The Great Xia Dragon Group, codename Jade Emperor.
Mei Fusu’s body weakened, and he slowly sank to his knees.
The top experts of the Great Xia Dragon Group had long been dispatched elsewhere. Moreover, anyone skilled enough to kill me with a single sword strike would surely not be unknown. Why have I never heard of someone called the Jade Emperor?
Mei Fusu died with his eyes wide open. His body turned into black ice and shattered instantly, scattering into pieces across the ground. Standing behind him, Xuan Huang, too, appeared uncertain and wary.
She seemed to recall hearing that codename somewhere. However, this mission was one of the Dragon Group's highest-level secrets. Apart from her own Wing of the Wind team, only a few top-ranking officials knew about it.
How had this Jade Emperor learned of the danger and arrived just in time for a rescue?
“Do you not want to leave?”
After killing Mei Fusu, the masked man wasted no time. He immediately used the Sword Harnessing Technique and waved to Lin Wan in the distance. Lin Wan rushed over and, without hesitation, jumped onto the gleaming sword. The masked man then extended a hand toward Xuan Huang.
She glanced at his rusty sword, hesitated for a moment, then struggled to her feet without a word. The masked man chuckled, pulled out an identification badge, and handed it to her.
“This is my Dragon Group member identification card.”
In an instant, Xuan Huang believed the man before her. She clasped his hand, and used his support to step onto the glowing sword.
“Take her with us as well,” Xuan Huang gestured toward Ruo Shuang, who now stood idly by after not receiving further commands.
“Alright.” The masked man did not hesitate as he used the Dragon-Grasping Hand technique.
A faint golden inner qi transformed into the shadow of a dragon, lifting the modified Dragon Group operative, Ruo Shuang, into the air and pulling her toward them.
The rusted sword shot into the air as it disappeared into the sky, carrying the four of them.
At the same time... Dozens of streaks of light approached the ruins of the small town. The prolonged battles and the surging waves of energy had finally disrupted the electromagnetic field set up to shield this area and attracted the attention of high-grade zombies in the surroundings.
One of these glowing figures landed and transformed into a towering zombie clad in a tattered Daoist robe. At the feet of the zombie Daoist stood a giant corpse turtle, with a shell nearly six meters wide. The two appeared fused together and exuded a rare sense of harmony upon first glance.
This was the Black Tortoise Corpse; one of the Four Divine Corpse Generals under the Supreme Corpse Emperor. The Quasi-Saint Realm energy ripple instantly spread, blanketing the entire ruined town. It looked up at the fading light of the sword in the distance.
“So fast. A Quasi-Saint among humans?” A strangely human-like expression appeared on the zombie Daoist’s face.
It did not pursue them. The sword light was too fast. However, the traces left in the town were enough to provide some clues.
“Mechanical Eternity faction?”
“Living beings are indeed unreliable.”
The zombie Daoist surveyed the traces across the battlefield, frowning slightly. “There seems to be another energy here. The humans are turning against each other, and the location of the Sacred Crystal remains uncertain. That sword light just now... unmistakably a technique from the ancient martial lineage of Great Xia. It seems we’ll need to send a corpse emissary into the city to investigate further.”
Raising its head, it let out a piercing corpse howl. Across the Corpse Whisper Plains, the growing disturbance gradually settled down.
Within the Corpse Emperor’s nest, hundreds of miles away, the supreme ruler of countless corpse beasts slowly retracted its aura. The storm of corpse energy faded away.
"I’ll take you to the outskirts of the city." The masked man said. "Once we reach there, you can enter on your own. I have other tasks to attend to."
After escaping the zombie horde, they soared swiftly through the skies on the sword. It only took mere minutes for them to glimpse the towering metal walls of Xiajing City.
The flying sword descended. Xuan Huang, Lin Wan, and Ruo Shuang landed softly on the ground.
“Thank you, comrade,” Xuan Huang expressed her gratitude immediately.
The masked man smiled slightly as he replied, “For Great Xia.”
Without waiting for Lin Wan to say anything further, he rose on the sword once more, transforming into a streak of light that ascended into the sky.
"Senior..." Lin Wan called out, jumping up and waving.
She still had no idea what the masked man looked like or how to contact him. But the light of the sword streaked across the sky and disappeared in an instant.
Xuan Huang stood in silent contemplation. She, too, was intrigued by the masked man. However, she was not in any rush. She knew his codename; she could easily look up his details once she got access to the Dragon Group’s internal records. Instead, she found herself more interested in Lin Wan standing beside her.
"You weren't familiar with the Jade Emperor?" Xuan Huang asked.
Lin Wan had started to admire this female captain of the Dragon Group to her very core. She didn’t conceal anything as she carefully recounted how she had previously encountered the masked man and all the subsequent events.
After listening, Xuan Huang seemed lost in thought. While they were talking, the two of them, along with Ruo Shuang, had already arrived beneath the city walls.
Xuan Huang had her Dragon Group credentials, and Lin Wan had her student ID. The three of them entered the city smoothly. Soon, the instructors from White Deer Academy arrived.
"Little Wan, are you okay? You scared me to death." One of them cried.
"That's wonderful, Little Wan, you're back safely!" Another said.
Among the seven sisters, Ding Rong and Song Lingge rushed over and hugged Lin Wan, both crying and laughing. It was clear they had a deep sisterly bond. After a brief inquiry, they learned the whole story.
"I lost my mini light core, so I can't call a taxi or contact my colleagues. I wonder if I could hitch a ride on your school's bus?" Xuan Huang asked.
"Assisting the Dragon Group is our honor." Several instructors from White Deer Academy replied politely.
Just as they were speaking, Qi Shisan and Ding Yifeng finally returned from outside the city. Behind them were Li Xiaofei and the senior student named Su Wanqing.
"I'm sorry, truly sorry. I encountered a grade five zombie and, during the fight, accidentally lost my equipment pack along with my identity combat badge... I'm sorry to have worried everyone." Su Wanqing immediately apologized.
With her high status as an upperclassman, her sincere apology softened any lingering frustrations, and the others quickly forgave her.
"And you? What’s your excuse this time?" Song Lingge demanded, glaring at Li Xiaofei.
Li Xiaofei shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, who knew this trial would turn dangerous? The school's organization was terrible. I forgot to bring my identity combat badge. I'll remember next time."
"You..." Song Lingge and the others were speechless with frustration.
Because of him, two instructors had risked venturing out into such a dangerous realm to search for him. Ding Yifeng was equally furious and ready to scold him. But when he saw Li Junjie standing nearby, he swallowed his words.
Qi Shisan instinctively reached for his gourd to take a drink, only to realize it was empty. "Alright, since everyone’s back safe, let's drop the arguments and head back to campus."
The group climbed into the carriage, which sped toward the academy. Li Junjie sidled up to Li Xiaofei, seemingly wanting to ask something. But Li Xiaofei ignored him entirely as he closed his eyes. His loyal lackey could only wait patiently.
This scene only fueled the resentment Ding Rong and Song Lingge already felt toward Li Xiaofei, prompting them to silently sympathize with Li Junjie. They were so frustrated that they nearly ground their teeth to the breaking point.
Meanwhile, Lin Wan was quietly observing Li Xiaofei. For some reason, she found herself subconsciously connecting him with the masked man. Although there wasn’t a single clue to support her suspicion, her intuition whispered that Li Xiaofei’s build, eyes, and even his outline bore a faint resemblance to that mysterious figure.
She found the idea hard to believe. Slowly, she inched closer and took a seat beside Li Xiaofei.
"Are you alright?" She asked, breaking the silence.
The fact that Lin Wan, a campus beauty, had initiated conversation with the least likely person in the class stunned everyone in the carriage.