Explosions, collisions, screeches, and roars—a cacophony of sounds, each one utterly out of place. They reverberated through every corner of Xidu City’s urban village, minute by minute, second by second.
There was no need to conceal the commotion. On the contrary, the louder, the better—this was the shared understanding among the Tiandu University students who had arrived at the Touchpoint.
The greater the commotion, the more it would attract Dragon Abominations with their acute hearing, drawing them together. This strategy served a dual purpose: it prevented the creatures from infiltrating residential buildings to harm innocent civilians, and simultaneously roused residents, deterring them from venturing out rashly.
As for the aftermath, the extensive cleanup operation would naturally be managed by Tiandu University’s dedicated logistical staff.
After years of confronting these Touchpoints, Awakened individual organizations across the nation had honed impressive ‘cleanup’ capabilities.
Thus, the Tiandu University students, uninhibited and unleashing their full firepower, began to purge the urban village of monsters with terrifying speed.
From district to district, the streets became choked with layers upon layers of Dragon Abomination corpses. Their green blood converged, forming gurgling, crimson rivers.
Observing this gruesome scene, many students felt a profound sense of relief.
This time, the scale of the [Dragon’s Den] Touchpoint was unusually vast, far surpassing any previous occurrence. Dragon Abominations swarmed everywhere, as ubiquitous as venomous insects.
Had it not been for the freshman ceremony, which coincidentally gathered both first-year and third-year students, clearing this Touchpoint would have been an exceedingly arduous task. It would have certainly required the direct intervention of the teachers.
****
In the designated zone.
Within the provisional squad, a diverse mix of third-year, second-year, and first-year students, Captain Huai Nannan suddenly realized that something was gravely amiss.
The area was divided into concentric zones: the innermost designated as Zone A, the outermost as Zone C, and Zone B positioned squarely in the middle.
Logically, the difficulty of this particular zone should have been perfectly manageable.
Otherwise, the guild leaders would not have entrusted her, a third-year student and seasoned slacker who hadn’t yet broken through to Gold Rank, with leading the team.
Yet now… the sheer number of Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations in this zone was simply overwhelming!
From the moment they landed and plunged into the monster horde, engaging in relentless combat until this very second, the Dragon Abominations showed no sign of dwindling.
For such a situation to persist, only one possibility remained.
‘A General-rank Dragon Abomination exists in Zone A,’ Huai Nannan murmured to herself. Her expression turned grim. ‘And it’s constantly drawing in Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations from the nearby areas.’
She was merely a seasoned slacker. While she had developed her own intricate tactical system, the inherent destructive power of her ability remained woefully inadequate.
To confront a General-rank Dragon Abomination, protected by a multitude of Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations and possessing the formidable strength of a Gold Rank entity, was simply beyond her capabilities.
‘What if I add my two teammates?’ she pondered, analyzing the situation in her mind.
A Silver Rank junior who had only just entered his second year, coupled with a completely green first-year freshman who knew nothing…
No, forget it. Such a team composition would be utterly crushed before a General-rank Dragon Abomination.
Therefore…
‘Why isn’t the General-rank Dragon Abomination staying obediently in Zone A, but instead running all the way out here to Zone B?!’
Huai Nannan wailed inwardly, yet her hands never ceased their relentless movements.
Her hands swept through the air, drawing wide circles.
Within a two-meter radius around her, raindrops that had been falling diagonally forward suddenly reversed their trajectory, striking outwards with force.
The sewage on the ground, mixed with fresh blood, continuously spread and crawled closer along the surface.
Rainwater flew in from thin air; sewage and fresh blood surged skyward.
These three distinct liquids converged before Huai Nannan’s palms, solidifying into a massive, pale red water sphere, roughly a meter in diameter.
This was the ability [Liquid Manipulation].
An ability brimming with immense developmental potential, yet constrained by Huai Nannan’s current power level and Void Energy concentration, its performance was far from satisfactory. For now, it could only be utilized as a simple water-controlling ability.
‘It’s still not enough!’ Huai Nannan knew with absolute certainty.
If unleashed in its current state, the immense impact force of the water sphere could indeed temporarily alleviate her squad’s pressure.
But this was merely a temporary solution, not a fundamental cure for their predicament.
To guard against the General-rank Dragon Abomination that could appear at any moment, the squad absolutely had to break free from their current dire predicament!
And they needed to eliminate as many Dragon Abominations as possible!
‘Help me stall for a bit!’ she shouted, her voice cutting through the din.
‘Okay!’ ‘Understood, Senior Female Student!’ came the immediate replies.
Wei Xing, the second-year student battling amidst the monster horde ahead, and Ying Zhiyu, the freshman positioned between the two, both nodded and responded simultaneously.
His white shirt, now a mere hindrance, had long been torn off and discarded.
Wei Xing suddenly drew a deep breath, his entire musculature rapidly suffusing with a bronze hue, and their dimensions visibly expanded by a full circle.
His ability, [Steel Body], allowed him to reinforce his physique by consuming various metals.
Currently, constrained by his Mercury Rank strength, he could at most absorb metals such as copper.
Even so, the enhancement to his combat power was remarkably significant.
No longer bothering to dodge the monsters’ attacks, Wei Xing brazenly withstood every incoming claw, pouring all his formidable energy into offense.
He swiftly tore open a gaping hole in the enemy lines.
However, this brief reprieve was short-lived, as surging Dragon Abominations quickly filled the breach.
Watching the chaotic battlefield unfold nearby, Ying Zhiyu, despite her comparatively low strength, refused to yield.
She suddenly raised both hands, each of her slender, pale fingers clutching a small, perfectly round sphere.
The spheres were smooth as glass beads, each one distinct in color.
She abruptly flung her hands upwards, sending the spheres flying diagonally forward. They reached their apex directly above the monster horde.
‘Vibrant Life!’ she silently chanted, invoking the name of her ability.
The surfaces of those spheres suddenly pulsed with a dull white light, then instantly split into several cracks with impossible speed.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of ten explosions, akin to firecrackers, ripped through the air.
Outdoor air conditioner units, roadside stone benches, spherical stone balls—a chaotic assortment of objects suddenly materialized with a resounding thud several meters above the monsters.
Pulled down by the relentless tug of gravitational potential energy, these extremely heavy objects plummeted. One unlucky Dragon Abomination, caught completely off guard, was struck squarely on the head by a stone ball, which had been intended to block their path.
Its eyes rolled back instantly, and it collapsed to the ground, spitting fresh blood.
Though the Dragon Abomination’s scales could withstand sword strikes and slashes, they offered little effective resistance against blunt force trauma.
****
[Vibrant Life]—Ying Zhiyu’s innate ability.
It allowed her to convert any inanimate object into a seed, which she could then rapidly grow and restore according to her will.
Moreover, when an object was ‘seeded,’ its weight became no different from that of an ordinary seed.
This was undoubtedly a remarkably powerful support-type ability, and Tiandu University had recruited her precisely because they recognized its immense value.
‘You’re all performing quite well!’ Huai Nannan said softly. ‘Since that’s the case, I, your senior, must also redouble my efforts!’
Void Arts: [Void Energy Surge], [Void Energy Boil], [Area Amplification].
All three Void Arts, intricately inscribed upon her Chakras, were instantly activated.
****
Thump. Thump!
Her heart pounded violently, as if threatening to burst from her chest. Her head felt as if it would explode, throbbing with excruciating pressure.