133: Chapter 133 Damn, the team building budget is over budget!!

Jiangcheng Defense Command Headquarters.

A piercing red alarm blared, shaking the entire building. In the combat command center, the atmosphere was frozen to the extreme.

Real-time footage transmitted from a high-altitude armed helicopter. The camera was locked onto the dome of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

A hideous mantis-like monster stood at the highest point, its arms transformed into massive bone blades, stabbing fiercely into several energy nodes. Its sinister laughter was bone-chilling even through the screen.

"Crack—" The special military coffee cup in Commander Qin Luo's hand shattered instantly.

Scalding coffee mixed with ceramic powder flowed through his fingers, but he didn't even notice.

The next second, a massive dark purple light curtain in the footage slammed shut. Intense Source Energy interference instantly fried the helicopter's optical sensors.

"Zzzzt—" The main screen turned into a blinding field of static.

"Damn it!" Commander Qin Luo slammed his fist onto the control console, leaving a deep fist imprint on the alloy surface.

The Federation's surveillance of the Tongyuan Society had never relaxed; how did this bunch of street rats manage to sneak into the college entrance exam site? And an A-grade exam site at that!

This wasn't just a slap in the face; this was grinding the Federation's face into the dirt!

He grabbed the communicator: "Activate the city-wide S-grade red alert! First and Third Combat Readiness Regiments, assemble everyone! I'm leading the team personally to break the formation!"

"Report, Commander!" Just then, a communications soldier, sweating profusely, patched in a new signal.

"Successfully intercepted a remaining signal frequency from the exam site's internal network! Connecting now!" The main screen, flickering with static, lit up again.

Commander Qin Luo didn't see the mantis monster. Instead, what he saw was a hunched figure slowly stepping out from a Void Realm crack.

Six hideous scorpion tails extended from its back. The destructive pressure, mixed with brutality and deadly poison, caused the temperature in the entire command room to plummet, even through the screen.

A Tier 6 Beast Seal Master, the "Scorpion King". A top-tier old monster who had grafted the Bloodline of a Tier 7 Source Beast.

Commander Qin Luo was completely stunned. In front of a room full of officers, a curse escaped his lips:

"Damn it! Why are they all coming to Jiangcheng?!"

"Tier 6 old monsters coming in groups? Did your Tongyuan Society's team-building budget exceed its limit?!"

No one could answer him. Fear shrouded everyone's hearts.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng, Tie Moshan, Lang Qingyun, and other Tier 5 instructors were trapped in the exam site, but they were suppressed by the barrier. How much of their strength could they actually exert? And there were those tens of thousands of examinees.

Just as Commander Qin Luo's scalp went numb—

"Beep, beep, beep, beep—!!" Inside the command room, hundreds of alarm phones rang out simultaneously!

"Report! East District No. 3 Source Energy base station exploded violently! Suspected Source Energy bomb attack!"

"Report! The West District underground black market is under attack by over a hundred blood-cultists; large-scale riot!"

"Report! Multiple beast-men have appeared on the main traffic artery in the South District, attacking civilians indiscriminately!"

"Sir! The Defense Department's emergency lines are about to explode! Some say it's robbery, some say it's a Source Beast siege, and others say there's a massive leak in the Source Energy pipelines!"

An adjutant's face was deathly pale: "Commander! The Tongyuan Society has launched attacks across the entire city simultaneously! Their goal is..."

"Luring the tiger away from the mountain!"

Commander Qin Luo's veins bulged on his forehead, "These bastards are trying to tie us down! They don't want us to rescue the exam site!"

On the big screen, dozens of auxiliary surveillance monitors popped up instantly. Everywhere in Jiangcheng, flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed. This was a long-premeditated slaughter!

The staff officer's voice trembled, "Commander... Old Wang entered an A-grade Secret Realm to execute an exploration mission and has yet to return."

"Excluding Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng and the others trapped in the exam site, our currently deployable high-end combat power in the city consists only of you, one Tier 6, two Tier 5s, and seven Tier 4s..."

Every number the staff officer reported felt like a countdown to this disaster.

They were not facing a bunch of rabble. These were the core backbone under the Tongyuan Society!

The "Ten Great Beast Seal Masters"! Every one of them was notorious, top-tier monsters who had fought their way out of Federation encirclements!

The Scorpion King, merely the ninth one, was already a Tier 6 Peak who had grafted the Bloodline of a Tier 7 Source Beast! That was combat power capable of overturning an entire city!

A dead end! This was a nearly unsolvable dead end!

If they split their forces into ten to quell the riots, the tens of thousands of Geniuses at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School would surely die. If they gathered their forces to storm the great formation, millions of civilians would fall into Hell.

Commander Qin Luo did not hesitate. He slammed his palm onto the most conspicuous red button in front of him.

[Military Region Secret Channel · City-Extermination Level Red Alert]!

"I am Commander Qin Luo of Jiangcheng! Repeat! I am Commander Qin Luo of Jiangcheng!" He roared into the communicator.

"Jiangcheng is experiencing a full-scale S-grade terrorist attack by the Tongyuan Society! The Tier 6 Beast Seal Master 'Scorpion King' has appeared at the exam site! The great formation of Jiangcheng No. 1 High School is locked, and our main force is completely restrained!"

"Requesting Headquarters! Requesting Zhennan City! Requesting a Tier 7 King-level powerhouse to cross the Void Realm for support!"

"Repeat! Requesting support!" All that came back from the communicator was a piercing, empty static.

"Commander!" The communications soldier yelled in despair, "The signal is being heavily jammed! The Tongyuan Society has deployed spatial jammers; the distress signal is being forcibly delayed... The fastest the reinforcements can arrive... is in one hour!"

Thirty minutes. Commander Qin Luo closed his eyes for a second. Then he opened them.

"Listen up! All sub-units under the Defense Army, immediately deploy to each explosion point and riot zone! Primary mission: evacuate civilians! Secondary mission: annihilate the beast-men! You are authorized to use all heavy weapons!"

He turned to look at the Tier 5 powerhouse beside him, Lu Chen.

"Lu Chen!"

"Draft all combat power above Tier 4, carry the 'Wall Breaker - Type III' heavy barrier-breaking drill, and follow me to Jiangcheng No. 1 High School!"

"The barrier must be broken! As long as we open a gap, the people inside will have a chance to live! Only by joining forces will we have a chance to contend with the Scorpion King!"

What he didn't dare to say was—inside were not only tens of thousands of the Federation's future and top instructors from various academies. More importantly, there was also that person's daughter.

If anything happened to her, let alone him as the Jiangcheng Commander, the entire Southern Military Region would be shaken to its core.

Commander Qin Luo ripped off his commander's uniform and changed into a pitch-black combat suit.

"After I leave, you stay to guard the command post and coordinate the city's defense! Keep connecting to the support line for me!"

The adjutant panicked: "Sir! You are the Defense Commander, you cannot risk yourself! The Scorpion King and Mantis King are no ordinary foes!"

Commander Qin Luo glared at him: "Less talking! Keep the home front safe!"

He leaped onto a single-soldier aircraft, turned into a streak of light, and rushed toward Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

— — —

Meanwhile. In the boundless Void Realm independent of the Federation's reality dimension.

Around it was a violent spatial turbulence capable of shredding a Tier 6 powerhouse into powder in an instant. Yet, in the core of this Chaos, a simple, ancient blue stone tea table stood eerily still. The Law of space was unnaturally quiet here.

Shen Hongyuan sat on an old wooden chair, holding a cup of steaming clear tea. Opposite the tea table, a youth in a moon-white robe floated cross-legged.

Silver hair hung over his shoulders, and his features were so handsome he didn't look like a Mortal. A Tier 8 Space Element Emperor-level Source Beast, Kong Ming.

The two did not converse. Their gazes pierced through layers of Void Realm dimensions, quietly looking down at the isolated island below—Jiangcheng No. 1 High School—wrapped in a giant dark purple energy cocoon.

Kong Ming picked up the teapot to pour tea for Shen Hongyuan, a playful look on his lips.

"Tsk, interesting. Using the Source Energy of tens of thousands of examinees as the formation eye to reverse-inscribe the Spirit Locking Array; this barrier master is quite a talent."

He glanced at the Scorpion King stepping out of the crack. "The ancient beast Bloodline within that little scorpion is also reasonably pure."

He paused and looked up at Shen Hongyuan. "Old Shen, are you really not worried about Young Miss Qingci?"

Shen Hongyuan's hand holding the cup paused slightly. Then, he took a sip as if nothing happened. "She isn't alone."

Kong Ming raised an eyebrow: "Tier 4 fighting Tier 6, you certainly have a lot of confidence in that kid."

Before the words faded, Kong Ming's hand pouring the tea suddenly froze in mid-air.

As a Tier 8 Space Element Source Beast, its perception of the Law was sharp to the extreme. In that very instant, it discovered with shock that the aura emanating from Shen Hongyuan had changed.

It wasn't just getting stronger. It had become... something that didn't belong to the Human Race anymore?!

A terrifying pressure, resonating with the lowest-level Laws of the Universe, exploded from within his body!

The Void Realm turbulence for ten thousand miles around came to a complete standstill at that moment.

"You... the Source Energy Origin within you...?" Kong Ming stared fixedly at Shen Hongyuan, pupils shaking violently. "Are you about to have a Breakthrough?!"

Above Tier 9 is the Supreme of the Human Race!

Shen Hongyuan slowly spread his palm, watching the faint starlight emerging from his palm; a trace of irrepressible agitation and emotion flashed in his eyes.

He was silent for a few seconds. He looked toward the great formation.

"Even I didn't expect it."

"The dead end that has trapped me for twenty years would be broken by a kid without Source Energy, with just a single sentence."

Kong Ming followed his gaze. In the holographic image, the youth still had his hands in his pockets, standing in front of the Tier 6 Scorpion King, still looking devil-may-care.

"Isn't he using brute force?" Kong Ming was confused.

"Brute force?" Shen Hongyuan shook his head, his tone firm. "That is the oldest, purest Law in this Universe."

He stood up, standing with his hands behind his back. "He is truly a damn Prodigy."

"It's no wonder those lunatics from the Tongyuan Society spared no expense to send Tier 6 combat power over there."

He was silent for a moment. "After this college entrance exam ends, it's time to visit that ruin again."

Kong Ming did not ask which ruin. "Then what about Young Miss Qingci?"

Shen Hongyuan looked at his daughter. "She has someone by her side now."

"After I leave, you take Qingci to the Blade Bone Secret Realm for me."

Kong Ming looked at the cold, aloof young girl who had subconsciously blocked in front of Su Ming in the crisis, its gaze softening slightly.

"So alike! She is even more stubborn than the Mistress was when she was young..."

Shen Hongyuan was silent for a long time before speaking slowly.

"Stubborn is good! Sensible children are more likely to suffer losses!"

...