Dawn finally broke.

But the underground world remains pitch black.

Wang Xiaoqi is a light-elemental mage, and he's responsible for providing the lighting in the area. Because he's afraid of attracting too many skeletons, he keeps the light levels to a minimum that's barely visible.

However, this greatly limited Chen Jin's performance as an archer.

She couldn't see what was happening in the distance, so she could only rely on close to medium range shooting to block the enemy.

It wasn't until she noticed the relentless stream of skeletons gradually thinning out that she realized they had been fighting for nearly twelve hours.

"Hey!" Chen Jin called out to Xiao He instinctively.

"What's up?"

"You..." Chen Jin asked with some concern, "Aren't you going to rest?"

“I am a pastor, I have endurance.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Jin was stunned.

Wang Xiaoqi, standing to the side, was speechless: "You're the first melee priest, aren't you?"

Xiao He did not answer, because he was also very tired.

"When I get back this time, I must train my physical fitness every day..." Xiao He thought to himself as he repeated the movements that made his arms ache.

Xiao He's muscles and bones simply couldn't withstand such high-intensity and prolonged strenuous exercise, so Xiao He's heart rate remained at a very extreme level.

Wang Xuefeng seemed to be aware of his physical condition, so she focused on taking care of him more. After all, such mental exertion would also have a significant impact on his physical health in the real world.

...

"clang!"

Xiao He planted the knife in the ground, slightly out of breath.

The area before us was still pitch black and dim, but the entire underground world had already fallen into its initial silence.

"Boom!"

The sensation of the ground rising returned, but this time it was much smoother.

As the dawn's light shone on the dilapidated city walls, everyone's faces were filled with a sense of relief at having survived a catastrophe.

"Waaah..." Chen Jin hugged Han Qingyu and burst into tears.

Wang Xuefeng, holding a gun in one hand, stepped over the broken bones on the ground and approached Xiao He.

"Can you still walk?"

Xiao He shook his head.

"Come on up." Wang Xuefeng squatted down with his back to Xiao He.

The latter sheathed his knife, collapsed onto his back as if utterly exhausted, and fell asleep shortly afterward.

It would be more accurate to say he was in a coma than asleep.

The people standing nearby exchanged glances. Wang Xuefeng was right in front of them, but none of them dared to ask for an autograph, because they simply didn't have a spare hand to write.

On the ground, hundreds of students stood at a distance along the edge of the area, watching with curiosity.

The commotion in the old town of Abbey was truly earth-shattering.

Viewed from above, it resembles a massive underground ruin, unearthed by some inexplicable force.

Several referee teachers drew a warning line, strictly prohibiting other students from entering or leaving.

Yang Xing immediately moved Feilong No. 1 outside the warning line.

Jia Bo and Huo Lei stepped out of the cabin and saw Wang Xuefeng carrying Xiao He out of the collapsed city gate in the distance.

"You've really worked hard." Horry stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm fine, but Xiao He is quite exhausted and probably won't be able to drive," Wang Xuefeng replied.

Horry understood what he meant. It was still hunting competition time, and it would be a foul to return to the city on the Flying Dragon One. So he patted his chest with a flourish and said, "Then I'll drive it!"

"..."

Jiang Cheng looked on with suspicion upon hearing his words; he had developed a psychological aversion to cars.

"Do you have a driver's license?" Wang Xuefeng asked as well.

This isn't controlled with arrow keys; there are differences between using a steering wheel and a keyboard for gaming.

Horry scratched his head.

"Then I'll do it," Jiang Cheng said with a bitter face.

"Okay!" Horry readily agreed.

The group of five bid farewell to Yang Xing and Jia Bo, boarded the metal van with the sign "Beihu Factory Recruiting," and, driven by Jiang Cheng, steadily embarked on the final leg of their journey home.

One day later.

The Cloud Winter Hunting Competition officially ended before sunset.

The points settlement and ranking process will take three days, after which the list will be released.

Xiao He lay there for three days.

This is a rare day off for Cloud Academy, so why not take a nap?

However, during these three days, a piece of news emerged that caused widespread panic throughout the city.

This news item can be summarized as follows:

"A pastor, inspired by the battle between Xiao He and Wang Yuqi, cultivated special seeds and secretly put them into people's mouths and ears, delaying the effect of the skill. Like a time bomb, it sprouted and grew inside the human body until it burst the stomach or pierced through the head... The deaths were gruesome. An investigation was launched when the third victim appeared."

Xiao He was lying in bed reading the newspaper.

He had already heard about the Temple of Life. According to Su Mei's description, the Temple of Life, in a sense, had a subtle antagonistic relationship with the Church of Resurrection.

However, the Temple of Life does not overly restrict the behavior of its priests, which leads to various members with differing opinions, such as Luo Yan, who acts according to his own mood.

Xiao He subconsciously associated the criminal with the Temple of Life.

But it's clear that this criminal is still a novice, specializing in experimenting on ordinary people like homeless people, or perhaps even earlier on animals.

This is unlike the style of the Temple of Life.

The priests of the Temple of the Living God are a group of self-important priests who almost all hold a high position in society. They don't need to be so shabby when conducting any experiments.

Xiao He looked at the newspaper several times, including every photo of the scene, but found no noteworthy details. So he tossed the newspaper aside and prepared to take another nap.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!