CHAPTER 1737: CHAPTER 481: ZHENG QING’S CHOICE

"Are you sure you saw the inner fortress wall collapse?"

"Absolutely!"

"If the inner fortress has already collapsed, why don’t they just rush in to seize the Xuanhuang Fruit? Why reset the time over and over? Don’t tell me that Tiber Dragon is worried about the casualties of demons or its allies."

Upon hearing this question, Zheng Qing was taken aback.

He recalled carefully for a moment, then slowly replied, "Because they were stopped... Every time the inner fortress wall collapses, when the wizards are at a disadvantage, a spell resounds throughout the entire world... I can only hear the first few syllables, and can’t hear it clearly... Then we return to reality."

"So, what’s there to worry about?" Xiao Xiao adjusted his glasses and summarized, "If the wizards are at a disadvantage, they will use a powerful spell to turn the tide... If the wizards are in a favorable position, there’s naturally even less to worry about."

The doctor’s analysis made a lot of sense, and Zheng Qing acknowledged this—until now he realized that what was frantically warning his intuition was not the potentially collapsing inner fortress wall, but himself.

The Charm Gun was snatched, the Law Book and Pocket Watch were already filled, and he himself had nowhere to vent the Forbidden Spell Aura.

The young scholarship student instinctively glanced at the Black Cat.

"Don’t look at me, I have no solution either." The Black Cat immediately shook its head, its usually lively tail drooping down, the tip not even perked.

Zheng Qing was silent for a moment, feeling a slight warmth in his eyes. He wiped with his hand, and his fingertips were stained with vivid red.

He knew he couldn’t hold on any longer.

"Throw me up there!" The young man gritted his teeth and looked at the Black Cat, his voice still somewhat hoarse, yet his eyes were exceptionally calm: "Throw me next to that Bronze Dragon... You should at least be able to manage that."

The Black Cat furrowed its brow.

"That’s not a good idea." It was somewhat indecisive.

"Still better than having an accident here."

"This time might not be as lucky as the last."

"I never believed in luck."

Zheng Qing murmured, glancing around—the companions of the Atonement Hunting Team in the shallow pit all listened with bewilderment, and Xiao Xiao perhaps had some guesses, his expression somewhat unsightly.

A little further away, Zhu Si was still holding onto the leg of that Pureblood Migo, looking at the Big Mouse. Perhaps due to the overflowing Forbidden Spell Aura, Zheng Qing had a flash of intuition, vaguely guessing the identities of those two monsters, which gave him a strange sense of relief.

Further away, the barrier of Su Shijun and Shallow Jin Ryoko’s duel was still shimmering with a dazzling blue hue; Jiang Yu should still be inside, though it’s unclear if she’s safe for now.

He still owed her a lot of money, this thought crossed the young man’s mind.

If he really couldn’t control those auras, and the worst-case scenario envisioned occurred, everything in front of him would be reduced to ashes in an instant.

He absolutely did not want that to happen.

Just consider it repaying the debt, the young wizard found another reason for himself.

Beside him, Dylan’s breath became rapid again.

Zheng Qing wiped his face with his hand; his palm was full of blood, and now not only his eyes but also his nose began to bleed. He turned back, glanced at Dylan, and couldn’t help but laugh:

"Only at times like these, do you feel like you have vampire blood."

On ordinary days, Dylan ate chicken legs, roast meat, and Green Bee with the others in dorm 403. Often, people forgot about his other half of the heritage.

"Not funny at all," Mister Wolfman replied through gritted teeth, the veins on his neck bulging, and his eyes already darkened with bloodshot threads.

Zheng Qing knew his blood was attractive to certain creatures and didn’t want to provoke Dylan further. So he turned back to the others, cheerfully instructing: "Old rules, once I leave, the Elders are the leader, and the Black Cat will assist you."

"What old rules?" Xin Fat Man finally realized the ominous tone in Zheng Qing’s voice and raised his eyebrows: "Are you planning to do some damn heroic act like during the last school’s Hunting Competition?"

"We agreed last time, we’d face it together." Xiao Xiao was also unhappy with Zheng Qing’s arbitrary decision, advising, "This time it’s not a school-hosted Hunting Competition; it’s a real battlefield... There are no Causality Turning Curses on the battlefield."

Blue Bird’s response was even more succinct. He placed his longsword in front of Zheng Qing, reminding, "I’m not dead yet."

Similarly, Zhang Ji Xin’s response was just as straightforward. He cracked his knuckles, rolling his eyes at the young scholarship student: "Looking for a beating again?"

Zheng Qing ignored his companions’ anxiety and concern, instead lifting his head to gaze at the sky.

"Honestly, I should thank those Big Wizards and Great Demons; at least they cleared out a peaceful enough moment for me." The young scholarship student tilted his head, trying to stop the constant bleeding from his nose and eyes, making his voice sound peculiar: "At least, when I’m bleeding, a bunch of demons didn’t rush over clamoring for meat and blood..."

"Stop talking!"

Xin Fat Man interrupted the Warlock forcefully, with chubby fingers holding four or five potions, squeezing in front of Zheng Qing: "Bai Xian can stop the bleeding, Datura Powder can ease cramps and pain, Rejuvenation Medicine can eliminate most internal troubles... Also, although I don’t know what’s wrong with your body, taking some Snake Oil certainly won’t be a mistake."

Zheng Qing pushed Xin Fat Man’s hand away, opened his mouth, trying to explain, but the metallic taste rushing up his throat made him realize there was no time left.

He covered his mouth and nose, lowered his head, and looked at the Black Cat:

"Now, immediately, right away."

This time, the Black Cat did not argue with the Warlock, standing upright, its paws placed on the young man’s shoulders, its silver whiskers drooping, granting him a rare blessing: "Hope the old man blesses you."

The "old man" it referred to was, of course, Mr. Wu.

A tremendous suction force surged between the Black Cat’s paws.

What an interesting way to put it, the thought had just slid through Zheng Qing’s mind when his vision blurred, and the companions of the Atonement Hunting Team disappeared from sight. What appeared before him was a dragon clasping its own tail, immense and seemingly forged of bronze.

And he now stood within its belly, at the intersection of the three dragon claws.

If observed from a distance, he would realize he was hovering at the center of an abstract clockwork constructed by the dragon; the three claws formed the hour, minute, and second hands, trembling violently, as if ready to tick-tock at any moment.

There’s still time for everything.

Thinking this in his heart, the young man swiftly pulled out the Law Book brimming with Forbidden Spell Aura from the Grey Cloth Bag.

The last time in the small world of the Silent Forest, the self-destruction was purely accidental. Although Zheng Qing knew there was a Forbidden Curse Seed inside him, he didn’t know how to control it—fortunately, now he had a "trigger."

The effect of the trigger was to activate it.