191: Qi Tian and the Little Ape

By a certain stream.

A figure covered in blood knelt by the small stream, letting out a series of coughs.

"System, what's the situation? I feel like I'm kind of dying!"

Fang Bai said with a pale face.

[Host, don't panic yet. The backlash hasn't even started.]

Fang Bai: ... He had triggered The Final Heartfire skill, successfully escaping from the White Fox Demon Lord and a group of Demon Kings, but now he was about to face the aftereffects brought by The Final Heartfire!

Weakness!

At this moment, Fang Bai felt a damn sense of extreme exhaustion, so weak he didn't even want to move a finger!

The moment the skill was activated, his power surged tenfold, which had drained everything out of him. Now, Fang Bai couldn't use a single trace of power!

He couldn't even open the most basic space ring!

If he could use the space ring and the resources inside to heal himself, he might feel a bit better.

But now, Fang Bai couldn't circulate any power at all!

Pfft! Pfft!

Just then, Fang Bai's eyes widened!

Because a sharp pain radiated from his body, and at the same time, his body literally split open. Blood seeped out, staining his already Crimson clothes even more glaringly!

[Side effects beginning! Host, hang in there! Whatever you do, don't kick the bucket!]

Fang Bai: ... At this point, Fang Bai had no mind to deal with the dog system because he was rolling his eyes in pain!

That kind of pain went deep into his marrow, piercing his very soul!

The stream water was also dyed a glaring Crimson. Fang Bai's body felt like it was being carved out by countless ice-quenched knives simultaneously. Every breath brought a sharp pain to his internal organs, and even the groans escaping his throat were laced with broken blood foam.

Damn it! Are these aftereffects this intense?

Fang Bai felt that even if he hadn't been killed by those demon beasts, he would be killed by this intense pain!

Exerting his last bit of strength, he endured the agony and plunged himself directly into the stream!

Splash!

Fang Bai was completely submerged in the stream. The blood on his body spread out, dyeing the water red as it flowed with the current.

The ice-cold water submerged his body, miraculously slowing down his pain.

Perhaps Fang Bai had lost sensation from the pain... ultimately unable to recover his strength, a wave of exhaustion swept through his body, and he fainted... His body floated in the stream, drifting downstream with the gurgling current... Dragon Country.

"Not found?! How is that possible?"

Fang Tiandao's expression was a bit ugly. He still had many wounds on his body, and the scent of blood was heavy.

He had just rushed back from another base, only to hear the news of his son's disappearance.

Fang Bai was missing!

Da Qing said with a guilty look, "It's all my fault! I shouldn't have let him stay there by himself!"

Fang Tiandao took a deep breath and then asked, "Is there no movement from the communication equipment?"

Da Qing said solemnly, "No, we tried to locate him, but we couldn't capture a single signal!"

Fang Tiandao's heart immediately sank.

"That kid's last appearance was at the Little Japanese Defense Line. The second demon beast invasion back then was also because of him. But after the battle, the kid seemed to have evaporated into thin air; even I couldn't find him."

Ten Thousand Dragons walked over and spoke up.

Fang Tiandao had a bit of a headache. "How are both wars because of that kid!"

Ten Thousand Dragons smiled. "Actually, we should thank Fang Bai. It's because of him that we were able to extort a bit from Little Sun Country, and their defense line is nearing collapse."

Da Qing said to Fang Tiandao, "Brother Fang, don't worry. Fang Bai is powerful, stronger than both of us. As long as a Demon God doesn't appear, I believe he can make a clean getaway."

Ten Thousand Dragons nodded. "That's right. The demon beasts in the Chaotic Plains are also severely weakened now; they don't even have a single Demon Lord. And Fang Bai's strength is outstanding even among those in the seventh rank. Ordinary people can't hurt him. Maybe he's already out of danger."

Fang Tiandao nodded with a complicated expression. "I hope so."

"By the way, don't tell Bai Ying about this for now."

... "Handing in the mission!"

In the Martial Academy's Mission Hall, two young men attracted many people's attention.

When they saw the boys' mission target, they immediately cried out in surprise!

"Holy crap! Isn't that... isn't that the corpse of the Fourth-Rank Demon Beast, the Heavenly Spirit Bird?"

"Whose subordinates are these? To be so brave?"

"I know them! That thin long-haired one is called Qi Tian, he's from the Gemini Class. But isn't he a Second Year Student? How can he have such strong power?"

"This Alien Energy fluctuation, it probably has to be at the fourth rank, right?"

"Second Year Student? Fourth rank? What niche terms!"

"And that big guy is called Little Ape, he's of the Earth Element. He's my classmate, but he's one grade below me. Yet his strength... so strong!"

"Why are there so many freaks? We're all human, so why is the difference so huge?"

The two young men being discussed were none other than Qi Tian and Little Ape, whom we hadn't seen for a long time.

After not seeing them for a while, both had become much more mature. Especially Qi Tian; he used to have a carefree and reckless attitude, but now he had become quiet and silent.

Aside from a hint of killing intent about him, Little Ape was still quite simple and honest.

For some time now, they had been spending their days in an Alien Space, witnessing too many things, and had both achieved qualitative improvements.

Both had reached the fourth-rank cultivation!

And Qi Tian was even a Dual-Element fourth-rank!

"Congratulations on completing the s-rank mission. The points will be credited to your cards."

After handing in the mission, Qi Tian and Little Ape left the hall calmly under everyone's envious gazes.

Arriving at a place with no one around, Qi Tian finally couldn't keep up the act anymore.

"Hehe, Little Ape, how was it? Was your Brother Qi's vibe cool enough just now?"

Little Ape nodded honestly. "Brother Qi is really handsome!"

Qi Tian breathed a sigh of relief. "We finally escaped from that hellhole. If we hadn't been clever, we might really not have made it back!"

They had encountered many troubles in the Alien Space, even facing death crises several times. There were many high-rank demon beasts in the Alien Space—fourth, fifth, and even sixth rank. Once, to save Qi Tian, Little Ape was almost torn in half by a fifth-rank beast. If not for Qi Tian's Healing Technique, the grass on Little Ape's grave would probably be growing tall by now.

"But... Old Huo is dead..."

Thinking of someone, a sense of heaviness and loss flickered in Qi Tian's eyes.

Huo Qi, who had been training with them, had also died in the Alien Space.

You should know that when they first entered the Martial Academy, it was Huo Qi and the others who had escorted them the whole way.

Little Ape patted Qi Tian's shoulder, not knowing how to comfort him. After all, when he was feeling down before, the Boss would always pat his shoulder like this.

"I wonder how that guy Old Bai is doing now... This Young Master is already a Dual-Element fourth-rank; he should be at the fifth rank, right?"

"And A Xiu, I wonder if she's living happily."

"Argh, I won't think about it! Let's go, Little Ape! To celebrate living another day, let's go have a blast at the cafeteria!"

Little Ape asked in confusion, "Having lived through today, have we lived one more day or do we have one less day to live?"

Qi Tian: ...