In the slippery, dimly lit jungle, several instructors were speeding along, their eyes fixed on the direction from which the buzzing sound had just come, their faces full of solemnity.
"What just fell from the sky?" Instructor Zhang asked, frowning as he ran.Instructor Han Li shook his head. "I don't know. It looks enormous; it must be some mysterious..."
"Such a great mystery? It must be at least a "Sea" realm,' right?"
"Didn't you hear what the commander said in the communication just now? The super earthquake inside Jinan Mountain before might have been caused by an earth dragon. Maybe what fell down was an earth dragon?"
"How is that possible? Earth dragons live underground, how could they fly up into the sky? Besides, their bodies are so big, if they really flew up, there's no way no one would have seen them." Instructor Zhang shook his head decisively.
Instructor Han Li took a deep breath. "No matter what, be careful. The commanders are trying to rescue Rescue Team No. 1, who is trapped in the [Absolute Earth Domain]. We just need to find out what fell down as soon as possible."
"Moreover, the leader said that there are still people from the Ancient God Church in this mountain.
The instructors remained silent, simply increasing their speed as they ran towards the direction where the heavy object had fallen."
After an unknown amount of time, Instructor Han Li seemed to sense something, suddenly stopped, and turned to look at a certain spot in the forest.
Seeing this, the other instructors also stopped.
"What did you find?"
Han Li frowned and strode into the nearby woods. The other instructors exchanged glances and followed in tacit agreement.
Pushing aside the scattered branches, the group quickly arrived at a clearing. In the dim woods, a young man wearing a military overcoat lay in the mud, with a bloodstained straight knife stuck in the ground beside him.
"Lin Qiye?!"
The instructors were shocked by what they saw. Instructor Han Li quickly stepped forward and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Lin Qiye was only unconscious.
He turned around, picked up the unconscious Lin Qiye, picked up the straight knife from the ground, and sheathed it again.
"How did he end up here? I thought he'd been caught up in the [Absolute Earth Domain] too." Instructor Zhang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Lin Qiye was unharmed.
"Looks like he was lucky; he just happened to avoid the area where the earth dragon was turning over." Instructor Han glanced at the bloodstains dripping from his straight sword on the ground. "However, he must have gone through a fierce battle before winning."
"No wonder he's the top recruit this year, awesome!" Instructor Zhang chuckled, then asked doubtfully, "But...where are his enemy's corpses? Could it be that the enemy isn't dead? Impossible...the Ancient God Church wouldn't let him go."
Instructor Han shook his head. "I don't know. Anyway, let's keep going. Everything will be clear once he wakes up."
The instructors wasted no time and quickly ran forward. Before long, they arrived at the place where the Fiery Dragon had fallen.
The instructors were all stunned and gaped in disbelief as they stared at the enormous headless dragon corpse before them.
"It really is an earth dragon? But... how did an earth dragon fly into the sky? And it must have at least the strength of the 'Sea' realm, right? Even the commander might not be able to kill it in a one-on-one fight!"
In Cangnan City, who else possesses the power to kill the earth dragon and then dump its corpse in the Jinnan Mountains?
Just as everyone was puzzled, Instructor Han paused, subconsciously turned around, and looked at Lin Qiye, who was unconscious on his back.
Holy crap, no way...?
...
Underground.
Riding on the golden sword shadow formed by [Yao Guang], the three slowly rose in silence. Baili Pangpang looked up at the seemingly endless rock layers and spoke with some worry:
"Qiye...will he be alright?"
Instructor Hong was silent for a moment, then said, "I don't know, but judging from the strength he just demonstrated, it shouldn't be a big problem."
"How did he do that?" Shen Qingzhu was completely baffled.
"There are many ways to unleash potential and improve one's realm in a short period of time, and the Night Watcher's emblem is one of them, but I have never heard of anyone who can directly advance to the 'Sea' realm in one go like he did..."
"Moreover, when he made his move just now, I seemed to sense... the aura of a 'god'."
"A god?" Baili Pangpang's eyes widened. "Is it the god that Qiye is acting as his agent who's helping him?"
"I don't know, but there's no doubt that Lin Qiye's secrets may far exceed our imagination." Instructor Hong shook his head.
Upon hearing this, all three fell silent.
After a long pause, Baili Pangpang tentatively spoke up, "Instructor Hong, I think after we get out of here, this matter..."
"It's better not to mention it," Instructor Hong calmly uttered the second half of Baili Pangpang's sentence.
"Everyone has some secrets and opportunities, which is normal. Although the Night's Watch is an enlightened organization, they are very cautious... even extreme, when it comes to issues involving 'gods'."
"If they were to discover that Lin Qiye harbored some secret connection with the 'gods,' they would certainly deprive him of his freedom temporarily and transfer him to the capital for interrogation and investigation. He would only be released after the matter was fully investigated, confirming that he had no connection to those dangerous 'gods' or 'forbidden objects,' and that there were no other risks."
Instructor Hong said calmly, "Lin Qiye is a good prospect, both in terms of character and potential. He is not a bad person, and we know that better than anyone else."
"There's no need to jeopardize his future over such a trivial matter."
Hearing Instructor Hong's words, Baili Pangpang finally breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled, "I thought you would directly report Lin Qiye's matter to the Night Watchmen... Now it seems I was judging you by my own petty standards."
"Hmph, do you youngsters think we're that old-fashioned?" Instructor Hong said irritably.
Baili Pangpang seemed to have thought of something and turned to look at the silent Shen Qingzhu:
"Hey bro, don't let anything slip!"
"Don't worry, my mouth is tighter than a dead man's," Shen Qingzhu said calmly.
"In that case, I think we need to coordinate our testimonies..." Baili Pangpang thought for a moment and continued.
After the three finished their conversation, Baili Pangpang breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at the ceiling, and said with a hint of helplessness:
"Why haven't we reached the surface yet...?"
"At the speed of your thing, we should have only covered half the distance by now, and it will be a few more minutes before we reach the top," Instructor Hong said calmly, as he continued calculating the distance.
"Wait a moment... Someone is coming...!"
The moment the instructor whispered to them, they fell instantly silent and held their breath, straining to hear any sound coming from above the pit.
Just then, a dark figure shot down toward them like a missile—making their hearts leap and instantly putting Instructor Hong on high alert—until a familiar voice rang out and the figure pushed back their hood. "It's me! Lin Xi Chen!"
"Godness! Sister Xi Chen! You have come to rescue us!"
Lin Xi Chen hovered beside them, observing the group; seeing that none of them—save for Qingzhu—had sustained serious injuries eased her initial alarm. Upon noticing her appearance—reminiscent of the goddess Nyx yet distinguished by a horn on her forehead—they exchanged wide-eyed, bewildered glances. "I know, it's a long story. I'll explain later; right now, our priority is survival."
There was a hint of anxiety in her eyes as she hoisted Shen Qingzhu onto her back. Ultimately, the Instructor was able to swiftly leap up to the rim of the pit, while Baili Pangpang's sword managed to lift the chubby young master out of the cavern even faster.
Shen Qingzhu frowned when he caught a glimpse of the skin on Lin Xichen's forearms, now blackened and marred by sharp, dark claws.
Her presence was a tangle of divine and malevolent auras, and her face was streaked with exhaustion, sweat, and blood; he opened his mouth to speak but ultimately stopped himself.
Baili Pangpang was about to say something to break the awkardness, when the rock wall beside him suddenly exploded!
A blurry black shadow emerged from the rock wall and struck Baili Pangpang with lightning speed. He was too fast, and he emerged directly from the rock wall, so no one could react in time!
Baili Pangpang was hit by the dark figure and coughed up a mouthful of blood. He slammed heavily against the rock wall on the other side with a muffled groan.
The golden sword shadows beneath the three people's feet vanished without a trace in an instant.
A sword was thrusting into Lin Xi Chen's chest; it would have pierced right through had she not managed to grip it tightly just in time.