“Look, look up at the sky, the Great Gate has opened!”
A massive person, seemingly reported from the Tangli area, picked up a big basket in one motion and, in high spirits, pointed mockingly at the sky.
“Beyond that gate, that’s Homeland!”
It wasn’t just her; all sorts of people in the City-State were hopping in excitement, shouting at the top of their lungs, as if the pent-up longing of everyone for their Homeland had erupted at once.
“How long has it been…” Shen Ning asked as loudly as she could, trying to catch up.
But the large woman was already ignoring her. As soon as the Great Gate opened, her spirit entered a state of fanaticism; other than focusing on her own mind, nothing else could draw her attention.
There was more than one Great Gate in the sky. One after another, several opened, sending the crowd into even greater frenzy.
Did this mean that Daystones were being activated in several places outside at once?
Shen Shu thought of this possibility, then, as she pushed through the crowd, she saw it: from the Great Gates in the sky, countless gray Guide Ropes descended, latching onto the Mutants in the City-State and drawing them up through the gates.
Emmmm, so it’s actually a passive selection.
The young girl had no time to analyze the logic, because a Guide Rope from above dangled down, wrapped tightly around her arm, and hoisted her up like a perfectly controlled puppet.
The moment before entering the gate felt like being physically pulled upward—a vivid, real sensation. But the instant she passed through the Great Gate, everything changed. It was as if her entire body was suddenly transported to an ancient world, all the laws altered. A fierce, dazzling light made the girl close her eyes. Then—
“Ah!!”
“It’s collapsing, it’s collapsing!”
“They’re here again!”
Screams rang out endlessly, the commotion nearly making Wang Liu lose her mind. As she opened her eyes, she found herself in a familiar dormitory hallway, surrounded by many girls just getting out of bed, panicked and running chaotically in fear.
Did I return to the Mortal World? But why do I still feel like I’m falling… Oh, the building’s collapsing.
“Ahhhh, I don’t want to die!”
A girl running headlong crashed into Wang Ke, and even after being caught she stumbled, landing on the ground, hands and feet scrambling uselessly.
Most of the students weren’t even Second Tier Spirit Power Users; their physical abilities were ordinary. In a time like this, casualties were inevitable. Worse still, they knew that within the crumbling Ruins, a group of creatures with bodies covered in mineral stones were lurking—brutal and merciless, attacking anyone in sight.
Shen glanced at their panicked, out-of-control faces, silently breathing in a lungful of fresh air from the Mortal World.
Well, the scene isn’t exactly heartening, but at least there are humans again.
Don’t want to die?
She looked at the people crowded at the stairwell, then at the windows near the edge, stretched out her arms, and drew a bow with her fingers.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—Wind Arrow!
A burst of concentrated Wind Arrow whipped up a wild gale, blasting open every window along the corridor, carving a giant opening into that floor of the dormitory. Fresh air poured in from outside; some girls who’d barely gotten up, not yet dressed, were caught by the wind, screaming in fright.
What happened?!
The girls blocking the stairwell turned their heads, looking toward the girl. They saw her raise her hand again, and the cold wind from outside seemed to obey her command, condensing into a phantom Guide Rope that slithered and twined around the girls’ waists.
Guiding the air currents—this was Shen Ning’s first time using this control skill, and she hadn’t expected it would be to rescue people.
“If you don’t want to die, don’t resist,” she said.
With the building on the verge of collapse, the dust kicked up by falling debris was blown upward, but within a certain area, it was quickly swept away by the wind. The white-haired girl gripped a solidified wind rope, leading more than a dozen girls safely to the ground.
“We… made it out!”
“We got out, we survived!”
“Thank you! Thank you so much! Thank you!”
Shen Shu waved them onward, “It’s nothing, hurry up and get out of here, those things are about to come out.”
They were all Coexistents from the last Daystone incident. They already understood how terrifying Mutants could be; there was no need for Shen to say more. They hurriedly pulled up their pants and ran off.
“Shen Shu—”
Zzzzt, zzzzt, zzzzt—accompanied by the sound of lightning, a white streak flashed in, slowly revealing itself as their own adorable thunder-wielding girlfriend.
Xu Chuyao immediately recognized the resonance of Wind Arrow. That technique was too conspicuous—first the sharp, then the lingering, the wind’s sound carrying far and wide. So she’d rushed over at once, so fast that her white rabbit was still softly trembling.
“You’re back… Where did you run off to? I came early this morning and didn’t see you, searched all over for half the day!”
Looking at her girlfriend’s lovely little face, Shen Shu felt a bit dazed. They’d only been apart for one night, but she felt as if years had passed in sorrow.
“I… I went to a very special place. I thought I’d come back soon, but didn’t expect it would take this long…”
The girl’s voice was tinged with a little guilt.
“A special place, huh.” Xu Chuyao narrowed her eyes. “Then let’s talk about it later.”
Xu Chuyao knew she’d probably gone through something dangerous, so she didn’t push further. Just now she’d also calmed herself and pretended nothing had happened.
They’d talk later, because for now there was something much more urgent. The two of them looked together toward the ruins of the dormitory building.
As the wind dispersed the dust, the view ahead became clearer. From deep within the Ruins came an unsettling sound, and inhuman shapes began to walk out.
Xu Chuyao grabbed her headband, electricity crackling around her.
“Let me take care of them!”
She wanted to try using her new skills on someone—couldn’t always just use them to light up and scare people.
But Shen Shu grabbed her girlfriend’s wrist, shook her head, and said, “No need. Watch.”
The Mutants emerging from the Ruins didn’t attack. Instead, they stopped a few meters away and gave a slight bow to the girl in greeting.
As the woman had said, among the thousands in the City-State, there were a few dozen who supported her—now, they were all here, having come through the same Great Gate together.
Was it just coincidence, or…
Shen thought of the Guide Ropes that had actively picked people, and also remembered the people gathered during previous Daystone eruptions, feeling thoughtful.
Back at the institute, Liu Quan had led Xiao Hua through the gate to meet her parents, and now she herself appeared in a totally unfamiliar place.
“Look!”
Suddenly, a crazed Mutant burst out from the Ruins, trying to attack Wang Li, but midway it was knocked down by the other Mutants, who beat it savagely with fists and feet—right back into another world.
Xu Chuyao summarized: “So right now… there are two groups?”
“Yeah, but those on my side are fewer.” Shen Shu looked toward the other buildings. “Leave this to me.”
The flames were already rising, and the swirling dust was fading in the wind. Countless Mutants emerged from the rubble, all heading toward a single target.
This was to be the girl’s battle alone.
Xu Chuyao, having read plenty, had some idea what was going on. “Alright, I’ll go tell the others and leave you some space.”
She ran out to intercept the Teachers and leaders rushing to help.
“You just go and rescue the people trapped below, don’t worry about the Mutants.”
The leaders from Freiden Academy recognized this honored guest, knowing her abilities exceeded even some of the Teachers. But what she said was beyond them.
“Don’t worry about them?”
“That’s right, just leave them!”
Very quickly, the situation proved Xu Chuyao correct. The number and appearance of Mutants was even greater and more intimidating than last time. But they weren’t rampaging through the Ruins killing indiscriminately. Instead, they all stepped out, gathering around the white-haired girl—some moving toward her, others staying farther away, keeping their distance.
Shen looked around and felt satisfied. There were more neutrals than she’d imagined.
As for the enemy army…
“Strike with heavy fists! Strike with heavy fists!” A voice of murderous intent called from within the girl’s shadow, “These are no longer ordinary civilians—you must strike with heavy fists!”
Indeed, they were no longer ordinary. After all, there were no humans among them to begin with.
“Look!”
As if in response, a horn seemed to sound—a rallying cry. Hundreds of Mutants charged at the girl all at once.
“There’s nothing more to say,” the shadow under her feet whispered. “Use Infinite Storm.”
No time would be more fitting than now.
At the sites of collapsed buildings, Teachers found the Mutants truly weren’t attacking them, so they rushed into the Ruins to rescue students trapped below.
“There are some here, and some over there!”
“Where are the others from your dorm, how come only you’re here?”
“They’re over there!”
“Any Teacher with earth element, please stabilize this collapsed wall—it’s trapping the students!”
“I’ll do it!”
Just like last time, it was fortunate that Spirit Power Users had strong bodies, and with the Teachers’ full efforts, except for a few unlucky ones who’d been crushed outright, most students survived. When they crawled out from under the ruins and saw daylight again, they looked up and saw a sight they’d never forget.
A wild gale howled, sweeping up countless terrifying Mutants. They spun, twisted, and were shredded in the wind, until they became nothing but fragments and dust, turning this storm into a field of death.
In the center of the storm stood a white-haired girl, her snow-white hair swirling in the wind like a symphony.