Above the Hexagon Building, a pale green light still lingered in the night sky, refusing to dissipate for a long time.
Fang Qing hovered in mid-air, looking down at the devastated city of Hangzhou beneath him.
The streets were littered with the corpses of Shadow Abyss Wolves shredded by wind blades. City Defense Army soldiers were scattered about, mopping up the last few low-level monsters that had managed to slip through the cracks.
The flames of war that had raged for half the night finally began to subside, and the distant fires gradually dimmed.
Then, Fang Qing slowly raised his right hand, spreading his fingers.
Without any visible gathering of power or a single word of an incantation.
Countless pale green wind blades instantly manifested above every street in Hangzhou, densely packed and covering the entire city.
The wind blades were pinpoint accurate, homing straight into the bodies of the fleeing monsters!
Whether they were Tier 3 or Tier 4 monsters, or those hiding in the crevices of ruins or crawling through sewers trying to escape back to the wilderness, all were forced out by the wind blades and instantly executed!
The sound of wind blades slicing through flesh was continuous, echoing throughout the night sky of Hangzhou.
Soon, in just a few breaths, the monsters throughout the city were completely wiped out. Not a single living one remained.
With the clearing finished, Fang Qing slowly withdrew his hand. The sky full of wind blades gradually vanished, leaving only a faint trace of wind energy.
He drifted down from the air and landed steadily on a relatively intact stone slab amidst the ruins.
Seeing this, Meng Hao immediately led all the City Defense Army soldiers to stand at attention. They clenched their right fists against their left chests in a standard military salute.
Fang Qing simply nodded slightly. His gaze passed straight through the crowd and landed on Lin Yuan, who stood in their midst.
The young man carried the Purple Lightning spear on his shoulder. He was covered in blood, yet the aura surrounding him far exceeded that of his peers.
“Are you the one who killed these Shadow Abyss Wolves? Your name is Lin Yuan, right?”
Fang Qing asked in a flat tone.
Lin Yuan slowly lowered Purple Lightning from his shoulder, planting the butt of the spear firmly into the ground. He spoke respectfully, “Hello, Instructor Fang.”
Fang Qing didn't care for formalities. He waved his hand toward Lin Yuan.
His gaze then fell upon the corpses of the Imperial Prince and the three Shadow Abyss Royals on the ground, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
A Tier 2, Level 1 realm cultivator had leaped ranks to kill Tier 2, Level 5 Royals and a Tier 2, Level 6 Imperial Prince!
Lin Yuan’s ability rank was even listed as an F-rank lightning ability. If Qin Ruolan hadn't mentioned a boy named Lin Yuan from Donghai City to him once...
At the time, he hadn't paid it much mind, thinking this Lin Yuan had just been lucky.
But now... throughout his many years of teaching, he had seen countless top-tier geniuses. He considered himself a genius as well.
Yet even among the top S-rank freshmen at Kyoto Academy, not one could achieve what Lin Yuan had!
Even when he was eighteen and the same age as Lin Yuan, he couldn't have managed this record.
Despite his vast experience, he couldn't help but fall silent for a moment.
“Three Tier 2, Level 5 Shadow Abyss Royals and one Tier 2, Level 6 Shadow Abyss Imperial Prince... Among this year’s S-rank freshmen at Kyoto Academy, no one can compare to you.”
Hearing this, Lin Yuan merely gave a faint smile and spoke casually, “We're all the same age; I didn't really intend to hit them with a dimensional strike!”
As soon as those words left his mouth, the entire area fell into a dead silence for three seconds!
Meng Hao couldn't help but let out a dry cough, hurriedly turning his head away.
The City Defense Army soldiers all lowered their heads to stare at their weapons, their shoulders shaking as they suppressed their reactions.
Seeing everyone’s speechless expressions, Lin Yuan realized he had laid the arrogance on a bit too thick.
He quickly cleared his throat to hide the embarrassment, his face instantly becoming dead serious and his tone sincere.
“It was just luck. Their combat experience was too poor. The Imperial Prince was coddled in the Magic Cave since childhood and had never experienced a real life-and-death struggle. I just took advantage of my superior combat experience; it was nothing special.”
As he finished, Meng Hao shot him a sideways glance, looking utterly exasperated.
Who would believe that?
Fang Qing was used to arrogant geniuses—he’d seen even wilder ones. He asked directly, “Have you already been admitted to a top academy?”
“Yes, Magic City Academy. Instructor Shen Man recruited me.”
Fang Qing’s brow furrowed slightly as realization dawned on him.
Shen Man from Magic City Academy truly had a sharp eye for talent.
Since things were already settled, he didn't say much more or express regret. His tone remained flat. “No matter. We will have a chance to meet at the academy exchange competition in the future.”
Then his tone shifted, and his gaze locked onto Lin Yuan’s chest pocket.
There, a corner of the dark red crystal was visible, radiating an ancient and mysterious aura.
“That crystal... would you be willing to hand it over to Kyoto Academy?”
Lin Yuan’s heart sank instantly.
This was an opportunity he had risked his life for. Why should he just hand it over to someone else?
Kyoto Academy had nothing to do with him; he would never give it up!
However, the person before him was a Tier 7 S-rank powerhouse who had just saved all of Hangzhou. A direct refusal would be too inappropriate.
Lin Yuan’s mind raced as he tried to think of a proper reason to politely refuse and keep the crystal.
Just then, a sudden surge of heat erupted from his chest—it was the dark red crystal!
In the next second, a red light pierced through his jacket, clothes, and skin. Without any resistance, it dove straight into the center of his chest!
There was no wound, no blood—not a single trace was left behind.
The hair on Lin Yuan’s body stood on end as he felt a shock.
An incredibly scorching energy exploded in his chest cavity!
It felt as if a miniature sun had been buried between his heart and breastbone, burning with intense heat.
The scalding energy followed the golden bone patterns of his Ten Rounds as One, madly sweeping through his entire body and flowing into every limb.
Every time it passed a joint, the golden bone patterns across his body flared with a dazzling, brilliant light.
Lin Yuan subconsciously activated his space-time power, trying to wrap around this violent energy, but he couldn't stop it at all!
The energy was too pure and powerful; it easily broke free from the constraints of his space-time power.
Lin Yuan looked up at Fang Qing with a helpless expression, his voice sincere. “Instructor Fang, it’s not that I won't hand it over, but... even if I wanted to now, I can't.”
Fang Qing’s brow furrowed. He could clearly sense that the red crystal had actually fused into Lin Yuan’s body.
He had never seen such a phenomenon before.
Lin Yuan had no time to explain further.
He immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, placing Purple Lightning across his knees. He closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness entirely into his body.
He had to stabilize this violent energy!
If he let it run wild, his meridians and source energy core would surely be completely destroyed!
Immediately, his space-time power and the golden light of his nine rounds of bone tempering operated at full capacity, converging at his chest to desperately restrain and guide the scorching force.
...
Silence fell over the ruins.
Fang Qing stood to the side, making no move to disturb him. With a wave of his hand, a pale green wind barrier instantly enveloped Lin Yuan, isolating him from all external interference.
Then, he turned to Meng Hao and ordered in a flat voice, “The City Defense Army will be fully responsible for the subsequent cleanup and search and rescue of citizens. I will stand guard here.”
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