In the desolate graveyard, dazzling light burst forth. Flames and ice bloomed within the Barrier, converging into a Storm that swept toward Mu Qing.
The deadly threat swept over Mu Qing once more. His pupils contracted slightly as Origin Force with a water attribute surged from within him, only to be swallowed by the flames in the blink of an eye.
The flames swept forth like waves, while icy glints pierced through like blades. Mu Qing's skin had already been badly burned, and cold seeped into the meridians in his body. Worse, an icy glint had pierced a bloody hole through his shoulder.
The Ice-Fire Storm was about to engulf Mu Qing. Perhaps in the next moment, he would once again become as he had before: his body reduced to charcoal and entombed in solid ice.
A terrifying fluctuation swept out from beside Mu Qing.
It was Ke Fei!
Ke Fei's shriveled body suddenly unleashed a world-shaking surge of power. His entire body shone, his gaze as tangible as matter. Behind him, a Three-Headed Dragon beat its wings and flew out.
The expression in the middle head's eyes was exactly like Ke Fei's. Light glimmered in its eyes, and the dragon head in the center let out a roar. A gale burst forth.
In the blink of an eye, the gale grew enormous and formed a storm—a true tornado, a hundred meters across and still swelling. Terrifying power packed the space, and every Wind Blade carried an incredibly keen edge.
Crack, crack.
At that moment, Mu Qing finally saw clearly: this graveyard was no ordinary place. Every inch of soil was covered in densely packed seals.
As Ke Fei formed the tornado, mysterious symbols all around them blazed with brilliant light. Vast swathes of gray-black light surged forth like rivers. Layer upon layer of seals forcibly compressed the enormous tornado until it stood just over ten meters tall.
Ke Fei's expression didn't change. He drove the tornado straight into the Ice-Fire Storm, setting off a huge explosion. The wind pressure howled in every direction.
Although his power had been greatly compressed, the Ice-Fire Storm Mu Qing had triggered wasn't very strong. The two forces canceled each other out, and their energy dissipated completely.
With his surging Mental Power, Ke Fei controlled everything and shielded Mu Qing. This time, Mu Qing escaped without serious injury, and the tornado's burst of power didn't affect him either.
Mental Power continued to pour out as Ke Fei controlled his strength, making sure it never touched the Barrier. He wiped away every last shock wave.
Then Ke Fei used the Mental Power Healing Method to treat Mu Qing once more.
His face was slightly pale, clearly showing that he had overused his Mental Power lately.
Mu Qing looked at his fully healed injuries, his expression strange.
He had no idea what Ke Fei was trying to do.
Still, this time Mu Qing had seen the might of a true powerhouse. Ke Fei had casually conjured a hundred-meter tornado—and if the seals in the graveyard hadn't restrained it, it could have grown even larger.
Mu Qing couldn't help recalling the historical events his teachers had told them about in class. Once, a Top-tier Martial Venerable with a ninth-tier bloodline had been trapped in Fierce Beast territory. Before dying, he unleashed all his strength and destroyed a city occupied by Fierce Beasts.
That was enough to prove just how terrifying Martial Venerables were. Top-tier Martial Venerables in particular all possessed the power to raze a city.
"It really can counter the Barrier's power!" Ke Fei exclaimed, his face alight with delight.
He had been keeping a close eye on Mu Qing all along, and had indeed noticed that when Mu Qing's Origin Force surged out, it affected the Barrier's power ever so slightly.
The effect was extremely faint, almost impossible to detect.
Ke Fei looked at Mu Qing as if he were a savior, his eyes shining brightly. He practically treated Mu Qing like a treasure.
Under that stare, Mu Qing felt his hair stand on end and hurriedly backed away.
Ke Fei stroked his beard, his eyes flickering.
He was thinking about how to break through the Barrier as quickly as possible.
Then he slapped his forehead and cursed, "How could I have forgotten about that?"
He glanced at Mu Qing, looking a little embarrassed, then grabbed him and led him to a stone monument in the graveyard.
Mu Qing was completely at a loss. After Ke Fei dragged him over to the tombstone, he saw that it was covered from top to bottom in strange, mysterious symbols. They were profoundly arcane, and from time to time they flashed with light.
This was the source of the Barrier's power!
"This tombstone is safe. Try again—attack it with your Origin Force!" Ke Fei said.
Mu Qing was still far too weak. Even if the Black Fish Blood Spirit countered the Barrier, he couldn't forcibly break through it.
Ke Fei knew that the Nameless Tombstones in the graveyard and the Barrier shared the same source of power. Since Mu Qing's Origin Force could affect the Barrier, it should affect these Nameless Tombstones as well.
Unlike the Barrier, the Nameless Tombstones wouldn't unleash attacks, so they were much safer.
Ke Fei had been too impatient earlier. He had wanted to break the Barrier all at once and hadn't thought it through. Fortunately, he had acted in time, and Mu Qing had only suffered minor injuries.
Now he had another idea: if he couldn't break through the Barrier by force, he could destroy its source.
Mu Qing was skeptical. The Little Black Fish in his dantian swam about as waves of rich Origin Force surged out and enveloped his palm.
He didn't know any water-attribute martial techniques, so he simply reached out and slapped the Nameless Tombstone in front of him.
His Origin Force flowed as smoothly as water, seemingly without any offensive power. Yet the moment it touched the Nameless Tombstone, light burst forth.
The Nameless Tombstone trembled slightly. Countless mysterious and fearsome symbols appeared on its surface, forming an impregnable seal in an instant.
The seal was formidable. Ke Fei had spent over a decade just breaking through the seal on a single tombstone.
Mu Qing couldn't understand Ke Fei's plan. If Ke Fei had needed over a decade to break through the seal, how could Mu Qing possibly affect it?
Strands of mysterious Dawn Light rose up. Mu Qing's expression shifted to mild surprise, then to utter shock.
Ke Fei had been watching from the side. His expression grew just as excited, and even his old hands began to tremble.
They saw the mysterious symbols on the Nameless Tombstone slowly being eroded by Mu Qing's Origin Force, unable to resist in the slightest.
That water-attribute Origin Force was like a potent poison, corroding the seal on the Nameless Tombstone.
Wisps of mist rose into the air. Mu Qing stared blankly, while Ke Fei was overcome with joy.
Though the process was extremely slow, in Ke Fei's eyes, it was a tremendous cause for hope.
At this rate, Mu Qing could completely erode the seal on this Nameless Tombstone in a single day!
"You knew all along that my Origin Force could affect the Barrier?" Mu Qing gaped, then asked.
Ke Fei nodded, his gaze burning.
"Hahaha! I thought I'd be trapped here for the rest of my life. I never imagined you'd come in!" Ke Fei laughed excitedly. At last, he could see a way out.
He explained that if Mu Qing used his Origin Force to break through the seals on fifty-seven Nameless Tombstones, reducing the Barrier's energy, Ke Fei could break through it by force.
Ke Fei was confident. The Barrier was currently powered by one hundred and seven Nameless Tombstones. Once Mu Qing had broken through half of them, leaving only fifty, Ke Fei would be able to smash the Barrier with brute force.
At those words, Mu Qing's face brightened with joy, but then his brows furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Ke Fei didn't understand. They could get out in just over fifty days. That should have been cause for celebration.
Mu Qing gritted his teeth. "In over fifty days, everything will have changed by the time I get out. The College Entrance Exam will nearly be over!"
Under normal circumstances, if he vanished for over fifty days and returned, nothing much would change. Those who had to go to school would go to school, and those who had to cultivate would keep cultivating.
But the College Entrance Exam was right around the corner. It would begin in just a little while!
The nation's major schools and Lineages all took part. It was a grand event for Huaxia, one that would produce many young powerhouses—the backbone of the fight against the Cosmic Fierce Beasts in the years to come!
During the College Entrance Exam, everyone would receive certain benefits that would dramatically boost their strength.
Even though there was now hope of escaping, by the time Mu Qing got out in over fifty days, the College Entrance Exam would be nearly over. He would be marked as absent.
Ke Fei suddenly understood. Only then did he remember that Mu Qing was a student at West Lake High School and had stumbled into the Barrier during a mock exam.
Since the school was already holding mock exams, the College Entrance Exam couldn't be far off.
"The College Entrance Exam is important, that's true. I got a lot out of it when I took it," Ke Fei said with a nod. He paused, then continued, "But it was extremely brutal. That was when the Bloodthirsty Personality first appeared."
"What exactly is the College Entrance Exam like?" Mu Qing asked curiously.
"Every College Entrance Exam is a fight to the death. If you're alive, you've won!" Ke Fei said lightly.
Mu Qing's body shuddered, as if he could see the bloody scene before his eyes.
In the end, Ke Fei had Mu Qing stop corroding the Nameless Tombstones for the time being. Instead, he began teaching him all sorts of practical wisdom and insights into the various realms.
Mu Qing felt as if he had struck gold.
Ke Fei might not put on airs like a powerhouse and looked more like a scruffy old man who didn't know when to act his age.
But Mu Qing knew perfectly well that the man before him was the legendary former principal of West Lake High School, a Top-tier Martial Venerable.
Strictly speaking, his strength was even a little greater than that of the current principal!
Over a decade ago, the Bloodthirsty Personality inside Ke Fei had run amok and killed far too many people, staining the roads of West Lake High School red.
When the Gentle Personality took control of his body, he had voluntarily resigned as principal and sealed himself away. In the end, everyone thought the mad old principal had died.
Ke Fei pulled Mu Qing along and taught him everything he knew about the realms without holding anything back.
As a Top-tier Martial Venerable, he had an incredibly deep understanding of the Blood Qi realm. Just a few words were enough to make everything click for Mu Qing.
"I'll teach you another martial technique. I got it from the Federation Headquarters!" Ke Fei grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth, and sounded rather proud.
Mu Qing was startled. The Federation Headquarters was a gathering place for powerhouses.
Every country had a Federation branch within its borders, and each held a very high status. But the headquarters itself stood above the Pacific Ocean, in Fierce Beast territory!
The Federation Headquarters was also known as Sky City.
Ke Fei looked pleased with Mu Qing's expression. He nodded, then picked up a fragment of stone and began carving patterns and words into the ground.
Before you continue