Chapter 68

A group of people emerged from the forest, some with grim faces, some limping, and others with their arms in slings, bandaged up. Surprisingly, more than half of them were injured, at least twelve or thirteen.

Wen Yan looked at the group. She certainly didn't know every student from Tianzhao Academy, but she recognized the energetic one leading the way.

Dao Ran, a fellow fourth-year student at Tianzhao Academy, was a practitioner who had connected his Force Spirit. His most prominent ability was the Force Spirit's Enhancement Ability, "Great Strength." As the name suggests, "Great Strength" enhances the practitioner's physical strength. Wen Yan's own Surge Spirit ability, "Far Sight," also belongs to the Enhancement category, enhancing the range of vision.

Compared to other types of abilities, Enhancement abilities have a tricky aspect: it's difficult to evaluate their levels.

For example, when it comes to strength enhancement, some practitioners can double their strength, while others can increase it tenfold, and some can even enhance it a hundredfold!

Such disparities are common among Enhancement abilities. Rating a hundredfold enhancement and a doubling of strength at the same level is clearly inappropriate. Therefore, Enhancement abilities have always been uniformly marked as the highest "Level 6," indicating that these abilities have infinite potential for improvement.

Three hundred years ago, Lin Yiyuan, a renowned practitioner from the Beidou Academy, dedicated his life to researching and summarizing Enhancement abilities. After publishing numerous research articles on various Enhancement abilities, he finally compiled a work called "The Compilation of Enhancement Abilities," which had a significant impact in the academy world. This work provided the first detailed classification and evaluation of Enhancement abilities, which has been used ever since.

Enhancement abilities are no longer a blanket Level 6.

For example, in terms of strength enhancement:

- Doubling strength is rated Level 1, called "Double Strength."

- Enhancing strength two to ten times is rated Level 2, called "Great Strength."

- Enhancing strength eleven to fifty times is rated Level 3, called "Strong Strength."

- Enhancing strength fifty to a hundred times is rated Level 4, called "Violent Strength."

- Enhancing strength over a hundred times is rated Level 5, called "Divine Strength."

As for Level 6 strength enhancement, Lin Yiyuan did not provide a standard, as the strongest strength enhancement he had seen in his lifetime was 108 times. Was this the limit of strength enhancement? Lin Yiyuan did not provide an answer. However, even after his death, no practitioner of strength enhancement has broken the 108 times barrier according to his standards.

In "The Compilation of Enhancement Abilities," Lin Yiyuan still gave Level 6 strength enhancement a name: "Infinite Strength." There is no standard for the enhancement multiple, only Lin Yiyuan's endless hope for the potential of Enhancement abilities. In the compilation, there are many such Enhancement abilities that have only names and no standards.

Enhancement abilities can be improved, which is the biggest feature that sets them apart from other types of abilities.

Enhancement abilities have no limit, and many practitioners who choose Enhancement abilities often believe in the hope contained in "The Compilation of Enhancement Abilities." Many of them are willing to believe that they can break the existing limits and reach the name-only Level 6 "Infinite."

Dao Ran is such a person.

His strength enhancement is named "Great Strength," which is already Level 2. And Wen Yan knew that this guy's "Great Strength" had already reached nine times, not far from Level 3 "Strong Strength."

Nine times enhancement.

As a practitioner who had connected his Force Spirit, Dao Ran's Force Spirit must have already reached the Sixth Heaven, making his strength superior to ordinary people and even practitioners of other spirits. With a nine times enhancement, a punch weighing a thousand catties? This is a very modest description.

Dao Ran was strong, but Wen Yan faced him without the slightest fear.

"Dao Ran, what are you doing here?" Wen Yan blocked his path and asked. Tianzhao Academy and Shuangji Academy had an average of three fights a day. It was not surprising to see students, or even teachers, coming to class with injuries the next day. But seeing a dozen or so injured people gathered here made Wen Yan think of another possibility.

"What are you doing here?" Dao Ran, extremely tall and muscular, nearly two meters tall, looked down at Wen Yan from above, ignoring her question and asking his own.

"Answer me first," Wen Yan was not about to back down.

"It's none of your business," Dao Ran said, stepping to the side to bypass her, with the injured and uninjured students following behind.

"Wait!" Wen Yan stepped forward again, blocking his path. She had already guessed their purpose. Those with broken arms and limps were likely injured by Su Tang; those with pale faces and looking like they might vomit at any moment were probably poisoned by Mo Lin.

"What are you going to do?" Dao Ran frowned. He was a bit surprised to see Wen Yan here, but he didn't really care. However, it seemed that Wen Yan was trying to protect those guys, which confused him. Lu Ping and the others, they had heard, had come from the mountains to practice at Tianzhao Academy. They weren't enemies, but they weren't friends either. The key was that someone had suffered a loss at their hands, and now they needed to get even, a common mindset among Tianzhao students. Otherwise, how could they have had three fights a day with the other side?

From what Dao Ran knew of Wen Yan, she should have been sitting on the sidelines, cheering and eating sunflower seeds. Intervening was not like her.

"What are you going to do?" This time, it was Wen Yan's turn to ignore him and ask her own question.

"Do you want to meddle in something that's none of your business?" Dao Ran frowned. Although he wasn't particularly polite, he had no ill feelings toward Wen Yan. For troublemakers like him, a loyal and enthusiastic female audience often boosted their spirits, and it would be even better if she weren't so unprincipled. But today, what was wrong with Wen Yan? Had she suddenly developed a sense of principle?

"So what if I do?" Wen Yan was resolute. Two days ago, Dao Ran's assessment wouldn't have been wrong. She would have been sitting on the sidelines, cheering and eating sunflower seeds. But now, she had been moved by the four newcomers from the mountains. Although their realms were not high, their determination, courage, and confidence were something she hadn't seen in four years at Tianzhao Academy. She couldn't just stand by and watch their efforts be destroyed.

"Get out of the way!" Dao Ran's large hand swung down, a palm bigger than Wen Yan's head heading straight for her head. Seeing her stance, he didn't hesitate to attack.

Wen Yan had seen enough fights to know Dao Ran's nature. Practitioners of the Force Spirit had a combat advantage from the Perception Realm onward. So from the moment they entered the academy, they were the bullies of their grade, often bullying students of lower realms. But there were still stronger upperclassmen to keep them in check. By the fourth year, with no upperclassmen to restrain them, and Dao Ran's Force Spirit having broken through to the Connected stage, he became the bully of the entire academy. Those who could match him, he didn't provoke, but everyone else was fair game. Over the past four years, the number of Tianzhao Academy students he had injured was not much different from the number of Shuangji Academy students he had injured.

Wen Yan wasn't afraid of him, not because she was stronger. She just knew that Chu Min would be back soon, and Dao Ran's Connected stage Force Spirit would be no match for a practitioner with three spirits connected.

All she needed to do was delay.

Wen Yan had made up her mind from the start. As Dao Ran's palm swung down, she quickly stepped back, but didn't counterattack. Instead, she took a defensive stance.

"Dodge? I'll see where you can go!" Dao Ran stepped forward, swinging a punch. Wen Yan was prepared, stacking her hands to block and stepping back to dissipate the force. But when the force connected, she realized it was much stronger than she expected.

Nine times. That was her understanding of Dao Ran's "Great Strength," but this punch was more than nine times, at least ten, eleven, or even twelve times.

"Die!" Dao Ran sneered, delighted by Wen Yan's surprise.

Great Strength?

No, it was no longer that. His strength enhancement was now Level 3 "Strong Strength," with a fifteen times enhancement.

Boom!

Wen Yan couldn't deflect the punch. The force of the punch and the Spirit Power she used to block collided with a loud boom, and she was thrown back, crashing into a tree and spitting out a mouthful of blood. She had lost, completely underestimating her opponent. This wasn't the first time she had made this mistake, just a few days ago...

"Hey..." The person she had underestimated a few days ago was now lying motionless, while the other person she had underestimated was already by her side.

"What's going on?" Lu Ping asked.

"Hey, I'll help you, and you don't have to pay for the voice recorder, okay?" Lu Ping said.

"Hey, do you even understand the situation?" Wen Yan was so angry she almost spat out more blood.

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