The Collective

Chapter 37: The Collective

After everyone quickly made way, Li Weixuan drew the sword from his waist.

A Peak Fourth Order Swordsman's strike was no small matter.

A dragon's roar echoed as the long sword was unsheathed.

There were no dazzling sword lights, not even the lightning-fast speed one might imagine.

Li Weixuan's sword tip, as if carrying a towering mountain, slowly pressed against the barrier.

At that moment, everyone seemed to hear the heavens and earth roar.

After the roar, sword energy surged, and those standing close were even blown away by the violent air currents.

Everyone subconsciously looked towards the sword tip.

This…

On the invisible barrier, there was still no crack, not even a tremor.

This seemingly invincible sword strike had not elicited any reaction.

How could this be!

Snap!

A crisp cracking sound was heard. First, spiderweb-like cracks appeared on Li Weixuan's long sword, and then it shattered into fragments the size of fingernails.

The power of the strike was so immense that even the sword itself could not withstand it.

Even an attack like this was not enough to break the barrier?

Are we going to be trapped and die here?

Everyone looked at each other, an uncontrollable despair rising in their hearts.

It really won't work!

Fu Qian sighed from the side.

Although he subconsciously felt it wouldn't be that simple, the fact that such a terrifying blow left no trace was still shocking.

This almost indicated that this thing could not be broken by brute force and that other methods would be needed.

Li Weixuan looked at the broken sword in his hand, momentarily stunned.

In his career so far, he had never encountered anything so strange.

"Try the top."

Someone in the team shouted at this moment.

Right! There's still the top!

This reminder struck many people. The barrier might not cover all directions; perhaps they could bypass it from above.

Someone in the team had a bow and arrow. They immediately unstrung it, drew the bowstring, and nocked an arrow, aiming at the sky above.

Fu Qian stood by, waiting and seeing, not telling them that he had already tried using Air Bullets.

Trying more never hurt.

Snap!

As expected, the expensive arrow shot out, flew diagonally upwards for a distance, and then slammed headfirst into an invisible barrier, breaking into several pieces.

Everyone's spirits quickly sank.

The archer paused, then drew another arrow, changing direction.

Still met with resistance.

Another one…

By the time the quiver was empty, someone finally stepped forward and held the archer's trembling hand. Broken arrowheads littered the ground.

The only discovery was that the barrier gradually rose higher from the edges, roughly forming an arched dome.

Li Weixuan had by then recovered his senses.

This exploration and trial could not continue.

Just as he was about to issue an order, a series of crisp bell sounds suddenly came from afar.

"Follow me."

Everyone was startled. Li Weixuan gave a crisp command and was the first to charge forward.

That was the unique Arrow Bell of the academy, used by students in distress when venturing out.

There were two other teams in the ruins!

Watching Li Weixuan's retreating figure, the students also began to follow.

They couldn't get out, and there were strange monsters inside. In any case, it was safer to follow Dean Li.

"Thank you!"

As she passed by Fu Qian, Ji Liushuang tilted her head and thanked him softly.

If it weren't for Fu Qian's reminder, no one would have realized they were already in a desperate situation.

While they still had no clear idea what to do, it was always good to be prepared.

Fu Qian nodded without speaking. He felt he deserved the thanks.

After all, he had also conveniently dealt with an assassin for her.

The others weren't as graceful as Ji Liushuang. Most of them had felt resentful towards Fu Qian earlier, and it was difficult for a group of young people in their early twenties to swallow their pride and offer thanks or apologies.

Fortunately, Li Weixuan was in command. The group immediately continued their journey in silence, running with all their might, subconsciously trying to put distance between themselves and Fu Qian.

Unfortunately, they soon despaired as they realized that no matter how fast they ran, Fu Qian was always there, showing no signs of falling behind.

Forgot this guy is a Sixth Order Transcendent!

The scene before them finally made the group realize this. He was now a genuine mid-tier powerhouse. The idea of them being able to shake him off was clearly wishful thinking.

Fortunately, the distance wasn't too great, and this awkward journey soon ended.

When the group arrived, they saw Li Weixuan, who looked like a god, using his hand as a sword, unleashing dozens of sword energies that slashed from all directions towards... a hand?

That's right, Li Weixuan's target was an incredibly massive palm with dozens of fingers densely packed on it.

Surrounded by numerous fingers, the palm moved with astonishing speed. Each finger was like a spear, and its movements sent debris flying.

Li Weixuan's invincible sword energy severed a cluster of fingers almost instantly, tearing open shocking wounds.

Severely injured, the palm trembled violently, but no blood flowed out.

Sensing Li Weixuan's power, the remaining fingers moved rapidly on the ground, quickly hiding among the rubble and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

So disgusting!

The creature's appearance had a profound psychological impact on everyone. They only snapped back to reality when Li Weixuan, who was in the air, landed.

The ones in danger were another team, but they hadn't been as lucky as the first. When Li Weixuan arrived, two of their members had already been killed by that hand.

"Halt all operations, everyone regroup, and send a signal for the remaining team to come over."

Li Weixuan's face was like iron as he quickly issued the order in the face of this situation.

Things were spiraling out of control. What was supposed to be a simple exploration mission had resulted in casualties.

The finger monster had only been severely injured, not killed.

Of course, the most terrifying predicament wasn't this, but what was happening outside.

Li Weixuan immediately went to check on the injured.

In just this short while, someone had already informed the attacked team of their predicament.

The entire ruin was sealed by an impenetrable barrier?

The attacked team's spirits, which had been somewhat lifted, plummeted once again.

"We were resting when that hand suddenly lunged out. Senior Brother Wang died instantly. We tried our best to stall and found an opportunity to fire the Arrow Bell..."

An injured girl quickly described the situation.

"It's not a hand. To be precise, it should be called an Arm Collective."

Fu Qian threw something onto the ground.

It was a "finger" that Li Weixuan had severed. Some had rolled down the cliff, while others were scattered on the ground. He had rushed over to examine them and discovered something interesting.

"Here, look closely at the top."

You pervert!

Everyone was stunned for a moment before realizing what he had thrown on the ground. They were all startled.

You almost threw that disgusting thing at someone.

"This is an arm, not a finger."

Ji Liushuang's expression was grim as she poked at the mass. Only then did the group see the true appearance of the thing.

What they had mistaken for a giant finger actually had another five fingers at its tip!

These five fingers were about the size of a normal person's, but they were now shriveled like chicken claws.

Ugh!

Someone finally couldn't help but vomit.