The World Tree God did not leave immediately.
It roamed throughout the entire low-level zone, even standing motionless just outside Jiangli City once night fell.
Its expression, however, grew increasingly savage. It even assaulted Jiangli City several times; had the city not possessed an innate protective barrier, the classers inside would likely have all been slaughtered.
In truth, the longer it lingered in the low-level zone, the more levels it lost.
Over this brief period, it had already dropped five levels. Losing five levels at its high tier was costlier than losing fifty at a lower tier. It was fair to say the World Tree God had made an immense sacrifice.
Yet it felt profoundly humiliated.
After paying such a steep price, it had still failed to kill its target.
Now that the target had gone into hiding—to the point where not even the Class Hunter Society's secret agents could trace Yu Xian—the World Tree God could do nothing but glare in helpless frustration.
By dawn, it had lost another two levels.
It heaved a dejected sigh. "It is heaven's will. What can I do?"
With that, it turned and left. Inside Jiangli City, every classer watched its towering figure with bated breath, terrified that on some sudden impulse it might turn back.
Within the city, Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye wore grim expressions.
Ever since the World Tree God appeared, they had been frantically searching for Yu Xian and Little Nora, yet scouring all of Jiangli City had turned up not a trace of them.
If the Sparkle Legion had not remained intact, they would have feared that Yu Xian and Little Nora had met with disaster.
"The Class Hunter Society's World Tree God..."
"It seems... the Society has its sights set on the commander."
Ximen Wangcai and Situ Xingye had never imagined Yu Xian would draw the attention of the Class Hunter Society's heavyweights so quickly, let alone that they would deploy the World Tree God against him.
Yet right now, neither of them dared step outside.
Who knew if the World Tree God was lurking menacingly nearby, just waiting for Yu Xian to return?
Given how deeply members of the Class Hunter Society despised classers, the moment anyone stepped beyond the gates, the World Tree God would strike without hesitation. At its level, crushing them would be no different from squashing ants.
"Let's hope the commander turns misfortune into fortune," Ximen Wangcai murmured with a heavy sigh of resignation.
Beside him, Situ Xingye nodded. "Yeah, let's hope so. But there is one thing we can take advantage of right now."
Even though the World Tree God had likely come for Yu Xian, its attacks had amounted to indiscriminate bombardments. Plenty of classers leveling outside the walls had been crushed to death by seeds before they could even react.
Several teams had effectively dissolved on the spot when their leaders were killed.
Now was the prime moment to recruit. Situ Xingye estimated that once the dust settled, the Sparkle Legion's roster could swell by tens of thousands.
Though both worried deeply for Yu Xian's safety, as long as the Sparkle Legion remained unbroken, they would continue to fulfill their duties.
***
Outskirts of Jiangli City.
A pitch-black, ominous rift suddenly tore open in the air.
The Death Emperor stepped out of the fissure. Countless tendrils of black mist swarmed like hands trying to drag it back, but after its recent enhancement, they clearly held little sway over it.
It emerged completely, and the fissure reluctantly snapped shut.
After confirming the surroundings were safe, the Death Emperor plunged its hands into its own torso and slowly peeled back its bandages.
A moment later, Yu Xian stepped out from within its body, holding the Book of Sealing. He paused before it, glancing left and right. The Great Tree King Spawns were gone, and so was the World Tree God.
Oddly, he also felt as though the distant mountains looked taller.
Turning toward the Death Emperor, he frowned. "The event is over?"
"There is no aura of death, nor any aura of battle," the Death Emperor answered.
Yu Xian nodded, pondering. "So it was a limited-time event. Once the clock ran out, the boss vanished."
"..."
The Death Emperor had no answer for that and remained silent.
Instead, Yu Xian chuckled, visibly pleased. "Well, that works out pretty well. As long as the danger is gone, all's good."
With a flick of his wrist, he released Little Nora, Fang Qinghao, the Chaos Evil Beast, and Xielina from the Book of Sealing one by one. Seeing the desolate landscape devoid of a single blade of grass, Little Nora gasped in shock.
For thousands of li in every direction, the terrain had become a cratered expanse of bare earth, without so much as a stray boulder to break the line of sight.
"Big Brother, what happened here?" Little Nora asked wide-eyed.
Yu Xian patted her head with a smile. "Hard to say exactly. First, get us some food. I'm starving."
"Okay!"
Little Nora clapped her hands, and an assortment of food tumbled down from above.
"A super-powerful monster showed up yesterday. Luckily your big brother reacted fast and made a decisive break for it with everyone, or we'd be goners," Yu Xian explained casually, catching a meat bun and taking a bite.
Little Nora grabbed a meaty bone and asked in surprise, "Was it really that strong?"
"Look around you. Does it look weak?" Yu Xian finished his bun, caught a bottle of milk, and replied with a laugh.
He took a swig of the milk, then furrowed his brow. It didn't taste like cow's milk. He looked at the bottle—there was no brand or label, only a sticky note scribbled with a date.
Pfft!
Realization struck Yu Xian instantly, and he spat the milk straight out.
The others stared at him in confusion. His face dark, he tossed the bottle aside and said, "Once we're done eating, we head back to Jiangli City. A lot of Sparkle Legion members were probably caught in the blast; we need to see how things stand."
As he spoke, he considered the journey back and remembered the Cannon Fodder Crocodile.
Things had been too urgent at the time, and the crocodile was too massive, so he hadn't managed to seal it in time.
He had actually been quite fond of the creature. Beyond its lack of combat ability, it moved fast and offered a remarkably smooth ride with almost no jolting—a thoroughly competent mount.
Losing such a handy mount stung a little.
Their current location was over ten kilometers from Jiangli City. Walking back on foot would take at least a day. Granted, Yu Xian could use Chaos Protection to form a spatial bubble shield and fly all the way back.
But that was too much hassle.
Carrying people inside a spatial bubble shield was like driving himself, whereas riding a mount was like cruising on autopilot.
As lazy as Yu Xian was, he naturally had no interest in playing chauffeur.
Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he decided to try summoning a new mount. A loafer was always a loafer: if someone else could do the legwork, he would never lift a finger himself.
Chaos Descent!
Yu Xian activated the skill at once.
Come to think of it, this was his first time using a summoning skill since becoming the King of Chaos.
The moment the skill went off, his eyes widened slightly. A massive magic circle etched itself across the ground, while a flood of vivid images showcasing summonable beasts flooded his mind.
Holy crap.
Can this even be called random anymore?
It's straight-up turned into a menu of options.
Chapter 503