Chapter 29: Is It Really Over?

“Damn it,” Nangong Yong cursed, brandishing the Polar Tea in her hand. Before her, it was as if a barrier of ice and snow materialized, blocking the Savage Divine Leopard’s attack. The Savage Divine Leopard was a level-4 mutant—its power formidable enough to overwhelm even veteran Guardians. Though Nangong Yong’s strength surpassed most such veterans, defeating this beast was still nearly impossible for her.

That was to be expected; even Lan Xin could not overcome a level-4 mutant like this, so how could Nangong Yong hope to prevail? With all her might, she could barely contend with the Savage Divine Leopard, and even if she went all out, she might manage to slay it, but at the cost of her own life.

Yes, mutual destruction would be the best possible outcome.

As a Guardian, Nangong Yong had rushed here the moment the emergency alert was raised in Sector 9. In truth, given her status, she would not have been blamed had she chosen not to take part in this battle. Yet she came anyway. She despised the other races, but she still stood to defend her home.

“Go!” With a thought, Nangong Yong summoned a storm of flying debris and stones, swirling together like a tornado, and hurled them at the Savage Divine Leopard.

Caught off guard, the beast was struck hard, its head reeling and vision swimming.

Sword in hand, Nangong Yong lunged forward, her blade’s light condensing into a flurry of snowflakes.

Roaring in fury, the Savage Divine Leopard quickly recovered and sprang at her.

At that instant, a colossal mutant descended behind Nangong Yong as if from the sky. Its enormous, boulder-like fist swung down toward the back of her head.

It was the level-4 Mutant King Ape, a creature whose strength needed no explanation. Any level-4 mutant was an absolute monarch of the wilderness, and few in all of Sector 9 could contend with one.

“Not good,” Nangong Yong gasped, sensing the mortal threat closing in behind her.

“Damn it, how did it come to this?” In that moment, she was nearly in despair. With the Savage Divine Leopard before her and the King Ape ambushing her from behind, she was all but doomed.

Faced with an ambush by two such monsters, even a Guardian Captain or the head of an institution would find themselves in deadly peril.

Who, she wondered, could possibly come to her aid now?

She nearly closed her eyes, resigned to her fate.

But just then, a figure plummeted from above and landed in the thick of the battle.

His face was strangely alluring, his body shrouded in gray flame energy, twin wings fanned out behind him.

“It’s Xia Yan!” Even in his new form, Nangong Yong recognized him at once.

Xia Yan’s blade swept out, a flash of light severing the battlefield. The King Ape’s charge was halted, its yellow eyes blazing with rage.

Xia Yan closed in, gray flames wreathed around his blade as he fought at close quarters, combining martial agility with ancient combat arts. In just ten seconds, the King Ape was covered in hideous, bleeding wounds.

“Die!” Xia Yan surged forward, his blade flashing with a charged slash, and with a single stroke decapitated the King Ape.

“How is this possible?” Nangong Yong, splitting her focus, nearly went mad at the sight—a level-4 King Ape, slain by Xia Yan in less than thirty seconds!

The power of a level-4 mutant was beyond words: most veteran Guardians were no match for them, and those with trump cards could only hope to die together. Even the weakest of such monsters was a terrifying threat.

Yet now, in Sector 9, only two people could kill a level-4 mutant with relative ease: Feng Qiang and the head of the Wolfkin institution. Even they, fighting alone, would need ten minutes at the least, four or five at best, to kill such a beast. But Xia Yan had slain one in under half a minute.

Nangong Yong could not comprehend it. At noon, Xia Yan had nearly lost himself to madness; he had been so weak then.

No, even without that incident, his strength should only barely have surpassed a level-4 mutant’s. Even if he had awakened his demonic abilities, it shouldn’t have made him this powerful!

While Nangong Yong was still stunned, Xia Yan joined her side of the battle. The Savage Divine Leopard, already wounded and battered by Nangong Yong’s powers, was quickly dispatched by Xia Yan in just six or seven seconds.

“Xia Yan!” Nangong Yong’s eyes brightened with longing as she rushed to embrace him.

But Xia Yan’s gaze was icy and clear. He reached out, gripped her shoulders, and kept her at arm’s length.

“Xia Yan!” The girl’s eyes were full of confusion and fragility. She looked at him, afraid, calling his name with a lover’s longing.

He did not answer.

At that moment, Nangong Yong realized Xia Yan was looking straight at her with not a trace of fear or evasion—eye to eye, without a hint of emotion.

She could hardly believe it. How could Xia Yan meet her gaze? How could he resist her charm?

No, something was wrong. The way he should look at her, his eyes should be filled with desire!

“Nangong Yong, I saved you only because I don’t want to lose any more of our fighting strength.” Xia Yan’s eyes were icy. “When this battle is over, if you’re still dressed and styled like this, I’ll kill you myself.”

“How could you—” Nangong Yong was incredulous. “Xia Yan, why are you treating me this way? Before, you were full of affection for me!”

She didn’t understand; she couldn’t believe it. Xia Yan had come so close to falling for her, to being hers forever.

He would have been her captive, but she would have loved him too—a fair game, one where both paid a price. Xia Yan would have lost nothing, just as she would have lost nothing. He would have stood by her side forever, never betraying her.

But now, Xia Yan was utterly changed. His gaze was neither evasive nor passionate—in fact, it was colder than winter.

“Nangong Yong, you’re not Su Zhu. You never were.” Xia Yan shook his head, releasing her hand. “No matter how much you resemble her, you are not her.”

He took to the air, wings beating like an aurora, and without looking back, sped to another battlefield.

Nangong Yong watched his fading figure, bowed her head, and felt a deep pain and a pang of guilt.

Elsewhere, in the midst of Captain Feng Qiang’s battle, the very earth trembled. Piles of rubble rose like small mountains around them.

Feng Qiang’s power was among the highest in Sector 9, rivaled only by the likes of institution heads. For him, killing a level-4 mutant was not especially difficult; those with tougher defenses might take ten minutes, those less so only four or five.

But now he was beset by three level-4 mutants at once. He was holding his ground for now, but if the stalemate persisted, his fate would be grim.

No matter how strong, everyone has limits—facing several level-4 mutants is not a simple arithmetic problem.

“That’s Xia Yan,” Feng Qiang noted, glancing into the distance. He had seen Xia Yan flying overhead earlier, while he was fighting closer to the interior.

Now, Xia Yan’s strength was no less than his own. In theory, even with his demonic powers, Xia Yan should not quite match Feng Qiang. But due to the incident with Nangong Yong that had caused Xia Yan to lose consciousness, Xia Yan’s brain and body development had advanced considerably.

Even so, Xia Yan shouldn’t be that much stronger than Feng Qiang, except for the unique properties of the demonic power—the gray flame energy was so potent that it could cut through any defense, making Xia Yan’s kill rate for level-4 mutants more than ten times faster than Feng Qiang’s.

For those at their level, slaying a level-4 mutant was only a matter of time. But with their formidable defenses, the struggle was always drawn out—mutants’ strength was measured by physical development, after all.

Yet Xia Yan’s gray flame was as sharp as a blade through butter—any mutant, no matter how strong, could be dismembered with a single blow.

“Captain, I’ll assist.” Xia Yan entered the fray, targeting a level-4 Crimson Cloud Bear.

“Good.” Feng Qiang felt the pressure lift. He radiated a faint golden light, charging at another mutant like a god of war.

Thanks to Xia Yan’s overwhelming strength, in just over twenty seconds, one level-4 mutant was dead. Captain Feng Qiang turned to him in shock, as if he had seen a ghost.

Demonic powers were indeed rare and formidable. Feng Qiang had never witnessed such terrifying strength before.

Together, they crushed the remaining mutants; the two other level-4 attackers were swiftly slain.

“Xia Yan, has your brain development reached thirty percent?” Feng Qiang sighed in relief.

“Not quite, just a little short,” Xia Yan replied.

“Incredible, truly incredible,” Feng Qiang said, with no trace of flattery. “To awaken a second ability before your brain develops to thirty percent—it's almost a miracle. Hardly anyone has ever done it. It’s rarer than demonic abilities.”

He marveled, “What kind of willpower must you have, what could possibly drive you, to unlock a second ability so early?”

It was no exaggeration—Xia Yan had shattered an established understanding, and that was rarer even than having a demonic ability.

Xia Yan just smiled.

“I suppose,” Feng Qiang mused, “it must be the sort of terrifying, soul-crushing burden that could have killed you at any moment.”

He didn’t know the details between Xia Yan and Nangong Yong, but he could guess it was no simple matter.

“Just lucky,” Xia Yan answered with a smile.

At the command post at the rear of the wilderness zone, in the city—

Miya Aoi looked at their mounting casualties, deeply shaken. She wondered how many ability users would die in this battle.

Members of the institution’s leadership, instructors, Guardians—all faced great odds of perishing.

“Miya Aoi, do we have a clear picture of the situation yet?” Lan Xin inquired.

“It seems a level-4 mutant has evolved to level-5, sparking the war,” Miya Aoi frowned. “According to the agreements between all races and the mutants, incidents like this shouldn’t happen.”

“When will reinforcements arrive?” Lan Xin pressed.

“They’ll be here soon, perhaps in a few hours. But by then, the battle will already be over,” Miya Aoi replied with a bitter smile. “This conflict won’t last a full day—perhaps not even half a day.”

She sighed softly, “But those who have lost their lives will never return. In just this short time, we’ve lost more than thirty percent of Sector 9’s ability users.”

“So many have died?” Lan Xin was shocked. But thinking of her own near-death experience, she could only offer a wry smile.

“It could be worse. If Xia Yan hadn’t joined us at the last moment, we might have lost over seventy percent,” Miya Aoi said, bewildered.

“Xia Yan is truly remarkable!” Lan Xin smiled faintly, her eyes bright with happiness.

He was the hero who had saved Fuxiang City, and deserved the title. Without him, many ability users—including herself—would have fallen to the mutants.

Miya Aoi’s expression grew grave. “Of all Sector 9, Fuxiang City suffered the most severe attack—at least three times that of any other district. I still can’t understand why!”

“We’re not especially powerful here, so I don’t understand either,” Lan Xin replied, troubled.

The battle had raged since noon and only approached its end near dusk. Though the mutants were numerous, under the relentless attacks of the ability users, they had suffered devastating losses.

Though the level-4 mutants were the main force, faced with Xia Yan the Slayer, they became mere prey. Not a single one could survive for even a minute against him.

The most dazzling figure in this war was Xia Yan. Alone, he turned the tide, killing more level-4 mutants than Feng Qiang and the institution head combined.

Even so, the loss rate among ability users hovered around thirty percent—countless friends and family members perished during the battle.

Dusk.

Xia Yan returned to the operations room in the city.

He was exhausted; neither of his powers could be used any longer. In truth, he’d had to rest twice during the battle. Fighting for so long, especially against so many level-4 mutants, had drained him to the limit.

By the end, even his demonic power could not sustain his flight. Enveloping his shapeshifting blade with gray flame was all he could manage.

Nearby, many ability users were resting. The moment they saw Xia Yan return and deactivate his demonic power, their eyes widened.

“That’s Xia Yan!”

“Is that really Xia Yan?”

“It can’t be—how is he this strong?”

“That guy with the demonic ability can kill a level-4 mutant in less than half a minute!”

“Just how terrifying is that kind of strength?”

“Even the institution head and Guardian Captain can’t kill a level-4 mutant one-tenth as fast.”

“But wasn’t Xia Yan just a member of the institution a year ago?”

“I know Xia Yan too—last year he joined as a transfer student. He wasn’t that strong back then, maybe just at the management level.”

“Come on, with his power now, he could take out an institution manager in an instant.”

“Right, he’s stronger than both the institution head and the Guardian Captain.”

“Dual abilities—fire element and demonic power—and ancient martial arts skills to a fearsome degree. Who could be stronger?”

“And he’s only sixteen!”

This time, the discussions about Xia Yan were endless. If last time, at the Judgment Assembly, he’d outshone all the veteran ability users, now he was the star among them all.

He was indisputably the strongest: to kill a level-4 mutant in thirty seconds was a feat only others could look up to in awe.

In just over a year since joining the institution, he had reached heights most could only dream of.

Many now believed Xia Yan was stronger than the institution head and the Guardian Captain themselves.