172: Five bells ring!

The Shan Hai Great Wall, like the Tianxing Great Wall, was not established within Shanhai City.

Instead, it was located outside of Shanhai City, near the coastline!

By virtue of his status as a reserve member of the Night Owl squad, Lu Sheng, following the Night Owl squad, easily passed through Shanhai City and headed towards the Shan Hai Great Wall.

Stepping out of Shanhai City, the entire world was filled with a sense of dampness.

It was as if the air was saturated with moisture.

Before his eyes was an extremely majestic city wall, blocking his view. The Great Wall was very long, tens of kilometers in length, directly separating the entire ocean in front of the wall.

At this moment, behind the city wall, one could still see a slightly clear sky.

However, beyond that city wall, one could only see a pitch-black world, and within that world, an evil, nauseating Aura emanated.

“Is that… the Shan Hai Great Wall?”

Lu Sheng's gaze fell upon the majestic city wall, and he couldn't help but murmur softly.

Wang Long stood beside Lu Sheng and said, “The Shan Hai Great Wall is somewhat similar to our Tianxing Great Wall in certain places. Do you see the pavilions on top of the city wall?”

Wang Long pointed at the city wall and spoke to Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng nodded. On the towering city wall, there were indeed pavilions standing silently.

“This is somewhat similar to the Beacon Towers of the Tianxing Great Wall. However, the Beacon Towers of our Tianxing Great Wall are mainly for early warning and for condensing the power of Formations, while these pavilions… are what the Shan Hai Great Wall uses to judge the intensity of alien Demon Race invasions!”

“Inside those pavilions, there will be a bronze bell. One chime of the bronze bell means an invasion by alien Demon Race no more than Body Repository Realm. Two chimes mean a maximum of Spirit Transformation Realm.”

“And so on. When the sound of the bronze bell reaches seven chimes, it means there is an invasion by alien Demon Race at the Entering Dao Stage!”

“Eight chimes signify the arrival of a Demon Emperor, and as for nine chimes…”

Wang Long's voice paused, his expression slightly grave: “That signifies the arrival of a Demon God!”

Demon God!

A pronoun filled with dread for all Martial Artists of the Great Xia Human Clan!

That was an existence that transcended the Ten Saints of Great Xia!

An existence that only the Ten Saints of Great Xia could resist by joining forces!

It could be said that in today's Great Xia, there are very few means to restrain a Demon God. It's just that for some unknown reason, every time a Demon God makes a move, it seems to require a huge price.

As a result… the opportunities for a Demon God to act have been extremely rare in the history of Great Xia.

But every time they acted, they inflicted a heavy price on the Great Xia of that era!

Even those who had attained a Saintly Position could potentially fall under the Demon God's hand.

Kong Yunchang, back then, was severely wounded by a Demon God's attack and required numerous resources to be healed by the Medicine Saint's power.

As a result, Kong Yunchang did not want to consume too many resources of the Great Xia, and thus chose to retreat.

But who knew, the people of the Demonic Cult constantly sought to find and kill Kong Yunchang, forcing Kong Yunchang to act, exposing himself, and falling into a coma.

He reluctantly accepted the Medicine Saint's treatment.

This incident alone, involving Kong Yunchang, was enough to illustrate the terror of a Demon God. An existence as strong as Kong Yunchang, ranked among the top three of the Ten Saints of Great Xia, could still face the possibility of falling, let alone others.

Therefore, when Wang Long uttered those words, his voice was so heavy!

For a moment, Lu Sheng couldn't help but look at the towering city wall. On the city wall, figures moved back and forth, seemingly on guard against something.

“But fortunately, since the establishment of Shanhai City, it has never been invaded by a Demon God. There's no need to worry about that. Although the Shan Hai Great Wall is somewhat turbulent now, the highest it goes is seven chimes. It's just more frequent, but it's not a very dangerous place!”

“The position our Night Owl squad is to guard is Post 18 of the Shan Hai Great Wall. This position can barely be considered a dangerous place, but for us… it's not a difficult task.”

“Let's go!”

Wang Long suddenly smiled, changed the subject, and patted Lu Sheng's shoulder.

Immediately, he led Lu Sheng towards the Shan Hai Great Wall.

Soon, everyone arrived at the foot of the Shan Hai Great Wall. After strict inspections, the members of the Night Owl squad finally ascended the Shan Hai Great Wall.

The Night Owl squad seemed to have been stationed at the Shan Hai Great Wall for quite some time, making them extremely familiar with it. They quickly arrived at Post 18.

At Post 18, there was a squad of Shan Hai Army members. Upon seeing the Night Owl squad, they solemnly saluted the Night Owl squad.

“The 98th Regiment, Third Squad of the Shan Hai Army, reporting to you all!”

The leader, dressed in the Shan Hai Army uniform, exuded a strong, iron-blooded Aura.

Lu Sheng glanced roughly and found that the opponent had the cultivation of the Hundred Meridians Realm.

He was even stronger than Wang Yang, whom he had met before, and would soon be able to begin Bone Forging.

Nightingale nodded faintly.

“Same old rules, we will be the main combatants, and your Shan Hai Army squad will be responsible for support.”

After Nightingale gave her instructions, she walked directly into the pavilion, stood on the city wall, and calmly gazed at the dark world ahead.

The members of the Third Squad seemed not to mind Nightingale's indifferent attitude. Instead, they efficiently took their respective positions, standing ready to face the impending alien Demon Race invasion.

Lu Sheng followed Wang Long and also stood at the edge of the city wall, looking out at the dark world before him.

Black Devilish Qi enveloped the entire world, exactly like what Lu Sheng had seen at the Tianxing Great Wall before.

However, faintly, one could see waves rising in the black world, crashing against the coastline, emitting bursts of sound.

“Are there also alien Demon Race in the ocean?”

Looking at the pitch-black ocean before him, Lu Sheng couldn't help but ask.

As far as Lu Sheng knew, alien Demon Race were beings from another world. They descended upon Bluestar through interdimensional rifts.

They lived in the world nourished by Devilish Qi.

It's just… the world nourished by Devilish Qi before him was an ocean. Could it be that alien Demon Race could also survive in the ocean?

One must know that even though Lu Sheng was now a Martial Artist at the ninth layer of Bone Forging, he still couldn't stay in the water for long periods.

Wang Long said with a smile, “You have, after all, seen too little. There are countless races among the alien Demon Race. In fact, many alien Demon Race are native animals of Bluestar that, after being corroded by Devilish Qi, were eventually assimilated into alien Demon Race!”

“Just like those scoundrels in the Demonic Cult, they are members of the Human Race who, after being assimilated by Devilish Qi, gained the power of the alien Demon Race and became traitors to our Great Xia Human Clan!”

“There are also many creatures in this ocean. After so many years of corrosion by Devilish Qi, these marine creatures have also been transformed into alien Demon Race. They are controlled by those powerful alien Demon Race.”

“The Shan Hai defense line primarily guards against the alien Demon Race in this ocean. Other alien Demon Race, unless they inherently possess the ability to fly, rarely attack our Great Xia through this location.”

Listening to Wang Long's explanation, Lu Sheng also understood.

“However…”

Suddenly, Wang Long spoke again.

“The Shan Hai defense line will encounter a very special type of alien Demon Race, which we call the Gu Demon Clan. They can create miasma out of thin air, and these miasmas will greatly weaken our combat strength.”

“This miasma contains potent toxins. One must block all pores with Qi and blood, and even hold one's breath to resist it. Otherwise, it's very easy to lose oneself completely under these miasmas, or even… become a Puppet in the hands of the Gu Demon!”

“In this situation of divided attention, our combat strength will be weakened, unless one reaches the Golden Body Realm, which can prevent all Impurities from entering the body. Otherwise, it's very easy to fall victim!”

Wang Long said with a slightly grave expression.

From Wang Long's expression, Lu Sheng could tell what kind of terrifying creatures these Gu Demon that Wang Long spoke of were.

Lu Sheng nodded, indicating that he understood.

“Now we just wait for the Demon Race to invade. If they don’t invade, we don’t have to do anything, but once they do… it’ll be troublesome!”

Wang Long stretched, then sat on the city wall, gazing lazily into the distance.

However, as Lu Sheng looked at Wang Long’s face, he could see a hint of numbness there.

Combat teams like the Night Owl either purge members of the Demon Cult or guard frontline cities.

Over time, the members of these combat teams have become somewhat numb to the Demon Race’s invasions.

Lu Sheng withdrew his gaze and quietly looked forward, the sound of waves crashing against the shore reaching his ears.

After an unknown period, suddenly, from a pavilion nearby, a series of chimes rang out.

Dong!

A chime!

It signified the invasion of a Demon Race at the highest Body Repository Rank!

Upon hearing the chime, a sharp glint flashed in Lu Sheng’s eyes as he slowly looked forward.

He saw that in the dark world, from within layers of waves, grotesque creatures were rapidly emerging from the sea, rushing towards the location of the Shan Hai Great Wall.

Lu Sheng’s brows subtly twitched as he observed the appearance of these Demon Race members.

These Demon Race members… could truly be called mere shrimp soldiers and crab generals!

They were all marine creatures, corrupted by Devilish Qi and transformed into Demon Race members. Now, under the control of a powerful Demon Race, they charged towards the Shan Hai Great Wall.

In an instant, the previously quiet Shan Hai Great Wall erupted in a clamor.

Rows of Qi and blood weapons were aimed at the densely packed shrimp soldiers and crab generals below. Under the control of the Shan Hai Army soldiers, they unleashed an endless barrage of gunfire against the shrimp soldiers and crab generals beneath the Great Wall.

Boom!

The artillery fire landed, unleashing powerful energy that instantly wiped out a swath of shrimp soldiers and crab generals.

At the city wall, the gate slowly opened.

Dense Ranks of the Shan Hai Army rushed out, weapons in hand, surging with powerful Qi and blood, instantly plunging into the Demon Race horde.

At Post 18, Wang Long also came back to his senses, looking at the battle that had already erupted below, and smiled faintly: “It’s just the lowest Rank of Demon Race invasion. Do you want to go down and try?”

Wang Long said to Lu Sheng.

“Although our mission is to guard Post 18 from Demon Race invasion, in a small-scale battle like this, if you want to earn Merits, you can go down and have some fun!”

Listening to Wang Long’s words, Lu Sheng was somewhat moved.

He came here precisely to earn Merits, so he could exchange for more resources to aid his Confucian Dao cultivation.

Now that the Demon Race had invaded, Lu Sheng was naturally tempted.

“If you want to go, then go. With us here at Post 18, it’s impossible for it to fall!”

“Besides, you being here won’t help us much anyway!”

At this moment, Nightingale, who had appeared behind Lu Sheng at some point, said indifferently.

Lu Sheng’s mouth twitched slightly upon hearing this. Good heavens, wasn’t she implying he was useless?

However, Lu Sheng also understood Nightingale’s good intentions. After all, they were guarding this place and couldn’t easily leave. If the Rank of the Demon Race invasion suddenly escalated, with more powerful Demon Race members attacking, and they lost Post 18 because they went down to fight, it would be troublesome.

Her words were merely an excuse for him to go down and act.

Lu Sheng smiled at this, and the Dragon Slayer Sword quietly appeared in his hand, its blade, seemingly covered in fresh blood, shimmering with an eerie glow.

Immediately after, Lu Sheng took a step, leaping directly from the Shan Hai Great Wall, instantly joining the battlefield.

The moment he stepped onto the battlefield, Lu Sheng’s adrenaline surged.

For some unknown reason, the Aura he had sensed hidden within his body after comprehending the ‘Ode to Righteousness’ last night, erupted the instant Lu Sheng plunged into the battlefield.

Under this Aura, an unparalleled sense of confidence suddenly surged within Lu Sheng.

In an instant, the Dragon Slayer Sword whistled forth.

Barren!

The power of annihilation instantly erupted.

Before him, a Bone Forging Realm Demon Race was instantly pulverized under that extreme power of annihilation.

And the tianxing token in Lu Sheng’s hand also flashed with a glow at this moment.

Bone Forging Realm Demon Race, one hundred Merits!

In just a breath’s time, one hundred Merits was credited.

However… to purchase more resources to aid Confucian Dao cultivation, one hundred Merits wasn’t even enough for a fraction!

He needed more Merits!

And the best way… Lu Sheng’s gaze fell upon some Shackles Realm Demon Race members on the battlefield.

Shackles Realm Demon Race members… were worth a thousand Merits!

As his gaze flickered, Lu Sheng’s figure, accompanied by a terrifying Qi and blood, instantly plunged into the battlefield.

His target… directly the Shackles Realm!

On the city wall, Nightingale and Wang Long quietly watched Lu Sheng, who had plunged into the battlefield below. Wang Long, looking at Lu Sheng, who resembled a God of Slaughter, couldn’t help but exclaim.

“This kid’s progress is truly fast!”

“The first time I saw this guy, he only had Viscera Refining Realm cultivation. At that time, even when I suppressed my cultivation to the Viscera Refining Realm, I was no match for him. I never expected…”

“In just one or two months, this kid is actually able to kill Shackles Realm Demon Race members.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, this speed, even you, Captain, couldn’t compare to it when you were young!”

Wang Long turned his head to look at Nightingale.

However, Nightingale’s expression was slightly complex at this moment, especially when looking at the white figure on the battlefield, ripples appearing in her beautiful eyes.

“Captain, are you still angry about what happened before?”

Wang Long couldn’t help but ask.

Nightingale glanced at Wang Long indifferently and said, “Am I that petty?”

Wang Long smiled, but did not answer, merely letting his gaze fall back on Lu Sheng.

“You say… this kid won’t Breakthrough to the Golden Body Realm before graduation, will he?”

Suddenly, Wang Long’s question made Nightingale freeze.

Breakthrough to Golden Body before graduation?

How could that be possible!

Looking back at the entire history of the Star Academy, even the most Prodigy, Lin Xuan, who is now the fourth headmaster of the Star Academy, only reached the Flying Heaven Realm at most before graduation.

That was still some distance from the Golden Body Realm.

And Wang Long actually said Lu Sheng could surpass Lin Xuan… Nightingale pursed her lips, shaking her head: “The Golden Body Realm is not that easy to Breakthrough. Even the most talented people will always encounter bottlenecks.”

“Sometimes, a single bottleneck can trap a Martial Artist for a long time. To Breakthrough to Golden Body before graduation… it’s not that easy.”

Wang Long shrugged, smiling, and said, “But Captain, you didn’t say he definitely wouldn’t, did you?”

“Perhaps…”

Wang Long looked at Lu Sheng on the battlefield and said with a smile, “This guy might really create a new record!”

Nightingale fell silent.

Would Lu Sheng break Lin Xuan’s record and create a new one?

Nightingale didn’t know, but on Lu Sheng, she vaguely saw signs of surpassing Lin Xuan.

Signs of surpassing the Star Academy’s most Prodigy student in the past.

Perhaps… he really would do it!

Nightingale thought to herself.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

Suddenly, the brass bell in the pavilion rang out four more chimes.

And with these new four chimes, the previously calm Wang Long and Nightingale’s expressions instantly turned solemn.

Four chimes, plus the previous one.

This signified the invasion of a Nirvana Realm Demon Race!

A Nirvana Realm Demon Race… was an existence even Nightingale couldn’t contend with!

In an instant, the already somewhat clamorous Shan Hai Great Wall completely erupted in excitement.

“No! Lu Sheng!”

Suddenly, Nightingale came to her senses and abruptly looked at Lu Sheng on the battlefield.