CHAPTER 424: CHAPTER 424: THE ANCIENT GIANT DEMON

"The spatial rift is here... Xiao Ai, quickly check if there are any Exotic Beasts elsewhere."

"All surveillance cameras in the Phoenix Plaza area have been activated. No Exotic Beasts found..." Xiao Ai’s response was very quick, speaking almost as soon as Wang Lan finished.

A hideous Exotic Beast poked its head out of the spatial rift. Before it could even roar, Wang Lan blasted it apart with an Extreme Heat Light Beam.

"Ruoyun, you stay here. I’ll go close the space."

"Who knows the strength of the Exotic Beasts inside? We should wait for reinforcements from the academy."

"No need, I can handle it." Saying that, Wang Lan charged into the spatial rift.

Entering the space, the terrain within was mountainous—not green mountains, but barren, rocky ranges incapable of supporting plant life. The hills teemed with hideous, long-tongued Lizard Exotic Beasts.

Inside the Different Dimensional Space, Wang Lan didn’t hold back. Faced with countless Exotic Beasts rushing madly towards him, Wang Lan gently stomped his foot. "Snow God Domain—"

The Exotic Beasts were generally around the Starlight Stage in strength, with about fifty percent being even stronger. This meant the intensity of this Different Dimensional Space was roughly equivalent to that of a mid-level training ground.

With Wang Lan’s current strength, he could annihilate them with a mere stomp of his foot.

Innumerable Exotic Beasts charged into Wang Lan’s Snow God Domain one after another, only to become rigid as if frozen by a spell, then turn into ice sculptures. As Wang Lan advanced, at least five thousand Exotic Beasts perished within his Snow God Domain.

This Different Dimensional Space was about the size of a county, roughly ten kilometers across. Wherever Wang Lan went, he slaughtered, sending any who attacked him to the afterlife.

An hour later, Wang Lan found the spatial node. He unleashed an Inch Strength Fist, and in an instant, the spatial node shattered and dissipated into the sky.

The space rapidly collapsed and twisted as Wang Lan shot out of the Different Dimensional Space like a streak of light. Seeing Wang Lan emerge unharmed, Jiang Xinyu looked relieved.

"How are you?" Jiang Xinyu asked with concern.

"I’m fine. Has no one come to provide support this whole time?" Wang Lan wondered. Phoenix Plaza was close to the academy; when Exotic Beasts emerged from the Different Dimensional Space, the academy should have responded faster than the Tianjian Bureau.

"Some senior students came, but when they heard you’d already entered the Different Dimensional Space, they turned and left." Jiang Xinyu looked at Wang Lan, somewhat speechless. "I can’t believe that in the three months I’ve been gone, the academy has developed such high regard for your strength."

Wang Lan didn’t know how to respond to that. How could their regard not be high? Has she forgotten what I’ve accomplished these past three months? Even the most powerful seniors consider Yu Ruoyun and me the strongest students at Modu City Star Martial Academy. What objections could the sophomores and juniors possibly have? Of course, it was a unanimous endorsement, no dissent allowed.

"Where did they go when they left?"

"They went to provide support in other places. Right now, Modu City is in chaos. Phoenix Plaza isn’t the only affected area," Jiang Xinyu quickly shared the information she’d received.

"More than one place? Does someone want to destroy Modu City? No, that’s not right!" Wang Lan suddenly realized the problem. Opening a Different Dimensional Space has two prerequisites. First, Modu City is close to the East Sea Pioneer Space; if a Different Dimensional Space opens naturally, this scenario is impossible because naturally opening Different Dimensional Spaces are typically absorbed by the Pioneer Space. Second, if it’s an unnaturally opened Different Dimensional Space, then it must be opened with a Space Stone. Opening one with a Space Stone would create a spatial turbulence precursor. I was home in Phoenix Plaza at the time; with my sensitivity to spatial fluctuations, I would definitely have sensed any disturbance.

"What’s wrong, Wang Lan?"

"I’m afraid it’s not that simple."

Alarms blared across Modu City as Different Dimensional Spaces suddenly opened everywhere. The silver lining, however, was that these Different Dimensional Spaces weren’t very strong.

Modu City had the first-class Tianjian Bureau and the formidable Modu City Star Martial Academy, both powerful entities. Once the academy and the Tianjian Bureau were fully mobilized, they managed to sweep across all of Modu City within an hour.

Five hours later, the Different Dimensional Spaces were successively closed. Actually, Different Dimensional Spaces of this intensity didn’t require Wang Lan to exert himself much; any Galaxy Stage squad could have handled their closure.

At two in the morning, the last Different Dimensional Space was successfully closed. But the academy’s students and the Tianjian Bureau’s warriors didn’t immediately disband and return; they continued patrolling and standing guard in various places while tallying casualty numbers.

Wang Lan returned to the Tianjian Bureau and was immediately summoned by Cheng Jianlong to the large conference room for a meeting. Inside Modu City’s large conference room, top leaders of the academy and department heads from the Tianjian Bureau were gathered.

"Eld Di, colleagues, and academy leaders, the casualty statistics have just come in. This time, seventy-three Different Dimensional Spaces suddenly opened, resulting in the deaths of over 13,700 people due to Exotic Beasts. The area with the heaviest casualties was Dongting Town, the farthest from our support zone, with over a thousand deaths."

"Seventy-three Different Dimensional Spaces opening! This is definitely not some random occurrence—it must be the work of spies from the Demon Clan!" an academy vice president exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up.

"General Cheng, seventy-three Different Dimensional Spaces have opened up! If it were any other city, it would be gone! Has the Tianjian Bureau even been effective? Why was such a large-scale Demon Clan operation completely missed by the Tianjian Bureau?"

These questions left everyone from the Tianjian Bureau with ashen faces. Cheng Jianlong looked particularly troubled.

"Vice President Li’s criticism is justified; the Tianjian Bureau has indeed been negligent. Seventy-three Different Dimensional Spaces opened, and we were completely unaware. The Tianjian Bureau will conduct a thorough self-examination, but now is not the time to assign blame. After this incident is resolved, I will report to my superiors and accept the consequences.

"The question now is, how were these Different Dimensional Spaces opened? That’s what truly matters. Previously, we thought that disordered, naturally occurring spaces would inevitably be absorbed by the East Sea Pioneer Space, and that fixed spaces must be opened using Space Stones.

"Therefore, over the years, the Tianjian Bureau has put a lot of effort into investigating Space Stones. We always believed that as long as we controlled the influx of Space Stones, no Different Dimensional Spaces would open.

"But tonight, I learned a painful lesson! These Different Dimensional Spaces were not opened with Space Stones. We have enough eyewitnesses to confirm that the spaces opened instantaneously."

"Open a Different Dimensional Space instantaneously? Don’t joke," a teacher from the academy scoffed. "Whether opened with Space Stones or occurring naturally, a Different Dimensional Space takes at least ten minutes to form."

"But the ones tonight opened extremely quickly—so fast that citizens didn’t even have time to call the police. Moreover, we can confirm that their opening was deliberately controlled."

That went without saying. Without a premeditated plan, how could seventy-three Different Dimensional Spaces open simultaneously?

"Everyone, please watch. This is the surveillance footage from when the Different Dimensional Spaces appeared." Cheng Jianlong clicked on the projector in the conference room, and soon the scene from the previous night replayed before everyone’s eyes.

The busy streets were crowded, with passersby showing various expressions. Among the crowd, an individual wearing a black hat and a black coat was marked with a red dot.

Suddenly, the figure in black contorted and vanished. The space where he disappeared continued to warp. The distortion grew larger, and then, all at once, a spatial rift appeared.

The emergence of the spatial rift caused many pedestrians to scatter in panic. Soon, an Exotic Beast rushed out from the rift and began to prey on the surrounding crowd, and chaos ensued.

"It truly wasn’t opened with Space Stones? Who is this person?" an anxious professor inquired.

Cheng Jianlong displayed several screenshots from the video. The person’s face was vaguely visible, and there was a reflective sheen on it. Wang Lan’s expression turned grave; there was something peculiar about that sheen.

At this point, the senior Tianjian Bureau officials present breathed a slight sigh of relief, though they felt deeply wronged. With such an incident in Modu City, the Tianjian Bureau was naturally the first to be held accountable. They accepted the accountability. But to say it was due to their negligence or dereliction of duty? That felt truly unfair. Who could have anticipated this method of opening Different Dimensional Spaces? Who could have stopped it? The Demon Clan was causing such a massive disturbance in Modu City, and the Tianjian Bureau had no idea? Honestly, was the Demon Clan’s operation itself—aside from the novel method—really that extensive or obvious?

Vice President Li’s cheek twitched. If this was how the spaces were opened, and so easily... then the Tianjian Bureau truly couldn’t be blamed. But at the same time, a heavier mood settled over everyone. Preventing Different Dimensional Spaces from being opened with Space Stones was already a daunting challenge, and now this unpredictable method? If the Demon Clan had mastered this way of opening spaces, they could easily destroy the defenses of other cities. How could anyone possibly defend against this?

"Chief Cheng, I assume it wasn’t just one location caught on camera, right? Do you have any other photos? Clearer ones?" Wang Lan stood up and asked.

"The tech department is processing the footage. All seventy-three locations are in bustling areas; logically, all of them should have been covered by surveillance cameras," Cheng Jianlong replied, then made a call.

After hanging up, Cheng Jianlong quickly opened a photo slideshow, displaying another recorded instance of a Different Dimensional Space opening. This image was even clearer than the first.

But when everyone saw this scene, their faces filled with astonishment.

"How can it be the same person?"

"Could it be that all seventy-three Different Dimensional Spaces were opened by the same person?"

"No, look at the timestamp on the photo. At this exact time, another photo from a different area also shows a person dressed identically. So, they’re not the same person? Could they be duplicates, or is it a group of people all dressed alike?"

"If it’s a group, how do we explain their abilities? It’s very rare for two individuals to possess the exact same powers. This person... unless such an ability is common among the Demon Clan."

A spirited debate erupted, while Wang Lan stared intently at the photos. Suddenly, an image showing a figure turning around flashed before his eyes. Wang Lan hurriedly called out, "Stop!"

"Yes, that’s the one! Zoom in, zoom in, increase the magnification..."

As the photo gradually enlarged, Wang Lan and everyone present finally saw the person’s face clearly.

The moment they saw the face, Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun stood up in unison.

"It’s him!"

"The Ancient Giant Demon!" Wang Lan’s voice seemed to be squeezed from deep within his throat as he spoke.