A Great Terror

The red shadow was formidable. Possessing Orange Moon, it could even wield martial arts secret techniques. As Li Hao advanced with his sword, a hammer struck out, battering heaven and earth as if cleaving the world anew! This was Ying Hongyue's trump card for this expedition, and the very reason everyone found Orange Moon so dangerous. All the red shadow power of the Red Moon organization, combined with a divine weapon of the Eight Great Families, elevated its combat strength in this moment to the level of five, or perhaps even six divine power disciplines! Against such might, not even the little tree could hope to subdue it easily. And the little tree was only a clone after all; its origin could be depleted. As long as the red shadow outlasted the tree, the tree might not defeat it. What was more, the little tree was currently facing the frantic counterattack of the four demon plants. At this moment, Hong Yitang and his companions joined the fray as well! *Boom!* Behind them, the Earth-Overturning Sword swept across the void. Heaven and earth spun. Qian Wanhao and his group felt their vision reel; by the time clarity returned, they were already trapped within an encirclement formed by the three. Yes—the three of them had surrounded the entire group! At this moment, Hou Xiaochen's aura erupted, faintly surpassing even Sky Sword beside him. Waves of supernatural power rippled around him. His spear thrust out, tearing heaven and earth asunder! It felt as if they had returned to the battle at the North Sea. The Earth-Overturning Sword drew circles through the air, focusing primarily on defense. "The Receptive Earth!" With another stroke of his sword, the ground seemed to rise like an enclosing wall, enveloping everyone in an instant. The God-Splitting Spear and Sky Sword shot forward violently. *Boom!* Heaven and earth split apart! "Kill!" Qian Wanhao roared as well, his voice laced with a shock he still could not accept. Wielding four divine power disciplines, he was virtually invincible on the surface. Yet here... every single demon plant was stronger than him. Li Hao was stronger than him. Orange Moon was stronger than him. Even the Earth-Overturning Sword was stronger than him. And now, Hou Xiaochen seemed to have cast aside all restraint; his God-Splitting spear intent faintly mingled with vast quantities of supernatural power. Having witnessed Li Hao's situation, he was recklessly unsealing himself! A four-discipline divine power! Yet here he was, being suppressed by his opponents. Beside him, Mount Futu Lord barked a shout. Golden light flashed as he threw a punch, intercepting Sky Sword. King Qinguang was like an emissary of the underworld. With a wave of his hand, countless vengeful ghosts seemed to materialize between heaven and earth, swarming toward them, only to be swept away and shattered to dust by the Earth-Overturning Sword in the blink of an eye! Though there were only three of them, they felt like an army of thousands! Sky Sword's greatsword swept across the sky, blazing with brilliant radiance as he struck blow after blow. Yet, just as Sky Sword had once found Li Hao lacking, Hong Yitang now voiced his own disdain: "Brother Sky Sword, your attack power... is lacking!" Sky Sword wore an icy expression, uttering not a word. With overwhelming combat strength, the Earth-Overturning Sword restrained and fenced in the enemies. Hou Xiaochen and he were the primary attackers—Hou Xiaochen engaged Qian Wanhao while Sky Sword dealt with the rest. Yet now, Mount Futu Lord alone could faintly parry his blade! How could the fiercely proud Sky Sword endure this? Li Hao had told them to stall! Yet in the minds of Sky Sword and the others, the goal was to kill! Not only did they want to slaughter these people, they also wanted to aid the little tree and Li Hao. That was their true purpose in joining the battle—not simply delaying strong foes. That was beneath their standing! Sky Sword snapped. Glaring at Hong Yitang, he roared, "Fuck your defense!" Yes, he was furious. He was cursing! When had a Silver Moon martial master ever played defense? As if reading his mind, Hong Yitang laughed. His sword swept across the sky. "Earth-Overturning!" Sky Sword bellowed, "Heaven-Toppling!" *Boom!* Heaven and earth rotated. In this moment, the world truly turned upside down! To the side, the God-Splitting Spear technique tore through the firmament. Coughs rang out—just like many years ago, when the Bedridden Ghost was always like this, every strike and every harvested life accompanied by a ragged cough. That was why he was the Bedridden Ghost. Though the three had almost never coordinated before, now heaven and earth overturned, and spirits tore apart. "Ahhh!" Screams rang out. Among the enemy experts who had attacked together, the weaker ones instantly felt their minds shredded. Before they could even recover their senses, two sword intents pierced heaven and earth! Several deputy directors from the various departments stared across in disbelief, and a moment later dissolved into shredded gore. Dead! Even while fighting alongside numerous powerful figures, they had been slain by the combined sword of heaven-toppling and earth-overturning! Bloody gashes appeared on Qian Wanhao's face. Filled with shock and disbelief, he spat a mouthful of blood as a massive character manifested. "Suppress!" With a ferocious roar, a towering momentum surged forth, seemingly intending to suppress the entire world. The other three directors acted as well, spitting blood not to form their own characters, but to pour their lifeblood into that single giant character: *Suppress!* This word was said to be passed down by peak experts of the ancient civilization—the greatest ultimate technique within the Star Town ultimate techniques, capable of suppressing all foes! Yet they were not the invincible experts of old. Nor was this the era of the origin path. The moment the character "Suppress" appeared, Hong Yitang barked a cold shout. The character "Sword" hung in midair, instantly exploding with dazzling brilliance. His four existing divine powers of lightning, fire, earth, and metal manifested at once. Not only that, but within Hong Yitang's body, countless drops of the Spring of Life seemed to detonate, unleashing an eruption of wood intent. "Five disciplines..." Qian Wanhao's face changed drastically! *Boom!* The character "Sword" ripped open the sky. *Boom!* The character "Suppress" was torn apart and shattered in an instant. All four directors were heavily injured. Right at that moment, the God-Splitting Spear tore through the void. A fire phoenix manifested, blazing through space at blinding speed as if cleaving something apart in a flash! King Qinguang was still summoning something, still scheming, but in this instant, the light in his eyes abruptly dimmed. With great effort, he raised his head and looked toward that quiet man... his lips parting slightly. *Why me?* *The four directors were blocking you, and I was hiding behind them. Why target me?* Hou Xiaochen gave a cough—a sound like a death-toll bell. A faint smile appeared on his face as he held his spear. The God-Splitting spear intent blazed like fire. Fire energy and metal energy erupted from him as he spoke with calm equanimity: "You have killed too much; your murderous aura is too heavy. The God-Splitting spear intent naturally seeks out those soaked in slaughter." He provided an explanation: it was not that I sought to kill you, but that my spear demanded your death! "Hah!" With a ferocious shout, Qian Wanhao struck back the divine character "Sword" with a punch. Drenched in blood, he dragged along the three directors, the men from Superpower City, and Mount Futu Lord, hastily retreating as he roared, "Flee first... hide in the buildings!" With that, he turned and fled! Indeed, with so many of them banding together, let alone killing Li Hao or handling the little tree, they couldn't even match these three before them! A four-discipline combatant like him, aided by multiple three-discipline experts, had seen several powerful figures butchered in the blink of an eye. Too strong! Sky Sword, Earth Sword, and the Bedridden Ghost—the three masters fighting in concert had actually routed them. It was unbelievable, yet entirely real. *** Just then, a thunderous roar echoed from behind. A surging sword intent swept the world, brimming with murderous intent. Following a muffled groan, *boom!* Orange Moon stumbled back, covered in blood. A faint luster appeared over the Hong family hammer in her hands, but it seemed damaged, covered with cracks carved by the Starry Sky Sword that were now rapidly repairing. A faint red halo radiated from the red shadow, washing over the weapon. That was the bloodline power of the Hong family activating the Hong family hammer. Sword in hand, Li Hao closed the distance step by step. Disbelief was written across "Zhang Yuan's" face: "The Li family sword... counters us?" Indeed. The formidable red shadow was repeatedly suppressed before the Li family's divine sword. Even the Hong family hammer it wielded seemed to fear the Starry Sky Sword, defeated instantly again and again. Ying Hongyue had tested the formidable Hong family hammer before. It was exceptionally powerful, capable of inflicting severe wounds even upon ancient demon plants. Ying Hongyue had verified this personally. Therefore, combining the red shadow with the Hong family hammer meant that even against the little tree alone, it might not have lost. The Hong family hammer shared traits with the God-Splitting Spear, even possessing the ability to tear through spirits and origin. Had the little tree's clone faced it directly, it might have suffered a catastrophic loss. Unfortunately, it had run into Li Hao. Li Hao stared coldly at his "friend" across from him. Did Ying Hongyue think this would make him hesitate? No! When the red shadow took Zhang Yuan's shape, what Li Hao remembered was the moment Xiaoyuan was swallowed by the red shadow and told him to run. In that moment, he had told Li Hao to flee... A true friend would never want to kill him. He would only want him to escape, to stay safe. The one trying to kill him was Ying Hongyue! "Die!" The Lifeless sword intent destroyed everything. A single thrust unleashed an explosion of divine power; fire and water erupted, and divine characters circled like an array. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* A flurry of sword techniques burst forth. Like a specter, Li Hao moved at blinding speed, thrusting sword after sword. The next moment, dazzling everyone's eyes, multiple figures of Li Hao seemed to appear: one cloaked in fire, one dripping with water, one like lightning, one like a tempest, and one radiating golden light... At that instant, it was as if several Li Haos were attacking simultaneously. The Starry Sky Sword struck tirelessly, blow after blow. *Thump! Thump! Thump!* "Zhang Yuan" staggered back repeatedly, terror showing on his crimson face. He was completely countered. In all "his" formidable power, he could not even strike back now. The Hong family bloodline within him was draining away, and the mighty Hong family hammer seemed unable to offer "him" any protection. "Stay back!" Sensing Sky Sword and the others approaching, Li Hao roared, "Go destroy the demon plants!" Without a word, the three vanished instantly. *Boom!* A fierce battle erupted in midair, far more intense than before. Joining forces, the three did not take on all of them, but concentrated solely on a single demon plant clone. With the little tree now facing only three, it seized the upper hand at once. A corner of the Imperial Palace emerged once more. *Boom!* One demon plant clone was instantly crushed to dust. The little tree dimmed slightly, and the corner of the palace vanished, but this time was far easier than the last. The remaining three demon plant clones fell into despair. Though it wasn't true death, their losses here were devastating. Worst of all, they couldn't even send word back! *Crack!* A crisp snap echoed—not from the sky, but from the ground. Li Hao drove his sword into the red shadow's body! As if something had split open, the small sword voraciously devoured the red shadow's power. The red shadow writhed violently. "A-Hao, it's me..." "A-Hao, I'm Xiaoyuan!" The red shadow trembled wildly as an immense devouring suction erupted from the Starry Sky Sword. Li Hao stared quietly at the shadow, at Xiaoyuan. In the next instant, the face shifted into his father's visage. "Little Hao!" His father's gentle face twisted into ferocity. "You would kill your own father? You unfilial wretch!" A second later, it shifted into his mother's likeness: "A-Hao, why have you changed? How could you be so cruel... We're still alive... We didn't die! We're only trapped inside this monster... A-Hao, are you going to kill us?" Red light flashed in Li Hao's eyes! In that instant, his eyes burned like torches. The blood-red pupils pierced through everything; all illusions, all mental interference shattered into nothingness! Only now did he seem to discover the true purpose of these eyes. *To let me see through all falsehood!* This was a pair of Heavenly Eyes! True Heavenly Eyes! Until today, Li Hao had not understood what these eyes were actually meant for. Seeing through an opponent's strength was merely a side effect. Their true power was to let him perceive the essence of all things. It might seem useless, but Li Hao knew that this was perhaps what he needed most. Just like right now! All the illusions were fake. The reality was that Orange Moon was wearing a mournful expression. He finally understood why Ying Hongyue had sent Orange Moon. Because she was the Black Widow! The Black Spider! The one who could see into people's hearts better than anyone. The red shadow was nothing more than chaotic puppet consciousness; every single thing had been orchestrated by Orange Moon! This figure from Silver Moon's Roster of Thirty-Six Heroes might not be the strongest in pure combat, but to have made the roster... Li Hao finally understood. "A-Hao..." Orange Moon was still wailing when, in the next second, a hand clamped around her throat like an iron band. *Crack...* He squeezed hard! "Black Widow... are you finished?" Li Hao gripped her throat so hard her neck seemed nearly broken. His sword plunged straight into her heart. The red shadow struggled frantically, but to no avail. Li Hao smiled. "Thank Ying Hongyue for me. The red shadow power is truly wonderful, truly delicious!" In that moment, Orange Moon's face contorted with disbelief, terror, and despair. *How could this be?* "Do you know? Of all the Thirty-Six Heroes, you are the only one I find unworthy!" "Bitch!" Li Hao rarely cursed like this, but now he spat out the insult. "Utterly vile!" *Crack!* Sword intent erupted as he put all his strength into his hand. With a snap, he broke her neck outright. Sword intent pierced her heart, pulverizing her internal organs in an instant! The red shadow shrieked as well, dissolving into nothingness as the small sword completely devoured it. With a *clang*, the massive hammer fell to the ground. Li Hao picked up the hammer and took her storage ring. Looking at Orange Moon, the illusions were gone, leaving only a face that was still charming and fair. Only... now it was twisted into an ugly grimace, laden with resentment and bitter unwillingness. She had arrived with the red shadow's power and the Hong family hammer. One could say she was practically invincible in this era; even against a five-discipline expert, she could have battered them to death. Yet... she had met Li Hao. Her methods of manipulating the human heart were laid bare before his eyes in an instant, completely countered, preventing her from displaying any of her terrifying might. *Boom!* Another thunderous blast shook the heavens and earth! *Rumble!* A corner of the Imperial Palace appeared again. The little tree unleashed its ultimate technique once more, crushing another demon plant clone to powder. Now, only two demon plants remained. Li Hao raised his sword into the sky with a sharp whistle as five disciplines of divine power erupted! *Boom!* A bolt from the blue! Thunder erupted all around. The increasingly ethereal Rose, already locked in combat with the three masters, suddenly shrieked. With a crisp sound, the Starry Sky Sword stabbed straight into the phantom form! Eradicating all! "Ahhh!" A screech rang out. *Boom!* The phantom exploded! Seeing this, the little tree pushed through its depletion, seemingly eager to end the battle before Li Hao and the others arrived to prove its might. In an instant, the Imperial Palace manifested again! The little tree had grown far more translucent, but it paid no heed. *Boom!* The Imperial Palace pressed down! Li Hao's expression shifted. In terms of raw cultivation, the little tree was stronger than them, but not by an absurd margin. Yet whenever the phantom projection of the Imperial Palace appeared, it was shockingly powerful. *Rumble!* The final demon plant clone exploded in an instant! All seven demon plants had fallen. A vast amount of origin power dissipated into the void. Thousands of branches from the little tree wove through the air: "Li Hao... this origin power is useful to me..." "Senior, please absorb as much as you like!" Li Hao nodded without objection. This had been agreed upon beforehand. Moreover, one had to admit the little tree had performed magnificently, directly suppressing the seven demon plants. Otherwise, even if Li Hao reached five, six, or seven disciplines, it would not have been so easy. Hong Yitang and the others carried injuries of their own. Hou Xiaochen, in particular, was leaking supernatural power. Yet he seemed unconcerned; he simply glanced at Li Hao, then looked at Hong Yitang, coughing a few times to draw Li Hao's attention. "Director Hou, I'll explain later!" Satisfied, Hou Xiaochen nodded without saying anything. It was always easy dealing with smart people! Just a cough, and Li Hao understood. Still, now was not the time to relax. Qian Wanhao had fled with Mount Futu Lord and the others. The area was not large, with only four buildings, but Li Hao remained vigilant. This place was far from peaceful. Just then, Black Panther shot through the air from the distance, clamping its jaws around Li Hao's sleeve and dragging him away! Li Hao was startled! The next moment, without a word, he turned and sprinted: "Run!" The others hadn't sensed anything amiss, but when Li Hao spoke, they instinctively followed. Even the little tree, which was halfway through absorbing the origin power, bristled its branches in alarm and instantly attached itself to Li Hao. Four men, one dog, and a tree bolted toward the campus gate. Even if they couldn't leave, they had to get away from here. And right at this moment, beneath the surface of the lake where the divine energy stones had been piled in the rear campus, something seemed to awaken. If Black Panther could speak, it would surely have told Li Hao that out of the hundred million divine energy stones, it had only managed to collect half; the remaining half were practically all gone, reduced to empty husks! In just that brief span, half of the divine energy stones had vanished. Not only that, but screams began echoing from the four teaching buildings! A wave of mental fluctuation rippled through heaven and earth: "All students, assemble on the sports grounds! One minute! Those who fail to arrive on time shall be executed immediately!" Mid-flight, Li Hao's face changed. Looking back, a terrifying entity seemed to have appeared on the sports grounds. Just as he moved to flee—*bang!* At the school entrance, one of the dolls that had previously looked cute—a cat-like doll—suddenly swung a paw! The immensely powerful Li Hao was swatted backward like a flimsy sack, tumbling to the ground. His injuries weren't severe, but from the mouth of that robotic cat doll came a voice: "The academy is sealed. Assemble on the sports grounds. No student may leave the school!" "Cough, cough, cough..." Li Hao coughed up blood, shaken. Black Panther clung to his arm, trembling as though it had seen something horrific. The little tree's mental voice immediately rang in Li Hao's mind: "Obey the order! Quick... hurry to the grounds! Otherwise... none of us may get out!" Li Hao's expression twisted in alarm! He dared not say more and quickly turned to Sky Sword and the others. Seeing Sky Sword look ready to strike, he urgently shouted, "To the grounds!" Sky Sword's expression shifted. Waiting passively for death was not their style. Yet with Li Hao saying so, he glanced back; though returning felt like seeking death, he nodded. Hong Yitang's face was grim, and Hou Xiaochen's expression flickered. Though all four men and the dog were reluctant, seeing a single doll swat Li Hao away had shaken them deeply. There wasn't just one doll at the entrance—there were many! If they could all fight and were all this strong, they would surely die. Especially after fighting a grueling battle when the little tree hadn't even had time to recover. At that moment, the voice echoed once more: "Thirty seconds remaining!" Their expressions tightened as they sprinted toward the sports grounds. In the blink of an eye, they arrived. On the sports grounds floated a pitch-black armored warrior. Curiously, an insignia of a small cat head was embossed on the pitch-black armor. In vivid color, it looked quite comical, even absurd. Yet... the little tree trembled, urgently transmitting: "Be careful... this place... may be related to the Great Emperor!" It recognized it! It could hardly believe it: a portrait of the Great Emperor here? How was that possible? The Great Emperor hated when people constantly mentioned him, ruining his appetite and sleep; anyone who kept invoking him would draw his fury, let alone stamping his likeness onto an emblem, which would inevitably make people think of him all the time. Thinking of him disturbed him, and that was what he disliked most. Even the imperial palace guards never bore such a comical portrait. Yet here stood a set of black armor! No one knew how strong it was, but embossed upon it was the portrait of the Great Emperor. The little tree shuddered. This place was certainly tied to the Great Emperor. It felt thrilled, yet full of trepidation. "Ten!" A grand, booming voice rang from the black armor. "Nine!" "..." In that instant, figures arrived at terrifying speeds. Shaken and fearful, Qian Wanhao arrived, steering clear of Li Hao's group. What kind of place was this? Earlier, they had tried to ignore the call and stay hidden. But formidable puppets had appeared in the teaching buildings, herding them out just as the doll had driven back Li Hao. The place seemed to give them a chance; Qian Wanhao had been struck flying by a puppet, scaring him into fleeing here! He knew that certain ruins truly enforced rules—if one disobeyed, one might truly die! Qian Wanhao arrived, Mount Futu Lord arrived, the three directors scrambled in looking utterly disheveled, and the trio from Superpower City fled here in absolute panic. "One!" "Time is up!" The black armor spoke. Its hollow black eyes seemed to scan Li Hao and the others, sending chills down their spines. "Those who fail to arrive shall be executed!" The black armor was cold and unfeeling: "Yuanping Martial Arts University has no need for deserters!" Deserters! While Li Hao and the others were still pondering the meaning of the words, screams suddenly rang out. At the school gates, within the teaching buildings—armored puppets appeared in a flash. Dozens of people were dragged into view. Regardless of strength, before the shocked eyes of Li Hao and the rest, sabers formed in the puppets' hands! "No—!" *Crack!* A rapid sequence of sickening crunches followed. In the blink of an eye, dozens of heads hit the ground! Qian Wanhao and his companions felt their courage shatter! Some of these people had hidden during the earlier battle, while others had run along just now but failed to arrive in time. Now, every single one had been dragged out and slaughtered in an instant! Before them, the black armor remained nonchalant, as if this were completely routine. Its hollow gaze swept across the crowd: "Brawling without cause, damaging school property. One should remember that every brick and tile was hard-won. The academy provides battle arenas, yet you deliberately vandalized the school facilities. You shall be fined tenfold!" "School grounds are difficult to construct; punishment is due!" With those words, a voice sounded in Li Hao's ear: "You are fined one million cultivation energy stones!" Li Hao's heart skipped a beat! A fine? What kind of joke was this?! Then the black armor's voice sounded in his ear again: "Under current wartime regulations, if the fine cannot be paid, knocking down one puppet will offset one hundred thousand of the fine. If you fail to knock down a single puppet, it will be judged a failure... and your fine will double! If you have no funds to pay the fine, you shall be assigned to the battlefield's Vanguard Battalion!" Li Hao and the others were dumbfounded. Mental transmissions from Hong Yitang and the others reached him: "I've been fined one million!" "Me too!" "Mine is less—five hundred thousand." "I... I was fined two million!" the little tree transmitted timorously. Except for Hou Xiaochen's lower penalty, everyone else was fined at least a million. A total fine of 5.5 million! Cultivation energy stones? Li Hao was profoundly shaken. He knew what cultivation energy stones were—the military-grade ones. That meant... 55 million divine energy stones! Puppets? What puppets? The next moment, he knew: the puppets that had just slaughtered those people instantly assembled behind the black armor—a full thirty of them. At this moment, Qian Wanhao and his party had turned pale as sheets. Qian Wanhao swallowed down his shock: "May I ask... Venerable One..." "Before speaking, request permission first. Disrespectful of rules—fine increased by one hundred thousand!" Qian Wanhao's face fell, not daring to utter another word. Li Hao and his companions glanced toward Qian Wanhao's group, whose expressions were just as unsettled. What was going on? Why had a black-armored warrior suddenly appeared? Was it the Black Armor Army? A guard of the martial arts university? But how could the Black Armor Army be this formidable? Though they hadn't sensed its exact cultivation, the aura alone was terrifying. A fine... what if they didn't have the money? The Vanguard Battalion? After so many years, where would there still be a Vanguard Battalion? Could it... send people outside? As everyone pondered, the black armor spoke again: "Do you choose to pay the fine, or... challenge the puppets? In accordance with the fine amount, a fine of one million requires challenging ten puppets. If successful... not only will the fine be waived, there will also be a reward!" A reward! Everyone's heart stirred. What kind of reward? Yet they had also heard that if they failed, the fine doubled! Of course, it seemed that as long as one knocked down a puppet, it counted as a success that deducted one hundred thousand. Li Hao calculated quickly. What should they do? Pay the money? You had to be joking! Between their group, it was 55 million stones. He didn't even know how many Black Panther had gathered; if they truly paid... wouldn't they go completely broke? And if they didn't pay... challenge the puppets? The little tree had said this place was terrifying. Li Hao looked across at his enemies. He had his troubles, but those guys seemed in deep trouble as well. Did they even have the money to pay? Sure enough, Qian Wanhao and his companions looked grim. Out of the hundred million divine energy stones, each faction had put forward millions of pieces. On top of that, they had consumed enormous quantities frantically boosting their strength—who would still carry a massive hoard of divine energy stones on their person? "Permission to speak!" As a veteran director with ample experience, Qian Wanhao shouted. The black armor turned toward him: "Speak!" "My lord... what if... what if one has no money to pay the fine..." "Are you deaf? Assigned to the Vanguard Battalion!" "Permission to speak!" Qian Wanhao hastily said. "My lord, but the Vanguard Battalion no longer exists today. In that case... could we... could we search for it on our own after leaving?" If that was the case... why the hell pay any fine! Perhaps under this creature's shelter, they would be safer instead. Now that all the demon plants were dead and Orange Moon was slain, they were gripped by fear—this might actually turn out to be a good thing. "The Vanguard Battalion is gone?" The black armor seemed to fall into deep thought. After a long silence, it spoke softly: "Then simply execute them." "..." If the opportunity to redeem oneself through military service was gone, what else was there to do but execute? Everyone's expression flickered erratically. Ex... executed just like that? Why did this feel like an absurd joke? "Make your choice quickly: pay the fine or challenge the puppets!" On Li Hao's side, everyone looked toward Li Hao. What should they do? Even for Hou Xiaochen, who had the lowest fine of five hundred thousand, that was five million stones. That was no small sum. If they handed it over, would it strengthen this black armor? Just then, someone from Superpower City spoke up: "Permission to speak! My fine is one hundred thousand. Does that mean I only need to face one puppet, and if I defeat it, not only will I face no punishment, but I will also receive a reward?" "Correct!" One hundred thousand! Hearing this, everyone's expressions changed. His fine was so small. Of course, this was likely related to the extent of destruction. Li Hao and his group had caused substantial damage. Black Panther had received no fine, probably because the dog had not participated in the fight and wasn't factored in at all. The little tree had caused the most destruction, so it had been fined a whopping two million! The man was overjoyed: "Then I challenge the puppet! My lord, if I succeed in the challenge... can I... can I choose to leave?" "You may!" The black armor was suddenly very accommodating: "The school is sealed, but if you succeed in the challenge, it proves you possess the ability to go outside... Naturally, you may choose to leave!" These words brought an instant rush of joy! They had conferred and knew that Li Hao and his group had to face at least ten puppets each, while he only had to face one... If he succeeded, he could step outside and spread the news! Whether reinforcements rushed inside or lay in wait outside, once word got out, the entire world would hunt Li Hao and his group! Wouldn't that guarantee their safety? Even if no one came, they could escape ahead of time. At this thought, the man was thrilled beyond measure: "Then I choose to challenge!" "Very well!" The next moment, a puppet emerged. The supernatural expert from Superpower City grew wary. In an instant, his power erupted, unleashing a punch that hit like a divine deity—immensely powerful! *Rumble!* A thunderous bang resounded. The puppet's movements did not seem swift; it took the punch head-on, yet did not budge an inch! *Thud!* The puppet swung its fist! *Bang!* The man flew backward, spitting blood continuously, his eyes filled with disbelief. He was in the Divine Power Realm! Yet... against his full punch, the puppet was entirely unharmed! Worse still, with just a single punch, he had been gravely injured! "Fine doubled: two hundred thousand stones!" The man's face drained of color: "My lord, I..." Terror gripped him now, and he looked frantically toward Qian Wanhao and the others. Who would carry millions of divine energy stones when traveling outside? This entity truly might kill him! What kind of damned place was this? Wasn't this supposed to be a secondary ruin? Wasn't it supposed to be a place where even those in the Rising Light Realm could survive? Why was it so terrifying?! There were thirty such puppets right here, with who knew how many more lurking in the shadows, not to mention this black armor... It was simply horrifying! Let alone Rising Light, even an expert of the legendary Peak Realm—could they leave safely after entering this place? Li Hao watched carefully and judged that these puppets did not seem to kill without cause; otherwise, that single punch might have killed the man outright. They were terrifying entities! Yuanping Martial Arts University... Perhaps the true threat this time was neither the demon plants nor Qian Wanhao and his cohort, but the ruin itself! No wonder the little tree had said earlier that this place was terrifying. Li Hao felt a surge of helplessness. Could they even defeat a puppet, or this black armor? A fine of 55 million... Leaving aside whether they even had enough, even if they did, wouldn't this entire trip have been for nothing? Besides, even if they paid, would they be allowed to leave smoothly? One thought after another swirled relentlessly in his mind.