Beneath Super

"Damn it, I don't know if my eyebrows got singed and curled..." The skin on his face wasn't actually afraid of a little flame like that at all. What Ye Jian worried about right now was that if someone brought him up in the future, they would say: *Ye Jian? Oh, you mean the Ye Jian who got his eyebrows singed by a Huaxia private?!* He could kill Wen Jifei. Even though Wen Jifei had leaped back and sprinted away while screaming, fleeing at a mad dash, with his kind of speed, it wasn't even worth looking at before Ye Jian. Yet, "Such an interesting kid, it'd be a shame to kill him." Bitter amusement welled up in Ye Jian's heart: *I treated you like a friend, and you fucking showed zero mercy...* He had never expected Wen Jifei's decision and reaction to be so decisive and rapid; he hadn't even had the chance to say another couple of words. He had originally wanted to praise him—the kid's composure when first seeing him had been remarkably calm and measured. At the same time, Ye Jian no longer had the time to kill Wen Jifei; doing so might leave him without enough time to retreat. The original plan had been thrown into disarray, and right now, the legion square had already exploded. No one dared joke about Ye Jian's appearance on an occasion like this. Once alerted, more than one or two people here could recognize him... Right now, the soldiers and commanders of the Huaxia Front were reacting swiftly. Therefore, no matter how powerful Ye Jian was, he didn't dare linger. Unless he was prepared to face the devastating barrage of thousands of blades all by himself. The Huaxia Front had always prized martial prowess and exuded confidence; the All-Army Conference here did not forbid carrying weapons or maneuvers gear. In fact, Chen Buer believed that having the soldiers appear in full combat kit was truer to the spirit of the All-Army Conference. Thus, among the thousands present, at least seventy to eighty percent were in a state ready to fight at any moment. Ye Jian needed to get into the crowd... into that special group primarily composed of people from the Council, the research institutes, and the medical corps, using them to avoid the first concentrated barrage. This was one of the predetermined retreat routes; he had just entered earlier alongside this group of young people. And the next step was to slip through the crowd and enter the office building at the side with the highest concentration of clerical staff. His planned escape route had been there all along. Everything had a contingency and a plan. Ye Jian had come this time precisely to make an appearance at the Huaxia All-Army Conference... As long as he showed his face here and escaped unscathed, the provocation would already be outrageous enough. With circumstances abruptly shifted, even as he rapidly adapted his decisions, Ye Jian couldn't help but glance at Wen Jifei once more. *If the same task were given to a hundred people, even if all of them had the courage and wisdom to pull it off... ninety-nine would probably instinctively run toward the crowd to seek shelter after shouting the warning, wouldn't they?* he thought. Wen Jifei, however, was that unique exception. He was screaming as he dashed toward the only deserted corner of the grounds. Ye Jian didn't know: Was it a spirit of self-sacrifice, fearing that running into the crowd would drag others into suffering casualties? Or had the kid's judgment and choices in that split second truly reached such a terrifying level of coolness, sharpness, and decisiveness?! Because if Wen Jifei had run toward the crowd, Ye Jian could have easily pursued him... With his extraordinary prowess, catching up to kill him before diving into the crowd would have been the optimal move under the circumstances. Yet Wen Jifei had chosen to sprint toward the only open, empty area on the field. That way, if Ye Jian pursued and killed him, thousands of blades would immediately fly and slash toward him from behind without any hesitation. The battle-hardened Azure soldiers would rapidly form formations, hack at him like a Great Spike, and keep him trapped here. "Stinking brat! Truly impressive. A pity you're only Grade E." Even as he marveled inwardly, Ye Jian's device and body were already in motion. Almost simultaneously, *thrum, thrum*, two bursts of source energy erupted from the position nearest to him. A greatsword and a custom polearm blade whipped up howling wind, sweeping toward him from left and right to bar his path. "Full armor! Two top-tiers? So young." Ye Jian drew his blade, lunging forward while executing a one-handed upward slash. *Clang!* The sound of colliding dead iron rang out. The weapons in Wu Xu's and Rusty Sister's hands were deflected upward together by the single blade, and their entire bodies were flung off to either side. This was their first time facing an existence standing at the very peak of this world. Ye Jian of Snow Lotus—even among humanity's super combat powers, he was one of the very strongest. *So strong!* Ye Jian effortlessly broke through, bursting between the two of them. He didn't pause to kill, keeping his stride unbroken as he lunged toward the crowd. *** She had always believed she could go onto the battlefield and had always yearned to do so, but in this moment, Xin Yaoqiao realized she was in complete panic and at a loss... Then, she felt a sharp pain in her wrist. The grip was quite firm. Before she could even turn her head, a tugging force threw her body into motion. Xin Yaoqiao was pulled behind Han Qingyu. And from the other direction, Ye Jian was lunging straight toward them. "Qingzi..." Her words caught halfway. Standing there, Xin Yaoqiao watched Han Qingyu pull another girl from the medical corps behind him, then another in front, a third, a fourth... Xin Yaoqiao could clearly sense the focused, unhesitating state he was in. Facing Ye Jian, his first instinct was to shield people behind him—from those he knew, to those beside him, to those ahead... Yet there were simply too many people here, and he seemed to finally realize he couldn't protect them all. *Thrum... Clang!* Trailing the roar of bursting source energy came the sound of an unsheathed blade. Han Qingyu broke into a charge and drew his weapon, skimming past the crowd to slash at Ye Jian. Everything occurred in a flash; Xin Yaoqiao didn't even have time to shout "Watch out!" like characters in movies and television. But for what felt like the first time, she truly began to understand Qingzi. "Eh?" Ahead, an afterimage suddenly hurtled forward, the interceptor's burst of speed drawing a surprised exclamation from Ye Jian. Snow Lotus's intelligence was very clear: of the four current super combat powers of Huaxia, Lü Moyi remained at Xilang Peak, while Hua Bixuan was definitely not in the country and most likely in Xiongzhanli, leaving only two: Chen Buer and the old monk. These two were the one confirmed to be here today and the other who might appear. The person before him was obviously neither, yet his burst of power was undeniably above top-tier. *Han Qingyu? Is it really Han Qingyu?* Ye Jian took a closer look. *It really is this kid! He broke through again this quickly?!* At this moment, as Ye Jian appeared and rushed toward the crowd here... hundreds of people from the Council, the research institutes, and the medical corps were in frantic turmoil, while the officers and soldiers of the Sole Witness Legion either couldn't intercept in time or were hesitant to strike for fear of hitting bystanders due to poor positioning, momentarily trapped in helplessness. It was precisely at this moment, less than ten meters before the dense and chaotic crowd, that a figure charged head-on to slash at Ye Jian, barring his advance. Before anyone could identify him— *Boom!* A thunderous collision of source energy rang across the field. Surging astral wind whipped out in all directions. Concrete fragmented and sprayed everywhere. One of the figures had both blades knocked from his hands, blasted flying backward straight from the point of impact. Han Qingyu's all-out burst with four turbines was still not enough against Ye Jian. However, Ye Jian's forward momentum had also been checked for a moment. Only a moment. Ye Jian tilted his head and smiled. "Not bad. But still not enough." Simultaneously, he surged forward once more. *He's not a super yet, but he might already be the number one beneath super in the Huaxia Front,* Ye Jian thought. Then, he suddenly saw Han Qingyu's hurtling body abruptly brake in midair, flip over, and pounce forward again. "Whoa!" The crowd in the square cried out, their anxiety giving way to bewilderment and astonishment. "Oh?" Ye Jian was also taken aback. "Again?" What he really meant was that the kid was actually still able to come at him. "But empty-handed, how are you going to stop me? You'll die, kid." Han Qingyu's twin blades were already gone. Suddenly, a sharp *whoosh!* sounded by his ear. Amidst the chaos of the scene, the sound wasn't heard until it was close at hand. In midair, a rectangular black wooden case—likely chest-high if stood upright, and by no means small—streaked straight through the air before everyone's eyes, already flying toward Han Qingyu. Judging by the timing, this wooden case must have been hurled at the exact moment Han Qingyu was blasted backward. It came from the direction where Ye Jian had met his first resistance. *Smack!* Still in midair, Han Qingyu reached out and slapped the flying wooden box. As the wooden case flipped, the latch seemed to release, and the lid swung open downward with a clatter. A blue starlight column sword fell horizontally out of the case.