Return, Magic Martial Academy Reinforcements

Just as Su Yi and the other man were returning to Hope City, Mu Tuo had already brought reinforcements to within less than five kilometers of the village.

After leaving the village, he had not hesitated in the slightest, rushing carefully toward Demonwood City. Fortunately, his luck had been good, and he had encountered only a few Fourth Grade Demon Beasts along the way.

He had not stop to kill them, instead detouring around the Demon Beasts and continuing on to Demonwood City, where he found War General Mu Li and explained the entire situation.

Mu Li's brows were tightly furrowed. He had never expected Rebirth Land martial artists to slip around behind Demonwood City—and even set their sights on his village.

Although he had left the village long ago, and most of his relatives had moved to Demonwood City, he had remained in contact with the village. The resources provided by the village had always accounted for the greatest portion of his cultivation supplies.

That was why, upon hearing Mu Tuo's request, he had immediately led a squad of martial artists straight to the village.

"Damn Rebirth Land martial artists!"

When he saw his village reduced to utter ruin, corpses strewn everywhere, Mu Li let out a low growl from his throat.

Mu Tuo sank weakly to the ground, his fists hammering against the earth.

In the end, he had still returned too late.

Mu Li roared in fury, "Search! Find those two Rebirth Land martial artists!"

It was only just dawn. Barely more than two hours had passed since Mu Tuo had gone looking for him. Rebirth Land martial artists had lived in poverty for so long—how could they possibly abandon so many resources?

They were either hiding in the village now, or concealed in the nearby mountains.

"Yes!"

The subordinates behind him answered in unison. Their figures flashed as they entered the village and scattered in all directions.

Mu Li paid no attention to Mu Tuo, who was sprawled on the ground. Instead, he looked sorrowfully at the village before him.

He had been born and raised in this village. There were many people he knew here, as well as childhood companions.

He had only left the village to enlist in Demonwood City after reaching Third-Rank High Stage. For decades afterward, the village had continued to provide him with resources, while he had continued to protect it.

And now, the village was gone.

"Rebirth Warriors!!!"

Veins bulged across Mu Li's face as he ground his teeth and spat out those words.

After fighting Rebirth Warriors for decades, this was the first time he had hated Rebirth Land martial artists so intensely.

Before long, all the martial artists who had gone searching returned. But the information they brought back only enraged Mu Li further: the Rebirth Land martial artists had left mere minutes before they arrived.

Of the village's more than seventeen hundred people, only around two-thirds remained. Hardly any martial artists were left; most of the survivors were ordinary people.

According to a Third Grade martial artist, the two Rebirth Warriors had first gone to the northern peak, then fled straight toward the northwest.

Northwest?

Hope City!

By Mu Li's calculations, the two Rebirth Warriors had likely returned to the stronghold before heading back to Hope City.

There were two Rebirth Warriors, and according to Mu Tuo, one of them was seriously injured. They could not have gone far.

"Leave two men behind to set the village in order. Mu Tuo, everyone else—come with me and pursue them!"

Geniuses from the Rebirth Land?

One Fourth Grade Mid and one Fourth Grade Peak had actually destroyed his village. Then let's see whether you can escape my pursuit.

The gap between Sixth Grade and Fifth Grade was enormous—let alone when he was Sixth Grade Mid!

"Su Yi, we really took a huge loss this time. So many resources... there probably won't be any left if we come again next time," Fu Yinghao said painfully as they hurried along.

The resources they had obtained were probably not even one-fifth of the entire village's stores.

By next time, whether the village would even still exist was a question. They had practically wiped out all its martial artists.

Once the abyss people arrived, they would definitely take away all the remaining resources.

"Forget it. We've already left. Once we get back, we can exchange the resources, cultivate, turn them into combat strength, and after breaking through, go to other villages."

Su Yi's mindset was fairly good. Although his heart had ached when they first left, they had still gained quite a lot of resources—enough for him to cultivate for a while.

"Sigh, it would've been nice if we could've collected resources for a little longer. The Abyss Warriors probably wouldn't have arrived that quickly, right?" Fu Yinghao still could not let it go, muttering to himself.

"Bullshit. Believe it or not, Abyss Warriors might already be there by now!"

"Really?"

Su Yi did not answer again, merely lowering his head and hurrying onward. Or perhaps it had been intuition—while collecting resources, he had felt vaguely uneasy, which was why he had stopped and gone to find Fu Yinghao.

Fu Yinghao had agreed immediately, so Su Yi had not mentioned it. He trusted his own intuition quite a bit.

Since Su Yi did not answer, Fu Yinghao did not pay it much mind. He had only said it casually. They had already left; it was not as though they could go back to the village.

These resources were already an enormous haul for him; he was just reluctant to leave the rest behind.

"Kagu!"

With a casual stroke, Su Yi killed the Fourth Grade Initial Abyss Warrior that had sprung out from the grass to ambush them. He swiftly dug out its heart, picked up its weapon and a small cloth pouch, every movement smooth and fluid as drifting clouds and flowing water.

After stuffing the supplies into his pack, Su Yi remarked, "No sense of judgment at all!"

Fu Yinghao was somewhat astonished by Su Yi's practiced movements. Just how skilled did one have to be to make it look like that?

He wholeheartedly agreed with Su Yi's words as well. That Fourth Grade Initial truly had no sense of judgment.

One was Fourth Grade Mid, the other Fourth Grade Peak. Their entire bodies radiated a towering bloody baleful aura, and they were carrying heaps of supplies besides. Did they look like easy targets?

They had encountered quite a few Abyss Warriors along the way. Some turned and fled the moment they saw them, while two Fifth Grades who had charged at them had been cut down.

But this was the first Fourth Grade to try ambushing them. It was practically making a delivery straight to their door.

As they continued onward, they began encountering Abyss mid-rank fighters more and more frequently.

Su Yi frowned. "The Abyss mid-ranks all seem to be heading toward Hope City. Has the war already begun?"

Fu Yinghao waved a hand. "Not that quickly. Judging by this, they're probably preparing to clear out the Meat Grinder. These are merely small advance groups of mid-ranks. In a few days, Abyss Warriors of the mid-to-high ranks will make their move."

Having participated in several major battles, Fu Yinghao was thoroughly familiar with the process.

First, small groups of martial artists entered. Then the mid-to-high ranks began clearing the Meat Grinder. Finally, Heaven's Gate City's army arrived.

Otherwise, he would not have chosen this time to head for that village with Su Yi.

Hearing Fu Yinghao's explanation, Su Yi breathed a sigh of relief. If the war had already begun, then running into Heaven's Gate City's army or High Rank martial artists would make it very difficult for them to escape.

Su Yi had never experienced a major battle and knew little about these procedures. The academy did not teach such things, either.

Hope City.

Huang Jing and Lan Tianzong were waiting at Passage Plaza for the instructors and students who were about to enter.

With war on the horizon, Magic Martial Academy had once again arranged for some of its faculty and students to enter the underground cave as reinforcements.

Huang Jing said calmly, "Looks like this will be another major battle."

Lan Tianzong nodded, his voice deep. "Heaven's Gate City's army has already begun assembling, and the number of mid-rank martial artists in the Meat Grinder has started increasing as well. Perhaps in a few days, mid-to-high rank powerhouses will begin sweeping through the Meat Grinder."

Lan Tianzong, the Military Department's highest-ranking official in the Demon Capital Underground Cave, was a Sixth Grade Peak powerhouse.

In truth, the Demon Capital Underground Cave had a Grandmaster stationed there. However, Lan Tianzong handled the Military Department's daily affairs, including the deployment and planning of martial artists.

This time, he was also the one receiving Magic Martial Academy's faculty and students who had entered to provide support.

Huang Jing said flatly, "Then let's fight. What, are we supposed to fear them?"

There were over a dozen major battles each year at most, and three to five at the least. When had humanity ever been afraid?

This year's battles had not been particularly frequent. Including this one, it would only be the fifth.

Lan Tianzong smiled faintly. Huang Jing was right. If Heaven's Gate City wanted war, then war it was!

"We still have to thank Magic Martial Academy for its support!"

Relying solely on the Military Department's strength, they could never have held their ground through so many major battles without the academy's faculty and students charging forward one after another, risking their lives without regard for death.

Huang Jing said in a low voice, "It is our duty. The very purpose of Magic Martial Academy's existence is to resist the underground cave."

Lan Tianzong nodded and chuckled. "Your Magic Martial Academy has certainly caused quite a stir this year. That freshman named Su Yi has made an enormous commotion, both in the underground cave and in the outside world."

At the mention of Su Yi, a smile appeared on Huang Jing's face as well. Su Yi had indeed won tremendous glory for Magic Martial Academy.

Out in the world, once someone said they were a Magic Martial Academy student, who would not look at them with added respect?

Huang Jing smiled lightly. "That kid is indeed impressive, a fine prospect. I heard he entered the underground cave yesterday."

"Yesterday, yes. Su Yi left the city together with Fu Yinghao. Who knows where they've gone to stir up wind and waves this time."

Though he spoke of stirring up wind and waves, Lan Tianzong's face was full of approval.

Su Yi and Fu Yinghao daring to venture deep into the underground cave and stir up wind and waves within it was, in his eyes, exactly what they ought to do. A true man should fight his way into the depths of the underground cave.

Fu Yinghao? How had those two gotten together?

Huang Jing was somewhat puzzled. One was in his senior year, while the other was in Freshman Year. Fu Yinghao often stayed in the underground cave, but Su Yi had only entered it once before. How had he already started following Fu Yinghao around on reckless adventures?

That brat Fu Yinghao often ventured more than a hundred kilometers deep.

Forget it. Su Yi was no harmless lamp himself. On his first trip into the underground cave, he had slaughtered his way through the Meat Grinder.

The two of them should be fine in the enemy's rear territory as long as they were careful.

Huang Jing did not dwell on it, merely narrowing his eyes with a smile. "Let them go. Young people need to venture out more. They know their limits."

Lan Tianzong deeply agreed. He nodded and changed the subject.

"Wu Kuishan said earlier that he was returning to enter seclusion and break through to Grandmaster. He probably won't be coming this time, right?"

"Probably not. If he could break through, the pressure on us would lessen greatly."

Huang Jing sighed softly. It would be wonderful if Wu Kuishan could break through, but he also knew that becoming a Grandmaster was hardly so easy.

As they spoke, the Old Principal had already led his group out of the passageway, with teachers and students like Qin Nansheng and Lyu Fengrou following behind.

Lan Tianzong came forward to greet them, beaming. "Principal Yu!"

The Old Principal smiled and nodded. "Commander Lan! How's the situation now? We're not too late, are we?"

"You must be joking, Principal. How could you be late? Heaven's Gate City has only just assembled its troops; the situation isn't urgent yet. Old Bai and Old Wang are still keeping watch, while Old Fan and the other Grandmasters are at headquarters."

Heaven's Gate City still had several Grandmasters stationed there permanently, though there was only one Rank Nine Great Grandmaster.

"Then I'll head to headquarters right away."

After getting a grasp of the situation, the Old Principal and Xu Mofu headed straight for headquarters.