Federation Escort

"Enough." Without turning her head, Leng Yulai flicked her hand. Three purple-black flames suddenly changed course, burning through the limbs of the three survivors. "Aren't they still breathing?"

She slowly descended the staircase condensed from purple-black flames. With every step she took, a burning footprint appeared on the ground.

Arriving before the only black-robed man who could still groan, she raised her foot and stepped on his mask.

"Talk." Flames danced at her fingertips. "Who sent you?"

The black-robed man's lips trembled, and a smile suddenly squeezed through his mask.

"You'll find out soon..."

Before he could finish, his body suddenly swelled violently.

Gu Chenyu, whose senses were exceptionally sharp toward souls, paled and hurriedly shouted in a low voice:

"Careful, it's Soul Self-Detonation!"

"Boom!"

A violent wave of Spirit Shock swept outward, only to be blocked in time by a curtain of light formed from Purple-Black Flame.

Leng Yulai frowned slightly and turned her gaze toward the others.

They all self-detonated as though their mission had failed.

They left behind no survivors.

"Are these... death warriors?"

Leng Yulai sucked in a sharp breath.

Across the vast Douluo Continent, there were not many organizations capable of training so many death warriors, especially ones whose strength ranged from Soul Emperor to Soul Douluo.

"They weren't ordinary death warriors. They were Soul Masters who had undergone special modifications."

Gu Chenyu promptly stepped forward and examined the remaining traces.

"The Tang Sect?"

Leng Yulai looked at Lu Jun with concern.

They all knew that the Tang Sect had had its eye on Lu Jun for a long time.

"I'm not sure either." Gu Chenyu shook his head. "I believe most factions know about the Tang Sect's invasion of the Spirit Pagoda."

"From the aura of their souls, they don't feel like those righteous people from the Tang Sect either. Perhaps it wasn't them."

"Maybe some faction knows about our conflict with the Tang Sect, so they disguised themselves as Tang Sect members to attack us?"

"...Those people from the Tang Sect, righteous?" Leng Yulai sneered, then her expression turned grave. "But if it wasn't the Tang Sect, then the situation is even worse."

Gu Chenyu fell silent as well.

If it was not the Tang Sect, then it meant another faction had set its sights on Lu Jun.

Just then, the teacher leading the group approached quickly in his Three-Word Dou Armor. He stopped five steps away from the two of them and respectfully bowed.

"Your Excellencies, have you found out who did this?"

He was merely a Titled Douluo from the academy.

One of these two was the renowned Dark Phoenix Douluo of the Spirit Pagoda, while the other was a Saint Craftsman and a Four-Word Dou Armor Master.

Both stood far above him in status.

Leng Yulai shook her head and briefly explained their speculation.

The leading teacher's expression grew darker with every sentence. When he heard that another faction might have targeted Lu Jun, his fingers involuntarily clenched.

"This..." After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice. "How about having Student Lu Jun withdraw from the competition? Let him stay at the academy. With the academy and the Spirit Pagoda protecting him, it would be much safer than being outside."

"As for this matter..."

Leng Yulai hesitated briefly.

"We'll have to report it to those above and let them make the decision."

"After all, we are only responsible for Lu Jun's safety."

"Alright. Then I'll report the situation to the academy's higher-ups as well." The leading teacher nodded.

Both sides took out their communicators at the same time, each moving aside to recount what had happened.

The students in the distance gathered together, their atmosphere grim. Clearly, after being attacked earlier, they had begun to worry about their own lives.

Long Chen kept rubbing his arms. The explosion from earlier still left him shaken.

Just then, Leng Yulai finished her call and walked toward them.

Gu Chenyu and the leading teacher followed close behind.

Leng Yulai stopped before Lu Jun and raised a hand to pat his shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"I wasn't hurt much." Lu Jun smiled.

"Mm. Your response in the moment was quite good, but you were a little too reckless." After offering her assessment, Leng Yulai continued, "However, those above do not want to protect you too excessively. Even a genius must endure countless hardships and break through their limits in desperate situations before they can truly stand on their own and become the pillar of a faction."

Leng Yulai said:

"You'll continue participating. The Federation will arrange an exclusive Soul Guidance Train for us shortly."

Lu Jun raised a hand and rubbed his temple.

They really were determined to put him through harsh training.

"Don't worry. With us protecting you, even if someone has their eye on you, we'll deal with them as easily as we did just now."

After reassuring Lu Jun again, Leng Yulai turned to Gu Chenyu.

"I've already called people over. Leave the rest to them. Let them investigate who these people were, where they came from, and what organization they belonged to."

As soon as Leng Yulai finished speaking, a low rumble suddenly sounded from the distant sky.

Everyone looked up to see five pitch-black mechas tearing through the clouds, their bodies gleaming with a cold metallic sheen beneath the sunlight.

Moreover, an entire formation of purple mechas followed closely behind them.

A striking emblem was painted across the chest of every mecha.

It was none other than the emblem of the present-day Sun Moon Federation.

"This... The Mecha Corps is actually escorting us in person?" Long Chen's eyes widened.

Zhao Tianyu sucked in a cold breath. "I didn't expect the Federation to be this generous. Could it be..."

The students' astonished gazes all turned toward Lu Jun.

This usually low-profile first-year student had suddenly become unfathomably mysterious in their eyes.

"Hey." Lin Yan quietly nudged Su Yu. "Could Student Lu Jun be the Federation Speaker's illegitimate son?"

"This is way too outrageous!"

"And the Spirit Pagoda's Your Excellencies are even acting as his personal bodyguards."

"Don't talk nonsense. Student Lu Jun is Your Excellency, Sky Phoenix's disciple. This is perfectly normal," Su Yu said in a low voice.

"So that's how it is!"

Everyone suddenly understood.

The lead black mecha had already landed steadily. Its cockpit opened, and a middle-aged man in a Federal Military Uniform nimbly jumped down.

"Reporting." The middle-aged man gave Leng Yulai a standard military salute. "The Federal Seventh Special Operations Group has been ordered to escort everyone to Skysea City."

Leng Yulai gave a slight nod.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Furthermore, when the Federation's specially made Soul Guidance Train slowly pulled into the station, everyone was stunned by the sight before them.

Its streamlined silver-white body gleamed with a cold light, and a striking Federation Emblem was printed on its exterior. This was no ordinary civilian train, but an advanced Soul Guidance Transport Vehicle reserved for military use.

"This was prepared for us too?" Long Chen's mouth fell open, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

"Precisely. Hurry and get inside. You'll be safer that way," Leng Yulai said calmly.

"With the Federation escorting us, I'm sure those people lurking in the shadows will not dare act too brazenly."

"Making an example of them to intimidate the rest is also a good choice. Otherwise, dealing with this would truly never end."