Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Reincarnation V

There are four fires in the world.

Heavenly Fire, Dragon Fire, Human Fire, and Ghost Fire.

Heavenly Fire is the leader of the four fires, possessing immense natural power. Even in a human society that has advanced technologically for two hundred years, it still cannot bear the energy of a single bolt of lightning.

Let alone the thunder strikes coming down upon oneself.

Ming Yue’s thoughts are straightforward; she is good at digging to the root of a problem.

However, she is still young, with limited life experience. Even though she has been following Ming Ye in business for many years, she might not understand the complex relationships between institutions as well as some of the academy presidents.

After all, every field has its own specialization. Ming Yue’s personality and talents have destined her to be a "special forces member"—attacking and capturing fortresses.

When the Heavenly Fire thunder calamity falls, none of the zombies on this dark wilderness will survive.

Killing life is a karmic hindrance.

But exterminating vengeful spirits is a debt that is hard to sever.

Earlier in the discussion, President Cao Jinghua of Changshi was slower than the other leaders in making a decision, and this was the reason.

Chang'an Normal University is located in the old city area of Chang'an, claiming to be built on the "72 layers of earth." It holds the foundations of countless ancient dynasties. Every year, it has to deal with the city's wild construction teams, cleaning up after them multiple times—so skilled they’ve become.

Chang'an City places great emphasis on the protection of cultural relics. The Cultural Relics Bureau has earned the notorious title of the "only living government department" in the entire city. In the early years, Changshi faced many problems with the Cultural Relics Bureau because of its rough handling of ancient "remains" (including fake corpses, blood beasts, etc.).

Cao Jinghua deeply understands the stakes involved.

Thus, he felt an overwhelming sense of... anxiety regarding the final decision to invoke the Heavenly Fire.

From his perspective, there is nothing more terrifying than divine retribution. The only difference lies in the scope.

Spirit-Sealing Academy has gone mad.

The young girl dares to think it, and the big president dares to do it.

And then there's Emperor University—Su Hui, you’re still a gentle lady, yet how could you agree with Chen Xiu so quickly? Could it be that you actually have feelings for him?

And Qi Renjie from Yu University! The Fengdu of Yuzhou is still an antique next to your campus. What benefits will burning this land have for Yu University?

Although Cao Jinghua had offered advice during the discussion, his heart was filled with worry.After the discussion, each of the presidents went to make arrangements according to their assigned tasks. Chen Xiu from Spirit-Sealing Academy was the fastest to return. It seemed like the ten students weren't selected, but rather, everyone was fighting to be the first to take up the task.

Changshi and Spirit-Sealing had a good relationship, but their academy styles were different. Every time Cao Jinghua saw Spirit-Sealing students rushing to the frontlines in such a hurry, he would feel an overwhelming sense of admiration.

How do they manage this?

How do they teach them? Aren't people from the misty Jiangnan supposed to be gentle? How did they raise students from Spirit-Sealing Academy who are so quick to act before even thinking?

He was still arranging candidates when Chen Xiu, perhaps sensing his expression, came over, arranged for ten students to begin preparing the Tian Gang Incantation, and stood next to Cao Jinghua.

"Don’t worry too much about all that nonsense. It’s meaningless."

"Whether or not the Heavenly Fire can even be summoned is still uncertain, so don’t scare yourself."

Cao Jinghua: "..."

Cao Jinghua rolled his eyes. "I’m just worried about how to explain this to the Cultural Relics Bureau in Yuzhou and what the organizers will say."

Chen Xiu, with wide eyes, rolled them even more obviously than Cao Jinghua: "Yuzhou Cultural Relics Bureau? The reason we pulled in Yu University Spirit-Sealing students is to have them take the bullet for us later."

"Their own Cultural Relics Bureau, let them deal with it."

"As for the organizers? We still don’t know whether this year’s organizers will be the Underworld or the Ghost Slayer Association."

"If it’s the Underworld, then we should just burn the land without hesitation. After all, the Underworld and us haven’t been on good terms these past few years."

"If it’s the Ghost Slayer Association? Even better. If they come looking for trouble, I’ll go with Su Hui to the capital and sue them at the Spirit Medium Association headquarters."

Cao Jinghua: "..."

Cao Jinghua paused for a moment and then sincerely said, "Chen Xiu, your future is limitless, don’t be impulsive. If this is handled poorly, it could end up in the records and haunt you for the rest of your life."

Chen Xiu sneered. "Which one of our students doesn’t have a limitless future?"

"Isn’t the same true for your academy?"

"Look at how many have been injured. If we hadn’t intervened in time, someone might’ve died here. What then?"

"The organizers can easily say that the earthquake was an unexpected cause and express deep apologies for the consequences."

"There’s still just over an hour until three o’clock. If we don’t step up now, who will?"Cao Jinghua: "..."

Cao Jinghua sighed. "What you said makes sense."

"Face and reality, both need to be earned ourselves."

Soon, countless Xuan Yun Spell barriers were set up across the wilderness. The seniors from Spirit-Sealing Academy put in all their efforts to ensure the maximum number of barriers were constructed, allowing everyone to rest for a moment. Many people were exhausted from the fighting and lay on the ground, listening to the plans of each academy's president through their communication devices.

"Wow, summoning the Heavenly Fire, holy crap!"

"Exciting, exciting, hahaha, this exam was totally worth it."

"...Su Hui said the Wangchuan River... is it that dirty river on the left? Just head east?"

"Exactly, Xiu-ge also said so. There’s a crack in the earth to the east, jump in and hide."

"Damn! I’ve never been good at climbing slopes since I was a kid. What do we do now?"

"What's the retreat order you received on your side?"

"Changshi withdraws first, followed by Yuda, then Yu University, and Spirit-Sealing last."

"Wait! Why do we Spirit-Sealing withdraw last?"

"Because you can fight. Those who can, do more work."

"Damn, no way! I need to suggest that Yuda comes along to die with us."

Everything was arranged.

Finally, Chen Xiu sent out a final message in the communication device outlining the operational process: the ten people staying behind, the steps to follow, the retreat routes, the task of creating the Yang Qi circle, and the timing for retreat.

No sooner had he finished speaking than...

Chen Xiu had just been chatting with Cao Jinghua, saying that it wasn’t certain if the Heavenly Fire would even be summoned. But now, as the protective barriers rose across the wilderness, the chaos of the battle began to subside, the Yang Qi diminished, and Yin Qi surged. A faint thunderous sound was heard in the sky.

Chen Xiu, while checking to confirm the responses: "…"

He looked up at the night sky.

Purple lightning flickered like strands of hair through the clouds.Ming Yue asked, "Senior, are you staying behind?"

Chen Xiu nodded, "Of course."

Ming Yue pouted, "Then who’s going to lead the retreat? Senior Guo Tianyang?"

Chen Xiu lowered his head to reply, "He’s staying too. Senior Lü Xingru will lead the team."

Ming Yue asked again, "Senior, how do you plan to set up the Yang Qi circle?"

Chen Xiu didn’t look up, pointing toward the open fields to the east, then towards the Northern Yin Emperor Temple and the sparse mountain range to the west. "Do you see it?"

"This large semicircle."

"Changshi will be responsible for sealing the left side with Yang Qi talismans, Yuda will take care of the right side, and Empire University will use the Binding Spirit talisman to arrange the Yang Qi circle in all directions. Our academy will move last—responsible for sealing the gap right in front."

"The remaining forty of us will stay inside the circle, as bait and to stay behind."

"Alright, stop messing around. Think about what spells we’ll need for the ones staying behind."

Ming Yue obediently nodded. Not far away, the sound of footsteps and scattered farewell words could be heard. She turned to look at the crowd. Changshi had already begun retreating. Her classmates exchanged friendly goodbyes, with everyone from Changshi carrying half-meter-thick Yang Qi talismans. She didn’t know how fast their hands must be, but they had managed to prepare everything in such a short amount of time.

"Don’t worry! Comrades! We’ll seal the left side for sure!"

"Please hurry! Don’t leave us waiting too long in the crevice!"

Changshi’s students yelled playfully, but were quickly shushed by other academies.

Under the dark sky, besides the eerie Northern Yin Temple and the occasional flashes of lightning in the sky, no one witnessed this rare four-academy alliance.

Friendship is rare.

Whether it’s deep or not isn’t the question to be considered at this moment. What matters now is the shared, passionate spirit of fighting the enemy together.

Maybe in the future, these four academies will be engaged in fierce competition in their professional careers, but for this moment, their bond in fighting together is undeniable.

Ming Yue: "…"

Ming Yue turned to Chen Xiu, who was typing a message. "Senior, Changshi has started retreating."

Chen Xiu: "Got it, they only have fifteen minutes."With a portion of the students missing, the number of undead in the wilderness increased significantly. However, the students had no complaints and followed the steps that had been discussed by the heads with serious focus.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

To the left of the eastern direction, a faint yellow light illuminated the area on time. The light was weak and thin but unyielding, blocking the dark figures running across the wilderness.

Ming Yue felt a surge of joy in her heart. "Senior! Changshi is done!"

Chen Xiu nodded and spoke into the communicator, calling out to Su Hui: "Su Hui! Tell Empire University to hurry up!"

On the other end of Su Hui's communicator, there were faint sounds of undead howling mixed with the cries of students. The female voice remained gentle and steady: "Got it."

"Twenty minutes. I wish Fengling and Yuda good luck."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Chen Xiu replied, "Definitely."

After finishing, Chen Xiu turned around and noticed that Ming Yue was standing in front of the temple column, seemingly fiddling with something. He grabbed the collar of Ming Yue’s clothes and headed toward the chaotic center of the fight. "Stop playing around. Let’s go, prepare to save the situation."

Ming Yue tucked away the large pile of iron nails she had been struggling with. "Hey, hey, alright."

The students of Empire University acted efficiently, and their retreat was swift. The dark crowd moved like an ant colony, pouring out from all directions, then quickly dispersing, heading toward the designated positions within the Yang Qi circle to place the Binding Spirit talismans. Time was of the essence, and their actions were orderly.

Su Hui’s communicator had not been closed on Chen Xiu’s side. He listened to her calm, authoritative voice giving directions:

"The Binding Spirit talisman on the east side isn't secure, go reinforce it, thank you for your hard work."

"The south side is good..."

"Everyone, speed up! The heavenly thunder doesn’t wait for anyone. We can only roughly estimate the time for the thunderfire’s gestation."

"Fengling and Yuda’s students are still holding the rear for us. We mustn’t forget their kindness. We need to move as quickly as possible to give them more time."

"Understood?" Su Hui’s voice carried a quiet strength that reassured everyone.

Soon, replies from the retreating students of Empire University came through the communicator.

"Got it!"

"No problem!""Don't worry, Sister Hui!"

Ming Yue, who was standing next to Chen Xiu, couldn't help but feel a little sad for some reason.

Another group of students withdrew. The imbalance between yin and yang in the area became more pronounced. A faint mist of yin energy started to rise from the ground, obstructing their breath. Electric snakes began to visibly slither in the high sky, and the first clear sound of thunder arrived.

Chen Xiu looked up at the sky.

Ming Yue looked around and distributed the nails she had in hand to the senior students who were holding the rear.

"Senior, our shoes all have rubber soles, waterproof, slip-resistant, and electric-proof."

"But if the heavenly thunder really doesn't have eyes and affects those around us, we can step on the iron nails, embed them in the soles of our shoes. At least that way, it will help with the electricity."

"Metal conducts electricity, after all."

"Where did the nails come from? 23333 I just pried them off the columns of the Northern Yin Temple, uh… Senior Qi Renjie, sorry for damaging public property."

"Those columns are really tall, and the seats below them are connected. There are lots of nails that can be pried out from the joints."

Just as Qi Renjie was about to thank Ming Yue for the nails, he froze.

Guo Tianyang, standing beside them, was nearly dying from laughter. He was truly impressed by this junior sister with her endless strange ideas.

"Well done, Ming Yue," Guo Tianyang gave her a thumbs up.

Yuda began retreating. Qi Renjie opened the communicator to inquire about the situation of the leader of the team. From the other end, the sounds of undead howling became louder, and the situation seemed bad. Amidst the growls, there were also several screams from students.

"Are you alright?" Qi Renjie asked with a serious face.

The reply came back, "Damn, not good!"

"We've started retreating. President, please take care."

Despite his worry for the students, Qi Renjie showed no sign of it on his face. He responded:

"Understood. Tell our academy’s people to leave quickly."

"Good luck."Yuda team leader: "Good luck!"

The next fifteen minutes of waiting felt unbearably agonizing.

The yellow light of the Yang Qi Circle on the right side was delayed by three minutes, but it finally shone in the black wind of the wilderness.

The clouds in the sky were rolling, like dumpling skins, holding tightly the fully packed lightning within. The lightning kept struggling, trying to break through the clouds and fall to the earth, bringing new life.

Chen Xiu and team leader Qi Renjie, along with the forty students staying behind, removed the Xuanyun Spell barriers and entered the center of the wilderness, taking over from the last batch of Spirit-Sealing Academy students.

Chen Xiu was negotiating with team leader Lü Xingru through the communicator:

"We'll be there soon!"

Lü Xingru's voice was tense, "Damn it, hurry up."

"Xu Miaomiao's leg is broken, and many of the students are injured."

"I'm worried if our academy can seal the Yang Qi circle in ten minutes."

Chen Xiu's face was expressionless: "It's fine, just do your best."

"We'll hold the line here."

The yin fog on the wilderness had already risen higher than the height of a person. When they reached the center, they realized the ground was covered in corpses. The undead were scattered all over the place. Black death blood spread across the ground, mixed with golden Yang Qi scars left by the students, the scene was tragic beyond belief.

Spirit-Sealing Academy began to retreat.

The forty students in the rear entered on time.

What faced them was a mass of vengeful spirits and undead.

Suddenly, there was a deafening explosion! It sounded like dozens of pounds of thunder tubes or explosive devices going off!

The horde of undead was blasted apart, with blood mist filling the sky.

Ming Yue was so scared she almost covered her ears, but she saw Guo Tianyang shake his hand, lowering his arm after throwing the Tian Gang Spell, smiling and saying: "Nice!"

"I've never had a chance to use this after learning it."

"Let's treat today as a test."

Ming Yue: "……"Ming Yue stared in disbelief at the severed limbs scattered on the ground, filled with admiration for the fourth-year seniors.

This... their mental fortitude is truly impressive.

The number of students retreating from Spirit-Sealing Academy far exceeded the forty students who stayed behind, and the resulting imbalance between yin and yang, after waiting for thirty seconds, finally showed its power. Thunder roared from the sky, and endless lightning snakes twisted and howled in the clouds, rushing and weaving with an unstoppable force.

Before the thunder struck, fine rain began to fall.

Qi Renjie wiped the rain off his face and whispered, "I've never seen a thunderstorm this intense."

"Damn, don't actually strike the Imperial Temple."

In the fine rain, under the black night sky, several Spirit-Sealing Academy students in the front threw Tian Gang Spells, each more powerful than the last. Their light was as bright as thunder and fire. Chen Xiu, slightly behind, cast a land deity spell for the other academy's students who had no one to do so:

"The celestial fire is about to fall."

"This is the Land Deity spell, to prevent the yin eyes from causing the thunder fire to affect us. When the thunder tribulation begins, make sure to place the Land Deity spell on the yin eyes."

"Step on the earth and pray for the Land Deity's protection."

Everyone responded affirmatively.

Ming Yue's communicator buzzed a few times. She covered her ears and opened the screen, but the raindrops blurred the text.

【@Yan Jun: Be safe.】

【@Bai Linlang: Ming Yue, be careful.】

【@An Xueru: We’ve finished, waiting for you in the earth crack.】

Ming Yue was stunned. She looked toward the east. In the dark rain curtain, a faint yellow light seemed to have a life of its own, moving left and right, gradually coming together, and eventually connecting at the ends, forming a closed Yang Qi circle that tightly sealed the dense yin energy and undead at the center, fueling the extreme imbalance of yin and yang.

Ming Yue shouted, "Senior! The Yang Qi circle is ready!"

Chen Xiu responded, "Everyone, prepare the Land Deity spell!"

Before his words could fall, lightning flashed in the sky, and the whole scene was illuminated by explosive electric light, turning the dark fields as bright as daylight!

All the students were lit up, their faces as pale as corpses.

A loud series of cracks echoed.The first thunder strike hit the ground.