137: Chapter 139 Little Gu!

The second stage of the trial.

The battle began.

Six Battle Iron Golems lunged from different directions, their heavy metal bodies thumping against the ground with muffled thuds.

Seeing the iron golems advance, Chen Shanshui, acting as the team's tank, was the first to charge forward.

He held a heavy kite shield in his left hand and gripped a large double-headed axe in his right.

With a horizontal sweep of his shield, he forcibly blocked the charge of the two iron golems directly in front of him. Then, with a low growl and a surge of power from his core, he actually knocked them back.

Sun Ye followed up almost simultaneously.

His movements were more agile; with a quick shift of his feet, he cut in from the flank. His longsword transformed into a silver arc of light, intercepting the other iron golems' attacks on Chen Shanshui.

"Give me buffs! Teacher Cheng!" Chen Shanshui roared.

Before Chen Shanshui's roar had even faded, two light green halos flew from the rear, landing softly on him and Sun Ye.

Strength Enhancement.

The aura around the two of them surged visibly.

In an instant, the six iron golems were pinned down by the two of them, one in front and one behind, throwing their formation into slight disarray.

The moment they were pinned, Chen Shanshui immediately turned his head and shouted, "Xiao Gu!"

As the words fell, Gu Changming flicked his wrist.

A silver stream of light shot from his fingertips, silent and so fast it almost left afterimages.

The Telekinetic Shuttle let out a faint hiss as it sliced through the air.

As if possessing a will of its own, it accurately bored into the joints of two iron golems.

*Crack.*

A crisp snapping sound rang out.

One of the iron golems' heads fell off directly, and its body crashed to the ground.

The right arm joint of the other iron golem shattered instantly, causing the entire metal arm to hang limply, its movements becoming noticeably sluggish.

Sun Ye's eyes lit up, and his longsword suddenly accelerated.

Seizing the opportunity, he lunged forward, his sword tip turning into a cold star.

Taking advantage of the staggering iron golem's unstable center of gravity, the sword tip pierced through the gap in its neck.

With a twist of his wrist, he applied force and stirred.

The red light in the iron golem's eyes flickered twice before quickly extinguishing, and its heavy body crashed to the ground.

With two golems suddenly gone, the pressure on Chen Shanshui eased slightly. He pushed and shoved with his shield, knocking back the opponent in front of him, then followed up with a backhand axe swing, striking heavily against another iron golem's chest.

Metal collided, and sparks flew everywhere.

The battle continued.

Cheng Yubai stood at the rear, constantly downing replenishment potion while never stopping his movements; one buffing halo after another landed on Chen Shanshui and Sun Ye.

Chen Shanshui and Sun Ye held the front line, shield and blade interlacing, the sound of clashing metal never ceasing.

Meanwhile, Gu Changming became the ultimate reaper. Every time the Telekinetic Shuttle shot out, it accurately hit the iron golems' joints or energy cores.

Although it wasn't a lethal blow every time, it always interrupted the opponent's offensive or caused critical damage, creating opportunities for the two in front.

The battle lasted for about five minutes.

As Gu Changming's Telekinetic Shuttle pierced through the chest core device of the last iron golem, the red light in its eyes flickered violently a few times before it collapsed to the ground with a loud clang.

The battle was over.

Chen Shanshui panted heavily, threw his shield and axe to the ground, and fell backward, sprawling on the ground in a starfish position.

During this battle, he had gained quite a few wounds; blood had even soaked through his clothes.

Sun Ye's situation was better; he could still support his body with his sword. After a few breaths, he moved to check the fallen iron golems one by one, confirming they were no longer moving.

At this point, Gu Changming and Cheng Yubai approached from the rear.

Compared to the two in front, they seemed much more relaxed, just appearing a bit fatigued from excessive Mental Power consumption.

Chen Shanshui glanced at them and couldn't help but speak, his voice still ragged:

"You two... are way too relaxed, aren't you? You were basically just watching the show from the back."

Cheng Yubai smiled and began to "threaten" him.

"Keep nagging, and I won't use any Healing Spells on you."

"My mistake, my mistake, Teacher Cheng," Chen Shanshui immediately raised his hands in surrender.

Cheng Yubai stopped teasing him and extended his palm; a soft white light emanated as he began to heal the injuries.

Gu Changming also took a tube of red healing potion from his waist, squatted down beside him, and prepared to give it to him.

The Healing Spell was for external wounds, while the healing potion was for restoring health, so they didn't conflict.

However, the moment Gu Changming was about to hand over the healing potion, the expression on Chen Shanshui's face suddenly froze.

"Hmm?" Cheng Yubai felt a sense of foreboding and increased the intensity of the Healing Spell. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Chen Shanshui didn't answer immediately; his brow furrowed deeply, and his gaze went blank.

Then, as if feeling some indescribable abnormality, his left hand hesitantly and slowly moved toward his abdomen.

On the other side, Sun Ye, noticing the strange movement over here, immediately walked back with his sword raised.

Seeing Chen Shanshui's weird expression and movements, his heart tightened, and his voice became anxious:

"What's going on? Did you get hit in a vital spot? Internal bleeding?"

Gu Changming's eyes also narrowed, an inexplicable panic rising in his heart.

Please don't let anything happen... Please don't let it be some serious injury that can't be healed...

Gu Changming immediately reached out with his right hand, his fingertips trembling slightly as he pressed toward the area Chen Shanshui's left hand was covering.

His movements were both urgent and gentle.

He lifted the clothing.

Under the cover of the clothes... was Chen Shanshui's thumb and index finger pressed together to form a finger heart.

"Hehe."

A mischievous smirk of success flashed across Chen Shanshui's face. His eyes squinted as he looked over at the others.

"Fooled you, didn't I? How could I possibly be injured?"

Gu Changming's hand froze in mid-air.

Cheng Yubai reacted faster. "Tsk, disgusting."

The tension and concern on his face vanished instantly. Without a word, he raised his foot and stomped on the very spot on Chen Shanshui's abdomen he had just been covering.

"At least pick the right time to joke around," Cheng Yubai scolded with a laugh.

Chen Shanshui immediately cooperated with a tragic scream, clutching his stomach and acting as if he were in unbearable pain.

"Teacher Cheng, with that kick, I really am seriously injured now."

Seeing him act like such a clown, Sun Ye, whose heart had been in his throat just now, gave a massive eye-roll at the reversal.

He then turned and walked away, continuing to check the iron golems, ignoring the other's antics.

Seeing that no one was buying it, Chen Shanshui let go of his stomach and looked at everyone, explaining, "The battle just ended, the atmosphere was so tense! I just wanted to crack a joke to help everyone relax."

As he spoke, he turned to Gu Changming, grinning as he tried to pull him to his side. "Am I right, Xiao Gu?"

Cheng Yubai also looked at Gu Changming and helped out by saying, "Don't mind him. This guy's brain is broken; it's an intermittent condition."

Seeing that he was fine, the tension in Gu Changming's heart also quietly eased.

Then, he responded in a relaxed manner.

"Yeah."

Seeing Gu Changming only give a faint response, Chen Shanshui didn't give up and began to complain.

"Xiao Gu, you can't be like this. You have no sense of humor at all; you'll never find a girlfriend like that."

Not far away, Sun Ye heard this and immediately responded.

"What time do you think it is? In this kind of environment, you're still thinking about finding a girlfriend?"

"Hey, don't be so absolute. A person needs something to look forward to in life," Chen Shanshui shouted back toward Sun Ye with his neck stiffened.

Seeing that he was alive and kicking, Gu Changming didn't intend to feed him anymore and simply tossed the potion over.

Chen Shanshui caught it deftly, pulled the stopper without a word, and tilted his head back to chug it down.

Watching him swallow the potion, Gu Changming, standing to the side, blinked and suddenly spoke:

"What a pity."

"Huh?"

The inexplicable words startled the three of them, and their gazes turned toward him.

Seeing their converging gazes, the corners of Gu Changming's mouth curled slightly as he said the words he had prepared.

"All that health insurance you paid for before was for nothing. You were so 'seriously' injured, but now you can't get a reimbursement."

"..."

The air went silent for a moment.

The expressions on all three of their faces froze.

Cheng Yubai was the first to react. After glancing at the two of them, he was the first to burst out laughing.

"Haha." He chuckled, then looked at the other two and explained, "Who said Xiao Gu has no sense of humor... I say he'll definitely be able to find a girlfriend."

With that hint, Chen Shanshui and Sun Ye also realized that Gu Changming had been joking.

The corners of Sun Ye's mouth also curled up as he let out a few cooperative laughs.

Chen Shanshui's performance was very exaggerated, as if his funny bone had been struck; he rolled around on the ground clutching his stomach and laughing loudly.

"Hahaha..."

Hearing their laughter, Gu Changming tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth turning up as he felt a bit of internal pride.

It seemed his joke... was actually pretty good.

This relaxed atmosphere didn't last more than a few seconds before Sun Ye, who had finished inspecting the battlefield and was squatting by the wreckage of an iron golem, turned his head and waved at him.

"Xiao Gu! Come here for a second!"

Gu Changming looked over at the sound.

"Let's do a review," Sun Ye shouted. "In your attack just now, if the joint connection point was two centimeters to the left, the destruction effect would have been better..."

Gu Changming nodded quickly and started walking toward him.

That was just Sun Ye's personality: cautious, meticulous, and always pursuing the optimal solution.

Otherwise, he wouldn't go and confirm if the enemies were truly dead after every battle, and if they weren't, he'd go up and deliver a finishing blow.

However, perhaps because the atmosphere had just been so lively, Gu Changming didn't hurry his pace.

Seeing this, Sun Ye raised his voice and shouted again.

"Xiao Gu!"

"..."

"Boss Gu?"

Sun Ye stared at him with some curiosity, not understanding why he had dazed out during their conversation.

"Yeah." Being called, Gu Changming snapped back to his senses.

Seeing this, the three of them exchanged glances and continued talking.

"The iron golems are all dealt with. Are we going to the next stage?"

Gu Changming looked up; those six iron golems had already been scrapped, their parts scattered all over the ground.

"Yeah..." Gu Changming gave another soft response, "Let's go to the next stage."