Yang Bin gave it no time to think. His fist came crashing in again.
The zombie had no choice but to shelve its confusion and meet the blow head-on.
Same result - it blocked the fist, but the back of its skull caught another heavy strike.
Two hits was all it took. The thing was already bleeding inside its brain.
An ability's power scaled directly with the user's own strength. The force Yang Bin channeled through Telekinesis was every bit as devastating as his fists.
Two clean shots like that and of course it bled. If the Barbell Rod had been sturdier, bleeding would've been the least of its problems.
This time, the zombie finally showed fear. It threw its head back and roared toward the ground below.
The moment that roar rang out, the horde besieging Chen Hao's group went berserk - abandoning their targets entirely and charging up the mountain in a frenzy.
"Calling for backup now? Too late."
Yang Bin grinned and pressed the attack.
Fists hammered the zombie's skull from the front while the Barbell Rod cracked against the back of its head in a relentless rhythm.
Caught in a pincer, the zombie couldn't keep up. The wounds on its head compounded rapidly, and its reactions grew sluggish.
Then Yang Bin found his opening. One punch, full force, dead center on its skull.
The crack was audible. The zombie's head split open.
The Barbell Rod plummeted from above and drove straight through the wound, burying itself deep in the zombie's brain.
Its body locked rigid. Then it toppled.
"Whew..." Yang Bin exhaled.
"Really need a better weapon. This is way too much work."
With his current strength, a Yaoguang Realm zombie shouldn't have required this much effort. But his weapon had crapped out at the worst possible moment.
At least the Telekinesis combo got the job done in the end.
The horde was already scrambling up the slope. Yang Bin dug the crystal out of the zombie's skull and teleported down without a second glance.
When the swarm of zombies finally reached the summit, all that greeted them was their leader's cold corpse.
Countless zombies shrieked at the sky, howling with rage.
Then they pounced on the Yaoguang Realm zombie's body.
Mmm... delicious.
When Yang Bin reappeared near Chen Hao's group, he found all six of them lying perfectly still among the corpses.
If his eyesight weren't as sharp as it was, he might've missed them entirely.
"Good lord. I finally get how people faked their deaths on ancient battlefields. You guys have literally become one with the dead."
"Bin Ge, you're back."
"How'd it go? You kill it?"
The moment they spotted him, everyone scrambled to their feet, eyes bright with expectation.
"You weren't even a little worried I'd lose?"
"We were only worried about how badly that zombie suffered."
"......"
"Alright, let's put some distance between us and the mountain. If those zombies lose their minds, they'll come charging down."
"Got it."
Before long, the group ducked into a nearby building.
Yang Bin pulled out the crystal and tossed it to Chen Hao.
"Haozi. You advance first."
Since the Yaoguang Realm brought such massive changes, the priority was obvious - get everyone there as fast as possible.
Plus, Yaoguang Realm unlocked Self-Cultivation. The sooner they broke through, the sooner they could grind levels on their own.
"Got it."
Chen Hao didn't hesitate. He took the crystal with barely contained excitement.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and swallowed it.
Everyone watched with anticipation.
Envious, sure. But not jealous. They all knew - stick with the boss, and theirs would come.
Advancing to Yaoguang Realm took longer than a normal breakthrough. A full five minutes passed before Chen Hao opened his eyes.
"Well? What ability did you get?"
All eyes locked onto him.
Chen Hao felt the changes inside his body, then pulled a dagger from his pack.
A layer of black light sheathed the blade.
He paused, thinking. Then he grabbed the nearby Barbell Rod and drew the dagger across it.
The rod split apart without a sound. The cut was mirror-smooth.
"Holy shit!"
"What the fuck is that!?"
Everyone's eyes went wide. Even Yang Bin stared, then activated his True Vision Eye on Chen Hao.
Now he understood.
Sharp Edge - an ability that coated a weapon and amplified its cutting power to an absurd degree.
It didn't sound like much on paper. But after seeing it in action, even Yang Bin felt a pang of envy.
If he'd had something like that earlier, the fight wouldn't have been half as exhausting.
"Hao Ge, what is that ability? That's insane."
Everyone crowded around Chen Hao, eyes burning.
"No idea what it's called. I just know it makes any weapon sharper."
"Haozi, you hit the jackpot. This ability... is seriously strong."
"Yeah. I can feel it." Chen Hao's grin stretched ear to ear.
"What about your original ability? Any changes?"
"Not sure yet. Let me test it."
Under everyone's gaze, Chen Hao vanished.
Yang Bin immediately activated his True Vision Eye.
He caught Chen Hao rising, his figure blurring - and then he was behind Hu Wenliang. The speed was fast enough to make even Yang Bin blink.
"Thwack."
Chen Hao rapped Hu Wenliang on the skull, then flickered away.
"Fuck - you dead rat, show yourself! I'll beat the shit out of you!" Hu Wenliang clutched his head, fuming.
"Hehe, relax. Just running a test."
Chen Hao materialized with a sheepish grin.
Yang Bin froze. Then it clicked.
"Haozi. You didn't break Invisibility when you hit him?"
"Nope. I think as long as my Mental Energy holds out and I don't take a heavy hit, I can stay invisible indefinitely. And my speed while invisible - it's way faster than before."
"Holy shit." Zhao Kun's jaw dropped. "With those two abilities together - you can kill anyone you want? Even someone stronger than you wouldn't see it coming."
"Uh... yeah." Chen Hao scratched the back of his head, looking almost embarrassed. "Currently speaking, aside from Bin Ge, I should be able to kill whoever I want."
"......"
"Can you not say something that arrogant with that bashful look on your face!?"
"Damn it, leave some room for the rest of us to exist!"
"Impressive."
Yang Bin meant it.
He had a feeling that Chen Hao's name was going to become a death sentence for a lot of people down the line.
"Alright. Everyone rest up, grab some food. Then we're going back to clear out the rest of those zombies."
"I did a rough count earlier - still five or six thousand left. Let's finish them before dark. Tonight, we sleep in the Hilltop Villa."
"Let's do it!"
Everyone nodded and broke out their rations.
Half an hour later, the group headed back up the mountain. With one more Yaoguang Realm fighter in their ranks, their combat power had jumped another level entirely.
The remaining zombies didn't stand a chance.