“Damn it, what the hell, seriously… You call this a Fire Seed?”
M-47… Bi Fang can do this kind of thing too?
Even Shi Tian’s face turned green, as green as Bi Fang’s feathers.
In that instant, it felt like we all understood what the trial of the Legendary Spirit was.
Bi Fang was basically flying straight toward us, and as it drew near, it lowered its altitude even more.
A dive-bomb posture.
A precise drop!
“Get down!” Someone shouted at the top of their lungs, just like in the movies.
“Get down my ass!” Shi Tian slapped the back of that student’s head and roared, “Shields up! All Immortal Spirits, activate Defensive Spells immediately! Don’t use water! For heaven’s sake, don’t use water! The more water you add, the fiercer this thing burns! All Water Element Spirits, put them away, now!”
Whether it was thrown off target or on purpose, that deadly thing didn’t land in the middle of the crowd.
Instead, it was thrown toward the back.
That gave us a chance to escape, but it also put it out of our interception range.
All we could do was run or defend.
“Whoosh~~—”
The sharp whistling of the falling bomb had already started, and in our hearts, we all sounded the air raid alarm.
“Run! Qilin, what are you waiting for?!”
Everyone was desperately running for the outer edge, but Qilin hesitated, staring at me with anxious eyes.
I looked behind it and understood.
Those wild beast followers Qilin had just gathered, those Immortal Spirits of the forest, were now innocently crowding around Qilin.
Qilin saw itself as the boss, so it felt responsible for protecting its followers.
“You really… Sigh, everyone get close! Follow me! Run with me, quickly!”
The Immortal Spirits were very obedient.
I quickly racked my brain for how to respond to this crisis—this was the closest I’d ever come to death, and I couldn’t afford to be careless.
“Daoist Immortal Art focuses on attack and exorcism. Defensive spells are more the Bald Monk’s specialty.”
“Damn, I haven’t really learned the Bald Monk’s techniques.”
“Wait! Earth-Shaping Art!”
A useful idea suddenly came to me.
“Cluru, lend me your spiritual energy.”
This spell consumed too much energy. If I relied on my own power alone, I’d probably be drained dry and die on the spot.
Cluru didn’t hesitate, grabbing my hand.
“Repeat after me.”
“Earth is vast and bears all things, virtue unites without bounds!”
This incantation was short.
But short didn’t mean weak.
Bang!
A small hand slapped the ground with all its might.
The girl’s body looked delicate and frail, as if she had no strength at all.
But the earth rumbled with a deafening roar.
Just at that moment, the Sticky Incendiary Bomb exploded.
The heat from the ring of fire broke into four digits, terrifying red light spreading through the mountains, instantly incinerating everything it touched to ash.
“Rise!”
The ground surged upward with a thunderous roar.
The Earth-Shaping Art had almost no offensive power, but it could alter the terrain.
With my palm as the tip, the ground sank in the middle while both sides rose up in a Λ-shape, forming a wall of rock and earth three meters high!
The wall stretched a hundred meters long, carving out a large safe zone at a sharp angle.
The flames crashed against it, tearing open a gap. We managed to hide in that opening.
But this was only temporary safety.
Who knew if that damned bird had a second bomb?
“Run! Get into the city, now!”
I barely managed to say that before I completely lost all strength.
Qilin carried me and Cluru and started galloping madly.
Even Small Octopus was so scared it shrank, flattening itself on top of Cluru’s head and turning into a blue hat.
“So this is the power of a Legendary Spirit?” Everyone was shaken to the core. “It’s way too strong…”
.
Fortunately, this sudden roasting ordeal didn’t last long.
It came fast and went just as fast.
[You have successfully gained Bi Fang’s favor. Affinity established.]
[You have received the Blessing of Bi Fang— (Immortal Spirit / Spirit Attachment state): All fire damage you receive is permanently halved.]
This was Bai Ze’s prompt window.
Both Cluru and I received it.
Two red feathers floated down from the sky, landing on Qilin and Small Octopus.
“That bastard… What kind of trial is this?!” Shi Tian cursed loudly. “How many Immortal Spirits has he burned to death?! Even for a Legendary Spirit, this is way too much!”
“We were training nearby at the time, so we probably attracted most of the Immortal Spirits here.” Xinyue tried to comfort herself. “Everyone… should be fine, right?”
“It’s fine, look.”
The Transmission Light flickered continuously among the trees.
“Someone must have saved the Immortal Spirits in the bombing zone…”
We stood on high ground, looking back at the forest.
The entire forest had become a massive, circular sea of fire. Even the sharp-angled defensive spot where we’d just been was now set ablaze by the spreading wildfire.
The Transmission Light kept flashing at the edge of the fire ring.
“Such a large-scale group teleportation, it can’t be the work of an ordinary Immortal Spirit… Could there be a second Legendary Spirit hiding in Qinshan?”
“For sure, maybe even more than two.”
After all, Qinshan had a long history, right next to the Thirteen Dynasties Ancient Capital, the source of many legends in history.
“Candle Nine or Di Jiang, Candle Nine Yin controls time, Di Jiang controls space. Both have this kind of power… Or maybe it’s an unknown New Divine Beast.”
“In any case, we must treat these mountains with reverence, or else we’ll end up like that thing—”
The dumb bird in the sky was still gloating over its masterpiece, cackling “Jie jie.”
Suddenly, a huge rock smashed into its face, sending it plummeting to the ground.
The whole mountain range echoed with its miserable screams.
“That guy has really angered everyone. It’ll probably end up as roast chicken by tomorrow.”
“……”
Cluru and I quietly closed the prompt window before us.
Get rich in silence.
Bi Fang was willing to take a beating just to help us form a bond.
Seriously, I could cry.
……
“City! Wow, the city! We finally made it!”
After a whole month of tough training in the deep mountains, the students had blisters all over their feet, twisted their ankles half a dozen times, had two or three ticks clinging to them, and the rest were all covered in swollen mosquito bites.
Every day they ate wild vegetables and dry rations from the mountains, had diarrhea at every meal, and their skin was tanned eight shades darker.
Never had they missed the conveniences of Modern Civilization so much.
Only Cluru, Xinyue, and I had escaped unscathed.
After all, we had storage space, and before setting out, we’d prepared everything thoroughly.
Besides, as cultivators, we had spiritual energy protecting our bodies, so mosquitoes couldn’t get close and our skin never tanned.
“Are you really human?” The other students were green with envy at Cluru’s and my fair, tender skin.
They looked like they’d just come out of a coal mine, while we were the mine owners.
Now, just one last stretch of road remained.
We walked along the southern outskirts of Chang’an City, heading toward the city center.
“Excuse me, are you travelers from Kangcheng No. 2 High School?”
Just as we stepped onto the highway, we were stopped at a checkpoint surrounded by several cars.
They really were here for Kangcheng No. 2 High School.
“That’s us. What’s going on?” Shi Tian stepped in front of the students and asked.
“Here’s the thing, we’re from the Mu Family Group. Someone important from the Mu Family wants to invite two people to be their guests.”
As soon as he finished, a group of burly men in suits and sunglasses surrounded us.
“What do you mean by this?” Shi Tian quickly summoned his spirit, his body covered in Immortal Spirit scales.
The journey was over— now, he was a teacher.
“Mr. Shi Tian, right? I suggest you don’t do anything rash.” The leader of the men in suits smiled. “There are a lot of students here, and you’re just one person.”
The implication was clear.
If the Mu Family wants someone dead, you can’t protect them.