Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 27

“I’ve heard quite a few rumors about the principal.” The team doctor waiting outside the cave was chatting with the instructor. “If he’s as strong as you all claim, why did he lose in the coming-of-age ceremony?”

“It’s because…” The instructor was interrupted as the monitoring device in his hand suddenly sounded an alarm. He picked it up, and his face turned pale. “This is bad!”

A light representing the location of a student on the map went out instantly. Nearby, another light, initially pure white, had changed to a blinding orange.

There were only three possible reasons for the light to disappear: First, the person intentionally shut off their communication device; second, the terminal was destroyed; and the worst scenario, the holder of the terminal had lost their life.

The orange indicated that the person’s heart rate had reached its peak. Unless something extremely exciting happened, they were definitely in mortal danger. What could possibly induce such fear in a mine inhabited only by creatures below A-grade?

The instructor quickly responded, “Call for backup immediately! Summon all students to regroup!”

Without waiting for a response, he rushed into the mine. Once inside, he found the area shaking violently, with a large amount of sand and soil spilling from the cracks in the stone walls. Rocks overhead were swaying ominously, threatening to collapse at any moment.

The terrain inside the cave was complex, making it hard to determine which path the two had taken. He could only try to move in their last known direction.

But “two people” was the best-case scenario. What if…

A sharp pain jolted Ling Xiao’s senses. Known for his quick reflexes, he was thrown against a wall without being able to counter. He hadn’t even gotten a clear look at his attacker.

Pain radiated from both his chest and back. With every breath, he felt a sharp sting in his chest, suggesting that his ribs had been broken from the impact. The dust and debris in the air obscured his vision, but as it settled, he managed to squint open his eyes. What he saw left him in shock.

A few meters away from him stood a creature from legends, a Kui—an ultra-rare species said to appear once every century. These creatures preferred the darkness, often hibernating in sunless areas for extended periods. They were not only rare in numbers but also, due to their long hibernation, rarely spotted.

This legendary creature was so rare that even those who wrote biology books had never seen it in person. In the books, there were only a few hand-drawn images and descriptions of its habits, and most of the details were vaguely described.

In terms of danger level, the Kui surpassed the A-grade of the Giant-tailed Lizards and even exceeded the S and SS grades, reaching the epic SSS grade. Only 12 creatures on the entire planet reached this terrifying level, with a total population of less than a hundred. Many people would never get the chance to see one in their lifetime.

Its killing power was such that even the elites of the military might not stand a chance against it, not to mention Ling Xiao and Ying Feng, who were still fledglings.

Encountering a Kui was a stroke of terrible luck, especially for two fledglings who hadn’t yet undergone their coming-of-age ceremony.

The tension in the cave was palpable, every minute detail magnified. Ying Feng’s breathing sounded slow and deliberate, every slight movement of the creature in front of him tightening his nerves.

The massive Kui, too large to stand upright in the confined space of the cave, was on all fours. Its gaze circled Ling Xiao before settling on Ying Feng.

Ying Feng’s back tensed. It was the first time since his awakening that he felt such raw fear. No person or creature had ever posed such a threat to him.

When faced with an overpowering enemy, one’s instinct was often to lose the will to fight. All Ying Feng could think of now was to call for help.

With an almost imperceptible motion, his right hand moved slowly towards the terminal on his left wrist, fearful that any sudden movement might alert the creature.

However, the Kui noticed. Just as Ying Feng was about to activate the alarm, a powerful attack from the Kui aimed directly at Ying Feng’s wrist.

Seeing what happened to Ling Xiao, Ying Feng mobilized all his attention and narrowly dodged the first punch. But immediately, a second punch followed. With the Kui’s strength, it could easily send Ying Feng flying. In this critical moment, Ying Feng could only throw himself to the ground, rolling awkwardly a few times. Taking this opportunity, he quickly pressed the alarm on his terminal. Almost instantly, the tracking point on the tablet changed from orange to red, and a sharp alarm sounded.

The instructor, upon receiving the alert, had countless speculations flash across his mind. Could there really be an S-level creature lurking here?

‘No.’ He quickly dismissed the thought. The two fledglings in danger were those he had previously set high hopes on.

Even if they were up against a threat with an S-level danger rating, such a sudden event wouldn’t occur. Beyond that, he dared not think of the other possibilities.

The students inside the same cave panicked and ran out, crashing right into the incoming instructor.

“Instructor!” They sought his help upon seeing him.

“Have you seen Ling Xiao and the others?” The instructor immediately asked.

The students shook their heads anxiously. “They rushed ahead as soon as we entered; we don’t know where they are now.”

“Instructor, what’s going on? Was there an earthquake?”

“Is the cave going to collapse?”

The students bombarded him with questions, but without any useful information. The instructor’s face tightened. “Evacuate from here immediately. The medical team is outside. You must protect yourselves, understand?”

The students nodded and dashed toward the exit. The instructor quickened his pace, hoping the two talented fledglings could hold on just a bit longer…

Outside the cave, the waiting medics were shocked to see military forces arriving. Seeing a short officer leading the troops disembark from the aircraft, the medic thought he was hallucinating. It was the youngest and most famous Major General of Tianxiu, Fu Yao.

Following him was his tall and mighty deputy, and then an orderly, well-trained team jumped out of the aircraft, quickly setting up some kind of lethal weapon.

“Download the target coordinates,” Fu Yao commanded.

“Report, coordinates downloaded!”

“Good, aim and prepare…”

“Wait!” The medic ran in front of the weapon, arms outstretched. “Can you tell me what happened? Why is the military here?”

Fu Yao only noticed him then. “Who are you? Why are you here?”

“I’m the field medic for Bikong Academy’s field training.”

“Bikong?” Fu Yao’s expression shifted. That name was familiar; it was his alma mater. “You’re saying there are students here for field training?”

The medic’s face paled. “Didn’t you come because of the distress signal?”

“We came because satellite monitoring detected abnormal energy fluctuations in this area, suspecting the presence of rare, high-risk creatures.”

“Rare high-risk creatures? But the instructor said that there hasn’t been any trace of an S-grade creature here in a hundred years.”

“What if it’s a once-in-a-century creature, even more dangerous than S-grade?”

The medic turned white. “Oh God.”

“Where are the students now?”

Before he could answer, students began pouring out from several entrances. Some were responding to the emergency return signal, others escaped from the accident-stricken cave, all looking disheveled.

“What happened inside?” The medic asked impatiently.

“We’re not sure, probably a collapse,” the students replied in a frenzy. “On our way out, we met the instructor, who told us to evacuate, but he went deeper into the cave.”

“Are there more students inside?” Before the medic could ask, Fu Yao was already ahead.

“Yes, many.” The students exchanged glances. “We got separated from many of our classmates after the incident.”

“Approximately how many?”

The medic quickly counted those who had already emerged. “Around ten.”

“Any other useful information?”

The medic, trying to remain calm, reported to Fu Yao, “Before the instructor went in, the tracking signal of one student had already been lost, and another showed an orange warning.”

Upon hearing this, the students looked horrified. Even if they didn’t understand exactly what the orange warning meant, they knew it wasn’t a good sign.

Fu Yao briefly contemplated and then gave a new directive.

“Cancel the bombing mission; everyone follow me into the cave for an emergency rescue.”

“Yes!” The soldiers responded in unison.

“Remember, the primary objective is to ensure the safety of the students. If faced with danger, rather sacrifice yourself than let any of the fledglings be harmed. We absolutely cannot allow any mishaps to befall them.”

“Understood!”

……

With a thunderous noise, the Kui’s massive palm slammed fiercely onto the ground. Ying Feng, who had already stopped, had to forcibly roll several times to avoid this deadly blow.

Ying Feng had never been beaten to this extent before. Even the most basic defense was extremely challenging for him, let alone mounting an effective counterattack. The sheer difference in their abilities rendered him defenseless, making the odds of victory in this one-sided battle practically nonexistent.

At that moment, a dark figure leaped from the ground, soared into the air, and lunged directly at the Kui’s head. Caught off guard, the Kui took the hit and, in a reflexive action, swatted away the audacious Ling Xiao, who landed not far from Ying Feng.

In the darkness, Ying Feng saw clearly that Ling Xiao had thrust a dagger. And he had indeed hit the target, but the Kui seemed unharmed, while the dagger that fell to the ground was broken in two.

This creature wasn’t only immensely powerful but also seemingly invulnerable to weapons. Seizing the moment while it was still reeling, Ying Feng sprung up from the ground, grabbed Ling Xiao, and dashed in the direction from which the Giant-tailed Lizard had been fleeing.

“Run!” Without further explanation, Ying Feng grabbed Ling Xiao’s wrist and dashed out. Dizzy and disoriented, Ling Xiao stumbled along behind him. The two ran at top speed through the narrow corridor, dodging falling rocks and dirt.

Ying Feng couldn’t avoid all the hazards, sustaining injuries, and he knew Ling Xiao’s condition was even worse. However, he couldn’t think about that now. All he wanted was to get out of the Kui’s attack range, hoping for reinforcements from their instructors outside.

Having just been attacked, the Kui was enraged and let out a roar before giving chase. Due to the narrowness of the mine and its massive size, it quickly lagged behind the fleeing duo.

As Ying Feng and Ling Xiao distanced themselves from the beast, just as they started feeling a bit relieved, a massive rock collapsed ahead, blocking their path. Ying Feng managed to stop abruptly, but Ling Xiao, propelled by inertia, was yanked back just in time by Ying Feng and crashed into his embrace.

The heavy footsteps were drawing closer. With a beast ahead and rocks blocking their retreat, they were trapped. Even the heavens seemed to have abandoned them.

The Kui let out a final growl at the two cornered individuals, its deep rumble threatening to shatter Ying Feng’s eardrums.

Who would have thought that my life would end this way, alongside this person…

Ying Feng reached inside his uniform, touching the peach pit over his chest. Regrettably, his unfulfilled wish would never see fruition.

It was over. Using all his strength, Ying Feng threw Ling Xiao as far away as possible, drew his dagger, and charged fearlessly at the unbeatable enemy.

—There are some whose deaths are deemed unsuitable for society, destined to be eliminated by the survival of the fittest.

—Once such individuals perish, their souls scatter, never to exist in this world again.

—That’s you, all the fledglings who have not undergone the coming-of-age ceremony.

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