Chapter 18

"Be careful!"

Yuan Zilu's voice suddenly came from the front.

There was a sudden commotion among the convoy.

Especially the outer dormitory students at the rear were a mix of tension and excitement.

At this moment, a stranger's voice suddenly sounded: "They are just some ordinary zombies."

The tone clearly carried a hint of disdain.

Shang Xia was taken aback and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that it was Jin Guanchao, who had not spoken a word until now.

At this moment, the convoy seemed to have already encountered the zombies. Shang Xia saw a dozen or so inner dormitory students leaping between the carriages, accompanied by some "thud, thud" sounds.

After just a moment, Mr. Yuan's voice came again: "Alright, alright, don't scatter them all. Leave a few for the rear to practice!"

As he spoke, the sound of laughter from the inner dormitory students could be heard from the front. A few ragged, wobbly figures, half walking on their own and half being driven, passed around the front carriages and headed towards the rear of the convoy.

The red cloud horses pulling the carriages, though they only had a thin line of fire cloud beast blood, were not something a few ordinary zombies could approach.

To drive the zombies to the rear of the convoy, they had to first drive them away from the carriages.

Without Shang Xia needing to say more, the fourteen C-wing students had already surrounded the approaching zombies.

Tongyou Academy valued martial arts. Even though these zombies looked exceptionally terrifying, the outer dormitory students still bravely stepped forward to engage them.

As the zombies came into view, some with half their bodies rotted away, some with intestines still wrapped around their legs, and some with only skeletons for hands, the stench of decay hit them even from a distance of several dozen feet.

Many students, especially the female students, could not suppress the nausea in their chests and simply vomited.

Yet, these students did not retreat. Even as they staggered and vomited, with fear in their eyes, they did not pause for a moment.

"This is a familiar scene, isn't it? The first time we entered the Two Realms Battlefield is still vivid in my mind!"

Tian Mengzi's voice sounded beside Shang Xia, but he was speaking to Jin Guanchao, who had almost no presence.

Shang Xia did not act, even though it was his first time in the Two Realms Battlefield. These zombies were not worth his effort.

His attention was entirely on the dozen or so classmates who had already engaged the zombies.

Although the initial close contact caused a moment of panic among the outer dormitory students, they quickly overcame it and began to show skilled and coordinated teamwork, gradually demonstrating what they had learned in their year at Tongyou Academy.

These zombies, though they looked terrifying, were actually not very formidable. Apart from their bloodlust, lack of pain sensation, and greater strength, they had few other advantages. They were quickly dealt with by the outer dormitory students, who used methods like smashing their skulls, cutting their spinal cords, or dismembering them.

At this point, they realized that defeating these terrifying undead was not too difficult.

"Hehe, I think these zombies are nothing special!"

As the outer dormitory student closest to becoming an Extraordinary Warrior, Huang Zihua had just smashed the skulls of three zombies, making him the most outstanding performer.

As he spoke, his eyes inadvertently swept over Shang Xia's position.

He held Shang Xia, the chief of the outer dormitory, in high regard.

However, this did not mean he would always look up to Shang Xia!

It's almost time. I have already obtained the formula for the Wu Yuan realm from the academy, and I have almost gathered all the extraordinary materials. This trip to Tongyou Peak, I will definitely reach the Wu Yuan realm and become an Extraordinary Warrior.

This way, I won't fall too far behind the elite students of my year.

As the thought of advancement still lingered in Huang Zihua's mind, the corner of his eye noticed that Shang Xia's position had been replaced by a bolt of lightning.

Just as Huang Zihua was puzzled, he suddenly felt a powerful force push him away, but it did not cause him any harm.

Huang Zihua was already flying in the air and instinctively turned back to see Shang Xia standing in his original position, holding what seemed to be a thunder spear, which he thrust directly into the ground...

"Ah, it's a ground zombie!"

When Shang Xia noticed the danger and rushed to Huang Zihua, Tian Mengzi was somewhat surprised but still spoke in a casual tone.

Neither Tian Mengzi nor Jin Guanchao moved from their spots, seemingly unconcerned about an outer dormitory student being ambushed by a zombie hidden underground.

"Second form!"

Jin Guanchao's eyes flashed, and he said something else, but briefly.

Tian Mengzi sighed, "Yes, the lightning follows his movements, and his martial arts are wielded with perfect ease. We couldn't reach that level when we were young!"

This seemed to reveal something...

Shang Xia did not expect that, with the enhancement of his martial arts, his speed had reached such a level!

From the moment he sensed the abnormality underground to the moment he pushed Huang Zihua away, the danger from underground did not even have time to erupt.

Shang Xia almost acted preemptively, thrusting a bolt of lightning from his palm directly into the ground.

A muffled howl came from underground, and the ground quickly rose upward.

Seeing the situation, Shang Xia quickly retreated and shouted to the others, "Back, back up!"

With a "bang," dust flew as a mangled figure burst out from underground.

However, Shang Xia soon realized that his reaction might have been excessive.

The ground zombie that emerged had a bowl-sized hole in its chest, with the surrounding blackened, carbonized flesh still smoking. The remaining body trembled violently like a sieve.

Seeing this, Shang Xia breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out an ivory fan from his sleeve, and opened it with a "swish." He waved it in the air, and a gust of wind, tinged with lightning, struck the ground zombie's head.

With a "crack," the ground zombie's body stopped trembling completely.

"Shang Xia's lightning arts are very effective against zombies like these!"

Tian Mengzi had already come over and was looking at the ground zombie that had been thoroughly "killed."

"Does Senior Tian know a lot about zombies?"

Shang Xia asked casually.

"Not really!"

Tian Mengzi still spoke in his slow, deliberate manner, "This ground zombie is different from ordinary zombies. It has some extraordinary abilities and might yield some extraordinary materials."

Hearing this, Shang Xia's fan paused slightly as he looked at the mangled corpse on the ground, his face showing a hint of difficulty.

He could guess what the extraordinary materials on this ground zombie might be, but did he really have to collect them himself?

"I'll do it!"

Huang Zihua ran over, bowed to Shang Xia, and said, "Thank you, Senior Shang, for saving me. You don't need to worry about collecting the extraordinary materials; I'll take care of it!"

Shang Xia felt relieved and nodded with a restrained smile, "Thank you, Junior Huang."

The extraordinary materials on the ground zombie were ten three-inch-long, earth-yellow bone plates on its claws.

Although the quality of these bone plates was not high, they were not to be ignored.

Moreover, for many outer dormitory students, the first battle in the Two Realms Battlefield yielding some harvest made it even more meaningful. As Huang Zihua peeled off the ten nails from the ground zombie, many students gathered around to watch.

This commotion did not escape Mr. Yuan's notice.

Although the appearance of the ground zombie was unexpected, Mr. Yuan did not rush over to investigate, clearly trusting the capabilities of the two inner dormitory students.

Huang Zihua quickly finished collecting the extraordinary materials and was about to hand them to Shang Xia.

Shang Xia waved his hand, "The zombies were killed by everyone, so the extraordinary materials should be shared. We'll divide the materials and the money they fetch when we reach Tongyou Peak."

Huang Zihua was taken aback and instinctively said, "That won't do, this is..."

"It's settled then!"

Shang Xia did not give Huang Zihua a chance to speak. He did not care much about these materials, but for his classmates from ordinary backgrounds, even after dividing them, it would still be a significant income.

He knew how to win people's hearts.

"Continue forward!"

Yuan Zilu's voice came from the front, perfectly timed. Everything that had happened was clearly under his control.

The students returned to the carriages, and many were still immersed in the excitement of the battle, sharing their experiences with their classmates.

Shang Xia cleared his throat and asked, "Senior Tian, where do these zombies come from?"

Shang Xia's voice was not loud, but it immediately caught everyone's attention.

"Zombies..."

Tian Mengzi, clearly surprised by Shang Xia's question, paused for a moment before slowly saying, "There's no need to hide it. These zombies are actually the people from the Two Realms who didn't manage to escape when the Two Realms Battlefield formed twenty years ago."

"The Two Realms are the Cangyu Realm where we live and the Cangling Realm, which we have been in conflict with for twenty years. I'm sure many of you already know this."

Shang Xia asked, "Why do people who didn't escape the Two Realms Battlefield turn into zombies? Is it related to the formation of the Two Realms Battlefield?"

Tian Mengzi paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, and said, "It is said that when the Two Realms Battlefield formed, the collision of the two realms created a primordial storm that swept across the entire realm."

"This primordial storm caused a comprehensive impact on the physical body, inner breath, and even the soul, turning most of the ordinary people and a small number of Extraordinary Warriors who were trapped there into soulless undead."

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