The reason

An oppressively stifling atmosphere spread through the mental world.

Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6, who had just dragged their dying bodies back from the real world, lay slumped on the energy floor, without a single uninjured spot on them. Hideous wounds crisscrossed their bodies, and black demonic blood soaked their once-neat clothes. Some wounds were deep enough to expose bone, their ability pathways were on the verge of snapping, and they could not even draw steadily on the most basic spatial power. Their auras were as feeble as candles in the wind, liable to go out completely at any moment.

The moment Xing Yao stepped into this mental space and saw the scene before him, his heart felt as though an invisible hand had seized it in a crushing grip, the pain nearly leaving him breathless. Almost instinctively, he rushed forward and firmly caught Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6 before they collapsed completely to the ground. His voice brimming with unconcealable anxiety and concern, he hurriedly asked, "What happened to you?!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xing Yao immediately mobilized all the Resentment Points stored in the mental world, gathering every bit of that violent yet pure energy in his palms. It became two immensely thick torrents of black energy, which he thrust forward without hesitation, pouring them furiously into Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6!

The intensely concentrated Resentment Points instantly enveloped their battered bodies, frantically repairing their fractured bones, torn muscles, damaged meridians, and disordered ability cores in a manner both overbearing and gentle. Nourished continuously by the Resentment Points, their paper-white, bloodless faces finally began to regain a faint flush, and their unfocused, vacant eyes slowly regained focus. Their weakened condition, which had left them on the verge of breathing their last at any moment, was finally stabilized for the time being.

Feeling that Clone No. 5's and Clone No. 6's life auras were no longer steadily declining, Xing Yao's taut heartstrings loosened a little, but his brow remained heavy with gravity and urgency. Staring intently at the two figures before him, still so weak that even raising their heads took tremendous effort, he pressed again in a heavy voice, "Has the situation over there been resolved?"

Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6 slowly lifted their unbearably heavy heads, their cracked lips trembling slightly. Every breath came with obvious difficulty and pain, and their eyes were filled with unconcealable exhaustion and helplessness. Only by mustering the tiny scraps of strength left in their bodies could they barely speak. Their voices were faint, hoarse, and halting, each word seeming to be squeezed from the depths of their throats:

"Main body... over there... it hasn't been resolved yet..."

"We... originally planned to go to your school and meet up with you..."

"But... there were simply too many monsters along the way... packed together, blotting out the sky and covering the earth... there was no end to them, no matter how many we killed..."

"Especially when we passed through the slums on the edge of the urban district... the situation there had already spiraled completely out of control..."

"There were city defense personnel stationed there... but they were far too weak... they couldn't withstand the tide of monsters at all..."

"Civilian casualties were devastating... cries and pleas for help were everywhere... the scene was too terrible to bear..."

"We... just couldn't turn a blind eye... we had no choice but to stop and help..."

"We exhausted all our strength and Resentment Points... and still only barely held back the monsters' offensive... we couldn't wipe them out completely..."

"Only at the very end, when our abilities were exhausted and we were severely wounded... did we have to tear open space and return to the mental world..."

The sight of Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6, so utterly weakened that they had to keep gasping for breath even as they spoke, sent Xing Yao's confusion and concern soaring. From the two clones' auras, he could clearly sense the terror and devastation of the catastrophe outside. It was countless times worse than he had imagined.

Just then, space rippled slightly on the other side of the mental world. Clone No. 1, who had remained on guard in the core area, was also drawn by the violent energy fluctuations and the conversation here. He approached with steady steps, his normally indifferent, icy eyes now filled with unmistakable curiosity and gravity. He stood quietly to one side, his gaze resting solely on the severely wounded Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6. Though he said nothing, his actions made it clear that he, too, was listening closely and wanted to know what terrifying disaster had erupted outside to leave the two clones in such a wretched state.

Xing Yao took a deep breath, the Resentment Points in his palms still flowing continuously as he did everything he could to help Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6 recover from their injuries. He could feel the sky of the real world continually collapsing. The monsters' roars, the crash of collapsing buildings, and the civilians' cries seemed to reach his ears clearly even through the mental world.

The entire city had long since fallen, and order had collapsed completely. There was no need to keep anything secret, no point in offering any reassurance. Everyone was struggling in despair, yet his clones had fought blood-soaked battles until their oil ran dry and their lamps burned out, all to protect ordinary people they had never met.

Looking at the still terribly weak Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6 before him, then at Clone No. 1's grave eyes beside him, Xing Yao felt an unprecedented surge of resolve and fury erupt like a volcano in the depths of his heart.

Looking at Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6, their auras still unsteady and their bodies covered in wounds, Xing Yao knitted his brows even tighter. With a trace of gravity and urgency in his voice, he pressed again, "Has the spatial rift over there disappeared?"

Clone No. 5 struggled to draw a breath, shook his head slightly, then gave a small nod. His voice was still so weak that it was almost inaudible as he answered haltingly, "Main body... the spatial rift... has already disappeared... halfway through our battle, that tear in space slowly closed on its own and vanished completely..."

Clone No. 6 also mustered all his strength to add, "It's just... even though the rift disappeared... that area... still had large numbers of demonic beasts that hadn't managed to escape back into the rift... they lost their reinforcements, but became even more frenzied, attacking anyone they saw, destroying and slaughtering everywhere..."

Xing Yao's heart sank slightly. He was about to press further when Clone No. 5 spoke again, a faint trace of reassurance in his voice. "But... main body, you don't need to worry... before we exhausted all our strength and were forced to withdraw back to the mental world... we saw with our own eyes... a large group of awakened heading toward the slums..."

Clone No. 6 weakly picked up where he left off. "That's right... there were a lot of them... and their auras were all strong... there were official awakened squads, as well as civilian ability users... they were all rushing toward the areas where the monsters were rampaging... from the looks of it, they'd received word and come to provide support..."

The two exchanged a glance and, using the last of their strength, said quietly to Xing Yao together, "With them taking over... it shouldn't take long... before those remaining demonic beasts... are all wiped out..."

Hearing this, Xing Yao's heart finally settled a little, but the gravity in his brow did not fade.

Although the spatial rift had closed, this disaster sweeping through the entire city was clearly still far from over.

Clone No. 1 had stood quietly to the side throughout, his gaze fixed on the terribly weak Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6. Curiosity and gravity grew ever more deeply intertwined in his normally indifferent eyes. From their descriptions, he could clearly sense the devastation of the battlefield outside and the enormity of the crisis. This had long since ceased to be a simple monster attack. It was a true citywide disaster.

Xing Yao said nothing more. Once again, he frantically mobilized the vast reserves of Resentment Points in the mental world, pouring them continuously and without reservation into Clone No. 5 and Clone No. 6 to help accelerate their recovery, repair their damaged meridians, and replenish their exhausted strength.

The black Resentment Points enveloped them like a tide, gradually restoring color to their pale faces as their trembling bodies slowly steadied.