Chapter 141 – Su Ming: My Senior Sister and I Raised Something Together

“Thirteenth Form: Roaring Blast!”

In the wilderness ruins, accompanied by a clear, melodious shout, an electric projectile tore through the air with a whistling sound, crashing toward a troll ahead.

“Boom—!”

An explosion erupted, followed immediately by the troll’s pained roar echoing through the ruins.

The spiritual power that restrained demonic attributes blasted apart the troll’s rocky body, sending stone fragments flying as blood splattered everywhere.

Had this strike been against an ordinary Phantom Demon, it would have been fatal.

But trolls ranked among the strongest lower-tier Phantom Demons, renowned for their exceptional combat prowess and notably powerful defense. Even after suffering such a heavy blow, the troll only grew more ferocious after its painful roar.

“Roar!”

The stone giant bellowed angrily, stomping heavily as it charged toward the direction of the attack.

There, an off-road vehicle stood parked, carrying several students wearing Demon Hunter Academy uniforms.

“It’s coming!”

The burly man in the driver’s seat shouted, then leaped from the vehicle first, hefting a greatsword as he rushed toward the troll.

“Eek!”

A girl wielding twin hammers let out a timid cry before following him out.

Only two people remained in the vehicle.

One was an exceptionally cute girl with doll-like delicate features, her hands raised as two circular arrays shimmered around her wrists.

The earlier Roaring Blast had clearly been released by this girl, though it failed to take down the remarkably defensive troll in one strike.

The other person immediately raised their hands after their companions jumped out and charged toward the troll.

“Seventh Form: Grey Binding!”

As a circular array materialized, black-gray dust swirled forth, transforming into ropes of ash that coiled around the troll’s legs.

“Crash!”

The massive Phantom Demon tripped and fell heavily to the ground, causing the earth to tremble.

“Roar!”

The fallen troll seemed even angrier, propping itself up with its pillar-like arms as it attempted to rise.

But at that moment, the man and woman charging toward it arrived.

“Take this!”

The burly man roared, swinging his greatsword to cleave the troll’s thick, stone-pillar-like right arm.

“Hi-yah!”

The girl with twin hammers shouted fiercely, whirling her hammers to smash brutally into the troll’s left arm.

“Clang—!”

A crisp, metallic impact reverberated as the two Hunters’ heavy blows sent the troll’s arms flying, causing the struggling creature to crash to the ground once more.

“Now!”

In that instant, everyone shouted in unison.

Responding to their cry was a blurry afterimage.

A figure that had long since darted out, as if waiting for this very moment, charged toward the off-balance, fallen troll.

Her speed was extreme.

In her hand gleamed a weapon shimmering with peculiar radiance.

The fallen troll still struggled, only to find its vision blur as a bullet-like figure shot toward its chest.

“This is…”

The girl cried out loudly.

“The end!”

As her voice fell, the strangely glowing weapon plunged into the troll’s chest.

“Thud!”

It was an exceptionally clean, decisive piercing sound.

Anyone hearing it might have mistaken it for someone slicing through tofu.However, in reality, what was sliced apart wasn’t tofu, but the massive body of a Phantom Demon with defensive capabilities comparable to mountain rock.

And what cleaved through this colossal form was merely a short saber.

A short saber that, compared to the Phantom Demon’s gigantic body, appeared as small as a toothpick, effortlessly pierced through the massive form and destroyed the giant demon’s heart.

“Roar!”

The giant demon let out a painful roar.

Blood continuously gushed from its chest, showing no signs of recovery whatsoever.

The inherent regenerative ability of Phantom Demons had completely failed at this moment.

Whether it was the defense comparable to mountain rock or the regenerative capability, everything the Phantom Demon took pride in seemed to become meaningless before that short saber.

Thus, the giant demon’s roar gradually faded, and its massive body collapsed to the ground, motionless.

“Huff…”

The young woman holding the short saber finally let out a relieved sigh, revealing a bright smile.

“Great! Successfully resolved!”

The others also broke into smiles one after another.

The student team appearing here was naturally the members of Su Ming’s squad.

“You’ve worked hard, Junior Jiang.”

Lei Hao, carrying his greatsword, offered words of comfort to Jiang Wanyu.

“So impressive, another one-hit kill.”

Yao Beibei, wielding dual hammers, praised in a soft voice.

“Truly worthy of being an alchemical weapon. Its lethality against Phantom Demons is indeed formidable.”

Ye Bai jumped down from the off-road vehicle, gazing at the short saber in Jiang Wanyu’s hand with admiration.

Only An Zijin, while getting out of the vehicle, spoke apologetically.

“If only my Spirit Art could have resolved the giant demon in one go… I’m sorry everyone had to take action again this time, really…”

An Zijin’s somewhat apologetic words were met with Jiang Wanyu shaking her head.

“Don’t say that, Zijin.”

Jiang Wanyu’s complexion appeared even better than yesterday, almost as if she had been rebathed in spring breeze with a sense of Rebirth. Holding the alchemical short saber, she embraced An Zijin, rubbing against her pretty face as if cuddling a doll.

“You’re already remarkable, truly.”

Jiang Wanyu’s cheerful words were met with unanimous agreement from everyone.

Especially Ye Bai, who spoke with some excitement.

“Even though you’re just a freshman who recently enrolled, Junior An can already use the Thirteen Forms to inflict damage on Phantom Demons like the giant demon. This surpasses many second-year students in the Sorcerer Department!”

For example, he himself still hadn’t mastered even a single offensive Spirit Art and couldn’t deal damage to Phantom Demons.

Well, that’s a sorrowful tale.

“We were actually more concerned about whether we were putting too much pressure on you,” Lei Hao added. “Since yesterday, you’ve been continuously providing firepower output, taking down countless Phantom Demons along the way. Are you really okay in terms of Spirit Power?”

“Right,” Yao Beibei also expressed concern. “We didn’t rest much last night, only napping briefly in the vehicle without proper recovery. Are you really alright, little Zijin?”

Among those present, Lei Hao, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei were all Hunters, possessing far greater stamina and energy than ordinary people. Staying up one night wouldn’t cause them any significant impact.Although Ye Bai was a Sorcerer, he couldn’t output enough to help An Zijin share the workload. Like Lei Hao and others, he only had opportunities to act when enemies appeared that An Zijin’s Spirit Art couldn’t resolve in one go, so his condition wouldn’t decline much from this.

Among everyone, only An Zijin was consuming a great deal, making others worry she might collapse at any moment.

Yet An Zijin didn’t seem to care much about this.

“I’m fine,” An Zijin showed a cute smile and said, “My Spirit Power seems quite abundant, and it recovers quickly too. As long as I’m using low-level Spirit Arts, this level of consumption is completely manageable.”

Saying this, An Zijin raised her head and straightened her back, as if wanting to prove herself.

“Huh…?”

However, suddenly, An Zijin felt dizzy before her eyes and uncontrollably began falling toward the ground.

“Zijin!”

“Little Zijin!”

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei saw this scene, first exclaimed in surprise, then quickly rushed forward to support An Zijin.

“Are you okay!?”

Both Lei Hao and Ye Bai were startled and hurried over.

“So…sorry…”

An Zijin seemed to realize what had happened, shrinking her head and speaking weakly.

Everyone stared at An Zijin like this and confirmed it.

“As expected, you’ve been forcing yourself all along.”

Lei Hao directly concluded.

“Even if they’re just low-level Spirit Arts, using them continuously from yesterday until today with constant output – that consumption is quite astonishing!”

Ye Bai even felt somewhat flustered. If he could have helped, he might have rushed over eagerly to support An Zijin.

The looks in Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei’s eyes also carried a trace of worry as they looked at An Zijin.

Supporting An Zijin, they could clearly feel that her body temperature seemed somewhat abnormal.

Somewhat hot, somewhat feverish, as if she had a fever, with undeniable fatigue hidden in her eyes.

Without doubt, An Zijin’s condition had declined severely.

“This can’t continue.”

“You need proper rest, little Zijin.”

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei began persuading with serious expressions.

“I…”

An Zijin wanted to say something but was stopped by Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei’s resolute looks.

Ye Bai, feeling helpless, unconsciously complained.

“Where exactly has that bastard Su Ming run off to at a time like this?”

These words made everyone look at each other, then carefully direct their gazes toward An Zijin.

The fatigue in An Zijin’s eyes and the weakness on her face disappeared in that instant, replaced by an expressionless mask.

It couldn’t be helped.

Not only did everyone still remember yesterday’s phone call, but An Zijin remembered it constantly.

“Didn’t Brother Su Ming say? He’s having fun outside?” An Zijin said slowly, “But that must be a joke. Where in Huaming District could anyone have fun at a time like this?”

“Brother Su Ming must have said it lightly on purpose so we wouldn’t worry.”

“Don’t you think so?”

An Zijin smiled at everyone, but that smile appeared so empty, so hollow, it sent chills down their spines.

“Gulp…”

Everyone couldn’t help but swallow hard.Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei were still managing to maintain their composure, but Lei Hao and Ye Bai were struggling to stay calm.

Ever since that phone call ended yesterday, this junior who was usually sweet, adorable, and universally adored had started acting strangely.

For instance, her eyes would occasionally lose their sparkle.

For instance, her delicate face would occasionally become devoid of emotion.

For instance, her aura would occasionally turn icy cold.

And for instance, wisps of black Qi would occasionally emanate from her body.

This abnormal state made both Lei Hao and Ye Bai somewhat fearful.

“My… my goddess is still adorable no matter what! Hahaha!”

Ye Bai had even uttered such words, his expression at the time visibly strained and fluctuating.

Probably no one could have imagined that An Zijin, who had become the academy’s darling and everyone’s treasured gem in less than a month at the Demon Hunter Academy, could have such another side to her.

Jiang Wanyu and Yao Beibei had given rather serious warnings.

“Zijin in that state is terrifying, seniors. You really shouldn’t speak ill of Senior Su Ming in front of her when she’s like this.”

“Really, seniors, you mustn’t make little Zijin angry when she enters this state, or it could cost you your lives.”

As they delivered these warnings, the two seemed to recall something, trembling slightly.

Clearly, these two beautiful roommates had suffered because of this before.

Seeing An Zijin enter this “inner mode” state again, Lei Hao quickly glared at Ye Bai.

Ye Bai jolted and hurriedly spoke up.

“Right, right! Su Ming must have important matters to attend to, that’s why he can’t pay attention to us right now!”

Ye Bai desperately tried to remedy the situation.

The others quickly followed suit.

“To be fair, although Su Ming sometimes seems unreliable, he actually knows better than anyone what he’s doing. How could he possibly abandon us to go have fun by himself at a time like this?”

“Senior isn’t that kind of person!”

“We all understand!”

Lei Hao, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei hastily chimed in.

“Really?” A glimmer of light returned to An Zijin’s eyes as she looked at everyone. “You all think so too?”

Everyone frantically nodded under An Zijin’s emotionless gaze.

“I knew it.”

An Zijin gradually returned to her usual self, smiling as if genuinely happy.

“Phew…”

Everyone finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

However, right at that moment, a familiar voice reached them.

“So this is where you all ran off to? I’ve been searching everywhere for you!”

When this voice reached everyone’s ears, they first froze in surprise, then turned their heads in astonishment.

“Brother Su Ming!”

An Zijin’s eyes lit up as she whirled around to look toward the source of the voice.

There, at the entrance to the ruins, a figure had appeared at some unknown time.

“Yo, I’m back.”

Su Ming had removed his cloak, combat suit, mask, and hood, returning to his usual attire as if nothing had happened, waving casually at everyone.

“Brother Su Ming!”

An Zijin joyfully ran forward to greet him.

But then, her footsteps halted abruptly.

“Sorry to interrupt.”

From behind Su Ming, Xu Qianqian appeared, offering everyone a calm greeting.”Huh?”

“Xu… Senior Xu Qianqian?”

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah, this…”

Lei Hao, Ye Bai, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei—the group of four—wore expressions of astonishment.

In contrast, An Zijin once again lost all expression on her face.

And just at that moment, Su Ming, completely oblivious to the atmosphere, spoke up.

“Although this is rather sudden, I’d like to ask everyone for a favor.”

Su Ming, leveraging his usual talent for seizing the initiative, stated succinctly.

“To put it simply, the senior and I have been raising something, and we’ll need to bring them along for now. Is that alright?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ming pulled out the “thing” they had been raising from Xu Qianqian’s arms.

“Meeling!”

Little Hai’er let out a fearful cry, her timid demeanor strikingly similar to that of a shy little girl.

“……”

Everyone froze as they looked at Little Hai’er.

This is what you’ve been raising?

What exactly is this?

A daughter?

Just one night, and you already have a child?

Holy crap! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

(End of Chapter)