When Xiang Xiaoyu saw her brother frowning, she played the role of a little adult and comforted him. “Don’t worry, we’re in the city. With so many martial artists here, it’ll be fine.” 

Su Muhan smiled. “Don’t worry about it, with Mr. Headmaster here, we’re very safe.” 

Some of the more anxious students relaxed when Su Muhan said that. It was true, the headmaster of Qiling Academy was a tier six master and would definitely be able to protect them. 

Xiang Ning nodded, though his brows remained furrowed. He looked as though he was thinking about something, but they didn’t know what. Based on the fist he repeatedly clenched, then unclenched, he clearly wanted to fight. But it didn’t matter how powerful he used to be. In his current condition, death would be certain if he was trapped by any beast. 

Their speculations were right. Xiang Ning indeed wanted to fight. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it, but he had made a promise to Alia. He didn’t know if she was pretending or if she truly saw through him, but she once whispered to him her wish that he live a peaceful life for the next six months, no matter what. 

At the time, he wasn’t sure what was going on, nor did he understand now. All he knew was that she seemed to know his secret, and for that he was very curious about her. Now that he thought about her identity, it was indeed strange, because she had been a refugee without records in the Federal system. But now she enjoyed much freedom because of Dong Qianyi, though her identity was still a mystery. 

Xiang Ning didn’t want to dwell further on the matter. No matter how hard he thought, he wouldn’t be able to get to the truth. His only conclusion was that she was a mysterious individual. 

He tried to sit with the feeling that his Combat Instinct gave him. To be honest, his discomfort only grew. Looking at the Refresh text in his interface that was still it up, he gave a small sigh. If it weren’t for the invasion, he had planned to find a chance to recover only after Fang Rou and the rest returned. 

He had grown used to life these past few months, so carefree, so simple, and free of any worries. He was just a student. He had never experienced that feeling before, and it was intoxicating. Sometimes, though, he would think to himself that he was going to waste like this. The last tether was still there. Now, he could no longer hold off the calling of his true self. 

“I hope it works.” Xiang Ning closed his eyes. 

……

Spirit Origin Era, year 2319. July twenty-second, noon sharp. A battle broke out on a main road in the southwestern region of Marsh City between the military reserves and the beasts. 

The evacuations hadn’t been completed yet, so the soldiers didn’t dare use mass-scale hot weapons. As a result, they couldn’t hold off the wave, only firing a few shots before being forced into melee combat.

Still, this was human territory and the reserves were well-prepared, so the beasts didn’t immediately break through the front lines. That gave the civilians a lot of time to evacuate. 

Twenty minutes later, fights broke out at the second and third of the five routes. Ghostblade Mantises, named after their speed and ambush abilities, appeared. They were one of the more elite species and above average in all aspects. Their two curved, sickle-like front limbs were as sharp as real blades. You wouldn’t need to move their limbs; just touching a leaf would be enough to cut it cleanly in two. That was how sharp they were. Such an elite species could usually evolve to become Beast Generals while average species hit a limit at tier four Beast General no matter how long they lived. 

In just ten minutes, the casualties around the Ghostblade Mantises grew severe. Although the defenses of the route didn’t completely break down, a few beasts slipped past them. 

Especially one tier four Ghostblade Mantis! 

The incident was immediately reported to the higher-ups. That was a powerful species, after all, no one would ever live peacefully if they left it roaming around like a sword of Damocles hovering above their heads. Just thinking about it gave them chills. 

At three in the afternoon, the first wave of attack ended. Every outpost had greatly suffered to hold the beasts off, but they still hadn’t found the tier four Ghostblade Mantis yet. 

Other beasts that slipped past the soldiers, however, had been successfully found and killed. 

“Very good, the defenses did well. How many casualties were there?” Fang Zhenyuan had been closely observing the progress of the battle. The soldiers held on all five routes. 

“Sect Master Fang, vice city lord, out of the five thousand soldiers, five hundred and seventy-two sustained minor injuries, three hundred and forty sustained severe injuries, thirty-one were incapacitated, eleven were sacrificed. 

“The invasion consisted of more than ten thousand beasts, but due to the terrain, we were at an advantage. We killed five hundred and ten beasts in total,” reported the aide-de-camp. They had emerged victorious from the battle and the casualties were still bearable. 

“Alright. Provide medical support where needed, prepare death notifications for the sacrificed soldiers.…” 

After deciding on the miscellaneous matters, Fang Zhenyuan said, “Did we find the Ghostblade Mantis?” 

“No. Based on the situation at the time, we believe the escaped Ghostblade Mantis has reached tier four, nine-star. It’s the one that tore an opening in our defensive line, letting other beasts past us. We’re worried it may have ascended to tier five by now,” said the aide. They still couldn’t detect the beast. And at that, it was as big as a small car, with cutting abilities equivalent to a tier six beast, though it had an obvious weakness: it was afraid of fire. 

Even a spiritual cultivator under tier four could use modified incendiary weapons to defeat a tier five Ghostblade Mantis. For example, they could throw a few incendiary hand grenades under its legs to kill it. Of course, suppressing a Ghostblade Mantis, famed for its attacks and speed, enough so that it could remain in range of the grenade would be difficult. 

Alas, the battle hadn’t ended yet. Barely ten minutes after the humans had pushed back the first wave, the second wave crashed with twice as many beasts as the previous wave. 

The soldiers were stunned, almost unable to hold them off. 

This time, an even wider variety of beasts had appeared. The number of beasts slipping through the defensive lines hit triple digits, which had become a severe problem. From the Thunder Dojo’s conference room, several masters reserved for emergencies were immediately dispatched. 

MC is coming back!!