Chapter 41. Karma, Aurora Academy, Western Upheaval! (1)

But even as the massive hedgehog charged and a storm of flying daggers sliced through the air, Lu Yuan did not move. He simply sat there, calmly savoring the roasted wolf meat as though nothing was happening.

Squelch! Squelch!

Blood spurted into the air. The daggers weren't aimed at Lu Yuan at all. They pierced straight into the mutated hedgehog's belly, halting its advance for a moment.

"Beast! Don't you dare harm others!"

A shout rang out. A young man in his twenties burst onto the scene with a massive war sabre in hand. Sprinting across the ground, he closed the distance in the blink of an eye and swung his blade at the hedgehog.

A battle erupted.

His strength was immense, his attacks vicious and unrelenting. A thick layer of scales covered his body, shielding him from the creature's deadly quills. His combat prowess was formidable. With each powerful strike of his sabre, the mutated beast was forced back.

At the same time, the flying daggers whirled through the air in support. Clearly, there was someone else controlling those blades.

Lu Yuan tilted his head slightly and glanced over.

Not far away, four more figures—two men and two women—were rushing forward. Together with the scaled warrior, their party numbered five.

They spared not a single glance for Lu Yuan and focused all their attention on the mutated hedgehog. Each of them displayed different techniques with seamless coordination.

The one manipulating the flying daggers was a young woman in an azure blouse. She was strikingly beautiful with delicate features, and was no less than Zhou Yunqiong in appearance. Around 1.7 meters tall, clad in fitted denim jeans that accentuated her long, slender legs, she remained calm and composed amid the battle.

Her eyes never wavered from the beast. Her slender jade-like fingers shifted in constant gestures, and under her command, the daggers danced faster and faster. The cold gleam upon their edges grew sharper, more lethal.

The remaining three had their own abilities as well, and together the five moved with practiced synergy. Each one was an Awakened, though in Lu Yuan's eyes... their strength was still limited.

Even so, under their combined effort...

Fifteen minutes later, the mutated hedgehog, a beast whose strength rivaled that of a Foundation Realm III Awakened, collapsed in a pool of blood.

The young woman in azure waved her hand, recalling the flying daggers to her side, and then walked toward Lu Yuan.

In a soft and gentle tone, she asked, "Are you alright? You should really be more careful in these mountains."

At a glance, she could tell he was an Awakened as well. After all, only Awakened would dare venture alone in these dangerous times. But she judged him to be weak, perhaps only Foundation Realm I or II at best. Otherwise, he would have dodged the hedgehog's attack with ease.

Lu Yuan gave no response.

To him, even if he hadn't lifted a finger, that mutated beast never could have posed a threat.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

What did catch him by surprise, however, was encountering others out here in the forest. That could only mean there was a settlement or town nearby.

Lu Yuan's silence made another woman step forward. Her brows furrowed as she snapped, "What's wrong with you? We just saved your life, and you don't even have the decency to say thanks?"

The other three men wore similar expressions of faint displeasure.

"I never asked you to save me."

Lu Yuan's voice was calm, but his words were as cold and sharp as steel. He would not bow to emotional pressure. They had chosen to intervene on their own; no one had forced them.

"You—!" The woman's retort caught in her throat, her face flushing with anger. She wore a blue blouse and appeared a little older. Her looks were decent, but beside the girl who had controlled the flying daggers, she was utterly eclipsed in both beauty and bearing.

"Senior Sister Qin, it's true we acted on our own initiative." The azure-clad girl smiled faintly, her tone gentle yet firm, signaling her companion to let it drop.

Her words carried weight; at once, Qin Lan fell silent, sulking where she stood.

"Hello." The azure-clad girl stepped forward, extending her hand with a friendly smile. "My name is Zhu Qingyu. This is Senior Sister Qin Lan, and that is Senior Brother Wu. We're all students of Aurora Academy."

Aurora Academy?

For the first time, Lu Yuan's calm face shifted ever so slightly. He asked, "You are Zhu Qingyu of Aurora Academy?"

"Oh? You know me?" Zhu Qingyu blinked, sensing something in his tone.

"No. This is my first time hearing the name." Lu Yuan shook his head, denying any familiarity.

But inwardly, his thoughts had already drifted back to his previous life.

Back then, unable to keep pace with the Global Awakening, he had struggled at the very bottom. One day, when a mutated beast attacked the city and disaster fell, the crowd fled in terror. Lu Yuan, still just an ordinary man, was on the brink of death when a woman in an azure blouse appeared, striking down the beast. Later, she rallied a band of Awakened and quelled the calamity.

The chaos had been overwhelming. He had not even seen her face clearly.

Only afterward did he learn that she was a student of Aurora Academy.

And her name was Zhu Qingyu.

Aurora Academy, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Wuzhou Group, was one of the greatest powers of the New Era. Backed by the government, it had been founded within the very first month of the Awakening. With branches in all five supercities, its purpose was to nurture Awakened to face the chaos ahead.

From these two details alone, Lu Yuan was certain: this Zhu Qingyu before him was the very same one who had saved his life in his past life.

He also remembered that her talent was extraordinary, and she possessed a mysterious bloodline. She was considered one of the true favored daughters of heaven.

But for now, judging from what he could sense, Zhu Qingyu did not seem particularly strong. By his estimation, she was only at Foundation Realm III. Her current strength was far from the level recorded in the intel he remembered.

Soon, however, he recalled an important detail. Zhu Qingyu's bloodline was one that grew silently over time. It accumulated slowly, but once it erupted, it would shine with brilliance. In the end, her achievements would not fall short of those so-called Five Supremes.

"I see."

Zhu Qingyu did not dwell on his reaction. She simply continued, "Still, I must remind you that the mountains are dangerous. Even if you are an Awakened, you must remain cautious."

She stood gracefully among the trees, a faint smile curving her lips. Her long hair danced lightly in the breeze, her tall figure poised and elegant, her skin fair as snow, her bearing airy and ethereal.

Under the sunlight, her flawless face seemed almost unearthly, radiant and perfect beyond comparison.

"Alright, understood."

Lu Yuan had no intention to form deeper ties with her. The past belonged to his past life, and it should remain there.

Besides, even back then, the two of them could hardly be considered acquaintances.

So with a simple reply, he turned, intending to leave.

"Wait!" Zhu Qingyu called out again. "The world outside is in chaos. It's safer to stay where there are more people. Many places have been besieged by mutated beasts lately. If you're heading out of the mountains, it's best to make your way to a major city like Chang'an."

"Thanks." Lu Yuan paused briefly, then gave her a slight nod.

So she's still the same as in my previous life... no arrogance, only warmth and kindness.

In his memories, Zhu Qingyu was worlds apart from most Awakened. She never looked down on ordinary folk and carried righteousness within her heart. Whenever mutated beasts besieged a city, she was always the first to rush forward.

But wasn't it also because of this that she eventually met such a tragic end?

If the chance arose, perhaps he could lend her a hand when the time came. That way, he could repay her life-saving grace from his past life and finally settle their karmic bond.

Countless thoughts swirled through Lu Yuan's mind.

At the dawn of the Awakening, the greatest calamity was not the changes in the world itself, but the rise of mutated beasts who stood as humanity's natural enemies.

They grew bloodthirstier and more savage than ever. Those who stepped onto the path of evolution even awakened true intelligence.

Among them were sovereigns—Beast Kings—existences not only terrifyingly strong but capable of speaking human language, their thoughts no different from mankind's. For a time, these Beast Kings led endless beast tides, razing countless cities to the ground and slaughtering billions of humans.

Only later, when humanity began to adapt and the number of Awakened grew, did the tide of destruction finally slow. After several catastrophic wars between the two sides, the calamity was barely suppressed. But even then, conflict never ceased.

And this... was only the beginning.

In the years to come, even more mysterious and powerful beings would descend from the depths of the cosmos...