Chapter 236: Algae Pond (3.5k)
“Su Jiu!?”
Mo Shi’s face was filled with surprise upon seeing the figure before him, and the surrounding crowd was also bewildered by his excited reaction.
“That name sounds so familiar…”
The students were seemingly incredulous about Su Jiu’s actions, whether it was arriving with a flying sword or defeating the High-Rank Battle General in a black robe with a single scythe strike.
With a “bang!”, the black-robed figure turned into a gray-white smoke and quickly escaped from under the scythe. After the smoke traveled for more than ten meters, its figure coalesced not far away. It clutched its chest, its hollow eyes fixed on Su Jiu’s face, and said in a low voice:
“Friend, I am Shadow from the Ancient God Sect. If possible, please do not interfere!”
“Are you all alright? It’s only been a little over half a month, and classmate Mo Shi seems to be in a bit of a mess.”
Ignoring the other party, Su Jiu turned and smiled at Mo Shi and the others, with blue butterfly phantoms drifting from her fingertips. The butterfly phantoms continually swept over everyone, bringing a healing aura as they circled.
“This is the top student from the Medical School in the 24th batch…”
Feeling the immense healing effect on their bodies, the students quickly reacted. Their eyes showed a hint of surprise as they looked at her. A powerful figure had come to the rescue!
“Chief Su… I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Mo Shi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his tense expression finally relaxing. Feeling the warm aura on his body, he sat down abruptly, having just managed to stand up with the help of his Western sword. He grinned, looking at the silver-haired figure’s back.
He knew they were saved this time.
This was the legendary freshman whose combat power rivaled that of a Peerless Battle General!
“You’re from Magical Capital University?! Then you’re not leaving either!” Not far away, the Shadow from the Ancient God Sect in black robes paused for a moment, then sneered coldly before taking out a peculiar horn and blowing it.
“Woo—”
The sound was long and seemed to possess a unique magic. As the peculiar horn blew, the lurking black dragon seemed to sense it and roared, charging forward with a frightening aura.
Soon, it extended its head behind the shadowy figure in black, exhaling breaths that blew away much of the surrounding broadleaf plants. Its two lantern-like vertical pupils stared intently at Su Jiu with a hint of disdain.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
Waving goodbye to everyone, Su Jiu glanced at the shadowy figure in black, gently swung her scythe, with a swarm of butterflies flickering on it, and casually rested it on her shoulder. With light steps, she walked towards the shadowy figure in black and the black dragon.
“Ancient God Sect… you orchestrated the Rotten Skin disease, didn’t you? Or perhaps you collaborated with monsters.”
Su Jiu’s calm voice echoed throughout the cliff top. Even the dragon’s breath could not drown out the shock of this statement. The surrounding winds and waves seemed to have frozen.
The surrounding students’ eyes widened, and a wave of horror surged through their hearts. Their gazes all turned to the shadowy figure in black—the very entity that had stumped many Battle King Level powerhouses, and it was revealed to be the Ancient God Sect’s doing.
If this news got out, many would be enraged!
Upon hearing Su Jiu’s words, the shadowy figure in black’s face revealed a chilling look. Fierce glints flickered across his emaciated face. After a moment, he looked up and sneered:
“It seems you didn’t come specifically to save these people. I didn’t expect Magical Capital University to discover it faster than the government. However, it’s rather arrogant for you to speak so plainly without being a Battle King Level.”
He knew that the young woman before him was stronger than himself, but she definitely wasn’t a Peerless Battle General. Since she wasn’t…
“Teach her a lesson!”
With a cold snort, the shadowy figure in black leaped, treading lightly in the air, and landed firmly on the black dragon’s forehead, continuing to play the flute.
“Boom—”
A massive external qi shield erupted from the black dragon. The black external qi burned like flames, directly causing the broadleaf plants at higher altitudes to ignite. Then, it raised its massive claws towards the sky. The dragon claws, rendered in black flames, appeared incredibly sharp.
“Go and tear her apart! This is the Bishop’s favorite subordinate, a Half-King Level minor lord dragon. Even if you’re strong, without being Battle King Level, you’re just seeking death!”
The shadowy figure in black’s gaze sharpened, pointing at Su Jiu and coldly reprimanding, a hint of smugness in his eyes.
The black dragon obeyed, its massive dragon claws slashing down from mid-air, tearing through the very air, with hot air gushing out.
The sharp whistling sound made many who had just relaxed their hearts tense up again. Mo Shi’s face changed slightly, and he put up a water-colored shield in front of the students, saying with some worry: “This black breath is almost at the extraordinary level. She should be okay, right?”
“A mere trifle!”
Seeing the other party’s actions, Su Jiu’s gaze was calm. She then stepped forward, and with her giant scythe, she flickered and moved away. The claw wrapped in black flames slammed down heavily, creating a large pit in Su Jiu’s original position and stirring up waves of scorching wind.
“Thump, thump, thump!”
Only the heavy sound of boots striking the ground was heard. Su Jiu quickly moved up along the black dragon’s forelimb. Her blood-red eyes, emitting a faint glow, stretched into a straight blood-red line in the darkness. The giant scythe, surrounded by red butterflies, dragged behind her, plowing a blood-red scar like a snake’s trail on the black dragon’s body.
Then, the scar strangely erupted with a large amount of blood like a fountain. Bloodlight flickered between Su Jiu’s fingers.
“Roar, roar—”
With its scales cut open and blood gushing out, the black dragon let out a pained roar. Its black fleshy wings flapped continuously, creating hurricane-like gusts, and it took to the sky, constantly trying to tear Su Jiu away with its other forelimb.
“You dare to injure the Master’s pet!?”
The shadowy figure in black was stunned by Su Jiu’s actions. Snapping back to reality, their face immediately turned grim, and their long whip, imbued with gray-white external qi, lashed out at Su Jiu.
“Elegy Part One.”
Her pupils shifted to the corner of her eyes, Su Jiu’s aura surged. Using the scythe as support, she leaped backward, narrowly dodging the long whip. Treading lightly on the blood-colored external qi beneath her feet, she shot forward like a cannonball with a “boom!”, at a speed exceeding that of a Battle General.
“How could she suddenly unleash strength beyond a Battle General…”
In an instant, she was in front of the shadowy figure in black. As the latter’s face showed an expression of disbelief, Su Jiu raised her hand and, in a blur, drew a blood-colored scythe silhouette imbued with strong wind across the black dragon’s neck at lightning speed, creating a blood-red crescent.
“How is this possible…”
In that instant, time seemed to stand still. The shadowy figure in black’s expression was frozen from the previous second. Blood lines appeared from its head to its body. Then, a blood line appeared on the black dragon’s neck. It couldn’t even retreat into its spiritual space in time, and its massive body fell towards the cliff like a giant black passenger jet.
“Thud!” A few seconds later, a loud noise accompanied by a cool breeze rose from the ground below.
“Big shots from Magical Capital University have arrived. We can only survive if we capture hostages.”
The shadowy man in black, fighting Long Lu below, saw even such a powerful shadowy figure in black defeated. A thought burst forth in his mind. His body trembled, and he pushed Long Lu back.
“Third brother, you hold this person off!”
He suddenly shot up into the sky, his cold eyes scanning subtly. He stomped on the air, his body transforming into a silver-white lightning streak, and shot towards the group of students where Mo Shi and the others were.
This action immediately caused panic among the Magical Capital residents. They had no energy left, and the only one capable of fighting, Mo Shi, could only emit external qi.
As the crowd panicked, the shadowy youth flashed by. However, just as he was about to charge into the group of students.
“Seeking death!” a cold female voice sounded out of nowhere.
A white figure flashed beside him like the Grim Reaper. The scythe in her hand, radiating red butterflies, swung fiercely towards his neck with a strong gust of wind and a sharp whistling sound.
“Such speed…”
Before a single thought could complete in the shadowy youth’s mind, his vision instantly filled with specks of blood. The next moment, he completely lost all sensation, becoming a headless corpse lying a few meters away from the students.
“Slash.”
Looking at the burly man fighting Long Lu again, Su Jiu’s gaze swept over him. A faint blood-red light appeared at her fingertips. With a gentle wave, a “swoosh” was heard as only the sound of air being cut through could be heard. The blood-red light, like a sharp blade, instantly pierced the burly man’s throat.
One move!
In just one move, a strong individual nearing High-Rank Battle General level perished. This terrifying scene sent chills down the spines of the students present, and Mo Shi swallowed his saliva frantically, feeling incredibly fortunate that he hadn’t made any enemies with Su Jiu.
“Something’s not right about this pond…”
Without turning around, Su Jiu’s waist-length silver hair swayed in the wind. Below the tips of her hair were a pair of eyes filled with solemnity.
Her gaze was directed towards the bottom of the cliff. Due to the death of the black dragon, the scorching aura emanating from the scales, which had brought about the mist, quickly dissipated. Below, next to the headless black dragon, was a large green pond.
“Junior schoolmate… I’ve managed to figure it out. The reason that spore is so highly active is probably due to a type of algae! And this algae has extremely high water quality requirements. I suspect the surrounding waters have been deliberately purified, and this algae is being cultivated.” A while later, Xiao Qiqi, along with Zi Yi, arrived from the other side of the path. She shouted from afar.
Upon approaching, they looked at the surrounding area, which had almost burned out, and the sunken ground, and were somewhat stunned as they looked at the silver-haired figure.
“If it’s cultivation, then it makes sense. The monsters that got the spores there can not only confuse the authorities but also serve as labor for the Ancient God Sect.” Hearing Xiao Qiqi’s voice, a gleam flashed in Su Jiu’s eyes, and she said softly.
“Ancient God Sect?”
Xiao Qiqi and the other two were slightly taken aback. Mo Shi then told them the whole story. Upon learning that it was the Ancient God Sect’s doing, Xiao Qiqi frowned, and she rarely shook her head, stating quite seriously:
“It’s highly likely that the Plant Demon and the Ancient God Sect are in a cooperative relationship. You must know that a noble Plant Demon like Floating Life Blossom would not willingly be subordinate.”
“As for their mutual benefits, it might be that Floating Life Blossom needs the spores for energy, while the Ancient God Sect’s specific goal is unknown. However, their methods are more effective than their previous sacrificial rituals, and even major capitals like Magic City have fallen into chaos.”
Hearing this speculation, Su Jiu narrowed her eyes and looked at the green pond water at the bottom of the cliff. The pond water looked peculiar—it had no reflections. Thus, she said, “Now that things have come to this, why don’t we go down and explore? There’s something strange about this pond.”
“Splash!”
After capturing the Flower Arm Woman and other minions, Long Lu also rushed up from below as a blue stream of light. After assessing that everyone was mostly unharmed, he recognized Su Jiu’s identity and quickly bowed to her with immense gratitude.
“Thank you for your help, junior schoolmate. I’ve known that the White Water Society is exceptionally loyal. This time, we would have been doomed if not for your rescue.”
Su Jiu waved her hand and instructed, “Senior, there’s no need for formalities. I need to go investigate the source of the Rotten Skin disease below. You are all injured, so leave here quickly and head to a place with a signal to request reinforcements from the school.”
“Then, junior schoolmate, you guys…”
Long Lu’s gaze lingered between Su Jiu and Xiao Qiqi for a moment, and he hesitated before wanting to say something, but he was interrupted by Su Jiu. She turned her head, her eyes filled with seriousness: “Senior, please do as I say. If the black-robed man has accomplices, they will surely sense the huge commotion that occurred here.”
“We must go down and stop them from transferring the source of the Rotten Skin disease. You, on the other hand, hurry and request reinforcements!”
With that said, Su Jiu, along with Xiao Qiqi, transformed into a bloody stream of light and rushed towards the bottom of the cliff. As the two approached, Su Jiu’s pupils trembled. She suddenly realized that this was not a green water pond at all, but was composed of countless light-colored algae—
Algae Pond!
