Free Web NovelChapter 311: Chapter 43: A Sigh
"So it’s a Peacock."
The Peacock said quite a bit, but while Su Zhou understood English, he didn’t understand ’bird-speak,’ so he had no idea what it was saying.
Of course, a lame joke that was at least a decade old wasn’t actually funny. But he didn’t need to understand the words to know. Given the situation and the atmosphere, the creature was definitely spouting taunts.
That being the case, he simply tuned it out, mentally blocking all sounds and messages from the other side.
By now, the exploration team that had entered the Kunlun Secret Realm had more or less assembled. Even the lead squad could faintly sense the auras of the others who were rushing to catch up.
As the leader, Su Zhou wasted no words. He ignored the Peacock inside the barrier, which seemed to still be chattering away, and spoke directly to the others who were watching him. "This barrier is blocking our path to the Kunlun Secret Realm’s control center. If we can’t get there, we can’t open the Space-Time Sect back to Earth."
"And inside this barrier, there is a Space-Time Sect connected to an Otherworld. Monsters claiming to be from the ’Beast God Realm’ are pouring out of it. Their goal, most likely, is to consume the Kunlun Secret Realm and seize the various Divine Beast bloodlines within."
Su Zhou didn’t need to elaborate. Everyone knew just how terrifying a passage to an Otherworld could be. Bai Canglang, Xuan Lu, and the other talented students they had brought along all frowned, their expressions shifting as they fell into a somber silence.
The hundreds of thousands of Magical Beasts that had poured from the Space-Time Passage in the European Federation’s Slovenia Mountain Range had caused destruction and casualties on the scale of millions. It was a terror all of humanity instinctively sought to avoid. If that many Evil Beasts were to appear in the Kunlun Secret Realm, led by a clearly intelligent High-level Divine Beast, and they were to seize this place rich with the legacies of Divine Beasts, the potential for future devastation would surely eclipse the disaster in the European Federation.
After all, Zhengguo’s population density was far greater than the European Union’s. The mere thought of such a disaster happening here was enough to send a chill down one’s spine.
"In a few tens of minutes, the authorities can teleport us out of here. While this matter is of great importance, there’s no need to take unnecessary risks."
The speaker was Xuan Lu, an elder of the Xuan Family and inheritor of the Black Tortoise Bloodline. He was a man with a full head of white hair, said to be nearly a hundred years old. Even the Spiritual Energy Revival hadn’t been enough to turn his hair black again.
Now, the old man leaned on his cane, not even lifting his eyelids as he spoke calmly. "The students will proceed according to their training and retreat toward the edge of the Kunlun Secret Realm. The other Tutors will remain here. We will follow Professor Su and see what can be done."
These were indeed the words of a seasoned veteran. The other team-leading professors, who had been frowning, smoothed their brows upon hearing his plan.
After all, it wasn’t that they were afraid to fight. But they were responsible for a group of the new generation’s brightest talents. If even one of them were to die here, it would be an immense loss for the future of Zhengguo.
Beneath Su Zhou, Xuan Lu served as a deputy leader alongside Bai Canglang. As long as neither of them objected, his words carried the weight of an official order. A few of the talented students, whose power was easily on par with that of an ordinary Tutor, exchanged glances. They seemed to want to protest, to say they weren’t afraid and could stay behind, but their respective Tutors gave them a stern command to fall back. They had no choice but to withdraw in standard formation, just as they had been trained.
As for why the professors themselves weren’t worried about their own safety... the answer was quite simple.
First, while the situation was dire and an attempt to intervene was necessary, the enemy wasn’t so strong as to be utterly invincible, forcing them into a desperate, last-ditch battle. And though Su Zhou himself might not have been aware of it, to an observer, the aura of the Peacock Divine Bird behind the barrier was terrifying, but his own presence was no less imposing.
In fact, when it came to a sheer, dismissive arrogance that acted as if no one else existed, he even had the creature beat.
But most importantly, everyone could now see the blonde-haired girl sitting by Su Zhou’s leg, hugging her knees. Her eyes were vacant, as if she’d been beaten into a state of existential doubt. Bai Canglang had already discreetly explained that this was the human form of the Golden-winged Roc they had theorized was in the Secret Realm. And this Golden-winged Roc was also an Extraordinary High-tier powerhouse!
’He crushed the Golden-winged Roc despite having a type disadvantage, and it looks like Professor Su barely broke a sweat. This Peacock Divine Bird is only at the same tier. As long as Professor Su can keep that Divine Bird occupied, we can definitely hold back those Evil Beasts that don’t seem to have much intelligence.’
Meanwhile, inside the barrier, the Peacock Divine Bird watched the young humans—most of whom possessed valuable bloodlines—retreat. It couldn’t help but frown. ’If they run away, it’ll be a hassle to round them up again. Why must these humans resist? Wouldn’t it be better for them to just surrender quietly?’ freewebnovёl.ƈom
It was a shame, but the Peacock wouldn’t act rashly. Although it considered Su Zhou no match for itself, it was, after all, the king of its people and understood the need for prudence and caution. The priority now was to stabilize the Space-Time Passage. Once the grand army of the Beast God Realm could enter unimpeded, these inhabitants of the outside world—remnants of the Immortal Realm who had lost the protection of the Ancient Immortal Gods—would be nothing more than prey.
’But why aren’t the older humans leaving?’
As it mulled over this question, it saw the member of the Dragon Race—the one who had defeated the Golden-winged Roc—speak a few words to a pale-faced young man in the group. The entire team immediately broke into an uproar. Many of them seemed to be trying to dissuade him, but the man from the Dragon Race was exceptionally firm, rejecting all of their proposals.
