"Good and evil cease as one. True form, arise."

As the crimson knight-general's voice rang out, the smoke and darkness sharpened into the form of an enormous demon.

"Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage!"

The First Princess and the others gasped. From the energy waves coming out of the crimson knight-general's body, they could tell that he had reached the Greater Heavenly Resonance Stage, while he was only at the lesser stage before.

He had managed to ascend in this short time. Moreover, the power resonating off him was far stronger than that of an average Greater Heavenly Resonance cultivator.

"Retreat!" Lan Lan commanded immediately.

The crimson knight-general had successfully merged with the Bloodtailed Other. They might have been able to put up a fight against a Lesser Heavenly Resonance enemy, but they stood no chance against a Greater Heavenly Resonance one. This was the strongest possible tier below Duke. Even at their best, they would have not been able to win.

This was the most sensible choice at the moment.

When Lan Lan shouted, almost everyone made the same move—reach for their spirit mirrors.

Li Luo lifted his eyes one last time to the crimson knight-general, now covered with spiky, black bones sticking out of his skin. He was a truly grotesque monster, leering down at them with malice.

He was no longer human.

Li Luo did not really understand why the crimson knight-general would give up his humanity so easily. "Greater Heavenly Resonance, huh..." Li Luo pursed his lips thoughtfully, then looked down at his bracelet again. He was itching to give it a go, but then again, he would rather keep his cards close to his chest and unplayed until he was forced to.

Now that the Bloodtailed Other was eliminated, they could probably back out of the mixed-level competition and finish things.

No need to hog the spotlight.

Li Luo immediately snapped his spirit mirror without hesitation.

Time to get out of here. This place was too rich for his blood, and the schools were really mean for sending these poor, innocent young kids here.

The clean snapping of their spirit mirrors was followed by a general sense of relief.

They were safe now.

Li Luo relaxed for a few moments before he started to tense right back up. Something was wrong. He was still at the ruins of Russet Rock City, and no transportation light was coming to pick him up.

Beside him, Lu Ming, Jing Taixu, and Sun Dasheng were equally flustered.

"What's going on? Why aren't the spirit mirrors working?" Lu Ming asked worriedly.

Li Luo looked up to the sky. Lan Lan, the First Princess, and the others were stuck here as well.

"Hey, little brats, where do you think you're going?" A maniacal cackle sounded from above them.

The crimson knight-general had already discarded his armor, although now it was his skin that shone with scarlet gloss, except for the jet-black bone spikes sticking out of his shoulder blades.

His hair had turned completely red as well, and it was slick with fresh blood.

"Trying to get back to school? The bell hasn't rung yet..." he said with spiteful glee. "And... do you see what you've just snapped?"

Li Luo and the others looked down and blinked in surprise. Somehow, they were not holding spirit mirrors, but fragments of bone instead.

"An illusion!" Lu Ming hissed.

Li Luo was shocked. Was the crimson knight-general strong enough to apply an illusion on all of them?

"Today, I am reborn. How could I allow my guests to leave during such a grand occasion? Witness quietly," he sneered. He opened his mouth and a spray of blood fountained in the sky, trickling down as a veil that blanketed across all of them.

"You won't find your real spirit mirrors here. None of you can leave," the crimson knight-general said with an imperious flick of his hand.

All of them opened their pocket spheres, checking their possessions.

Every single one of their possessions had turned into spirit mirrors.

"What an illusion. This is even stronger than what the Bloodtailed Other was capable of," Lu Ming said in a low tone.

Jing Taixu was looking ill. They were like children when facing a Greater Heavenly Resonance expert.

Li Luo had to suck back the breath that he had huffed out in relief. Damn, it was emergency time.

The crimson knight-general was far stronger than the Bloodtailed Other had been, and none of them could deal with him.

"We're all gonna dieeeeeeeeeeeee here, aren't we? It's too soon! There's so many more things in life to beat up!" Sun Dasheng whined mournfully.

"Shut your mouth!" Lu Ming snapped at him. Her anger only showed when she was nervous. The entire situation was slipping out of their control.

Li Luo ignored them. Instead, he turned his attention to the red marking on his wrist. It was heating up strangely at this time, and Li Luo could hear a wolf's howl ringing in his ears.

"Slip into a bad dream, children. And in your nightmare, death will embrace you."

A rain of blood fell down over all of their eyes. An eerie silence fell across the whole battlefield.

Lan Lan, the First Princess, Gong Shenjun—all of them had their eyes covered with bloody blindfolds that suppressed their consciousness.

All of them had slipped into a dream world, and their bodies were no longer theirs to control.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

The crimson knight-general laughed to himself in the silence, and this time, the face on his chest laughed alongside him.

"Bunch of kids. You will know what hell on earth is."

...

When the blood landed on Li Luo's eyes, he started to feel his own mind shutting down. There was a power making him forget everything.

“Roar!”

Just before he went under, a powerful roar shook him to his senses.

Li Luo looked up... but there was no more up. He was in complete darkness on all sides.

His eyes narrowed.

In front of him was an ancient wolf, staring back at him with its eyes bright. Three tails swished Behind it.

Li Luo gave it his best smile.

"Long time no see, Brother Wolf."