Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Annihilation, The Ghost Chasing the Car_1
The Firewheel Cart started smoothly, and Wang Linchi managed to secure a soft sleeper seat as he wished.
The direction he was heading, Xi Zhou, was different from that of Lixi Prefecture, so he didn’t have to worry about passing through it.
As the cart sped up, the scenery outside the window began to recede.
The Dragon Brilliance School gradually diminished in his view until, at the last moment, he noticed a touch of blood-red appearing mysteriously on the horizon of the night sky.
This inexplicably sank his heart.
This surely wasn’t an illusion; the Rebel Army was truly coming.
Just as he had imagined, they were attacking the Dragon Brilliance School under the cover of darkness.
He made a simple estimation of the Firewheel Cart’s speed and their distance from the danger, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The Rebel Army was very unlikely to catch up.
Moreover, if a fight was truly imminent, they would more likely strike at the Dragon Brilliance School first, rather than being distracted by this Firewheel Cart.
The Firewheel Cart wasn’t filled with fleeing refugees like those from Lixi Prefecture; rather, it was filled with Awakeners, ninety-nine percent of whom were Battle-type Awakeners.
I wonder if the Dragon Brilliance School can hold on.
Just as this thought arose in Wang Linchi’s mind, he heard an enormous booming sound from behind. The noise was so great that it drew the attention of everyone on the Firewheel Cart.
The Firewheel Cart didn’t stop; instead, it accelerated.
It had obviously received some command or detected the situation at the Dragon Brilliance School via some Soul Kind or Soul Skill.
Such a commotion was indicative of Morning Star Level Awakeners fighting.
If they were to stop now, or even turn back to assist, it would be tantamount to courting death.
There were no Morning Star Level individuals on the Firewheel Cart; the highest-ranked was a single Elite Gold Level Awakener. With such a vast difference in strength, fleeing was the only sensible course of action.
"Young brother, I saw you board from the Dragon Brilliance School. What happened over there?" Wang Linchi had stepped out to check the situation when a nearby Awakener asked curiously.
"I’m not sure; nothing had happened when I boarded," Wang Linchi replied. The man didn’t know he was a general-type Awakener, merely assuming he was a weaker Battle-type Awakener, so there was no discrimination.
"I see. It looked like some kind of ghost spirit or Fierce Ghost. I caught a glimpse of it earlier."
"I wonder who’s taking revenge on the Dragon Brilliance School. These Prestigious Sects... hardly any of them are good." The man shook his head, his tone filled with discontent.
Wang Linchi didn’t respond. This person had probably seen too much; he knew about the class differences and the conflicts of interest. Yet he only dared to grumble about it; he truly couldn’t afford to offend these Prestigious Sects.
As for determining that Wang Linchi wasn’t from a Prestigious Sect, it was simple: which Prestigious Sect would have a disciple still at the White Porcelain Level at Wang Linchi’s age? They should be at least Mountain Copper Level to be considered standard.
"Do you think the Dragon Brilliance School can win?" the man suddenly asked.
"It’s better if they win. If they lose and decide to vent their anger on us, what then?" Wang Linchi gave him a strange look. The man seemed to be hoping for the Dragon Brilliance School to lose.
"Ah... good point." The man realized his folly. They were still on the cart. If the attackers won and then pursued them, they would also have to fight.
But before the man could finish, Wang Linchi caught sight of a blood-red streak chasing them. Then, an alarm blared on the Firewheel Cart.
"Look at this mouth of mine! DAMN!" The man was full of regret for his careless words.
Wang Linchi’s expression, however, was solemn.
Elite Gold Level!
Wang Linchi immediately identified the strength of the blood-red specter—it was an Elite Gold Level entity.The good news was that the Firewheel Cart continued to accelerate, showing no intention of stopping to confront this blood-red specter head-on. The bad news was that the blood-red specter clearly didn’t intend to let them go, and the distance between them was rapidly closing.
No matter how fast the Firewheel Cart was, it couldn’t outrun an Elite Gold Level being.
Even if pushed to its limits, it couldn’t match the speed of a Secret Silver Level Awakener. After all, those at the Secret Silver Level could fly.
The reason people took the Firewheel Cart was for convenience; flying consumed spiritual power and wasn’t without its own toll.
"Damn it, Elite Gold Level!" a voice filled with curses rang out.
Someone had recognized the blood-red specter’s strength. This meant the Firewheel Cart couldn’t pull away and would eventually be overtaken.
Fortunately, the sole Elite Gold Level individual on board, the Firewheel Cart’s captain, made his move. Leveraging the distance advantage, he delivered a preemptive heavy blow to this blood-red specter.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"A beast is still a beast, not human after all," an Awakener near Wang Linchi muttered quietly.
However, shortly after he spoke, he suddenly noticed a layer of fiery red light igniting on the blood-red specter’s body, exceptionally dazzling in the night.
Something’s not right! Wang Linchi knew this blood-red specter was here to kill everyone on the Firewheel Cart and extract their souls to create more specters. So why was it burning itself now?
"It’s stalling for time!" another Awakener exclaimed immediately.
They didn’t know the full story, but years of combat had endowed them with unique experience in analyzing battle situations.
"Captain, finish it quickly!"
"Don’t let it stall!"
"Quickly, take it down..."
As one person spoke up, more and more passengers began to urge the captain.
The Firewheel Cart’s captain wasn’t one to ignore advice. He immediately unleashed his most powerful Soul Skill to intercept and entangle the blood-red specter.
With the captain delaying it, the Firewheel Cart naturally sped away, quickly distancing itself from the blood-red specter.
Seeing this, Wang Linchi felt that although the Firewheel Cart had its drawbacks, its safety measures were indeed quite good.
The captains were Elite Gold Level, accompanied by many Secret Silver Level personnel, and Mountain Copper Level Fire Wheel Captains maintained order. Safety was well-assured.
The Firewheel Carts were also very expensive. Each was a Soul Device, and it was unknown from which Secret Realm they originated.
Some could manufacture Firewheel Carts, but compared to acquiring them from Secret Realms, the manufacturing cost was very high, and they required specific fuel. This was unlike Soul Device Firewheel Carts, which only needed Soul Kinds to run.
Soul Kinds, therefore, served not only as currency and cultivation materials but also as fuel and energy.
"Well, can’t see them anymore. Let’s go back and rest." An Awakener lost interest after the captain and the blood-red specter receded from the Firewheel Cart and vanished into the night. After all, what was so interesting about watching a small red dot in the darkness?
Wang Linchi also returned to his soft sleeper.
Unlike the others, who seemed reassured, my analysis indicates the captain’s overall strength is inferior to the blood-red specter’s. The victor is more likely to be the specter, not the captain. Of course, it’s not impossible for the captain to win. After all, the specter lacks intellect, possessing only a savage and bloodthirsty instinct. Therefore, its combat experience is far inferior to the captain’s. I just don’t know if the captain’s combat experience can compensate for his deficiency in overall strength.
Wang Linchi returned to his bed, took out an Excellent Level Soul Kind, and began to cultivate both the "Taoist Embryo and Original Infant Spirit Aspect Secret Technique" and the "Nine Revolutions Golden Core Soul Forging Skill".
With my current spiritual power, multitasking like this is a piece of cake.
He also consumed some less valuable Natural Treasures from his Soul Seed Page·Storage Space.
With each breath, his spiritual power began to rise slowly.
By the time he finished cultivating, daylight had broken.
From last night until now, the Firewheel Cart’s captain had not returned. The cart had, of course, stopped several times during the journey, but these were all scheduled station stops.
It seemed the captain’s absence didn’t affect the Firewheel Cart’s operation.
Wang Linchi murmured softly to himself, There shouldn’t be any more trouble. The Firewheel Cart has been traveling for most of the night. The Rebel Army should have breached the Dragon Brilliance School by now and are likely busy securing its resources. They wouldn’t have the capacity or time to dispatch a main force in pursuit. This is a good thing. I’ve once again successfully escaped before danger arrived. However, my identity is a huge problem. Leaving Yi State without permission, crossing state lines, and even planning to sneak into Xuan Spirit Heaven... if I’m caught, the law dictates public execution. But I’m not too worried about that. Considering the bigger picture, the Dajing Court probably doesn’t have the spare resources to bother with such a minor issue right now. And this is precisely my opportunity to rise. Once I reach Xuan Spirit Heaven, I’ll find a black market and hide in a Wild Secret Realm for a year. Who knows, after a year, Xuan Spirit Heaven might be in ruins. Worse, the Great View might be nothing more than a name, with Alien Races running rampant everywhere. The main issue is that this upheaval is too significant. The original inhabitants of the Secret Realms can now leave their domains. For the Dajing Court, this is an absolute catastrophe, not to mention these Secret Realms can also support local factions.