The Storm Was Brewing

Zhou Zixuan had originally planned to avenge his little pet and settle the score with the City Defense Bureau first.

He had never expected such an unexpected stroke of luck...

Firmament Academy was on the Beast God Cult's must-kill list.

However, a terrifying existence protected Firmament Academy, so they couldn't act recklessly.

The students were different, though!

Poor Ye Chen still had no idea that two sides were already targeting him.

One side was the City Defense Bureau, which planned to recruit him. The other was the Beast God Cult, which wanted him dead.

But Ye Chen didn't care about any of that. Right now, his mind was filled with only one word: points...

As a cultivator in the Awakening Fourth Realm, Ye Chen traveled incredibly fast.

His home was more than ten kilometers from the outskirts, but he covered the distance in less than ten minutes.

At a glance, it looked like he could cover a kilometer a minute, which seemed pretty damn impressive.

But in reality, that was nothing. After all, this was a transcendent world.

Some experts said that ordinary people needed four to five minutes to run a kilometer.

I could only laugh silently. Ordinary people couldn't even run four hundred meters...

Only those who liked running or had a habit of running could reach that level.

(Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is that the author is just a useless bum who gets exhausted after four hundred meters!)

Ye Chen's physical abilities naturally far surpassed theirs. Besides, there was a speed limit on running in the urban area...

What if he crashed into someone?

He vaguely remembered that, back then, a girl with an awakened Wind Element talent had once rammed into someone while carrying a ball.

The other party had also been a fairly capable expert, but who could have expected...

After being hit by the ball, his vision went black, blood gushed from his nose, and he had nearly failed to survive.

So in reality, the urban running speed limit really did exist for a reason!

Zanghai City was different from some other cities. It was practically an ancient city.

The city gates stood wide open, and this was also one of the roads into the city.

Ye Chen glanced at the city gates, feeling somewhat emotional.

"There are actually such imposing city gates..."

For Ye Chen, this was the first time he had seen Zanghai City's city gates.

In the world he had originally lived in, Zanghai City had no similar gates, which made Ye Chen extremely curious.

After finishing his reverie, Ye Chen strode forward, only to be stopped by a soldier.

"Hello. You need to register before leaving the city."

The soldier looked Ye Chen straight in the eye and spoke indifferently.

Ye Chen nodded at that, picked up the pen in front of the soldier, and began filling out the form.

Name, age, talent, realm, phone number, and Human Race identity certification.

Ye Chen was baffled. They even needed his talent and realm? But he didn't think much of it.

In reality, he didn't know that infighting within the Human Race was severe.

But when dealing with outsiders, no one was allowed to slaughter their own kind. If anyone was discovered doing so...

They would be killed without exception!

After signing, Ye Chen left immediately.

The soldier glanced at the registration form, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He picked up the walkie-talkie at his waist and reported to his superior.

"Report, sir. A freshman with an SSS-grade Talent has left the city. Should we arrange for someone to protect him personally?"

The person on the other end was clearly bewildered. A freshman? Leaving the city?

Bai Zhan asked in a low voice, "Didn't I say that no one below the Awakening Fourth Realm could leave the city? You let a freshman out through the city gate? Is your brain broken?"

As he continued asking, Bai Zhan gradually lost control of his temper.

The poor soldier felt terribly wronged. "Report, sir. He's already in the Fourth Realm..."

Upon hearing that, Bai Zhan shot to his feet, sending the chair behind him tumbling to the ground. "What?! The awakening ceremony was only three days ago! Awakening Fourth Realm?! Are you sure you didn't say that wrong?! What's his name? Where does he live? Which school does he attend? What's his name?"

The big brother guarding the city gate's mind went blank, and he answered by relying on his memory.

"He's in the Awakening Fourth Realm. His name is Ye Chen. He attends Zanghai No. 1 High School. His talent is... Wood Element..."

Bai Zhan froze. "Wait?! Wood Element!"

"Yes, Wood Element."

"Go to hell! Don't guard the city gates tomorrow. Go to the front lines!" Bai Zhan cursed furiously, his anger reaching its peak. "Don't you know that support-type cultivators aren't allowed to leave the city alone? Go bring him back immediately. If anything happens to him, you can go home and retire!"

The big brother's face turned pale, and he hurriedly replied, "Yes!"

After hanging up, Bai Zhan was still burning with anger. He had nearly been driven to death by the soldier guarding the city gate today.

If the higher-ups hadn't stated that every unexpected situation involving people entering or leaving the city had to be reported to the army's supreme commander...

They would probably have missed Ye Chen, this genius, today. If he died outside the city... it would be a tremendous loss to the Human Race.

As he spoke, Bai Zhan picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Hello? Why do you have time to call me today, kid?" Zhang Daosheng glanced at the caller ID, answered the phone, and said with a laugh.

"Isn't it because I've been missing you, Teacher..." Bai Zhan said in a coquettish tone.

Fortunately, there was no one else nearby. Otherwise, Bai Zhan might have begun questioning his entire existence.

"A busy man like you can miss me? Come on, what is it?"

Zhang Daosheng was helpless. Bai Zhan was genuinely very busy.

"Teacher really understands me. I just wanted to ask whether your school has someone named Ye Chen?"

Bai Zhan composed himself and asked in a serious tone.

Zhang Daosheng fell silent for a moment before drawing a deep breath. "What do you want with him?"

Bai Zhan could hear that something was wrong in his tone. "He... left the city."

"What?!" Zhang Daosheng abruptly slammed his hands against the table and rose.

"Bai, have you gone insane? You let someone with Wood Element leave the city?!" Zhang Daosheng roared furiously.

Bai Zhan was somewhat embarrassed. Although he hadn't done this himself, the mistake had happened under his watch, so he couldn't completely escape responsibility.

"I've already sent people to bring him back..." Bai Zhan said timidly.

Even though he was already at the peak of the Sea-Overturning Realm and had graduated from Firmament Academy long ago, Zhang Daosheng was still his teacher, after all.

"Which gate?" Zhang Daosheng adjusted his state of mind and asked in a solemn tone.

Bai Zhan also sensed that something was wrong. If Ye Chen were merely a genius student, Zhang Daosheng's anxiety would be understandable, but he shouldn't be this frantic.

Thinking of this, Bai Zhan tentatively asked, "Could it be... the junior student?"

Zhang Daosheng did not intend to hide it and readily admitted it. "Yes."

He knew how difficult it was to enter Firmament Academy. Recruiting students was simply too hard. Even if Ye Chen was a support-type cultivator...

Zhang Daosheng and Firmament Academy had to get him back safe and sound!

Bai Zhan could no longer sit still. "I'll send people right away to conduct a large-scale search within ten kilometers beyond the outskirts!" He hung up and was about to issue the order.

But he suddenly stopped and shouted toward the doorway.

"Gongsun! Assemble everyone!"

"Yes!"

Bai Zhan still felt that something was wrong. He had to go search personally!

Meanwhile, over at the Beast God Cult, a storm was brewing.

"At a time like this, he leaves the city? And he's already in the Awakening Fourth Realm? Firmament Academy really did recruit a fine seedling~" Zhou Zixuan looked at the message on his phone with an evil grin.

"Xu Shen, I'll leave this matter to you."

"Yes, my lord, Black-Robed Envoy."

Xu Shen bowed respectfully and was about to leave.

"Remember, if Ye Chen dies, you live..."

"If Ye Chen lives... you die."