258: Chapter 259 One Stone Breaks the Formation, The Stealth True God

The night at Longya Academy was heavily guarded.

It was the cradle of the Federation's top transcendents and also a military fortress armed to the teeth.

The "Arcane Eye" atop the Mage Tower rotated incessantly, scanning every corner of the campus, and any unauthorized energy fluctuation would immediately trigger an alarm.

"Infrared Ghost" drones patrolled in mid-air, their thermal sensing Systems sensitive enough to detect the heartbeat of a mouse.

For any intruder, this place was a Forbidden Ground.

But Lin Qi and Instructor Su Qing were navigating through this dragnet just like that.

Instructor Su Qing was truly a former Third-Turn "Shadow Dancer"; her utilization of shadows had reached perfection.

Every step she took landed precisely in the blind spots of lights and surveillance, her body movements blending with the night wind; she was the darkness itself.

Lin Qi followed behind, his steps appearing casual but actually being profound and unpredictable.

He lacked the professional skills of blending into the environment like Instructor Su Qing, but he possessed "Martial Intent Insight".

Under his Martial Saint-level perception, the entire academy's defensive layout unfolded in his mind like a three-dimensional model.

He could see where the energy nodes were, where the patrol routes intersected, and where alchemy traps were hidden even more clearly than Instructor Su Qing, who was an "insider".

He did only one thing: make finer adjustments to the path Instructor Su Qing had chosen.

Several times, just as Instructor Su Qing was about to dash past the shadow of a wall corner, Lin Qi would pull her arm a split second early, signaling her to pause for half a second.

Just half a second later, an "Infrared Ghost" drone would glide right over the corner.

Had they not stopped, they would have been exposed.

After a few times, the way Instructor Su Qing looked at Lin Qi changed completely.

She had originally thought she was the lead of this operation and that Lin Qi was just an "attacker" who needed her protection.

In reality, this youth was "escorting" her.

His perception ability was even more absurd than a "Shadow Dancer" proficient in Stealth.

"How did you do that?" After avoiding a combat Puppet on a cross-patrol, Instructor Su Qing spoke in a low voice over the communication channel.

"Intuition."

Instructor Su Qing almost choked.

Intuition?

This kind of insight comparable to precognition is called intuition?

She didn't ask further and silently handed the lead over to Lin Qi.

The division of labor was clear: she was responsible for using her authorization badge to bypass energy doors that couldn't be circumvented, and Lin Qi was responsible for planning the safest Stealth route.

The two coordinated seamlessly, and their speed was nearly twice as fast as Instructor Su Qing had anticipated.

"Ahead is the mid-level defense zone, the 'Wall of Sighs'." Instructor Su Qing pointed to an open plaza ahead, her tone turning heavy.

"The ground and walls are inscribed with ancient runes. Once a living being steps in, it will trigger indiscriminate attacks from the 'Thorn Aura' and 'Swamp Barrier'. Even a Third-Turn powerhouse would lose a layer of skin if they tried to force their way through."

She took out a silver badge: "I need to go to the node stone in the center of the plaza to shut down the rune energy. It will take about ten seconds, during which we cannot move."

Lin Qi examined the open ground.

Under "Martial Intent Insight", the energy lines on the plaza floor were densely interwoven, forming a massive rotating array. Any foreign object stepping into it would disrupt the balance.

"No need for that much trouble."

"What?" Instructor Su Qing was stunned.

Lin Qi didn't explain; he bent down, picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground, and weighed it in his hand.

He swung his arm.

The stone flew out with a sharp whistling sound, shooting toward a large tree thirty meters away diagonally across the plaza.

It didn't hit the trunk; it bounced off in the air half a meter away from the trunk with a "pop".

At that moment, the rune energy that had been flowing steadily across the plaza stalled for a split second.

Now.

"Go!"

Lin Qi gave a low shout and dashed out.

Although Instructor Su Qing didn't understand the principle, she followed without a word.

Both of them tapped their toes on the ground, reaching maximum speed.

The runes beneath their feet lit up; the "Thorn Aura" and "Swamp Barrier" were just about to activate, but the subsequent energy supply was cut off, and the light quickly dimmed.

By the time they stepped onto the stone steps on the other side, the rune energy behind them had returned to normal.

Instructor Su Qing looked back at the open ground, then at Lin Qi, who was composed beside her.

She understood.

The stone Lin Qi threw had hit an extremely tricky energy relay node of the entire "Wall of Sighs" rune array.

This node was responsible for transmitting energy from the main array eye to every corner.

That impact was equivalent to temporarily shutting off a water valve, creating a split-second energy vacuum.

Lin Qi had utilized those split seconds to force their way through.

Finding the only one among thousands of energy nodes that could be interfered with by physical means, and then hitting it with an ordinary stone using just the right force and angle.

This had already transcended the realm of "skill".

It was "Dao", the most essential understanding of energy, structure, and Law.

"What exactly are you?" Instructor Su Qing looked at Lin Qi's profile.

"Someone who wants to survive."

The answer was simple; Lin Qi had already looked ahead.

Passing through the mid-level defense zone, an independent black metal building appeared in their field of vision.

It had no windows, a smooth surface, and was shaped like an inverted bowl, exuding a hair-raising aura.

In front of the building was a circular open space, and in the center of the space stood only a tightly closed alloy door.

The S-Grade Forbidden Ground had been reached.

"The main control core of the 'Abyss Rift Simulator' is on the lowest level." Instructor Su Qing's breathing quickened slightly.

She steadied herself and continued.

"From here on, the authorization badge is completely useless. This door and all defenses inside are controlled by an independent 'Qiankun' System. The highest authority lies only with the Dean and Teacher Ye."

After speaking, she crouched down, walked to an inconspicuous spot on the ground fifty meters from the door, and took a peculiarly shaped handheld computer from her bosom to attach to the ground.

The screen lit up, and data streams flashed wildly.

"The 'Qiankun' System synchronizes data with the academy's main System every five minutes. I need to use this gap to inject camouflage code to trick it into thinking I am Teacher Ye's authorized terminal."

"The process is very dangerous. Once identified by the firewall, we will be locked down within a second, and it won't matter who comes after that."

Instructor Su Qing's ten fingers tapped rapidly on the virtual keyboard, fine beads of sweat seeping from her forehead.

Lin Qi didn't speak, standing behind her, vigilantly observing the surroundings.

He pushed "Martial Intent Insight" to its limit.

He could "see" Instructor Su Qing's device probing into the vast data network beneath their feet.

At the same time, he could also perceive that behind that black door, a will, condensed almost to the point of substance, lay dormant.

Sword Saint Ye Qingtian.

He had already noticed.

Or rather, he had been waiting from the beginning.

Lin Qi's eyes narrowed.

Different from what he had expected.

He had thought it would be a silent infiltration; now it seemed more like knowingly walking into a tiger's den to challenge it.

"Found it! The synchronization gap!" Instructor Su Qing gave a low shout, her hands accelerating to the limit.

"Access command sent, firewall verification passed, temporary authorization is being generated..."

"Ten, nine, eight..."

Before the countdown ended, that black alloy door, which had not been opened for who knows how many years, suddenly made a soft sound.

"Click."

Under their gaze, the door opened inward, revealing a gap.

An old, calm voice came from inside, clearly.

"Instructor Su Qing, you have come."

"And you, young man outside."

"Come in; I have been waiting for you for a long time."