Era of Magic and Martial Arts

Amidst the chaos on the podium.

The special envoy displayed a superior calmness amidst the disorder, and compared to him, Zuo Bai, sitting two rows behind, was equally composed.

Not a hint of panic could be seen on Zuo Bai’s face; the eyes beneath his glasses were deep as a pool, with an indiscernible fury slowly building.

"Any deviation from science is a desecration to science..."

Zuo Bai murmured softly, rhythmically rubbing the frame of his glasses with his fingers, his eyes coldly fixating on the group indulged in "taking selfies" on the stage.

His voice was low and filled with chill, as if squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Truly a group of foolish defects!"

Although Zuo Bai’s voice was so faint that only he could hear it, not even the special envoy nearby noticed it.

Yet, the monsters on the stage seemed struck by some invisible force, collectively covering their ears, faces showing humanoid fear.

Their change in expression was like a group of mischievous girls being sternly scolded by their father, instantly turning from unruly to terribly meek.

Meanwhile, Feng Yuhuai shook her head fiercely, snapping back from the verge of almost losing control to the "edge of hunger".

Just now, her mind was almost filled with cannibalistic thoughts, if not for Qian Duoyu being wrapped in a layer of some liquid suit, isolating ninety percent of his human scent, she almost couldn’t resist transforming in front of everyone.

Now, the maddening audio in her mind had vanished, replaced by the bizarre sight of monsters forming a half-circle before her.

They were striking poses towards the camera, their movements exaggerated and twisted.

"???"

Feng Yuhuai was still a bit dazed, shocked by the absurd and horrific scene before her.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell if it was due to the severe auditory hallucination she experienced that was now morphing into a ghost-like illusion.

"Is it you playing tricks again?"

Feng Yuhuai glared menacingly at Qian Duoyu.

Qian Duoyu: "..."

He could not understand why, with monsters present, Feng Yuhuai was still glaring at him. Could it be that she was still unwilling to relent and wanted to compete for ranking?

This girl, she’s such a rank chaser!

Qian Duoyu avoided Feng Yuhuai’s predatory gaze, sighing inwardly:

"This girl, her passion for martial arts is terrifying... Alright, alright, you advance, I, Qian Duoyu, forfeit!"

He glanced at the professional referee who was quietly retreating and a disdainful smile crossed his lips, then he threw Feng Yuhuai a meaningful look.

That look seemed to say, "You look poor, but you’re worthy in my eyes."

Without another word, Qian Duoyu’s knees slightly bent, his body slightly lowered, and his pant legs surprisingly compressed into spring-like shapes. With a sudden exertion of force, his whole body soared like a rebounding spring.

At once, his golden hair lit up with dazzling brilliance and began to spin wildly.

The 24K gilded strands whirled into a turbine shape at once, the radiant tips roared with the stream of air, akin to golden propellers lifting him and slicing through the airflow.

The gold foil-like spinning hair waterfall reflected a thousand points of starlight under the spotlight, Qian Duoyu’s body hung steadily in the air, the golden propellers whipped up a whirlwind, scattering dust and debris on the ground.

Below the stage, people watched in stunned silence, even the monsters that were posing halted their actions, raising their heads in unison to look up into the air.

Qian Duoyu glanced down at the stage, the corner of his mouth curled into a rich smile.

His voice pierced through the roar of the propellers, speaking unscrupulously:

"Everyone, you take your time playing with the monsters, I’ll fly away, and watch you on TV at home!"

Before his words were finished, his figure suddenly accelerated, the golden propeller drew a splendid arc of light, speeding off into the distance, leaving only a golden silhouette and an impact that left everyone awestruck for long.

Even the monsters were shaken, their eyes wide, as if someone had publicly snatched the center stage from them, showing expressions of both shock and anger.

The displaced monsters were overcome with rage, one of them tilted its head back, bloodshot eyes nearly bursting from their sockets, reflecting the progressively shrinking golden trail in the sky, and roared thunderously from deep in its throat.

The next second, its legs suddenly exerted force, the stage caved in with two deep pits beneath its pressure.

Its body sprang upwards like a cannonball, lunging towards Qian Duoyu’s direction.

Sizzle—

Its sharp claws scraped past the phantom of the golden propeller, leaving five charred black scars in the air.

The massive body of the monster froze at its highest point for half a second, its vertical pupils reflecting Qian Duoyu’s taunting trail of light.

POING—

The over 300-kilogram monster body wrapped in deadly acceleration crashed down, the concrete ground caved like tofu.

Radiating outward were not only splintered rock but also a gory firework mixed with pieces of school uniforms.

Dozens of students, unable to dodge in time, were crushed into a bloody pulp on the spot, with a half arm pinned with a student council badge even flying thirty meters away, onto a stone monument draped in red fabric, making it even more vivid.

Thick blood pooled along the monster’s dorsal fin grooves, forming a steaming pool of blood at its feet.

When it lifted its front paw, sticky threads of blood formed a sparkling cobweb between its toes, glistening under the camera’s glare.

The sight made it cackle monstrously, its spiked tail slapping the ground excitedly, each swing plowing finger-length furrows into the earth.

"Help... help me!"

The nearest girl with a ponytail’s pupils expanded right before her view filled with the flashing cold light of claw blades.

With the crisp sound of fabric tearing, her light blue school uniform and her body were sliced into a smooth cross-section, half her liver plopped down by the monster’s feet, and still-twitching intestines dangled from its horns.

Once the gears of slaughter began to turn, they couldn’t be stopped.

The monster swung its tail in a spinning sweep, hitting three reporters still carrying cameras, turning them into a V-shaped fold like bowling pins.

As it lowered its head to gnaw at the fragmented body beneath it, splattering brain matter painted an abstract artwork over the camera lens, adhering to the shattered bone, the eyeball slid down the lens, streaming into countless households in Zone 9, causing a wave of vomiting.

Blood and organs covered the place, the monster’s actions didn’t cease, starting to crazily attack all living things around.

Screams, cries, the sound of bones breaking interwove together...

"Go on, go on, aren’t you from the elite class, why are you running, go on!!"

"My leg! Where is my leg?!"

"Get out of the way, don’t block the path, fuck—"

"Mom, I want to go home, I won’t come to school anymore, sobbing..."

Amidst the chorus of screams, suddenly, a spasming headless body burst open, turning into a mist of blood, adding a new drink to the monster’s feast.

The monster bathed in the bloody storm, every scale greedily sucking in fear, and it lifted its head to let out a victor’s long howl.

Perhaps in the monster’s eyes, this was not a massacre but a showcase of snatching back the spotlight?

...