Emerging from Seclusion to Face the Battle

Seeing the terrified Xu Hualing before him, Ye Xiu hurriedly cast the Calming Spirit Charm to soothe her emotions.

"Don't panic yet. Take your time and tell me what happened."

Ye Xiu looked at Xu Hualing.

Judging from the terror on her face, the Kabbalah Organization was clearly no benevolent force.

Xu Hualing let out a long breath. Seeing Ye Xiu's dark expression, she hurriedly began to explain.

Ever since the zombie crisis erupted, humanity had remained at a disadvantage.

Only after people discovered the soul crystals formed within zombie bodies, which could allow people to evolve into ability users, did the strength of the two sides gradually reach a balance.

After ten years of development, people from every nation and every field had built a complete system for abilities.

Based on their evolutionary direction, abilities could generally be divided into three major categories: body-based, elemental, and spiritual.

Beyond those three major categories, there were also other scattered abilities. Altogether, there were nearly several thousand kinds.

The authorities classified them into seven ranks, from S to E, based on combat applicability.

They further divided them into nine tiers, from one to nine, according to the strength of their power.

"The Zhao Jun you killed before, Brother Xiu—he was a third-tier B-rank earth-element ability user."

"Among these tiers, once an ability user reaches the third tier, they can use their ability to condense protective armor around themselves."

"Once they pass the seventh tier, they can control colossal avatars formed from their abilities. As for the very strongest ability users, they can directly stir the heavenly phenomena and destroy an entire city."

Hearing Xu Hualing's words, Ye Xiu's expression turned grave.

He had originally thought ability users were merely a weakened version of cultivators. Now, it seemed things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

Even the smallest city covered several thousand square kilometers.

To destroy a city—in the cultivation world, only mighty figures of the Nascent Soul Realm could accomplish such a feat.

As for merging with heaven and earth and stirring the heavenly phenomena, that was exclusive to Spirit Transformation cultivators.

Blue Star had only been evolving for ten years since the zombie crisis began. Had such powerful figures already appeared?

"Does the Kabbalah Organization have experts capable of stirring the heavenly phenomena?"

Ye Xiu's expression darkened. If that was truly the case, then Xu Hualing's attempt to stop him was understandable.

Hearing Ye Xiu's question, Xu Hualing gave a bitter smile and shook her head.

"Brother Xiu, Kabbalah is merely what they call themselves. In truth, its predecessor was called the Ability Research Institute. Almost every notable ability user on all of Blue Star has connections with them."

Ye Xiu's heart skipped a beat. He had never expected the Kabbalah Organization to be this powerful.

All of the world's powerful ability users had connections with it. Didn't that mean he would be facing all the ability users on Blue Star?

The immense pressure made Ye Xiu's heart tighten, but when he thought of his younger sister, his heart steadied again.

That was right. So what if he had to face the whole world?

When the zombies erupted, his younger sister had been even more powerless than he was, yet hadn't she still persevered for ten years?

If his sister could do it, what was there that Ye Xiu could not do?

Just as Ye Xiu, having made up his mind, wanted to ask more questions, a sudden palpitation from within made him abandon the thought.

The perception he had imbued into the formation over there had been triggered. That formation was about to give out.

With a pinch of his fingers in a hand seal, Ye Xiu saw the Soul-Extinguishing Dagger shoot through the zombie horde and retrieve the crystal core.

Xu Hualing, at his side, had just begun to say something when Ye Xiu grabbed her.

"There's no time to explain. We need to change locations first."

Channeling his spiritual power, Ye Xiu swiftly took Xu Hualing away.

Inside a basement.

Ye Xiu quickly formed hand seals and set up a formation.

Xu Hualing looked at the soul crystals floating in the air around them and uneasily wanted to speak.

"Hualing, I've already set up a protective formation. Take this token. I've recorded the method of activating it inside. From now on, our safety depends on you."

Ye Xiu sat cross-legged, yet his body floated into the air.

Xu Hualing looked at Ye Xiu, who had suddenly closed his eyes, and at the soul crystals floating beside him, constantly shattering before being swiftly replenished. Suppressing the unease in her heart, she clenched the token tightly...

Outside the secret chamber in White Cloud Town.

A group of cultivators dressed in white continuously bombarded the great formation ahead with spells.

Under their attacks, the formation before them was already on the verge of collapse.

"Ha ha! Put some more force into it! Once we break this great formation and capture that devil, we'll have rendered a great merit!"

A young man in a white robe shouted excitedly.

Thinking of the benefits that would come from eliminating a demonic cultivator, the young man felt much of the exhaustion in his body fade away.

"None of you are conserving your spiritual power. What, when the seal opens, do you plan to bite that demonic cultivator to death with your teeth?"

A reprimanding voice suddenly rang out from the sky.

Hearing this, all the disciples present instinctively shrank their necks.

Following the voice, they saw a young man in gold-trimmed white robes standing in the air atop a white cloud, his hands clasped behind his back.

"Senior Brother's reprimand is correct."

Everyone lowered their heads in acknowledgment.

This man was Yun Tingxiao, the senior outer disciple of the Divine Firmament Sect. It was said that he had been born with a lightning body and had broken through to Foundation Establishment after only three years on the path.

Not only had he long been slated to enter the inner sect, but he had also earned the favor of Lingxiao True Lord, the sect's Grand Elder, who had accepted him as a disciple.

Noticing that everyone had retreated to the rear to recover their spiritual power, Yun Tingxiao gave a slight nod.

He reached into the air and grasped, and a crystalline treasure sword appeared in his hand.

"Resplendent Heavenly Thunder, heed the god's summons!"

As Yun Tingxiao spoke, the surrounding spiritual power rapidly converged.

The previously cloudless sky darkened at once. Within the pitch-black tribulation clouds, a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed!

Rumble!

A massive bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck the formation over the secret chamber.

The formation, which had withstood the disciples' prolonged siege without breaking, was as fragile as a sheet of paper before this thunderbolt.

It could not resist for even another second before being torn to pieces.

The thunder continued downward. Having lost the formation's protection, the secret chamber was built of nothing more than ordinary bricks and stone. How could it possibly withstand that lightning?

The sounds of exploding brick and stone rang out without end. The secret chamber, once buried deep underground, finally revealed what lay within.

Amid the smoke and dust, a figure could be seen sitting cross-legged. Three inches before him, the soil had been blasted black and charred.

Seeing Ye Xiu inside, completely unharmed, Yun Tingxiao's eyes revealed a trace of surprise.

"You actually blocked one move. You demonic cultivator, you do have some skill."

Ye Xiu stared intently at Yun Tingxiao ahead. Spiritual power flowed full and smoothly through his body, and the unprecedented strength made him feel as though he could barely control it.

Yet even so, he still could not see through the cultivation of the man above.

This was a powerful enemy whose realm surpassed his own!