National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Now, only a mere eight students remained at the National Road Academy.

The rest had already departed in despair, bearing injuries that would not heal anytime soon.

The gloom that shrouded the National Road Academy had, of course, been released by the goat-headed Evil Spirit.

In a classroom at the far end of the hallway on the top floor of the National Road Academy, these eight students were utterly exhausted.

For what felt like an eternity, the goat-headed Evil Spirit had been applying pressure relentlessly.

The goat-headed Evil Spirit was well aware of Chu He’s intentions.

He hoped to use it to cultivate suitable geniuses within the National Road Academy.

Therefore, the goat-headed Evil Spirit had been diligently carrying out the task Chu He had given it.

At first, the goat-headed Evil Spirit had simply created constant panic among the students,

screening them for potential in terms of talent and personality.

And the eight students who had been filtered out in the end,

in terms of temperament and talent throughout the entire National Road Academy,

as well as current strength, were the best of the best.

TAP, TAP...

The eight students were utterly spent.

During this long ordeal, every student at the National Road Academy had been on high alert.

They had lost all sense of time, completely unaware of how long they had been trapped in the National Road Academy.

Throughout this entire time, not a single teacher had appeared.

Not even the National Road Academy’s new legendary number one powerhouse of Blue Star had shown up.

"Did something happen to the Dean and the other teachers?"

A female student crouched by the classroom door, her hands tightly gripping a long blade.

She peered through the crack in the door at the pitch-black hallway, unable to even tell if it was day or night.

"I don’t think we can last much longer,"

another male student said bitterly.

"I looked up the identity of that Evil Spirit in a book. It’s a goat-headed Evil Spirit named Bafumie. But it shouldn’t be appearing within the borders of our Great Xia Empire."

A boy in glasses habitually adjusted them.

"It’s up to us to make things happen."

But among the eight students, the one with the most relaxed expression was a boy sitting cross-legged on the floor.

The boy’s lips were pressed into a thin line, but his gaze remained firm. "If we give up now, we’re really finished. Lin Zuoguang, what’s on your mind?"

"Xiao Yu, you really do get me the best."

The boy with glasses smiled faintly.

"Just say it," Xiao Yu said flatly.

"Just now, Nanting Snow asked if something had happened to our National Road Academy’s dean and teachers.

I don’t think so. I admit, I panicked a bit at the beginning, too.

Why would such a terrifying Evil Spirit appear at the National Road Academy?

It’s completely beyond our ability to fight back.

And the longer we stay at the Academy, the fewer people are left around us.

And those who disappeared have vanished without a trace.

While we’ve been hiding and running, I’ve been looking for any traces left by the others.

But there’s nothing. Even if they were eaten by that Evil Spirit, there should be some scraps left behind, right?"

Lin Zuoguang stroked his chin.

"Can you just get to the point?" Nanting Snow asked.

"Are you trying to say this Evil Spirit was let in by the National Road Academy on purpose?" Xiao Yu asked, a thought stirring in his mind.

"See? I told you. Xiao Yu gets me," Lin Zuoguang chuckled.

"How is that possible?

Why would the National Road Academy do something like this?

Are they trying to kill all of us students?

Every single student at the National Road Academy was chosen after being screened again and again from across the entire Great Xia Empire. Each one of us is a genius from our respective regions.

If they killed all of us, it would be like crippling the entire future of the Great Building Empire."

Nanting Snow asked in disbelief.

"What if the students and teachers who disappeared aren’t dead?

What if they were just eliminated and removed, as if in a game?

People are constantly being eliminated, constantly being forced to leave the field.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean they were brutally murdered."

Xiao Yu was beginning to understand what Lin Zuoguang was trying to say.

"Exactly."

Lin Zuoguang snapped his fingers crisply. "So, now you all can join forces and try to fight back."

"We join forces to fight back, but what about you?" a student asked.

"I, of course, must preserve the last spark of hope for our National Road Academy.

What if all my theories are wrong? We can’t let all the seeds of the National Road Academy be wiped out, can we?

When I make my comeback in the future, I will definitely return to kill it,

and make that goat-headed Evil Spirit outside die a horrible death at my hands to avenge you all."

Lin Zuoguang said with a sly chuckle.

"You’re still the same coward as ever," a student said contemptuously.

Lin Zuoguang wasn’t annoyed. He just shrugged, feigning indifference.

"You won’t be able to escape," Nanting Snow said, glancing at Lin Zuoguang.

"Then it’s up to luck, isn’t it?" Lin Zuoguang said, then sighed. "To be honest, I really am scared of dying."

TAP... TAP... TAP...

The sound of unhurried footsteps drifted from the end of the hallway.

Because the entire building was so deathly quiet, the footsteps sounded exceptionally jarring in the dim corridor.

Lin Zuoguang quickly shut his mouth.

Xiao Yu also rose slowly from the floor, settling into a half-crouch, ready to attack or retreat.

"In a moment, we go all out.

Everyone aim for a vital spot.

I refuse to believe it can dodge all our attacks when we unleash our full power in a high-burst assault."

A look of determination flashed in Xiao Yu’s eyes.

"I disagree. I suggest we keep hiding,"

a boy said.

"Hide? Until when? We’re all at the end of our ropes,"

Lin Zuoguang retorted.

The boy fell silent.

"Found you."

Just as their discussion descended into disagreement, a hoarse, deep voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"How is that possible?

The voice was just at the far end of the hall a moment ago.

Why is it suddenly right outside the door?"

A girl was so frightened she fell and sat right on the floor.

It wasn’t that the girl couldn’t handle the pressure,

but after so many days under intense stress, she simply couldn’t take any more.

BOOM!

The classroom door was smashed to smithereens.

In that instant, Xiao Yu, Lin Zuoguang, and Nanting Snow acted with perfect coordination.

The three of them, each holding a blade, lunged. One aimed for the goat-headed Evil Spirit’s throat, another for its heart,

and the last, Lin Zuoguang, thrust his blade directly at the goat-headed Evil Spirit’s crotch.

"Three very promising seedlings indeed. My mission from Chu He is more or less complete.

However, I still need to make you understand that the gap between us is simply too vast.

Even with your seamless coordination, you are still no match for me."

The goat-headed Evil Spirit lifted a hoof and stomped it violently on the ground.

The floor began to warp in an unbelievable way.

It instantly dissipated the force behind Xiao Yu, Lin Zuoguang, and Nanting Snow’s attacks,

sending the three of them stumbling and falling to the ground, looks of utter shock on their faces.

"Alright, that’s enough."

As this voice echoed, the gloom shrouding the entire National Road Academy vanished in an instant.

[Thank you to reader YuMapki for the 1,666 Book Coin donation! Thank you for your generosity, boss! I wish you ever-increasing wealth and good fortune!!!]