Chapter Thirty-Eight: Crisis of a Hundred Thousand

Some of the village elders

also liked coming to Chen Xuan's dojo to escape the heat.

Most importantly, Chen Xuan even brought out all kinds of strange fruits for them to eat.

Those fruits were delicious.

After eating them, they actually felt as though they had become several years younger.

Their bodies were filled with vitality.

Before long, of course, they realized what those fruits were.

Spirit Fruits—Heaven and Earth Treasures that were said to help Phantom Beasts improve their growth after being eaten.

Every one of them was an extraordinarily precious existence to Beast Masters.

Yet Chen Xuan had actually brought them out as fruit to serve his guests.

They were deeply moved by this.

So whenever they cooked something at home, they always remembered to share some with Chen Xuan.

Today, they had come to the Holy Dragon Dojo to chat again.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Crisis of a Hundred Thousand

"An infectious disease?"

"That's right. I heard it's extremely terrifying. After being infected, your whole body becomes covered in Black Qi!"

"Then your entire body loses its strength, and you can't work at all!"

The speaker was an old man named Uncle Liang.

"Then it sounds terrifying indeed. But with an epidemic this severe, isn't anyone controlling it?"

Chen Xuan asked in surprise.

"Of course there is! They even invited a high-level Beast Master from the city to take a look. But guess what happened!"

"That high-level healing Beast Master was infected too, and he's still trapped in Lotus Well Village, unable to leave!"

Uncle Liang gestured animatedly as he spoke.

He sounded as though he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

"And it's not just that. Besides Lotus Well Village, the surrounding Bu Xin Village and Niu Wa Village have all been infected with the same disease!"

"I heard they still haven't found a way to treat it. If this continues, everyone in those villages might die within a week!"

"It's terrifying. I wonder if it'll spread here too!"

Several elders discussed the matter with lingering fear.

Chen Xuan, however, quietly kept it in mind.

This infectious disease was probably not as simple as it seemed.

It might be related to Phantom Beasts.

Some powerful Phantom Beasts could lower the human body's defenses.

That would allow people to become infected by viruses.

There were even some Phantom Beasts that attacked with viruses in the first place.

They could also produce this kind of effect.

While chatting with the elders,

Chen Xuan was already planning to go out and investigate that night.

"Bang!"

"How could this happen!"

"If this continues, all those villages will fall!"

"That's nearly a hundred thousand lives!"

"Don't we have any way to deal with this?"

In the town closest to Holy Dragon Village, Lotus Well Village, Bu Xin Village, and the others,

this was a town belonging to Gu Zhou City.

Although it was the farthest from those villages,

in reality,

those villages were under the administration of Hao Lan Town.

The situation in the villages!

They had discovered it as well.

Within a week,

four or five villages

had all fallen to that strange infectious disease.

And what was worse!

They had sent the best healing Beast Master in the town.

A Silver Ninth-tier Beast Master.

However!

He could not see the source of the problem at all.

Instead, he too had contracted the disease.

Along with the villagers, he was trapped inside those villages.

As time passed,

their bodies grew weaker and weaker.

At this rate, ordinary people probably wouldn't last a month. They might not even survive two weeks before dying.

"Looks like we can only abandon those people!"

"Isolate the residents of those villages!"

The man at the head spoke.

"Are you insane? Those are nearly a hundred thousand lives! You're just going to leave them to die?"

At his words, several other Beast Masters loudly voiced their opposition.

"Then what do you suggest? We're helpless right now too!"

"We can only use isolation. Otherwise, if it spreads to our town—"

"Then it might no longer be our town's problem. The entire Gu Zhou City could fall into crisis!"

"Can you bear the consequences of that?"

The man at the head coldly swept his gaze over them.

At once!

They all lowered their heads.

That was right!

They were powerless.

For now, isolating the villages and preventing the virus from spreading

was already the best solution.

"There's a village called Holy Dragon Village among them. It seems to be completely unaffected!"

one Beast Master said quietly.

"Holy Dragon Village?"

"That village is farther away. Perhaps the infection hasn't reached it yet!"

the Beast Master at the head said.

"Holy Dragon Village—apparently, there used to be a Holy Dragon there, which is why it was given that name!"

"A Holy Dragon? Heh. If one really existed, that would be wonderful!"

"I hope a Holy Dragon exists too!"

"If that were true, then those hundred thousand people might have hope of being saved!"

"Legend has it that the Holy Dragon can purify all things ominous!"