In the darkened room, a low, hoarse voice slowly spoke, “Si’s direct disciple is about to go outside to break through. This is an opportunity…”
A middle-aged man replied, “I’ve already arranged everything. As soon as they reach the gathering place of the heretics, ‘Red Scorpion’ will take care of all of them.”
“Has Red Scorpion reached Fifth Grade?”
“Yes.”
“Make sure it’s flawless. Let them die at the hands of the heretics.”
“Rest assured, ancestor.”
“Leave some clues at the scene, such as traces of the Star Law Department.”
“The ancestor is very thoughtful. I understand.”
The plan was to kill two birds with one stone—eliminate the budding threat of the Nature faction while framing Shen Binghua.
If Si Kui truly believed that Shen Binghua had killed her disciple and had gone mad, slaughtering the entire Star Mage faction… then the last half-step Supreme of the Nature faction would be doomed!
Li Yang had not been idle these past two days.
She had no more substantial improvements to make to her own abilities.
Aside from her daily fixed training, she had spent a significant amount of time on the forums searching for “experience posts.”
The difficulty of off-campus missions was high.
Every year, numerous students lost their lives to bounty tasks, and as a result, many experience posts were published on the forums.
Although these posts required a fee, when compared to one’s life, the cost of 0.1 merit points was negligible.
The cruelty of cultists exceeded Li Yang’s expectations.
Many senior students had warned the freshmen:
“Never underestimate any cultist, even if they are only at the first grade, first stage.”
There had been a second-grade senior who underestimated a low-stage first-grade cultist, only to be blown into a vegetative state by a self-explosion attack.
Aside from reading the experience posts, Li Yang also made thorough preparations for the upcoming battle.
Firstly, regarding weapons, she spent 30 merit points to purchase a suitable Star Weapon, then used 30 years of life to upgrade it to the second-grade realm.
Secondly, regarding medicinal pills, she asked Si Kui if she could use recovery pills.
Si Kui replied, “At your current realm… aside from breakthrough pills, the rest are fine. At worst, they’ll accumulate some impurities, affecting your cultivation speed.”
Li Yang wasn’t afraid of slowing her cultivation speed.
For her, the rate of cultivation depended entirely on how many years of life she could accumulate.
Losing a year or two, or even ten or twenty years, was nothing to her.
But these recovery pills were extremely expensive.
For example, a first-grade healing pill was priced at 5 merit points, though most were sold at around 7 merit points.
Seven thousand yuan!
Considering that it could save her life, Li Yang bought five pills.
She also spent 50 years of life to upgrade them to second-grade.
After all this spending, the merit points Li Yang had swindled from her teacher had dwindled significantly.
Along with healing pills, there were all kinds of enhancement pills, such as those that improved speed, concentration, or temporary combat strength.
These pills were even more expensive, with a single one costing 10 merit points.
Looking at her meager 15 merit points, Li Yang forced herself to stop her impulsive buying.
Enhancement pills were all a scam!
I don’t need them!
She told herself, but still, she couldn’t resist purchasing a “Burst Speed Pill.”
Who could resist a pill that could double her physical strength from 400 to 800?
“Running fast equals living longer,” the tagline struck Li Yang so deeply that she ended up spending 10 more merit points.
I can’t buy anymore!
Li Yang forcefully closed the interface, forcing herself to leave the transaction area.
Soon, the appointed time arrived.
He Song issued the gathering order, and the five of them met at the east school gate.
Li Yang had changed into a light combat suit and carried a small, practical backpack.
He Song said, “I’ve prepared three first-grade healing pills. We’ll use them as needed.”
“Old He! You’re the best!” Wah La Ge immediately exclaimed, almost kissing him on the spot.
Zhan Fei added, “These pills are too expensive. Hopefully, we won’t need to use them.”
He Song replied, “It’s better to be prepared than to regret.”
Li Yang silently shook her small backpack, which contained five second-grade healing pills.
I hope we don’t need them!
The five set off together, and along the way, He Song carefully went over the mission plan.
Once everyone confirmed their understanding, he looked at Li Yang and said, “Survival is the most important thing.”
Li Yang nodded, “Don’t worry, senior.”
A shattered mirror can be pieced together a thousand times, but a life can only be lived once.
The task must come first.
If worse comes to worst, she could accumulate experience and try again next time.
He Song drove them out of the school.
Li Yang glanced back at the direction of the Star Mage faction.
Although the Agricultural faction had won a great victory in the Tree Tower incident, Li Yang had thoroughly offended Shen Binghua in the process.
Shen Binghua was a seventh-grade grandmaster; for him, killing her would be as easy as squashing an ant.
If Shen Binghua truly wanted to kill her, leaving the school would be the best opportunity.
Thus, Li Yang had made sure to clear things up in advance, ensuring that Shen Binghua wouldn’t entertain any dangerous thoughts.
After all, the persona of the Sunflower Lady was well-established.
Shen Binghua genuinely believed she could destroy the Star Mage faction.
Li Yang refocused her thoughts, shifting to the upcoming cultist eradication mission.
He Song met up with the city defense army, exchanged some information, and confirmed there were no surprises before preparing to proceed with the plan.
Wah La Ge was in charge of contacting the city defense army’s mental system Star Users.
Once the operation began, they would sneak into the cultist meeting amidst the chaos.
The four had already set up their ambush positions, and He Song told Li Yang, “Stay behind us. Don’t deactivate your Hidden Shadow unless instructed.”
Li Yang nodded, “I understand.”
The four of them didn’t have the same stealth techniques as Hidden Shadow, but they had their own ways of blending in.
With the interference of the city defense forces, they could easily infiltrate.
The cultists’ meeting place was an abandoned factory.
From the outside, it looked desolate and lonely, the once bustling factory forgotten in the city’s corner, now silent and abandoned.
As night fell, faint shadows moved within the factory.
Li Yang swallowed nervously.
This was her first mission, and also her first real battle.
The previous invader had been nothing, his abilities too weak to withstand a single blow.
But this time, the cult leader was at the third-grade realm, with several second-grade assistants, not to mention more than ten first-grade members… while Li Yang herself was still at the peak of the first-grade realm.
Wah La Ge’s voice echoed in their mental sea:
“Action!”
The moment the command was given, loud noises came from the factory, signaling that the city defense forces had begun their assault.
He Song gestured, and the four of them swiftly moved toward the factory.
Thanks to Hidden Shadow, Li Yang was the best hidden, but the other four were also not far behind.
If one didn’t pay attention, they’d easily miss them.
Once inside the factory, the smell of blood hit them immediately.
Li Yang nearly gagged, her stomach churning. She focused her eyes and saw a gruesome sight.
There was a blood-soaked altar, surrounded by six pillars.
Each pillar had a young, naked boy tied to it, their faces no older than seventeen or eighteen.
Their chests had been slashed open, and blood poured out, staining the altar and forming sticky pools of blood.
Zhan Fei cursed angrily, “These beasts!”
He Song had already charged forward, drawing his long sword, aiming directly at the cult leader in a robe standing behind the altar.
Zhan Fei and the others quickly followed, blocking the second-grade assistants to prevent them from interfering with He Song’s battle.
The scene before Li Yang’s eyes was a brutal shock.
These boys were students, and she could see their Star Apertures—each one had opened at least two.
But now, those Star Apertures had been forcibly dug out, leaving behind only empty black holes.
Star Apertures could be dug out!
The cult leader, who had been at mid-tier third-grade, now had twelve extra Star Apertures inside him, raising his cultivation to the high-tier of the third-grade!
Li Yang couldn’t link to He Song’s mental sea, but she could tell from the information that He Song was only a third-grade third stage, not a high-tier third-grade.
“This is dangerous…” Li Yang thought desperately.
She wasn’t strong enough to fight a third-grade high-tier cult leader.
BOOM!
He Song’s sword was blocked.
The cult leader’s expression darkened with rage, and he snarled, “Seeking death!”
He grabbed He Song’s shoulder, tearing off a chunk of flesh.
He Song’s face turned pale as he quickly retreated and took a healing pill.
But the cult leader didn’t give him any time to recover and swung his steel-like claws again.
Li Yang gritted her teeth, consumed a burst speed pill, and dashed to He Song’s side.
He Song’s pupils contracted as he yelled, “No! You can’t stop him!” He had already sensed the cult leader’s rapid rise in power.
Even with his third-grade status, a high-tier third-grade cultivator could easily kill multiple low-tier third-grade opponents.
He Song couldn’t hold his ground, and Li Yang, at the peak of the first-grade realm, didn’t stand a chance!
Boom!
The second-grade Wood Shield activated, doubling its defense effect.
Although it didn’t fully block the cult leader’s attack, it neutralized most of the damage.
The shockwave hit Li Yang, but her third-grade “Face-Saving Tree” technique absorbed the remaining impact.
At least He Song’s life was saved.
Li Yang gritted her teeth, “Senior, attack!”
The healing pill worked wonders.
Though it didn’t fully heal He Song, it gave him enough strength to wield his sword again.
He quickly circled around Li Yang and aimed for the cult leader’s heart, unleashing his Star Technique— Crack the Sky.
Swish, swish, swish—sword strikes cut through the air.
The long sword plunged into the cult leader’s heart.
Li Yang activated Hidden Shadow again, concealing herself as she retreated.
She kept an eye on the situation of her teammates.
The second-grade assistants hadn’t advanced, so Zhan Fei and the others could barely hold their own.
But they couldn’t fight for long.
This was the cult’s territory, and reinforcements might arrive at any moment.
What Li Yang didn’t know was that hidden in the shadows, a pair of blood-red eyes were fixated on her.