Chapter 48: Someone's Nearby

Zhang Hua and Cao Ye looked puzzled—how did Jiang Changkong know them?

A peak stellar qi cultivator, called a top student?

And he defeated a Star Demon at the late Star Cloud stage?

Wasn’t that nonsense?

Cao Ye couldn’t help but ask, “When did you meet Jiang Changkong? I remember he’s only at peak stellar qi.”

“Just a few days ago…”

“Alright, everyone rest now and recover quickly.”

Ji Ziling interjected, cutting off Zhang Xiaoyu’s words.

When she first saw Zhang Hua, she had said Jiang Changkong had already returned.

If Zhang Xiaoyu and the others had seen Jiang Changkong a few days ago, that would be a problem.

Zhang Hua and Cao Ye would definitely make many connections.

Tang Ruoxi’s eyes flickered, but she didn’t say more: “Recover quickly so we can fight our way out.”

Only then did the group calm down and focus on restoring their cultivation.

Rumble—

The ground around them shook as Star Demons roared, their numbers growing steadily.

Hearts heavy, the group dared not let their focus waver, using every moment to recover.

Time passed bit by bit, and in the blink of an eye, two hours had gone by.

“Ah—”

A startled cry rang out, startling everyone: “What’s going on?”

“Zhang Xiaoyu, what are you screaming about?”

Liu Ya said with displeasure.

The others also glared at Zhang Xiaoyu, his sudden cry having frightened them as well.

“N-no, it’s just that there are too many Star Demons.”

Zhang Xiaoyu pointed outside, his voice trembling slightly: “Take a look.”

Everyone turned their gaze beyond the Protective Shield, where hordes of Star Demons had completely surrounded all four shields!

The Star Demons continuously attacked the shields, frantically bombarding the energy barriers.

Looking up, they could only see gaping maws, sharp fangs, and claws.

Under the relentless assault, the energy barriers rippled like water.

Tang Ruoxi’s expression changed: “This is bad. There are too many Star Demons. These energy shields likely won’t hold for much longer.”

The group tensed: “How long exactly?”

“Everyone, check your shields.”

Tang Ruoxi stood up, pulling out an instrument to inspect the energy shield: “At most two hours, maybe even less.”

“Same here. If the Star Demons keep attacking, the shields might break in an hour and a half.”

Students from the other three Kexiang shields reported.

“What do we do then? Even with two hours, we won’t fully recover.

And even if we did, we couldn’t fight our way out.”

Cao Ye’s expression was grave, while the others looked fearful and anxious.

“Two hours isn’t enough. We can’t hold out for two hours, and we can’t fight our way out either.”

“It’s all Zhang Hua’s fault. If it weren’t for his Starlight Force Bomb, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Right, if it weren’t for Zhang Hua, we wouldn’t be like this.”

The students from both schools were losing their composure, glaring angrily at Zhang Hua.

“Everyone, now isn’t the time to blame me.”

Zhang Hua’s face darkened, but he didn’t dare get angry: “Right now, we should unite all our strength to face the enemy together.”

Cao Ye’s eyes flickered as he chimed in: “Zhang Hua is right. We should come together and fight the Star Demons as one.”

“Easy for you to say. You caused this, and now you want us to die with you? If you have the ability, come up with a solution.”

The crowd shouted angrily, with the Kexiang students showing him no respect: “If you can’t think of a way, we’ll throw you out first.”

“Enough, all of you stop.”

Ji Ziling snorted coldly, her expression turning stern: “Save your energy for arguing and use it to kill Star Demons instead.”

Everyone fell silent. Though still anxious and fearful, they forced themselves to calm down.

They couldn’t afford to panic now. Once they lost their composure, all hope would be gone.

Zhang Hua leaned against the protective shield, his lips moving slightly. “What if… we try calling for help?”

“Call for help?” Tang Ruoxi sneered. “Who do you think would come to support us at night? Is there anyone around here? When I arrived, I already scouted the area. It’s just us.”

Zhang Hua opened his mouth but couldn’t utter a word.

“Is there really no way at all?”

The students from both schools stared at the rippling protective shield, despair creeping into their hearts.

The four protective shields fell into a dead silence. Even the top students among them remained quiet.

Not only were they severely injured, but even if they recovered, they wouldn’t stand a chance against this horde of Star Demons.

“Senior, there’s someone nearby.”

Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.

A Kexiang student was adjusting an instrument, which displayed an image on its screen.

A young man, dressed in tattered clothes, was walking through the weeds outside, not far from them.

It was the Starlight Monitoring Instrument that had detected his presence. In their haste to set up the protective shields earlier, they hadn’t retrieved it, so the instrument had remained outside.

“Someone?”

Everyone from both schools grew excited. “How many? Find a way to contact them and ask for support.”

“Just one.”

The crowd fell silent.

Damn, just one person?

Tang Ruoxi suddenly spoke up. “Could it be that Chen Sanyan who snatched the Star Stone earlier?”

“Let me see.”

Liu Jun squeezed over and looked at the figure on the screen, exclaiming in surprise, “Isn’t that Jiang Changkong, the top student?”

“Jiang Changkong? Is it really him?”

Liu Ya, in another protective shield, exclaimed excitedly, “Brother, look carefully. Is it him?”

“It’s really him, it’s Jiang Changkong!” Liu Jun said with renewed vigor. “We’re saved.”

“Saved my foot. It’s just one person. How can he save us?”

Ji Ziling’s expression darkened as she snapped, “Are you trying to drag Changkong to his death now?”

Hadn’t she told him to leave earlier? Why was he nearby at a time like this?

Liu Ya and the others were taken aback, sighing helplessly as they sat back down.

Lu Hong couldn’t help but say, “But Jiang Changkong is incredibly strong. If he steps in, there’s a real chance.”

“That’s right. Even crawling, he could make it over here.”

Liu Jun had witnessed his strength firsthand. “As long as he doesn’t encounter a late-stage Star Cloud.”

“Late-stage Star Cloud?” Zhang Hua asked, puzzled. “Didn’t you say Jiang Changkong could defeat a late-stage Star Cloud?”

“Yes, but with so many Star Demons here, Jiang Changkong’s defense can ignore attacks below the late-stage Star Cloud level,” Liu Ya added. “It’s even stronger than our battle armor.”

Tang Ruoxi’s eyes lit up. “If that’s the case, with our combined strength, we should be able to fight our way out. But a few might die.”

Hearing this, everyone grew excited again. “Then let’s contact him and ask him to rescue us.”

Losing a few was better than all of them dying. Besides, who didn’t hold onto a sliver of hope that they wouldn’t be the ones to perish?

“Then I’ll contact—”

“No!”

Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue shouted in unison, startling everyone. “No contacting him.”

“Ji Ziling, Ying Yanxue, what are you trying to do? Do you want all of us to die here?” Cao Ye roared angrily.

Ji Ziling glared at the crowd. “We said no, and that’s final. Why should Changkong take the risk?”

“Although it’s risky, it’s no problem. We’ll handle the Star Cloud late-stage ones, and he’ll be responsible for clearing the path. Nothing will go wrong.”

Tang Ruoxi pondered and said, “Don’t worry, as long as Jiang Changkong comes to help, I’ll give him a reward.”

“No!” Ji Ziling and the other were firm.

“Ji Ziling, as members of the same school, if he has the ability, he has a responsibility to come support us,” Zhang Hua and Cao Ye said simultaneously. “Contact Jiang Changkong and have him come immediately.”

“Who told you Jiang Changkong is from the Martial Arts School?”

Ji Ziling looked at them coldly. “Right now, Jiang Changkong hasn’t joined the school. He has no responsibility to save us!”

“He’s not from the Martial Arts School?” Everyone was stunned.

Tang Ruoxi was taken aback, then smiled. “If he’s not from the Martial Arts School, then you two have no authority over him, right?

I’ll contact Xiaoyu myself.”

“Tang Ruoxi, are you looking for death?”

Ji Ziling and Ying Yanxue’s expressions changed, and their swords were drawn simultaneously.

Inside the Protective Shield, the others stood up together, blocking the front. “Even if Senior Sister doesn’t contact him, people from other Protective Shields can still do so.

Targeting Senior Sister won’t help.”