Chapter 556: Fourfold Worship

After some discussion.

In the end, Xia Wentao voluntarily walked to the edge of the lawn.

When he had been attacked by the monstrous animal the night before, Wu Xian, Su Mi, and Hu Shutong had saved his life; he believed that if danger arose again, these three would save him once more.

Xia Wentao sat nervously against the edge; when he first sat on the grass, he felt nothing unusual, but as his body heat passed through his clothes into the lawn, red growths sprouted from the turf! These growths were vividly red, moist, and glossy, like the “tongues” exuded by ribbon worms; they stuck to his clothes upon contact and began spreading finer branches, coating his lower body in crimson patterns.

Then, a tremendous pull appeared—Xia Wentao leaned backward, losing balance; he flailed wildly, but his body was slowly dragged into the soil.

“I’m sinking! Help me!”

“Just wait a little longer!”

Wu Xian held a spirit talisman in his hand, ready to act; Su Mi rolled up her sleeves; Hu Shutong pondered, unsure whether her [Step by Step] could affect this strange phenomenon.

Thud! Suddenly, a muffled crash echoed.

A massive figure dropped from above, crashing onto the lawn and kicking up a cloud of dirt.

Physical education teacher Guo Xiaodong appeared!

His scarred, malevolent face now looked almost handsome!

He strode to Xia Wentao’s side, stomped his foot, and all the red tendrils retracted; then he grabbed Xia Wentao by the collar and tossed him aside.

“You broke the PE rules—deducting one red bar. Don’t ever…”

Before he finished speaking, Jiang Dong plopped down onto the ground.

Guo Xiaodong fell silent; a rare look of shock crossed his terrifying face.

Then Liu Siyi, Ji Yaning, and Wei Kang also rolled onto the lawn in turn; since they were still classified as “students,” Guo Xiaodong could only haul each one out individually.

After several repetitions, all five of them had lost every red bar on their badges.

Guo Xiaodong’s gaze toward them lost all warmth, turning cold and disdainful.

Now the newcomers had earned the right to leave the training center safely—but they had also lost its protection, making the likelihood of encountering danger far greater.

Seeing Guo Xiaodong’s arrival, Wu Xian nodded inwardly.

Within the training center, Wu Xian had encountered three Guo Xiaodongs: two fakes, one real; each possessed different abilities.

One controlled blood-red tendrils on the field, another manipulated building layouts, and the third moved at high speed within the warehouse.

Yet these differing abilities shared a common trait: Wu Xian concluded Guo Xiaodong was a spirit akin to a “ground-bound ghost,” whose true power was turning a location into his domain, each domain possessing unique abilities—and the field was the real Guo Xiaodong’s domain.

Since the field was Guo Xiaodong’s domain, he could perceive any event occurring within it and arrive at the scene instantly!

The removal of the newcomers’ red bars confirmed Wu Xian’s hypothesis!

This also brought Wu Xian a sense of relief.

If Guo Xiaodong had not come, he would have had to execute Plan Three.

Plan Three involved seeking out the etiquette teacher and having the newcomers voice insults toward her in her presence—such as the short phrase Wu Xian had invented during language class…

But Plan Three carried the highest cost; merely locating the etiquette teacher would require considerable effort.

“Thank you, Teacher—you’ve been a great help!”

“But don’t leave just yet—we’ll need your assistance with something shortly.”

Wu Xian bowed slightly to Guo Xiaodong, then led the group to the classroom building, amid Guo Xiaodong’s complex expression.

At the entrance of the classroom building hung a list—the expulsion list; when Wu Xian saw the names of Jiang Zisheng and several others added to it, he confirmed his plan had succeeded. He then went to the lawn before the building, used his dagger to peel back the turf, and created two bare patches each half a meter wide and ten meters long, before beginning to search the training center for statues.

…

Evening.

5:30 PM.

An empty classroom in the main classroom building.

At this point, the group had completed the search for the statues; minor complications arose along the way but were easily resolved.

Statues that had been bowed to three times could be moved; for convenience, all found statues were placed in this empty classroom.

At a glance, the entire room was filled with statues—half eerie, half divine—adding an odd atmosphere to the gloomy space.

Throughout the search, the five newcomers had found seven statues, adding to the six found yesterday, totaling thirteen statues—these thirteen would be the reward for the Juan people after tonight’s operation.

To ensure tonight’s operation went smoothly, the Juan people must perform worship to enhance their strength.

In perfect order, one by one!

But these thirteen statues could not be moved, for they were to be distributed according to tonight’s contributions, and had all been hidden in secret corners.

Thus, the four Juan people could now worship only the statues they themselves had discovered.

Wu Xian had deceived many Student Union members, increasing his chances of finding statues; today he found three, plus one from yesterday, giving him four worship opportunities.

Su Mi and Hu Shutong each found two statues today; Xu Shen found only one.

However, slightly regretfully, the statues Wu Xian found were not all the ones he desired.

Thus, after brief consultation with the other Juan people, they agreed to exchange statues as needed; ultimately, Wu Xian acquired four statues.

Water Official—Guangde Dragon King, governing weapons.

Earth Official—Ancestral Emperor Taihao Fuxi, governing human spiritual powers.

Heaven Official—Kui Star, Master of Law Talismans, governing law talismans.

Heaven Official—Master of Joyful Unions, governing spell talismans.

Wu Xian held five spirit incense sticks: two corrupted, three normal; after a moment’s thought, he offered the corrupted ones to the Earth Official—Ancestral Emperor Taihao Fuxi, and used the normal ones for the other three.

His reasoning was simple.

The negative effect of worshipping the Earth Official was punishment; Wu Xian had deep accumulated virtue, so punishment would not be severe—but using corrupted incense on other statues might summon unpredictable consequences! After worshipping the Heaven, Earth, and Water Officials together, Wu Xian’s vision suddenly filled with activity.

Dragons hide in water, auspicious clouds radiate colored light, harmonious music plays in unison, splendid and majestic…

Various auspicious visions appeared in sequence, yet without chaos; twelve worship offerings materialized before Wu Xian.

Wu Xian examined them left and right, weighing carefully; after a short period of thought, he selected four worship offerings.

These four were:

Weapon: Spell-Embroidered Fire-Tipped Spear!

Human Spiritual Power: Thousand-Pound Drop! Law Talisman: Melting and Forging Art!

Spell Talisman: Dew Shadow Concealment Technique!

(End of Chapter)