A shimmering blue light danced in Xu Gaoxuan’s eyes, clear as a tranquil sea. Nothing could obstruct his gaze. The entire urban village Touchpoint, vast as it was, appeared before him in a shimmering, ethereal display.
“Aside from one district, and districts both harbored General-rank Dragon Abominations.” His gaze swept from the central district all the way to the outermost ones.
In one district, the Dragon Abominations had already been completely purged by the Extreme Fist Society’s junior members.
Zhuang Bu, whose muscles were sculpted like a statue, carried the corpses of two General-rank Dragon Abominations, one in each hand.
He stood atop a small mountain of Dragon Abomination corpses, laughing boisterously.
His squad members gazed up at him, their eyes filled with admiration.
The district was managed by a team composed of two high-ranking student council members and individuals from Shanchuan Province.
The battle there still raged, yet it was clearly nearing its end.
A General-rank Dragon Abomination had already been slain by the Student Council’s Vice Principal.
Meanwhile, a yellow-haired freshman from Shanchuan Province, whose ability resembled a ‘Scorching Fruit,’ was slaughtering the Dragon Abominations, thanks to his power to ignite his torso.
Elsewhere, the situation in the other districts was also highly favorable.
This held true even for the and districts, despite them being commanded by General-rank Dragon Abominations.
In fact, due to the presence of General-rank Dragon Abominations in that district, most of the Soldier-rank Dragon Abominations from the other areas had been siphoned away.
Consequently, the outermost and districts had completed their Dragon Abomination eradication missions even earlier.
They were now leading their teams to reinforce the inner regions.
Overall, the battle across the entire urban village Touchpoint area was progressing exceptionally well.
At this rate, the Touchpoint could be fully cleared within another half an hour at most.
“There are no King-rank Dragon Abominations,” Xu Gaoxuan murmured.
The continuous, skyward roars from the General-rank Dragon Abomination in that district had surprised him earlier.
Fearing unforeseen complications within the Touchpoint, he had deliberately scanned the entire area.
“No King-rank Dragon Abominations is a good thing. This is an urban village; the population density is simply too high.”
From above the clouds, Teacher Yuan, the combat instructor, remarked casually.
“It is He,”
Xu Gaoxuan nodded, withdrawing his gaze before once again looking down at the district where the situation remained most volatile.
Even with two teams, totaling six individuals, only five could truly serve as effective combatants.
Among them, he believed only Yun Ning and Wen Erya from the team possessed the ability to effectively breach the defenses and injure a General-rank Dragon Abomination.
The power of that tree spear unleashed by the Rank- freshman was impressive, yet it was clear at a glance that its Void Energy consumption was substantial.
Coupled with the multitude of plant soldiers she had created earlier…
Even for a Rank- individual, such extravagance surely meant her internal Void Energy was nearing depletion, making a second spear strike doubtful.
Xu Gaoxuan’s perception was indeed sharp; a single glance had revealed Huang Xiu’s true condition.
Indeed, her reason for remaining atop the Sophora tree giant had nothing to do with posturing or pretense.
It was purely because the excessive expenditure of Void Energy had left her limbs aching and her movements sluggish.
After all, those numerous mutated plants hadn’t materialized from thin air; the effort required had drained her repeatedly.
“This time, there’s truly not a single drop left,”
Huang Xiu muttered, a wry smile gracing her lips as she sensed the nearly parched ocean of Void Energy within her.
This Touchpoint proved far more challenging than the previous Monster School Touchpoint.
Even for her, with her innate Rank- Void Energy concentration and Mercury Rank, she had pushed herself to the absolute limit to achieve effective crowd control.
Consequently, in the current battle, after launching a single tree spear with her last remnants of Void Energy at the outset, she found herself utterly unable to intervene.
Now, she could only watch helplessly.
“Damn it, when facing Gold Rank opponents, the quality of my mutated plants is still lacking.” Huang Xiu, through this battle, had subtly recognized her own deficiencies.
After mutation, ordinary plants simply possessed too little strength; they might suffice against opponents of the same rank.
However, if the enemy’s power was even slightly superior, they were utterly defenseless.
Just like in the current battle, the Sophora tree giant beneath her, though capable of intervening…
…was so slow that it merely got in the way, serving as little more than a target for the General-rank Dragon Abomination.
“I need higher quality mutated plants, or to significantly increase their quantity to achieve a qualitative change.”
Huang Xiu pondered two paths for improvement: one focusing on quality, the other on quantity.
For now, she couldn’t definitively judge which was superior, nor could she differentiate between them.
She would have to discover the most suitable path for her own enhancement through practical experience during her future university studies.
As Huang Xiu pondered, the battle before her intensified.
Three figures rapidly crisscrossed the street.
The old, brown pavement bricks shattered under their feet.
Each clash of fists, feet, and claws resonated with dull thuds that echoed through the street.
In this particular battle, Yun Ning and Wen Erya were undeniably the absolute main force.
Only they could engage the General-rank Dragon Abomination in close-quarters combat.
Huai Nannan, with her abilities, could provide support from the periphery, while Wei Xing found himself utterly unable to join the fray.
Though his attack power and defense met the requirements, his agility was insufficient.
He could only watch alongside Huang Xiu and Ying Zhiyu, silently cheering on Yun Ning and Wen Erya.
“You must keep fighting!”
Ying Zhiyu was silently praying when she suddenly heard a woman’s voice, tinged with uncertainty and surprise, from behind her.
“Something feels off.”
She turned, seeing Huang Xiu, perched atop the Sophora tree giant, with a grave expression.
A sudden unease clutched her heart, and she quickly asked, “Sister Xiu, what’s wrong?”
“Don’t you feel it?”
Huang Xiu closed her eyes. “The Void Energy concentration in the air is slowly rising.”
She had just noticed that her Void Energy recovery rate was different from before, distinctly faster.
A brief moment of closed-eyed perception had revealed this phenomenon.
“It does feel a bit like that?” Ying Zhiyu closed her eyes and tried to sense it.
However, with her innate Void Energy concentration barely at Rank-, her sensory acuity was nowhere near Huang Xiu’s level.
After Huang Xiu mentioned it, Ying Zhiyu focused, closing her eyes, and indeed, it seemed to be true.
Yet, upon a second attempt, she wondered if it was merely her imagination.
“What happens if the Void Energy concentration increases?” Ying Zhiyu asked, her curiosity piqued.
“I don’t know,”
Huang Xiu shook her head, a hint of worry in her eyes.
“Generally, the closer one gets to the center of a Touchpoint, the higher the Void Energy concentration. For it to suddenly increase here, in this peripheral area, is most likely not a good sign.”
“Senior, is this detector of yours actually useful?”
Outside the Touchpoint, Fang Miaoging squatted on the ground, her face a mask of speechless frustration.
Before her sat Mo Xuan, a senior male student, hunched on the ground, drenched in sweat, having been toiling for over half an hour.
Half an hour prior, he had used his enticing and persuasive words and gestures…
…to paint a grand vision, a promise so inflated it could choke a person.
It had stirred in Fang Miaoging an ambition to strive alongside him and forge a great enterprise.
Now, however, as she looked at the detector—its surface riddled with cracks, resembling a rusty Rubik’s Cube, and showing no sign of life after half a day of trying to power it on—
She suddenly felt that this Senior Mo Xuan seemed entirely too unreliable.
It was commonplace for new machines under development to encounter issues.
Yet, to not even be able to power it on, let alone know what the problem was, seemed utterly absurd!
“Don’t worry, Junior,” Mo Xuan assured her. “It’s just a simple malfunction; I’ll have it fixed in no time.”
Sweat beaded on Mo Xuan’s brow as he tinkered with the detector while speaking, but after a moment, there was still no response.
Frustration boiling over, he completely abandoned his senior’s composure.
He stood up and delivered a swift kick to the detector.
Bang!
The detector shifted several centimeters from the impact.
“Senior, you just…”
Fang Miaoging was left speechless.
Noticing his junior’s increasingly skeptical gaze, Mo Xuan hastily concocted an explanation for himself.
“This instrument is very delicate, so during transport…”
Before he could finish, however, the detector suddenly vibrated, emitting a resonant hum.
The puddle of sewage on the ground trembled in response, concentric ripples spreading across its surface.