Chapter 170

Chapter 170

What?

What is this?

What’s going on now?

The scene before them was like aliens appearing in a martial arts drama or Infinite Terror intruding into a pain novel—the entire world’s style was fractured. The students were dazed, their mental worlds undergoing a fierce assault.

"Yee hee, woo hahaha."

The heavens and earth resounded with the revelry of ghosts—some laughing, some crying, a chaotic and frenzied force polluting the mental world, dancing wildly in their minds. This overly normal copy world had suddenly revealed a hint of eerie unpredictability.

Everyone covered their ears, but they couldn’t block out the crazy music and the sharp, wailing laughter. Thick fog spread, and a gust of wind blew away the falling paper money, splitting everything in its path like a giant sword. The city gate clanged as it broke into two pieces.

The paper people, with pale faces and two red spots, turned back with a giggle, leaping up on their tiptoes. The entire procession swayed over fifty meters and landed lightly at the city gate.

Dark night, white fog, red robes—the world was now under the control of another power.

Thick fog billowed at the city gate, making the inside hazy. Through the mist, they could vaguely see the crimson procession entering the capital city with signs and sedan chairs, while more red-robed figures kept emerging from the fog, carrying litters.

At this sight, both the students and the natives were stunned.

Something felt wrong. Upon closer inspection, there was no one on the city walls; only some remains lay below. The usually intimidating squid people, who used ultrasonic waves to bully others, had been split into several pieces by the sound, dead beyond doubt.

As for the blue fire people, they remained intact, but the flames on their heads had gone out.

A curious student couldn’t help but reach his hand into the fog…

"Aaaaah!" He screamed, pulling his hand back, but the flesh had already rotted, revealing white bones.

"Yee hee." The red-robed figure ahead twisted its head 180 degrees and grinned at them, its mouth a black hole.

Everyone instinctively took a step back from the fog.

They stared at the fog, watching the powerful and numerous anomalies emerging from it. Different colored eyes conveyed the same emotions.

Fear, wariness, and… a deep longing for immense power.

These are students? These are actually students?

"It’s a domain," Lady Pattaya said with burning eyes. If the copy world was a small domain, then this student had created a domain within a domain, where they had certain rule-making powers.

Someone saw the student take out an equipment card and activate this mobile domain.

Could such powerful items be obtained in a copy world? But the student who wielded this eerie domain was also incredibly strong. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she knew she wasn’t a match for them.

"Are you sure?" The lord of Wasp City stood beside her, both women radiating the same dazzling aura. Leaders should have such presence.

"The white fog is a barrier, and those floating round paper pieces are markers. Wherever they are, that’s the domain’s range."

"A domain." Envy was not enough to describe their feelings; this student had taken a part of the academy’s authority in the copy world and emerged unscathed.

Similarly, other students were equally stunned.

The more they understood, the clearer it became how difficult it was to obtain and control a domain. With this move, the victor was clear.

"Is this just the difficulty of a simulation competition? Are these entities like us, from the initial selection civilizations?" There are always stronger beings out there. But since there are so many powerful individuals, why can’t there be one more?

"This is the seventh exam. In the future, I will master a domain like him." Lady Pattaya’s eyes burned with ambition.

Though the lord of Wasp City did not speak, the flame had been ignited: if someone else could do it, so could she.

Not just these two lords, but also the other students hidden among the crowd. They were fighters against fate, seeing the strong only made them strive to become stronger, never discouraged.

One day, we will take their place.

"That procession has entered the city. What are we still standing here for? Move!"

The students, without any discipline, rushed towards the city gate. The entrance was blocked by the powerful group, so they climbed over the city walls, which had already been cleared of enemies.

Watching the students climb over the wall, the city guard of Egret City wiped his chin. "Let’s go, let’s go. We should follow too."

"How?" The blood-soaked deputy officer killed the approaching blue fire person and asked.

"Over the wall."

Egret City’s army quickly dispatched the remaining blue fire people and squid people. They left all their belongings behind and nimbly climbed over the wall through the gaps in the stones.

Seeing this, the other armies couldn’t fall behind and followed suit.

No one dared to obstruct the path of the red-robed figures, so they all climbed over the wall, creating a spectacular scene.

Inside the capital city, the red anomalies swept through with eerie music. On the road filled with flying paper money and rolling fog, the squid people, their mental worlds polluted, began to go mad and kill each other, clearing the way to the Temple of Fire.

Some squid people with stronger mental fortitude weren’t immediately affected, but unfortunately, most were dragged down by the frenzied ones, entangled and unable to escape.

If even the squid people were like this, the blue fire people were even less useful. Their weak wills caused their flames to extinguish upon hearing the music.

As for the humans who chose to betray, they were now trembling in their homes.

Bathed in the glow of the Fire Seed, Ji Xinghai sat in the sedan chair, eating roasted pine nuts with a stern expression.

Each nut was already cracked, revealing the fragrant and crispy roasted pine nuts inside. Amidst the chaos outside, he could eat a handful in one bite.

However, the roasted pine nuts were running low, so he decided to save them, taking one at a time.

"Yo, this five-flower binding pose is quite enticing. Is this Squid Brother an old hand?"

"Tsk, it's blinding, it's blinding, it's mental pollution, not aphrodisiac pollution, buddy."

"Oh, extreme pulling, it's going to snap, it's going to snap!"

Inside the large red sedan chair, hundreds of small videos played up and down, left and right. Everyone in the live stream followed him, munching on melon seeds, enjoying the same happiness except for the lack of pine nuts.

He sat inside, yet knew everything outside.

One could say that the entire ten-li wedding procession was his eyes and ears. What the paper figures saw and heard was what he saw and heard. If only he could solve the multi-channel audio-visual problem, this would be the best mealtime video.

Unfortunately, such a good cheat could only be used for eight hours. There were also conditions: it couldn't be used during the day, in non-land environments, or within special realms like the Buddha Kingdom or Divine Realm.

It was Squidman himself who brought about his own demise by insisting on ascending the throne late at night. He originally didn't plan to use the ten-li wedding procession feature.

Compared to using a powerful move to reach the end directly, he wanted to see the hidden abilities of the other students. But now he couldn't see them anymore. If they didn't enter the capital city soon, once the little squid ascended, the entire scenario would be ruined.

His people back home were still in dire straits, waiting for him to bring back good news. How could he suppress his curiosity and light the fire before the little squid did?

Ji Xinghai, with his plans disrupted, frowned and ate two roasted pine nuts.

The students moved quickly, but the ten-li wedding procession moved even faster. The identical red-robed paper figures emerged from the white mist, and in a blink, the sedan chair had already arrived at the Temple.

The white mist seemed conscious as it blew toward the Temple, freezing the charging squids in place, melting them into liquid with the wind.

The Temple gates creaked open.

The music paused, the procession halted, and the sedan chair landed.

The sedan curtain lifted automatically, and the Lord of Weirdness, clad in gold-red robes, stepped out slowly, accompanied by lively, dancing fire seeds.

This was another limitation of the ten-li wedding procession: the sedan chair and procession could not enter buildings, only moving outside. However, the ghost bride's weird attributes remained, making her a formidable boss.

The red-robed beauty, carrying the lively fire seeds, stepped onto the stairs leading into the Temple. The squids inside recoiled in fear, staring intently.

They feared the thick mist that could melt their bodies, the terrifying power, and its master even more.

However, no matter how scared they were, this was a crucial period for their clan's usurpation. Ascending the throne was the most critical step, so they had to face it despite their fear.

Ji Xinghai, already inside the Temple, didn't even glance around. The fire seeds beside him emitted intense light, causing the squids to writhe in agony and disappear without a trace in the blazing glow.

With a flick of the red ribbon, the second door opened, revealing the squids inside holding the coronation ceremony but failing to ignite the fire seed.

"Who?!" They were on high alert.

Ji Xinghai sneered, his figure flashing as he reached the throne in a few steps. The little squid, flying around like a fool due to the fire seed, stared blankly at the red-robed beauty towering above it.

Without any hesitation, he kicked the little squid away and took its fire seed.

"Go!" the live stream audience cheered.

The previously rebellious fire seed now behaved like a puppy, rubbing against Ji Xinghai's face before happily merging with the larger fire seed.

The larger fire seed needed no urging; it quickly landed on the golden fire seed platform.

Simultaneously, the red-gold skirt swept gracefully across the floor, settling as he sat on the throne.

The human fire seed reasserted itself, and the golden-red light spread outward from the Temple. The bound squids watched helplessly as the black night turned transparent red, an invisible restraint binding them. Bitter tears fell from their eyes: after years of planning, had they failed again? Why?

All they wanted was to end their thousand-year wandering and find a place to settle!

The students halfway there were stunned.

Due to the squids' frenzied self-destruction, they didn't need to fight monsters, just run. Yet, they still missed the final scene?

"What speed is this? Even in a movie, there should be a two-minute scene, right? How did it all end so quickly?"

Regardless of the shock of the students who rushed but arrived too late, the JiuZhou live stream was like New Year's Eve, with fireworks and drums booming at midnight.

Of course, it wasn't real fireworks, just a metaphor for the excitement.

First place, secured!

In this bustling world, only one person's expression was out of place.

"Congratulations, student Ji Xinghai. You have ignited the fire seed. You now have two choices: one, take the fire seed, which can be used to upgrade equipment and enhance personal physical abilities. Two, leave the fire seed and gain the identity of the new king, determining its purpose."

The voice waited for Ji Xinghai's response, but he slightly turned his head, his pupils constricting, muscles tensing for battle.

"Who are you?"

Voice owner: "..." Impossible, he's bluffing. This is system voice, the same for everyone.

"Where is the overseer?"

Voice owner: "..."

Damn, how did he know someone else took over?

Ji Xinghai chuckled, leaning back on the throne: "Option three, consume the fire seed, end the show."

Voice owner: "He went to attend the teacher training for the college competition!"

Not dead? The rear is stable, no one snuck in?

Ji Xinghai turned his head back: "Oh, continue."

Voice owner: "..."

Grass (a type of plant).

"So, what is your choice?"