Chapter 30 Why do you have to be so amazing?

As the crack appeared, Chen Jiujun's face changed dramatically as he was setting up the Thunder Strike Seal. Fang Kun, who had just rushed forward ready to slash at the Earth Element Beast, quickly stopped himself and retreated swiftly!

"It's Crack Earth Gorge!"

Both of them instantly recalled the Earth Element Beast's other Green Skill: Crack Earth Gorge, a super-strong attack skill that infuses Star Power into the ground, building momentum before erupting in the form of a gorge-like fissure!

Crack Earth Gorge infuses a tremendous amount of energy underground, causing a two- to three-second delay during activation, but in exchange unleashing terrifying destructive power.

And now, Su Yuan was controlled by the Earth Element Pressure, clearly unable to dodge!

"Quick, press the emergency button… damn it!" Fang Kun cried out.

Earlier, Fang Kun had seen a few students press the emergency button, which instantly activated a pre-set Star Power Barrier from the locator to temporarily protect the student in danger.

But Fang Kun quickly realized that Su Yuan was immobilized by Elemental Magnetism Pressure and couldn't press the emergency button at all.

Chen Jiujun furrowed his brow and sneered, "Judging from his earlier moves, I thought he had some skill. Turns out this is it? Joining this mess, he has no idea what he's in for!"

Not far from the battlefield, Xiao Yong, concealed from view, had his muscles taut and his spirit highly focused, ready to step in at any moment! If he hadn't been aware of Su Yuan's Instant Movement ability, Xiao Yong would've intervened already.

After all, these three—especially Su Yuan—must not make even a single misstep!

"Boom!!"

With a thunderous roar, waves of black flame erupted violently from the ground fissure, instantly rising several meters high and forming a chilling black Star Power wall!

The sheer power of this attack left Fang Kun, who had retreated in another direction, visibly shaken!

Two seconds later, the black flames dissipated, leaving behind an enormous gorge nearly seventy to eighty meters long.

"The power… it's indeed terrifying!" Fang Kun swallowed hard and suddenly looked around. "Wait… what happened to that guy?"

"That was a close one…"

While Fang Kun was deep in thought, a calm voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Startled, Fang Kun turned around to see Su Yuan standing behind him, looking composed and completely unharmed.

"How did he get here? Is it Illusion Technique, Substitute Technique, or…" Seeing Su Yuan's silver-glowing eyes, Fang Kun suddenly realized something, his pupils contracting sharply. "Could it be… Instant Movement?!"

Su Yuan walked forward and said to Fang Kun, "Step back a little, will you?"

Fang Kun frowned, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Su Yuan lifted his head and gestured into the distance. Surrounding the Earth Element Beast were fifteen silver lightning seals arranged within dozens of meters.

"Who would've thought… Su Yuan knows Instant Movement as well?!" Chen Jiujun's face was a mix of astonishment and uncertainty before darkening with an annoyed snort. "So what? This Earth Element Beast is mine! I'm the best in this trial; Guangchuan's number one genius!"

Chen Jiujun placed the final Thunder Strike Seal and quickly began forming seals with both hands.

Su Yuan said to Fang Kun, "He's ready; we can't stop him. Or do you want to go help the Earth Element Beast take some of the damage?"

Fang Kun furrowed his brow tightly. "He set it up so fast… Damn it! Is there no choice but to let this Earth Element Beast go to him?"

Su Yuan, however, remained calm. "We've both felt the Earth Element Beast's defenses firsthand. Don't you have even a little confidence?"

Fang Kun froze for a moment, recalling how, even with his full-strength slash in regular form, he could only scratch its defenses lightly. Gradually, he regained his composure.

Su Yuan said slowly, "Whether we're working for him or he for us, we'll know after this move."

Su Yuan had already tested the Earth Element Beast's defense with the Perfect Steel Flame Finger and had full confidence in its resilience.

Even if Chen Jiujun wielded a high-impact Green Skill, without perfection, it wouldn't necessarily kill the Earth Element Beast outright!

Just as the Earth Element Beast finished using Crack Earth Gorge, silver lightning seals suddenly lit up around it from every direction.

The flowing, dense Thunder Element made the Earth Element Beast uneasy. It had no choice but to charge outward rapidly.

But after waiting so long for this moment, Chen Jiujun would never let the Earth Element Beast escape. Two Thunder Snakes flew out of his body, connecting head to tail to form a Silver Electric Magic Chain that bound the Earth Element Beast tightly.

Slaying a Bronze Level Earth Element Beast—the feat would absolutely rank among the top achievements of the special admissions students in Wanzhou!

Chen Jiujun's eyes gleamed with excitement. Fueled by adrenaline, he formed seals frantically and roared, "Sixteen Layers, Thunder Strike Array!"

A torrent of Thunder Attribute Star Power blasted out from the lightning seals. Explosions roared, lightning howled! The blinding thunder light instantly engulfed the Earth Element Beast!

Even Fang Kun couldn't help but praise, "This move… quite powerful!"

"Indeed, an impressive strike!" Su Yuan squinted slightly. "But… it might still fall a bit short."

Hearing this, Fang Kun's eyes shifted slightly as he stared at the dissipating thunder light, tightening his grip on the broadsword.

"Crackle, crackle…"

The sound of electricity continued to echo, and as the silver light faded, the battlefield came into view.

The Earth Element Beast's normally grayish-black body now appeared completely scorched.

Having spent massive energy on Crack Earth Gorge earlier and then been struck by the Sixteen Layers Thunder Strike Array, its aura had weakened significantly.

Yet despite all this, it remained standing, glaring fiercely at the three outsiders!

"How could this be?!"

Chen Jiujun's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Impossible! Even the Sixteen Layers Thunder Strike Array that could kill the Bronze Middle Stage Huangyan Armadillo failed to destroy this Earth Element Beast?!

Chen Jiujun had underestimated the might of an Elite Star Beast.

*Truth be told, Star Apprentice-level students rarely had chances to encounter Elite Star Beasts. Even Su Yuan and Zhuang Xun almost suffered losses against them initially.*

*Moreover, Su Yuan's Steel Flame Finger and Fang Kun's slash with Black Tiger Strong Strike had both inflicted effective damage on the Earth Element Beast, misleading Chen Jiujun into believing its defense wasn't as impenetrable as it truly was.*

Fang Kun aside, to Chen Jiujun, Su Yuan was merely a newly awakened Eighth Stage Star Apprentice!

*This led him to assume the Earth Element Beast's defenses, while formidable, were at most akin to those of the Huangyan Armadillo he'd defeated earlier.*

"Which is why you can't depend on others; you've got to test opponents yourself to know their true strength…"

Watching the dazed Chen Jiujun, Su Yuan shook his head slightly.

At that moment, Star Power surged nearby as Fang Kun, wielding his broadsword, burst forth with everything he had, transforming into a black streak as he charged at the weakened Earth Element Beast.

Su Yuan let out a soft chuckle. "What an impulsive guy…"

Summoning the Star Power within him, Su Yuan's entire right arm ignited with golden fire and elemental metal force. The gold and dark red intertwined, and within moments, his right arm transformed into a blazing, heated piece of molten metal!

"Instant Teleportation…"

With a flash of silver in his eyes, Su Yuan vanished from his spot, instantly reappearing beside the Earth Element Beast. He raised his burning metallic right arm in a hand-blade position and struck viciously at the beast's neck.

"Burning Gold Hand!"

Su Yuan shouted, his right arm wrapped in a gold fire briefly resisted, then sliced through the Earth Element Beast's neck like a hot knife through butter!

"Thunk, thunk…"

The beast's head toppled to the ground like a basketball, rolling to a stop near Fang Kun's feet.

The Earth Element Beast—defeated!

Su Yuan's face turned pale as he dispersed the remaining Star Power from his right arm. His whole arm was consumed by intense pain and burns, even down to the bones, as if shattered.

*With his current physical stamina, it was still too taxing to execute such a move…*

*This technique came to Su Yuan's mind after elevating Hardened Iron Armor to perfection and combining it with Steel Flame Finger in a moment of insight.*

*When the two skills reached levels beyond perfection, their fusion ignited an advanced, deeper reaction, unlocking untapped potential and producing power beyond limits.*

Su Yuan had named it "Burning Gold Hand."

*Given his mastery of both skills at the Transformation Realm, unleashing the Burning Gold Hand at full force yielded power equivalent to high-level Green Skills nearing perfection.*

Dozens of meters away, Xiao Yong, who had been closely watching, twitched his lips before muttering, "Why do you always have to show off so much…"

With Su Yuan's decisive strike taking down the Earth Element Beast, Fang Kun and Chen Jiujun stood frozen in place.

Chen Jiujun finally realized—Guangchuan City had geniuses far beyond his level, one of whom happened to be a mere Star Apprentice Eighth Stage!

Recalling Su Yuan's earlier words, Chen Jiujun suddenly became enlightened and let out a self-deprecating laugh. "Half a dozen versus eight ounces… turns out I'm the half dozen, and you're the eight ounces."

As for Fang Kun, he stared wide-eyed at the Earth Element Beast's head near his feet, uncertain how to express the astonishing lethality of Burning Gold Hand, which easily surpassed his Hu Ben's Heart transformation paired with his strongest attack!

*How could an Eighth Stage Star Apprentice unleash such attacks barehanded?!*

Looking at Su Yuan, Fang Kun shook his head with a bitter smile, secretly cursing inside.

*Zhuang Xun, you tricked me! "Possibly stronger than us"? This guy's a freak!*

*We're all Shuzhou special admissions students, future classmates. If you knew he was such a monster, why didn't you give me more intel?!*

*Oh, I get it. You purposely wanted me to make a fool of myself, didn't you? Wishing me luck to dominate the trial and take the top spot? Fine, just you wait. When we get to Shuzhou College, I'll settle the score!*

"Ah… ah-choo!"

At Qingye High School, during a common language class, Zhuang Xun, half-asleep, suddenly felt chills running down his spine and sneezed sharply. Jolted awake, he muttered, "Huh, who's cursing me behind my back?!"

Scratching his head in confusion, Zhuang Xun soon slouched back over, resuming his nap…