Chapter 68

Chapter 68 Since she’d said that, Sister Shield naturally wouldn’t refuse. “We went to a glacier-type Different Space back then, one where the Closed Point had already been found, so it was easy to see. The ‘Closed Point’ was in a very deep crevice.” She turned to Brother Staff for confirmation. “I didn’t get that wrong, did I?” “No, you’re right,” Brother Staff said with a laugh. “That ‘Closed Point’ was interesting. It was in a terrible spot, sealed right in the ice. At first glance, you’d think the ice was black.” Like the entrance they came through, a “Closed Point” was a black hole. But its size varied, sometimes so small it was hard to notice. His words stirred Qingqing’s distant memories. “Yeah, and because of that, no Nightmare Beasts appeared in that Different Space. The entrance was sealed, so they couldn’t get out. You can ask your teachers when you get back; that Different Space probably hasn’t been closed yet. If the academy can’t find another ‘Closed Point’ for a while, they might take students there to observe.” At this, she seemed to suddenly recall an important question. “By the way, where are your teachers?” These were clearly students, and students training in a Different Space were always led by teachers. Outside, Wu Mingbai always acted naive and lively. He answered without hesitation, “Our teachers thought this Different Space wasn’t too tough for us, so they’re just waiting at the entrance.” This guy was sly as ever. Even with passersby like Qingqing’s group, he couldn’t resist testing them. By saying the teachers weren’t around, if they had ill intentions, they’d reveal themselves easily. Besides, the truth couldn’t be spoken, so any excuse would do. Zhao Xiaoyu blinked, not contradicting him. Hearing Wu Mingbai’s reply, Qingqing’s eyes flickered. If someone else had said this, she might’ve suspected they were wary of her. But Wu Mingbai looked guileless, so she didn’t overthink it. She smiled and said, “Your teachers must trust you a lot. You’re probably academy elites, right? For regular students like us, teachers never left our side, afraid we’d get into trouble.” “Elites? I guess...” Wu Mingbai put on a shy act, tilting his head with a smile. The brown-haired boy’s expression was perfectly natural, refreshing and cute. Behind Qingqing, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing quietly mimed gagging. Qingqing’s eyes sparkled with amusement as she said confidently, “Definitely elites. Class A?” “Yeah,” Wu Mingbai nodded. “I got in by luck. I’m probably the worst in our class.” Seeing him say this, Qingqing offered a string of comforting words, which made Brother Knife, standing behind her, bristle with jealousy, glaring at the coy Wu Mingbai. From a distance, Su Bei watched, thinking Brother Knife might soon lose it. After all, though Wu Mingbai was underage, he was only five or six years younger than Qingqing—not an impossible gap. Brother Knife, currently smitten with Qingqing, would naturally feel threatened. Suddenly, Brother Knife stumbled, clutching his temple and blinking hard. Brother Staff, sitting nearby, steadied him with practiced ease, showing no concern. “You okay?” Brother Knife quickly recovered and nodded. “I’m fine.” He locked eyes with Qingqing, then resumed glaring at Wu Mingbai, looking intensely jealous. But to Su Bei, watching from afar, the expression now seemed forced. Earlier, it was genuine; now, it felt like acting. Had Qingqing warned him? As he pondered, Wu Jin, who’d been lingering in the corner like a mushroom, suddenly approached. “It’s gone.” What’s gone? Su Bei froze, then realized. If he wasn’t mistaken, Wu Jin meant the “love” on Brother Knife was gone. Qingqing’s Cupid ability had worn off. Well, that was a long duration. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.—four full hours. This made things interesting. Su Bei watched Brother Knife’s performance, raising an eyebrow slightly. No longer under the ability’s control, yet still pretending to be infatuated with Qingqing. Was it to hide the uniqueness of her ability? A simple explanation would be caution toward strangers. But a more complex one—were they hiding it to pull something off? Both possibilities made sense, but Su Bei never minded assuming the worst of strangers. Better keep an eye on them. He extended his Mental Energy to envelop the four. He didn’t care if they caused trouble, as long as it didn’t involve him. If he got controlled and filled with love for someone, his character would collapse spectacularly. After lunch, they endured the worst of the midday heat. As the sun softened, they continued north. Since Zhao Xiaoyu had already explained, Qingqing’s group didn’t find their northward trek odd. Along the way, besides fighting Nightmare Beasts, they encountered many ability user teams. But their large group deterred others from approaching, avoiding trouble. As the sun set, orange-red clouds painted the sky, and the desert’s solitary smoke and round sun embodied poetic imagery. After a full day’s march, even ability users, with their superior stamina, felt exhausted. Low on energy, the group stopped their usual banter, walking in silence. “Ah!” A cry jolted everyone back to alertness. They looked toward the sound and saw Zhou Renjie sinking into the sand. Quicksand! Half his body was already submerged, and he was still sinking. Quicksand wasn’t rare in deserts. Without an experienced explorer’s knowledge, ordinary people could easily be swallowed. But ability users weren’t ordinary. Even in danger, their abilities often made them calmer than most. After a brief scream and struggle, Zhou Renjie, half-buried, calmed himself. He stopped thrashing, though his weight kept him sinking slowly. “What do we do?” he asked, panicking, then looked at Wu Mingbai. “Your ability is [Earth Element]. Can you control this quicksand?” Wu Mingbai set aside their past grudges. They didn’t get along, but he didn’t want Zhou Renjie dead. He tried using his ability to control the sand. With his [Earth Element], clearing part of the quicksand should’ve been easy. Surprisingly, he could only stabilize the sand to stop Zhou Renjie’s descent. Pulling him out was impossible. Feeling his ability severely weakened, he frowned. “Something’s off. Is it because the quicksand’s force is too strong? I can’t control all the sand forming it.” “What now?” Zhou Renjie paled, wanting to accuse Wu Mingbai of deliberately not saving him but held back, wary of offending him further. Mu Tieren, who’d studied wilderness survival, took charge. “Don’t move too much. Sway side to side to shake off the sand and slowly work your way up.” With no other options, Zhou Renjie followed, moving slowly. Wu Mingbai cooperated, manipulating the sand to help him escape faster. The method worked. After a grueling half-hour, Zhou Renjie emerged, sweating profusely, face flushed with exhaustion. He quickly distanced himself from the quicksand, collapsing to rest, panting heavily. Seeing him safe, everyone sighed in relief. Si Zhaohua suggested, “Let him rest here a bit, then we’ll detour and keep going?” No one objected. The sun wasn’t too harsh now, so a brief rest was fine. Sitting down, Jiang Tianming asked Wu Mingbai curiously, “What did it feel like controlling the sand? How could you not manage it?” He knew Wu Mingbai’s ability training progress well. For existing sand or standard soil, Wu Mingbai’s control was masterful. They’d seen during Zhou Renjie’s struggle that the quicksand, while of unknown depth, covered only about thirty square meters. That volume, given Zhou Renjie’s submersion depth, was well within Wu Mingbai’s control. Even if quicksand had unknown forces like suction or gravity, it shouldn’t have weakened Wu Mingbai’s control that much. Honestly, if Jiang Tianming didn’t know Wu Mingbai, he might’ve suspected this was revenge for Zhou Renjie’s earlier trash talk. But that was impossible. Though Zhou Renjie always started trouble, he always lost. Even if Wu Mingbai held grudges, he wouldn’t want Zhou Renjie’s life. Others might suspect Wu Mingbai too, and to prevent the team from fracturing over such doubts, Jiang Tianming asked directly. He was the best person to ask. Sure enough, as he spoke, Zhou Renjie looked over first. For once, he was smart, staying silent and waiting for Wu Mingbai’s explanation. Wu Mingbai was puzzled too. “I don’t know. It felt like my ability was... weakened, yeah! Greatly weakened by the quicksand.” As he spoke, he used his ability to lift the sand to the left of the quicksand, manipulating it effortlessly. Sand along the path floated up easily, but when it reached the quicksand, only a few grains moved—a stark contrast to the large swathes elsewhere. This caught everyone’s attention. Mu Tieren eyed the quicksand. “Is something wrong with it? Never heard of quicksand suppressing abilities.” Brother Knife, who’d been in desert terrains before, nodded firmly. “It shouldn’t. Why don’t one of you try?” They all saw it clearly: either the quicksand was the issue, Wu Mingbai’s ability was faulty, or Wu Mingbai himself was the problem. Having another person test was the best way to verify. “I’ll try,” Si Zhaohua volunteered. He was the fairest choice. Without spreading his wings, a feather appeared in his hand. He controlled the feather to land on the quicksand, plunging it deep, then tried to pull it out. Soon, Si Zhaohua’s brow furrowed, his fist clenched with effort. After about five seconds, the feather slowly emerged and floated back to him. “There’s definitely a problem,” he said, making the feather vanish and cautiously approaching the quicksand. “When I tried pulling it out, I faced huge resistance.” Qingqing, puzzled, said, “Pulling something out of quicksand naturally meets strong resistance.” “No, not like that,” Si Zhaohua clarified, searching for a better description. “It wasn’t external resistance. My control over the feather itself weakened.” Finally, someone understood his experience. Wu Mingbai nodded vigorously. “Exactly! Our abilities are weakened in this quicksand.” Hearing this, Su Bei raised an eyebrow, a guess flashing through his mind. Almost simultaneously, Jiang Tianming’s eyes widened, and he looked at Su Bei. “Could it be that this quicksand is that special feature?” He referred to Su Bei’s earlier theory about the “Closed Point” having something unique. Su Bei thought the same and nodded affirmatively. A patch of quicksand that weakened abilities wasn’t ordinary by any stretch. Plus, it was due north, in a hazardous area—perfectly matching their earlier speculation about possible “Closed Point” markers. Si Zhaohua caught on. “So, does that mean we’ve completed the mission?” The teachers’ task was to find the “Closed Point,” not close it or even see it directly. If they could confirm it was here, they could head back. The other Class S students, hearing their conversation, realized the quicksand might hold the “Closed Point.” Talk about a lucky break! But going back like this wouldn’t do. Mu Tieren shook his head. “We need to go down and see the ‘Closed Point’ to be sure. Guessing, even correctly, probably won’t satisfy the teachers.” “I agree,” Zhao Xiaoyu nodded, subtly glancing around during a pause. Everyone understood her hint: the teachers were likely nearby, so lying about going down wouldn’t work. Ai Baozhu glared at the quicksand with disdain, dreading the thought of getting covered in sand. “So who’s going down?” “Me, me, me!” Mo Xiaotian, who’d quietly asked Feng Lan what they were discussing, couldn’t miss such fun. “I want to go down!” He was genuinely curious about what lay beneath. “I’ll go,” Wu Mingbai raised his hand. His [Earth Element] ability, even if suppressed, gave him the greatest advantage. With only two volunteers, Jiang Tianming thought it over. “I’ll go too. There might be lots of Nightmare Beasts down there, so we need more people. One or two can stay up here to cover.” He was right. If there was a space below with a “Closed Point,” it’d likely be crawling with Nightmare Beasts. One or two people might not make it back. Convinced, more hands went up. Si Zhaohua, Li Shu, Ling You, Qi Huang, Zhao Xiaoyu, Mu Tieren, and Lan Subing all decided to go. With the initial three, that made ten—enough. As they were about to finalize, Qingqing, confused for a while, couldn’t hold back. “Wait... what are you talking about? Going down where?” Realizing they’d overlooked the four, Zhao Xiaoyu coughed. “Our teachers gave us a task to explore a special quicksand. We think this is the one.” “I see,” Qingqing said, whether she believed it or not, acting convinced. She offered eagerly, “We’ll stay up here to cover. If there are lots of Nightmare Beasts down there, don’t forget to bring some up for us to process.” She glanced at the five staying behind. Coincidentally, except for Zhou Renjie, the others hadn’t acted during the snake fight and didn’t want to go down, suggesting they weren’t strong. But there were still too many... Thinking this, Qingqing signaled her teammates. Brother Staff and Sister Shield “casually” stepped forward, blocking the other two. Moments later, Brother Knife approached and asked, “I’m going to the bathroom over there. Anyone want to come? Safety in numbers.” Zhou Renjie raised his hand, still shaken from earlier. “I’ll go.” Whether too urgent or what, Brother Knife didn’t ask others and hurried with Zhou Renjie to a dune nearby. The others ignored them, discussing plans. They weren’t worried about entering the quicksand. Mo Xiaotian’s [Air] ability ensured no suffocation risk. But quicksand was easier to enter than escape. Zhao Xiaoyu asked sincerely, “How do we get back up after going down?” “There’s gotta be a way,” Mo Xiaotian said carelessly. “The teachers got out, so we can too!” Sticking to the rule of not arguing with fools, everyone ignored him. Qi Huang looked at Su Bei and Feng Lan, the two prophets. “Hey, can either of you predict the route?” Su Bei’s predictions were vague, while Feng Lan’s were specific but his monthly prophecy chance was used up. Still, after a month of training, he’d developed a useful new skill. Feng Lan closed his eyes, then opened them, golden pupils fixed on her. “Just go with the flow.” “Go with the flow? So we do nothing? That’s a lazy answer,” Qi Huang muttered, turning to discuss with others. Seeing her turn away, Su Bei raised an eyebrow at Feng Lan. “What’s that ability? New?” “Yeah,” Feng Lan nodded, his lips curling up a few pixels—a rare smile. “Thanks to your tip.” Su Bei pointed at himself, surprised. “Me?” Feng Lan didn’t tease. “You told me you often see prophecy fragments. I sometimes do too. After you left, I wondered if, with my pure [Prophecy] ability, I could use those fragments.” Su Bei got it. “So you can now freely control seeing prophecy fragments?” “Once a day,” Feng Lan nodded, confirming. “I can ask about a minor thing, and if it works, related fragment images flash in my mind. Success rate’s low for now.” Low success was normal for a new skill. With practice, it’d improve. For any ability user, actively developing new ability uses was a major win. Su Bei raised an eyebrow. “What did you see just now?” “The space below has only one path,” Feng Lan answered. Su Bei couldn’t help laughing. One path? If it led up, just follow it. If not, they’d wait for the teachers to rescue them. So, truly go with the flow. But he laughed not for that, but because he realized Feng Lan was a qualified riddle-maker. “Go with the flow” was cryptic enough. The group, based on Feng Lan’s words, decided to go down. Mo Xiaotian began preparing air cubes for everyone’s heads. Zhou Renjie and Brother Knife returned, looking unchanged, but Su Bei, watching closely, noticed Zhou Renjie glance at Qingqing twice. As he observed, Wu Jin approached, whispering, “Zhou Renjie has the scent of love.” Su Bei instantly understood. They’d made their move. Likely, Qingqing passed a pink arrow to Brother Knife, who backstabbed Zhou Renjie during the bathroom trip. Poor Zhou Renjie. Now, five remained above: Su Bei, Feng Lan, Wu Jin, Ai Baozhu, and Zhou Renjie, with Zhou Renjie temporarily turned. If the others left and Zhou Renjie took one more, the remaining three might not beat Qingqing’s four. Su Bei had a hunch that if Zhou Renjie acted, he’d be the target, as the strongest attacker left. His mouth twitched. He wasn’t afraid of Zhou Renjie’s ability—even if swallowed, he’d be released soon. But being swallowed? Best avoided. Should he warn the others? After thinking, Su Bei decided not to disrupt the plot. Neither Feng Lan nor Ai Baozhu were the type to be drawn as fools by the author, so their odds of being hit by the pink arrow were low. Wu Jin was even less likely—Su Bei suspected he’d be immune even if hit. So, without his warning, the worst case was they’d be captured. The best? A chance to shine apart from the protagonist group.