19: Eight-foot mirror - imitation

After the red monster beast crystal core was swallowed by the lava, the volcano fell silent for a moment.

But in the next moment, the ground shook violently!

The lava began to roar fiercely, the intense sound echoing in everyone's ears.

Not only at the foot of the mountain, but even Xu Yao and Wang Zi, who had already reached the entrance of the formation and were about to leave, felt the strong tremors.

"Is the volcano really going to erupt?" Wang Zi asked, staring at Xu Yao with wide eyes.

"It shouldn't be... Tianyun Volcano is nowhere near its eruption cycle..."

Before Xu Yao could finish her sentence, she saw a bit of lava suddenly splash out from the distant crater, and the ground's tremors grew even more intense.

"My big mouth, it's actually erupting!"

And the students, who were originally confused and didn't know why the exam was being terminated, immediately fell into a panic.

"The volcano, it's the volcano! The volcano is going to erupt!"

"Everyone, run!"

People scrambled toward the narrow exit of the formation, pushing and shoving each other to escape for their lives.

But there were too many examinees and the exit was too narrow; they couldn't possibly escape in a short time.

Everyone complained, "Why hasn't this damn formation been deactivated yet, even though the exam has been canceled at a time like this? Wasn't it meant to prevent us from cheating?"

Meanwhile, Wang Zi and Xu Yao, at the very end of the line, glanced back from time to time, but they still couldn't see that figure returning... At this moment, by the crater, Su Ze narrowly avoided several splashes of lava erupting from the opening!

"What on earth did you do?!" Enveloped in a water sphere, Su Ze rushed to the edge of the crater and asked as he watched the monster beast crystal core being swallowed by the lava.

"I... just... added... some fuel... to this volcano..." Lin He said, stumbling over his words.

Su Ze didn't expect to get much out of him in his walking-corpse-like state.

But since it was just making the volcano erupt early, perhaps... he had a way to stop it!

He took out the diamond rank demon beast egg from the system space. The three fiery red patterns on the egg became more vivid upon sensing the high temperatures around the volcano, looking like three ribbons of flame wrapped around the egg.

Then, Su Ze held the demon beast egg over the crater and dropped it.

But just like throwing a pebble into the ocean, he could only watch it be swallowed by the lava without causing a single ripple.

The earth continued to tremble, and the lava continued to churn.

Lin He also mocked from the side, "Ha... ha, at a... time... like this... you throw an egg down... do you want to have a barbecue?"

Su Ze ignored him. He believed that even if it seemed ineffective now...

...as the diamond rank demon beast egg hatched, the heat it required would increase, and it would surely be able to make the volcano 'cool down'!

The three people fighting in the sky immediately changed their expressions upon sensing the changes in the volcano below.

The difference was that Yano Takashi had a triumphant look as if his plan had succeeded, while Guo Linshan and Yu Shenghuo looked as if they were facing a great enemy.

"There seems to be someone by the crater. One... is Su Ze! Who's the other one?!" Guo Linshan said, looking at the crater behind him.

"It's Lin He. Before you arrived, we rescued Lin He, who had been abducted by the dark guards. Afterward, it seems he went up the mountain."

Guo Linshan glared at Yano Takashi, who had already been suppressed by the two of them, and demanded, "What exactly did you do?!"

Yano Takashi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "Hehe, your country's defenses are so tight that we naturally had to rely on one of your own to get close to the volcano."

"As for what we did... I just helped recharge your country's Tianyun Volcano. An eightieth level fire-attribute platinum rank monster beast crystal core—we paid a heavy price for it."

Yano Takashi knew very well that Great Xia would guard strictly to prevent them from approaching the volcano; perhaps only a citizen of Great Xia could have a chance.

So from the moment he used the power of the yata no kagami to control Lin He, he had already planned to use everyone to cover for the controlled Lin He to complete the mission, even placing the yata no kagami on him for that purpose.

Guo Linshan and the other man's expressions changed drastically: "An eightieth level crystal core... you really are willing to spend!"

They involuntarily looked at the volcano behind them, and Yano Takashi seized the opportunity, beckoning from a distance.

The yata no kagami, which had been floating by the crater after completing its mission, suddenly turned into a streak of light and flew swiftly into Yano Takashi's hand.

The moment the bronze mirror left, Lin He immediately seemed to lose the strength that had supported his half-dead existence.

He let out a piercing, agonizing scream and then tumbled headlong into the lava before him. Aside from a fleeting scent of burnt flesh, not even a handful of ashes remained.

"Not good!" Guo Linshan and Yu Shenghuo both turned back to grab the flying bronze mirror, but they were a step too late.

The yata no kagami fell into Yano Takashi's hand, and then it burst with a brilliant light that forced the two of them back.

"Is that the yata no kagami?! You actually brought over a divine artifact that suppresses the national destiny this time?!"

Guo Linshan was very confused. Even if they successfully and completely sabotaged Azure Dragon Beast Taming University's Beast Taming College Entrance Examination...

...Great Xia still had four other Beast Taming Universities. It was impossible to cause a gap in Great Xia's younger generation of Beast Tamers, and there was even the risk of losing a divine artifact in Great Xia.

Was this really worth it for Fusang? Or did they actually have other objectives?

Before Guo Linshan could think it through, he was forced back repeatedly by the divine light radiating from the yata no kagami in Yano Takashi's hand.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest to resist the erosion of the divine light; before long, the beast taming armor on his arms was completely melted away.

Yu Shenghuo, who had lived longer and seen more, immediately said, "This is definitely not the real yata no kagami! If it were the real one, we would have been dead long ago; we wouldn't be able to block it at all!"

Yano Takashi didn't hide it either, saying, "Correct. With my power, I cannot yet wield the true divine artifact, the yata no kagami. This is merely a forged copy, but it's enough to deal with you!"

Although it was only a replica, it had been infused with a significant amount of power from the original yata no kagami, to the point that the original had even lost its divine light for a time.

Thus, it could exert at most about fifty to sixty percent of its power; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to suppress the power of an eightieth level monster beast crystal core.

However, it could only use power but not replenish it. After the consumption from breaking the formation and suppressing the crystal core, it could now only exert about thirty to forty percent of its power.

The reason for all this trouble was to prevent the yata no kagami from falling into Great Xia's hands.

Yano Takashi turned the mirror toward the ground, helping his subordinates break free from the combined suppression of the Great Xia Spirit Guards and the Beast Tamer Association.

"Our mission is complete. Everyone, retreat! Every man for himself!"

Upon hearing the order, the Fusang Dark Guards immediately took the opportunity to swiftly disengage from the battlefield and run toward the foot of the mountain.

After giving the order, Yano Takashi also began to slowly retreat while holding the replica yata no kagami and keeping a wary eye on Guo Linshan and the other man.

Since it was a consumable item, he didn't intend to use the power of the yata no kagami to kill the two men before him.

Guo Linshan chose not to pursue. Instead, he said, "Elder Yu, I'll have to trouble your Beast Tamer Association to stop these people."

"Because the formation is being reinforced, they can only leave through the exit. But the examinees haven't fully evacuated yet; we must ensure their safety."

Yu Shenghuo said, "No problem. This Old man won't let anything happen to these kids. But... what about you?"

He was naturally referring to Guo Linshan and the Great Xia Spirit Guards on the ground below, who were looking up with solemn expressions, waiting for his orders.

Guo Linshan said with a solemn expression, "We must find a way to stop the volcanic eruption. Once Tianyun Volcano erupts under the catalysis of an eightieth level monster beast crystal core, several nearby cities, including Beishan City, will not be spared. As Great Xia Spirit Guards, we will never allow such a thing to happen!"

Yu Shenghuo looked up at the formation, which was clamped down like a giant bowl and still gradually reinforcing, and said, "Then you might be underestimating that brat's ruthlessness. This formation doesn't look like it was prepared just to prevent examinees from cheating..."