Chapter 390 – The Infuriating Casualties

When Su Ming stepped out of Old Ling’s cabin, he realized it was located in the suburbs of Tianfeng City.

Within Tianfeng City, hailed as the Human Sanctuary, only the suburbs near the city walls contained vast stretches of woodland and orchards, along with some mountainous cultivation areas that resembled territories of ethnic minorities. This made Old Ling’s cabin seem not particularly out of place here.

Unlike the city center areas like Dragonheart District, there were few Professionals here—one could even say none at all. Most people in this area were ordinary folks responsible for planting and other agricultural work.

No one would ever imagine that in such a place resided Tianfeng City’s Guardian Deity, humanity’s Ultimate Weapon.

Under normal circumstances, Su Ming would have marveled at this.

But now, he wasn’t in the mood.

Recalling the information he had just learned from Old Ling, Su Ming let out a deep sigh.

“It seems I really can’t keep lying low anymore.”

As he spoke, Su Ming took out an object.

It was an Emblem.

About the size of a palm, the Emblem appeared to be made of special supernatural metal, displaying a noble and luxurious bright gold color that gave off a somewhat gaudy golden vibe.

On the Emblem was a pattern.

In the pattern, a human clad in armor raised a Sword high, pointing it toward a ferocious beast, as if engaged in some great struggle.

Holding this Emblem, Old Ling’s final parting words echoed in Su Ming’s mind.

“If you truly encounter injustice or troubles you can’t resolve, then show this.”

“But you need to think carefully.”

“Once you display it, that means you’ve accepted the position of Guardian Deity.”

“At that point, even if you deny it, everyone in the world will consider you my Disciple, the next Guardian Deity.”

The old man’s calm yet firm words seemed to still ring clearly in his ears.

Su Ming pursed his lips, finally storing the Emblem in his Golden Finger backpack.

“Mee.”

Hai’er clung to Su Ming’s arm. Seeing him remain silent, she couldn’t help but let out a soft murmur.

Clearly, the mermaid was also somewhat worried about Su Ming’s state.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Su Ming patted Hai’er’s head and said, “Sorry for making you worry.”

Hearing this, Hai’er shook her head, took Su Ming’s hand, and placed it on her chest, as if telling him they were originally heart-to-heart, connected as one.

However, the sensation transmitted through his fingertips somewhat shook Su Ming’s Dao Heart.

Su Ming could only quickly withdraw his hand, the various complex emotions in his heart unconsciously dissipating somewhat.

“Mee?”

Hai’er looked at Su Ming quizzically, tilting her head in confusion.

“It’s nothing.” Su Ming smiled wryly and shook his head, then took Hai’er’s hand. “Let’s head back first.”

Hai’er naturally had no objections.

The two immediately headed toward the station.

Behind them, in the small wooden cabin, Old Ling appeared at the window, watching Su Ming’s retreating figure until he completely disappeared before vanishing himself.

……

Tianfeng City, Station.Holding Hai’er’s hand as they walked through the station, Su Ming booked tickets to Dragonheart District in the city center via his terminal while simultaneously opening the Professional Center’s official website to check the latest updates from the past two days.

Two days had already passed since Old Ling brought him out of the Midnight Labyrinth.

By his calculations, today was the day the entrance to the Midnight Labyrinth would close, and this Hidden Realm would once again depart from the surface, returning to the gap between the present world and the Spirit Demon Abyss.

Su Ming was eager to learn what had happened during these two days.

But as he searched, he discovered that the hottest news online wasn’t about the Midnight Labyrinth—it was about him.

Yes, his own news.

“Breaking News! The Youngest Upper-Rank Professional in History!”

“A Rookie? No! He Is the Most Formidable Dark Horse!”

“An Eighteen-Year-Old Dual Professional!”

“So, He Is the Most Legendary Figure in ‘Azure Mercury’!”

“Ming Wang? Su Ming? The Wielder of the Divine Artifact Demon Emperor Sword!”

“World Records Shattered! An Unprecedented and Unrepeatable Prodigy!”

In this manner, news reports related to Su Ming had almost completely dominated all trending topics.

Just as Old Ling had said, he had become the hottest topic in Tianfeng City, and his true strength had been fully exposed.

Although none of these so-called latest updates online specified Su Ming’s current Rank, the fact that he had effortlessly crushed the No. 3 of the ‘Ten Demons,’ a Peak Six-Star existence, had already spread like wildfire.

Thus, while the world didn’t yet know Su Ming’s exact Star level, discussions about his strength were endless.

Su Ming skimmed through the discussions and found that the topic of his true strength was being debated intensely.

Just like the heated arguments about the power levels of characters from various dimensions in his previous life’s online forums, topics involving “combat power” and “strength” were always the most explosive.

After a quick look, Su Ming noticed that the most widely accepted theory was surprisingly close to the truth.

“I don’t think Su Ming is likely a Seven-Star Professional.”

“Right, he’s only eighteen. No matter how much of a prodigy he is, it’s impossible for him to reach Seven-Star at this age, is it?”

“But he single-handedly crushed a Peak Six-Star Hunter, which proves his strength must far surpass that of a Peak Six-Star.”

“Far surpassing Peak Six-Star? Doesn’t that mean he’s Seven-Star?”

“No, considering he’s a Dual Professional, even if he hasn’t advanced to Seven-Star, he has more than enough strength to overwhelm a Peak Six-Star Hunter.”

“In my opinion, Su Ming might have reached Six-Star in both professions, or one profession at Six-Star and the other at Five-Star. Combined with his mutated ability, as long as his combat techniques and Spirit Art Legacy aren’t weak and he isn’t severely lacking in combat experience, it should be possible for him to crush a Peak Six-Star Hunter.””I agree. The advantage of a Dual Professional is too great. As long as one of the two professions is Six-Star and the other is Five-Star, combined with a mutation ability and two Awakening abilities, it’s entirely possible to overpower a Peak Six-Star Hunter.”

“I also agree with this view. Either both professions have reached Six-Star, or one is Six-Star and the other is Five-Star. Seven-Star would be too exaggerated.”

“Agreed.”

This perspective is currently the most widely accepted.

“As expected, the analyses from internet jokesters either seem thoroughly reasoned or are actually thoroughly reasoned.”

Su Ming was astonished.

His true Rank had indeed been clearly analyzed by many—not Seven-Star, yet surpassing Seven-Star.

Su Ming even noticed numerous comments under various combat power discussion threads.

“A rookie at eighteen years old—I can’t believe he’s already capable of overpowering a Peak Six-Star Underground Professional.”

“Su Ming’s strength probably isn’t far from that of a true Seven-Star Professional, right?”

“He’s only eighteen!”

“Wah, I’m thirty-eight this year and still haven’t been promoted to the upper ranks. He’s twenty years younger than me but is already approaching the pinnacle of humanity. It feels like I’ve wasted all these years!”

“I don’t believe this is real! It must be a rumor! It’s a trending topic bought by ‘Azure Mercury’! I’m going to report them to the Professional Center!”

“Is the person above an idiot?”

“This news comes from the three A-rank teams—’Summer Chasing Smoke,’ ‘Brocade Dragon Jade Pavilion,’ and ‘Iron Rose’—as well as many other B-rank teams. The Tianfeng City authorities have already sent people to verify it, and they haven’t denied it yet. What does that tell you? Isn’t it obvious?”

“Even the authorities have tacitly acknowledged it!”

“I hope it’s true. That way, humanity will have another extraordinarily talented legend to fight against the Spirit Demon Abyss, protect Tianfeng City, and safeguard the present world. This is absolutely a great thing.”

“Agreed. I really hope it’s true.”

“With such a Prodigy-level super existence among us humans, once he grows up, he’ll be the second Guardian Deity!”

“The more human powerhouses, the better. The more Geniuses and Prodigies, the better. Only then can humanity be safer.”

“Absolutely right.”

Similar comments were everywhere.

Clearly, in the public’s mind, Su Ming’s excellence was not a bad thing but a good one.

Most people expressed blessings and even suggested celebrating the birth of such a Prodigy. Only a minority showed jealousy, disdain, or unwillingness to believe.

The direction of public opinion wasn’t half good and half bad—the negative part was actually the minority.

This gave Su Ming some insight.

“For ordinary people, they truly look forward to the emergence of a new Guardian Deity, allowing them to have a peaceful haven in this apocalyptic world.”

Unlike some schemers or those in high positions, who first think of their own interests and whether they can profit from such situations, ordinary people just want to live and work in peace.

“Are these the people Old Ling truly protects?”

Su Ming pondered.

Could it be that this is why Old Ling chose not to join any faction?Su Ming pondered for a moment before ultimately giving up. Instead, he began scrolling through the screen to search for the latest news regarding the Midnight Labyrinth.

Fortunately, the news about the Midnight Labyrinth was equally sensational.

Thus, Su Ming didn’t have much trouble finding relevant reports.

It was said that when the Midnight Labyrinth manifested and its entrance opened, as numerous Professional teams entered in search of treasures, the military forces surrounding the wilderness where the labyrinth was located were inexplicably attacked. Along with a team of S-rank Professionals, they were completely slaughtered.

At that time, thousands of soldiers were massacred, and over a hundred Professionals lost their lives, including two Six-Star Professionals and eight Upper-Rank Professionals.

If such casualties had occurred in Longyao City, it would have been absolutely devastating.

How many Six-Star and Upper-Rank Professionals did Longyao City even have?

During the Huaming Campaign, when the Family Head and pinnacle figure of the Longyao Wang Family was severely injured and subsequently retired, it caused widespread regret and grief across the entire network. The sacrifice of ten Upper-Rank Professionals, including two Six-Star Professionals, was even more devastating.

But this was only the beginning.

As the slaughterers entered the Midnight Labyrinth, more Professional teams fell victim to their attacks, suffering heavy casualties.

Even when Su Ming and the others were operating on the tenth floor, preparing to investigate the Hell Beasts, the dozens of Upper-Rank Professionals stationed outside to provide support were reportedly subjected to a one-sided massacre after the appearance of 『Sin』, resulting in severe losses.

Su Ming checked the list of casualties and discovered that Qiao Zhi’s name was among them.

Zhu Yun was also critically injured and on the verge of death. If not for the other Upper-Rank Professionals of the Iron Rose risking their lives to rescue her and allowing her to escape, this second-in-command of the Iron Rose might have perished as well.

On that day, ninety percent of the Upper-Rank Professionals stationed outside the canyon to provide support were killed, with only about ten percent escaping with severe injuries. This left several major Professional teams with devastating losses.

Additionally, when Su Ming and Qing Qing ultimately clashed with Divine Artifacts, causing the entire tenth floor to collapse, many people were affected. Among the thousands of Professionals who had entered the tenth floor, a significant number met with misfortune.

“……”

Su Ming fell into silence.

The casualties… were actually this severe…

“Fortunately, Chi Qian and Mu Yan are both safe.”

After entering the Midnight Labyrinth, Su Ming had given each of the four girls in the team one life-saving tool and one escape tool.

The life-saving tool was the Substitute Straw Doll.

Su Ming didn’t have many of these to begin with. However, when he used the Blue Demon Ceasefire Ring to resolve the issues brought by the Demon Emperor Sword and when he prepared resources to enhance Tong Xinyao’s Spirit Power, Su Ming opened a large number of packages and ultimately obtained quite a few Substitute Straw Dolls from them.

Thus, Su Ming prepared one for each of the girls as a means of preserving their lives.

The escape tool was a special Alchemy Device that, when activated, could eject a person from the current map on a rule-based level, functioning like a random teleportation scroll. It was extremely useful.

Mu Yan, Feng Qing’er, and Tong Xinyao were forced to use their Substitute Straw Dolls when attacked by 『Sin』, saving their lives. They were then randomly teleported to other floors, narrowly escaping disaster.

Therefore, all the girls were safe.Chi Qian was fine, and Xu Xiayan was also fine. Under Hai’er’s cover, those few people had already left the basin and the canyon first. Although they were eventually caught in the aftermath of the collision between the Demon Emperor Sword and the Great Sin Blade, each sustaining some injuries, none were fatal.

This allowed Su Ming to breathe a sigh of relief, for now.

At least, the people he cared about were all safe.

However, it was an unavoidable fact that various Professional teams had either been completely wiped out or suffered heavy casualties.

This incident had caused significant chaos in Tianfeng City, alarming many Hunter Families and even prompting them to take action.

Everyone expressed immense anger toward the culprit responsible for all this.

Especially the Qiao Family—Qiao Zhi’s death had thrown the entire family, including Qiao Liang, into a state of fury.

“『Sin』…”

Su Ming narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.

“This grudge—I, Su Ming, will remember it.”

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(End of Chapter)