able to move forward relying solely on his Soul Power blade. The closer he got to the endpoint, the more ferocious the winds became.

  Taking a deep breath, he measured with his eyes the last ten or so steps of distance. Zong Yin knew that what was to come next would be the real start of the difficulties.

  Zong Yin paused for a second, three Soul Power blades intersecting with the compressive force of the wild wind, condensing into one blade, and slashing down fiercely. A nearly two-meter-wide gap suddenly appeared in front of Zong Yin as the wild wind was slashed open. As he charged forward in an instant, taking only one step, the wild wind surged up again.

  When the fierce wind was blasting against Zong Yin's soul power shield, Zong Yin's eyebrows were tightly furrowed. The impact force of the fierce wind and the speed of his soul power consumption far exceeded his expectations!

  With a swift decision, a gray light flashed by, and the strange texture climbed up Zong Yin's body. His stone right arm slammed onto the ground, with five fingers digging into the earth. With the weight of his stone arm, he was not afraid of being blown away by the strong wind.

  Another condensed blade slash was made, and Zong Yin borrowed the empty gear to stretch out his stone arm, blocking the strong wind and pulling him forward.

  The intense soul power of the blade caused Zong Yin's soul power to deplete rapidly. With his current strength as a Soul Master, when he was still three steps away from the finish line, he only had twenty or so strands of soul power left. In his estimation, this was absolutely not enough for him to cross that yellow line and enter the Windless Zone. Once his soul power was exhausted, he would be blown away by the fierce winds, and with his body that hadn't undergone soul strengthening, he estimated that he would crash into the wall and lose his life.

  If he returns at this time, it would be possible to ensure that Zong Yin will not suffer too much backlash, and at most, he will only suffer a minor injury. However, the aftereffects of returning to his ancestral home and that minor injury would be enough to make Zong Yin lose his qualification to continue challenging.

  To advance is to risk being blown away by strong winds and losing one's life, while retreating means a safe but failed assessment.

  Between the flash of lightning and the spark of flint, Zonghui had already made up his mind: he would rather die standing than live on his knees.

  "If I can't even overcome this little difficulty, then I'd rather be that damned puppet! At least in the rest of my life, there won't be too much danger! I have no way out! I cannot retreat! I can only move forward!"

  A dark shadow emerged in Zong Yin's mind, a fierce flame burst out of his eyes, and he took another step forward with the help of the power of returning to his ancestors.

  "Give me a break!" Compressing all the soul power in his body into the blade of a soul power knife, Zong Yin put in all his strength and slashed at the crazy wind in front of him. In an instant, a straight path appeared before him, piercing through the yellow line. At this moment, the soul power in Zong Yin's body was also completely consumed, and without the support of the soul power, the patterns on his body began to slowly fade away.

  Zong Yinyi instantly removed the soul power barrier around his body, and the remaining weak soul power in the barrier was fed back into the Human Soul Stone, causing the effect of returning to one's ancestors to last for only a brief moment. But this brief moment was enough.

  "Bang!"

  The stone-like right arm suddenly passed through the raging wind, and a palm slapped on the yellow line behind, with five fingers deeply embedded in the ground. The effect of returning to the ancestors completely dissipated at this moment, although the fingers that grabbed into the ground emitted an heart-piercing pain, Zong Yin still desperately grasped the five holes in the ground, he knew that once he let go, he would be blown away by the raging wind, and die without a place to bury. The stone arm quickly shrunk, using the embedded five fingers as a fulcrum, pulling Zong Yin's body out of the raging wind.

  Without the protection of his soul force shield, Zong Yin's body was pierced by the wind that was like a sharp blade, and instantly, countless blood mouths appeared, and even his fingers that were pressed against the ground showed signs of distortion.

  Even if his whole body conveyed unspeakable pain, even if his blood had soaked through his clothes, Zong Yin's expression was still filled with joy. In this strange world, he had finally overcome a small difficulty and taken a tiny step forward.

  "Hey, don't be so desperate, don't joke with your own life. At worst, just wait for the next assessment."

  The old soul doctor who had given Zong Yin a hint earlier stepped forward and placed his hand on Zong Yin's body, and the healing technique was applied continuously. In just an instant, all the big and small wounds on Zong Yin's body had healed.

  "Since I came here, there is no turning back. I only have one chance. If I fail, I won't have the right to wait for the next one. I can only go all out."

  Zong Yin shook his head, forcing a wry smile, nodded at Lao Hun Yi, and then sat down to one side, recovering some of his physical strength and replenishing the soul energy within him. The feeling of overextending his soul energy was indeed quite uncomfortable for him.

  "Yes, entering this cage, the captive bird doesn't have many opportunities, can only go all out..."

  The old soul doctor looked at Zong Yin, who had already entered the cultivation state, and let out a soft sigh. He thought that Zong Yin was referring to entering the peak of Soul School, but with a bitter expression, he shook his head and turned around to leave without saying another word.

  Hei Sen and Yang Jun, who also heard the words of Zong Yin and Lao Hun Yi, looked at Zong Yin with a slight change in their gaze. The two men's eyes wandered, seemingly lost in thought, as if they were thinking about something.

  Until the assessment ended, forty-eight people became forty-seven. A male student was exhausted just three steps away from the finish line and was blown away by a strong gust of wind. His head hit the wall and he died on the spot.

  In the end, only sixteen people passed the assessment. When that boy died, his blood splattered everywhere and got on many people's bodies. The fear caused many who were about to succeed to give up.

  At the death of that student, everyone fell silent. Forty-seven students stared at the wall splattered with blood in a sympathetic gaze, speechless for a long time. In the Soul Academy, the death of one student was not a big deal, especially for children like them who were not welcomed by their families and were sent here as hostages. Perhaps their families would curse after they died: "Damn it! How did you die so quickly? Now I have to find someone else to replace you!"

  After Hessen announced that everyone would have a day off, Zong Yin stared at the bloodstain on the wall for a moment before turning around and leaving resolutely.

  "If you had failed back then, you would be just like him now! Remember that! You have no way out! You can't fail! You only get one chance!"

  Zong Yin muttered to himself, walking towards the practice room. This assessment may have been the greatest gain for him, allowing him to clearly recognize the consequences of failure, as he had said, he no longer had a way out.