A New Mission

Under Jia Ruo's treatment, the three men endured a whole day of torment, their cries filling the air with a grim atmosphere.

"Damn it, I've been beaten up again!"

In the open space, the three students from the capital's High Peak Academy once again faced Jia Ruo's merciless attacks. Every exchange was accompanied by pained groans and furious curses.

He looked like a leaf caught in a wild storm, helplessly swept into a whirlwind of spells and desperate evasion.

Watching from the side, Jia Ruo's lips curled into a faint, meaningful smile.

The men from High Peak Academy had originally been grateful to Jia Ruo for healing their injuries. Now, however, they felt she was nothing but a little devil in disguise.

"Her whole purpose was to make us spend the entire day getting beaten up." One of the men from High Peak Academy looked deeply aggrieved.

Faced with Jia Ruo's overwhelming strength, the men from High Peak Academy couldn't summon even a trace of resentment. They could only blame her for all their misfortune.

They could only wait until Jia Ruo was gone before venting their frustration. This delicate, seemingly harmless little devil was actually a violent fiend who showed no mercy.

Her beatings were even more frightening than those of the three men. They hurt far more, too.

After all, she knew the human body better than anyone and understood exactly where to strike for the greatest effect.

As night fell, the exchange between the three men and Jia Ruo finally ended at record speed, becoming the shortest training session in history.

The men from High Peak Academy lay on the ground, groaning softly. Their bodies swayed in the breeze as they watched the pale moon rise and shine over the land. None of them felt like speaking. Every heart was left with a lingering shadow of misery.

On the boat returning to the capital, the mountains outside the window blurred into indistinct shapes, and a calm, lonely atmosphere filled the cabin.

Five Thoughts Wu slowly stretched his stiff back, then rubbed his tired eyes and let out a yawn.

"This is so boring. We went all this way, and I didn't even get to meet anyone who could get my blood pumping."

His voice echoed through the empty cabin.

Ye Lian, seated across from him, was reading a book on the armrest of the sofa. Without looking up, he replied:

"Bored? Perfect. I've got a new mission for you. I'll send you to find the Dark Gold Rat."

"Huh? We just got praised by the High Peak Academy principal for our contribution to the capital. They even gave us a grand welcome ceremony!"

"Didn't the principal just drop dead? You're already rushing to give us a new mission. Isn't that a bit too much?"

Five Thoughts Wu scratched his cheek, his face full of dissatisfaction and protest.

Ye Lian slowly set down the book and explained:

"This is for your own good. Princess Dian and Prince Han have been missing for two days."

"To prevent the situation from escalating, I can only send you three to the Soul Force Bureau to rescue them."

At that, a flicker of light passed through Five Thoughts Wu's eyes, but he immediately returned to his lazy expression. He looked at Jia Meng and Xia Bu beside him and asked:

"It's just the three of us. Do we really need to go? Can't you send someone else?"

Jia Meng smiled, his eyes flashing with a glint of keen interest as he thought to himself:

"Prince Han and Princess Dian have been trapped for two days. That mission is probably the one I've been thinking about. The Soul Force that can control the flow of time—what a rare collectible."

Thinking of this, an inscrutable smile tugged at his lips. He replied:

"I'll go, then. Remember to keep me in mind when you're handing out rewards."

Five Thoughts Wu immediately retorted:

"Why should you get the best reward? I'm just as capable as you are. Why should you get to go?"

Ye Lian watched the three of them bicker. He was both amused and a little worried. He cleared his throat and said:

"Since you're all so eager, you can all go. It'll be more lively that way."

Xia Bu nodded, then flipped through a white page and looked at Five Thoughts Wu.

"Wu, you don't have enough teammates as it is. You might as well bring me along."

Five Thoughts Wu's face darkened at once.

"Clearly, he was trying to set me up! That traitor!"

As he spoke, he started toward Jia Meng.

"Enough! You're on a flying boat. You're going to knock me over for no reason!"

Ye Lian could only endure it. He used the opportunity to give them a stern lecture, his tone laced with an unmistakable threat.

Jia Meng and the others disembarked from the flying boat and hurried along a winding, twisting road. At last, they arrived before an ancient wooden building, its atmosphere heavy and oppressive—the mission site for rescuing Princess Dian and Prince Han. It was a mansion that hid countless secrets and horrors.

"Lucky for us, it's daytime. If it were night, I wouldn't dare come." Jia Ruo said.

"Afraid to go in?" Jia Meng's voice rang out through the quiet surroundings, sounding especially hollow.

"What's there to be afraid of? Even Prince Han, with his powerful Soul Force, has been trapped for two days. If I go in, I'll probably run into all sorts of trouble too."

"Let's hurry. I don't want to spend another second in this cursed place. My bed at home is waiting for me."

Five Thoughts Wu yawned lazily, then made a gesture with his fingers, as if he were about to perform some kind of ritual.

"Shi Style!"

As his words fell, a tremendous, unspeakable force suddenly gathered in the air.

In the next instant, the mansion seemed to shed its weight and slowly rose into the air.

As the space twisted, it was as if an invisible hand had torn the building apart. Princess Dian and Prince Han, imprisoned inside, were revealed.

"Hey, Princess, I'm here to save you."

"Hey, are you crying?"

Five Thoughts Wu wore a cheerful, utterly insincere smile.

"I'm crying? Don't be ridiculous. I don't need you to save me!"

Princess Dian's voice came out choked, her eyes red-rimmed as she struggled not to let her tears fall.

Five Thoughts Wu smiled, then released his spell. The mansion, now nightmarishly distorted, shattered into pieces that scattered beneath the sunlight.

Just then, the earth trembled. A huge, mountain-like monster burst from the ground. Its body twisted, its red eyes blazing, and it radiated a terrifying aura that made everyone's hearts sink.

But before its fury could fully erupt, a beam of light shot through the air like lightning, piercing straight through its body.

Immediately afterward, a monster several times larger opened its enormous mouth, large enough to swallow the first whole. It swallowed the monster in one bite, its face shaking with a mixture of shock and despair.

Xia Bu raised his hands and walked over, one step at a time.

"Wu, picking on the weak isn't nice."

"Picking on the weak? It's not like I'm bullying someone stronger. Besides, you're the one who's always running your mouth, idiot." Five Thoughts Wu shot back.

"You guys are such a bunch of losers!" The roar made Ye Lian's face flush with anger.

Jia Meng and Xia Bu acted almost simultaneously. Their spells intertwined into a net, crushing the monster where it stood until not even a trace of it remained.

Jia Meng secretly congratulated himself: "Lucky I got the Soul Force after that idiot ate it. I've got his spell model now."

Jia Ruo stepped out from the crowd, her voice gentle and composed. "Princess Dian, Prince Han, are you all right? Do you need me to treat you?"

"Ruozi! You came to save me!" Ye Lian rushed over and hugged Jia Ruo.

"Wait, was that just me seeing things? Did I just see 'Fu'?" Everyone present froze at the words Prince Han had just said.

"It's over," Five Thoughts Wu said, delivering the first line of dialogue.