Chapter 178: Chapter 153: Crushing Chapter 178: Chapter 153: Crushing After a while, Su Yuan and Luo Bingtong walked into the White Dragon River Resort.
It was around three in the afternoon, and most people were at work.
However, because of the winter break, many young students were out having fun, mostly in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing.
Su Yuan and Luo Bingtong easily blended in.
Luo Bingtong seemed to have never been to such an entertainment place before and curiously looked around.
There were many things in the resort, but the most numerous were the food stalls.
“Lamb kebabs, five yuan per skewer, ten yuan for three skewers…”
As the two walked past a lamb kebab stall, Luo Bingtong turned her head to look several times.
Seeing this, Su Yuan couldn’t help but laugh.
“These are lamb kebabs.” Su Yuan chuckled and led her to the stall.
“Boss, give me two…
let’s make it ten skewers!”
Su Yuan had initially planned to order only two skewers but, considering Luo Bingtong’s true form, he decided to order ten instead.
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“Do you want Osmanthus cakes?”
“This is candied haws, let’s get five skewers of those too.”
…
Along the way, Su Yuan bought quite a bit of food for Luo Bingtong.
Although Luo Bingtong ate in small bites, her mouth never stopped, her eyes slightly glowing, seeming to be in a great mood.
“This way, we really look more like ordinary tourists…” Su Yuan nodded secretly.
Of course, buying these for Luo Bingtong was not just because she wanted to eat; it also made their disguise more natural.
While Luo Bingtong was eating, Su Yuan fully expanded his star power perception, encompassing the surrounding people and buildings in his senses, carefully detecting the star power fluctuations around him as he walked.
Most people who came to the resort were ordinary folks.
If there really were Star Card Masters present, to Su Yuan, with his enhanced perception, they would be like candles in the dark, instantly noticeable even if faint.
The White Dragon River Resort extended inward along the White Dragon River.
By following the river, one could cover most of the area.
So, Su Yuan and Luo Bingtong proceeded at a not too fast, not too slow pace, searching deeper into the resort…
In the depths of the resort, in a standalone small white building leaning against the northern outer mountain, two men and one woman were enjoying the afternoon on the rooftop.
“Yongzhen, when are we leaving?
Didn’t Old Xu say last time that the City Guards’ security lines in Qingtan City, as well as in the neighboring cities of Jintai City and Qingliao City, were gradually being withdrawn?
It seems they couldn’t find us and have called off the search, right?”
At the rooftop edge, Nie Bo, wearing a gray vest, asked.
“It’s just an outward relaxation but still tight inside.” Li Yongzhen, who was sitting on a wicker chair grilling meat, replied without looking up, “They can’t catch us, so they’re trying to lure us out.
The City Guards use this trick often.”
Nie Bo frowned, “But going on like this isn’t a solution either.”
Li Yongzhen shook his head, “Don’t worry, using such baiting methods means they’re making their last attempts.
Another week or two and we can leave easily.”
Nie Bo asked, “What if they’ve already found us out?”
Li Yongzhen raised an eyebrow, “Unlikely.
We left some witnesses and traces deliberately when we entered Tianmang Mountain.
They now think we have crossed the mountain to Jintai City or Qingliao City.
Besides, even if they find us, so what?
We can jump from this white building and enter Tianmang Mountain in minutes.
Then, not even a City Guard Gold Level expert would necessarily be able to do anything to us.”
Nie Bo felt somewhat reassured by Li Yongzhen’s words, nodded, and turned around to look at the quietly flowing White Dragon River below.
This small white building next to the mountain was one of the few tall buildings in the resort.
Standing on its rooftop provided a broad view, with the surrounding scenery visible at a glance.
At this time, Li Yongzhen’s right eye twitched slightly.
“My right eye has been twitching nonstop for the past week.
It gives me a bad feeling.”
“That’s just superstition!” Wu Qiushi, the woman among the three, pouted and smiled, “Come and eat the meat.
This armored rhinoceros meat is really chewy!”
“Perhaps I’m just too anxious…” Nie Bo also felt he was overly tense.
These days in Qingtan City had been nerve-racking and exhausting.
Nodding, he was about to turn and eat barbecued meat with the other two when he saw a pair of young people slowly walking by the riverbank, taking pictures and eating.
“Silver hair, quite unusual.”
Nie Bo grew slightly more vigilant and observed them.
The white building was deep within the resort, an area not often visited by tourists.
“The view is good here.
Bing Tong, stand there, and I’ll take a picture of you.”
Su Yuan went to the white wall, took out his phone, and aimed it at Luo Bingtong by the river.
“Ready, three, two, one…
done!”
Su Yuan checked the photo he had just taken and saw Luo Bingtong holding candied haws in one hand and a lamb kebab in the other, looking somewhat dazed at the camera.
“It’s pretty good…” Su Yuan nodded, smiling.
“Come and see for yourself.”
Luo Bingtong, hearing this, walked over.
“Young people these days, starting relationships so early?” Nie Bo shook his head, withdrew his gaze, and sat down to eat the barbecued meat with Li Yongzhen and Wu Qiushi.
But before he could take more than a couple of bites, the ground suddenly shook violently.
A rush of cold air exploded, frost spread rapidly, and a powerful star power tide surged up from beneath the white building!
“What’s going on?!”
The three of them stood up in shock, just in time to see several ice walls rise from outside the white building, converging above them to form a nearly hundred-meter-tall Ice Palace!
Beneath the white building, Luo Bingtong’s icy eyes flashed, and she slowly put down her hands.
“What an exaggerated Skill, what astonishing star power…” Su Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked around.
The ground beneath them had completely turned to ice, and the massive, icy-cold Ice Palace had completely imprisoned everything above, below, and around the white building!
Su Yuan glanced at Luo Bingtong beside him, the energy contained in her small body was simply shocking!
Just now, beneath the white building, Su Yuan had sensed the presence of three Silver Stage auras and confirmed there were no other living beings in the entire white building.
He had then signaled Luo Bingtong to make a move, suggesting she trap the enemies to prevent their escape if possible.
Luo Bingtong had put away all her food, performed a series of sealing gestures, and then directly formed this entire Ice Palace!
“With this, the three of them are like fish in a barrel, with no place to escape…” Su Yuan assessed the strength of the Ice Palace walls.
He estimated he couldn’t break through them without using Space Cut and Hellfire.
Luo Bingtong spread her right hand, numerous snowflakes flew out from around her and converged into her palm.
In a short moment, they formed a slender, snow-white long blade that she grasped.
Luo Bingtong looked up at the white building.
An ice pillar swiftly rose under her feet, lifting her to a height above the rooftop within moments!
“It’s you?!” Nie Bo, looking at the expressionless silver-haired girl, realized what was happening.
This girl, and the boy below, were academy students!
Although their star power fluctuations were only at the Bronze Level, the girl’s ability to form such an exaggerated Ice Palace could never belong to an ordinary Bronze Level!
The three of them, facing a formidable threat, drew their weapons and prepared for a fight.
“It seems we’ve truly been exposed,” Li Yongzhen said grimly.
“Take her out, and then head straight for Tianmang Mountain!”
Luo Bingtong glanced at the three of them, then lightly stepped off the ice pillar, leaping into the fray on the rooftop, her blade sweeping through the air…
“Little Lin, look, why has a huge ice palace suddenly appeared over there?!”
“What palace…
oh, wow, it really is!” In the distance, some tourists noticed the massive ice structure that had sprung up in an instant and began exclaiming in surprise.
“Wu Qun, Liu Xing, lock down the area and move these tourists farther away!”
“Yang Yuxin, take a few people around to the hillside behind the white building!”
Zhou Bin swiftly arrived on the scene with dozens of City Guards, beginning to evacuate people and seal off the vicinity.
…
“Captain Zhou, this move is pretty impressive…” Qiao Kail looked at the nearly hundred-meter-tall Ice Palace ahead and swallowed hard.
“Even if I could pull it off, I’d probably be drained of star power immediately!”
Zhou Bin also marveled at the sight, then thoughtfully turned to the team members.
“You stay here.
Lin and I will go have a look.”
Lin was another burly early Silver Stage member of their squad.
“Captain Zhou, be careful!” Qiao Kail and others said quickly.
Zhou Bin nodded, exchanged a glance with Lin, and both drew their D-2 type long blades.
Silver Stage City Guard members could apply for medium-grade green-standard Star Devices.
They imbued star power into their blades and approached the Ice Palace cautiously.
However, the Ice Palace walls were almost entirely opaque.
They couldn’t see anything inside from the outside.
Additionally, even the sound and star power fluctuations from within were completely blocked by the ice walls.
“Captain Zhou, this way, we can’t offer any help.” Lin frowned.
Zhou Bin tried slashing the ice wall with his blade, but with his Silver Middle Stage strength, he could only leave shallow marks on it without using any Skills!
“The hardness is high!
Even I would find it hard to break through.
Since that’s the case, we should remain on alert and be ready…”
Before Zhou Bin could finish his sentence, cracking sounds echoed as large cracks appeared on the Ice Palace wall in front of them.
“Move back!”
Zhou Bin and Lin were startled and quickly backed away.
In the next moment, the Ice Palace shattered layer by layer from top to bottom, bursting into a storm of frost flowers!
“What’s happening?
This Ice Palace hasn’t been up long, yet it’s collapsing.
Could it be…”
Could it be that those two youths met with some mishap!
As the Ice Palace disintegrated, there was still no sound.
The fight must have ended already.
Three Silver Stages against two Bronze Levels, and the battle ended so quickly…
Realizing this, both Zhou Bin and Lin felt a chill in their hearts.
They weren’t concerned about not capturing Li Yongzhen and the others but feared that Su Yuan and Luo Bingtong might have perished.
Two top talents from the academy were far more valuable than three Silver Stage fugitives!
Around them, the City Guards drew their weapons, nervously watching the swirling frost flowers.
Before long, the frost abated, and two figures emerged—one tall, one short.
It was none other than Su Yuan and Luo Bingtong.
Luo Bingtong still held the candied haws she hadn’t finished.
Zhou Bin was first shocked, then overjoyed, hurrying forward with his men.
“Student Su, how did it go?”
“It’s done.
The bodies are on the top floor.
Captain Zhou, you can go up and see for yourself.”
Su Yuan said this while casting a subtle glance at Luo Bingtong, who was quietly eating her candied haws beside him, still astonished.
Almost in an instant, Luo Bingtong had extinguished the three people’s vitality.
Such power far exceeded his expectations…
“So fast, really?” Zhou Bin’s heart skipped a beat.
“Alright!
I’ll go check.
Lin, make sure to welcome the students warmly!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Zhou Bin strode into the white building, reaching the rooftop in no time.
Pushing open the iron door, he inhaled sharply at the sight.
The rooftop was littered with ice blocks.
Encased within these blocks were the shattered remains of Li Yongzhen and his two accomplices, frozen and fragmented beyond recognition…