Chapter Seventy: Sudden Upheaval

"Get out of the way!"

A searing blaze enveloped Meng Qi, who was frozen in terror, but at the critical moment a jet of water shot across, knocking him aside.

"Xiao Meng!"

Sinclair rushed over, brandishing his warhammer in alarm, and cast a grateful glance back at Yunmeng.

With a single hand, Yunmeng formed a seal and summoned a column of water, then drew her bow in a full crescent, conjuring water arrows. She released three in rapid succession toward the fire mouse, then dashed toward the earth wall where the Redleaf Academy team had taken cover.

A hissing sound emerged from around the Fire Spirit. Yunmeng’s water affinity, compared to Qianlong’s, was still too weak; the water arrows evaporated before they could reach the fire mouse, consumed by the flames that cloaked its body. Twice now, its plans thwarted, the fire mouse erupted in rage, leaping through the air in pursuit of Yunmeng.

As soon as Yunmeng neared the earth wall, she ducked behind it. A resounding crash thundered behind her—the fire mouse had slammed headlong into the barrier. The heat seared her back, making her brow arch; she rolled away just as another muffled impact sounded. The fire mouse, having burst through the wall, plunged into the ground where she had just been, narrowly missing her a second time—so close that a few strands of her hair were singed.

"Yunmeng!"

Ye Ran watched, heart pounding with dread.

Qianlong thrust both hands forward, sending two spheres of water hurtling one after the other at the fire mouse. Twin explosions rang out as the water balls slammed into the ground, ripples spreading in all directions. Trapped beneath, the fire mouse had no way to evade; it took the full impact, and half its flames were extinguished. Yet, heedless and shrieking, it erupted from the earth, intent on Yunmeng.

The fire mouse had lost all reason. It could tolerate being bested by Qianlong, but it would never allow a mere youth to escape its grasp.

Though wounded and surrounded by towering earth walls, the fire mouse quickly forced Yunmeng into a perilous corner. Sinclair and his companions rushed desperately to her aid, but they were always a step behind the fire mouse’s speed.

Above, a curved blade whirled, but it hovered only over the students of Redleaf Academy, paying Yunmeng no heed.

Qianlong, too, made no move to alter his affinity or reinforce the earth walls for Yunmeng’s sake.

Ye Ran pleaded, "Senior, please help her!"

He clenched his fists, veins bulging across his face.

Zhang Mu showed not the slightest concern for Yunmeng’s fate. Qianlong took advantage of the chaos, launching a fierce assault on the fire mouse. Although he managed to wound the guardian, his attack only made it more frenzied.

Ye Ran seethed with rage, but forced himself to swallow his anger and humbly begged Qianlong for aid.

Qianlong hesitated, a flicker passing over his brow, but Zhang Mu said in a low voice, "Qianlong, strike now while the fire mouse is enraged by that girl. If it regains its wits, it’ll be much harder to kill with its speed. Our only promise is to protect the students of Redleaf Academy."

It was clear they had no intention of considering Yunmeng’s survival.

Qianlong nodded, no longer wavering. Power surged within him, and he unleashed his full might against the fire mouse.

"Those two bastards!"

Ye Ran’s face darkened to iron. All his former admiration for the champion of Torrent City and the strongman of the Palace of Power vanished in an instant, replaced by utter contempt and fury.

A short dagger and sword slipped from his sleeves. Kicking off the ground, he charged toward Yunmeng.

Qianlong, in the midst of his assault on the fire mouse, started in surprise.

Did that brat just call him a bastard?

Had he misheard? In nearly thirty years, he had risen from obscurity to universal respect; no one had ever dared curse him so.

With a flurry of leaps, Ye Ran crossed the maze of earth walls. On the third, he used its surface for leverage, springing into the air as two currents of energy coalesced into transparent wings. He unleashed his full inner force, and with a shriek of wind, dove straight down at the fire mouse chasing Yunmeng.

A wave of searing heat surged with the airflow; Ye Ran’s blade and sword crashed down mercilessly upon the fire mouse. When blade and beast met, a metallic clang rang out. His weapons only managed to shear off a few hairs before shattering, and Ye Ran himself tumbled to the ground.

"Foolish child, courting death!"

Assailed time and again, the fire mouse was driven to utter madness—but just then, its body convulsed violently. Qianlong’s water affinity condensed into a spear, striking true and pinning the already small creature to an earth wall.

"Yunmeng! Yunmeng! Yunmeng!"

Covered in dust and grime, Ye Ran scrambled to his feet, wiping his face as he searched for her. He caught sight of Yunmeng, equally mud-stained.

She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and said, "Ye Ran, I’m all right…"

Her words trailed off as Ye Ran suddenly rushed over and pulled her into a fierce embrace, holding her so tightly, so desperately, as if terrified of losing her.

"Ye Ran…"

Yunmeng was startled at first, her heart quivering, but then a sweet warmth welled up inside her. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head to his chest.

Behind them, desperate screams rang out. The fire mouse, now at the end of its strength, was finally forced into a hopeless position. Qianlong’s water spell formed a sphere half a meter wide, trapping it completely. Flames rose again and again from within its body, only to be quenched each time by Qianlong.

The water-forged spear remained connected to Qianlong’s hand, the tip slowly piercing the fire mouse’s body until it was entirely run through.

"Sixth Brother!"

The green giant lizard’s eyes blazed with fury, but Zhang Mu held it tightly in check.

Even in death, the fire mouse’s blood-red eyes glared hatefully at Qianlong. Its final flame rose, then was snuffed out in water. Its palm-sized body burst into a brilliant red light, transforming into a spear of solid scarlet.

The shaft of the spear gleamed black and red, two lights interlacing. The spearhead glowed as if fresh from the forge, its fiery hue radiating waves of heat so intense that all who beheld it felt their skin burn.

Even the watery prison, which the fire mouse itself could not escape, sizzled and steamed before the spear’s scorching aura, thick white smoke billowing forth.

This was a true weapon of the ancients. Every gaze turned toward the spear, eyes filled with longing.

"As expected, the Thousand-Mile Flame Dragon," Qianlong murmured, stepping forward alone as if he already knew the weapon’s origins. "Mouse, your kind could never truly unleash its power."

He reached out to grasp the spear, but the instant his fingers brushed its surface, they were scorched. He gasped, jerking his hand away.

Almost simultaneously, a thunderous roar erupted from below. The entire second level shook violently, and with a cracking sound, the ground split open. Purple mist welled up, a mighty force flooding the space, shaking it with an unending roar that even Qianlong could not withstand.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Pits opened up one after another, surges of power piercing Qianlong’s earth walls as if they were tofu, shattering them. Redleaf Academy’s team screamed in terror.

Ye Ran immediately rolled with Yunmeng into a corner, just before a massive detonation split the ground. A beam of purple light burst forth, tearing the earth asunder, and with it, two heads shot up from below.