When Yuan Chu and the others stepped out of the vehicle, several teams were already brawling over the Plant-type rookie. Dawn Wind, who had arranged a battle with Huo Yin, wasn't idle either, they were currently battling Falcon. Greedy enough to want both a Botanist and a Healer, their appetite was quite large.
Yuan Chu looked around and found an open spot to sit down. Tali followed closely beside her, keeping her head slightly bowed, her eyes slyly taking in her surroundings. Huo Yin confirmed their position before turning his attention to the ongoing duel.
It was dusk. The soft rays of the setting sun bathed the earth, casting a golden glow over everyone present. Shadows darted back and forth as superpowers clashed in continuous waves, displaying the Evolvers' strength without reservation in every collision.
Yuan Chu remained silent, and Tali was silent too. The two were like two inconspicuous shadows, completely out of place amidst the lively commotion around them.
After a moment, Yuan Chu suddenly spoke, "Give me your hand."
Tali froze for a second before offering her hand.
Yuan Chu grasped her hand and said softly, "Close your eyes and feel the energy inside your body."
Without hesitation, Tali complied and closed her eyes. Just as inside the car earlier, aside from a chilly sensation, there was nothing unusual.
She opened her eyes. "There's nothing."
Yuan Chu: "Look around again. Do you notice any difference?"
Tali turned her head in confusion, then froze. In her line of sight, the land previously bathed in soft evening light now bore strands of discordant bluish-black mist. Some seeped up from deep underground, while others emanated from specific people, drifting around like smoke. The entire world seemed plunged into a eerie atmosphere.
"What is this?" Tali's pupils contracted. Her body temperature plunged abruptly, leaving her hands and feet ice-cold.
"This is your superpower." Yuan Chu replied.
"Spirit Type, Spectre."
"Spectre?" Judging purely by the name, it didn't sound like a superpower aligned with conventional values. Tali clenched her fingers, her body shivering uncontrollably, not out of fear, but from the bone-chilling cold.
"Don't fight it. Accept them, adapt to them, and then..."
Yuan Chu instructed in a calm voice, "Control them."
Tali settled her mind. A thin layer of dark energy slowly veiled her pupils. Her heartbeat slowed, her breath turning into white mist as everything before her faded, until only three shades remained: black, white, and gray.
"You need to learn how to distinguish between Yin Qi, Ghostly Qi, and Death Qi." Yuan Chu continued.
"Yin Qi is a naturally formed sinister chill, Ghostly Qi is the residual energy left behind by dying creatures, and Death Qi foretells death."
Tali's expression turned dazed, as if immersed in a wondrous state.
"What you must do is absorb Yin Qi and refine Ghostly Qi."
Tali's fingers twitched slightly. A ring of gas slowly materialized around her, forming a chilling gust of wind. Her hair danced wildly in the gale, and a cluster of black flames ignited within her eyes.
After an unknown time, the black flames gradually died down. Awakening from her meditative trance, Tali saw Death Qi emanating from dozens of Evolvers nearby. She couldn't help asking, "You said earlier that Death Qi foretells death... Does that mean these people are going to die soon?"
As she asked this, she failed to realize whether the other person could see Death Qi like she did.
"Yes." Yuan Chu had guided Tali on how to use her superpower precisely because she had foreseen what was about to unfold.
Tali was perplexed. While casualties in duels were common, how could onlookers standing on the sidelines die as well?
Just as she was about to ask further, Yuan Chu suddenly stood up. "Let's move to a different spot."
Utterly baffled, Tali followed her, shifting a dozen steps to the left.
Meanwhile, the duel between Dawn Wind and Falcon was nearing its end. Whistle was live-streaming the entire match, giving a passionate commentary.
"As expected of Dawn Wind's Vice Captain, the man known as 'Iron Tower'! With his formidable Tier 7 physical build, normal attacks can't even scratch him!"
"Falcon's Spearman is no pushover either! Nimble movements, tricky angles, every strike aims straight for vital points!"
"Dawn Wind has already won one match. If they take this one too, Falcon will be forced out of the contest... Ah! The Spearman was sent flying by Iron Tower! Looks like he can't fight anymore!"
The battle concluded. Dawn Wind won the match, their members cheering in jubilation.
On the other side, Red Blade had also finished their fight. In the end, they would battle Dawn Wind to decide who won the rights to the Plant-type rookie.
But circumstances took a turn, Red Blade had set their sights on Feng Chenxiu as well. The guy was simply too eye-catching: Dazzling golden hair, ethereal beauty, a charmingly radiant smile, and a Healer on top of that. He was practically a walking special-effects halo.
After some negotiation, Dawn Wind and Red Blade decided to throw Feng Chenxiu into the stakes. Whichever team lost had to relinquish rights to both the rookie and the Healer. The winner would then face off against Huo Yin, with all other conditions remaining the same.
Huo Yin indicated he had no objections.
Feng Chenxiu: ... He genuinely wondered if he had been handed the female lead's script.
Whistle immediately zoomed in on Feng Chenxiu for a close-up, excitedly broadcasting: "This is a battle of hot-blooded men! Who will ultimately win the beauty's hand? Stay tuned, folks!"
Dawn Wind and Red Blade both had plenty of supporters. As for Huo Yin's team, they looked like free experience points waiting to be claimed, no one believed they stood a chance.
Just as both sides dispatched their members to begin the fight, a sudden shriek pierced the sky. Immediately after, countless beams of light rained down like torrential rain.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The beams pierced into the earth, forming web-like cracks that rapidly expanded outward. Following several thunderous booms, section after section of the ground collapsed.
People lost their footing, swaying unsteadily. Those with sharp instincts quickly scrambled for solid ground, while others failed to react in time, tumbling down with the collapsing earth.
In an instant, screams erupted everywhere as chaos ensued.
Yuan Chu stood rooted to the spot without moving, while Tali clung to her side, completely stunned.
The collapse lasted a little over a minute. Once the smoke and dust cleared, the previously level ground was left pitted and scarred, as though brutally trampled under the foot of a giant. Everyone was covered in dirt, looking thoroughly disheveled.
Amidst this widespread collapse, the area within a one-meter radius around Yuan Chu and Tali miraculously remained untouched.
Tali stared at Yuan Chu in shock, remembering how she had suddenly moved a dozen steps to the left earlier. Did she already know what was going to happen back then?
"Are you two okay?" Huo Yin manipulated wind elements, hovering over to their side.
"We're fine." Yuan Chu turned her head to look at Feng Chenxiu nearby.
He was clinging to a tree root, barely maintaining his balance. But the Evolvers who had been standing next to him weren't so fortunate, they had all fallen into the pit.
Deep within the pitch-black pit, something squirmed in the dark. The fallen Evolvers vanished before they could even utter a scream.
"Mud-Stone Beasts, they devour any living thing." Huo Yin said gravely.
"We need to leave as soon as possible. Mud-Stone Beasts usually coexist with Earth-Splitting Spiders, and those light beams earlier were fired by Earth-Splitting Spiders."
"Leaving won't be that easy, I'm afraid." Yuan Chu surveyed her surroundings. A swarm of spider-like beasts, each the size of a millstone, was surging toward them. These beasts lived underground, possessing a tail capable of shooting light beams that turned earth and rock into loose sand.
Dealing with these mutated beasts required extreme agility or levitation abilities. Otherwise, falling into the pit meant landing straight into the gaping maws of the Mud-Stone Beasts.
"Friends, we have an emergency! We've encountered a massive swarm of Earth-Splitting Spiders, the situation is critical! If there are any other Evolvers nearby, please come assist us!" Clinging to a tottering tree, Whistle dutifully streamed for his life.
The live stream chat exploded with comments, lagging the feed.
💬 Holy crap, that's brutal.
💬 Looks like at least fifteen to twenty people fell into the pit.
💬 Is there any good way to deal with Mud-Stone Beasts?
💬 Mud-Stone Beasts are immune to all physical and magical attacks. Only spiritual attacks can stun them for a few seconds. But those damn beasts live in packs and are huge, a single spiritual attack can't control too many.
💬 Are there any Spirit-type Evolvers here? Otherwise, try to break out! As long as you're careful not to step on the sand pits created by the Earth-Splitting Spiders, you can escape.
💬 Look, someone's already breaking through! It's an Elemental expert.
💬 Elemental types are broken like bugs, they can fight in almost any environment.
💬 Too bad Elemental types are so rare. Otherwise, they could collaborate using Earth or Wind abilities to help others escape.
💬 Doesn't have to be Elemental types, flying gadgets work too.
Several Evolvers pulled out compact flight-assist devices to soar out of the sand pit area. These devices could only carry a single person and flew no higher than ten meters.
A Plant-type Evolver used accelerated vine growth to carefully push outward, his teammates following closely behind to clear away approaching Earth-Splitting Spiders.
The Plant-type rookie, still unable to use his superpower, was guarded in the center by several Evolvers as they waited for rescue from companions on the perimeter.
Huo Yin prepared to take Yuan Chu away first, but just as he reached out, the ground beneath them collapsed.
"Ah!" Tali gasped in short panic, only to find their descent abruptly halted.
Huo Yin waved his hand. The loose sand instantly solidified, constructing an earthen bridge four to five meters long.
"Hurry!" He urged while reinforcing the earth layer.
Yuan Chu didn't hesitate, moving outward along the earthen bridge he constructed, with Tali following close behind.
"Me too! Don't forget me!" Feng Chenxiu called out dramatically from a short distance away.
Frowning slightly, Huo Yin exerted his power once more. An earthen bridge formed under Feng Chenxiu's feet, extending toward Yuan Chu's side before merging into a single pathway.
"Help us! Save us!" Numerous people cried out to them. Those closest immediately leaped onto the earthen bridge Huo Yin had built, cutting ahead of Yuan Chu.
Huo Yin's face darkened. Before he could react, several beams of light shot down from the sky again.
Cursing inwardly, he quickly split off a separate earthen bridge for Yuan Chu to dodge the beams. The Evolvers ahead were not so lucky—the soil turned to sand, and they plunged into thin air once more.
"Aaaaagh!"
Huo Yin had no room to lose focus. Balancing three lives at once, dodging falling beams, building earthen bridges, and maneuvering his flying wheelchair simultaneously, had he been in his prime, he could have handled it effortlessly, but in his current state, he was pushing his limits.
If push came to shove, he would save Yuan Chu alone.
As he pondered, another beam struck. Tali was a step too slow, stepping off solid ground and beginning to plummet. Yuan Chu tapped her toe, the ground beneath hardened and stretched backward, steadying Tali's footing.
When Huo Yin turned around, he only saw Tali stumble before hurriedly catching up.
On the other side, Feng Chenxiu was advancing along the bridge toward Yuan Chu's group. When he was just four or five meters away, a beam severed the middle. But in the blink of an eye, the earthen bridge veered around and reconnected.
A look of surprise flashed in Huo Yin's eyes, he hadn't acted just now.
Before he could dwell on it, the creation and shifting of the earthen bridges attracted numerous nearby Evolvers toward them, severely hindering his rescue effort.
"Tali." Yuan Chu called out without turning her head.
"What?"
"Do you remember how to use your superpower?"
"...I remember."
"Then let's begin."
Tali froze for a second, then focused her mind. The world before her shifted instantly, strands of Ghostly Qi slowly rising from underground.
She looked around in utter shock: So many dead ghosts!
-----
Yuan Chu: Please begin your performance, rookie.
Tali: Awoo!
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