Ouli wasn’t considered far. In fact, it wasn’t far at all. There was no need for any form of transportation; a short walk would get you there.
Xu Chuyao took out her mobile phone and glanced at it. A new message had arrived from an unknown number: [111010].
It was a secret signal.
Two kilometers away, at the foot of a mountain, several people were crouching in place.
The choice of location was meticulous. Its greatest advantage was its proximity to Bieban. That man, Zhou Tian, wouldn’t even need to drive; he could simply walk over. The old man’s constitution was quite robust, and he didn’t even need orthopedic shoes.
Why were they so composed? Because panicking wouldn’t help.
“It should be fine,” a voice whispered in the darkness. “If Zhou Tian decides to go down fighting, we won’t be a match for him.”
It wasn’t just the four people present; even if all ten or more members of the Third Rank were there, it wouldn’t matter. To become a Councilor, one needed more than just status and seniority; one had to possess the strength of the Four Defenses.
Slyris let out a silent, cold sneer. ‘Now they’re worried? Where was this concern earlier?’ When he had tried to discuss this with everyone yesterday, why hadn’t a single person responded?
“Stop talking nonsense. Back then, Monrose was even stronger than Zhou Tian — at the Peak of the Fourth Rank — yet did he lift a finger against anyone?” the bald assassin said in a low voice. “The higher-ups won’t send us on a suicide mission. There’s no point in it.”
Slyris scoffed. They were still deluding themselves even now. Once Miss Xu arrived with her people, they would understand. But then again, when he had sent the Little King Gang to the island, had someone been deluding themselves just like this?
“That’s right.”
“We have information on Zhou Tian. He wouldn’t dare risk everything.”
The others seemed to find this reasoning sound.
Suddenly, the person keeping watch on the perimeter gasped. “Someone’s coming!”
Except for Slyris, the other three instantly went on high alert. Two of them dropped into combat stances, while the other clutched a file folder. It was said to contain old secrets intended to be used as leverage against Zhou Tian. Of course, it was only a copy.
*Tap. Tap. Tap.*
Light, rhythmic footsteps approached slowly. The silhouette of a beautiful, curvaceous girl appeared before everyone. The clear moonlight draped over her delicate frame, making her look as beautiful as the legendary Goddess of Maoyue.
“Xu Chuyao!” The bald man was shocked beyond measure. “How is it you?”
“It’s me,” Xu Chuyao said, giving a small wave. “What, am I not allowed to be here?”
It was time!
A sharp glint flashed in Slyris’s eyes. With a low shout, he lunged forward. The others were startled and were about to warn him not to be impulsive, only to find him dropping to one knee right in front of the beautiful girl.
“Miss Xu, you’ve arrived right on time! These stubborn outlaws were just plotting something wicked. I have long since grown weary of associating with them!”
“Slyris!” the bald man roared as he realized what was happening. “You traitor!”
“I am simply following my sense of justice. Besides, a wise man submits to fate. Opposing Miss Xu was the greatest mistake the Little King Gang and the Supreme Society ever made!”
After finishing his declaration, he looked at Xu Chuyao with a fawning expression and whispered, “Miss Xu, your timing is perfect. It’s just them… where are the others?”
Xu Chuyao looked down at him and asked casually, “What others?”
“Um, the powerful Ms. Yu, and the powerful and beautiful Miss Shen…”
‘Where are the two Fourth Rank fighters under your command?’
Slyris looked around, trying to find them.
“Stop looking. I came alone.”
“…”
Before Slyris could say anything, another man spoke up. “You dared to come alone? Xu Chuyao, you are far too arrogant. Today, you will pay the price!”
Chuyao didn’t recognize them, but they certainly recognized her. Over the past year, every operation involving this beautiful girl had ended in failure. From low-level members of small gangs to high-ranking officials of the Supreme Society, countless people had fallen by her hand.
However, her personal strength was not considered exceptionally high.
Seeing that she was alone, the three men discarded their previous tension and slowly surrounded her.
“Let me ask you a question.” Chuyao’s voice was pleasant to the ear. “Are there any Fourth Rank users among you?”
Before anyone else could answer, the bald man shouted, “The three of us in the Third Rank are enough to deal with you! And that traitor, too!”
Since there was a traitor anyway, the intelligence couldn’t be hidden. He might as well say it out loud to boost their morale.
Then, he saw Xu Chuyao’s bright, charming smile.
“No Fourth Rank? If you aren’t Fourth Rank, then why are you acting so arrogant!”
*Crackle!*
Pale blue currents surged from her body, instantly becoming a streak of light in the darkness.
The bald man, who was about to attack, felt his heart skip a beat. He hurriedly retreated several steps just as a bolt of lightning crashed into his previous position with a loud *boom*. Rocks shattered, and the smell of ozone filled the air.
“Hmph.” Xu Chuyao tilted her head slightly. “Then let’s try a new move.”
She made a few gestures in the air. The lightning on her body surged toward her wrist, and its color began to change visibly. It shifted from a blinding blue-white to a translucent deep purple. Finally, it was compressed into a few inches of light. The purple shell suddenly peeled away, revealing a mysterious, brilliant gold inside.
A golden spear appeared in her hand.
“Holy cow! Miss Xu!” Slyris was so excited he couldn’t help but shout. “This is simply a god descending to earth!”
The dangerous aura within the spear made every Third Rank cultivator present tremble. It was an aura belonging to the Four Defenses.
Xu Chuyao’s eyes were also dyed gold. She didn’t even look at Slyris, who was cowering to the side. She simply parted her lips and spoke four words.
“Do not move recklessly.”
Then, with a flick of her small hand —
**[Xu Chuyao has obtained Golden Assistance; Boundary Break Fourth Rank (Lightning Element).]**
**[Obtained Fourth Rank Lightning Elemental Trait: Divine Punishment.]**
**[Description: In many myths and legends, lightning is the tool used by the King of Gods to judge both gods and mortals. It possesses infinite power.]**
**[Effect: Deals massive damage and causes immediate death to anyone with a Spirit Power level lower than your own.]**
**[Flavor Text: The wrath of a god!]**
**[Xu Chuyao has obtained Golden Skill: Gungnir.]**
**[Description: The legendary weapon of the King of Gods, possessing the power to pierce through fate.]**
**[Effect: Guaranteed to hit the target.]**
**[Flavor Text: You have nowhere to run.]**
This was the result of two consecutive “golden pulls” Xu Chuyao had made some time ago. She had kept them hidden for a while, and today, they finally had a use.
—
The distance wasn’t great, and the spear’s speed was incredibly fast. It pierced the bald man’s body almost instantly. Golden lightning swallowed him whole. After only a few seconds, there was no trace of the man who had been standing there. Only a patch of scorched earth remained.
*Gulp.*
The remaining two men swallowed hard and glanced at each other. Without needing any further communication, they turned and fled in two different directions.
Run!
All elemental types had some ability to increase speed. Neither of them was slow. One stepped onto shifting sands and sped away, while the other grew several vines on his body, moving like a giant cicada as he “crawled” rapidly down the path.
A few seconds later, a spear pierced the back of the “big cicada.”
*Ugh!*
That muffled cry was the last sound he left to the world.
The man riding the shifting sands was moving fast. Hearing the scream behind him, he felt a chill. He remembered a fable from the Spirit Age that said if you encountered a black bear while hiking in the mountains, you didn’t need to outrun the bear; you only needed to outrun your companion.
In the next second, a golden spear crossed the distance of several hundred meters and pierced through the man who was still smiling.
*Sizzle.*
The cold night wind blew the dust away. The area at the foot of the mountain returned to silence.
“It’s settled. I told you it wouldn’t take much time.” Xu Chuyao relaxed her stance and motioned toward the man sprawled on the ground. “What are you staring at? Let’s go.”
Slyris hurriedly scrambled to his feet, a look of disbelief hiding in his fawning gaze.
“Miss Xu, my admiration for you is like a river, endless and overflowing. You are too incredible. You actually reached the Fourth Rank without a sound. When did you…?”
“Don’t ask.”
“Understood, understood.”
Naturally, she couldn’t take him back to the Bieban on the mountain. Xu Chuyao told him to wait outside and that they would fly back to Center City together tomorrow. She wasn’t worried about him running away. The Supreme Society had no place for him anymore; only a fool would run.
When she returned to the mountain, Zhou Tian was indeed still there. He hadn’t even let his servants leave; they were all waiting for news. Upon hearing from Xu Chuyao that everything was handled, he waved for the others to go and rest.
His intention was to prevent others from hearing any confidential matters between him and the girl, but it truly felt as though he were clearing the room.
After the servants left, Zhou Tian gestured for the girl to sit down. Chuyao wasn’t polite; she picked up the pastries on the table and began eating them as a midnight snack.
After devouring two osmanthus cakes, she heard the Councilor speak. “Miss Xu, regarding Marshal Wen sending you to handle this… did he explicitly say he wanted to deal with them?”
Xu Chuyao tilted her head and glanced at him. ‘Goodness, he was calling him “that great man” earlier today, but now he’s using his title directly. He seems distracted.’
His face looked haggard. Even though the matter had been resolved, there was no joy on Zhou Tian’s face. The wrinkles between his brows wouldn’t smooth out, as if there was something even more troubling on his mind.
But what did that have to do with Chuyao? So, she told the truth. “Yes. Why else would I be here?”
“Then, according to Marshal Wen’s intentions, how does he plan to deal with the Supreme Society?”
As he spoke, Zhou Tian became visibly more tense. He leaned forward slightly, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Xu Chuyao blinked her clear eyes and gave a high-quality answer.
“I don’t know.”
Zhou Tian almost choked and fell off the sofa.
But then he realized it made sense. How could Miss Xu know what Marshal Wen was thinking? He had heard she was still living her campus life at school and had been pulled away suddenly.
After coming to terms with it, Zhou Tian suppressed his emotions and invited Xu Chuyao to rest, promising to arrange a private jet for her the next day.
—
The rooms Morris lived in were always built with low ceilings because it made him feel less short.
The house was so low that when others entered, they had to lower their heads and hunch their shoulders.
“Leader, the people we sent were wiped out,” a man said, half-kneeling. “No information was transmitted, and we couldn’t even find the bodies.”
In front of Morris, he didn’t use many words, and there wasn’t even a hint of lecturing.
“Very good. That counts as a success.” Morris began to laugh.
A woman nearby asked in confusion, “Leader, why do you say that counts as a success?”
The man stole a glance at her and showed a helpless expression. This woman could speak like that because she received special treatment. He didn’t know if it was because she was a woman or because she was also quite short, but she was often indulged.
“Because if they are dead, Zhou Tian will be even more afraid. And he will tell the others about that fear.” Morris quietly rubbed the wound on his left arm. He understood. “In Marshal Wen’s eyes, you and I are no different.”
They were all just helping with the dirty work; the only difference was between the worker and the foreman.
—
Since she had sent a message in advance, as soon as the flight landed, Yu Jing arrived with two other teachers. They took Slyris, cuffed him, and escorted him to the Academy.
Rather than resisting, Slyris was actually quite happy. He said the Academy was great; he was more than willing to be locked up at Shengling Academy. He’d be fine with just eating the leftovers from the cafeteria as long as he could stay. He promised to cooperate fully.
If one thought about it, Shengling Academy always had four Fourth Rank users present. For him, it was indeed a very safe place.
“No need to interrogate him. I’ve already asked everything he knows. Just keep him locked up; he’ll be useful later.”
Xu Chuyao gave a few instructions to Yu Jing, then returned to her dorm. she turned on the air conditioner to clear the heat, went to the art display room, and touched the Soulstone, summoning the girl back.
Shen Ning returned from the Crystal Stone World. After adjusting slightly to the sunlight of the mortal world, she looked at her partner and asked curiously, “Did you just go out for a bit?”
“How did you know?” Xu Chuyao tugged at her clothes. “How can you tell?”
There wasn’t any dust on her.
“Because if you don’t go out, you don’t wear proper clothes. When you stay at home, you only wear loose pajamas.”
“Hmph, that’s called homebody-exclusive attire.”
Xu Chuyao sat down and patted the spot beside her. She casually mentioned that she had gone out for a quick trip to finish a mission. She had killed a few people from the Supreme Society and captured one, though he wasn’t particularly important.
Shen Ning gave a soft hum. She was about to ask if Chuyao was okay, but then she realized the girl was sitting right there, perfectly fine.
The girl sat down and pulled a flower from her pocket, handing it over. “This is for you.”
Xu Chuyao’s eyes widened slightly. “A tulip? These aren’t native to Asia, are they? Where did you get it?”
After the era of chaos began, the world obviously didn’t have time for things like importing plants. Most things were only found in their places of origin.
“I accompanied some people to visit their families; they grew them in their yard,” Shen Ning said. “I thought it was beautiful, so I picked one for you.”
During these days, she had been accompanying her subjects back to the mortal world to visit, leaving footprints all over the world.