Fang Xin leaned in close to the crack in the Qilin Egg.
Just as his eyes drew near the crack,
a pair of big, beautiful eyes from inside the Qilin Egg also approached the crack, looking out.
Man and beast stared at each other, wide-eyed.
Fang Xin was startled for a moment.
The little guy inside the Qilin Egg had big, watery eyes filled with confusion and curiosity.
Its tiny claws poked out through the crack.
Fang Xin raised his hand to touch the little paw.
He didn't expect the little guy's claws to be unusually sharp.
It immediately cut a small gash on Fang Xin's finger.
Blood seeped through the crack of the Qilin Egg and into it.
The little guy inside let out a cute, childish sound of confusion.
Those big, watery eyes pressed against the crack again, looking out.
Its gaze seemed to be asking Fang Xin if it hurt.
Fang Xin touched the Qilin Egg, indicating that it didn't hurt.
The little guy inside blinked its big eyes, signaling that it was hungry and wanted more god and demon marrow.
Fang Xin immediately pushed it into the small mountain of accumulated god and demon marrow. Visibly, the god and demon marrow melted rapidly, and the speed of consumption increased several times over.
At this moment, Fang Xin was in the God and Demon Ruins. As dusk fell, the fierce beasts within the God and Demon Ruins emerged, and those terrifying existences also began to roam the mist-shrouded God and Demon Ruins to hunt.
From time to time, the roars of fierce beasts could be heard.
The entire God and Demon Ruins was bustling with activity.
The little guy devouring the god and demon marrow stopped.
It lay by the crack, craned its neck, and let out a cute, childish roar.
Owooo~ Owooo~ Owooo~
Although it was just a very cute and childish sound,
the innate bloodline suppression directly silenced all the fierce beasts in the God and Demon Ruins.
The bustling God and Demon Ruins, which had been lively just a second ago, instantly became silent, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.
Fang Xin couldn't help but hold his breath. He hadn't expected that this little guy, not yet fully out of its egg, already showed signs of its formidable power.
Water Moon Grotto Heaven.
Little Hamster, who was making notes at his desk, suddenly looked up and gazed in a certain direction.
He picked up the cane beside him, tapped the table lightly with it, and Little Hamster vanished on the spot. A stone appeared where Little Hamster had been a moment ago.
In Fang Xin's peripheral vision, a stone vanished into thin air, followed by the appearance of a very cute Little Hamster.
"Your Excellency!" Little Hamster bowed politely to Fang Xin.
Fang Xin couldn't help but take another look at Little Hamster. Little Hamster's talent was transformation, so it was reasonable for him to appear here in the blink of an eye.
Little Hamster looked at the Qilin Egg, adjusted his glasses, and his expression showed a hint of excitement, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what method did you use to accelerate the incubation progress of this Qilin Egg?"
"I encountered a beast tide!" Fang Xin replied truthfully.
Little Hamster was stunned, muttering, "So that's it! So that's it! It seems that under the impact of the beast tide, the Qilin Egg's incubation progress has doubled. If this continues for a while, it might hatch within a month!"
Fang Xin looked at the piles of melting god and demon marrow, then turned to Little Hamster, "Little Hamster, you saw how fast this little guy devours god and demon marrow!"
Little Hamster smiled, "Your Excellency doesn't need to worry about this. We have already made arrangements for the god and demon marrow. Just leave it to me!"
As he spoke, Little Hamster's gaze refocused on Fang Xin, "Your Excellency is indeed the chosen one. It is very difficult for powerful individuals from the outside to enter and exit the God and Demon Ruins, yet Your Excellency comes and goes without hindrance."
"Just luck, just luck!"
Fang Xin glanced at the Qilin Egg again. The crack was too small to see the little guy's full appearance inside. The Eternal Night Army's beast tide wouldn't be leaving anytime soon, so Fang Xin could take this opportunity to freeload. Within a month, this little guy would break out of its shell.
He had been here for half a day. Fang Xin checked on his yuanying fruit again, bid farewell to Little Hamster, and then left.
Returning to the camp, he merged with his clone.
The battle outside was still ongoing, but the Eternal Night Army outside couldn't break in, and the forces defending the city had no way to fundamentally resolve the problem before them, so they could only drag it out like this.
Tang Hu had visited Xing Longshu once to recount the incident where they had encountered an ambush and were then rescued by an unknown force.
Xing Longshu advised Tang Hu not to publicize it and to act as if nothing had happened.
When the Church saw Fang Xin and the others return but Jiang Weiqi did not, they knew Jiang Weiqi had been killed. They also dared not make a fuss, as they were in the wrong. Moreover, they dared not openly inquire about who killed Jiang Weiqi, making them mistakenly believe it was the Ninth Division who had rescued the others, which also indirectly protected the force that had saved them.
Fang Xin couldn't help but chuckle. These people were outwardly friendly but inwardly scheming, each with their own agenda. This kind of infighting was quite interesting to watch.
The battle continued until nine o'clock at night before finally ceasing.
Both sides entered a brief respite.
But they remained constantly vigilant against a surprise attack from the Eternal Night Army.
Sure enough, at 2:30 AM, the Eternal Night Army launched a surprise attack, and the battle only ended after nearly an hour of fierce fighting between the two sides.
Both sides were slightly fatigued but maintained a high level of vigilance.
This long war of attrition thus began.
To fundamentally solve the problem, either Professor Shang's student had to be found, or Qilin had to be found.
The Eternal Night Army would surely have thought of the former. Professor Shang's student was well protected. Bai Mao Zai and Lu Dingjia's previous disappearance was for this matter. It must be said, this old man and young man were truly bold, running around the enemy camp and returning unscathed.
As for the other solution, that was even more impossible. Qilin had died long ago; where would they find it? And the owner of the Qilin Egg left behind had no awareness whatsoever of solving the current beast tide problem, instead happily freeloading off the beast tide every day to nurture that Qilin Egg.
In a flash, half a month passed.
The two sides fought daily as if clocking in for work. During this time, Yun Cang City also organized a counterattack, but the effect was not very significant. After resisting for a while, the enemy retreated directly into the Land of Eternal Night, leaving the people of Yun Cang City to stare helplessly.
Fang Xin watched as the Qilin Egg's consumption of god and demon marrow gradually accelerated.
The little guy inside also became increasingly active.
It felt like it wouldn't be long before it broke out of its shell.
During this period, many academy students were brought to experience the battlefield up close. The final exams were also approaching, but due to the ongoing war at the border, the importance of the final exams had been significantly downplayed.
When this war of attrition reached its twenty-seventh day,
many people in the city became numb, and a war-weary sentiment began to spread throughout the city. Many felt that this war had no end in sight.
Combat Command Center.
The representatives of the various forces stationed in the city sat together.
Zheng Jizu of the Zheng family looked worried, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the Church and Sky Shield Bureau representatives.
"Everyone, if we drag this on any longer, it's not a solution. We need to find a way, we must solve the problem fundamentally. Otherwise, if we keep fighting like this, war doesn't just burn money. The beast tide used by the Eternal Night Army is easily replenished, but our lives are not so easily replenished."
"Yes, it's been twenty-seven days, and our casualties have already reached several thousands. And this is just Yun Cang City; adding the other cities, it's not a small number at all. We must come up with a solution!"
Lu Bian of the Church said expressionlessly, "The solutions have already been stated: only those two."
"What's the difference between those two solutions and saying nothing? That professor must be protected by the Eternal Night Army."
"Isn't there another method?"
"Another method? Find Qilin? If Qilin were that easy to find, it would have been found long ago. How many years has it been? Forget seeing Qilin, we haven't even seen a single hair of Qilin. Where are we supposed to look? If anyone finds Qilin, I'll call them my dad!"
God and Demon Ruins.
Fang Xin held the Qilin Egg, covered in cracks, before his eyes.
Crack.
Accompanied by a crisp sound,
the Qilin Egg slowly cracked open.