A burst of clamor sounded.
After waiting a moment.
“I’m on Feiwei Road, pursuing another monster. I’m about to leave the city. Please give me a ‘clean’ route through.”
“Over.”
Xu Yuan held the steering wheel with one hand, the other gripping the walkie-talkie as he spoke.
A few seconds passed.
A voice came over the walkie-talkie:
“You can take Shadi Road. It’s at the end of Feiwei Road—turn right at the second intersection. Over.”
“Roger. Thanks.”
Xu Yuan replied, then set the walkie-talkie down.
The siren wailed.
The accelerator was floored.
The police car shot through intersection after intersection like lightning, leaving the other vehicles behind.
“Please prepare to turn right.”
The navigation prompt sounded.
But the car had already charged to the end of the road, turned right, and plunged into a new street, galloping like an unbridled wild horse.
The car was faster than the navigation!
This driving speed left Zhao Afei and Yang Xiaobing unbearably tense.
“Bro, I’m a Qi Refining first-layer cultivator, and you’re about to make me puke!”
Zhao Afei said with a miserable expression.
“Can you drive? You take over, and I’ll go shoot a few monsters.” Xu Yuan turned back and asked, full of expectation.
“Don’t turn around! Big brother, focus on driving! I don’t have a license!”
Zhao Afei was so frightened he shouted at once.
Xu Yuan casually flicked the steering wheel.
The speeding police car instantly threaded between two large trucks, then swerved in a winding snake pattern, leaving seven or eight small cars far behind.
“Xu Yuan, concentrate. If we crash at this speed, even with talismans protecting us, we’ll still be badly injured.”
Yang Xiaobing was also terrified.
“Got it.”
Xu Yuan eased off the accelerator, then slammed it down again, making the acceleration even more ferocious.
—From the looks of it, the period right after entering the exam had been time for the examinees to adapt.
Now even a flood dragon had appeared.
That meant the city-slaughter incident had officially begun.
There was one strange thing Xu Yuan had not told anyone.
The shock and pressure the flood dragon gave off were indeed powerful.
But—
Compared to the woman at the very beginning, the one with seven or eight long black legs, the flood dragon was nothing.
At least the flood dragon was strong in an obvious way.
You knew you could not beat it.
But that woman—
He simply had no idea what it was.
That feeling was very bad.
This was only an exam. Why could it simulate something that terrifying?
Faster.
A little faster.
Right now, they had to escape with their lives—
“Careful! That flood dragon seems to be preparing a spell.”
A cool female voice came from the roof of the car.
It was Jiang Xueyao.
She had been keeping watch on that flood dragon the entire time.
Xu Yuan’s heart sank.
Whatever he feared really came to pass.
Right now they were still far from the overpass leading out of the city. Before the flood dragon attacked, they likely would not be able to get out!
Zhao Afei shouted:
“Even if all the senior students from all eight schools combined, they couldn’t block a flood dragon’s spell!”
“Nonsense!” Yang Xiaobing continued, “But it can’t destroy the entire city in one move—look, the city’s defensive grand formation is activating.”
Looking through the windshield.
They saw long lines emitting faint azure light appear in the night sky.
Those long lines moved rapidly, connecting with one another, extending, forming a defensive formation, and beginning to activate an even more powerful force.
For a time.
The entire sky was covered with this “spiderweb” filled with spiritual power.
It was as if a giant were slowly awakening—
Buzzz—
The defensive grand formation enveloping the entire city let out an extraordinarily long, deep rumble.
Spiritual power was like a waterfall flowing backward, projecting beams of moving light into the sky.
“Truly spectacular…”
Xu Yuan’s eyes reflected the dazzling radiance in the night sky as he said with considerable emotion.
If this were a game, the special effects alone would cost a fortune, and might still not achieve this immersive feeling.
And he was inside it, in this real cultivation world, completing a real competition!
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
—He had never taken part in such an exciting competition before.
If he lost, he would die!
Would he really die?
No.
He had to live.
He had to survive.
He still wanted to keep climbing in this world, surpass countless cultivators, and see the boundless scenery at the summit!
Jiang Xueyao’s voice sounded again:
“That flood dragon is climbing higher. It’s probably about to strike!”
“Xu Yuan!” Yang Xiaobing and Zhao Afei shouted in unison.
“Fine, we’ll take cover for a moment,” Xu Yuan said helplessly.
—They did not know what spell the enemy would unleash, nor what consequences it would bring.
But that was a flood dragon.
That alone was enough reason to take it seriously. They had to hide.
Xu Yuan turned the steering wheel and stepped on the brake, letting the police car cut across a long, empty crosswalk, charge up the steps, and stop with perfect accuracy at a subway entrance.
“Get out.”
Xu Yuan said.
The four of them got out at the same time, then ran toward the subway entrance.
A sign hung above the subway entrance:
“Xinzhou Subway Station.”
But on the stairs leading down into the station, there were people sitting everywhere, taking shelter.
“Strange. Why are they all halfway down? Why aren’t they going inside?”
Zhao Afei said in a low voice.
The group strode downward and quickly discovered the reason.
The subway station had been fortified with sandbags, concrete, and scrapped vehicles.
Inside were some students taking part in the exam.
—Standing outside the fortifications, one could feel the power of a formation in operation.
“No entry!”
A tall student at the head of the group barked.
Xu Yuan was just about to speak when he noticed something was off.
“Their uniforms are different from ours!”
Zhao Afei said.
“They’re from Nanshan City No. 1 Middle School,” Jiang Xueyao said after one glance.
Nanshan City No. 1 Middle School was another school in this eight-school joint exam. It was also a key high school, and its strength had always been rather good.
The four of them stopped on the stairs.
There was no other suitable cover nearby.
If they stayed out in the open and took the aftermath of the clash between the flood dragon and the defensive grand formation head-on—
No one knew whether they would be directly judged to have failed the exam.
Yang Xiaobing pressed a hand against the talisman she carried.
Jiang Xueyao also frowned slightly.
The other side had already formed a formation and established basic defenses.
They also had more people than Xu Yuan’s side.
There was little hope of forcing their way in.
For a moment, the four of them were caught in an awkward dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.
“You’re from Jiangbei City Fifth High School, right? We’ve claimed this place. Hurry up and leave, or else we’ll make you regret it!”
The tall boy at the head shouted in a mocking tone.
Zhao Afei tugged at Xu Yuan’s clothes and whispered:
“What do we do? Where do we go?”
Xu Yuan looked back.
The crowd had all been blocked outside the fortifications.
In that case.
Even if demons attacked, the people standing outside would inevitably make noise—
Though the price would be their lives, the students inside the fortifications would immediately be alerted.
The students would have plenty of time to deal with any emergency!
What fine calculations.
But—
Xu Yuan did not stop walking. He went all the way to the defensive barrier and said:
“Which unit are you from?”
The students behind the barrier froze.
We—
We’re the same as you. We’re all here for the exam.
The tall boy sneered:
“Are you blind? We’re from Nanshan City No. 1 Middle School—that girl holding the sword behind you is Jiang Xueyao, right? She can come in—alone.”
Jiang Xueyao’s eyes turned cold, and she placed her hand on her sword.
Without looking back, Xu Yuan waved a hand at her, then said:
“So you’re students. These barriers and fortifications are rather properly built.”
After saying this, he picked up the walkie-talkie.
“Zzz…”
“Reporting, sir. I am at Xinzhou Subway Station, gathering civilians and conducting evacuation. Requesting permission. Over.”
One breath passed.
A dignified voice sounded from the walkie-talkie:
“Permission granted. You must avoid disorder as much as possible, control the situation, reassure the civilians, and await further instructions. Over.”
Gripping the walkie-talkie, Xu Yuan said, “Understood!”
He put away the walkie-talkie, picked up the police badge and shook it, then shouted loudly toward the barrier:
“Students, you’ve done well.”
“Now, entrusted by the police, we are patrolling this area in their stead and requisitioning your defensive fortifications.”
“Please clear a path immediately.”
Silence fell on the other side.
…How could it be played like this?
We’re only here for the exam.
With a few words from your mouth, you’re requisitioning the defensive fortifications we worked so hard to build?
Seeing that they were not speaking, Xu Yuan continued:
“If you insist on blocking civilians from entering the underground shelter and escaping this disaster of demons and monsters—”
“Then we won’t go in.”
“But I will report what you’ve done to the city police headquarters.”
He picked up the police walkie-talkie.
And turned it on.
“The demonic beast in District Five has been killed. Over.”
“Requesting support at People’s Square. There are two monsters here. Over.”
“The two violent assailants at Nanshan Trade Market have been shot dead on the spot. Over.”
Voices kept coming from the walkie-talkie.
Xu Yuan held the walkie-talkie up, his gaze fixed on the other side.
One second.
Two seconds.
Xu Yuan raised the walkie-talkie and said:
“Xinzhou Road Subway—”
“Shut up! Get in here!” the tall boy opposite roared.
If they still refused to let the other side in, once the report was made and a police squad came to encircle and suppress them—
Wouldn’t they become a complete joke!
Xu Yuan put down the walkie-talkie and smiled.
“Wouldn’t it have been better to do this earlier? In the face of danger, we ought to help one another.”