For most people in this world, death is something that only comes once.
There are a handful, like Ye who got killed by a crystal stone, who get to experience it twice, but they’re rare.
In short, for someone young and not lacking in strength, the scent of death closing in is excruciatingly bitter.
He remembered half an hour ago, when he’d tried to beg the Team Captain to drive these intellectual types away, thinking they’d just be a nuisance.
But in this short span, he too ended up on the ground, lying side by side with his companions from Zhou Nation, waiting for the end with those very same “nuisances”.
The needles pierced through his shoulders, the poison eating away half his body, and the foreign things he’d inhaled lodged in his throat and lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe.
If not for the second-rank Ling Power barely sustaining him, this body would have long since died.
On the verge of life and death, he remembered again what the Team Captain had said earlier, words laced with meaning—why didn’t they drive the others out earlier?
Because once the fight started, you’d need someone else to share the fire.
In this matter, he realized there was no difference between them and the so-called “intellectual types”.
He shut his eyes in despair, but not long after, he opened them again.
Because he distinctly felt a wind blowing past—a warm, gentle wind.
The blackness clinging to his throat and lungs was blown away, the poisoned needles pricking his shoulders itched out of his flesh, and his wounds cooled under the wind, as if new flesh was already growing back.
He hurriedly propped himself up, and saw that his companions from Zhou Nation were reacting the same way.
They didn’t really know what had just happened, only that everything suddenly felt different.
[Congratulations, Host has completed the second Moonlight Ritual, Intelligence Level has reached Rank Four.]
[Wind Transmission acquired: Resurgence.
Description: When True Wind sweeps the earth, all things awaken.]
[Change in Perception Room detected: When in effect, will not randomly trigger the Resurgence trait, but will only automatically trigger as yet undiscovered traits.]
This was the last thing Shen Ning saw in the crystal stone world—a new notification from the System Panel—before her girlfriend called her back.
“Dammit! Shen Ning! What did you do?!”
On the Battle Platform of Haiteng Ancient One, Wang Li raged with fury, the staff she wielded pounding the ground in place, making her look as heavy as a furious fly.
“Why do you care what happens to them? Huh? Can’t you mind your own business? Why bother saving these worms who should’ve died?”
Shen Ning, having just finished casting a skill on the beach, tilted her head and asked her girlfriend, “Why is she so angry?”
“I have no idea.” Xu Chuyao folded her arms. “Maybe she’s just upset she lost her composure.”
Now wasn’t the time to care about her girlfriend’s mood swings.
With the appearance of a new Rank Four on Yan Yang’s Battle Platform, the balance had shifted, and Yao Liang felt more confident; she didn’t mind a few extra words, and even explained to Shen Ke on the side:
“That woman talked a lot about the law of survival of the fittest, claiming to be the Master of Fate. If she wanted those people dead, then they just had to die. But the moment you showed up, everyone survived—how could she not be angry?”
They were all fuming.
The young girl flicked her head, “Not everyone made it… I mean, not all of them came back to life.”
Over the sea where the monsoon wind blew, the power of Resurgence fell upon everyone.
Countless wounded and even gravely injured people who’d been on the verge of death came back to life, kneeling or half-lying on the ground in gratitude.
But some had died too early; their souls had already departed—naturally, they couldn’t be brought back.
“That’s enough already. Look at what you did, bringing people back from the dead like it’s nothing—how do you think that makes the rest of us feel?” Xu Chuyao made a ghostly face at Wang Li, “You don’t even know, for those who spent their last days thinking it was all over, what a serious psychological scar this is.”
Yu Yan quietly walked over, standing beside the two girls.
She was very surprised at Xu Jie’s sudden transformation, but now wasn’t the time for questions.
There was still an enemy ahead.
“You’re all disgraceful! No appreciation for art, no understanding of culture or nature, no reverence for the world…”
Wang Li cursed for half a minute, then suddenly turned and ran.
Her seemingly bulky body flew over the ice like the wind.
Not only Xu Chuyao and the others, but even her three subordinates were left behind in shock.
“You three! I’ll take care of this myself!”
Xu Chuyao immediately gave her orders.
As soon as her words landed, two people on her side dashed off with a crackle, moving so fast that they were nearly invisible.
“Rank Four really is fast, Rank Four… it’s so nice… So, what about you all?”
The three who’d stayed standing among the Zhou Nation’s group held blue electric sparks in their hands, crackling.
They’d had the numbers before, and now… they still had the numbers, but the situation was completely different.
With the pressure from both favorable and adverse winds, a person’s strength changes; not to mention…
“Attack! Before the two Rank Fours come back, let’s finish her off!”
The slightly shorter one on the edge gave the order, and the two burly teammates answered and charged at Xu Chuyao.
But halfway there, they realized something was wrong.
A quick glance back revealed the one who’d spoken was already sprinting in the opposite direction.
Among the three, he was always the sneaky one, perfectly copying his leader’s tactics—distract with loud shouts, then slip away when no one expected it.
He didn’t just trick the enemy, but his teammates too, making them buy time for his own escape.
“Shameless!”
Xu Chuyao didn’t care who they were; all three had to be taken down.
She went for the closest one with lightning speed—whoever’s near gets hit first!
No mercy!
The first big guy attacked was Earth Attribute, sturdy as a stone when the wind was with him, but once that support was gone, he was just a lump of weight.
Lightning crackled across his body, but this time, he couldn’t retaliate.
“Help me… What are you waiting for?” he yelled at his companion. “Come help!”
The other guy hesitated for a moment, then turned and bolted too—heading in the complete opposite direction as the first.
In theory, if all three worked together, they could defeat Xu Chuyao.
It wouldn’t even be that hard.
But with the two Rank Four leaders gone, they’d probably come back to deal with them, like squashing a few bugs on the way.
What was the point of dying here?
When fighting loses its meaning, it’s best to run.
Wang Li thought the same, but she couldn’t get away—for a very real reason.
There was simply nowhere to go.
Ahead was the ocean, monsters in the water, and behind her, two of her supposed allies blocking her way.
Now, for the first time, she truly understood what it meant to have “nowhere left to run”.
“You can’t do this, I’m a high-ranking member of the Supreme Society, do you understand? My position is important!” She struggled to slap away Yu Yan’s Fire Spirit, “I know a lot of things, you can’t kill me!”
The tide of battle had turned, and it was now almost completely one-sided.
The newly joined Rank Four, Shen Ning, might’ve only grasped one trait, but that was enough.
Under the wind of Resurgence, Yu Yan’s Fire Attribute burned even fiercer—wind fanning the flames, fire borrowing the wind’s power.
Wang Li, who had held the upper hand, could now only defend desperately, barely holding out.
Desperate, she could only fall back on her identity.
“I know so many secrets, so many, you absolutely can’t kill me!”
Yu Yan’s fire blazed up again, glancing at Shen Ning for a decision.
Running wasn’t possible, but what now—should they finish her, or wait for Xu Chuyao?
“I’m here, how’s the fight going?”
With a crackle of lightning, the thunder girl Xu Chuyao dashed over.
“I took down one, two got away pretty fast. I tried to chase, but they were too far. Anyway, the Mountain Vein Tunnel is sealed, they’ve got nowhere to run, so I came back to regroup.”
Xu Chuyao dispersed the electricity from her body, stopping her [Lightning Body] skill, and called out: “How come it’s taking you two so long? Haven’t you burned her up yet? Why is she still here?”
She spotted Wang Li, who looked thoroughly defeated.
“She says she knows a lot of intelligence, and her status is sensitive,” Yu Yan explained. “We didn’t know whether to let her live, so we waited for you.”
Shen Ning nodded, agreeing that the Head Teacher’s call was correct.
“That’s right, Xu Chuyao,” Wang Li quickly changed her tune, actively trying to speak up, “The information I have, you’ll be very interested in…”
“No, I’m not interested. Head Teacher, Shen Ning, finish her!”
Now, Xu Chuyao finally understood Mi Xiaolu’s usual feelings.
The other party wanted to talk—she just didn’t want to listen.
Yu Yan didn’t hesitate; fire flared again, and with Resurgence’s wind, the flames burned even hotter.
The ice crystals shielding the woman began to melt at a speed visible to the naked eye.
“Why?!” Wang Li cried out in disbelief. “You really have no reason not to accept my offer!”
“I do. Because everything you want to say—we already know. Isn’t it all about how your chief manipulated everything?” Xu Chuyao snorted, “And besides, what’s the point of you talking now? You think I want to hear it?”
If she could kill the opponent, she’d do it before the other’s mouth even opened.
“Do it!”
“Actually, I think your worldview is too extreme. If we really follow your logic, then you’re the same—you’ll eventually be controlled by someone stronger.”
The woman who’d just returned from the convenience store, having bought some sprays for her teammates, heard him say this.
Heh, the two women were stunned, their faces suddenly growing solemn.
“For example, me right now—I follow orders, hide my identity.”
He was truly resigned, even the words above felt staged.
“Me? I’m not like you.” The woman replied, not very convincingly. “I enjoy doing these things. I do it out of my own will.”
Hiding her name was true, and so was acting as she pleased.
She did whatever she wanted, toying with fate in the palm of her hand; the lives and deaths of others hinged on her whims.
How wonderful were those days—how could she possibly be the same as others?
The man just smiled and handed the spray back to her. “That’s just for now. Days like that always come to an end. When they do, you’ll find your fate was always in someone else’s hands… No one is truly different.”
“You, you… curse fate!”
The world spun, and in the blink of an eye, over a decade had passed.
When the hand of fate was finally revealed, Wang Li was already engulfed by blazing flames.
Her scream was the last sound she left in this world.
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