38: Chapter 38 Interception

The S-grade interstellar shuttle pierced through the clouds and began to decelerate.

Su Yu leaned against the porthole and looked down, his pupils instantly constricting.

Shock.

It was a shock that could not be described in words.

Below on the land, a city resembling a steel behemoth lay sprawled across the plains.

The black alloy city walls towered into the clouds, stretching for nearly a hundred kilometers.

On the walls, dense arrays of heavy laser turrets glinted with a chilling cold light in the sunlight; each one was powerful enough to kill a Beast Emperor instantly.

Above the city, a translucent, pale blue energy light curtain, like a massive inverted bowl, covered the entire base.

"Is this... Yanjing Base?" Su Yu murmured to himself.

Compared to this, Canglan Base, where he had lived for eighteen years, was practically a remote village.

Ten minutes later.

The shuttle landed smoothly on the VIP tarmac at the Yanjing port.

As soon as he stepped off the shuttle, a young staff member wearing a Imperial Capital Martial Arts University uniform and black-framed glasses walked towards him.

He wore a badge that read "Orientation Specialist" on his chest and had a standard professional smile on his face.

"May I ask if you are Student Su Yu and Mr. Su from Canglan Base?"

The staff member bowed slightly, his tone respectful and enthusiastic, "I am the guide sent by the Beijing Martial Arts University admissions office, responsible for taking Student Su Yu to the school to register."

Su Wu looked the staff member up and down.

His aura was steady, his steps solid; he was a Grandmaster at the Early Stage.

In a place like Beijing Martial Arts University, where hidden talents abounded, sending a Grandmaster to guide students was reasonable.

"Hmm." Su Wu nodded.

"Mr. Su, according to Beijing Martial Arts University's school rules, in order to cultivate the independence of new students, parents can only accompany them to this point. The rest of the way, Student Su Yu needs to walk on his own," the staff member said apologetically.

Su Wu did not express any objection.

He turned his head to look at his son, who was ready to go.

"Go on."

Su Wu straightened Su Yu's collar, his tone calm: "Once you arrive at the school and get settled, send me a message. I'll be here in the base; call me whenever you need anything."

"I know, Dad." Su Yu took a deep breath, his eyes shining with anticipation for his new life.

"And you." Su Wu extended a finger and flicked Little White, who was playing dead on Su Yu's shoulder, "Take good care of him. If he loses even a single hair, I'll stew you."

"I know, I know, you nagging old man!" Little White flicked its tail in dissatisfaction and turned its butt towards Su Wu.

Watching his son's retreating figure as he followed the staff member, the smile on Su Wu's face gradually faded.

"Strange..."

Su Wu frowned slightly; an intuition stemming from a powerhouse made him smell something unusual.

The next second, Su Wu's figure flickered slightly and vanished into thin air.

...

After leaving the port, Su Yu followed the staff member onto an internal shuttle bus, and subsequently got off at a remote stop.

"Student Su Yu, ahead is Beijing Martial Arts University's 'Tempering Zone'."

The staff member pointed to a somewhat desolate complex of buildings ahead and explained with a smile: "This is the school's new rule this year. Before official enrollment, all students must walk through this old campus area to show they have not forgotten their original aspirations."

"I see."

Su Yu nodded without thinking much about it.

After all, Beijing Martial Arts University was a top-tier institution; some eccentric rules were quite normal.

However.

After walking for about half an hour.

The surrounding buildings became increasingly dilapidated, with withered vines even climbing up the walls.

Not only were there no other new students on the road, there wasn't even a ghost in sight.

The air was filled with a faint musty smell, and it was so quiet that it was unsettling.

"Kid, something's wrong."

Little White, which had been sleeping on his shoulder, suddenly opened its eyes, its originally lazy gaze instantly becoming vigilant.

It clawed at Su Yu's neck with its small paws and said via Divine Thought:

Su Yu's heart jolted violently.

Little White's perception of danger had never been wrong!

He slowed his pace without changing his expression, his hand quietly reaching for the alloy long saber at his waist, while simultaneously asking tentatively:

"Sir, how much further is it? I remember the map showed Beijing Martial Arts University's main gate is to the east, but we seem to have been walking north the whole time?"

The staff member walking in front did not stop, but his voice became somewhat low:

"Almost there, just ahead. There is a shortcut that leads to... Hell."

The moment the words fell.

All the hair on Su Yu's body stood on end!

"Retreat!"

He did not hesitate in the slightest; his Leaf-Treading Footwork exploded, and he retreated violently dozens of meters backwards.

At the same time, the staff member, who had originally appeared gentle and refined, slowly turned around.

The professional smile on his face had completely vanished, replaced by a twisted, sinister, and somewhat inhuman sneer.

"Your reaction is quite fast."

The man tilted his neck, emitting a cracking sound of bone dislocation, "Unfortunately, even if you grew wings, you wouldn't be able to escape!"

Boom!

A powerful aura belonging to the Martial Emperor Realm erupted from his body!

But this aura was not pure Qi and blood; it was mixed with a nauseating black energy.

"Die! Genius!"

The man kicked off the ground, causing it to shatter, and transformed into a streak of black lightning, instantly charging towards Su Yu.

A pitch-black dagger appeared in his hand, stabbing directly at Su Yu's heart!

The speed was too fast!

Although Su Yu was a Great Grandmaster, in front of a Martial Emperor in this explosive state, he still seemed somewhat powerless.

His dynamic vision could barely keep up with the opponent's movements, but his body couldn't react in time.

"Seeking death!"

Just as the dagger was about to pierce Su Yu, a white afterimage shot out from his shoulder.

Roar——!!

A deafening roar exploded in the narrow alley.

Little White's body expanded rapidly in the air, instantly transforming into a fierce and mighty exotic beast the size of a tiger.

Its white fur stood up like steel needles, golden light swirled around its body, and it swiped a claw fiercely at the man.

"What is that?!"

The man clearly had not expected that Su Yu was hiding such a monster.

In his haste, he could only raise his dagger to block.

Clang! Puchi!

After the sound of clashing metal, there followed the sound of a sharp blade entering flesh.

Little White's incomparably sharp claws shattered the dagger directly, and without losing momentum, fiercely tore five blood grooves deep enough to see bone into the man's chest!

"Rip!"

The man's chest was ripped open, and his entire body flew backwards, slamming heavily against an abandoned wall.

"Phew... that scared the Hell out of me." Little White landed on the ground, still maintaining a combat stance, and looked back at Su Yu, "Kid, you owe me a big meal!"

Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Wait, no!" Little White's fur suddenly stood on end.

Su Yu looked closely and his scalp instantly went numb.

The "staff member" who had been ripped open was not dead.

What flowed out from his terrifying wound was not blood, but a viscous, dark green liquid.

Even more terrifying was that the organs inside his body were frantically writhing and deforming.

"Hehehe..."

The man climbed up from the ruins, emitting a hair-raising, strange laugh.

"The intelligence was wrong... there's actually a Martial Emperor-level Yao Beast guarding you? But, this is even better! Killing you both means double the merit!"

Sizzling——

Accompanied by a teeth-grinding tearing sound, the man's skin burst open completely.

Countless tentacles covered in suckers and barbs shot out from his body, and his head split open, turning into a maw filled with sharp teeth.

In just a few seconds, he was no longer human, but a terrifying half-human, half-beast monster!

And as the transformation completed, the aura on his body began to climb crazily, directly breaking through the limit of a Martial Emperor and reaching the Martial Saint Realm!

"Star Demon Cult... Demon Man?!"

Su Yu had learned about this in high school and recognized the origin of this kind of monster at a glance.

This was the signature method of that notorious anti-human evil cult—the Star Demon Cult! Fusing the genes of humans with those of starry sky exotic beasts to create these inhuman killing machines!