Free Web NovelChapter 334: Chapter 277: Rebirth: A New Ancient Elf Tree
"S-seed... What do you mean, seed?!" Ye Ying desperately tried to break free, but with her current strength, she couldn’t escape the young girl’s grasp at all.
"The seed inside you, of course." With a gentle squeeze, a powerful suction force surged from the center of her palm.
The young girl lifted Ye Ying’s body into mid-air.
She desperately gripped the girl’s arm, but an intense feeling of suffocation robbed her legs of their strength, leaving her to kick uselessly at the air.
"Ah, she’s murdering someone!"
"Run!"
"A high-ranker is committing murder... A high-ranker is committing murder!"
The tea house finally descended into chaos.
Patrons scattered, fleeing in all directions.
The City of Hope hadn’t been entirely peaceful since the Cataclysm, but a murder this brazen, out in the open in a tea house, was still a rare sight.
The middle-aged man from the Security Bureau’s eyes widened in disbelief.
’This girl... is she really going to kill someone right in front of me?!’
He wanted to stand up and stop her, but an immense spiritual pressure pinned him in place, rendering him completely immobile. All he could do was watch helplessly as the whites of Ye Ying’s eyes began to show.
At that moment, a bizarre scene unfolded.
The young girl’s mouth opened slightly. She slowly leaned towards Ye Ying’s lips, stopping when she was only an inch away.
A cluster of emerald-green light flew out from Ye Ying’s mouth.
It shot toward the young girl.
GULP!
The cluster of emerald-green light landed in the young girl’s mouth.
The girl made a soft smacking sound with her lips and licked the corner of her mouth. Then, her grip loosened.
THUD!
Ye Ying crumpled to the floor.
The white cat that had pounced on Fatty zipped over to Ye Ying, and a single claw slashed across her throat.
The cat’s claws were incredibly sharp.
With just a light slash, blood gushed from Ye Ying’s throat like a fountain.
Then, the girl and the white cat departed nonchalantly, slowly walking out through a nearby exit.
"..." The entire room was stunned silent.
Sweat beaded on the forehead of the man from the Security Bureau.
’She’s dead?’
’She’s really dead!’
A girl with a white cat had just murdered someone in a tea house, and now they were calmly walking away, completely ignoring the surrounding stares.
"Stop!" Once the girl had left, the man from the Security Bureau finally staggered back to his feet and dashed to the door like a man possessed.
But outside the door, there was only the pitch-black night.
MEOW!
A cat cried out.
Under the moonlight, three or four stray cats—some black, some calico—were perched on the eaves. Pairs of round eyes stared silently down at the middle-aged man.
This was a very common sight.
After all, there were many stray cats in the City of Hope.
But at this moment, the middle-aged man felt a chill run down his spine. He felt as if the cats before him were no longer cats, but living, breathing people.
"What in the world are you?" The middle-aged man himself didn’t know why he had asked such a thing. No matter how human-like they seemed, these stray cats were still cats.
MEOW!
Meeeoow...
Of course, the stray cats didn’t answer him. Instead, they seemed startled, scattering one by one and vanishing into the darkness.
The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed. He wanted to give chase, but he had no idea where to start. He could only turn back and re-enter the tea house.
Fatty was now unconscious.
The other staff were cowering in a corner, trembling from head to toe.
"Someone’s dead."
"H-Help! Help us!"
"Call for an ambulance, quick!"
The voices were a chaotic mess.
The middle-aged man paid them no mind and walked straight to Ye Ying. He checked for breath under her nose; she wasn’t breathing. Death was confirmed.
Just then, a wave of spiritual energy emanated from Ye Ying’s body, and a small, translucent bird slowly emerged and flew out.
"Soul Manifestation?!" The middle-aged man’s face went pale. ’This dead waitress was clearly an ordinary human.’
’How could she possibly have a Soul Manifestation?’
Without a second thought, he instinctively reached out to grab the translucent bird, but his hand failed to make contact.
After flying out, the translucent bird simply dissipated on its own, dissolving into fading specks of light.
’The soul just dissipated? This case...’ The middle-aged man’s hands were trembling. Without hesitating, he immediately raised his phone. "Calling Security Headquarters, we have a major case! Suspected demihuman infiltration in the City of Hope!"
"Please report your location, Deputy Captain Tang!"
"Eastern District Luoxi Street, Qi Yun Tea House!"
"Copy that, we’re on our way!"
"..."
Ten minutes later, the Qi Yun Tea House was surrounded.
...
The night deepened.
The cold winter wind had arrived.
Bright moonlight spilled down, casting a silvery veil over the abandoned factory.
The girl padded barefoot across the cold earth. Behind her, over a hundred stray cats followed in a silent, orderly procession.
Until, at last, the girl stopped.
She stopped in a dilapidated storage room in the abandoned factory.
However, the storage room had now been modified. There was no concrete floor, only soft, loose earth that had also been turned over.
Several holes had been cut into the ceiling and covered with glass, perfectly positioned to let the moonlight stream down.
MEOW!
MEOW MEOW!
The stray cats seemed excited.
The young girl’s face was also slightly flushed. She looked as if she were drunk, swaying and wobbling, a silver glint flashing in her eyes from time to time.
BLECH!
A cluster of emerald-green light spewed from the girl’s mouth.
It landed right in the soft earth.
And then, the emerald-green light burrowed into the earth, like a seed buried underground, and was covered by the soil.
A strange aura filled the storage room.
It was faint.
Indescribable.
It was akin to a spiritual fluctuation, but in reality, it felt like a heartbeat.
The hundred or so stray cats closed their eyes, prostrating themselves on the ground and basking in the sensation. Their bodies stretched, their fur growing ever sleeker.
At that moment, the girl sank to her knees.
Her head began to sway again, this time more violently than before. Her short silver hair whipped back and forth like a pellet drum.
HUMMM!
HUMMMMMMM!
...
A strange vibration filled the storage room.
After swaying for a while, the girl opened her mouth again. From her small, cherry-red lips, droplets of liquid began to emerge, each one as clear as jade and brimming with the aura of life.
The liquid dripped onto the earth, gradually seeping in.
Then, the emerald-green light that had already dissipated lit up again.
A tender new sprout broke through the soil and began to slowly grow upward. In mere moments, it had already become a small sapling.
Meanwhile, liquid continued to drip from the girl’s mouth.
It was a golden liquid.
If Gao Neng had been there, he would have recognized this liquid as the very same Spring of Life he and Fang Tangtang had drunk beneath the Dark Night Elf City.
Only now, the Spring of Life was emerging from the girl’s mouth.
It was perfectly absorbed by the small sapling on the ground.
The sapling grew larger again.
In the blink of an eye, it grew as tall as a person.
Tender green leaves sprouted.
The small storage room was instantly transformed, as if it had become another world—one brimming with life, a paradise hidden from the outside world.
"The Ancient Elf Tree! Hehe, I finally have it!" The girl felt the vitality suffusing the air around her, a slow smile spreading across her lips.
"Long live the Xiaomeng Queen!"
"Long live the Xiaomeng Queen!"
"All hail the Queen!"
"..."
The stray cats cried out in unison. They began to absorb the surrounding vitality, their fur bristling before becoming even sleeker than before.
...
「Three days passed.」
Gao Neng spent those three days sparring constantly with Gui Zian.
Because he knew very well that if he wanted to master a move quickly, the way was not to close his eyes and meditate, but to find an opponent he could go all out against in practice.
Gui Zian fit the bill perfectly.
He was strong enough.
Gao Neng didn’t have to worry about accidentally killing Gui Zian with a single slash of his saber.
As for Gui Zian...
He honestly felt like cursing.
Not even a full semester had passed, with still over half a month before winter break, but in just that short time, a new student was already forcing him to give his full concentration just to be a sparring partner.
’His Spiritual Power is completely integrated into his saber technique, and he can already execute a Double Slash with a single swing. His timing and positioning are incredibly crafty... and most importantly, his endurance is off the charts!’ Gui Zian silently calculated. ’If I weren’t a high-ranker, what would my chances be against Gao Neng?’
The answer was obvious.
Absolutely none!
’I might not even last three moves!’
Of course, by now, he already knew that besides him, Gao Neng had another teacher, or more accurately, a master.
A master whom he wouldn’t dare speak a single ill word of.
This would explain why Gao Neng’s saber technique was so fierce, and why amidst its ferocity, there was also an indomitable, domineering aura.
’It truly suits that person’s reputation.’
"Teacher Gui, I’m rested." Gao Neng scrambled up from the ground. He was shirtless, his clothes having long been soaked through with sweat.
Shirtless, sweat poured off him like rain.
And yet, Gao Neng’s complexion was ruddy and his eyes glinted with faint vigor. He looked as though he had completely recovered from his exhaustion.
"So soon? Alright, bring it on!" Gui Zian was inwardly shocked. He and Gao Neng had been training for over four hours straight, and Gao Neng had been putting his all into every single swing.
Slashing nonstop for over four hours.
In that time, Gao Neng had only rested twice.
The first time, for fifteen minutes.
And this time, only ten minutes.
How could he not be shocked?
If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he truly would not have believed that someone in this world could recover so quickly.
’What an absolute monster!’
’The first form of the Tyrant Saber—Three Slashes in One! I have to master it!’ Gao Neng gritted his teeth. He had to perfect this first form before entering the Underground City.
There was no other reason.
He was simply terrified of dying!
