Chapter 253 – Application for Early Graduation

Time passed in a way that felt slow yet was actually swift.

In the blink of an eye, a period of time had already passed since that turbulent night.

During this time, whether it was the civilians living in Longyao City or the Professionals in the industry, they gradually began to notice something unusual.

“Lately, haven’t there been a lot of unfamiliar faces in Longyao City?”

“You’ve noticed it too?”

“It feels like a lot of powerful individuals of unknown origins have suddenly appeared.”

“Those Hunters from the major Families have also become much more low-key and silent recently—it’s quite unusual.”

Many people were engaging in such discussions.

At first, only a few perceptive individuals had noticed this.

But gradually, as more and more unfamiliar faces appeared in Longyao City and the number of Professionals of unknown origins increased, even ordinary people began to sense that something was wrong.

Especially those from prominent Families—the ones who used to be quite high-profile and even arrogant—had recently become much more restrained, as if they had been warned by their elders.

This made many people feel that something was abnormal, and rumors began to spread, causing quite a stir in the industry.

Even the Demon Hunter Academy seemed livelier than usual.

“Did your family members tell you what’s going on?”

“No, everyone seems to be hiding something and won’t tell us what’s really happening.”

“I was only warned by my family not to provoke unfamiliar Professionals recently, but when I asked for reasons, they were evasive.”

“What in the world is going on? Why are there so many unfamiliar Professionals all of a sudden?”

The students, too, were discussing this day after day, making the topic increasingly popular within the Academy. Not only were many people talking about it privately, but dedicated threads on the Academy forum were also constantly discussing the matter, causing quite an uproar and giving off a sense of impending turmoil.

In the end, even the Academy administration stepped in with a warning.

“In recent days, our city will be hosting many distinguished guests. All faculty and students are reminded to control their usual words and actions, and avoid conflicts with others. Those who cause trouble recklessly will be considered in violation of school regulations and penalized accordingly.”

The Academy issued this warning, causing a stir among the faculty and students and confirming that something major, unknown to them, was definitely happening in Longyao City recently.

As a result, many people began to take action.

Some deliberately tried to gather information but were met with severe warnings.

Some decided to lay low, turning a blind eye and quietly observing the development of the situation from the shadows.

Others claimed to have insider information, leading to all sorts of rumors flying around. Even some conspiracy theories emerged, forcing the Academy administration to step in and control the discourse to quell the unrest.

In short, the situation in Longyao City had become increasingly turbulent recently, leaving many people anxious and creating a sense of unease for a time.

Under such circumstances, those in the know remained tight-lipped, keeping all the truth hidden in their hearts.The upper echelons of various major families and powerful factions, led by the Six Great Families, as well as numerous high-ranking officials in Longyao City, had become extremely busy recently, constantly receiving all sorts of people and entertaining these distinguished guests from outside.

“It seems Longyao City is truly becoming a garrison for the powerful from the major base cities,” Su Ming observed upon returning to the Academy, acting as if nothing had happened, while gaining considerable insight internally.

This was mainly because Xu Qianqian and Yun Langyue had brought him much information, allowing him to understand what had been happening in Longyao City lately.

“One month ago, the powerful individuals dispatched from the other three of the Four Base Cities arrived first and were grandly received by the Six Great Families and various major factions.”

“Twenty-two days ago, the powerful envoys from the seven base cities closer to the coastal region also arrived in Longyao City one after another.”

“Ten days ago, the powerful figures from the major base cities in the continental interior successively reached Longyao City and were welcomed by the city’s high-ranking officials.”

“Then, three days ago, the powerful representatives sent by base cities worldwide had basically all arrived in Longyao City and, together with local forces, immediately convened a high-level meeting.”

It was said that the participants of this meeting were all at the pinnacle of their respective base cities, major factions, and great families.

They either possessed extraordinary strength or held lofty status—any single one of them could cause a major upheaval in Longyao City if brought forward.

Within the Xu Family, only Family Head Xu Wen and Xu Yongfeng, as a high-ranking official of Longyao City, could attend this meeting. Even the Xu Family’s eldest son, who had always been at odds with Xu Yongfeng, was not qualified to participate. According to Xu Qianqian, this seemed to have left him quite resentful.

Even the relatively detached factions like Cloudflow Commerce and the Sorcerer Guild were invited to the meeting, with only one or two representatives each. Miscellaneous personnel couldn’t even get close to the venue.

Yun Langyue, as the behind-the-scenes ruler of Cloudflow Commerce, attended the meeting alongside her mother upon invitation.

The Sorcerer Guild also dispatched both its President and Vice President—one a Six-Star Sorcerer and the other at the peak of Five-Star Sorcerers, making them the two strongest sorcerers in Longyao City.

Beyond these, only the family heads of top-tier factions or truly powerful individuals could participate in this meeting.

For instance, all the Six-Star pinnacles from the Six Great Families attended, while other families didn’t even have the chance to join, even those first-rate forces second only to the Six Great Families.

The minimum requirement for entry to this meeting was being either the pinnacle of a top-tier faction or a Six-Star Professional.

Even first-rate forces just below the top-tier factions and those who were outstanding among Five-Star Professionals still lacked the qualifications to attend.

The participation threshold for this meeting was exceptionally high, arguably one of the highest-level conferences in human history.

It was heard that from Yinze City—the strongest of the Four Coastal Base Cities—the pinnacle of its sole Super Family, the only Seven-Star Hunter, attended this meeting.

The same went for the powerful figures from the continental interior, most of whom were Six-Star Professionals, and there were even other Seven-Star Professionals present.Such a formidable force was already sufficient to overturn the entire Longyao City, making the local factions within it dare not act arrogantly.

This was also the reason why various families and major powers unanimously began restraining their wayward descendants, forbidding them from provoking conflicts with strangers recently.

Who knew if they might offend someone they shouldn’t—or even someone they absolutely couldn’t afford to provoke?

To this end, some family members with notoriously poor conduct were placed under house arrest by their own families, forbidden to step even a foot outside their clan’s territory. The prodigal siblings of the Li Family were a prime example.

Thus, Longyao City had become exceptionally lively lately—unusually so.

The power gathered here had grown terrifyingly immense, to the point where even an underground giant like 『Sin』 wouldn’t dare extend its reach into Longyao City at this moment.

After a full day and night of intense discussions, the forces gathered in Longyao City finally settled on a future course of action.

Yun Langyue relayed the meeting’s outcome to Su Ming.

“Effective immediately, Longyao City will be designated as a first-level protected territory for the human race. All major Base Cities are obligated to dispatch personnel for its defense.”

“The apex of Yinze City’s Super Family, the Shen Family—the only Seven-Star Hunter among the Four Coastal Base Cities—will remain stationed in Longyao City for long-term guard duty.”

“The Tianfeng City Wang Family will dispatch one Seven-Star Hunter, four Six-Star Hunters, and several Five-Star and Four-Star Hunters, who will also be stationed in Longyao City henceforth.”

“Other major Base Cities have likewise sent personnel to form a unified management organization.”

“The Wang Family Ruins will receive assistance from various Base Cities for reconstruction and will be designated as a first-level protected zone. Unauthorized individuals attempting to trespass will be executed on the spot.”

This was the final resolution.

In other words, starting today, Longyao City’s combat strength would experience an unprecedented surge, with numerous powerful figures—once unimaginable—now stationed here.

The garrisoned personnel included, but were not limited to: two Seven-Star Professionals, forty-four Six-Star Professionals, two hundred and eighteen Five-Star Professionals, and over a thousand Four-Star Professionals.

Yes.

Currently, Longyao City was guarded by over a thousand Upper-Rank Professionals, among whom were two Seven-Star Professionals and forty-four Six-Star Professionals.

With such combat power, they could face the full assault of 『Sin』 without fear.

『Sin』 itself only had two Seven-Star Professionals and thirty-seven Six-Star Professionals, including the 『Ten Demons』.

In terms of top-tier combat strength alone, Longyao City now completely surpassed 『Sin』, even holding a slight advantage.

Frankly, after learning of this lineup, Su Ming was left speechless for a long while.

“Incredible. Longyao City originally had only a few hundred Upper-Rank Professionals, and now suddenly over a thousand more have joined. The combat power has exploded.”

However, since Base Cities worldwide had dispatched their elites, such a level of strength was only to be expected.

If not for the fact that each Base City needed to maintain sufficient combat power for its own defense—limiting the extent of their support—this force could have multiplied several times over.

Even so, the current strength was astonishing enough.

With such a force stationed here, there was no longer any need to worry about Longyao City facing disaster.

Then…

“It’s time for me to plan my graduation.”Thinking this, Su Ming finally stopped hesitating and submitted his application for early graduation to the Academy.

As expected, the news quickly reached all of Su Ming’s friends.

“Early graduation…!?”

Lei Hao, Ye Bai, An Zijin, Jiang Wanyu, and Yao Beibei—all five of them—were stunned for a long, long time before suddenly springing into action and dashing toward Su Ming’s location.

“……”

(End of Chapter)