"No, Tang Baijie, what are you doing? Come back!"
Seeing Tang Baijie turn and make a suicidal charge toward the tongue of flame, Fan Wei froze for a moment before roaring at her.
As he shouted, he tried to turn back to stop Tang Baijie. But it was too late. Tang Baijie was already charging toward the tongue of flame. In a matter of moments, it would engulf her. If Fan Wei rashly went back to stop her now, not only would he fail, but he would also sacrifice his own life.
The thought of dying in the next instant gave him pause, despite his loyalty.
Tang Piaomiao, who was running ahead, also turned his head. He stared at Tang Baijie in disbelief and cried out in anguish, "Sis, why are you being so foolish! Why!"
"Goodbye! You have to live on."
Seeing that Fan Wei wasn’t coming back to stop her, Tang Baijie stopped running. She no longer charged toward the tongue of flame but stood her ground, awaiting the arrival of death.
She waved to Tang Piaomiao and Fan Wei. There was no panic, no despair, and certainly no fear on her face. Instead, she wore a faint smile, as if she’d been set free.
When Fan Wei saw Tang Baijie’s serene smile, he was completely captivated. It was as if that smile melted his resolve. He stopped in his tracks, ignoring the ferocious tongue of flame surging toward them, and simply stared, mesmerized.
In that moment, Fan Wei, much like Tang Baijie, seemed to forget his fear, forget death itself. His eyes saw only her beautiful, tragic smile—the smile of someone sacrificing herself so as not to drag others down.
Before the House Entrance Examination, Fan Wei and Tang Baijie didn’t actually know each other. Although they lived in the same city and their respective Clans were both prominent families that did business with each other, the two of them had never really interacted. If they happened to cross paths, they would merely nod in acknowledgment, never even bothering to ask for names.
It was only because of the House Entrance Examination, when they were both teleported to the same location, that they formed an alliance. As they were both candidates from the North District, they finally had a chance to interact.
Previously, Fan Wei only knew that Tang Baijie was a relative of Tang Yi. Overshadowed by the brilliance of a Demon like Tang Yi, Tang Baijie had always seemed plain and unremarkable.
But after truly getting to know her, Fan Wei realized that although her Talent was average, she possessed a level of diligence and perseverance that was hard for most people to imagine.
While her features weren’t delicate and she wasn’t exceptionally beautiful, she possessed a woman’s unique kindness and inner beauty, along with a special, mature air about her.
Moreover, she was an outstanding commander. Under her leadership, the team’s Combat Power increased severalfold, and they killed several Level 4 Demon Beasts with great ease.
Tang Baijie’s many unique qualities drew Fan Wei’s attention. The more he was around her, the more captivated he became.
After a few days, he realized he had fallen for her. And now... the girl he’d fallen for was choosing to die so she wouldn’t be a burden to him. This moved Fan Wei to his very core.
’She wants me to leave her behind and take my chance to escape?’
’Where else in the World could I find such a wonderful girl?’
In that moment, Fan Wei’s mind cleared. He made his choice. He understood that a girl like her was a rare treasure, and he had to hold on to her tightly.
He would be with this girl. Whether... in life, or in death.
’What’s so scary about death?’
’What’s scary is... dying without being able to be with the one you love!’
"Fan Wei, what are you doing? Go, quickly! Why did you stop?!"
Seeing Fan Wei suddenly stop running, Tang Baijie froze for a second, then anxiously urged him to leave.
But Fan Wei didn’t budge. He just kept staring at her, completely entranced.
’Tang Baijie couldn’t understand what on earth Fan Wei was thinking. She had already gone this far, already offered her life so she wouldn’t be a burden and he could escape. But what was he doing? Why wasn’t he running?’
"I won’t let you die alone. If we’re going to die, we’ll die together!"
Fan Wei suddenly declared. As he spoke, he began walking toward Tang Baijie, step by step, completely ignoring the tongue of flame that was about to surge over them.
"What are you doing? Are you crazy? Don’t come over here! Just run!" Tang Baijie roared.
But it was no use. No matter how Tang Baijie stomped her feet in frustration, Fan Wei completely ignored her. He just kept walking toward her, step by step, walking toward the tongue of flame.
By this time, the tongue of flame had reached them. It was only a few meters away from engulfing both Tang Baijie and Fan Wei.
A few meters—the distance could be closed in a single breath. It was too late for either of them to escape now.
At this point, although the tongue of flame hadn’t yet swallowed Tang Baijie and Fan Wei, its intense heat had already begun to ignite flammable items like the strands of their hair and their clothing.
Flames began to erupt on both of their bodies. The aura of death enveloped them.
"No!"
Tang Baijie cried out in despair. She truly didn’t understand. Fan Wei clearly could have escaped, so why did he come back? Why didn’t he run!
But even if she didn’t understand, there was no longer any chance to ask him, nor any chance to persuade him otherwise. The tongue of flame was about to devour them both.
Whether it was Tang Baijie or Fan Wei, in the next second, both of them would be annihilated, turned into a pile of scattered ash.
And at this moment... WHOOSH! A Shadow flew in from the sky at an incredible Speed, so fast that it was impossible for the naked eye to track.
In a flash, it arrived at the scene. Its Speed was even greater than the tongue of flame’s. It instantly overtook the inferno and, in the moment before the flames could swallow Tang Baijie and Fan Wei, it reached their side and swept them both up.
Then, carrying the two of them, the Shadow flew to Tang Piaomiao’s position and, before he could even react, swept him up as well.
After scooping up all three, the Shadow carried them into the sky, dodging the attack from the tongue of flame. It then descended in a safe area and dropped the trio on the ground.
When the three were dropped on the ground, they were still completely bewildered, with no idea what had just happened.
Tang Baijie and Fan Wei had both been certain they were about to die. But suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew past, so strong they couldn’t open their eyes. They felt their bodies being swept up into the sky by this "strong wind," and the next thing they knew, their backsides ached as they hit the ground.
It was the same for Tang Piaomiao. He had been grieving for Tang Baijie and Fan Wei, running for his life in a state of sorrow.
But he also knew that no matter how fast he ran, without a miracle, he would eventually be overtaken by the tongue of flame and burned to ash.
To his surprise, however, at that very moment, his body suddenly felt light and he was lifted into the air. By the time he came to his senses, he had already been slammed heavily onto the ground.
Lying on the ground, the three of them no longer felt the scorching heatwave carried by the tongue of flame. Instead, they felt the cool touch of the earth beneath them.
The air no longer smelled of thick, burning smoke, but of the fresh scent of grass and trees.
And the tongue of flame spewed by the Fire Scorpion Giant Frog... it was now hundreds of meters away, no longer a threat to their safety.
’We were saved?’
The three of them stared dumbfounded at the distant tongue of flame, then turned to see what, or who, had saved them.
At that moment, they saw a familiar back.

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