By the time the Black Swan and Fairness & Justice Squads returned to the purified spot, two days had passed.
Seeing the huge light barrier glowing strong and impregnable, they breathed sighs of relief, relaxing for the first time in two days. They had been watching their backs and each other constantly, dreading when the corrupting illusion realm would next show up.
They were back at the safest place now, and could finally afford to drop their guard.
They shuffled into the purified spot, which was rather empty. Most of the students were out and about, working on their purging missions.
They did not dawdle, but headed straight to the message tower.
They intended to get word of the Heavenly Disaster Class Other back to the school, where an appropriate response could be formulated.
If the Heavenly Disaster Class Other was out there cannibalizing Others, it wasn’t so bad. But if it got strong enough, it could come to the purified spot…
Human flesh and emotions held great temptation for the Others. These things were antithetical to their nature, and therefore they were drawn to it.
If a supremely powerful Heavenly Disaster Class Other came sieging, it would spell trouble for the entire purified spot.
They would be completely massacred, and it would be a huge disaster for the school as a whole.
Even Jiang Qing’e was taking this very seriously. If things got to that stage, not even she would be safe.
“Sister Qing’e!”
A happy voice called out to them, and Jiang Qing’e paused and turned.
It was a familiar figure—Si Qiuying.
It was their first time meeting her in the Umbra Cave so far.
Beside her, both Yi Lisha and Qian Ye gave Li Luo friendly smiles.
Si Qiuying came running over. “Sister Qing’e, I thought you’d be taking down the level three purification tower about now,” she said quizzically. “What are you doing back here?”
Jiang Qing’e looked at them. “Are you all about to head out?”
Si Qiuying nodded.
“Don’t. Don’t leave the purified spot.”
She was on decent terms with Si Qiuying’s brother, and House Jinque was nominally a friend. They were worth a friendly warning.
Si Qiuying looked surprised, as did the Three Star squad they were working with.
Jiang Qing’e had too much of a reputation for the Three Star squad to think that this was some prank. “Jiang Qing’e, what’s happened?”
“We encountered a roaming Other that’s incredibly powerful out there. It’s cannibalizing other Others,” Tian Tian said, her eyebrows knitted with concern. “At least a Disaster Class, and likely a Heavenly Disaster Class… It must have snuck out from the depths.”
Her information was received with alarm. “Heavenly Disaster Class?” Yi Lisha croaked. The other Three Star squad leader was a young man with extremely mature features, called Luo Saihu. He frowned. “Are you sure? You’re not pulling our leg?”
“Why else would we be back?” Qiu Bai said irritably. “Vacation or something?”
Yi Lisha paused. “If it’s roaming around outside, it won’t come to the purified spot, will it?”
“Won’t it?” Li Luo said dryly.
Yi Lisha had nothing to say in reply. If something that strong came, there would be nowhere to run for them.
“I think it’s recovering its strength with all the feeding right now. When it’s back to full strength, it will probably come closer to the purified spot. Be careful; don’t make a decision you’ll regret,” Jiang Qing’e said in parting, then she briskly continued on to the center.
Li Luo and the others followed, leaving Si Qiuying’s group looking around at each other.
“What should we do?” Qian Ye said helplessly.
They had already planned out their route to get their next haul of points.
Yi Lisha rubbed his chin. “Points are important… but I think life is importanter.”
Luo Saihu let out a long sigh. “If it were anyone else, I’d doubt the truth of it, but Jiang Qing’e… You can’t help but believe her.”
She had a strong streak of pride and a straightforward character.
Jiang Qing’e was not one to play petty games.
“Let’s stick around for a bit,” Luo Saihu finally said.
The others nodded.
Yi Lisha looked at the departing squads. “Li Luo’s a lot stronger,” he said thoughtfully.
Qian Ye’s eyes narrowed. “I felt it too. He was never weak, but he was covering his lack of cultivation level with resonance variety. This time… he feels like Qin Zhulu to me.”
“He’s grown damned strong in the Umbra Cave. Probably first in our year already?” Yi Lisha mused.
Si Qiuying bit her lip. It had just been half a month. It felt like Li Luo was growing every time she blinked.
She had seen how strong Qin Zhulu was for herself. He had taken on both of the guys in her squad alone, and held his own.
Even though Li Luo’s squad had won the first ranking battle, Qin Zhulu was still the undisputed individual champion.
They could attribute it to Li Luo’s luck that he hadn’t met Qin Zhulu then.
But now Li Luo might be stronger.
The way he was growing, no one could doubt it.
Si Qiuying recalled Jiang Qing’e’s words, back during her first encounter with Li Luo on the hill…
……
In the middle of the purified spot was an especially tall stone tower. This was the heart of the purified spot, where the light barrier originated.
Within the stone tower was an ancient tree root that was joined to the tower itself.
The intricate, swirling runes on the floor were a transport rune, powering the school’s supplies that were sent once every few days.
There were some ordinary school mentors here who were in charge of maintaining order.
They found one mentor and told him the news.
“What? Heavenly Disaster Class, you say?!” the mentor exclaimed, white as a sheet. The other mentors came crowding over when they heard his cry.
Immediately, the mood got tense.
These mentors were not fighters. They were just in charge of administrative supplies.
“Mentors, this is not the time to panic,” Li Luo said calmly. “We need to inform the school as soon as possible, so they can send reinforcements.
“If possible, I suggest we should also send out an alert to the squads who are out, and recall them back to the purified spot. It’s even more dangerous outside, and it’s better if we can join forces here to defend if the thing comes.”
The mentors nodded fervently and gratefully for the voice of reason.
“When is the next activation of the transport tower?” Jiang Qing’e asked urgently.
The transport rune was not always available. There was a cooldown time, and it roughly recharged every week or so.
The mentors looked around helplessly, then gestured to the heap of resources nearby.
“We just completed the last transport two hours ago…”