For some strange reason, Borise's heart clenched and her back turned cold. She whirled around, startled to discover a cold stare from a beautiful woman that she hadn't discovered in however long. She passed it off as a side-effect of her injury, focusing on the appearance of this beauty in red boots and a snow white skirt, waist-length blue hair a stark contrast from the dark red earth, "Who are you?"
The stunning woman seemed devoid of all emotion as she asked a question of her own in response, "Are you the one who summoned the beast wave?"
Borise stared intensely at the woman, growing more and more jealous of her peerless beauty. Of all the women she had ever seen in her life, only Starsibyl could compare. How did such a pure and untouched beauty exist in this universe?
"I'll ask once more; did you start this beast wave?" the gorgeous woman asked.
"Who are you?" Borise repeated herself, wariness growing in her gaze.
"Bai Xue," the woman replied calmly.
"Bai Xue the Water Sage?!"
Bai Xue's frosty gaze passed beyond Borise, landing on the bloody battlefield, "What was your goal with unleashing these beasts?"
"Hmph. A mere native has no right to speak to me. Watch me tear your face apart!" Borise grabbed forward, a bestial roar sounding from her palm that could send a chill down anyone's spine. Layers of ice appeared in front of Bai Xue as she retreated.
"Did you think you can stop me with some dumb plant's ice?" Borise charged right through, "You natives are so stupid."
Bai Xue came to a stop and raised her palm towards the alien, causing the ground to freeze and the winds in the forest to change directions. Borise was unphased by the attack and raised her own palm, "You're asking to die!"
Even though she hadn't yet recovered from her injuries, Borise felt nothing but contempt for Bai Xue. She let out a low growl and the ice exploded, the impact ripping open the sleeve of Bai Xue's blouse and spilling a few stalks of icy grass. This was the exact same plant that powered Zhao Yu's Frost Palm, working in a similar way to fire crystals.
Anticipating a look of desperation, Borise stared down at Bai Xue with a gaze steeped with pride, "I told you that some plant ice would be useless!"
However, a frozen wind suddenly buffeted her from all sides, freezing the ground solid. A layer of frost solidified in the air, causing the blood to drain from Borise's face, "No… That can't be. This is the innate gift of Frost; you have an innate gift?!"
Bai Xue's gaze remained unchanged as an endless sequence of gusts rushed towards Borise, freezing her arms in a moment. The girl squealed and tried to escape, but it was already too late. Her entire body froze solid in a mere two seconds and she toppled to the ground, shattering into a million pieces. The top student of Blue Mountain Academy had died just like that.
Borise's death immediately returned self-control to the mutant beasts on the battlefield, prompting many of them to start retreating. Bai Xue let loose a sigh of fatigue; the girl had actually been quite powerful. If not for the previous injury, there was a chance that she could have struggled free. Even with the advantage of being underestimated, she herself had been forced to use her innate gift of Frost.
Back in the city, Veron and Parlie had already searched Zhang Dingtian's residence as well as the office of the deceased Primary without finding anything. Lu Yin had reached the capital as well, entering the city with Jeraldine in tow. The two encountered a sober atmosphere, but one that lacked the chaos he'd expect from a city under attack. Even when terrified, the survivors of the capital remained confident in the Chinese troops.
No matter how prosperous China's cities had been during peacetime, they had all been ruined to the same extent by the Apocalypse. Bridges were broken, houses had collapsed, and most buildings were too ruined to live in. Just a place to sleep was now a luxury.
Lu Yin found a map of the capital and led Jeraldine straight to Zhang Dingtian's residence, his reasoning being the same as Veron and the others who believed Zhang Dingtian was most likely to know the whereabouts of the corpse. Said man was currently atop the steel walls, focused on a distant white fog that he knew was produced by Bai Xue.
"Bladesage, look there!" someone exclaimed, drawing the gazes of everyone nearby. A sea of white froze the ground in the middle of the battlefield between the mutant beasts and zombies, a gorgeous woman walking out of the fog and freezing every creature she passed.
"The Water Sage! Water Sage Bai Xue!" someone else shouted in excitement, prompting a chorus of cheers. The Seven Sages of China were upheld as the guardian angels after the Apocalypse, and Bai Xue was placed on a distinct pedestal as the only woman among their number. Her mere appearance renewed the vigor of the soldiers here, convincing them to give it their all in battle. Beauty could be considered its own form of strength; it could stir the potential in some individuals, causing them to ignore their struggles and pain. All of Beijing seemed to roar out in delight at Bai Xue's arrival, striking fear into the mutants that were still on the battlefield.
Bai Xue headed towards Zhang Dingtian who was still staring at the battlefield, "I took care of the one who triggered the beast wave. It was a student from outer space."
"Thank you," he said mechanically.
She continued coldly, "You're too soft. Even if you don't kill them, you should at least capture them. These people don't even see us as human beings."
Zhang Dingtian growled lowly, "I killed five. These last few proved to be quite difficult."
Bai Xue was taken aback, "Difficult? Enough that you couldn't kill them?"
Zhang Dingtian looked at Bai Xue, "Even we Sages are divided into the three High Sages and the four Sages. The students from outer space should also have their own divisions. The person you killed a bit ago was no pushover either."
Bai Xue remained silent. Borise had indeed forced her to use her innate gift, something even the four Sages could not accomplish. At her peak, that girl would likely have strength equivalent to a High Sage. Her attention was suddenly pulled to something about the Bladesage's statements, "You said last few. What happened to the rest?"
Zhang Dingtian suddenly narrowed his eyes, "I don't know."
Bai Xue took out the personal gadget that she had plundered, tapping it a few times to activate the scanner. The screen quickly started beeping and she gasped, "Eight. There are eight experts in the Realm of Sky here!"
The Bladesage's eyes went wide with towering rage; eight cultivators at that level were enough to destroy the entire capital! "They're looking to die!"
Across the city, as Lu Yin and Jeraldine were closing in on Zhang Dingtian's residence, the latter suddenly froze up in shock. Lu Yin followed her gaze to two men, one tall and one short, that were dressed far better than most survivors. More importantly, the shorter man looked truly unique at only a little more than a meter tall with quite a stocky build. This was a body that would be noticed anywhere. These two were Veron and Parlie, who had just emerged empty-handed from Zhang Dingtian's residence. About to head somewhere else, they had coincidentally bumped into Lu Yin and Jeraldine.
Veron and Parlie were quite distinct, and so were Lu Yin and Jeraldine. The girl was exceptionally eye-catching; women's rights had been trampled after the Apocalypse, so a woman as attractive as Jeraldine would definitely stand out in the crowd. Veron immediately recognized her.
"Veron!" she gasped, instinctively moving towards Lu Yin.
Veron? Lu Yin focused his gaze. He had heard the name of the First Military School's strongest student a number of times but hadn't expected to encounter him so quickly.
Veron was also surprised to see Jeraldine. The capital was the obvious investigation spot if one wished to actually work on the trial's mission, but he couldn't help but laugh at the idea of her trying to do so. He quickly moved his gaze to Lu Yin, but feeling the weak star energy of a new Sentinel, he believed this other youth was just trash.
"Do you know each other?" Parlie asked quietly.
"We're from the same academy."
"Bring them along, we need manpower," Parlie grunted.
Veron nodded and turned to the two, "Follow us."
A hint of fear flashed across Jeraldine's eyes and she looked at Lu Yin. Although the trials were open to everyone, anyone who wasn't a friend or relative could be considered an enemy even if they were from the same school. As far as she was concerned, although Lu Yin controlled her, he didn't make her fear for her life like Veron did; fellow students were far more ruthless.
"I told you to get over here! Are you deaf?" Veron shouted loudly, drawing several gazes.
Parlie frowned, "Lower your voice."
Veron gave Jeraldine an icy glare, but Lu Yin took a few steps forward and looked at him indifferently, "Who do you think you're talking to? Pipe down."
Veron was a little startled by this; he had never expected a new Sentinel to have the guts to speak out like this. He sneered in response, "I don't know which school you're from, but they'll have to remove your name from their records today."
He pushed his palm downwards, ripples spreading in all directions and affecting many nearby survivors. Lu Yin raised an eyebrow at the Spacerender Palm, copying the enemy's movements and synchronizing a forward thrust.
Two identical attacks clashed in the sky, and all that everyone in the area heard was a loud bang as gusts of winds blasted the walls apart and even collapsed the bridge nearby. The sky cracked where the attacks collided, forming a vacuum that sucked in air from all directions.