The ruins were quiet.
Too quiet.
A narrow stone street stretched ahead, broken columns leaning against cracked walls. Vines crawled across shattered balconies. Dust shifted with every step the team took.
Shisui suddenly stopped.
Shuuu—
A blur of movement flickered across a rooftop.
His eyes sharpened.
From behind a collapsed wall—
Two massive hands slammed down onto the stone.
CRACK.
Chunks of brick exploded outward.
Then—
ROAR!
Two enormous beasts hauled themselves over the broken structure.
Giant Blue-Armed Apes.
Thick fur. Red eyes glowing. Muscular forearms bulging unnaturally large, veins pulsing beneath coarse hair.
Another shape dropped from above.
Then another.
Then more.
Within seconds, shadows filled the rooftops and walls.
Chen Linjian's voice cut through the tension.
"There are six of them already."
Shisui remained calm, calculating.
"These Giant Blue-Armed Apes are maintaining their distance. I guess they'll start attacking once they outnumber us."
Behind him—
Karma had gone completely still.
His shoulders straightened slightly.
His eyes lost their playful glint and turned razor-sharp.
He stepped forward quietly, placing himself subtly between Ye Ziyun and the densest cluster of movement.
A deep guttural growl echoed.
Shuuu—
One of the apes launched forward, massive arm swinging.
An arrow shot through the air and struck its shoulder.
The beast screeched, red eyes flaring.
Skree!
It slammed down from the wall—
BOOM!
Dust exploded upward as the ground cracked beneath its weight.
Another ape leapt from a rooftop, claws scraping stone.
Skree! Skree!
One crashed down hard after being struck mid-air.
Boom!
The street trembled.
For a split second—
A gap opened in their formation.
Chen Linjian's eyes flashed.
"A chance!"
He surged forward.
DUN—
His figure blurred, sword flashing in a clean arc toward the nearest ape's exposed flank.
—
Chen Linjian wiped a thin streak of blood from the corner of his lip.
"Hitting a Giant Blue-Armed Ape with a single arrow…" he muttered under his breath.
"Who shot that arrow?!" someone shouted.
"It's Nie Li!"
Click.
Nie Li lowered his crossbow slightly, calm as ever.
One of the apes crouched atop a domed pavilion.
Chen Linjian ordered sharply.
"Everyone take out your crossbows!"
Click. Click. Click.
Weapons were raised in unison.
From the side, Shen Yue's eyes darkened.
Ever since Nie Li appeared, Ziyun has been distancing herself more and more from me…
He gripped his crossbow tighter.
He only killed a Giant Blue-Armed Ape. How hard could it be?
He moved behind a broken wall, peeking upward.
"There's one up there!"
High above, the ape swung from a thick tree branch.
"Hmph. Such a big target."
Hoo hoo hoo—
The beast pounded its chest.
Click.
Shen Yue pulled the trigger.
SHUU—
The arrow sliced through the air.
The men froze.
"…Shen Yue attacked!"
The crowd watched—
DUANG!
The arrow embedded cleanly… into the tree trunk.
The ape blinked.
Then shrieked.
Skree!
The ape's red eyes locked onto him.
It ripped the branch free and leapt away.
Shen Yue's confident smirk slowly collapsed.
How could that happen…? My aim was spot on!
Behind him, several students tried not to laugh.
"Hee…" "Pfft…"
Ye Ziyun smiled softly.
"I guess Shen Yue must be competing against Nie Li again…"
Shen Yue's eye twitched violently.
"I don't believe it!"
He scrambled into another position.
Click.
"I will hit this this time!"
The ape soared through the air—
SHUU—
The bolt missed again, striking stone with a sharp crack.
PU—
Dust exploded where the arrow landed nowhere near the target.
Shen Yue stared blankly.
His face went pale.
From behind—
"…Wow."
Karma's voice was calm.
Too calm.
He stepped forward slightly, eyes sharp now, posture straight.
"No pressure, Shen Yue," he continued lightly.
"You've successfully eliminated two innocent trees. The forest thanks you."
Several students choked back laughter.
Karma tilted his head.
"Are you trying to intimidate them by landscaping?"
Shen Yue snapped, "Shut up!"
Karma ignored him.
"Maybe the ape moved because it sensed the danger… to the surrounding environment."
Laughter burst out among the students.
Even Chen Linjian coughed to hide a smile.
"HAHAHAHA—!"
Shen Yue's face darkened instantly.
"What are you all laughing for?!" Chen Linjian snapped.
"Do you want to become food for the apes? The number of Giant Blue-Armed Apes are increasing! Quickly prepare to shoot them!"
"It's all your fault," Shen Yue muttered under his breath. "Nie Li…"
His grip tightened.
Nie Li glanced sideways calmly.
Damn… why is this guy staring at me…? Traitors from the Sacred Family—just seeing them makes me mad!
Before he could say more—
ROAR! ROAR!
Two apes charged forward along the walls.
"Pa! Pa! Pa!"
Crossbows fired in unison.
Bolts struck bark, stone, and fur.
"They're too fast!" one student shouted. "We can't hit them at all!"
The apes moved through the trees with terrifying agility, bounding from branch to branch.
Pak pak pak!
Arrows embedded uselessly into trunks.
"Hoo hoo hoo!"
One ape raised its arms triumphantly—
Then—
SHUV.
A blur cut through the air.
The ape's chest exploded with a clean puncture.
It froze mid-roar.
Falls.
It crashed heavily onto the stone.
Everyone blinked.
Another ape lunged—
SHUV.
A second bolt pierced straight through its shoulder and out the back, blood spraying.
BOOM.
It toppled off a rooftop.
Chen Linjian turned sharply.
Karma stood calmly with a crossbow in hand.
His expression wasn't playful.
It was focused.
He loaded with smooth efficiency—no wasted movement.
Weng—
He pulled the string back.
Release.
SHUV.
The bolt flew so fast it was nearly invisible.
It punched straight through an ape's forearm, pinning it momentarily against a stone pillar before tearing free.
The beast screamed.
Skreeee!
Students stared.
"His arrows… went through it?"
Another ape tried to retreat along a wall—
SHUV.
The bolt pierced its side and embedded deep into the structure behind it.
The force alone flipped the beast backward.
Chen Linjian's eyes narrowed.
That speed… that penetration…
Karma shifted his stance slightly, already lining up another target.
No grin.
No commentary.
Just calculation.
Beside him, Nie Li fired steadily, picking off openings with surgical precision.
A Giant Blue-Armed Ape leapt down near Chen Linjian.
Boom!
Dust exploded upward.
Chen moved in cleanly, blade flashing.
Brother Nie Li, I will have to trouble you! Chen called out.
Nie Li nodded.
"Okay."
"But we've been shooting for half the day…" Nie Li muttered under his breath as he reloaded.
From above—
Hoo!
Roar!
"The number of Giant Blue-Armed Apes is increasing!" karma muttered.
More shadows gathered along rooftops and broken balconies.
Chen Linjian clenched his jaw.
"Looks like they can't wait any longer!"
He raised his weapon.
"Everyone move! We will move while clearing them out! Quick!"
"Yes!"
The ape roared again, now fully agitated.
Another two leapt into view from the rooftops.
Karma's expression shifted instantly.
The humor drained from his eyes.
He stepped forward.
"Enough."
His voice was steady.
"Shisui."
Shisui appeared at his side almost immediately.
"Yes."
"Deploy the squad," Karma ordered calmly. "Tell them to spread out and cover the group. Two-man defensive pairs. Keep the weaker ones toward the center."
Shisui hesitated slightly.
"And you?"
Karma didn't look at him.
"I'll handle it here."
A pause.
The apes were repositioning—coordinating.
Shisui's gaze sharpened.
"You shouldn't separate."
Karma finally glanced at him.
His eyes were different now.
Focused. Calculating.
"I'm not separating."
He gave a faint, confident smile.
"You'll be with me."
Shisui held his gaze.
"…Understood."
"But deploy the rest," Karma added. "Protect everyone first."
Shisui nodded once.
He turned sharply.
"All units—reposition! Defensive perimeter! Protect the inner formation!"
Students scrambled into formation immediately.
Meanwhile—
Another Giant Blue-Armed Ape dropped from above.
ROAR!
Dust exploded.
Karma stepped forward calmly.
"Alright," he murmured softly.
"Let's see which one of you is eager to die so badly"
The formation began shifting forward under cover fire.
Karma stepped sideways to maintain angle coverage.
"Ziyun," Nie Li called, "follow the team closely!"
"Be careful!" he added quickly.
Ziyun nodded firmly.
"No problem! You be careful too!"
Suddenly—
ROAR!
The wind shifted.
Birds burst from the treetops in panic.
Then—
A thunderous roar shook the ruins.
"That's the roar of a Spirit Grade demon beast!" Nie Li shouted.
Chen Linjian's expression hardened.
"A Spirit Grade demon beast?"
Dust rolled across broken stone as Karma skidded back slightly, eyes narrowing.
"Are you able to tell what rank it is?" Chen Linjian asked quickly.
Karma exhaled slowly, gaze fixed upward.
"At least Five-Star Silver Rank… maybe close to Gold Rank."
A heavy silence fell.
Shisui stepped forward slightly, scanning the rooftops.
"A Five-Star Silver Rank spirit beast…" he said calmly.
"And there are still over twenty more normal Giant Blue-Armed Apes."
ROAR!
A massive white-furred ape leapt onto a high tower platform.
Its muscles bulged unnaturally. Its red eyes burned with intelligence and rage.
ROAR!
The stone beneath its feet cracked.
"We can't fight back!" someone yelled.
The Spirit Grade ape slammed its fist against the tower, then vaulted down—
There!
More apes surged behind it.
Nie li looked up sharply.
"Follow me! They are bigger in size, so it will be harder for them to move around in the forest!"
Karma nodded immediately.
"Into the trees! Keep moving!"
Sha sha sha—
The team sprinted through thick roots and fallen trunks.
ROAR!!
The white ape smashed through branches in pursuit.
Chen Linjian suddenly stopped and turned.
"Get in formation!"
He raised his sword and scanned the battlefield quickly.
Then his voice sharpened.
"Listen carefully! Only Shisui is capable of handling that Spirit Grade demon beast!"
Everyone froze for a split second.
Shisui didn't argue.
He simply stepped forward.
FORMATION!
Students shifted positions smoothly.
Frontline swordsmen.
Rear crossbows.
Mid support.
Energy flared.
"HAaaaaaaa!"
One of the stronger members released his soul force, a wolf-like phantom forming behind him.
"Awooo!"
The forest trembled.
Meanwhile—
Nie li reloaded his crossbow with fluid precision.
"Our arrows are coated with Purple Haze Grass poison," he called out clearly. "Specifically made to counter Giant Blue-Armed Apes!"
Karma fired.
SHUV.
The bolt pierced an ape's thigh clean through.
It screeched.
"Skree!"
"As long as you hit them, they'll lose strength!"
Karma continued. "So go ahead and fight them!"
"That's great!" one student shouted excitedly.
A blade of wind sliced forward—
An ape was thrown backward violently.
"Then I'll go!" someone charged.
Meanwhile—
The Spirit Grade white ape landed heavily in the clearing.
Boom.
Its red eyes locked onto the formation.
The pressure alone felt suffocating.
Karma's gaze shifted briefly to Shisui.
Shisui's eyes were calm.
Sharp.
Focused entirely on the Spirit Beast.
The other apes began surrounding the formation from multiple angles.
Karma fired again—
SHUV.
Another ape dropped instantly, the bolt punching straight through its ribcage.
His shots were faster than the others.
Stronger.
Each bolt pierced through flesh and bone as if the beasts were made of cloth.
But even he didn't look at the fallen ones.
His attention flicked back to the towering white figure.
This one's different.
The Spirit Grade demon beast roared again—
ROAR!
And stepped forward to challenge Shisui directly.