Clearing the Battlefield (2)

He quietly sensed the slow circulation of the several elemental origins within his body-

The fire element origin gave off a faint heat deep in his dantian, like a little flame that would never go out, gentle yet tenacious;

The earth element origin was weighty and steady, entrenched throughout his limbs and bones, rapidly restoring strength to his weakened body;

And the most mysterious, most powerful space origin lay like a dormant colossal beast in the deepest recesses of his sea of consciousness. When still, it did nothing; once it stirred, it could tear heaven and earth apart.

In the battle just now, he had activated the fire element origin to turn himself into a man of fire, stabilized his condition with the wood element origin, then condensed armor with the earth element origin. Had Clone No. 1 not appeared in time, he probably really would have fallen to the Red Lotus Demon General's strike. At the thought, a trace of lingering fear still swept through Xing Yao's heart.

Next battle, no activating two origins at once and letting both energies explode together.

Use them one at a time instead. Steadier, less draining, no backlash.

If I really have to use two together, only choose abilities that aren't closely connected and don't clash.

The class monitors quickly assembled their classes. Roll calls, confirmations, and quiet conversations mingled, filling the square with a chaotic din. Some rejoiced that they had survived, some lowered their heads to check whether their classmates were injured, and a large group still excitedly discussed the mysterious powerhouse wearing the Great King mask in hushed voices, every sentence brimming with awe and curiosity.

"Who do you think that masked big shot actually was? He was way too strong! He split the Red Lotus Demon General apart with one slash. I was completely dumbstruck!"

"No idea. He vanished right after the fight without leaving so much as a shadow. Mysterious as hell. He's practically a ceiling-level big shot!"

"If not for him, we'd all be stone-cold dead today. He really saved our lives. I'll never forget him as long as I live!"

Just as the discussion grew louder, an exceptionally bold boy suddenly emerged from the crowd. He raised his head, looked at Qin Lie, the captain of the Cloud-Soaring Squad standing up ahead with an icy bearing, and mustered his courage to call out:

"Captain! C-can I ask a question?"

Qin Lie swept a calm glance over him, his voice steady. "Go ahead."

The boy swallowed and, nervous yet excited, asked the question everyone was curious about:

"Captain! W-what level of awakener are you now, exactly?"

At those words, the surroundings instantly grew much quieter. The chattering students all shut their mouths in unison, pricking up their ears and waiting for the answer with shining eyes.

Awakener levels had always been the topic that aroused the most curiosity.

First tier, second tier, third tier, fourth tier... the difference between each level was like that between heaven and earth.

Qin Lie lifted his eyes slightly. His tone was calm and natural, without the slightest hint of boasting or deliberate concealment. He simply spoke, giving a brief answer:

"Fourth tier."

That brief answer exploded through the crowd like a thunderclap!

"Holy shit! Fourth tier?! Seriously?!"

"A fourth-tier powerhouse! That's a true top-level big shot! There aren't many in the entire urban district!"

"No wonder he cut through all those monsters like melons and vegetables earlier. He's a fourth-tier powerhouse!"

"That's insane! We had a fourth-tier powerhouse protecting us. No wonder we survived!"

Sharp intakes of breath rose one after another. The students' gazes toward Qin Lie instantly gained a few more degrees of heartfelt awe.

A fourth-tier awakener was a presence capable of holding down the fort anywhere, yet one had actually come in person to protect a group of students like them today. Anyone who heard about it would hardly believe it.

Xing Yao also raised his eyes slightly and glanced at Qin Lie.

Fourth tier.

That level was far above his current strength.

But... An almost imperceptible gleam flashed through Xing Yao's eyes.

His Clone No. 1 was clearly only second tier, yet he could kill the Red Lotus Demon General.

Thinking of it that way, Xing Yao suddenly felt that the secrets he carried were even more terrifying than this fourth-tier captain.

But before anyone could voice much more amazement, something suddenly changed!

Bzzzt-crackle-!!

An ear-piercing burst of electrical static that made their scalps crawl suddenly rang throughout the campus without warning, like countless insects gnawing madly inside the wires, so shrill that people could not help covering their ears.

The next second-

The streetlights that had still been lit, the lights inside the teaching buildings, the emergency lights in the square, even the warning lights at the distant school gates... every light source went out at exactly the same time!

Everything instantly plunged into darkness so deep they could not see their hands in front of their faces. Only the faint dawn light on the horizon remained, barely draping the earth in a hazy gray glow.

The campus, which had still been somewhat bright a moment earlier, had suffered a complete power outage.

"Aaah! What's happening?! It suddenly went dark!"

"A power outage?! That scared the hell out of me! I thought more monsters had come!"

"Didn't the battle just end? Why's the power out now? Did the fighting damage the wiring?"

An uproar instantly swept through the students. Their hearts, which had only just relaxed, leaped into their throats again.

Darkness was always the best weapon for magnifying fear.

The terrifying monster attack was still deeply imprinted in everyone's minds. Now that they had suddenly been plunged into pitch-black darkness, everyone's first reaction was-danger had returned.

For a while, the scene grew somewhat chaotic. Some shrank back in fear, some instinctively grabbed the arms of the classmates beside them, and others looked around nervously, terrified that a monster might suddenly spring out of the darkness.

Qin Lie's gaze sharpened. He immediately stepped forward, releasing a little of his pressure as a fourth-tier awakener and instantly steadying the scene. He raised his hand and pressed it down to signal for silence, his steady, powerful voice carrying through the noisy crowd:

"Students, don't panic. Stay calm. This is only a temporary power outage. There's no danger."

Only upon hearing the fourth-tier captain's voice did the panicked students settle down a little.

Someone immediately asked in a tearful voice, "Captain Qin! Why exactly did the power go out? Has something else happened?"

Qin Lie swept his gaze over everyone, his expression growing slightly graver. Neither concealing nor exaggerating anything, he slowly explained:

"This outage is directly related to the monster attack just now. It isn't simply damaged wiring.

"When the Red Lotus Demon General descended, the demonic energy and energy fluctuations it released were too powerful-powerful enough to directly disrupt, and even destroy, the entire urban district's power grid, energy defense system, and communications towers. Combined with the violent impact of the battle's aftershocks, the power stations serving the campus and surrounding areas have been completely crippled. The emergency repair teams are still rushing here as fast as they can. Power can't be restored for now."

An uproar immediately swept through the crowd.

So it was not some minor malfunction!

The demon general's power had directly crashed the entire system!

Even the power stations had been crippled. That was far too terrifying!

Another student mustered their courage and asked another question that puzzled everyone:

"Captain Qin, then why did your Cloud-Soaring Squad suddenly show up at our school? Aren't you supposed to be stationed in the center of the urban district? Our school isn't some important strategic site..."