Chapter 64
Chapter 64
Inside the auditorium, Meng Mo had fully contained the Dreamcatcher and received divine investiture.
The world around him now seemed to have become a dream by his very presence.
The others remained stunned, unable to recover for a long time.
They might have been the most powerful figures in Jiangdong Province and the finest anomaly wielders of their generation, but even they had never witnessed a god’s ascension or a ceremony of divine investiture before.
What they had seen today surpassed their wildest imaginings.
An anomaly had become a god and received divine investiture without the support of the Divine Seal…
“Is Jiangdong Province about to be turned upside down?” Li Dao murmured, as if he had already glimpsed the storms that would soon sweep across the province.
Two SS-class wild deities had emerged. Who could possibly stop them? Power like this was enough to contend with the Old-Grave Clans!
“No wonder… No wonder…”
Zuo Yuanshan looked dazed. He finally understood why the S-class Zuo Yuanfeng had died without so much as a sound at Five Dragons Mountain.
Before these people, the Zuo family’s paltry strength was laughable!
“No… You’re all going to die! Every one of you! Abyss is almost here! Hahaha! Abyss is almost here!”
Sun Xingsheng had nearly lost his mind. His eyes were filled with bitter resentment.
As though responding to his summons, a cold presence suddenly seeped through the auditorium windows.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spine. They turned toward the windows and saw that pitch-black darkness had surrounded the auditorium at some point.
Countless anomalies seemed to be swimming through that darkness, producing a chorus of faint, uncanny noises.
There was an old woman’s weeping, the low growl of a sea monster, and wave upon wave of voices clamoring for lives…
“Is this… Abyss?!”
Shi Xuan’s face changed instantly. “Has the whole auditorium… fallen into Abyss?”
Li Buhai’s face twisted with fear.
“Anyone swallowed by Abyss falls into endless darkness, never to find a way out again…”
Cao Yi murmured, “They say an S-class anomaly wielder from one of the Old-Grave Clans once strayed into Sun-Swallowing Gorge and was swallowed. In the end, his clan had to bring something out of their old grave before Abyss would release him…”
“But the anomaly wielder went insane afterward. Does this mean we’ve all been swallowed by Abyss now?”
His heart went cold.
Even with the Burial Shroud in their possession, they were utterly powerless before Abyss.
Yin Rumei slowly tightened her grip on the thing in her hand, ready to fight.
On the stage, Meng Mo frowned. He looked both angry and helpless.
This was his ceremony of godhood, yet another anomaly had barged in and disrupted it. He was not pleased.
Unfortunately, his current power was indeed insufficient to shake the darkness outside.
Beside him, Qin Shiyu’s palms were slick with cold sweat after presenting him with his award. Fear flickered involuntarily through her beautiful eyes.
Her teacher, Xu Buzhou, had dealt with Abyss before. She knew perfectly well that everyone present had already been swallowed by Abyss. Their lives and deaths depended on a single thought from him.
Just as everyone reached the height of tension, a knock suddenly sounded from outside.
Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
Every hair in the auditorium stood on end.
They were surrounded by darkness and trapped inside Abyss’s anomaly domain. Whatever was knocking could not possibly be human.
An anomaly was definitely at the door!
Could it be Abyss himself?
“Director Shi…” Xu Changjiang said, instinctively looking toward Shi Xuan.
“Open it!” Shi Xuan took a deep breath and spoke in a grim voice. “If he wants to come in, do you think leaving the door shut will stop him?”
Leng Qingyan did not wait any longer. She walked over and pulled the door open.
Every gaze converged upon the doorway. In the dense darkness outside stood a bald old man.
He wore a black Zhongshan suit. Only a few wisps remained of his gray-white hair. His face was deathly pale and sullen, while his triangular eyes radiated an indescribable malevolence.
Leng Qingyan recoiled in fright.
The old man slowly entered.
He said nothing at first. Instead, he glanced toward the stage. The moment his gaze fell upon Qin Shiyu and Nightmare, a chill pierced through them both.
The old man’s gaze passed over Cao Yi and the others, paused briefly on Yin Rumei, then turned toward a corner in the last row.
Bai Lu, Lin Xiaoyu, and Nian Youyu sat there. Lin Xiaoyu looked faintly nervous, but Nian Youyu was still eating chips with his head lowered, while Bai Lu continued gazing into her mirror.
The bald old man took one look and hurriedly averted his eyes.
“Where is the master of this place?”
He could actually speak the human tongue. His rasping question to Qin Shiyu was hoarse and grating.
Qin Shiyu froze, then realized that he must be looking for Li Que.
If her guess was correct, this bald old man was Abyss himself.
Nightmare, Meng Mo, Lin Xiaoyu, and the others had all been suppressed. Li Que was probably the only one left who could personally step in.
She took a deep breath.
“Please… follow me.”
She immediately turned toward the backstage room. The bald old man followed closely behind her.
As before, Qin Shiyu knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Only when Li Que’s voice sounded did Qin Shiyu push the door open and enter.
The old man followed her inside.
Every person in the auditorium stared fixedly at that door. They all knew that the two supreme powers were about to clash.
Anticipation and tension rose to unbearable heights.
…
In the room backstage, Li Que looked up and saw Qin Shiyu enter with a bald old man.
“Well? Is the ceremony over?”
Award ceremonies generally did not take very long.
Qin Shiyu nodded. A moment ago, merely standing before the bald old man had nearly suffocated her. She had been unable even to contemplate resisting him, so overwhelming was her fear.
Yet the moment she stepped into this little room, all that fear and anxiety somehow vanished!
“Yes. The ceremony is over…” She looked at the bald old man beside her. “Teacher Li, this gentleman… wishes to see you.”
Despite the inexplicable calm that filled the room, she could not help worrying. Her nerves remained stretched taut.
This was Abyss, a veteran SSS-class wild deity whose name struck fear even into the Old-Grave Clans. Could Li Que truly stand against him?
Li Que, however, remained perfectly calm. His expression did not change. He merely looked faintly puzzled.
“What brings this gentleman to see me?”
The bald old man gave Li Que a long, searching look.
Then, in the next instant, he bent at the waist and bowed deeply.
It was a gesture of profound respect.
Qin Shiyu was struck dumb. She stared at the old man in utter disbelief, as though she had seen a ghost.
What was going on?
This was Abyss, unrivaled throughout Jiangdong Province, feared by all who knew his name…
Yet the first thing he did upon meeting Li Que was bow to him?!
Her small mouth fell open wide enough to fit an egg.
“There’s no need for such formality, sir!” Li Que exclaimed in surprise.
Only then did the bald old man straighten. He spoke in a deferential tone.
“Forgive this old man’s discourtesy in arriving unannounced. The truth is, I have a favor to ask.”
“I have a younger descendant who is far too unruly. If it would not be an imposition… might you permit him to enroll here?”
He remained slightly bent at the waist, maintaining his respectful posture.
Qin Shiyu was even more dumbfounded by his request. She had completely lost the ability to think.
She had assumed that the moment Abyss met Li Que, a bloody battle would inevitably erupt between them.
But the situation before her went far beyond anything she had imagined.
Abyss had descended upon the city with terrifying momentum, yet his actual purpose was… to ask for a place at school?!
…
Outside Mingjiang City, halfway up the mountain, Guo Shoubo stared at the darkness in despair.
“Mingjiang City is finished. Completely finished…”
In his eyes, the entire city had nearly fallen. An indescribable darkness was consuming it.
Mingjiang City would disappear from the world. Unless Abyss chose to spit the city’s inhabitants back out, no one would ever find them again!
Behind him, Xu Guoguo was irritated, but not especially worried. She let out a long sigh.
“My uncle is coming on a chartered plane.”
“He’ll definitely help me get the Water God’s Authority back!”
She sounded utterly confident.
…