Chapter 168: Night of Solitude

Before the teaching building, Zhang Feng's face was grim, his heart deeply hesitant.

The Straw Demon clan possesses low intelligence and lacks tactical acumen; naturally, the student squad can handle them.

But this is, after all, a special event: Ghosts Marching at Night. According to protocol, the squad should be recalled.

"Hmph!" On the playground, Tian Tian suddenly let out a soft cry, her small face turning deathly pale.

Unintentionally, she locked eyes with the rice-ear pupils of a Straw Demon.

Evil Art: Rice-Ear Pupils!

The rice-ear pupils of the Straw Demon can emit a withered yellow glow, instilling fear in the enemy's heart.

This evil art is one adapted by the Straw Demon clan when they were in the Stream Realm.

But the Straw Demons find it very difficult to learn.

Whether divine arts or evil arts, any technique involving "pupil arts" generally demands quite a lot from the caster.

The Straw Demon clan are all simple-minded; let alone in the Stream Realm, even River Realm Straw Demons find it hard to be equipped with this technique.

"Sss—"

Immortal mist flashed past with the phantom.

The Silent Night Blade struck straight for the enemy's life, cleaving the tall, thin Straw Demon in half at the waist!

"Red Scarf Token!" Lu Ran shouted loudly.

"Fight!!" Deng Yutang immediately obeyed the order, roaring it out.

The stirring war cry made both friend and foe on the battlefield surge with fighting spirit!

Tian Tian's expression shifted from rigid stiffness to blazing eyes, seemingly leaping from one extreme to another.

"Rustle~"

Chang Ying fiercely smashed a Straw Demon, then immediately picked up another tally tube.

Three minutes are up!

It's time to draw a hand!

Under the interference of the Red Scarf Token, Chang Ying's words rang out with force: "May the Spirit Tally Lord protect us!

Output control summon tally, just give me whatever comes out!"

"Whoosh~"

The Spirit Tally flew up, hovering above Chang Ying's head.

The Five Treasures Tally: the Support Tally!

The Support Tally that had just vanished once again reappeared.

Chang Ying widened her eyes; her boiling war spirit was somewhat doused.

Truly, the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Suddenly, a figure attacked, causing Chang Ying to break out in a cold sweat.

She propped herself with the Lotus Shield and instinctively turned to block.

Lu Ran, however, slid sideways, sweeping past in front of Chang Ying.

A flash of blade light severed four straw spikes flying toward them.

Only then did Chang Ying realize Lu Ran was protecting her, helping her flick away the straw.

"The Straw Demon clan is indeed weak, but you cannot zone out," Lu Ran said with a serious face, looking up at Chang Ying.

Chang Ying lowered her eyelids slightly, not daring to make a sound.

In ordinary times, Lu Ran is too easygoing and has a good temper; when has he ever glared at her so sternly?

In fact, Chang Ying felt very uncomfortable too.

The tally she drew did not match her boiling heart of war spirit; instead, it felt like a bucket of cold water poured down.

From far away, Zhang Feng's loud shout came: "Squad 98, move closer to the teaching building!"

"Go." Lu Ran raised his blade, pointing toward three Straw Demons clustered together ahead.

"Yes." Between the leader of the Moon-Watching People and Lu Ran, Chang Ying decisively chose to obey the latter.

She lifted her great axe, strode forward with her long legs, and pushed the Lotus Shield, crushing toward the enemy.

At this moment, her identity as a Spirit Tally follower did not help her much.

Chang Ying pushed the Sword Lotus Sect's shield, wielded her own great axe, and relying on her own strength and martial skill, knocked over and smashed Straw Demon after Straw Demon.

Two Straw Demons became souls beneath her axe.

The last Straw Demon had its head crushed fiercely by her raised foot!

Lu Ran could not help but sigh inwardly; Chang Ying's combat style was quite ferocious.

She truly entered the wrong profession;

Shouldn't she have instead joined the Barbarian Wild Female Ba's sect?

"Mm." After Chang Ying killed the enemy, she secretly glanced at Lu Ran.

That cautious manner formed a huge contrast with her fierce combat posture.

Lu Ran nodded lightly: "We retreat toward the teaching building."

"Oh, okay!" Seeing Lu Ran nod, Chang Ying felt as if granted a great pardon and immediately caught up with his retreating figure.

It was clear that Lu Ran held a very high position in her heart.

"Lu Ran!" Zhang Feng shouted again, very seriously.

"Here!" Lu Ran stepped sideways while retreating toward the teaching building, turning his head to look at Zhang Feng.

And the words Zhang Feng spoke shocked everyone: "I just received an order from higher authorities; I now conscript you into the Patrol Squad!"

"Patrol Squad?" A trace of reluctance rose in Tian Tian's heart.

Who would willingly let their own team's powerhouse be called away like this?

Lu Ran immediately asked: "Which team? Where's the assembly point?"

Zhang Feng pressed one hand to his ear, as if listening to orders through an invisible earpiece:

"Expand three blocks in every direction from the Fifth Elementary School, and begin patrols immediately!"

Lu Ran's face twisted in shock: "What do you mean—am I supposed to operate alone?"

Zhang Feng ignored Lu Ran, his words spilling out at breakneck speed as he relayed his superior's orders:

"Use your speed advantage to kill the Straw Demons as quickly as possible, and eliminate all demonic races possessing Flame Xie Fa."

Remember, these two types of demons are your primary targets—highest priority!"

"If you encounter other demons along the way, try your best to ignore them!"

This unusual order left everyone stunned.

Ignore other demons?

"Execute the mission immediately!" Zhang Feng lifted his gaze to Lu Ran and urged, "We've got this—you go!"

"Yes!" Lu Ran's feet churned with mist, and he leapt straight onto the second-floor platform of the teaching building.

Before the stunned eyes of the crowd, Lu Ran activated his Immortal Steps again, shooting straight from the second-floor platform to the fourth-floor roof!

Everyone knew that Lu Ran normally used his Immortal Steps only for horizontal movement.

He rarely moved vertically!

Now, seeing Lu Ran reach the rooftop in just two steps, the crowd was momentarily dazed.

Indeed, Lu Ran was already a River Realm believer!

The Divine Art—Immortal Steps had advanced to River Rank; he could now "fly through sky and earth."

But flying upward was easy—landing required extreme caution.

Your Immortal Steps can only slow your descent; if you slip even slightly, or fall from too great a height, you'll still be crippled—or killed.

"Be careful!"

"Master, don't rush!" the crowd couldn't help shouting.

"Relax." On the rooftop, Lu Ran focused his vision, scanning the surrounding streets.

The higher you stand, the farther you see.

Lu Ran immediately locked onto a cluster of Straw Demons gathering at the street corner.

He had just stepped forward when a thunderous boom erupted.

Lu Ran turned his head and saw, two streets away, a towering Straw Demon, ten meters tall, suddenly appear.

This colossal beast was blazing fiercely, flames roaring skyward!

Scorching heat waves spread everywhere, endless sparks blanketing the sky.

Vast quantities of burning straw shot out in all directions.

Lu Ran:!!!

Of course—the Straw Demons' trait: highly flammable!

And demonic races possessing Flame Xie Fa, like Blood Plague Dogs, became even more excited upon seeing Straw Demons than they did upon seeing humans!

Blood Plague Dogs would unhesitatingly ignite Straw Demons the moment they spotted them.

In extreme agony, Straw Demons would descend into madness and flee in panic.

At that point, a Straw Demon became a massive fire source—burning wherever it went!

The straw it flung randomly was equally dangerous.

If any burning straw pierced a household's window and landed inside, it could easily trigger a fire—even ignite an entire building!

"Whoosh!!"

The frenzied flaming Straw Demon was suddenly engulfed by a massive ice net.

The net was powerful, pinning the Straw Demon to the ground and preventing it from approaching nearby buildings.

"Sssss—"

Lu Ran's face darkened. He stepped onto the edge of the fourth-floor rooftop and leapt, streaking toward the school's outer perimeter.

He knew he had made a mistake.

A colossal mistake!

For believers, the Straw Demons were indeed weak.

But for human cities, the damage caused by Straw Demons could be catastrophic!

"Sssss~"

"Sss!" At the street corner, three Straw Demons, spotting humans, immediately hurled clumps of straw.

Lu Ran's feet tapped rapidly—appearing to release violent, churning Immortal Mist to slow his descent, but in truth, layers of wind currents already cushioned his steps.

He moved at blinding speed, dodging nothing, both blades thrusting straight at two Straw Demons.

Clumps of straw pierced Lu Ran, barely embedding into his Water Armor.

The two blades pierced through the Straw Demons' chests; as Lu Ran lifted his blades upward, he ripped open their straw torsos and tore off their straw skulls.

"Sss!"

The last remaining Straw Demon was utterly terrified.

It scrambled backward and raised a shield of straw.

Lu Ran shattered the shield with one slash, clean and swift, then brought his blade down upon the Straw Demon's head.

"Puh~"

The Straw Demon before him suddenly dissolved into a wisp of smoke.

As for the Straw Demon's true body, it was flying backward in retreat.

"Damn!" Lu Ran couldn't help but curse aloud.

The more urgent it gets, the more you mess things up for me, is that it?

This fellow actually knows the Xie Fa: Straw Substitute!

This technique, like the Xie Fa: Rice Ear Pupil, is a Pei De Xie Fa suitable for the Stream Realm.

This method can, within an extremely short time, leave behind a Straw Demon husk at the original location to confuse enemies.

Meanwhile, the Straw Demon's true form can rapidly detach from this husk and escape with its life.

Generally speaking, Straw Demons with low intelligence find it very difficult to learn this Yi Xie Fa.

This is also why those Straw Demons burning fiercely were unable to extricate themselves and could only allow themselves to be burned to ashes.

But this fellow right here—

"Baa!"

Lu Ran let out a sheep's bleat while simultaneously darting toward the enemy.

The Straw Demon, which had been retreating rapidly, immediately changed its mind, flinging out several more stalks of straw in an attempt to slaughter Lu Ran.

"Hiss—"

A human figure shuttled through; the hand rose, the blade fell.

Lu Ran swiftly turned around, sliding backward across the snow, and raised his eyes to gaze at the firelight in the distance.

He halted abruptly then surged forward, darting ahead all the way.

In his line of sight, the burning Straw Demon was pinned firmly on the main street.

Those flames and straw stalks shooting chaotically in all directions flew outward through the net's holes, a sight that made one's heart tremble with fear.

Additionally, a woman was flying around the head of the flaming Straw Demon.

A pair of ice-blue butterfly wings grew from her back, adorned with exquisite patterns.

Beneath her feet accompanied clusters of ice-blue flowers, crystal clear and blooming profusely.

With one hand, she released thick frost, sprinkling it onto the Straw Demon's fiery body, while from her other hand countless ice-crystal butterflies flew out, assaulting the Straw Demon's head.

A Rank Five God: Believer of the Ice Butterfly?

Lu Ran's eyes narrowed suddenly, and he let out a fierce shout: "Baa!!"

The woman immediately turned to look, only to see a figure rushing at her at high speed, a pair of slender blades flashing with terrifying cold light.

The woman widened her eyes and subconsciously raised her hand, from whose palm flew ice-crystal butterflies one after another.

Even though evil rose from her heart, she used her reason to suppress her killing intent toward this human youth.

She recognized him.

This was the pride of Yu Xiang City!

This was a genius beyond reproach!

"You—" The woman didn't know what madness had seized Lu Ran, nor did she wish to harm him.

She could only strive to dodge, manipulating the ice-crystal butterflies to scatter in all directions.

"Hiss—"

The youth slashed diagonally into the night sky, flashing past her side.

The woman turned her head to look, just in time to see the Tang Dao in Lu Ran's hand chop off a Straw Demon's head.

Her pupils contracted slightly; had this Straw Demon just appeared behind her?

Judging by its attire, it was clearly a River Realm evil spirit.

"Plop!"

The beheaded River Realm Straw Demon did not turn into mist immediately.

Without its head, its straw body instantly disassembled, fluffed up, and grew larger, crashing down onto the still-burning Straw Demon.

The woman immediately raised her hand and flung out another large frost net, carrying the huge yet lightweight headless straw corpse, flying together into the night sky.

At the same time, Lu Ran, who had slashed diagonally into the night sky, had already reached the highest point.

He searched everywhere for evil spirits and asked loudly, "Where are your teammates?"

The woman was somewhat stunned.

As a Moon Gazer, shouldn't she be the one asking that question?

Thanks to the bosses Shou Hu Qing Cheng Shi Guang, Xia Muxiaolan, and Feng Zi Yan Li De Xiao Chou for their donations!

Thanks for the support, bosses are generous! (`) Heart fingers.

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(End of Chapter)