The Collective

The Collective

After everyone quickly cleared some space, Li Weixuan drew the sword at his waist.

A Peak Fourth Order Swordsman was no ordinary opponent.

A dragon's cry rang out as the long sword left its sheath.

There was no dazzling Sword Light, nor was it as fast as lightning, as one might have imagined.

The tip of Li Weixuan's sword seemed to bear the weight of a mountain as he slowly pressed it against the barrier.

At that moment, everyone seemed to hear the world rumble.

After the rumble, sword energy burst in every direction. Several people standing nearby were even swept off their feet by the violent gust.

Everyone instinctively looked toward the tip of the sword.

This...

The invisible barrier still showed no cracks. It hadn't even trembled in the slightest.

This supposedly unstoppable strike had still failed to provoke any reaction.

How could this be?!

Crack!

A series of sharp snaps rang out. Spiderweb cracks appeared on the long sword in Li Weixuan's hand, then it shattered into fingernail-sized fragments.

The force of a single strike had been too much for even the sword itself to withstand.

Even an attack like that wasn't enough to break the barrier?

Were they going to be trapped here until they died?

Everyone looked at one another, an uncontrollable despair rising in their hearts.

So it really wouldn't work!

Fu Qian sighed.

Though he'd instinctively felt it wouldn't be that simple, it was still shocking that such a terrifying blow had left no trace at all.

That practically confirmed that they couldn't break through by force. They would have to find another way.

Li Weixuan stared at the broken sword in his hand, dazed for a moment.

He'd never encountered anything this strange in his career.

"Try above us."

Someone in the group shouted.

Right! There was still above!

The suggestion reminded quite a few people that the barrier might not cover every direction. Perhaps they could go around it from above.

One of the people in the group carried a bow. He immediately took it down, nocked an arrow, and aimed overhead.

Fu Qian stood nearby, watching without a word. He didn't tell them that he'd already tried using Air Bullets.

There was no harm in trying a few more things.

Snap!

Just as expected, the expensive arrow flew diagonally upward for a short distance before slamming into some invisible barrier and breaking into several pieces.

The light quickly faded from everyone's eyes.

The archer froze, then drew another arrow and tried a different direction.

Blocked again.

Then another...

Only when his quiver was empty did someone finally step forward and restrain his trembling hand. Broken arrowheads were scattered all over the ground.

The only thing they'd learned was that the barrier rose higher as it extended inward from the edge, forming something like a domed roof.

By now, Li Weixuan had recovered his composure.

This exploration could go no further.

He was just about to issue an order when a clear string of bells rang out in the distance.

"Follow me."

Everyone was startled. Li Weixuan issued the order without hesitation and was already the first to sprint off.

That was the academy's special Arrow Bell, used by students in danger outside the academy to call for help.

There were two other teams in the ruins!

Watching Li Weixuan race off, the students hurried after him.

They couldn't get out, and there were strange monsters inside. No matter how they looked at it, they'd be safer following Dean Li.

"Thank you!"

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

If Fu Qian hadn't warned them, they might not have realized that the team had long been trapped in a desperate situation.

They still had no idea how to deal with it, but it was always better to prepare early.

Fu Qian nodded without replying. He accepted her thanks with a clear conscience.

After all, he'd also gone out of his way to take care of an assassin for her.

The others weren't as relaxed about it as Ji Liushuang. Most of them had been somewhat resentful of Fu Qian earlier, and for a bunch of people in their early twenties, it wasn't easy to swallow their pride and thank or apologize to him now.

Fortunately, Li Weixuan had given an order. The group immediately hurried on in silence, putting all their effort into running and instinctively trying to keep their distance from Fu Qian.

Unfortunately, they soon realized in despair that no matter how fast they ran, Fu Qian remained right there, showing no sign of falling behind.

They'd forgotten this guy was a Sixth Order Transcendent!

The sight before them finally made the group realize it. This guy was now a bona fide Intermediate Tier powerhouse. They'd have to be out of their minds to think they could leave him behind.

Fortunately, the distance wasn't great, and this awkward stretch of road soon came to an end.

When they arrived, they saw Li Weixuan, looking like a god of war, wield his hand as a sword and send dozens of streaks of sword energy slashing in from every direction at... a hand?

That was right. Li Weixuan's target was a gigantic palm, densely covered with dozens of fingers.

Surrounded by all those fingers, the palm moved with incredible speed. Each finger was like a spear, jabbing and retracting so quickly that rubble flew everywhere.

Li Weixuan's supposedly unstoppable sword energy severed a cluster of fingers almost instantly, carving a series of appalling wounds into them.

Badly wounded, the palm trembled violently, but no blood flowed from it.

Sensing Li Weixuan's strength, the remaining fingers scuttled rapidly across the ground and darted into a field of broken stones, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

That thing was disgusting!

Its appearance had shaken everyone to the core. They didn't come back to their senses until Li Weixuan landed.

The team in danger was another group. Unfortunately, they hadn't been as lucky as the first team. By the time Li Weixuan arrived, two members had already been killed by the palm.

"Stop the operation. Everyone, regroup. Send a signal for the remaining team to come here."

With the situation before him, Li Weixuan's face was as hard as iron as he issued the order.

Things were spiraling further and further out of control. What should have been a routine exploration had already claimed lives.

The Finger Monster was badly wounded, but it wasn't dead.

Of course, this wasn't even their most terrifying predicament. That was what awaited them outside.

Li Weixuan immediately went to check on the wounded.

In the brief time it took him to do so, someone had already told the attacked team that they were trapped.

The entire ruin was sealed off by a barrier they couldn't break?

The attacked team had begun to recover, but their spirits plummeted once more.

"We were resting when that hand suddenly darted out. Senior Brother Wang was killed right away. We tried everything to hold it off and looked for an opportunity to launch the Arrow Bell..."

An injured girl quickly described what had happened.

"It wasn't a hand. To describe it accurately, it should be called an Arm Collective."

Fu Qian tossed an object onto the ground.

It was one of the "fingers" Li Weixuan had severed. Some had rolled down below the cliff, while others had landed on the ground. Fu Qian had hurried over to examine them right away and had found something interesting.

"Here, look closely at the top."

You're a freak!

The crowd froze for a moment before realizing what he'd thrown on the ground, and everyone jumped in alarm.

That disgusting thing—he'd almost thrown it onto someone.

"This is an arm, not a finger."

Ji Liushuang's face was impassive as she poked the mass of flesh apart. Only then did the group get a clear look at what it really was.

The thing they'd thought was a giant finger actually had another five fingers at its tip!

Those five fingers were about the size of an ordinary person's, except they were now withered like chicken claws.

Ugh!

At last, someone couldn't hold it in and threw up.