CHAPTER 302: CHAPTER 302: WHERE IS THIS? DID I TRAVEL THROUGH TIME?

BUZZ—

Suddenly, the entire artificial mountain on the back mountain began to shake violently. The Student Council members guarding the Nine-layer Pagoda hurriedly opened the sealed gate and looked towards the Pagoda.

When they saw the signboard on the seventh layer of the Nine-layer Pagoda light up, their faces changed drastically.

"It can’t be real, can it?"

"How is that possible?"

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH—

Suddenly, several figures appeared on the back mountain; a few tactical teachers, sensing the commotion, hurried over.

"What has happened? Why has the Nine-layer Pagoda suddenly started trembling?"

"Teacher, something’s gone wrong; it seems someone has breached the seventh layer."

"The seventh layer? Impossible! Even if we gathered all the academy’s power, we couldn’t breach the seventh layer."

"But look!" a Student Council member exclaimed, pointing at the flashing signboard on the seventh layer of the Nine-layer Pagoda. "The seventh layer is lit up."

"Damn it! Why didn’t the fifth and sixth layers light up? Could someone really skip the fifth and sixth layers and enter the seventh?"

"Quick, notify the Dean."

In an instant, the entire academy erupted into commotion. What did the seventh layer represent? The Exotic Beasts on the fourth layer were mostly in the middle to late stages of the Star Cloud Stage, with numerous Galaxy Stage and even Star Sea Stage beasts.

By that logic, the beasts on the fifth layer should mostly be in the early to mid-Galaxy Stage, and there would be many at the Star Sea Stage, possibly even some beyond.

If the fifth layer were breached, the Nine-layer Pagoda might become unusable for the Star Martial Academy. Once the fifth layer was breached, many of its Exotic Beasts would cascade down to the lower four layers. This would make it unsuitable for even the genius students of the Modu City Star Martial Academy to attempt trials there.

This was also why access to the Nine-layer Pagoda stopped at the fourth layer.

By the sixth layer, almost all Exotic Beasts were in the late or peak Galaxy Stage, and a third of them were Star Sea Stage or above. What did that imply?

Each layer’s space was vast, containing at least nearly a million Exotic Beasts, with several hundred thousand of them at Star Sea Stage or beyond. Even a team composed entirely of peak Star Sea Stage warriors would face a nine-in-ten chance of death upon entering.

And the seventh layer... all Exotic Beasts there were Star Sea Stage or above, with many so powerful that even Titled Strongmen could not compete with them. Even if the Five Emperors entered, they would most likely not return.

For this reason, let alone the desire to breach the seventh layer, even if they wanted to, the entire Jade Country currently lacked the strength to succeed. If one truly harbored such a thought, they would have to be prepared to risk the combined strength of all Star Martial Warriors in the nation for the attempt.

It wasn’t as if their brains had been squeezed by a door; why would they even attempt to breach the seventh layer?

And yet, the signboard of the seventh layer was now lit. This meant that someone had entered the seventh layer.

It must be a display error, right? Surely?

With the fifth and sixth layers unlit, how could the seventh possibly be lit? How could anyone have reached the seventh layer? It’s fake, absolutely fake.

"What has happened?" Eld Di, accompanied by Deputy Dean Nangong, also arrived at the back mountain.

"Dean, the seventh layer is lit up," a tactical teacher said, approaching Eld Di. "But the fifth and sixth layers aren’t."

"Impossible!" Nangong Meng stated decisively. "It must be a display error. To enter the seventh layer, one must first pass through the fifth and sixth. Besides, who could breach the seventh layer? It cannot be."

Eld Di’s expression was as dark as ink. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Notify those inside that the Nine-layer Pagoda trial is to end early. Have everyone come out and let’s see who’s missing."

"Eld Di, do you believe someone has entered the seventh layer?"

"What if they have? The Nine-layer Pagoda is unfathomably mysterious; who knows if there might be some hidden spatial passages inside? End the trial, and let everyone come out."

In the quiet canyon, ethereal birdsong filled the air.

Wang Lan suddenly became alert, his eyes snapping open. Sitting up, he found he was tightly gripping Yu Ruoyun’s hand. Stirred by Wang Lan’s movement, Yu Ruoyun also let out a slight moan as she slowly awoke. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a lush and verdant view.

This was a basin, but definitely not like The Death Valley. This basin was several times larger, surrounded by a circle of undulating green mountains and dense forests.

"Where are we... Have we gotten out? Are we still in a Different Dimensional Space? Or still inside the Nine-layer Pagoda?"

"Although I’m not sure where we are, we definitely haven’t left," Wang Lan said, his gaze sharp as he focused on the distance. Suddenly, a terrifying spider as large as a small car emerged from the dense forest, stepping ever closer to Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun.

"Attack! Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!" Yu Ruoyun immediately took action. Star Power surged, and a fire dragon burst forth from a red Array, roaring as it charged the incoming spider.

Suddenly, the spider fiercely spewed out a white substance, which formed a giant web in midair to meet the Fire Dragon Flame Bomb.

Upon contact, the Fire Dragon Flame Bomb was unexpectedly sliced apart by the spider silk and dispersed into the air. Watching this, Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun’s expressions changed drastically. Yu Ruoyun’s Fire Dragon Flame Bomb was an A-grade attack Star Martial Skill, after all. They could have accepted the spider dodging it, but for the spider to effortlessly slice it apart was beyond their expectations.

But the two didn’t hesitate. Wang Lan instantly used Phantom Tracer to appear beside the spider.

"Water Severing Knife!"

The Gold-level Water Severing Knife could shoot a Water Sword from the mouth as thin as a little finger. Its cutting force was capable of instantly slicing through a twenty-centimeter-thick steel plate.

The Water Sword exceeded the speed of sound and struck the spider.

However, it seemed as if a transparent magnetic field surrounded the spider’s side. When the Water Sword made contact, a distorted, oscillating field became visible, instantly shattering the Water Sword into mist and rendering it useless.

"This is bad! The strength of this Exotic Beast is beyond imagination!" Wang Lan called out, his expression changing drastically.

The spider suddenly leaped, covering a hundred meters in an instant, bearing down on Yu Ruoyun from above.

"Wumu Falls—"

Yu Ruoyun suddenly flung open her palms, and a straight wooden spear shot out, fiercely striking the spider’s abdomen. The spider was sent flying backward. But in a flash, the spider spat out a thread of spider silk, slicing the Wumu Falls to pieces, then transformed into a web, enveloping Yu Ruoyun.

"Flame Sword!"

Wang Lan’s figure flashed, appearing beside Yu Ruoyun. His palms danced, and a dozen or so purple Flame Swords flew from them, slashing towards the spider silk. Amid a flurry of sword light, the spider silk shattered and melted away in the flames.

"Wind Capturing Net—"

Wang Lan hurriedly executed the S-grade Wind Attribute Star Martial Skill, attacking the spider. The spider had just landed and had not yet managed to stand up when it was engulfed by the wind net. The wind net was woven from the sharpest wind blades, capable of slicing even heavily armored Exotic Beasts into pieces once caught within it.

But the wind net merely pushed the spider backward; the sharp wind blades, astonishingly, couldn’t harm the spider in the slightest.

This unremarkable spider, how can it be so strong? Have we accidentally encountered a leader-class Exotic Beast?

"Hell Swamp—"

Suddenly, a delicate shout rang out. The ground beneath the spider instantly turned into a quagmire of churning mud. The mud surged, transforming into numerous tentacles that engulfed the spider, forcefully dragging it into the mire.

Behind the spider, Bai Ji and Yue Jifeng also arrived.

"Ruoyun, freeze the swamp!" Wang Lan called out urgently.

"Freeze!" Yu Ruoyun didn’t hesitate. Her Wind and Water Attributes instantly fused, and a beam of Rapid Freezing Light shot toward the spider. In an instant, the swamp froze into solid earth, and half of the spider’s body was encased in the frozen mud.

"Speedy Wind, the finishing blow!"

"Coming!"

BOOM—

Suddenly, the frozen earth around the spider shattered, and a huge, bloody maw swallowed the spider whole. A giant, dark snake with a terrifying horn on its head appeared before the four of them.

The shock of that moment left the four of them stunned, their expressions frozen in disbelief.

Wang Lan had never seen such a massive Exotic Beast, and neither had the battle-hardened Yu Ruoyun and Yue Jifeng. Its head alone was as big as a dump truck, and its two eyes glowed like lanterns.

Big meant powerful.

Especially in the world of Exotic Beasts, big meant terrifying.

Being stared at by such an immense black snake, Wang Lan felt a chill piercing through his body.

Yue Jifeng protected Bai Ji, and they slowly moved closer to Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun. However, a single glare from the black snake stopped them in their tracks.

The black snake didn’t launch an immediate attack. Instead, with merciless eyes, it scrutinized the four of them.

"Wang Lan, what do you think this black snake is waiting for? Is it waiting for us to turn and flee, revealing a weakness?" Yu Ruoyun’s voice trembled slightly as she forcefully gathered her Star Power.

If the black snake made the slightest move, she would immediately retaliate with her Star Martial Skill. But... could my Star Martial Skills even injure this black snake? Can I protect Wang Lan and ensure we retreat successfully? And what on earth is this place? Why is every Exotic Beast that appears so terrifying?

"I guess... it might be considering whether to eat us. To eat us—it probably thinks we’re too small to even fill the gaps between its teeth. Not to eat us—it’s reluctant to pass up a rare chance for meat."

"..."

SCREECH—

Suddenly, a clear, piercing cry echoed across the sky. In an instant, the sky dimmed.

Wang Lan quickly looked up, his face paling in fright.

A gigantic bird appeared in the sky—no, it blotted out the entire sky. If one used to describe a giant beast as large as a mountain, that beast was indeed vast.

But upon seeing the colossal Golden Eagle above, Wang Lan felt that previous descriptors were far too insufficient. A mountain? That would be an insult; its beak alone could be described as a mountain.

And at the instant the giant bird appeared, the black snake before them suddenly burrowed into the ground. The earth trembled violently, and Wang Lan and the others felt as if the ground beneath them was flipping over.

"Run—"

Wang Lan shouted explosively, instantly activating his Star Martial Skill to flee. The other three immediately followed suit, transforming into streaks of light and fleeing hundreds of meters in an instant.

BOOM BOOM BOOM—

Another round of violent earth-shaking tremors ensued, and terrifying shockwaves rushed toward them, like a colossal tsunami.

Under such a fearsome aftershock, any defense or resistance was merely a joke. Wang Lan and the others were suddenly thrown into the air, tumbling like driftwood before landing far away.

They rolled on the ground for hundreds of meters before coming to a stop.

Looking back, they witnessed a scene that chilled them to the bone. The several-hundred-meter-long giant black snake was being held in the Golden Eagle’s beak. In the Golden Eagle’s beak, the gigantic snake looked like nothing more than a worm.

Beating its wings created a fearsome hurricane, and the Golden Eagle soared into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the clouds.

The surroundings once again fell into a deathly silence.

Yue Jifeng helped Bai Ji to her feet. GULP. Yue Jifeng swallowed hard.

"What the hell kind of place is this? Where did all these terrifying creatures come from?"

"Such powerful Exotic Beasts... I’m afraid they might only exist above the sixth layer..." As she said this, Yu Ruoyun’s complexion suddenly changed dramatically.

"We couldn’t have... reached the sixth layer, could we?"