Chapter 273: Chapter 27: Su Zhou’s Squad
It was unclear if the Military Saint was only convinced on the surface, but regardless, he had made his position clear.
The Profound Bird-level Flying Vehicle took off. Pale blue flames erupted from it, lifting the entire fuselage high into the air like a rocket. The body, inscribed with countless Wind Runes, continuously absorbed Spiritual Qi, negating wind resistance and generating its own lift. It then accelerated rapidly, entering the stratosphere.
From this altitude, one could see that Earth’s entire atmosphere was faintly showing signs of activation due to the Spiritual Energy Revival. Higher up, in a zone of intense collision between Cosmic Spiritual Energy and Earth’s Spiritual Qi, a brand-new atmospheric layer—the ’Gang Wind Layer’—was beginning to form. This layer would severely restrict the use of conventional satellites, rockets, ballistic missiles, and space-based weaponry. Without the corresponding fusion of Extraordinary and technological methods, it was equivalent to having that entire branch of technology sealed off.
’The Spiritual Energy Revival isn’t limited to just Earth. Cosmic space and the other planets in the Solar System will all undergo their own revivals as well.’
Su Zhou sat in his seat. His gaze could penetrate the hull of the Profound Bird-level Flying Vehicle, looking directly at the scenery high above and the Gang Wind Layer, which was unmistakably clear to him.
His thoughts drifted at the sight. ’What would a cosmos filled with Spiritual Qi be like? If Earth is already like this, then on a spiritualized Jupiter, what kind of spiritual qi maelstrom would the gales in its Red Giant Spot form?’
’Just imagining those gales, powerful enough to swallow an entire planet, that massive gaseous spiritual qi celestial body, and the sun, a thousand times more immense... and then thinking about the even vaster cosmos...’
Su Zhou’s solemn expression, and the intense aura he gave off while deep in thought, made the other professors around him exchange uncertain glances. One of them finally spoke up, asking if something was on Su Zhou’s mind or if he was feeling unwell. The answer he received, however, left everyone completely baffled.
Su Zhou said, "I knew it. I’m still too weak."
The other professors: "?"
’You had that dead-serious look on your face just to think about *that*?’
Stunned by Su Zhou’s divergent train of thought, the other professors in the cabin didn’t try to talk to him again for the rest of the flight. By the time the Profound Bird-level vehicle landed on the Northwest Plateau, they had decided that continuing the conversation would be a little damaging to their self-esteem.
Due to geographical factors, the team from the Western Capital Qinxing Academy was the first to arrive. However, thanks to the speed of the Profound Bird, the teams from the other two major academies weren’t far behind.
The arrivals from the Daoist Discipline Academy were mostly research teams. They wouldn’t be participating in the lockdown and exploration of the ruins. Their only responsibility was to investigate the ruins’ Spiritual Qi impact on the surrounding environment and the nature of the Space-Time Passage. This was to prepare for future surprise attacks from Otherworld Magical Beasts, like the one the European Union had encountered, and to strive to detect signs of a Space-Time Passage before it fully opened.
The vast majority of students had already been divided into squads during the new student training camp. After disembarking and receiving their respective missions and areas of responsibility, they immediately headed to their designated locations with their team-leading Tutors.
Their mission was to clear all ordinary people from the vicinity of the ruins, set up relevant Spiritual Qi data collection devices, and deploy a lockdown array. They were also to train and cultivate in the high-altitude environment. Because of the Kunlun Ruins, the ambient Spiritual Qi concentration here was two to three times the global average. The efficiency would skyrocket even further after setting up a Spirit Gathering Array, which was considered a bonus for their hard work.
However, only a small number of students with exceptionally outstanding results could accompany the professors, approach the Kunlun Ruins, and qualify to explore its interior.
Su Zhou was no exception. As a professor in the Practical Combat System, he was naturally assigned a special four-person elite squad after disembarking. The squad members were all top students from Qinxing Academy.
Coincidentally, he was very familiar with two of the four people, and he was at least acquainted with the other two.
The first was Shao Qiming, who needed no introduction.
To be honest, Su Zhou had been slightly surprised when he first learned that Shao Qiming was also a member of the exploration department. He had originally thought his friend would choose a purely academic track. He never expected Shao Qiming to be ridiculously triple-majoring. Besides exploration, he was also enrolled in the optics and Spiritual Qi plant studies departments, with top-tier grades in all of them.
’Well, he’s also someone who ate a Wisdom Fruit, so being this incredible isn’t strange. He’s my brother, after all!’
The second member was Guan Wanjing, also from Hongdu, who had placed second in the Spiritual Testing, right behind Su Zhou.
His story was rather tragic. With a Spiritual Energy Affinity as high as 94% and his High-level Awakening strength, Guan Wanjing would have easily been a top-ten genius in the country—perhaps even vying for the top three and attracting the attention of the Holy Seats—if it weren’t for Su Zhou. He was also rumored to be a descendant from the Direct Lineage of an ancient Spiritual Martial Arts tradition in the Celestial Capital. He should have had the perfect "life-winner" story arc, but it was brutally interrupted by Su Zhou. Since then, his presence had faded. Whenever he was mentioned, the impression was always, ’Oh, you mean that guy who got second place in the Hongzhou Spiritual Testing.’
Guan Wanjing was a brawny man with the build of a bear, a proper height of about two meters, and a physique that looked like it was composed entirely of muscle. He was one of Su Zhou’s old weight-lifting buddies. In addition, his strength was now approaching Awakening Peak. In the Divine Wood World, this was equivalent to a Grandmaster under the age of twenty. Some professors were only on par with him in terms of power. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising that he was assigned to Su Zhou, who was not only familiar with him but also unequivocally stronger by more than just a small margin. Guan Wanjing himself wouldn’t object; after being beaten down so many times, he was used to it.
When a person’s sharp edges are smoothed out, that’s what you call maturity.
These were the two acquaintances. They nodded and smiled at each other, no more words needed.
The other two, one man and one woman, were the two geniuses with special bloodlines at Qinxing Academy.
The male student, named Li Hanshan, was from the Chongming Li Family. He had a Spiritual Energy Affinity of 81% and was quite handsome, the type to stand out in a crowd. But he was taciturn and almost never interacted with others—not out of arrogance, but more like a form of autism. He was the type of tight-lipped person you couldn’t get a word out of, even if you beat him with a stick. Unless you were telling him it was time to eat, he wouldn’t react no matter what you said.
Li Hanshan had a pair of cyan, double-pupiled eyes. This Divine Bird’s Eye, inherited from the Chongming Bird, allowed him to see the movements of a squirrel in a forest ten kilometers away, even at the Awakening Tier. He would only speak when he needed to report observation data. His voice was a little hoarse, but it had a good quality to it, likely because he was unaccustomed to speaking after long periods of silence.
The female student, named Lii Yeyu, had a Spiritual Energy Affinity of 87%. She was also quite attractive, the type who would turn many heads in a crowd. This friend was also the quiet type. But unlike Li Hanshan, her silence wasn’t autistic in nature; she was simply a person of few words. It wasn’t that she didn’t respond when others spoke to her; she would just usually smile and leave it at that.
Lii Yeyu possessed the strange ’Tongyou’ Divine Technique. In deep, dark places like shadows or the dead of night, she could merge into her surroundings, her form vanishing like a Spirit Body. However, unlike Spiritualization, she could not be harmed by Spiritual Attacks, but she also couldn’t pass through walls or other obstacles. She could only shuttle back and forth between shadows.
Lii Yeyu’s father was a member of the Security Bureau and also a professor. He was originally reluctant to let his daughter take on a dangerous job like his own. But in this day and age, as long as there wasn’t a major disaster, working for the Security Bureau was, in itself, the safest option. Plus, it came with extra resources, so there was no reason to refuse.
Professor Lao Lii was not on the ruins exploration team this time. He was responsible for monitoring the Spirit Realm around the ruins and collecting the relevant data.
Coincidentally, during the training camp, all four of them had been rational enough not to follow the crowd and join the others in ganging up on Su Zhou after he Taunted them and challenged everyone. Shao Qiming was a given—how could he attack his own friend? As for Guan Wanjing, he had been with Su Zhou during the Holy Ascension Selection Test and had personally witnessed him advance to the Extraordinary Tier, calling down lightning. Though he was all muscle, he wasn’t an idiot. Why would he go looking for a beating?
Li Hanshan, on the other hand, had held back because his Divine Bird’s Eye could discern Su Zhou’s true strength at the time, and his personality wasn’t the type to get involved anyway. He had simply squatted on the ground, pulled an Energy Bar out of his pocket, and watched the show while eating.
Lii Yeyu’s reason was even simpler. Her dad had warned her beforehand not to get involved in the commotion. After all, when Professor Lao Lii had sparred with Su Zhou, he was taken out in a single blow. There was no need for his precious daughter to go up and get one-shotted too... Of course, that was something a father didn’t need to tell his daughter in detail.
These four were all geniuses with a Spiritual Energy Affinity above 80% and needed to be carefully nurtured. Li Hanshan and Lii Yeyu, in particular, were heirs to special bloodlines and might be able to obtain related inheritances in the Kunlun Ruins to advance even further.
Before the ruins opened, Su Zhou’s squad’s mission was to act as the ’Emergency Response Team.’ This meant they would be stationed near the ruins and rush to provide aid upon receiving an emergency communication—a ’firefighting squad,’ so to speak. This role suited Su Zhou’s power level. Even without him, the four-person squad had a healer, a melee fighter, a ranged attacker, and a scout, making for a very complete structure.
They traveled toward the vicinity of the Kunlun Ruins in an armored vehicle. Along the way, Su Zhou announced their squad’s mission. Normally, this would have been the time to discuss the mission’s procedures with the squad members. After all, even Su Zhou, who was lazy about such things, knew that this squad was essentially his official core team, assigned to him by the Zhengguo Government. He wasn’t the type to build his own power base or form factions, so the government had to do it for him.
But the squad happened to include Li Hanshan and Lii Yeyu, two people who basically didn’t talk at all. By the time they reached the area around the Kunlun Ruins, Su Zhou had only managed to chat a bit with Shao Qiming and Guan Wanjing, exchanging notes on their recent experiences and cultivation progress. He even lamented with Guan Wanjing about the International Bodybuilding Championship being canceled due to the Spiritual Energy Revival... But this was a mission, hardly the time for idle chatter.
So, when Bai Canglang, who had been waiting for them at the ruins, came to greet Su Zhou and the others, what he saw was a team with an incredibly solemn air, the low pressure around them so thick it seemed to have solidified.
