Chapter 46. Looming Despair? Lightning Arrow, the Beast King's Fall! (1)

Lu Yuan had been completely absorbed in refining the energy from the Tri-leaf Violet Resonance, which meant his six senses were closed off to the outside world. Now that the refinement was complete and the fourth shackle had already been shattered, he finally noticed that something in the city felt different.

He could feel the auras of mutated beasts, and there were quite a few of them.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

What's going on?

After a moment of consideration, Lu Yuan immediately understood what was going on. He immediately stabilized the surging power within him and stood up. Then, with a single leap, he landed atop a tall building and moved forward, using the mutated beasts' auras as a guide.

Qingyang City was relatively small, but it was still home to hundreds of thousands of citizens.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan was at the western edge of the city, so it would still take him some time to reach the eastern part of the city despite his speedy movement.

Along the way, he discovered many collapsed buildings and houses; the city's facilities and infrastructures lay destroyed before him.

He also saw countless people running toward the western part of the city in a panic.

The sight told Lu Yuan everything he needed to know. Mutated beasts had attacked the city. More specifically, there had to be an ongoing beast tide.

How did this happen in just the time it took me to refine the Tri-leaf Violet Resonance?

Lu Yuan frowned. Not dwelling on it any further, he rushed forward.

Before long, he saw a towering Monohorn Giant Wolf in the distance. It looked very similar to the one he killed before. The Monohorn Giant Wolf was fighting someone, and it seemed to be Zhao Wuji, a teacher of the Aurora Academy.

Zhao Wuji was struggling to hold on. He was strong. In terms of physique and combat prowess, he exceeded others at the same Foundation Realm VII.

However, a Foundation Realm IX—almost close to breaking through to the Awakened Realm—Giant Wolf King was his opponent. In addition to the fact that its mutated beast physique was stronger than a human being's physique, human Awakened on the same realm as it couldn't possibly defeat it.

Boom!

A claw came crashing down just then.

Zhao Wuji had awakened a trace of his ancestral bloodline, but he could no longer hold on. He crashed into the ground at extreme speeds, creating a massive crater in the paved, concrete road.

The nearby houses cracked open at the shockwave generated upon impact. They swayed left and right, teetering on the edge of collapse.

Zhao Wuji had reached his limits.

"Professor Zhao!" Zhu Qingyu and the others shouted, hurrying over to support him.

Zhao Wuji was covered in blood; the spear in his hands was bent, and it looked like it was going to break anytime soon.

Had it not been for his strong physique, the impact just now would have reduced him to a blood mist.

"No, no, no." Zhao Wuji shook his head. "The reinforcements aren't here yet. I cannot fall just yet."

Everyone's eyes glistened with tears upon hearing. They wanted to say something, but they couldn't find the words.

Was there really any meaning in resisting?

Yes, as they would be able to buy more time that way. However, what would happen if they were to keep resisting? Someone was most likely going to die.

"Roaaar!"

Just then, the blue Monohorn Giant Wolf King seemed to have had enough of playing. It roared once more, and the surrounding mutated beasts grew restless.

It just had to give one command, and hundreds of mutated beasts would charge into the city.

This time, it wouldn't be like earlier. Many people would definitely die.

"No—" Zhao Wuji noticed that and immediately tried to stand, but due to his severe injuries, he ended up collapsing to the ground from exhaustion.

He couldn't help but hate himself. Why couldn't he be a bit stronger? Why couldn't he evolve just one more time? If he were just a bit stronger, their situation wouldn't be this bad.

"Professor Zhao!" Qin Lan and the others called out. Their eyes were full of pity as they stared at Zhao Wuji.

The Giant Wolf King was just too powerful. If he were to keep fighting, he would certainly die.

"Professor Zhao, I'll go with you," Zhu Qingyu suddenly said. Her eyes were determined as she added, "I'm weak, but I can still contribute my strength. At least, I can stop that wolf for even one minute."

At the critical juncture, she chose to step forward once again.

"Me, too."

Qin Lan and the others also expressed their determination.

The sight of Professor Zhao Wuji disregarding everything to protect the people moved their hearts. If they had any ounce of hesitation earlier, that was no longer the case now.

So what if they were going to die? At least, they tried their best.

The teachers, still capable of fighting, nodded heavily as well.

"Great... great." Zhao Wuji's heart was gratified to see that his students were all unafraid of death and were willing to fight alongside him at this critical juncture.

The mutated beasts were about to attack the city once more, and the ordinary people needed to be protected. Fighting against his exhaustion, Zhao Wuji stood up and gripped his spear tightly.

Looking at everyone, he said, "Then let us fight together and die together!"

"We'll fight together and die together!" Everyone responded with a determined expression.

So what if that Giant Wolf King was strong?

Even if they could only hold it back for just one minute, so what?

With hundreds of thousands of lives behind them, they had to stand up one last time. The teachers, led by Zhao Wuji, and the students, led by Zhu Qingyu, all turned to face east.

Before them loomed the massive beast tide and its powerful leader, the Giant Wolf King.

In comparison, the small group of defenders appeared insignificant, like mere grains of sand or ants before a tidal wave. Yet, they stood firm, and each one began to manifest the power within them.

I must find a way to protect these students. At least, I have to get Qingyu out of here

, Zhao Wuji thought, glancing at Zhu Qingyu behind him. He knew that the academy's higher-ups greatly valued Zhu Qingyu due to her special bloodline.

Once her bloodline was unleashed, her potential was bound to become absolutely terrifying. She could probably open up a new path of evolution.

Humanity and Huaxia were bound to face many more crises in the future. If she were to die here, it would be a huge waste of potential, so he had to find a way to save her—

—even if I die doing it

, Zhao Wuji thought. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he led the students forward slowly.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of bright eyes was watching them atop a building on the verge of collapse.

"Are they from the Aurora Academy? They haven't changed at all."

Lu Yuan's eyes gleamed with a faint glow as he stared at them from afar.

Despite the distance between them, he could see them clearly, and he even heard their conversation.

During the Global Awakening in his previous life, there was always a group of people willing to stand at the forefront of battles to risk their lives against mutated beasts.

The officials of Huaxia couldn't completely handle the changes brought about by the new era, but they still did something. They established the Aurora Academy to recruit and train the Awakened of the nation.

Their goal was to save the lives of the ordinary people during future crises.

However, the academy had just been established, so it wasn't considered to be strong just yet. In fact, it was even inferior to the Wuzhou Group and Longevity Genetics.

However, Lu Yuan knew what the future held. The world was changing, and the Aurora Academy's influence would continue to grow until it held immense power and commanded numerous Awakened.

It was precisely because of their achievement that they managed to pass on their vision through countless calamities, and Huaxia eventually became one of the few nations to survive the aftermath of the Global Awakening.

It had only been a few months since the academy was established, but its students and teachers, despite being aware of their lack of strength, had still decided to stand and fight for the people behind them, proving their indomitable spirit.

"The Aurora Academy... don't they have some decent visualization methods and breathing techniques? I should go and take a look later," Lu Yuan muttered to himself.

After all, his country was incredibly ancient with a formidable foundation.

The ancestral bloodlines and divine artifacts from distant times meant Huaxia would definitely be able to adapt to the new era.

Moreover, some old monsters were bound to appear in the future.