But Lu Yuan did nothing in response. He sat where he was and kept eating.
Splurt! Splurt!
Blood sprayed in every direction.
The dozens of flying knives weren't aimed at him at all.
They plunged straight into the belly of the hedgehog, which had already transformed into a Mutant Beast, slowing its movements.
"Beast! Stop harming people!"
At the same time, a man in his twenties appeared, carrying a massive battle blade.
He came running from a distance and quickly reached them. Facing the hedgehog, he swung his blade and engaged it in battle.
The man was strong and fought fiercely. Thick scales covered his entire body, shielding him from the hedgehog's attacks as he steadily drove it back. He looked quite formidable.
The flying knives from moments ago continued to help from the sidelines. Clearly, someone else was controlling them.
Lu Yuan glanced over.
Not far away,
four more people hurried toward them: two men and two women. Along with the scaled man, there were five of them in all.
They paid no attention to Lu Yuan, focusing on the Mutant Beast instead. Each used a different ability.
The one controlling the flying knives was a young woman dressed in green.
She was beautiful,
no less so than Zhou Yunqiong, with exquisite features. Around 1.7 meters tall, she wore jeans that showed off her long legs. Her expression was serene.
Her bright eyes stayed fixed on the hedgehog Mutant Beast, while her jade-like fingers shifted through a series of gestures.
Under her control, the knives darted up and down, moving even faster than before.
The cold glint clinging to them had also grown sharper.
As for the other three,
each had their own ability. The five worked together with practiced ease, and all of them were Awakened. As for their strength...
Of course, with three of them working together,
they killed the Mutant Beast, which was comparable to a third-stage Initial Realm creature, after more than ten minutes.
"Are you all right?"
Once they were done,
the Green-Robed Woman put away her knives and walked over to Lu Yuan, speaking gently. "You should be careful in a mountain forest like this."
She could tell that Lu Yuan was an Awakened. Otherwise, who would go out alone at a time like this?
But he probably wasn't very strong—perhaps only at the first or second stage of the Initial Realm.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to dodge the hedgehog's attack.
At that,
Lu Yuan fell silent.
Even if he'd done nothing, that Mutant Beast would never have posed any danger to him.
Still, he hadn't expected to run into people in a mountain forest like this.
There must be a town nearby.
"What's with you? We just saved you. Can't you even say thank you?"
When Lu Yuan didn't answer, another woman stepped forward, frowning as she spoke.
The other three men wore similarly displeased expressions.
"I didn't ask you to save me."
Lu Yuan didn't humor her. He answered directly, his tone calm.
They'd chosen to step in. Nobody had forced them.
"You—" The woman choked on her words, glaring in outrage. She wore blue and seemed a little older. She was fairly pretty, but compared to the one who controlled the flying knives, she fell far short. Her looks and bearing were completely outclassed.
"Senior Sister Qin, we were the ones who chose to step in."
The Green-Robed Woman smiled, signaling for her to let it go.
Her words did the trick. The other woman immediately fell silent and stood there, sullen.
"Hello, I'm Zhu Qingyu. This is Senior Sister Qin Lan, and that's Senior Brother Wu. We're all students at Zhendan Academy." The Green-Robed Woman held out her hand, offering a friendly greeting.
Zhendan Academy?
At that,
Lu Yuan's calm expression finally changed a little. "You're Zhu Qingyu from Zhendan Academy?"
"What? You know me?" Zhu Qingyu seemed to notice his reaction and asked.
"No. This is the first time I've heard of you."
Lu Yuan shook his head, saying he didn't know her.
But his thoughts had already returned to his previous life.
Back then,
he'd been unable to adapt to the global upheaval, struggling desperately at the bottom.
Then, one day, Mutant Beasts attacked a city, and disaster struck. Everyone was fleeing for their lives.
At the time, Lu Yuan had been an ordinary person, powerless to fight back. Just as he was about to die, a Green-Robed Woman appeared and drove the beasts away. Later, she joined forces with a group of Awakened to quell the disaster.
But everything had been chaotic then. He hadn't even gotten a clear look at her face.
Only later did he learn that she'd been a student at Zhendan Academy.
And her name
had been Zhu Qingyu.
As for Zhendan Academy, it was one of the major powers alongside Wuzhou Group.
Backed by the government, it had been established in the first month of the upheaval. It had branches in all Five Super Cities, and its original purpose was to train more Awakened and help them face the disorder of the new era.
So, judging by these two details,
this was the same Zhu Qingyu who had saved him in his previous life.
Still, Lu Yuan remembered that her talent was exceptional. She possessed a mysterious bloodline and was a Daughter of Heaven.
But from what he could see now, she wasn't very strong—probably around the third stage of the Initial Realm. That didn't quite fit what he knew.
Then he quickly remembered.
Zhu Qingyu's bloodline was one that accumulated strength before blossoming. She would shine in the later stages, rivaling even the so-called Five Great Supremes.
"I see."
Zhu Qingyu didn't think much of it. She continued, "Still, I should warn you that mountain areas are dangerous these days. Even if you're Awakened, you still need to be careful."
She stood amid the woods, a smile on her lips.
Her long hair stirred in the breeze. She was tall and slender, with snow-white skin and a light, graceful figure.
Sunlight made her breathtaking face seem even more otherworldly. She was flawless.
"Mm. Got it."
Lu Yuan had no intention of getting too involved with her.
After all, what had happened in his previous life was over.
Besides,
even back then, they hadn't really known each other.
So after answering, he prepared to leave.
"Wait."
But Zhu Qingyu quickly called out again. "It's dangerous out there. You'd be better off somewhere with more people."
"Mutant Beasts have attacked a lot of places recently. Once you're out, you should head for a big city, like Chang'an City."
"Thanks."
Lu Yuan paused, then nodded.
She really was just like in his previous life—unpretentious and kind to others.
In his memory, Zhu Qingyu was unlike most Awakened. She never looked down on ordinary people. She had a strong sense of duty, and whenever Mutant Beasts attacked a city, she was always the first to rush into the fight.
But was that exactly why that tragedy had happened later?
If he got the chance,
he could step in then. That would repay the debt of having his life saved in his previous life and settle the cause and effect between them.
At that moment, many thoughts crowded into Lu Yuan's mind.
At the dawn of the upheaval,
the greatest disaster hadn't been the changes themselves, but the Mutant Beasts, whose nature set them against humanity.
They were more bloodthirsty and more vicious. Once they embarked on the path of awakening, they gained intelligence.
Among them were true kings of the beasts. Those kings weren't just powerful; they could speak human languages. Their way of thinking was almost indistinguishable from that of humans. For a time, these Beast Kings led Beast Tides that laid waste to countless cities and killed hundreds of millions of people.
Humanity gradually adapted, and more and more people awakened. After several more wars between the two sides,
the terrifying disaster finally subsided, though conflicts continued.
And
this was only the beginning of the upheaval.
Later, mysterious and powerful beings would descend even from Deep Space.
"My path of evolution has only just begun."
Thinking of all this, Lu Yuan reflected that he might seem powerful now,
but he was still far from strong enough. He had to keep improving, or how would he face the crises ahead?
As he thought,
he left on his own.
"Qingyu, what's with that guy?"
Qin Lan watched Lu Yuan walk away, burning with irritation.
He'd been saved and hadn't even said thank you. Then he'd left without so much as looking back.
"Maybe that Mutant Beast scared him."
Senior Brother Wu—the scaled man who had wielded the long blade—walked over with a smile. "Some Awakened are just like that. They think having supernatural powers means they can do whatever they want, when the outside world is more dangerous than they imagine. I think we should cut him some slack."
The other two Zhendan Academy students nodded, fully agreeing.
"All right, that's enough."
Zhu Qingyu cut them off, then said, "We came out here to look for those two Unicorn Giant Wolves."
"They're dangerous and extremely savage. They've already destroyed several towns. Our priority is to find their tracks, then notify the teachers so they can send stronger Awakened to deal with them."
Zhendan Academy was backed by the government, and its mission was to maintain order and protect as many ordinary people as possible.
As students, the five of them also had to do their part by tracking down and killing Mutant Beasts.
Of course, with creatures like the Unicorn Giant Wolves,
Zhu Qingyu and the others were no match for them. They only needed to find their tracks and report back to their teachers.
"Sigh, there've been more and more attacks on cities lately. Our academy alone can't keep up."
Qin Lan sighed, then said, "Have you heard? Something huge is happening in the West. Several powerful Exotic Beast Kings have emerged. One lizard turned into a giant dragon that spews lava and has burned down countless cities. And there's the legendary Hellhound—everywhere it passes, the dead and wounded pile up. It's terrifying just to think about."
"Tell me about it. The news is all over the internet. It's getting a ton of attention."
"Yeah. The West sent out tens of thousands of troops with heavy weapons, but none of it worked."
"I heard some big shots are planning to call on the Divine Knights of Mount Olympus and the Holy Angels of the Vatican Church."
"Hey, what do you think? Are the Western Divine Knights stronger, or Winged Sky God and the others?"
One after another, they shared the latest major news they'd heard.
Qin Lan eventually compared them with the Five Great Supremes.
But no one could reach a conclusion.
The situation in the West was much like that at home: powerful Awakened had emerged, but so had rampaging Mutant Beasts, and things were even worse there. Some small, weaker countries had even been wiped out overnight because they lacked powerful modern weapons.
As students of Zhendan Academy, they knew more than most, and their voices were full of concern.
"All right, that's enough. Let's focus on our own work."
Seeing the conversation veer further and further off course, Zhu Qingyu pointed at the sky. "If we don't get moving, we'll waste another day."
Everyone paused, realizing that dusk was already approaching.
They fell silent at once.
Mutant Beasts grew even more savage at night.
They would have to retreat to somewhere relatively safe by then.
So for now, they needed to make the most of the remaining daylight and keep searching.
Soon,
Zhu Qingyu led the other four onward.
They searched through the woods for a long time.
Nearly an hour passed, but they still hadn't found a single clue.
"Looks like we'll have to come back tomorrow," Qin Lan said, deciding they needed to leave.
"Mm. Let's go, then." Zhu Qingyu agreed. She didn't want to take any risks.
"Huh?"
Senior Brother Wu suddenly spoke up. "Don't you think it's strange? We haven't run into a single Mutant Beast since we started searching. That's not normal."
His words
left all five of them completely silent.
During the day, they'd run into several of them in a row. Now there weren't any.
By rights, Mutant Beasts should have been more active at night.
Nothing was going to happen, was it?
Everyone exchanged glances.
Zhu Qingyu told them to stay calm. After thinking it over, she decided they should retrace their steps.
It was the safest route, after all. Nothing dangerous had happened along the way.
Qin Lan and the others nodded.
The situation was strange. They could handle ordinary Mutant Beasts, but if they ran into a major crisis, they clearly wouldn't stand a chance.
"Roar~"
But just then,
a thunderous roar rang through the mountain forest.
It was a piercing sound, full of fury.
Even some weaker flying Mutant Beasts were startled and took to the air.
The roar made Zhu Qingyu and the others feel awful, too. It was so close that they hurriedly covered their ears, and it took them a long while to adjust.
What should they do?
Judging by the sound, the Mutant Beast was incredibly powerful.
In the end, Zhu Qingyu decided they should go closer and take a look. She suspected it was the Unicorn Giant Wolf.
They had a mysterious device issued by the academy, which could conceal their presence for a short time and offer some degree of safety.
Without another word, they slowly headed toward the source of the sound.
Before long, they reached a clearing.
The moment Zhu Qingyu and the others saw what lay ahead, they froze.
"The Unicorn Giant Wolf... it's dead."
A Unicorn Giant Wolf with red fur all over lay on the ground, lifeless and covered in blood. Its bones had been broken, and a chunk had even been torn from one of its legs.
All around the giant wolf's corpse, the ground was broken and torn up, with a deep furrow running through it.
Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here not long ago.
Some mysterious being had killed the Unicorn Giant Wolf.
Judging by the traces left behind, that being was terrifyingly powerful, with immense destructive force.
"Who killed the Unicorn Giant Wolf?" Everyone wondered the same thing.
That was a Mutant Beast on par with an Eighth Order Initial Realm expert.
But soon—
before Zhu Qingyu and the others could think it over, they spotted an even larger blue giant wolf not far from the Red Giant Wolf's corpse.
Every step it took made the earth tremble. A faint glow shimmered through its blue fur, and a terrifying pressure radiated from its entire body. The horn atop its head was especially striking: like a heavenly sword, it stretched several meters long and looked incredibly tough, as if it could rip through anything.
The giant wolf's roar from earlier—
it had come from this blue Unicorn Giant Wolf.
It had discovered that its mate had been killed, and it was enraged.
"This giant wolf is at least Ninth Order Initial Realm, maybe even stronger. Weren't the two Beast Kings supposed to be Eighth Order? This doesn't match the intelligence!" Qin Lan's face turned deathly pale, and her hands trembled uncontrollably. She couldn't suppress her fear of such a powerful Mutant Beast.
Zhu Qingyu and the others weren't faring much better. If the mysterious device hadn't been hiding their presence for the time being,
the Blue Giant Wolf King would definitely have noticed them. And with their strength,
they would have been killed in an instant.
They wouldn't have had the slightest chance to fight back. That was the difference in power.
"Go."
Zhu Qingyu made her decision at once. The situation was far beyond what they could handle.
"Awooo~"
But soon,
the Blue Giant Wolf King let out another howl.
Unlike before, it held no trace of anger, but there was something strange about it.
It sounded like an order!
"Not good!"
Zhu Qingyu's expression changed drastically. "It's summoning a Mutant Beast horde!"
Some readers say I don't update much, but one of my chapters is worth two of other authors' chapters. My update count may not be huge, but it's not bad either. Still, I'll keep working hard and try to write more.
And since you can see I've been pretty diligent, please send me more recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. They're free! I'll definitely work hard to write an even better story and repay you all!
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