25: Liu Qingzhu

Deep in the hills, a deathly silence reigned.

At the edge of the depression, the scorched earth was still emitting wisps of heat.

The air was filled with a strong burnt smell, and... an indescribable energy residue.

“Hiss...”

“This... What caused this?”

A gruff voice broke the silence.

Several figures cautiously appeared at the edge of the depression. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a combat uniform with a resolute face.

He was accompanied by three men and one woman, all slightly younger, their expressions equally solemn.

The woman looked about sixteen or seventeen, with a beautiful face and a simple ponytail. Her wide eyes were constantly scanning the scene before her.

She was Liu Qingzhu, a third-year student at Qingteng High School.

The middle-aged man was her uncle, Liu Shan, an experienced Second-Tier Card Master.

He led this team out in response to the school's call, to allow Liu Qingzhu to adapt to the practical combat environment of the Beast Hunting Zone in advance and gain real combat experience.

“Uncle Liu, this... this power is too terrifying, isn't it?” A young team member swallowed hard. “Even the full power strike of a Fourth-Tier demon beast wouldn't cause this kind of effect, would it?”

Liu Shan didn't speak, he just squatted down, picked up a bit of scorched earth, and sniffed it at his nose.

“It's not the aura of a Fourth-Tier demon beast.” He frowned deeply. “The residual energy fluctuation is very strange, only... First-Tier?? I don't understand...”

Liu Qingzhu's gaze swept across the area. Suddenly, her pupils constricted slightly.

“Uncle, over there!” She pointed to a spot at the edge of the depression. “It looks like there's someone!”

Everyone looked in the direction she pointed.

Indeed, in the shadow at the edge of the depression, a young man lay motionless. It was Lu Yuan, unconscious.

“Let's go take a look!”

Liu Shan barked, rushing forward first, with the others following close behind.

As they got closer, Liu Shan signaled everyone to be alert, while he cautiously checked Lu Yuan's breathing.

“He's still breathing, just unconscious.”

“He looks like a student. How did he end up here alone?”

“His equipment is quite complete, though.” A team member observed the brand-new backpack on Lu Yuan.

“Search him and see if there's any identification.” Liu Shan said. Finding an unconscious lone traveler in such a place, identifying him was a necessary procedure. (To see if he's suitable for 'robbing')

A team member stepped forward and opened the backpack.

Compressed biscuits, jerky, a water bottle, a first-aid kit... all standard outdoor supplies.

Soon, in the outer pocket of the backpack, he found a card.

It wasn't a combat card, but a student identification card with a photo and information printed on it.

“Uncle Liu, I found it!” The team member handed the card to Liu Shan.

Liu Shan took it and was a little surprised.

[Alliance Student ID card]

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[School: Jiangcheng Qingteng card Senior High School]

[Class: Senior Three (7) Class]

[Student ID: ...]

“From Qingteng High School?”

Liu Qingzhu also leaned over to take a look, exclaiming, “Oh, he's even a senior from our school?”

“What senior? Aren't you a third-year yourself, you naughty girl?”

“Oh, right, I forgot...”

She carefully looked at Lu Yuan's face. Although he was unconscious, it still couldn't hide his handsomeness.

“I don't know him...”

“Since he's a Student Lu Yuan, we can't just leave him.” Liu Shan made a decisive decision. “Qingzhu, you try to wake him up.”

“Okay!” Liu Qingzhu nodded, squatted down, and gently patted Lu Yuan's cheek.

“Hey? Student? Wake up!”

“Student Lu Yuan? Can you hear me?”

...Drowsiness, boundless drowsiness.

Lu Yuan felt as if he was sinking to the bottom of a bottomless sea, his body light and his consciousness blurry.

Vaguely, there seemed to be a voice calling him.

He tried hard to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

“Wake up...”

“Lu Yuan...”

The voice became clearer and clearer, with a crisp, girlish tone.

Lu Yuan suddenly jolted, his consciousness instantly snapping back!

He endured the soreness throughout his body and the dizziness in his head, and opened his eyes.

What met his gaze were several unfamiliar faces, surrounding him.

Where... where was this?

Lu Yuan quickly scanned his surroundings.

The middle-aged man at the front had a steady aura, giving him a considerable sense of oppression.

Beside him were several young people, and a... pretty young girl, looking at him with concern.

A huge depression, scorched earth, residual energy fluctuations.

Memories flooded back like a tide.

The Gray Wolf King! The crushing power of Raging Waves Sea Soul!

He instantly understood what had happened and his current predicament.

He had to stay calm!

“You're awake?” Liu Shan asked when he saw him open his eyes. “How do you feel?”

Lu Yuan struggled to sit up, but felt completely drained of strength.

“My head... it's so dizzy...” He clutched his forehead, his voice weak, perfectly displaying the state a wounded person should be in.

“Where... where is this? Who are you...?”

“Don't be afraid, we mean no harm.” Liu Qingzhu quickly said, her voice gentle. “I'm also a student from Qingteng High School, a Card Master who came out for training. We came to check out the commotion here and then found you unconscious.”

“Commotion?” Lu Yuan began to act. Looking around, he said, “What... what happened here?!”

“I... I remember fighting a few gray wolves, and then... then I heard a huge bang! Something exploded, it seemed? And then... I don't remember anything else.”

His acting, combined with the surrounding environment and his current weak state, seemed quite credible.

Liu Shan's gaze lingered on his face for a few seconds, seemingly judging the veracity of his words.

Ultimately, he found no obvious flaws.

The extent of the destruction in this area was indeed too astonishing. To say that some powerful entity passed through, or that an unknown explosion occurred, was not impossible.

Moreover, looking at this kid's Source Power fluctuations, he was only at the level of an Eighth-Star Card Master Apprentice. Even if he had some trump card, it would be impossible for him to cause such a terrifying scene.

“When we arrived, this place was already like this.” Liu Shan slowly said. “Besides you, no other living creatures were found. Those gray wolves are probably also in bad shape.”

Lu Yuan “suddenly understood,” a look of relief after escaping danger on his face.

“Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself yet.” Liu Qingzhu smiled and extended her hand. “My name is Liu Qingzhu, from Qingteng High School, Senior Three (1) Class. This is my uncle, Liu Shan. We saw your student card and didn't expect you to be from the same school.”

“Senior Sister? Uncle Liu?” Lu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. “So it was Senior Sister and Uncle who saved me! Thank you! Thank you both so much!”

He struggled to get up to express his gratitude but was held down by Liu Qingzhu.

“Don't move, you're still very weak.” Liu Qingzhu said. “It's fate that we met here.”

“Yes, if it weren't for you, I probably...” Lu Yuan felt lingering fear. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly fumbled around on himself.

Soon, he pulled out a card, exactly the Gray Wolf card he had just successfully sealed.

“Senior Sister, Uncle Liu, this... is a gray wolf I fortunately sealed earlier.”

Lu Yuan handed the card to Liu Qingzhu, his face sincere.

“You saved my life, and I have nothing good to repay you with. Although this card isn't high-star, it's still somewhat useful. Please accept it as a small token of my gratitude!”

Liu Qingzhu was stunned for a moment and looked at Liu Shan.

Liu Shan glanced at the Gray Wolf card. It was a one-star green card, decent quality.

This kid is quite sensible.

“Since it's Student Lu Yuan's kind gesture, Qingzhu, you should accept it.” Liu Shan nodded.

“Thank you, Student Lu Yuan.” Liu Qingzhu then took the card, a smile on her face. “If you ever need help at school, you can come find me.”

“Absolutely, absolutely!” Lu Yuan was completely relieved.

Giving this card not only expressed gratitude and built rapport but, more importantly, further reduced their suspicion.

How could a student who cherished even a one-star green card and used it to repay kindness be connected to the world-destroying scene before them?

“Alright, this place is not suitable for staying long.” Liu Shan stood up and looked around. “Such a big incident happened here; it might attract more powerful demon beasts. We need to get you back to the Outpost as soon as possible.”

“That's right, Student Lu Yuan, can you still walk?” Liu Qingzhu asked with concern.

“It should... be fine.” Lu Yuan gritted his teeth, supported himself on a nearby rock, and slowly stood up.

Although his Source Power was exhausted and his mental energy overdrawn, he still had basic mobility.

The group no longer delayed, identified a direction, and began to return towards the Outpost.

Along the way, Liu Shan and the others were still discussing in low voices the cause of the depression, with various speculations, but no one could come to a definite conclusion.

Lu Yuan silently followed behind, recovering his strength while quietly sinking into his mind to check his system panel.

That world-destroying strike, although it had exhausted all his Source Power and even overdrawn his mental energy, the gains... seemed astonishingly huge!

[Name: Lu Yuan]

[Race: Huaxia Human Race]

[Level: Card Master Apprentice (8 Stars)]

[Source Power: 0 / 86]

[Talent: Guaranteed Gold Drop (Unique · Evolvable)]

[Identity: Card Continent Citizen / Earth Human (Hidden)]

[Remaining source card Slot: 1]

“86 points!”

Lu Yuan's heart was in turmoil!

His Source Power limit had actually soared from the previous 81 points directly to 86 points!

A full increase of 5 points!

This instantaneous increase was almost equivalent to a jump of half a star level!

And this was only the increase in Source Power limit!

Lu Yuan was almost certain that if he hadn't run out of Source Power and fallen unconscious, the total amount of Source Power absorbed would have been enough to propel him directly to the peak of eight stars, or even touch the threshold of nine stars!

That Third-Tier Five-Star Gray Wolf King, and the other gray wolves that were caught in the blast and crushed to death... The experience points (Source Power) brought by a casual strike from the true form of Raging Waves Sea Soul were simply astronomical!

gold card!

Terrifyingly powerful!

Lu Yuan suppressed the excitement and shock in his heart, while also becoming more vigilant.

This kind of power was too strong, and too dangerous.

Unless it was a matter of life and death, he must never use it lightly!

This time, he was lucky to be discovered and rescued by Liu Qingzhu and her group.

Next time, he might not be so lucky.