The afternoon sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains and fell across the desk.
Yun Jingheng sat before it, the blueprints spread out, his pen spinning round and round between his fingers.
After returning from Tang Wulin's place yesterday, he had revised the blueprints again.
The conducting rods would use Moon Silver Sand, the connectors Cold Iron, and the surface would be plated with Iridium Gold.
The materials issue had been resolved, but there was another problem he had yet to figure out—the functional relationship between gravitational field stability and Soul Power output.
Although he had studied gravity in his previous life, the Soul Power of this world was unlike any form of energy he had understood before.
It had its own rules, its own temperament.
He picked up his pen and wrote a formula in the blank space.
After looking it over, he crossed it out and wrote it again.
He looked it over once more, and his brow furrowed.
No, the parameter was wrong.
The door was pushed open.
With considerable force, it slammed into the wall and bounced back.
Ye Xinglan stood in the doorway, her golden ponytail disheveled from running. Sweat covered her forehead, her chest heaved violently, and she panted heavily.
Her face was pale, and there was something in her eyes Yun Jingheng rarely saw: urgency.
"Something happened at the arena."
Her voice was slightly hoarse. "The people from Zero Class were badly injured."
Yun Jingheng's pen paused.
Zero Class—Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan.
He set down his pen. "What happened?"
Ye Xinglan took a breath.
"Hailu Academy has a pair of twins. Their Martial Soul Fusion Skill went out of control. Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue were all badly injured."
"Wu Zhangkong flew into a rage and attacked, but Teacher Shen and the Mecha Brigade stopped him."
After hearing this, Yun Jingheng stood and folded up the blueprints, putting the Blue Pregnancy Copper into his Storage Soul Tool.
"I don't think I'd be of any key help if I went. With my strength, I wouldn't be able to do much."
He paused. "I'll go check on them later."
Ye Xinglan froze for a moment.
She watched Yun Jingheng put away the things on the desk one by one, his movements unhurried and exactly the same as usual.
She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then swallowed the words.
"What about your mom? She's at the arena. She told you to go find her."
Yun Jingheng nodded. "I understand. Then let's go."
The two left the room and headed toward the elevator.
The hallway was quiet.
The hotel had been packed with competing students these past few days. People had been walking through the halls from morning until night, but now there was not a soul in sight.
Even the attendants were gone.
Yun Jingheng slowed down.
Ye Xinglan pressed the elevator button, but nothing happened.
She pressed it again. Still nothing.
"Is the elevator broken?" Ye Xinglan frowned.
Yun Jingheng did not answer.
His heart suddenly began pounding—not the rapid beat of nervousness, but a reaction from his body itself, as though something were warning him.
He turned toward the end of the hallway, where there was a dark corner untouched by the lights.
Something in that corner flickered with light. A faint, thin red glow, like a thread.
It would have been impossible to spot without looking carefully.
But he saw it.
The red light flashed rhythmically, like a heartbeat.
Then he heard a sound, so faint it was quieter than a mosquito.
"Beep... beep... beep..."
Had he seen something like this in a laboratory in his previous life?
No, not in a laboratory. On the news!
He grabbed Ye Xinglan by the wrist and dragged her toward the other end of the hallway.
Ye Xinglan staggered as he pulled her. "What are you doing—"
"Run!"
He did not explain. Dragging her along, he charged toward the window at the end of the corridor.
It was huge, an entire wall of glass. Beyond it lay the streets of Skysea City, three stories below.
The red light flashed faster, and the beeping accelerated as well.
He had no time to think. He pulled Ye Xinglan forward and threw himself at the window.
The glass shattered, its fragments glittering in the sunlight.
He wrapped his arms around Ye Xinglan, shielding her against his chest as the two of them fell from the third floor.
In that instant in midair, he heard a tremendous blast behind him.
Not a bang, but a roar—the entire building shook. A wave of heat caught up from behind and hurled them forward.
He held Ye Xinglan tighter and twisted half a turn in the air, putting his back toward the hotel.
He saw it—the windows across their entire floor had exploded, flames bursting out from within as black smoke rose upward.
Fragments rained down like falling water.
Still holding Ye Xinglan tightly, he reached for his Storage Soul Tool with his other hand and pulled out a Flight Soul Tool.
Soul Power poured into it. Silvery-white wings unfolded from his back, unstable and lopsided, but he steadied them.
Ye Xinglan said nothing in his arms.
Her hand clutched his clothes tightly.
Yun Jingheng turned toward the arena and flew.
Soul Power surged madly into the Flight Soul Tool. The glow on its wings grew brighter, and their speed increased.
Wind howled past his ears. Fragments were still falling, and smoke continued to pour from the hotel behind them.
He did not look back.
"Yun Jingheng! Behind—behind you!"
Inside the arena, Ya Li was crouched before Tang Wulin, one hand pressed to his chest as Soul Power repaired his fractured ribs.
Her expression was calm, and her movements were steady.
Wu Zhangkong stood nearby without a trace of expression on his face.
Shen Yi stood on the other side, speaking with members of the Mecha Brigade.
Then she heard the explosion.
"Boom—"
It was far away, but she heard it clearly.
She sprang to her feet and turned toward the sound.
Smoke was rising in that direction, a thick black column shooting into the sky.
It seemed to be coming from the hotel?
Her son's hotel...?
Her son was in the hotel!
"Jing Heng!!!"
Four-Word Battle Armor covered her entire body in an instant. Light burst forth, and she shot away like a streak of radiance.
Shen Yi heard it and saw it too. She rushed after her.
Wu Zhangkong staggered where he stood. Looking in that direction, he clenched his fists.
Yun Jingheng drew closer and closer to the arena. He could see the stands, the crowd, and those who had run outside.
The Flight Soul Tool's glow grew dimmer and dimmer. His Soul Power was nearly depleted.
He gritted his teeth and continued pouring more into it.
Something was approaching from behind, fast.
He had not dared to turn back when Ye Xinglan had shouted earlier, and he still did not dare. He was afraid that if fear shook him and destabilized his Soul Power, they would fall.
It was coming for him.
He looked down at Ye Xinglan in his arms. She raised her head, the Stargod Sword in her hand, seemingly intending to block the attack.
He looked up and saw his mother soaring into the sky.
Then, using all his brute strength, he hurled Ye Xinglan from his arms.
She flew forward, toward the arena, toward Ya Li.
Ye Xinglan turned back in midair. "Yun Jingheng—"
He did not hear her.
The attack caught up and struck his back.
The Flight Soul Tool's wings shattered, silvery-white fragments scattering like stars.
He began to fall.
He saw Ya Li rushing out of the arena, saw the Four-Word Battle Armor on her body gleaming beneath the sunlight, saw her reach out and catch Ye Xinglan before looking up at him.
Yun Jingheng was falling.
Wind roared past his ears. The wound on his back burned as if scorched by fire, and every breath hurt.
He wanted to call out, "Mom," but a mouthful of metallic sweetness rose in his throat, and no sound came out.
There were still two stories between him and the ground.
You bastard... do you have a grudge against me?
You want me dead that badly?!
The Moonlight Sword condensed in his hand.
The silvery-white blade began turning red from its tip, like blood dripping into water and slowly spreading outward.
Red spread over the blade, over the guard, over his fingers.
It shone like a red moon, blindingly bright beneath the sunlight.
Behind him, a phantom slowly emerged.
It was his shadow, but the shadow was twisting, smiling.
His eyes changed as well. The black faded away, replaced by a sea of crimson.
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