Zhao Zhe hurried after the main group. He had barely taken a few steps outside the base station when he found the colleagues ahead of him blocked by enemies.
Lei Yue, president of Shanhai University, clenched his fists, looking vicious enough to crush the people before him at any moment. "Ten Void Cultists! You skulking vermin actually dared to show yourselves here!"
Ding Ruixue, president of Beichen University, swept out her sword, her expression fierce and valiant. "Lay a hand on Great Xia's students, and you must have a death wish."
The university presidents had come to protect their students, and not one of them was a pushover. They opened with killing moves, murderous auras surging from their bodies toward the Void Cultists blocking their path.
Lei Yue charged ahead, violent lightning swelling around his fists and taking the form of two Thunder Leopards that plunged into the enemy ranks.
"Zhao Zhe, help me hold off this trash! Everyone else, break through and deal with the ones inside!"
"Coming! As president of Hua'an University, how could I let you lot outshine me?" Zhao Zhe bent his knees, his hunter's gaze fixed on the Void Cultists ahead.
With a sonic boom, his entire body became a hurtling mountain, smashing into the Void Cultists with overwhelming force, as fierce and formidable as a god descending from heaven.
The impact shook the Void Cultist leader so hard that his internal organs shifted, yet his gaze remained fixed on Lan Huaiyu, who had yet to act. He ordered his followers, "Hold them off! If we stall long enough, every last one of Great Xia's future elites will die!"
Leaving the other nine behind, he charged straight at Lan Huaiyu. His body began to swell beneath his billowing black robe, his hidden face hideously contorted, with a trace of excitement.
"Lan Huaiyu! Today, I'll make you watch your students die all over again!"
He knew he could not win, but victory was never his goal. He meant to offer his broken body to the great cause in his heart, using self-detonation to stall the Order's greatest enemy!
Lan Huaiyu was not even looking at him. With a single step, she appeared behind the black-robed leader, her cold, merciless voice steeped in frost and bloodthirsty killing intent.
"One day, I'll wipe the [Void Order] from this world completely. Unfortunately, you won't live to see it."
The black-robed leader's swollen, bloodshot eyes bulged. His body could not move, and he could not detonate himself even though he wanted to.
His bulging eyes turned, trying to look behind him, only for an icy blade to slash his throat. As his vision flipped upside down, a single snowflake drifted slowly into view, and everything fell still.
His unfocused eyes stared into the depths of the darkness, and a strange smile curled at the corners of his mouth.
Lan Huaiyu... You'll never make it there today...
Ding Ruixue flicked the blood off her sword and turned toward the remaining Void Cultists. "Leave this to us. Hurry!"
Lan Huaiyu nodded and vanished a moment later. Just as she was about to reach the assessment zone, she stopped abruptly. The wooden hairpin slipped from her hair and transformed into the Greenwood Spear, which she hurled straight at a seemingly quiet corner of the darkness.
"Hehe, no need to be so violent."
A raspy voice rang out. The Greenwood Spear spun back, and Lan Huaiyu caught it firmly.
She had no intention of wasting time here. Ignoring whoever was playing these mysterious games, she moved to press on.
"Don't get worked up. It's our first meeting, after all. We ought to make a good impression."
Heavy footsteps emerged from the darkness. A disaster creature whose body was made of rocks and clods of earth blocked Lan Huaiyu's path. Two deep fissures beneath his eyes revealed his identity.
"The Rift Lord..."
Lan Huaiyu gripped her spear, her brows knitting slightly. Why was the Rift Lord, a subordinate of the Level Nine Calamity [earthshaker], here?
The Rift Lord laughed loudly. "It's not just me. We have another guest today."
A torrent fell from the sky and transformed into a graceful figure. Her body was made of water, and churning ocean waves flowed through the hem of her skirt. Her supple body leaned close to Lan Huaiyu, and her words carried the breath of the sea.
"He couldn't stop you alone, so I came too. Surprised?"
The Greenwood Spear swept out, cleaving the woman of water in half at the waist. The scattered droplets took shape again, smiling brightly at Lan Huaiyu.
"The Tsunami Lord, servant of the Level Nine Calamity [abyssal erosion], offers her greetings." The Tsunami Lord bowed elegantly, though the smile on her lips was anything but friendly.
Without another word, Lan Huaiyu raised her spear and thrust at the Rift Lord from a treacherous angle. In a single breath, the spear tip bore down on his right eye, wrapped in concentrated killing intent.
The Rift Lord jerked backward, raising both arms to trap the spearhead. The pressure from its tip forced him back step after step, his feet plowing two deep furrows into the ground.
"Stop posing over there! If she gets inside, all our plans will fall apart!"
"Tch." The Tsunami Lord flicked her hand, and a massive wave poured down from overhead. It surged and roared outward from beneath her feet, forming wave after wave that crashed viciously toward Lan Huaiyu.
Lan Huaiyu spun her spear, its shaft whirling around her like a blossoming flower. Moving faster than the eye could follow, she shattered the descending waves and swept her spear through the water, then launched a kick into the Rift Lord's face, sending him flying dozens of meters.
Lan Huaiyu advanced on the Tsunami Lord with her spear in hand, her gaze colder than ever. "What did the [Void Order] promise you to get two Lord-class disaster creatures to stop me?"
The Tsunami Lord gritted her teeth. This woman was even stronger than the rumors claimed.
"That's none of your concern. Our job is just to hold you here for half an hour, so stay put!"
The Tsunami Lord turned into a stream of water and merged with the towering waves as they rushed at Lan Huaiyu. "I refuse to believe a sixth-tier like you is really invincible below the seventh tier!"
If two Lord-class creatures could not defeat a single sixth-tier opponent, they might as well go back, quit, and ask their king to put them to death.
When the Observation Group saw that the reinforcements who had gone out still had not arrived, they realized how serious the situation was. If even President Lan Huaiyu could not enter the assessment zone, it could only mean they had encountered an unknown obstruction posing an immense threat.
The Observation Group leader made an immediate decision. "Activate the emergency broadcast and guide the candidates in the assessment zone away from danger. Inform the Social Security Bureau of the situation here: the [Void Order] has infiltrated the assessment zone, and the University Alliance has been blocked. Hurry!"
"Understood."
The Observation Group members' fingers flew as they activated the emergency communication equipment linked to the candidates.
The Observation Group leader pressed a button, connecting to every candidate's terminal.
"All candidates, listen up. We are activating level one combat readiness. You are in grave danger. Group up and hide as quickly as possible. Do everything you can to survive while you wait for reinforcements.
The disaster creatures deep in the forest have become Blessed Ones under the guidance of the Void Cultists. Unless you have Fourth Tier strength, you stand no chance against them. The Observation Group will now do everything possible to guide you. Be careful."
Inside the assessment zone, the candidates' expressions changed sharply when they heard the Observation Group leader's voice.
Ye Buyu drew a deep breath. With things having come to this, she could not help swearing.
"Goddammit, why am I so unlucky!"
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