“The trees moved?!”

“What’s going on?”

“What happened?”

“Retreat quickly!”

The moment the tree cage formed, all the special trainees panicked.

They stopped fighting.

They quickly distanced themselves from the Divine Plant Cult followers.

At top speed, they fell back to Instructor Lu Tianrong’s position for protection.

At the same time.

Lin Zichen emerged from the bamboo building, not immediately reuniting with the others.

Instead, his figure flickered as he shot toward the retreating Divine Plant Cult followers.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Six consecutive shots rang out.

Of the seven Divine Plant Cult followers pulling back, six dropped instantly, all with exploded heads.

Only one remained, the strongest in Biological Level, frozen in place trembling.

Bang!

With that shot, the last follower was struck by a punch.

He was sent crashing to the ground, curling up in agony, groaning in pain.

Lin Zichen shook off the blood on his fist, looking down coldly at the survivor, “Explain what this tree cage is and I’ll let you live.”

As he spoke, Lu Tianrong and the special trainees arrived.

They looked at the six headless corpses and the trembling survivor on the ground, utterly shocked.

In the blink of an eye, he had killed six Divine Plant Cult followers and deliberately left one alive for questioning?

Lin Zichen’s strength was overwhelming, even greater than they had imagined.

He might even be able to face off against the branch leader who had yet to appear…

While the others were stunned by Lin Zichen’s power, Instructor Lu Tianrong was even more struck by his mindset.

When the sudden change occurred, he himself had been stunned for a moment, unable to react.

But Lin Zichen, a mere trainee, immediately made the best choice.

Kill the retreating followers, but leave the strongest alive to question.

Leaving the strongest alive meant that he likely held a higher position in the branch and knew more valuable information.

‘Strong. Unflinching. Meticulous. This genius from Shanhai University was truly extraordinary…’

Lu Tianrong praised him highly in his heart.

Lin Zichen ignored their awe.

When the survivor didn’t speak, he raised his leg and stomped—crack—shattering the man’s right hand.

“Aaahhh—!”

The follower screamed in agony.

Lin Zichen said calmly, “Explain these giant trees, or the next stomp lands on your head.”

Not wanting to die, the follower finally chose betrayal, opening his mouth, “These trees are… aaahhh!”

Before he could finish, he let out a scream worse than death.

Suddenly, countless root tendrils crawled out of his mouth like worms, burrowing into the ground.

Moments later, the screaming stopped.

The follower had no life left, his body drained into fertilizer, leaving only bones and skin.

Everyone who witnessed this shuddered in fear, chilled to the core.

Clap! Clap! Clap…

Suddenly, applause came from one of the towering trees.

Lin Zichen turned toward the sound.

Two masked figures came into view.

A man and a woman.

The woman’s mask bore a one-leaf clover pattern.

The man’s mask bore a two-leaf clover pattern.

Lin Zichen’s thoughts moved as he sensed their Biological Levels.

The woman was at Ordinary Rank Nine Peak, almost certainly the branch leader.

The man was extremely strong, at Advanced Rank Six, the same as Instructor Lu Tianrong.

Yet even combined, Ordinary Rank Nine Peak plus Advanced Rank Six was weaker than his side.

‘As long as nothing unexpected happened, victory was assured…’

Thinking this, Lin Zichen let out a breath of relief.

At that moment, the man on the tree stopped clapping.

Looking down with admiration, he said, “A genius, an unparalleled prodigy among your peers. Not even twenty, yet your body has reached this level of strength, truly unheard of. Perhaps the prejudice against the Path of Pureblood Humans may really be broken by you.”

He offered an olive branch, “A genius like you belongs with the Divine Plant Cult, to gain a bright future and pursue higher evolution.”

Lin Zichen frowned.

He realized something terrifying.

These two masked figures might have come specifically for him.

They knew he would come here, laying a trap in advance.

What did that mean?

It meant there was a traitor, either in the military district or among the trainees here.

An insider had leaked information, allowing these two to set the trap.

It also meant he was now fully targeted by the Divine Plant Cult.

‘Nothing could be worse…’

Lin Zichen’s frown deepened.

Beside him, Lu Tianrong’s frown deepened too.

He sensed the masked man’s strength and felt this battle could go badly.

Steeling himself, he said gravely, “The situation is dangerous, everyone leave now. I’ll hold them off.”

“Follow me!”

Lin Zichen didn’t hesitate. After saying this, he turned and ran toward the bus.

One enemy was Advanced Rank Six. This was not a battle a student at Ordinary Rank Nine should join.

Even if his strength was near Advanced Rank Three, he had no place here.

Staying would only burden Lu Tianrong.

The right move was to escape the tree cage and call for reinforcements.

“Move!”

Seeing some still frozen in place, Lin Zichen shouted loudly.

His shout jolted them awake.

They quickly followed his lead to escape.

“Can you escape?”

The masked man smirked.

He snapped his fingers.

The next second!

Thick vines surged from the towering trees, writhing like snakes toward the fleeing group.

“Help me, I’m caught!”

A cry for help came from the back—Shangguan Yueying.

Lu Tianrong instantly flashed to her side, chopping through the vine and freeing her.

But right after saving her, another cry came, “Instructor, I’m caught too!”

And another, “Instructor, help me!”

Save one, two more were bound.

‘Too many vines…’

Lu Tianrong couldn’t save them all.

So he abandoned the rescue and faced the masked man instead.

Bang!

He pushed off with explosive force, blasting a crater into the ground and shot toward the masked man.

The only way to break the trap was to kill him.

Once the masked man died, the vines would wither and everyone would be freed.