F-class thief? Sorry, I can steal anything.

Chapter 272 New Dark Horse

At Chen Yifan's command, Wang Fugui and Lin Xiaoyu immediately tensed up.

They knew that Chen Yifan's words, "the warm-up is over," meant that the real challenge was about to begin.

"Fanzi, don't worry, I guarantee my body can handle it!"

Wang Fugui patted his S-class lightning armor hard on his chest.

"Um."

The three stepped into the portal leading to the sixth floor.

Light and shadow are distorted, and the scene changes.

A strong stench of corpses and the earthy smell hit them as they arrived at a desolate cemetery.

The decaying tombstones were jagged and lifeless.

"The sixth floor, 'Rotting Zombies'."

"It seems the information was correct... all the way up to the 10th floor, the monsters are level 40."

Chen Yifan's voice was so fast it sounded like he was reciting a menu, yet every word was clear.

"High physical resistance, slow movement speed, and can spray poison."

"Fatty, don't try to tank it. Use taunt to kite them and make them run in circles to gather them together. Xiaoyu, they're afraid of fire."

"receive!"

The moment the command was given, rotting arms emerged from the soft grave soil.

A zombie with rotting skin and eerie green flames burning in its eye sockets staggered out.

Wang Fugui took a deep breath and, instead of charging forward as before, began his mockery with a single word: "You bastards."

He instantly ignited the hatred of all the zombies.

Then he started running a comical "marathon" through the cemetery.

The zombie's speed was a major weakness, so it could only hop and jump passively behind him, forming a long line.

"puff--"

A zombie suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a stream of dark green, foul-smelling venom.

"Xiaoyu!"

There was no need for Chen Yifan to remind them at all.

Lin Xiaoyu reacted incredibly quickly, her thoughts racing.

The crimson vines of the Bloodthirsty Poison Vine were instantly covered by a layer of ice crystals.

It is crystal white all over.

A chilling aura lingered around it.

"Bang!"

The ice crystal vines grew rapidly, carrying an unstoppable momentum, and pierced the ground behind the fat man.

The next second, a crystal-clear ice wall rose from the ground, precisely blocking the trajectory of the venom projectile.

zizi——

The venom struck the ice wall, causing white mist to rise and intensely corrode it.

The moment the ice wall shattered.

The originally pure white [Bloodthirsty Poison Lolita] now resembles a burning flame.

A wall of fire shot up into the sky right after it, engulfing the zombie in flames and causing it to let out a silent roar.

"pretty!"

Wang Fugui shouted.

Chen Yifan's figure had already disappeared into the shadows of the tombstone.

He was like a ghost, the coldest of surgeons.

Xia Nan's data highlighted the only fatal weakness of these highly resistant zombies—the posterior cervical spine.

Every move he made went straight for the vital points.

The dagger slashed silently, tearing up a trail of blackened, rotting flesh.

The zombies that were still chasing Wang Fugui suddenly stiffened, then disintegrated and turned into pure light.

The whole process is simple, fast, and direct.

[Congratulations on clearing the sixth floor of the Tower of Ascension, in 5 minutes and 12 seconds.]

Meanwhile, in the plaza outside the Sky Tower.

The name "Jiangcheng Squad" jumped up another notch on the freshman ranking list!

[Ranking: 73th on the Freshman List!]

"It's through again! Sixth floor, five minutes! The speed hasn't slowed down at all!"

"This team's teamwork is terrifying! That captain named Chen Yifan is absolutely a commanding genius!"

"I checked, Shield Warrior Wang Fugui and Support Lin Xiaoyu are both from Jiangcheng! These three are probably from the same high school!"

The crowd's discussion was reasonable.

These hastily assembled teams, whose members were unfamiliar with each other, made frequent mistakes and stumbled along the way when trying to complete the challenges.

This small team from Jiangcheng worked together as if they were one person.

The murmurs among the crowd grew louder and louder, and this dark horse that had suddenly appeared attracted everyone's attention.

Meanwhile, the "Blazing Fire Team," who had just been teleported out from the fourth floor, was being tormented by a group of masked apes.

"Brother Hao! We can't take it anymore! These monkeys are too fierce!"

One of the team members had his arm armor torn off, leaving him covered in blood.

"Useless trash! Hold the line!"

Sun Hao roared in exasperation. Although he was well-equipped, he was still in grave danger under the onslaught of the incredibly fast and cunning apes.

Their formation was in complete disarray.

"Damn it, is the fourth level of this crappy tower this difficult?"

Sun Hao dodged awkwardly while cursing loudly.

He had no idea that it wasn't a tower disaster.

They're just too bad.

……

Inside the tower.

The seventh floor, the volcanic cave, features the "Lava Giant Lizard".

"Fatty, move aside, don't step on the lava. Xiaoyu, use ice magic to cool him down and create an environment for him to cool down."

[Congratulations on clearing the seventh floor of the Tower of Ascension, in 6 minutes and 33 seconds.]

outside world.

[Ranking: 48th on the Freshman List!]

"Top 50! They're in the top 50! Are they monsters?!"

"There's no bottleneck at all! The monsters and mechanics on each floor are completely different. How do they manage to switch tactics seamlessly?"

"That Chen Yifan, he must have memorized the information for the first ten floors perfectly!"

The eighth floor, the frozen snowfield, is home to the "Frost Banshee".

"The banshees can use mind control. Xiaoyu, you have the highest mental strength, counter them. Fatty, they're fragile, smash them to pieces!"

Wang Fugui's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"Fanzi, just you wait and see!"

He swung his thunder hammer like a raging bull, charging headlong into the throng of alluring banshees whose songs were mesmerizing.

boom! boom! boom!

Under the thunderous hammer, all beings are equal.

[Congratulations on clearing the eighth floor of the Tower of Ascension, in 7 minutes and 01 second.]

outside world.

[Ranking: 29th on the Freshman List!]

"Top 30! They've broken into the top 30!"

"This is insane! And it's only the third day of school! In previous years, anyone who made it into the top 100 was a genius among geniuses!"

The ninth floor, Thunder Canyon, "Thunder Element Spirit".

"Fatty, your S-rank armor is lightning-attribute, so you're immune here. Attack me however you want."

For Wang Fugui, being on this floor was like coming home.

Countless bolts of lightning struck him, but instead of causing any harm, they made the electric light on his body burn even brighter, as if he were being recharged.

"Awesome! That's so awesome!"

Wang Fugui experienced for the first time what it meant to be "invincible"!

[Congratulations on clearing the ninth floor of the Tower of Ascension, in 4 minutes and 55 seconds.]

outside world.

[Ranking: 15th on the Freshman List!]

The entire square was set ablaze.

All eyes were fixed on the name that was skyrocketing on the leaderboard.

"Jiangcheng Squad!"

"Chen Yifan!"

Within an hour, these two names spread throughout the entire freshman community, becoming a legendary phenomenon.

Just then, Sun Hao's "Fiery Squad" finally rolled out of the portal on the fifth floor, covered in dust and dirt.

Everyone was injured and looked utterly disheveled.

"Brother Hao... are we still going to try again?" the team member asked weakly.

Sun Hao's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

He looked up at the blindingly bright fifteenth place on the screen, feeling as if he had been slapped hard across the face with the sole of a shoe.

He just now kept saying that the other person was a bumpkin who was on drugs and forced himself to drink.

The results of it?

They surged ahead, dominating the charts.

He, on the other hand, beat the fifth floor like a dead dog.

This isn't just a slap in the face, this is public execution!

"Get the hell out of here! All of you, get the hell out of here!"

Sun Hao let out a powerless roar at his teammates, drawing mocking and amusement from the surrounding students.

Inside the tower, in front of the portal on the ninth floor.

"Fanzi, we've reached the tenth floor!" Wang Fugui's voice was a mix of excitement and nervousness. "Are we really going to push through in one go?"

There's a powerful boss guarding that spot.

Countless new teams failed and perished on that level.

Chen Yifan's face remained completely expressionless.

"Otherwise what?"

"Since we're already here, it would be impolite to leave without seeing the BOSS."

He glanced at the identity bracelet.

Credits: 189.7.

Conquering nine levels added nearly ninety credits; that's much faster than attending classes.

"Let's go."

Chen Yifan stepped into the portal leading to the tenth floor.

The real test for them begins at this level.

Outside the tower, almost everyone watching the rankings subconsciously held their breath.

They are waiting.

We await the arrival of this dark horse team that has created a miracle.

What kind of answer will you give to the boss on the tenth floor?