Cause and Effect, Zhendan Academy, Western Upheaval!

But faced with all this, Lu Yuan.

Made no move at all, sitting in place eating meat.

Puchi puchi!

Streams of blood splattered everywhere.

And those dozens of flying blades—they weren't aimed at him at all.

They stabbed straight into the belly of the hedgehog that had already transformed into a beast, slowing its movements.

"Beast, stop harming people."

At the same time, a man appeared, in his twenties, wielding a huge war blade.

He ran from afar, quickly closing in, and facing the hedgehog, swung his blade to engage it in battle.

The man had great strength and fairly sharp techniques, his entire body covered in a thick layer of scale armor, unafraid of the hedgehog's attacks, driving it back repeatedly, appearing highly combat-capable.

And those flying blades from earlier kept assisting on the side, clearly controlled by someone else.

Lu Yuan saw this and tilted his head slightly.

Not far away.

Four more people were hurrying forward, two men and two women, plus the scale-armored man, making five in total.

They paid no attention to Lu Yuan, focusing entirely on dealing with the beast, each with their own methods.

Among them, the one controlling the flying blades was a young girl in green clothes.

The girl was very beautiful.

No less than Zhou Yunqiong, with a stunning face, about 1.7 meters tall, wearing jeans that showed off her long legs, her expression serene.

Her beautiful eyes were fixed tightly on the hedgehog beast, her jade-like fingers occasionally shifting in movement.

The flying blades, under her control, danced up and down, faster than before.

And the cold light clinging to them was even sharper.

As for the other three.

They each had their own abilities, the five working together in perfect sync, all of them Awakened—but as for their actual strength...

Of course, under their combined efforts.

After a little over ten minutes.

They killed the beast, which was comparable to an Initial Realm third-tier.

"Are you alright?"

After finishing.

The green-clad girl put away her flying blades, walked up to Lu Yuan, and said in a gentle tone: "In these woods, you should be more careful."

She could tell Lu Yuan was also an Awakened—who else would be out alone at a time like this?

But his strength probably wasn't great, maybe around Initial Realm first or second tier.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have failed to dodge the hedgehog's attack.

Hearing this.

Lu Yuan remained silent.

That beast just now—even if he did nothing, there was never any danger.

Of course, he hadn't expected to run into people in these woods.

It meant there was probably a town nearby.

"What's wrong with you? We just saved you, and you won't even say thank you?"

Seeing Lu Yuan silent, another woman stepped forward, frowning as she spoke.

The three men also looked displeased.

"I didn't ask you to save me."

Lu Yuan didn't indulge them, speaking directly, his tone calm.

They chose to act on their own; no one forced them.

"You—" The woman was choked off, her face full of indignation. She wore blue clothes, was a bit older, and actually decent-looking, but compared to the flying-blade girl, she fell far short, crushed in both bearing and appearance.

"Sister Qin, we did act on our own."

The green-clad girl smiled, signaling her to stop.

And her words worked—the other woman immediately shut up, standing there sullenly.

"Hello, I'm Zhu Qingyu, this is Senior Sister Qin Lan, and that's Senior Brother Wu... We're all students from Zhendan Academy." The green-clad girl extended her hand, continuing to show goodwill.

Zhendan Academy?

Hearing this.

A slight change finally crossed Lu Yuan's calm face as he continued, "You're Zhu Qingyu from Zhendan Academy?"

"What? You know me?" Zhu Qingyu seemed to pick up on something and couldn't help asking.

"No, this is the first I've heard of it."

Lu Yuan shook his head, indicating he didn't know her.

But his thoughts drifted back to his previous life.

Back then.

He couldn't adapt to the global mutation and struggled at the bottom rung.

It happened one day when mutant beasts attacked the city, disaster struck, and everyone was fleeing for their lives.

At that time, Lu Yuan was just an ordinary person, completely unable to cope. Just as he was about to die, a woman in green appeared, drove back the mutant beasts, and later gathered a group of Awakened to quell that catastrophe.

But the situation was chaotic then—he didn't even get a clear look at her face.

Only later did he learn she was a student at Zhendan Academy.

And her name.

Was Zhu Qingyu.

As for Zhendan Academy, it was one of the forces on par with the Wuzhou Group.

It had official backing and connections, established within the first month after the mutation, with branches in all five super cities. Its original purpose was to train more Awakened to handle the chaos of the new era.

So, from these two pieces of information.

She was the same Zhu Qingyu who had saved him in his past life.

However, Lu Yuan remembered she had high talent, containing a mysterious bloodline, and was a Daughter of Heaven.

But observing her now, her strength wasn't great—roughly at the Initial Realm, third tier—which didn't match the information he knew.

Yet he quickly recalled.

Zhu Qingyu's bloodline was the type that accumulated slowly and shone later, no weaker than the so-called Five Great Supremes.

"I see."

Zhu Qingyu didn't dwell on it and continued, "But I still have to warn you—these mountain areas are dangerous right now. Even though you're an Awakened, you need to be careful."

She spoke, standing among the mountain forest, a smile on her lips.

Her long hair moved with the wind, her figure slender, skin snow-white, bearing light.

Her stunning face, set off by the sunlight, seemed even more ethereal and flawless.

"Mm, got it."

Lu Yuan had no intention of forming much of a connection with her.

After all, matters from his past life were over.

Besides.

Even back then, the two of them didn't really know each other.

So after replying, he prepared to leave.

"Wait."

But soon, Zhu Qingyu spoke again: "It's chaotic out there. It's better to go where there are more people."

"Many places have been attacked by mutant beasts recently, so after you leave, you'd best head to a big city, like Chang'an City."

"Thanks."

Lu Yuan paused for a moment, then nodded.

Sure enough, just like in his past life—no airs, treating others kindly?

In his memory, Zhu Qingyu was different from most Awakened. She didn't look down on ordinary people, had a sense of righteousness, and every time mutant beasts attacked a city, she would charge to the front.

But precisely because of that, was that tragedy later brought about?

If there was a chance.

He could step in then, repaying the life-saving debt from his past life and settling that karmic tie.

At this moment, Lu Yuan thought of many things.

At the dawn of the mutation.

The greatest disaster wasn't the change itself, but the mutant beasts that were naturally hostile to humans.

They were more bloodthirsty, more brutal, especially after walking the path of awakening, directly gaining intelligence.

Among them were true beast kings, not only powerful but also capable of human speech, their way of thinking no different from humans. These beast kings, in a certain period, led the Beast Tide, destroyed countless cities, and killed billions of humans.

Later, as humans gradually adapted and more Awakened emerged, after several major battles erupted between the two sides.

That terrifying disaster finally subsided, but conflicts never ceased.

And.

This was only the beginning of the mutation.

Later on, even from Deep Space, mysterious and powerful beings would come attacking.

"My path of evolution has only just begun."

Thinking of this, Lu Yuan said to himself that he seemed powerful now.

But it was far from enough; he had to keep improving, or else how could he face the crises to come?

Lost in thought, he left on his own.

"Qingyu, what's with this guy?"

Qin Lan watched Lu Yuan's retreating back, her anger flaring up.

Not only had he been saved without a word of thanks, but he also left without even turning his head.

"He might have been scared by that exotic beast."

Senior Brother Wu, the scale-armored man who had wielded the long blade earlier, walked over and smiled. "Some Awakened are like that. They think having supernatural power lets them do whatever they want, but the outside world is more dangerous than they imagine. I think we should cut him some slack."

The other two Zhendan Academy students nodded in agreement.

"Alright, enough."

Zhu Qingyu cut them off at the right moment and said directly, "This time we came out to find those two Unicorn Giant Wolves."

"They're dangerous, extremely vicious. Several towns have already been destroyed. Our top priority is to track their trail, then notify the teachers and send stronger Awakened to deal with them."

Zhendan Academy, backed by official power, was dedicated to maintaining order and protecting the safety of ordinary people.

As students, they also had to do their part by tracking and killing some exotic beasts.

Of course, for beings like the Unicorn Giant Wolves, Zhu Qingyu and the others were no match, so they only needed to find the trail and report it to the academy teachers.

"Sigh, lately there have been more and more beast attacks on cities. Our academy alone can't handle them all."

Qin Lan sighed, then said, "Have you heard? Something big is happening in the West. Several powerful Exotic Beast Kings have been born. A lizard turned into a dragon, spewing magma and burning down many cities. And the legendary Hellhound—wherever it passes, the dead and wounded cover the ground. It's terrifying to think about."

"Who says it isn't? The news is all over the internet now, trending hot."

"Yeah, the West sent tens of thousands of troops with heavy weapons, but it didn't work."

"Rumor has it that big shots plan to call on the Divine Knight of Mount Olympus and the Holy Angel of the Vatican Church to step in."

"Hey, who do you think is stronger—the Western Divine Knight or the Winged Sky God and the others?"

The group spoke one after another, sharing the major events they'd heard about recently.

Qin Lan finally brought up the Five Great Supremes for comparison.

But no conclusion was reached.

The situation in the West was similar to that at home. While powerful Awakened emerged, there were also beast riots, and they were even more severe. Some weaker small countries, lacking strong thermal weapons, had been wiped out overnight.

As Zhendan Academy students, they knew more and spoke with worry in their voices.

"Alright, alright, enough talk. Just focus on your own tasks."

Seeing the conversation drift off track, Zhu Qingyu pointed at the sky. "If we don't move now, we'll waste another day."

The group paused, realizing it was nearly dusk.

They immediately shut up.

At night, exotic beasts would become even more ferocious.

By then, they would have to retreat to a relatively safe place.

So for now, they had to use the last bit of time to keep searching.

Soon, Zhu Qingyu led the remaining four into action.

They combed through the mountains and forests.

But nearly an hour passed without a single clue.

"Looks like we'll have to wait until tomorrow," Qin Lan said, suggesting they needed to pull out.

"Yeah, let's go for now." Zhu Qingyu agreed, not wanting to take risks.

"Huh."

At that moment, Senior Brother Wu suddenly spoke up. "Don't you think it's strange? Ever since we started searching, we haven't run into any exotic beasts at all. That's not normal."

Those words

made all five of them fall completely silent.

During the day, they had encountered several, but now—nothing.

Normally, at night, mutated beasts should be more active.

Could something be about to happen?

Everyone exchanged glances.

Zhu Qingyu told them to stay calm, then thought it over and decided to return the way they came.

That path was the safest, after all, since no danger had appeared along it.

Qin Lan and the others nodded.

The situation was eerie; they could handle ordinary mutated beasts, but if a real crisis struck, they clearly wouldn't be enough.

"Roar~"

But just then.

A sky-shaking roar echoed through the mountains.

The sound was shrill, filled with immense fury.

It startled some of the weaker ferocious birds and beasts, sending them flying into the air.

Under this roar, Zhu Qingyu and the others also felt uncomfortable, as they were very close. They quickly covered their ears and only adapted after a long while.

What to do?

Judging by the sound, that mutated beast was extremely powerful.

In the end, Zhu Qingyu decided to go closer and take a look, suspecting it was the Unicorn Giant Wolf.

They carried mysterious artifacts issued by the academy, which could conceal their aura for a short time, ensuring a degree of safety.

Then, without another word, everyone slowly moved toward the direction of the sound.

Before long, they arrived at an open clearing.

And when Zhu Qingyu and the others saw the scene ahead, they were instantly stunned.

"The Unicorn Giant Wolf... is dead."

There, a Unicorn Giant Wolf covered in red fur lay on the ground, completely lifeless, drenched in blood, its bones broken, and one of its legs had a chunk cut off.

Around the giant wolf's corpse, the ground was torn apart everywhere, with a deep gully running through it.

Clearly, a great battle had taken place here not long ago.

Some mysterious existence had killed the Unicorn Giant Wolf.

From the traces at the scene, that existence was terrifyingly powerful, with devastating destructive force.

"Who killed the Unicorn Giant Wolf?" That was the question on everyone's mind.

That was a mutated beast comparable to the Eighth Order of the Initial Realm!

But soon.

Before Zhu Qingyu and the others could think further.

They noticed, not far from the red giant wolf's corpse, an even larger blue giant wolf appearing.

With every step it took, the earth trembled. Its blue fur emitted faint halos of light, and its entire body radiated a dreadful pressure. Especially the horn on its head, like a heavenly sword, several meters long, extremely tough, as if it could tear through anything.

And the roar of the giant wolf just now.

Had come from this blue Unicorn Giant Wolf.

Because it had discovered that its mate was killed, and it was furious.

"Th-this giant wolf's strength is at least at the Ninth Order of the Initial Realm, maybe even stronger. Weren't these two beast kings supposed to be Eighth Order? This doesn't match the intelligence!" Seeing this, Qin Lan's face turned pale, and her hands trembled uncontrollably—a fear of the powerful mutated beast that she couldn't suppress.

Zhu Qingyu and the others weren't much better off. If not for the mysterious artifact temporarily hiding their auras.

They would definitely have been discovered by the Blue Giant Wolf King, and with their strength.

They would almost certainly be killed instantly.

Without any chance to resist. That was the gap.

"Let's go."

Zhu Qingyu made a decision immediately. The current situation was far beyond their capabilities.

"Awoo~"

But soon.

The Blue Giant Wolf King let out another howl.

Unlike before, there was no anger in the sound, but it carried a special tone.

As if it was issuing some kind of command!

"Not good!"

Zhu Qingyu's face changed drastically: "It's summoning a Beast Tide!"

Some brothers say I update too little, but one of my chapters is equivalent to two chapters from others. This isn't a lot, but it's not little either. Still, the author will keep working hard and try to write more.

Also, since I'm being diligent enough, please spare some recommendation tickets and monthly tickets—they're all free. I'll definitely work hard to write better plots and repay you brothers!