Chapter 119: Martial Arts Mutation, Shadow of the Wind

Whoosh—

A sharp, piercing sound cut through the air. An arrow instantly pierced the arm of a Gale Archer in the front. The archer let out a muffled grunt, its arm hanging limp as the longbow fell to the ground. Behind it, more arrows followed in quick succession.

Ssh—

Many Gale Archers were struck by the arrows, collapsing to the ground. Their once-orderly formation was instantly shattered, leaving them in disarray. They were confused; they were used to being the ones firing arrows—when had they ever been shot at like this?

In the plaza, the audience stared with wide eyes.

"Is that even allowed?"

"What skill is that? I’ve never seen it before. It actually reflected the opponent’s attack back at them."

"This kid, Xu Han, is truly full of surprises!"

Qiao Chao and his group watched the scene, stunned. Dong Yan, looking incredulous, muttered, "Is this... really Xu Han?"

Qiao Chao said in a low voice, "So what if he has a way to block the Gale Archers’ arrows? The Gale Archers aren’t just dangerous for their archery; their true strength lies in their attributes. Even though they are archers, their physical strength and constitution are terrifying—not something an ordinary person can handle."

Wang Mo nodded in agreement. "I agree with that. My twin blades only scratched their skin. I suspect their physique is much stronger than even yours, Qiao Chao. Even if Xu Han gained an early advantage, he won't be able to keep it up and will eventually fall."

The others nodded. These were elite-level beasts! If Xu Han really killed these twenty Gale Archers single-handedly, where would that leave their reputations?

Just as the crowd was debating, Xu Han moved again. He raised his palm, and two lightning chains shot rapidly toward the Gale Archers.

Ssh—

The lightning chains struck them, emitting a series of harsh, crackling sounds.

"Roar!" one of the Gale Archers let out a low growl. It drew its bow and fired an arrow straight into the sky.

The next second, dozens of arrows descended from above, covering the area where Xu Han stood. A rain of arrows!

Xu Han looked up at the volley. He could feel that while the power of the rain of arrows was not as strong as a standard attack from a single Gale Archer, its advantage lay in its all-encompassing coverage. Dodging it was basically impossible.

Seeing that he could not dodge, Xu Han decided not to bother. He raised his hand, and a deep red fireball in his palm began to expand.

Explosive Fireball!

The scorching fireball roared toward the rain of arrows.

Boom!

The Explosive Fireball collided with the arrow rain, producing a deafening roar. The searing flames, accompanied by a terrifying heatwave, swept in all directions. The arrows were instantly melted by the fire.

Taking advantage of this moment, the Gale Archers, whose formation had been broken, scrambled to their feet. They drew their bows, all aiming at Xu Han.

Xu Han raised an eyebrow. Still trying to target me? How naive!

"Stealth!"

His body instantly turned transparent and vanished from their sight. The Gale Archers were stunned. They never dreamed that Xu Han possessed a stealth ability! Having lost their target, they stood there like headless flies, turning their heads and scanning the area for any sign of him.

The audience was equally baffled.

"What the hell?! You can use Stealth like that?"

"I never imagined that Stealth could break a lock-on. I’ve learned something today."

"What exactly is Xu Han’s class? How does he have a skill like Stealth?"

Even Zheng Gang showed a hint of surprise. "This kid has a clever mind, using Stealth to evade an opponent's lock-on."

While the Gale Archers were distracted, Xu Han had already reached them. With the Ice-Blue Blade in his hand, a sharp killing intent radiated from him. He had been using magic for so long that people had almost forgotten his close-quarters combat ability.

"Frost Assault!"

He swung the Ice-Blue Blade, and a cold, piercing arc of light cut through the air. Several Gale Archers were caught off guard and had their legs frozen in place. Xu Han stepped forward and slashed at the neck of one of the archers!

Ssh!

The Gale Archer’s health bar dropped significantly in an instant. With its legs still frozen, it couldn't run. A second strike followed, ending its life completely.

Looking at the few remaining Gale Archers preparing to fire, Xu Han waved his hand casually, sending a bolt of lightning surging forward. The archers were jolted by the electricity, their movements slowing down. Like a ghost, Xu Han arrived silently, the Ice-Blue Blade shimmering with a frigid aura as he claimed the lives of one archer after another.

In just five minutes, all the Gale Archers lay dead on the ground.

The entire arena fell silent. Everyone stared at Xu Han in a daze. They never imagined that Xu Han would single-handedly wipe out the entire group of Gale Archers. These were known as the mini-bosses of the second floor of the Beast Tower. Aside from the boss-level beasts, they were the hardest to deal with. Many had fallen to these archers before; even those who could now easily defeat them carried the deep, painful memories of being bullied by them in the past.

A bitter expression appeared on Wang Mo's face. Is this the gap in strength? No wonder Xu Han is the top recruit.

Qiao Chao remained silent for a moment before saying, "I will get you what I promised later." He stared at Xu Han’s silhouette, his fists clenched tightly. He had made up his mind: he must surpass Xu Han! By any means necessary, he would surpass him and become the number one recruit! He had to prove that he was the truly elite genius.

With that, he turned and left. The others, however, stayed behind. They all wanted to see just how many waves Xu Han could clear.

Xu Han approached the corpses of the Gale Archers and activated "Devour All."

The system notification chimed.

"Host has devoured second-tier Gale Archers for the first time. Gained 20 Strength, 20 Agility."

"Martial Arts skill mutating..."

Xu Han was taken aback. While he hadn't gained a new skill from this devouring, his Martial Arts skill had mutated. He wondered what it would become.

A few seconds later, the system notification sounded again.

"Martial Arts successfully mutated into Gale Shadow."

Xu Han opened his skill panel to check.

Gale Shadow LV.1: Passive skill. A gale surrounds the body, increasing speed by 10% and granting a 1% chance to dodge enemy attacks.

Xu Han felt a gust of wind swirling around him. His body felt much lighter. With just a slight push, he could dash a hundred meters. Moreover, he could now dodge enemy attacks. This wasn't limited to ordinary attacks; even skills had a chance to be dodged. This was far more effective than his previous martial arts, which couldn't dodge skill-based attacks and had been quite lackluster. Now, with Gale Shadow, even the strongest skills could be avoided without a scratch, provided the dodge triggered!