Jin Changyu’s sharp eyes were the first to spot Chu Bai standing on the stone beam in the dim, hopeless gloom. His voice was filled with a shrill desperation, like a drowning man clutching at driftwood.
Chu Bai didn’t respond immediately. His gaze traveled past the four of them, toward the churning thick smoke behind them.
Although Dean Su had strictly forbidden cooperation, Chu Bai keenly sensed that the Lingxi Mark in his Sea of Consciousness wasn’t issuing a violation warning for their approach. It was completely unresponsive.
This inconsistency made the unease in Chu Bai’s heart spike.
’What’s going on?’
’Their calls are urgent, so this probably isn’t a trick. I just don’t know the details.’
Just then, the situation took a sudden, drastic turn.
Within the roiling smoke, an inky-black shadow materialized without warning beside the student at the very back.
It was the Shadow Beast’s Demon Technique—Shadow Fire Burial.
A pillar of black fire, composed of pure Evil Qi, erupted like a venomous python from the Abyss, instantly engulfing the lagging student.
AHHH—!
The bloodcurdling scream tore through the oppressive silence.
Chu Bai’s pupils shrank. He could only watch as the student struggled frantically in the sea of fire.
The student’s defenses had been shattered the moment the fire hit. With his Spiritual Power already depleted, he had no way to resist.
Yet, the white light of teleportation that should have appeared at that instant never came.
In that searing, gray sea of fire, the student’s wretched wails lasted for over ten breaths.
His Protective Spiritual Power rapidly dissolved under the corrosive fire, and the sounds of his flesh withering and bones cracking were sickeningly clear in the dead silence.
In a matter of seconds, a living, breathing person had been burned to a pile of embers that scattered on the wind.
No teleportation.
No rescue.
’How is this possible...’
Chu Bai felt an icy chill shoot up his spine and into his skull.
’The Teleportation Array here has failed!’
’If we’re defeated by a Shadow Beast, we will actually die here!’
"Brother Chu! Save us!" By now, Jin Changyu had rushed to the base of the stone beam. His face was ashen; the scene behind them had clearly terrified him out of his wits.
Behind him, the Shadow Beast that had just claimed a life didn’t pause. Wreathed in deathly-gray flames, it split in two in mid-air, becoming two terrifying phantoms that lunged for the center of Jin Changyu’s back.
In that instant, Chu Bai demonstrated a degree of absolute calm that far surpassed an ordinary person’s.
’In that split second, his mind raced through the calculations: the teleportation failure means something has gone terribly wrong with Dean Su or the Law Net. My odds of escaping a Qi Cultivation Third Layer Shadow Beast alone are less than forty percent. The only chance of survival is to team up with these remaining fighters!’
"Guardian!"
With a stomp of his foot, Chu Bai dove down like a hawk.
He made a grasping motion with his left hand, and a Guardian Shield—condensed to its absolute limit until it resembled Profound Ice—instantly materialized behind Jin Changyu.
BAM—!
The Shadow Beast’s claws struck the shield, sending out rings of ice-blue ripples. Chu Bai staggered slightly from the immense backlash, but his right index finger was already pointing precisely into the depths of the gray mist.
Three crystalline-blue Water Needles shot out in a triangular formation, emitting a piercing whistle.
The Shadow Beast, just as it was about to press the attack, had both its arms shredded by the three Water Needles and their terrifying piercing power. It let out a piercing shriek and temporarily retreated into the smoke.
"Save your breath! Watch your backs!"
Chu Bai landed steadily. By then, Jin Changyu, Dong Feng, and Lin Xuewei had gathered around him.
The terror of imminent disaster was written on every face. Dong Feng stared at the spot where their classmate had turned to ash, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Just now... was that real? How could the Teleportation Array fail? This is a catastrophe! How could the Daoist School make such a colossal mistake!"
"Shut up!"
Chu Bai’s cold bark, amplified by the pressure of his Qi Cultivation Second Layer and the Evil Qi from his Seven Kills Fate, forcibly snuffed out Dong Feng’s spiraling panic.
"It doesn’t matter now if this is murder or an accident. The marks have failed. This is a Death Land. If you want to live, then you’d better swallow your pride and your damn leaderboard rankings!"
Chu Bai’s glacial gaze swept over the three of them.
Though her face was slick with cold sweat, Lin Xuewei remained relatively composed. She nodded, and the frosty qi began to gather in her hands again.
Jin Changyu gripped his long halberd, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.
As for Dong Feng, after a moment of terror, his senses gradually returned. He clenched his jaw and stared at Chu Bai.
"Chu Bai, what’s the plan?"
Chu Bai looked toward the three massive shadows slowly emerging side-by-side from the gray mist. "One at Qi Cultivation Third Layer and two at the Second Layer," he said grimly. "They’re trying to corner us and kill us."
His Spirit Water Needles danced at his fingertips once more. He had become the de facto commander of this makeshift squad.
The gray mist hung heavy. The three Shadow Beasts stood abreast, their oppressive presence making the very air feel thick and viscous.
Chu Bai stood at the forefront, his cyan robes whipping in the wind. He didn’t turn around, but his Divine Sense had already swept over the three behind him, giving him a complete picture of their conditions.
"Lin Xuewei, how much Spiritual Power do you have left?"
Lin Xuewei shook her head bitterly, her voice holding a faint, almost imperceptible tremor. "Less than thirty percent. I had to use a family Secret Technique to escape the claws of that Qi Cultivation Third Layer Shadow Beast. My meridians are still throbbing with pain."
"Dong Feng?"
The hand Dong Feng used to grip his crimson longsword was trembling slightly. He glanced at the dull, lightless Golden Scale Armor on his chest and gritted his teeth. "My Spiritual Power is depleted. I took three Qi Recovery Pills, but the fire poison is now running rampant in my system. Forcing a skill would rupture my meridians."
Finally, Chu Bai’s gaze fell on Jin Changyu. Though the Top Scholar of Class Nine looked to be in a sorry state, his breathing was far steadier than the other two.
"Jin Changyu, you’ve been holding back, haven’t you?"
Jin Changyu tightened his grip on his long halberd and nodded in shame. "I specialize in the Cyan Cloud Step, so I’ve mostly been focused on evasion. I have about sixty percent of my Spiritual Power left, but my Long Halberd Technique requires a wind-up. I can tie up a Qi Cultivation Second Layer Shadow Beast in a direct confrontation, but I can’t kill it."
After listening to them, Chu Bai knew where they stood.
He was currently the only one whose combat strength was almost completely intact.
Because he had been in pristine condition beforehand, his Spiritual Power was still maintained at over ninety percent, a peak state.
"Since none of you have the strength, you’ll listen to me."
His voice was calm, yet it carried an air of unquestionable resolve.
"Dong Feng, Lin Xuewei, the two of you fall back behind that giant boulder and begin Breath Regulation. Focus on recovering your strength."
Dong Feng subconsciously started to object, but the words died in his throat when he met Chu Bai’s eyes, which were brimming with blood-red Evil Qi.
"Jin Changyu, you take the flank."
Chu Bai pointed to the Qi Cultivation Second Layer Shadow Beast on the left. "Your mission is not to kill it, but to use your Body Technique and the reach of your long halberd to keep it pinned down more than ten zhang away. If it tries to charge the formation, use your halberd to deflect it. Whatever you do, don’t fight it head-on."
"And you?" Jin Changyu asked, his voice trembling.
"I’ll handle the Qi Cultivation Third Layer one in the middle and the Second Layer one on the right."
At his words, all three of them gasped.
’One versus two? And one of them is a Qi Cultivation Third Layer monster that can kill a new student in a single blow?’
To them, it looked like suicide.
"Chu Bai, you’re insane! That’s a Qi Cultivation Third Layer! Even at full strength, I’m not sure I could take a single hit from it!" Lin Xuewei cried out.
"No more talking! They’re moving!"
The words had barely left Chu Bai’s mouth when the three-zhang-tall Shadow Beast leader in the center let out a furious roar that seemed to shatter the very Spiritual Qi in the air. It violently slammed the Evil Qi Heavy Hammer in its hand into the ground.
RUMBLE—
A black fissure spiderwebbed across the ground.
In that critical instant, Dong Feng suddenly did something completely unexpected.
He ripped open the front of his robes and unclasped the dull Golden Scale Armor with both hands.
"Chu Bai, catch!"
Dong Feng roared, hurling the blood-stained Treasure Armor toward Chu Bai.
Chu Bai caught it, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
"This armor has about thirty percent of its power left. It’s enough to block one hit."
Dong Feng’s face turned deathly pale without the protection of the Treasure Armor, but he stared intently at Chu Bai. "Jin Changyu is fast, he doesn’t need it. I have barely any Spiritual Power left, so it’s wasted on me."
"This is a matter of life and death. Our rivalry doesn’t matter right now."
Chu Bai looked at the Golden Scale Armor in his hands and said nothing more.
He then quickly donned the Golden Scale Armor. With a slight surge of Spiritual Power, the faint golden patterns on the armor, which had been dim, began to glow under the infusion of his Guiyuan Spiritual Power, emitting a light even more profound and controlled than when it was on Dong Feng.
"You have a quarter of an hour to recover. After that, you fight alongside me."

Comments

Loading...