The Mastermind Behind It All

Was it over?

Xu Fei and the others looked into the distance, somewhat exhausted.

Over there—

There was another man in black, also a D-Class warrior. He was confronting the monster and had no time to deal with them.

"Take him out."

Xu Fei immediately spotted the opportunity and said viciously, "While he's facing off against that monster."

"Understood."

Zhou Ling and the others followed. The four-man squad attacked once more, unleashing their killing moves in an instant and raining them down on Long Yi. This time, they had no confidence at all—they were fighting for their lives! Yet unexpectedly, the man in black did not defend himself at all and took every attack head-on.

Boom!

A flash of blood-red light streaked past.

That man in black was actually pierced through by Xu Fei and the others, killed on the spot!

This...

Everyone's eyes widened.

How was that possible?

Chen Feng's heart skipped a beat.

He was dead?

Just like that?

The mastermind behind everything, someone even more powerful than the guy who had come earlier, had died just like that? He clearly could have easily dodged Xu Fei and the others' attacks!

This guy...

Just as everyone was caught between shock and uncertainty.

Blood.

At that moment, it began to boil.

The black-clothed man's corpse dissolved into blood in midair, enveloping the D-Class Mutated Beast. Amid roars and miserable shrieks, it was forcibly refined! By the time everyone reacted, the Mutated Beast had already vanished. In the air, only a single drop of shining blue essence blood remained.

That was the Sea Dragon Essence Blood!

"This guy..."

Chen Feng's pupils suddenly contracted.

The homeroom teacher had escaped, and they had not died. The conditions for refining the Sea Dragon Essence Blood had not been met, so this guy had actually used his own blood to fill in the missing piece.

How ruthless!

What a terrifying person!

Was it over? How could it be! How could the Sea Dragon Essence Blood, created at the cost of such a person's life, possibly fall into their hands?

But he was clearly dead, unless...

He was not the mastermind at all!

Chen Feng and the others exchanged glances, all feeling their scalps go numb. Two D-Class Gene Warriors had merely been foot soldiers? Just how terrifying was the mastermind behind this?

"Hahaha."

"We survived!"

All the students were ecstatic.

They had survived!

A single expedition into the ancient ruins had forced them to struggle through despair countless times. They would never forget that helplessness and pain for the rest of their lives!

"Thank you, Chen Feng."

Countless students expressed their gratitude.

Chen Feng shook his head without saying anything. He merely stared silently at the sea. The students' joyful expressions stiffened. Seeing the grim looks on Chen Feng, Xu Fei, and the others, they seemed to realize something, and their livers trembled in fear. Could it be...

And right then.

Thump.

A soft sound rang out.

Like the heartbeat of an ancient god, countless students immediately coughed up blood.

Chen Feng's face turned somewhat pale.

On the opposite shore.

A faint figure appeared and slowly walked toward them. When he reached the shore, he did not stop. He simply stepped calmly onto the seawater.

His footsteps crossed the surface of the sea without leaving even a single ripple.

As though it were effortless.

"It's him!"

Xu Fei's expression changed drastically.

Long Yue.

A scion of the Yan City aristocratic families!

This family claimed to be Descendants of the Dragon, and Long Yue was the finest of his generation! Every gene he had fused was related to dragons—whether true dragons or false ones—and his strength was terrifying! Rumor had it that the last time he appeared, he had already been a C-grade Gene Warrior.

His current strength?

Unknown!

Retreat!

Xu Fei and the others' pupils contracted. Zhou Ling grabbed them and frantically retreated across the sea until they reached Ring Island.

Stop him?

What a joke!

A powerhouse of that level was simply beyond their ability to stop.

"Long Yue, C-grade, possibly even higher."

Xu Fei's face turned ashen. Everyone was terrified upon hearing that, and the students looked deathly pale. How could such a terrifying figure have come to Jin City?

Out at sea.

Long Yue waved his hand, and two corpses floated up from the water.

"Long Yi, Long Er, you worked hard."

Long Yue spoke calmly. With a light tap, the corpses turned into endless ashes.

"Finally..."

Long Yue glanced at the Sea Dragon Essence Blood, a smile appearing on his face. When he turned toward Chen Feng and the others again, his gaze had already gone cold. "Since Long Yi and Long Er are dead, you will be buried with them."

"Long Yue, how dare you?!"

Xu Fei roared.

"These children are all students. Do you want to start a war with Jin City's schools?"

Xu Fei understood.

At a time like this, only the schools could make this man hesitate.

"Students?"

Long Yue's gaze remained calm. He looked at the trembling students in the distance and slightly raised his hand. "It doesn't matter. Kill them all, and no one will know."

"This is bad."

Everyone's hearts lurched.

Whoosh!

Long Yue lightly waved his hand.

Boom!

The entire sea exploded in an instant.

At that moment.

Even the sky above the sea seemed to overturn.

"Attack!"

Xu Fei gritted his teeth. The four of them unleashed the last of their strength, trying to block Long Yue's attack with an all-out strike. Yet before their power could even draw near, it was dissolved. That was right—with their strength, they did not even qualify to get close!

In that instant.

Ring Island collapsed in the blink of an eye.

The heavens fell and the earth split!

The power of the entire sea erupted, surging into the sky. Waves dozens of meters high swept down with boundless force, like a tsunami!

"It's over."

Everyone looked deathly pale. What kind of damned strength was this? There was no doubt that once that terrifying force fell, every one of them would be crushed into pulp.

There was no suspense whatsoever!

This was Long Yue's power!

This was the power of a Gene Powerhouse!

"Damn it, to die like this..."

Xu Fei gave a bitter smile.

"To die at the hands of such a powerhouse... I suppose it isn't such a loss?"

Zhou Ling murmured.

"Are we going to die?"

Houzi suddenly thought of something. "Chen Feng, that chance of survival you mentioned back then..."

At that moment, everyone looked toward Chen Feng, only to discover in astonishment that, at such a life-or-death juncture, Chen Feng was actually smiling. "Our chance of survival has arrived."

What?

Xu Fei and the others froze for a moment.

"Boom!"

The terrifying tsunami had already swept in.

Yet just as the attack was about to reach Chen Feng and the others, a red figure suddenly descended from the sky and stood before the tsunami.

Who was that?

Everyone's eyes flew wide open.

Before they could even make out the person's appearance, they saw the red figure land in midair. Dark crimson flames condensed into a greatsword and slashed down at the tsunami before them.

"Boom!"

The seawater roared.

A fiery red radiance flashed, and an astonishing sight appeared. That terrifying tsunami was forcibly split apart in that instant, severed in two by a single sword strike. It flowed past both sides of the group, and the tsunami containing Long Yue's terrifying power simply vanished, reduced to nothing by one slash!

So strong!

Everyone's hearts pounded wildly. When they looked over, they were even more stunned.

The one who had saved them was actually a Little Girl in a red dress. She was not very old, looking only twelve or thirteen. Her lips were red, her teeth white, and her features exquisite. Beneath her long lashes, her large eyes were lively and bright—yet at this moment, those eyes were filled with killing intent.

Everyone shuddered.

Only then did they remember—it was this Little Girl who had leveled that tsunami with a single sword strike!

Holy shit!

Chen Feng opened his mouth, still unable to process it.

He had thought Wang Yue's protector would be a powerful middle-aged man. Never had he imagined that this protector would actually be a twelve- or thirteen-year-old Little Girl!

And her strength was this terrifying!

Chen Feng subconsciously glanced at her, and his heart immediately trembled.

Those eyes...

This girl, who looked so young, possessed eyes like a clear pool of water. They were so lively that they made one's heart quiver, as though they could see through a person's soul!

This girl was definitely no ordinary person.