For a moment, a flurry of thoughts surfaced in Duan Chen's mind.
Had he committed some sin in a past life?
Did he owe someone money?
Were there gambling debts he hadn't repaid?
Had he abandoned his wife and children?
Otherwise, why would someone commit such an outrageous and appalling act against a youth as weak, pitiful, helpless, noble, and martial-virtuous as him?
The water sprite before him was within four units of distance.
Long Yi swallowed hard, his mindset growing somber.
Gazing at Duan Chen, who was tossing and turning before him, a thought suddenly struck him.
Could he truly defeat such an instructor?
Wasn't he a fool for looking down on the instructor before?
He wasn't the only one having such thoughts.
While the others' thoughts weren't entirely identical, they were close.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Wang Zihao's forehead.
He suddenly felt as though he had narrowly escaped death.
Though he knew Duan Chen, as their instructor, would never be ruthlessly brutal or target them as he was now, they were still human.
Humans have their own thoughts and intentions.
In future training, he could make things difficult for them.
Wang Zihao couldn't help but feel fortunate that he hadn't caused any trouble during this mission.
Unlike the disciples and seniors he had heard about at the Spiritual Energy Academy, who would resort to sabotage out of rivalry when accompanying their instructors on missions.
They had ultimately been severely punished.
He didn't fear his current instructor.
But he did fear the consequences of punishment, so after much consideration, he hadn't reacted, even if he felt unconvinced.
Now, he had to be thankful for his caution and timidity.
Because observing Duan Chen's solitary fight, Wang Zihao realized that if this was Duan Chen's full strength, he wouldn't last a single round.
—Even more so, he harbored an even more terrifying thought.
That was, for some reason, he felt this wasn't Duan Chen's full capability.
It must be said that he was a strategist, with a keen sense of perception.
He had indeed guessed in his heart that this wasn't Duan Chen's only trick.
However, Wang Zihao dared not ponder further.
He could only stare wide-eyed at Duan Chen's solo performance, hoping to learn more from it to enrich his combat experience.
The others, whether the seemingly delicate Su Baiyi or the impassive Tian Ximeng, reacted similarly.
They instinctively averted their gaze from the upper part of Duan Chen's face, preventing themselves from seeing his eyes.
In Duan Chen's mind, there was only one thought at this moment: he had to kill the water sprite before him within the limited time.