Chapter 67
Chapter 67
“Is this… really Abyss?”
Zuo Yuanshan stared in slack-jawed disbelief. He could hardly believe his own ears.
“He’s actually asking Qin Shiyu and Leng Qingyan for permission… and humbling himself to this extent? How is that possible?!”
Incredulity filled Cao Yi’s eyes.
Was this really the same SSS-class wild deity whose overwhelming might had once terrorized all of Jiangdong Province?
Anyone unaware of his identity would probably mistake him for the school’s security guard!
“What is the meaning of this? How can you act like this?!”
Sun Xingsheng finally broke down. Rage and fear warred in his voice.
“I told you to kill them! Are you deaf? Everyone here deserves to die! The man in that room backstage deserves to die too-”
He had nearly lost his mind.
But the instant he mentioned the room backstage, the bald old man’s expression turned glacial. Without waiting for permission from Qin Shiyu or Leng Qingyan, he stepped forward and seized Sun Xingsheng by the throat.
Sun Xingsheng thrashed violently. His eyes filled with terror.
“No… You can’t kill me! You still need the Divine Seal! If the Hall Master learns you killed me, you’ll never receive divine investiture…”
His voice had turned frantic. All he wanted now was to survive.
“The Hall Master?” the bald old man said coldly.
“He insulted Teacher Li. Even if the Hall Master came here in person, he would die.”
The moment those words fell, Sun Xingsheng’s body twisted. It transformed into an ethereal mass of shadow and vanished into the darkness behind the bald old man.
He was dead, utterly erased as though he had never existed.
Everyone in the auditorium stared blankly at the scene.
Sun Xingsheng was an S-class anomaly wielder, yet before Abyss, he had been no different from an ant.
“No…”
Yin Rumei suddenly turned toward the door behind which Li Que remained, her expression exceedingly grave.
She was not alone. Everyone else had grasped the crucial point as well, and their gazes converged upon that door once more.
So many earthshaking events had taken place in the auditorium. Every faction had descended upon the school, the Dream Demon had become a god, and Abyss himself had arrived… Yet the person behind that door had never taken a single step outside.
Even so, the situation had remained firmly under his control from beginning to end.
Abyss had arrived in a storm of power, bearing down upon the entire city. Even the Dream Demon and Rain had been suppressed, unable to resist him in the slightest.
Yet after following Qin Shiyu into that backstage room, he had emerged with an entirely different attitude.
He had willingly lowered himself to “discuss” matters with Shi Xuan, Qin Shiyu, and the others.
Now he treated them with profound respect. Sun Xingsheng had merely spoken a single insult about the existence in that room, and Abyss had erased him!
“Teacher Li… Just who is this Teacher Li?” Li Buhai murmured in a daze. “When did Jiangdong Province gain someone capable of intimidating Abyss?!”
“Impossible… He can’t possibly be from Jiangdong Province. Which Old-Grave Clan did he come from?”
Cao Yi was trembling.
As far as he knew, no one in Jiangdong could face Abyss directly. Only the deeply entrenched Old-Grave Clans in the capital might possess that kind of power!
The waters here ran far too deep.
Cao Yi was sick with regret. If he could do it all over again, no matter how much Guo Shoubo offered him, he would never get involved!
“Could you truly still possess some form of… divine power?”
Yin Rumei’s eyes were filled with confusion. At that moment, she desperately wanted to rush inside and demand a clear answer.
…
“Everyone,” Shi Xuan said at last, his tone calm, “Sun Xingsheng of the Hall of Anomalies is dead. It is time for the rest of you to make a choice.”
Everyone’s expression tightened as they looked at him.
“Director Shi, do you mean… we may still leave here alive?” Li Buhai asked with difficulty, unable to keep a glimmer of hope from entering his eyes.
Shi Xuan nodded.
“Jiangdong has remained stable to this day in no small part due to the work of its major groups.”
“Unfortunately, in recent years, certain people have developed other ambitions and strayed down the wrong path.”
“Teacher Li believes in teaching and reforming people. He will give you an opportunity to turn over a new leaf-but only if you are truly willing to change.”
This was the conclusion Shi Xuan, Qin Shiyu, and the others had reached after careful deliberation.
The Jiangdong Chamber of Commerce represented the strongest anomaly wielder forces in all of Jiangdong Province.
In recent years, certain families within the chamber had formed the Eclipse Organization and become a scourge. But if the rotten flesh was cut away, the rest would still have value.
After all, Jiangdong Province was vast. The major groups would remain indispensable to anomaly prevention and control throughout the region.
More importantly, Shi Xuan and the others believed that whatever Li Que intended to do in the future would shake heaven and earth.
They needed to accumulate power in advance.
Zuo Yuanshan was the first to speak.
“From this day forward, the Zuo family is willing to follow Teacher Li!” Urgency filled his face. “Director Shi, I admit that my lax management allowed some members of the family to stray down the wrong path over the years. But I promise you, I’ll clean every last one of them out when I return!”
Li Buhai and the others hurried to voice their allegiance as well.
No one wanted to be wiped out. Besides, Teacher Li’s strength now seemed utterly unfathomable. Even the SSS-class Abyss had been subdued and joined his side. Following him might actually be an opportunity!
Even Cao Yi thought for a moment before declaring, “The Cao family is also willing to support Teacher Li!”
In the space of a few breaths, all the most powerful and influential figures in Jiangdong Province declared their submission.
Xu Changjiang and Leng Qingyan watched in a daze. From this day forward, Teacher Li’s every word and action would affect the whole of Jiangdong!
It would be no exaggeration to call him the true master of Jiangdong Province.
Shi Xuan nodded calmly, then looked at Nightmare beside him.
“Mr. Meng, I’ll leave the task of eliminating these criminals to you.”
“Those who follow Teacher Li must be clean!”
Nightmare nodded with a faint smile. Shadows flowed through his eyes. Without warning, Zuo Yuanshan and his son screamed.
They seemed to suffer some inhuman torture in an instant. They collapsed, writhing on the floor as blood streamed from their pupils.
“The Zuo family was a core force of the Eclipse Organization. They deserve death,” Nightmare said.
He had previously helped the Dream Demon pull everyone into dreams.
Once they entered those dreams, none of them had any secrets from him.
Every crime and atrocity committed by the Zuo family had been laid bare.
Yet Zuo Yuanshan and his son, two of the principal conspirators, had actually tried to bluff their way through. How could Nightmare possibly let them?
“And you…”
Nightmare raised his eyes toward Cao Yi.
Cao Yi’s face changed drastically. He stumbled back and abruptly raised a Burial Shroud in his hand.
“Stop!”
“I work for the Xu family, and this is their token! Let me leave, and I swear I’ll go far away and never return!”
“Otherwise, I’ll set the Burial Shroud on fire, and all of you will die with me!”
Like Zuo Yuanshan and the others, he had intended to feign surrender and scheme again later. He had not expected Nightmare to see through him. Now he had no choice but to risk everything on a final gamble.
Cold sweat covered his brow. His nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
The moment Li Buhai, Li Dao, and the others saw the Burial Shroud, their expressions changed. Fury swiftly followed.
They had never imagined Cao Yi had secretly tampered with it.
The Burial Shroud was an SS-class anomalous entity. If it was truly ignited, every person and anomaly whose anomalous aura it had recorded would burn to death with it!
“You colluded with the Xu family!”
“You despicable bastard!”
They cursed him furiously.
“Let me go, and I guarantee I won’t reveal anything that happened here!” Cao Yi blustered, trying to conceal his fear. “Otherwise… even if I die, I’ll drag some of you down with me!”
Shi Xuan frowned. He had not expected Cao Yi to possess a weapon like this.
Nightmare, Abyss, and the others were powerful enough to remain unaffected, but what about everyone else?
“That Burial Shroud… looks pretty tasty.”
A voice suddenly sounded.
At some point, a chubby boy had appeared behind Cao Yi. He patted him on the shoulder.
Every hair on Cao Yi’s body stood on end. Sensing an overwhelming threat, he tried to resist. But the moment he stirred his anomalous entity, blood burst from his mouth and he collapsed weakly to the floor.
“My internal organs… and my anomalous entity. You shattered all of them with those pats?!”
Cao Yi stared at the boy in disbelief, his eyes filled with terror.
He was S-class, and his anomalous entity was exceptionally unusual. Yet this boy had destroyed him with a couple of casual pats?
How was that possible?
Just how terrifyingly strong was he?
Yin Rumei, Li Buhai, and the others narrowed their eyes in alarm. They had never expected this boy, who had done nothing but clutch a bag of chips and eat, to be so frightening.
Nian Youyu offered no answer. He simply snatched the Burial Shroud from Cao Yi’s hand, took a deep sniff, and licked his lips hungrily.
Without the slightest hesitation, he crumpled the Burial Shroud into a ball and stuffed it into his mouth.
He chewed noisily. Within moments, he had swallowed the entire Burial Shroud.
“Not bad. There just wasn’t enough of it!”
Nian Youyu licked his lips, still craving more.
Everyone else was utterly dumbfounded.
…
Outside Mingjiang City, Guo Shoubo gazed toward the skyline.
“Hmm? Abyss’s anomaly domain seems to be receding. Is it already over?”
Previously, Mingjiang City had seemed swallowed by darkness, vanishing completely from view.
Guo Shoubo had prepared himself for the city’s total disappearance.
But now, light poured into Mingjiang City once more. Rows of buildings and modern streets reappeared, as though a mirage had solidified into reality.
“My fourth uncle said Abyss was punished once before, so he won’t dare go too far,” Xu Guoguo said from behind him.
“My fourth uncle will arrive tomorrow morning. We’ll go then and demand the Water God’s Authority from him!”
She stroked the little gray rat in her palm.
Guo Shoubo immediately perked up. “Wonderful!”
Xu Guoguo’s fourth uncle was one of the leaders of an Old-Grave Clan and held a lofty position within the Anomaly Wielders’ Alliance. Once he arrived, everything would be under control!
…