Chapter 19

While Shang Xia was consulting the two upper dormitory senior brothers about the reasons for the formation of the living dead, the originally clear sky suddenly darkened. The sky, which had not a single cloud, began to drizzle with rain in an instant.

This sudden change caused a stir among the outer dormitory students.

However, immediately after, a large umbrella opened up above each carriage.

Then, several torches were lit at different positions in the convoy, illuminating the surrounding area in the direction of the convoy's advance.

It was clear that the carriage convoy was well-prepared.

This kind of sudden weather change seemed to be a common occurrence for them.

Even the inner dormitory students in the middle of the convoy remained calm.

The change in the surrounding environment did not even cause a momentary pause in Tian Mengzi's tone.

Accompanied by the "rustling" sound of the rain, Tian Mengzi continued, "Those living dead transformed from ordinary people are not much of a threat. They are just stronger, fearless of death and injury, but slow and unintelligent. Even ordinary people, once they overcome their fear, can kill them one-on-one."

"The truly terrifying ones are the living dead transformed from extraordinary martial artists. Although their souls have been extinguished, their extraordinary powers are preserved, and they may even evolve into various strange abilities, making them unpredictable."

"Was the earth walker we just saw transformed from an extraordinary martial artist?" asked Jiao Haitang, an outer dormitory student.

Tian Mengzi nodded and said, "Yes, but among the living dead with extraordinary abilities, the earth walker is just the lowest level."

Before the students could express their amazement, Tian Mengzi, with a somewhat complex expression, continued, "Moreover, that earth walker may not have formed when the Two Realms War Zone was first created. It could have formed at any time in the past twenty years, including now, or it could have been transformed from a martial artist from another realm."

Tian Mengzi's words left many outer dormitory students shaken.

The thought of turning into such a monstrous zombie after death, and possibly being killed again by their own people, made many students shudder and turn pale.

Tian Mengzi observed everyone's reactions and then said slowly, "Therefore, the first thing you need to learn when entering the Two Realms War Zone is not how to kill the enemy, but how to survive and stay alive in this perilous place!"

Despite the impact of Tian Mengzi's words, a few students with strong wills remained unperturbed.

Tian Mengzi's attention was now focused on these few.

After his words, some students showed a look of不服 (discontent).

At this moment, Shang Xia had already guessed that Tian Mengzi was intentionally testing the outer dormitory students' character.

Shang Xia did not know if this was a spontaneous decision by Tian Mengzi or a necessary selection process of the Profound Academy.

However, he did not ask at this moment. Instead, he followed the example of the upper dormitory senior brothers and noted the names of the students with strong wills, including Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang.

"Don't feel不服 (discontent)!"

Tian Mengzi, noticing that someone wanted to argue, interrupted them first. His expression suddenly changed, and he said, "In fact, the danger that tests your survival skills is already here!"

Shang Xia was startled, instinctively sensing the approaching danger.

Before he could warn the others, a piercing sound suddenly came through the rain curtain.

"Ji—Ji—"

The dark rain curtain was torn open, and a black shadow swiftly dove over the convoy.

"Aah—"

A cry of pain, mixed with fear, came from someone who had been injured.

As that black shadow flashed by, several more piercing sounds followed, and more black shadows tore through the rain curtain.

Shang Xia's face changed drastically. Without thinking about Tian Mengzi's intentions, he shouted, "Get out of the carriages, everyone, get out!"

As he spoke, he darted forward and pounced on a nearby classmate.

Before he reached the student, he used the third move of the Cosmic Palm, "Fearless in the Wind and Rain," creating a powerful palm wind that cleared the raindrops within a yard in front of him.

The student was still dazed, not realizing what was happening, when a black shadow flashed through the rain and collided with Shang Xia's palm wind.

The black shadow seemed to have plunged into a sticky substance, slowing down several times, and its true form became visible.

"This is... a swallow?"

The student, saved by Shang Xia, looked at the black shadow struggling in slow motion and exclaimed in surprise.

"Even if it's a swallow, it has already mutated!"

Shang Xia frowned, looking at the swallow with wings nearly two feet wide, and shouted, "Get down!"

"Oh, oh..."

The student, without thanking Shang Xia, hurriedly jumped off the carriage.

Shang Xia, seeing this, flicked his finger, and a bolt of lightning shot out, exploding the mutated swallow's head. Its outstretched wings stiffened, and it glided to the ground at his feet.

Standing on the carriage, Shang Xia saw that in the rain, over a dozen mutated swallows were diving and swooping on both sides of the convoy.

Even after being warned by Shang Xia and others, most students were still using the carriages for cover, but cries of pain still occasionally rang out.

Shang Xia glanced down and noticed that the beak of the mutated swallow had a metallic sheen, and the lightning bolt had not damaged it at all.

Additionally, the edges of its wings were razor-sharp, like a razor.

These mutated swallows, flying through the rain, mostly caused superficial wounds to the injured students with their wings.

At this moment, the outer dormitory students who had not yet advanced to the extraordinary stage had already jumped off the carriages to take cover.

However, Shang Xia noticed that many inner dormitory students at the front of the convoy were moving around the carriages, seemingly trying to capture these flying mutated swallows.

Unfortunately, the swallows flew too fast, and despite their efforts, they did not capture many, and some were even injured, drawing ridicule from others, but they continued undeterred.

Seeing this, Shang Xia's mind raced, and he suddenly reached out to the side.

A black shadow happened to fly through the rain, about to be caught by Shang Xia. The swallow let out a panicked cry, flapped its wings, and its speed increased threefold, narrowly avoiding his grasp.

"Huh?"

Shang Xia reacted instantly, transforming his empty hand into the fourth move of the Thunder Palm, "Catching Lightning." Lightning flickered between his fingers, and his already extended arm reached out again, grabbing the swallow's tail.

"Ji—"

The mutated swallow's cry was abruptly cut off. Shang Xia felt a weight in his hand and turned to see the swallow he had caught by the tail trembling violently, already dead.

Clearly, Shang Xia's "Catching Lightning" move, while allowing him to catch the flying mutated swallow, also caused it to die due to the sudden loss of control.

The timing was still not perfect, Shang Xia sighed, and threw the dead mutated swallow to the ground, placing it next to the previous one.

At this moment, Yuan Zilu's voice came from the front of the convoy, "Alright, the two of you, that's enough of the on-the-spot lesson!"

Before he finished speaking, Tian Mengzi's calm voice followed, "Since Senior Sister Sun is not here, I felt it was my duty to give this lesson to the junior brothers and sisters. I didn't mean to make the steward laugh!"

As he spoke, the flames on the torches in each carriage suddenly rose to over three feet, the oil burning intensely, and the area around the convoy quickly became brighter.

The mutated swallows, startled by this sudden change, let out a series of cries and began to circle around the convoy.

However, they soon realized that the sudden light did not pose a threat to them, and the bolder ones began to dive and swoop at the convoy again, now able to find their targets more accurately due to the light.

But as they approached, the burning torches changed again.

Threads of fire emerged from each torch, extending in all directions, quickly connecting to form a fire net that enveloped the entire convoy.

Three mutated swallows, flying across the convoy, collided with the fire threads and were instantly burned to ashes, not even having time to cry out.

Another five mutated swallows, although they managed to slip through the gaps in the fire net, were spotted by the students in the convoy due to the light and were killed in a flurry of attacks, four of them dying amidst a shower of feathers.

One more mutated swallow's claws were firmly grasped by Shang Xia. The swallow flapped its wings, trying to struggle, but its body was paralyzed by a series of tingling sensations, leaving it unable to exert any force.

This time, Shang Xia clearly had better control, capturing the mutated swallow without killing it.

The remaining mutated swallows, in a panic, scattered and soon disappeared.

At this moment, the light rain had stopped, and the dark sky cleared, though the sun appeared somewhat illusory, its light distorting and emitting various pale colors, adding a touch of beauty.

If it weren't for the slightly muddy and wet ground, Shang Xia would not have believed they had just experienced a light rain.

The convoy temporarily stopped to rest and regroup.

The inner dormitory students were handling the bodies of the dead mutated swallows.

The beak, black feathers, and claws of the mutated swallows were considered extraordinary materials.

However, the quality of these materials, like the bone armor of the earth walker's claws, was not particularly high.

The injured outer dormitory students were bandaging their wounds, but most were just superficial and not serious.

However, both the inner and outer dormitory students, while tending to their injuries, kept glancing in Shang Xia's direction.

"You actually captured a live mutated swallow?"

Tian Mengzi, looking at the mutated swallow still trembling in Shang Xia's hand, could not hide his surprise.

Not only him, but even Yuan Zilu, who had been sitting at the front of the convoy since entering the Two Realms War Zone, walked to the back of the convoy with a look of surprise to see the mutated swallow in Shang Xia's hand.

——

It was a struggle to finally make it onto the new book chart, but it's still in the last few positions. When did the new book chart become so competitive? I call on all fellow readers for remote support!