288: Detecting the Swarm

The next morning, inside the Jin residence.

As Qin Shilei and An Qian stepped out of their room, Jin Qiaoqiao's voice drifted over.

"Mr. Qin, Mrs. Qin, breakfast is ready. Would you like to dine now?"

Qin Shilei smiled, "Alright, thank you for the trouble."

He was growing increasingly satisfied with the Jin family father and daughter, even considering taking the Azure Thunder Gang under his wing.

But there was no rush for that; it could be discussed later.

After breakfast, Qin Shilei and his group returned to the northern city wall of Beian City.

On the city wall, Wen Zhiyuan and the others were eagerly observing the outside.

Although the Worm King was dead, the swarm of worms outside the city had not retreated.

"Mr. Qin, Mrs. Qin, you've arrived," everyone greeted them.

Qin Shilei looked at them with a half-smile but did not reply.

"We should address you as City Lord," Gang Leader Yuan Yuhang, the leader of the Heaven Wolf Gang, was the first to react. "Good morning, City Lord!"

"Good morning, City Lord!" Everyone quickly caught on and changed their address.

Wen Zhiyuan and Tan Anguo frowned, but ultimately said, "Good morning, City Lord Qin!"

Qin Shilei chuckled, then turned and pointed to An Qian, saying, "An Qian is my wife. She is a Golden Realm two-star cultivator, and her strength is comparable to mine. How about her as the City Lord of Beian City?"

He had already discussed this with An Qian last night.

Beian City was too important, and they had no foundation here. If they were to just leave after taking the title of City Lord, like in Junhai City, then when they returned after some time, no one might recognize him as the City Lord anymore.

So, they decided that An Qian would guard Beian City from now on.

Everyone exchanged glances, but in the end, they complied with Qin Shilei's suggestion and called out, "Good morning, City Lord An!"

An Qian was not only Qin Shilei's wife but also one of only two Golden Realm experts on Blue Star. She indeed had the qualifications to hold the position of City Lord.

As for An Qian's inauguration ceremony, it could be held later. For now, the priority was to deal with the worms outside the city.

Qin Shilei asked, "Have the people you sent to investigate the worm situation returned?"

Wen Zhiyuan shook his head, "They haven't returned. It's very likely they've met with misfortune."

Tan Anguo interjected, "There's also bad news: in another day, Beian City will be completely surrounded by worms. By then, we'll be like a turtle in a jar, unable to escape."

Qin Shilei frowned and said, "Only by finding out where the worms are coming from and how many there are can we formulate a better strategy."

He paused, then turned to An Qian and said, "An Qian, you stay here and defend the city. I'll go ahead and investigate."

An Qian really hoped to accompany Qin Shilei to investigate, but for the safety of Beian City, she nodded and replied, "Okay, be careful."

Qin Shilei mounted Little Strong and, like a fighter jet, roared towards the north.

After flying for over a hundred kilometers, he finally discovered something unusual in a small town.

Not only were there more worms in the town, but worms were also continuously spreading out from within it.

There must also be a Space Rift here.

As Little Strong flew lower and lower, Qin Shilei indeed discovered a Space Rift inside a ruined residential building.

This Space Rift was four to five meters wide.

Just as he was about to fly in to observe the Space Rift, countless giant butterflies suddenly flew out of it.

These giant butterflies had a wingspan of over a meter, were brightly colored, and predominantly yellow, red, and purple.

Name: Wind Sprite

Description: Silver Realm three-star, proficient in wind-attribute abilities, vulnerable to lightning attacks.

This group of Wind Sprites was mainly Bronze Realm seven or eight-star, with a small number being Silver Realm.

As soon as they spotted Qin Shilei and Little Strong, they shrieked and charged at them.

Thousands of Wind Sprites flew upwards, baring their fangs, and as their wings flapped, countless wind blades materialized out of thin air, striking Qin Shilei with incredible speed.

"Seeking death!"

These creatures, afraid of lightning, dared to attack him. It was time to show them the power of divine thunder.

Devouring Thunder!

Violent lightning rained down from the sky like a downpour, and one Wind Sprite after another was instantly blasted into charcoal before they could even react.

In less than a minute, all thousands of Wind Sprites met their demise, and even hundreds of Claw Beasts and worms on the ground were annihilated.

Qin Shilei quickly circled around, collected all the spoils of war, and then plunged into the Space Rift below.

As soon as he emerged from the Space Rift, he remembered that he hadn't yet fixed the No-Fly Zone entry on the City Guardian Monument in Beian City.

"It should be fine. I haven't found any flying mutated beasts on the way here. I'll just do a quick scout of the area and head back. There shouldn't be any problems."

Qin Shilei thought for a moment and decided to finish exploring this Space Rift before returning.

He appeared in a canyon.

At this moment, countless Claw Beasts and worms were moving from the canyon exit towards this side of the canyon, presumably intending to go to Blue Star through the Space Rift here.

Upon spotting Qin Shilei, they all roared and lunged at him.

Qin Shilei pushed off forcefully, flying into the air, not bothering to get entangled with these worms.

However, those worms continued to roar, looking up.

Qin Shilei thought for a moment, then took out the Concealment Array and activated it to hide his figure.

Only after the worms realized they had lost sight of Qin Shilei did they slowly stop roaring.

Qin Shilei flew for over half an hour in the direction the worms were coming from.

Suddenly, he discovered a Golden Realm three-star Claw Beast.

"If I capture this Claw Beast and let An Qian form a contract with it, could it solve the crisis of Beian City being surrounded by worms?"

Qin Shilei suddenly remembered the Gold Beetle he had left near the Space Rift near Hope City.

Before making a move, he cautiously flew into mid-air and carefully observed the surroundings, finding no other Golden Realm worm.

This Claw Beast King was twice the size of a normal Claw Beast. Around it were dozens of Silver Realm Claw Beasts and thousands of Bronze Realm Claw Beasts.

Qin Shilei first put away his dragon scale armor, then flew near the Claw Beast King.

The Claw Beast King seemed to sense something, turning its head to look in Qin Shilei's direction.

Devouring Thunder!

Violent heavenly lightning, centered on Qin Shilei, suddenly struck down!

Screams instantly erupted, and countless Claw Beasts were instantly blasted to death on the ground.

Qin Shilei, whose figure was revealed by the use of his ultimate skill, also appeared before the Claw Beast King.

The Claw Beast King's first thought was not to escape; instead, it furiously charged towards Qin Shilei.

"Good, come!"

Qin Shilei stopped the Devouring Thunder, then used Law Manifestation of Heaven and Earth, transforming into a five or six-meter-tall small giant, and at the same time summoned Vajra.

Facing two enemies more powerful than itself, the Claw Beast King finally knew fear and turned to flee into the distance.

"Beat it into a pulp for me, but don't kill it."

Qin Shilei called out, immediately clenching his hand into a fist and charging towards the Claw Beast King.

Within a mere minute, the man and the beast had beaten the Claw Beast to the brink of death.

As for its subordinates, they were all slaughtered.

Just as Qin Shilei was about to instruct Vajra to carry the Claw Beast back.

Suddenly, a gray shadow rapidly rushed towards Vajra from afar.

Boom!

Vajra, like a small mountain, was blasted dozens of meters away by that phantom.