Earth-Shattering Upheaval

Fortunately, the price of buying a new fishing rod wasn't high, only one Spirit Crystal; otherwise, Ma Feifei would definitely have protested.

However, this price also proves one thing: the fishing rod provided by the system is indeed an ordinary fishing rod; otherwise, it wouldn't be so easy to break, and the price of buying a new one would be so cheap.

"I'll go and complete the listing task this weekend. East of Azure Dragon, there's the sea called Qiong. I wonder how far it is." Ma Feifei packed up the fishing rods he had bought and the remaining fishing gear in the warehouse, pondering as he walked out of the warehouse.

In the backyard, Zhang Caicai was still hanging upside down from the maple tree, with Ba Jiu standing guard below meticulously. Ma Feifei glanced up at Zhang Caicai and noticed that he was also staring at her with pitiful eyes. After thinking for a moment, Ma Feifei said, "Come down."

"Whoosh~"

"Smack~"

The rope snapped, and Zhang Caicai flipped over and fell from the tree.

"Thank you, shop owner!" Zhang Caicai ran to Ma Feifei's side and thanked him with a giggle.

"If you try to fool me again, it won't just be hanging on a tree, you understand?" Ma Feifei said fiercely. This little guy is precocious; he'll take a beating if you give him a little attention. He needs to be disciplined more often.

"Oh~~" Upon hearing this, Zhang Caicai's smile instantly vanished, and she looked rather downcast. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she uttered only this one word.

"Alright, go ahead and get busy." Ma Feifei patted Zhang Caicai's head, then turned and walked back towards the Bookstore. It wasn't that he was going to check on the store, but rather that he was going out to find Gongsun Qiong and Zhao Xiaodao to ask about the progress of the Confucian Dao Academy. After all, with the support of the Mysterious Bookstore and Wantong Trading Market, Daoist magic was thriving and shouldn't be far from the so-called 'prosperity'. The only area that needed attention was the development of the Confucian Dao Academy.

"Yes, shopkeeper." Zhang Caicai nodded, watching Ma Feifei's retreating figure, hesitated, then sighed, walked to Ba Jiu's side, and asked listlessly, "Ninth Brother, do you believe what I just said?"

"What? The thing about the dream?" Ba Jiu lay lazily in the rocking chair, squinting as he replied.

"Although it's a dream, it feels so real, yet it doesn't feel like a dream. It's as if I've experienced it myself." Zhang Caicai stretched out her hand and looked at the broken black token lying in his palm.

"I don't understand," Ba Jiu replied weakly. All he wanted to do right now was Rest; he didn't want to think about anything else. As for what Zhang Caicai had said, he hadn't heard a word of it.

"Well... how do I explain it to you? For example, this black token in my hand right now, I've never seen this thing before, but today I don't know why it appeared on me. However, no matter how hard I try, I can't figure out when or where I got this token. Isn't that strange?" Zhang Caicai rattled off a whole bunch of things, then looked down at Ba Jiu and noticed that his eyes were already closed.

"Eat and sleep, sleep and eat again, are you a pig?!" Zhang Caicai looked at Ba Jiu, who was gradually falling asleep, speechless.

"Hmph..." Ba Jiu grumbled and ignored Zhang Caicai's complaints, then went to sleep.

Zhang Caicai, and the black token, broken in two, lost its balance and fell to the ground.

"Sizzle~~"

The token fell to the ground without making a clattering sound; instead, it sizzled and turned into a puddle of black liquid, which slowly dried under the sunlight and eventually disappeared.

"It's really strange, why can't I remember where I got this token?" Zhang Caicai squatted down, watching the black water gradually disappear, and muttered to herself.

Just as Zhang Caicai was pondering the black token, the Vast Academy, tens of thousands of miles away, was undergoing a tremendous change.

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

"Clang~"

Three more distant chimes rang out, the sound of the Canglang Bell, the sacred artifact of the Vast Academy. The moment the bell rang, all the students of the Vast Academy fell silent.

On the Martial Arts Field of the Outer Court, thousands of Outer Court looked up at the Twin Peaks, each with a suspicious expression.

"This is really strange. In just a few days, the Canglang Bell has rung twice, and each time it rang three times. What could be happening?" a student said, frowning.

The Canglang Bell is the sacred artifact of the academy. In the past five thousand years of the Vast Academy's history, it is usually heard only once every few years. It is even rarer to hear it ring three times in a row than once every few hundred years. And the Canglang Bell ringing two or three times in a short period of time is unprecedented.

"Something really might have happened. The masters who have been teaching these past few days have all looked very serious, much stricter than usual," another newly enrolled student said with a worried expression.

"I overheard a grandmaster mention a couple of days ago that someone from the academy's upper echelons was killed outside," a student whispered.

"Really?" Everyone was surprised. The murder of a high-ranking academy member was no small matter for the Vast Academy. In particular, the fact that the death of a high-ranking academy member could cause the Canglang Bell three times proved that this high-ranking member was of very noble status.

"I only heard it casually from that master, but I don't know the specific reason. However, I think it's probably quite accurate," the student replied, not entirely sure.

"If that's the case, then we don't know which high-ranking official was killed," another student sighed.

"All I care about is who dared to kill a high-ranking member of our Vast Academy."

"That's right, but since they dared to kill a high-ranking member of our academy, they must have some skill."

"That's how it should be."

"..."

The students in the Martial Arts Field gathered in small groups to discuss, their faces filled with curiosity and worry. However, there was one student who did not participate. He stood quietly in the Martial Arts Field, looking towards the Twin Peaks, his eyes blazing, his fingers constantly forming hand seals, and he muttered to himself, completely out of place with his surroundings.

He is the freshman of this year, the Bai Xiaosheng.

"Oh no, oh no, this is going to be a disaster." As Bai Xiaosheng pinched himself, cold sweat poured down his face, veins bulged on his forehead, and his lips began to tremble.

"No, we have to leave quickly, something bad is going to happen." Bai Xiaosheng raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then turned and ran towards the exit of the Martial Arts Field.

Halfway there, Bai Xiaosheng suddenly stopped and turned back. Looking at the thousands of students in the vast Martial Arts Field, Bai Xiaosheng thought for a moment, then raised his hands to his mouth like a megaphone and shouted, "Brothers, it's dangerous here! Run!"

The previously noisy Martial Arts Field fell silent instantly, and everyone turned to look at Bai Xiaosheng with puzzled expressions.

"Brother Xiaosheng, this is Vast Academy, what danger could there be?"

"Yes! Is there any place in the world safer than the Vast Academy?"

"That's right, classmate, stop Play Rough."

Of the thousands of people, not a single one believed Bai Xiaosheng's words, but no one mocked him either; overall, the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.

"If you won't listen, there's nothing I can do. Life and death are in the hands of fate, wealth and honor are determined by heaven. Farewell!" Seeing this, Bai Xiaosheng didn't insist. He clasped his hands and prepared to leave.

"Boom~~"

Suddenly, a deafening roar echoed through the sky, as if the heavens had collapsed, and the clear sky instantly darkened.

"Boom~~"

The earth trembled violently, causing the mountains to shake.

Ah~~

"Oh my goodness~"

The Martial Arts Field began to shake violently, and thousands of students were thrown into chaos.

"Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~"

Dozens of figures flew down from Twin Peaks; they were the academy's grandmasters.

"Everyone, please be careful, don't panic, and calm your minds!" The masters arrived at the Martial Arts Field and began to maintain order.

Fortunately, the students who were able to enter the Vast Academy were all quite strong. After they gradually recovered, the chaotic Martial Arts Field finally calmed down, although everyone's faces still showed fear.

"Roar~~"

The wind howled, and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy began to twist and distort in a tangible way, rushing towards the Twin Peaks.

"Boom!"

"Haha... haha... hahahaha~~~ Laozi 've finally seen the light of day again!"