144: Chapter 144 Level 4 Region, Raging Ant Swarm

When the barracks door was gently pushed open, morning dew was dripping along the eaves, creating tiny splashes on the bluestone slabs.

Zhang Wen stood at the doorway and took a deep breath. The sensory enhancement brought by the Domain Realm allowed him to clearly capture the breathing rhythm of students practicing punches a hundred meters away.

He could even distinguish the fishy stench of three different Vicious Beast droppings carried in the wind.

As a standout among the Azure Mist New Students, he had long been accustomed to moving forward under pressure, but this Breakthrough into the Domain Realm had been surprisingly smooth even for him.

With a slight flick of his fingers, the sky-splitting startling thunder spear transformed into a streak of light and was stored in his Storage Ring, as he changed into a set of durable black combat fatigues.

Just as he stepped out of the barracks area, he saw the instructor Zhao Feng standing at the edge of the training field with his hands behind his back, the sleeves of his military-green training uniform rolled up to his elbows.

"You've had a Breakthrough?"

Zhao Feng turned around, his gaze narrowing slightly as it swept over Zhang Wen's body.

When ordinary people first enter the Domain Realm, their aura is usually somewhat superficial and ostentatious, but the Qi fluctuations on Zhang Wen's body were as restrained as a deep pool.

Only the occasional flash of electricity passing across his brow revealed a sharp edge that could not be underestimated.

"Yes, Domain Realm Early Stage," Zhang Wen nodded.

Zhao Feng cautioned, "The Level Four Zone is not like the first three. The Vicious Beasts inside not only have Domain Realm cultivation but also know how to coordinate their hunting."

"The person receiving you over there this time is our school's Teacher Dean. He has been stationed in the Level Four Zone for many years. When you reach the camp and report my name, he will look after you more."

He pulled out a palm-sized black token from his pocket, engraved with the words 'Boundary Crossing', its edges inlaid with a circle of silver patterns.

"This is a Cross-Zone Pass. It contains my Qi imprint. Show this if you are stopped by a patrol team."

Zhang Wen took the token; it felt cold to the touch, and he could feel the gentle Qi sealed inside—that was an aura Zhao Feng had specially suppressed to endorse the pass.

As the number one New Student of Qinglan University, he should have been able to cultivate peacefully, but he insisted on venturing into the Level Four Zone on his own, all because of that girl.

"Once you're inside, don't be too quick to go deep. The 'Bone-Rotting Mist Forest' and 'Red Iron Canyon' in the Level Four Zone are two natural traps. The miasma in the mist forest can corrode Qi, and the canyon's rock walls absorb lightning-attribute attacks. It's best to go around them."

Zhao Feng gave a few more instructions and took out a palm-sized compass from his Storage Pouch.

"This is a Vicious Beast activity detector. If the needle turns red, it means there are social Vicious Beasts migrating within a ten-mile radius. Remember to avoid them in time."

Zhang Wen put away the compass and lightly pressed his fingertip on the pass, injecting a thread of his own Qi as a mark.

"I understand. Rest assured, Instructor Zhao."

When he passed through the defensive barrier of the Level Three Zone, the Cultivators guarding the boundary looked at him with obvious surprise.

On the registration book at the barrier entrance, 'Penetration Realm' was still marked next to Zhang Wen's name.

However, the Domain Realm pressure radiating from him could not be faked. Seeing the Qinglan University school badge, some people whispered in discussion.

"Isn't this Zhang Wen, the number one New Student of Azure Mist this year? I heard he broke through the Penetration Realm just after entering school. How long has it been, and he's already at the Domain Realm?"

The old Cultivator responsible for verifying the pass stroked his beard and smiled, "Azure Mist has produced a good prospect this year; Old Mr. Gongsun didn't dote on him for nothing."

The moment he stepped into the Level Four Zone, the air suddenly became viscous.

Unlike the lush vegetation of the first three zones, the trees here were generally dozens of meters tall, their trunks covered in dark brown moss.

Sunlight filtered through layers of leaves, casting mottled and bizarre light and shadows on the ground, looking very much like the scales of some Vicious Beast.

Zhang Wen expanded his Domain, a pale gold energy field spreading out a hundred meters with him as the center.

The advantages of a Domain Realm Cultivator were fully displayed at this moment—he could 'see' poisonous snakes traveling three feet underground.

He could 'hear' the flapping wings of a winged beast five miles away, and could even predict a swamp three miles ahead through changes in air humidity.

After walking for about half an hour, the dense forest ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a temporary camp built with alloy plates.

Five signal towers about ten meters high stood around the camp, the warning lights at the top flickering with a faint green light—this represented that the current area's safety level was low.

A middle-aged man wearing a Qinglan University uniform was sitting by a campfire in the center of the camp, wiping a long saber.

Seeing Zhang Wen approach, he looked up, the scar on his face twitching slightly with his smile: "Azure Mist's number one New Student this year? Zhang Wen?"

Zhang Wen nodded and showed his pass: "Hello, Teacher Dean."

"Dean."

The middle-aged man stood up. He was half a head taller than Zhao Feng, with broad palms and thick calluses on the web of his thumb.

"Zhao Feng has praised you to the skies, saying you are the most talented New Student Azure Mist has seen in ten years. Seeing you today, your Domain Realm Early Stage aura is indeed very stable."

He pointed to a tent nearby, "Want to rest for a bit? This afternoon I'll take you to familiarize yourself with the peripheral terrain. Tonight a pack of Red-Eyed Wolves is migrating, which will be a good chance for you to practice and earn some actual results for your title as the number one New Student."

Just as Zhang Wen was about to speak, a cold female voice suddenly came from the tent: "Instructor Dean, my ice soul arrowss are tempered. Shall we test their penetration power?"

Before her voice finished, a white shadow darted out of the tent, the cold air it brought making the campfire flicker.

Zhang Wen looked up and saw the newcomer wearing a moon-white combat suit, her long hair tied into a high ponytail with a few ice crystals clinging to the ends.

She held three arrows in her hand, the tips glowing with a faint blue luster, clearly tempered with extreme cold Qi.

She was a girl who looked slightly older than Zhang Wen, but her eyes were as cold as if they were forged in ice.

Dean laughed heartily, "Su Xinyue, don't point your arrows at people all day. This is Zhang Wen, our school's number one New Student, who just entered the Domain Realm."

Su Xinyue's gaze fell on Zhang Wen, her brow furrowing imperceptibly: "SSS-Rank Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder?"

Her voice was very faint, yet it carried a strange sense of scrutiny.

Zhang Wen nodded, not denying it.

"Very well."

Su Xinyue suddenly raised her hand, and three ice soul arrowss were instantly notched on her bowstring, the tips pointing directly at Zhang Wen's face.

"My 'Freezing Frost Break' just happens to need a target to test moves. Do you dare to take it? Don't let the title of number one New Student be a hollow reputation."

Dean's expression changed, and he was about to shout a stop when he saw Zhang Wen suddenly smile.

The air around him began to sizzle, and pale purple Lightning Radiance crawled along his fingertips to the tips of his hair. Though it was a blazing lightning attribute, it possessed a flamboyant energy completely different from Su Xinyue's icy cold.

"Testing moves is fine."

Zhang Wen raised his hand, and the sky-splitting startling thunder spear appeared in his hand again. The lightning glow at the tip of the spear happened to clash with the cold air of the ice soul arrowss, stirring up a fine white mist.

"But the loser will owe the other a favor."

A flash of surprise crossed Su Xinyue's eyes, followed by a cold snort: "Fine."

The vibration of the bowstring and the crisp crackle of exploding lightning sounded simultaneously.

At that moment, a sudden, urgent alarm sounded from outside the camp—it was the warning light on the signal tower, which had turned from green to a piercing red at some point!

Dean abruptly turned to look at the detector, only to see the needle on the compass spinning wildly, with scorched marks even appearing on the edges.

His face changed drastically as he cried out in shock, "Something's wrong! It's not a Red-Eyed Wolf migration—it's a 'Bone-Eroding Ant Tide'! Quick! Activate the defense formation!"

The Bone-Eroding Ant Tide was one of the most terrifying social Vicious Beasts in the Level Four Zone.

A single ant was only the size of a fingernail, but once they formed a tide, they could devour an adult Iron-Armored Rhino within half an hour, leaving not even a bone behind.

Zhang Wen and Su Xinyue instantly checked their attacks and turned their heads toward the camp entrance simultaneously.

The air there had already begun to distort, and the dense sound of crawling could be faintly heard, like countless fine needles scraping against metal.

Su Xinyue's expression finally changed. The ice soul arrows in her hand instantly turned toward the camp entrance, the cold air gathered on the arrow shaft even more intense than before.

"There are too many; the defense formation won't last long!"

Zhang Wen gripped the sky-splitting startling thunder spear tightly, the electric glow on the spear's body more blazing than ever before.

He could feel that every single ant surging in from all directions had fluctuations at least at the Forming Realm or above.

This was not a normal ant tide at all; it was more like someone was controlling them from behind, deliberately leading them toward the camp!

As a student of Azure Mist, he had come across a lot of information on Vicious Beasts upon entering school. Although Bone-Eroding Ants were fierce, they rarely took the initiative to attack human camps with defense formations; there must be something fishy about this.

Dean had already activated the defense formation, and a pale gold light curtain enveloped the entire camp.

But as soon as the light curtain rose, it was struck by countless black ants, creating dense ripples.

"Xinyue!" Dean roared as he pulled a red flare from his Storage Pouch.

"I'll send the distress signal! You two follow me and guard the east and west sides! Remember, don't let the ants gnaw at the formation eye of the light curtain!"

The flare trailed a red tail of flame as it shot into the sky, only to be smashed mid-air by a Giant Queen Ant that suddenly lunged out.

That Queen Ant was half a person tall, its carapace gleaming with a faint green luster. As its mouthparts opened and closed, the acid it sprayed could actually corrode the air!

Su Xinyue's ice arrows had all been fired. She pulled out a short sword from her waist with her backhand, the ice layer condensed on the blade instantly thickening by an inch: "Leave the east side to me!"

Zhang Wen didn't say a word and charged directly toward the west side with his spear.

The first crack had already appeared in the light curtain there. A Bone-Eroding Ant was gnawing at the light curtain with its mouthparts, and a strange black mist rose at the point of contact.

He raised his hand, and the lightning glow at the tip of the spear suddenly surged: "Just in time."

But he didn't notice that in the shadows of the camp corner, a completely pitch-black ant was quietly carving a rune.