[One noon, Jing Hongchen hurried toward Mingde Hall.]
That noon, the weather had actually been quite nice.
The sun hung brightly in the sky, bathing Bright Capital in clear light.
The streets bustled with people and noise.
But Jing Hongchen's mood had nothing to do with the fine weather.
He moved quickly.
No, not quickly. He was rushing.
His hurried footsteps exploded through the seemingly endless corridor of Mingde Hall's headquarters, pounding against everyone's hearts.
The passing researchers and instructors were all stunned.
They had never seen their dean like this before.
His face was so grim it seemed ready to drip water, fire burning in his eyes beneath an icy chill.
Like a lion that had been completely enraged yet forced to suppress its roar.
No one dared stop him.
No one dared ask.
They all instinctively cleared a path and watched that figure sweep like the wind toward the deepest reaches of Mingde Hall.
White Tiger Lin Qing was in his private laboratory.
Soul Tool design blueprints were spread before him, and he held the Blade of Life's Watch as he attempted to carve a new circuit into a Core Array.
Hearing the unusually frantic footsteps outside, his hand paused.
He looked up.
The laboratory door was violently shoved open.
Jing Hongchen stood in the doorway, his chest rising and falling slightly, his breathing uneven.
Not from exhaustion, but anger.
"Teacher?"
Lin Qing set down the carving knife and stood.
"What happened?"
His heart skipped.
Something had happened.
And it was something huge!
Jing Hongchen looked at him, took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
He seemed to be forcibly calming himself, but his voice was still cold as ice chips.
"Mingde Hall... has been attacked."
Lin Qing's pupils suddenly contracted in reality.
Attacked? Mingde Hall?
That was