Chapter 393: The Six-Hour Deadline

Over the past month, the Global Awakened Network has begun to take shape, with hundreds of thousands of ordinary people starting to receive basic training for Practitioners, and Xu Feng's Element Resonator has also seen widespread application. Cooperation with Purple Star has also made substantive progress, with the Cross-dimensional Energy Stabilizer jointly developed by scientists from both sides currently undergoing testing. Everything seems to be moving in a positive direction.

Yet at this very moment, Lin Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, his expression changing abruptly.

"Something is wrong..."

He felt an eerie tremor transmitted through the Wood Element Network; the vitality of plant life across the globe was declining at a speed visible to the naked eye. Before he could react, the night sky was suddenly torn apart by a purplish-black light, like a massive bolt of lightning spanning the horizon, yet it was accompanied by no thunder, only a hair-raising low-frequency vibration.

Within seconds, the academy's alarm system was fully activated, and emergency reports from all over the world flooded the communication channels—the same purplish-black celestial phenomenon had appeared globally, from North America to Eurasia, from Nanji to Beiji, without exception.

"All Guardians, assemble in the central command room immediately!" Lin Xuan issued the order through the communication system, simultaneously leaping up and speeding toward the main building.

In less than ten minutes, the five Guardians and Xiao Yuan had gathered in the command room. The large holographic screen displayed real-time footage from across the globe; the purplish-black celestial phenomenon persisted and appeared to be spreading downward, forming countless fine cracks, as if something were trying to tear open the barrier of the sky.

"The vitality of the global Wood Element Network has dropped by 17% and is still decreasing," Lin Xuan said in a heavy tone, "I have never seen such a large-scale energy decay."

"Water Element Energy has also been interfered with," Ling Bo added quickly, "Marine life across the globe is sending out distress signals; they feel a threat unlike anything they have ever known."

Xu Feng operated the console rapidly: "According to the energy monitoring data, the dimensional barrier is thinning across the board, and cracks have begun to form at the weak points." He pulled up a global map marked with hundreds of red dots, "These are all confirmed crack points, and the number is still increasing."

"A large-scale Void invasion is about to begin, much faster than we anticipated."

The five of them quickly formulated a defense strategy: activate the Global Dimensional Stability Network, mobilize the full strength of the Five Elements Academy to head to the major crack points, notify the Global Awakened Network to enter the highest state of alert, and simultaneously evacuate civilians around the cracks.

Just as they were preparing to act, an even more shocking event occurred—every electronic device on the planet, including televisions, radios, mobile phones, computers, and even the display screens in the command room, began playing the exact same image simultaneously: the image of Yage.

But this was no longer the Yage they remembered. His entire body was covered in black crystal-like structures, resembling some kind of alien armor; his face was twisted and deformed, with only the outline remaining human; most chilling of all were his eyes—two pitch-black caverns reflecting nothing but the endless Void.

"Residents of Diqiu," Yage's voice was low and hoarse, "I am the proxy of the Void Sovereign, bringing the ultimate choice."

He continued his proclamation: "The barrier of dimensions has collapsed, and the Void army is about to descend. Your technology cannot withstand it, your cultivation cannot oppose it, and your world shall become nourishment for the Void. But I mercifully offer a path to survival—submit to the Void and become part of the new order."

In the image, Yage raised his hand, revealing a small group of humans whose bodies had already been partially void-ified, their eyes flickering with a nihilistic light similar to Yage's: "Behold, these wise ones have already chosen to submit; they shall attain immortality in the new world."

"You have six hours to make your decision," Yage said finally, "After six hours, the Void will no longer accept surrender." The image then vanished, leaving behind a deathly silence.

"Notify all national governments and military forces: do not attempt to surrender or negotiate under any circumstances," Lin Xuan ordered swiftly, "Void Energy contaminates every life form it touches; so-called 'submission' is merely a euphemism for being assimilated."

Xu Feng pulled up the latest data: "The largest crack points are distributed across the energy nodes of the seven continents, among which the Kunlun Shan in Asia, the Amazon Rainforest in South America, and the Kilimanjaro region in Africa are the top priorities."

"We must split up," Shi Qi suggested, "Each key point requires at least one Guardian to hold the line."

Lin Xuan nodded in agreement: "Li Yan will head to South America, Ling Bo will be responsible for Africa, Shi Qi will go to Europe, Xu Feng will guard North America, and I will remain in Asia with Xiao Yuan to coordinate the overall situation. At the same time, I will dispatch elite teams from the Five Elements Academy to support other regions."

Once the decision was made, action began immediately. The Five Elements Academy entered a state of full combat readiness; all senior students formed combat squads, while junior students were responsible for logistics and medical aid. Members of the Global Awakened Network also quickly assembled at the nearest crack points.

Lin Xuan and Xiao Yuan led a team of one hundred elites to the largest crack point in the Kunlun Shan. When they arrived, the sight before them was shocking—a massive purplish-black crack hung in mid-air, about fifty meters long, continuously releasing eerie energy fluctuations. The vegetation around the crack had already begun to wither.

"Form defensive lines!" Lin Xuan ordered, "Arrange in the Five Elements Array and prepare for battle!"

The six-hour deadline had not yet passed, but the crack had already begun to expand, and fine black energy tentacles reached out from within, as if testing this new world. Suddenly, a sharp screech pierced the sky, and a group of creatures of various shapes and sizes poured out from the crack—some looked like birds but had six wings, some looked like wolves but were covered in black scales, and others were completely beyond human comprehension, their forms so bizarre they were difficult to describe.

"Void Creatures!" Lin Xuan shouted, "Everyone, follow the plan!"

The battle erupted instantly.

At first, the strategy seemed effective; dozens of low-level Void Creatures let out painful screeches upon contacting the Five Elements Energy, and their bodies began to dissolve.

However, more and more powerful Void Creatures continued to pour out. One type of creature, massive in size and lizard-like in appearance, was particularly terrifying—it could directly devour the energy released by Practitioners, and its skin was nearly impervious to blades or bullets. Even more worrying was that when it bit a Practitioner, black patterns immediately began to spread around the wound; the injured person would let out a painful scream, their body gradually turning transparent, and finally dissipating into a cloud of black mist.

"Wood Element: Azure Dragon Dawn!" Lin Xuan unleashed his most powerful attack, and a massive energy Azure Dragon crashed directly into the lizard-like Void Creature. The Azure Dragon tore at the Void Creature's body, and the latter rolled in agony, but new tissue quickly grew from the wound, recovering almost instantly.

Xiao Yuan stood in the center of the battlefield, her eyes flickering with pure white light, guiding the Five Elements Energy of the Practitioners to attempt to form Life Essence. Under her coordination, a multicolored energy barrier barely managed to hold back the main force of the Void Creatures.