Chapter 220

At this critical moment of life and death, everyone fought with all their might, and even Su Bei, who was standing in the corner of the arena, was implicated several times, almost revealing himself. The entire arena could be said to be “riddled with scars,” on the verge of collapsing.

During the fight, Jiang Tianming suddenly realized a problem. He turned to Cyril and Li Xiang and said, “You two probably can’t leave, which is why you’re stalling us here. Otherwise, since you’re certain we’ll die in twenty minutes, and no one from outside can get in, what’s the point of staying here?”

Not only that, but they had entered by expending the lives of many people and using a Teleportation Array, going to great lengths. This showed that the venue’s defenses were actually very strict; it wasn’t easy to get in, and naturally, it wasn’t easy to get out.

“So?” Cyril didn’t deny his statement, only curious as to what Jiang Tianming wanted to say.

“So, as long as we can hold you back, even if we die, you’ll have to stay and die with us!” Jiang Tianming said, then suddenly turned to Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe, who was the strongest among the others: “Let the arena collapse and trap them. This is the only way for us to avenge ourselves.”

He no longer hoped these two would have a change of heart and release them. They hadn’t been swayed by his prolonged talking earlier, so it was better to think about how to get revenge on their own.

Hearing Jiang Tianming’s words, Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe immediately understood his intention. Simply put, he wanted to create an earthquake-like collapse effect. If they could be crushed underneath, then with their abilities, Cyril and Li Xiang probably wouldn’t be able to escape quickly.

Cyril raised an eyebrow, a little surprised, but quickly smiled. “You want to take us down with you, huh? But did you ask your teammates if they agree? I doubt they’re so eager to die.”

“Do your best,” Si Zhaohua declared first. “I will never surrender.”

Lan Subing’s face was pale from using a large amount of her ability. But the determination in her blue eyes was as unwavering as ever; she didn’t speak, only clenched her fist to show her support and resolve.

As for Su Bei, he chuckled lightly, appearing quite at ease. “Let’s do it.”

He didn’t say anything like “no one will die,” even though it was the truth. There was no need to say it now. Firstly, he didn’t know how everyone would escape danger, and secondly, he didn’t need such a statement to build his image.

Others also nodded in agreement. Anyway, whether they died sooner or later, they would die. If they didn’t want to join the Black Flash Organization, then being able to keep Cyril and Li Xiang here would be a form of solace.

A tragic and heroic atmosphere filled the entire arena. Everyone shared a sentiment of “I dedicate my blood to the nation.” The other few were responsible for tying up Cyril and Li Xiang, while Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe jointly worked on destroying the arena.

Jiang Tianming’s method seemed to be effective against them, as Cyril and Li Xiang both began to obstruct the destruction plan. They were only there to complete a mission; they didn’t want to actually get trapped here.

Li Xiang instantly summoned countless corpses, standing densely packed on the stage, attacking Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe. Cyril, however, showed no signs of hurry, completely entrusting the task of dealing with them to his teammates, while he focused on a 1v3 battle.

Watching him, Su Bei couldn’t help but feel a little puzzled. Cyril definitely wasn’t using his full power. His Cellular Erosion ability was much simpler to deal with humans than Li Xiang’s, and if he really used his ability, they would probably die very quickly.

But he didn’t, and even in pure physical combat, he didn’t seem to be truly aiming for a kill. Because Su Bei’s combat skills were very high, he could clearly see that Cyril was holding back.

Did he not want to kill them? Or was he simply indifferent, wanting to watch the show?

On the other side, Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe, under the protection of others, began to extensively destroy the arena. Building an arena was difficult, but destroying it was easy, especially with one person possessing incredibly strong physical power and the other having the Earth Element ability specifically suited for the task.

Initially, Wu Mingbai caused minimal damage to the arena, so Li Xiang diverted most of the corpses to harass Huangfu Mingzhe. But he clearly underestimated Wu Mingbai. This guy was sly and cunning, full of hidden schemes beneath his sunny exterior.

In less than five minutes, having made his preparations, he suddenly detonated all his hidden charges.

“Boom!”

As if an earthquake had struck, the entire arena collapsed with a roar, exactly as Jiang Tianming had said, directly caving in and dropping everyone inside. And to prevent Cyril and Li Xiang from jumping out of the collapsed hole with their superhuman physical abilities, Wu Mingbai had buried Earth Element orbs very deep, ensuring the collapsed area was also very deep.

As the arena suddenly collapsed, everyone reacted differently. Su Bei, who had anticipated it, stepped on several rocks, descending gracefully as if using a lightness skill. Jiang Tianming, who was also prepared, used his Object Control ability to manipulate rocks, carrying himself and Lan Subing down. Wu Mingbai, needless to say, directly generated an earthen pillar, lowering him like an elevator…

Zu Zong and the others, who had no psychological preparation, simply fell, letting out cries of “Ouch!”

The corpses were instantly recalled by Li Xiang the moment they fell. Corpses were very fragile, and although the situation was critical under Jiang Tianming’s operation, he didn’t believe he would actually die, so he didn’t want to waste the combat power he had painstakingly gathered.

After everyone had stabilized themselves, Huangfu Mingzhe was the first to let out an unrestrained laugh. He looked up at the distant light at the top, then down at the ground which had turned to mud. “Then I’ll add fuel to the fire.”

After speaking, he used some unknown ability, and the golden light on his body turned into a brownish-yellow glow.

“The Five-clawed Golden Dragon possesses the five elements,” the knowledgeable Si Zhaohua quietly explained to Su Bei, Jiang Tianming, and the others beside him. “However, it’s far from as strong as Wu Mingbai’s.”

As he spoke, Huangfu Mingzhe punched the ground, and all the mud on the surface suddenly seemed to be controlled, rapidly disintegrating. Clearly, he wanted them to fall even deeper, making it even harder for Cyril and Li Xiang to escape.

However, to everyone’s surprise, before the soil had even disintegrated much under Huangfu Mingzhe’s manipulation, a large hole suddenly appeared beneath them, causing everyone to fall straight down.

The previous hole was made by Wu Mingbai in advance, but this hole was not. His Mental Energy couldn’t support him making two large holes in just one minute.

Even the usually calm Cyril and Li Xiang couldn’t help but show expressions of astonishment as they fell this time. For the others, it was even more so, their minds filled with question marks.

Why was there another hole beneath this one?!

Everyone was caught off guard this time, one after another falling with “thudding” sounds onto the hard floor.

Before they could even get up, a circle of people suddenly surrounded them. But because the underground environment was extremely dark, without a shred of light, even with an Ability user’s eyesight, they couldn’t clearly see what these people looked like.

Using his advanced Mental Energy, Su Bei could roughly sketch out the appearance of these beings. They seemed to have no eyes, and very small noses. They didn’t just have four limbs; he estimated they had at least eight. The clothes they wore weren’t normal fabric but something akin to mud.

They rustled, seemingly discussing something. Their words sounded like a dialect; though it seemed to be a native language, no one could quite understand it.

The others didn’t find anything particularly strange, but Su Bei, who knew what these guys looked like, was very surprised. He had originally thought these things weren’t human, but some kind of alien. Yet, hearing the language they spoke, could they actually be human?

Feeling them gradually approaching, everyone became vigilant, preparing to use their abilities. But the next second, their faces changed drastically. For some unknown reason, they could feel their abilities being greatly restricted.

Lan Subing had already used too much Mental Energy and could barely use any abilities; now she could hardly feel her ability’s presence at all. It was the same for everyone else. Su Bei, for example, could still see everyone’s Destiny Compasses, but adjusting the Major Destiny Pointer was almost impossible. Even though he hadn’t used much of his Mental Energy, he simply couldn’t use his abilities.

Although his abilities were unusable, Su Bei didn’t feel afraid. On the contrary, a smile even appeared on his face. If abilities were suppressed, did that mean the impact Cyril’s previous skill had on them was also lessened?

In other words, they probably wouldn’t die in the short term.

This was undoubtedly good news. Su Bei had been wondering how they would survive in this situation; so this was the answer.

The others, however, had no leisure to think about such things. Upon discovering their abilities were unusable, no one dared to speak another word, allowing these strange figures to approach and tie them up.

While their physical condition remained, allowing for physical attacks, this was clearly the lair of these unfamiliar beings. Attacking them rashly might worsen an already manageable situation. Most of those present were not foolish, so naturally, no one did so.

The rough texture against their bodies made everyone, unable to see, feel somewhat perplexed. Logically, it should have been these people’s hands touching them, but how could human hands be so rough?

And who exactly were these people? How did they appear beneath the competition venue? Did the Ability Government know of their existence? What did they intend to do by tying them up?

A myriad of questions swirled in their minds. Including Cyril and Li Xiang, everyone remained silent, contemplating the current situation.

At the same time, Su Bei heard a prompt from his Manga Consciousness: “King of Abilities” had actually updated!

In an instant, all questions in his mind were cleared, leaving only one thought: “This author really knows how to end a chapter on a cliffhanger!”

The group gestured for Su Bei and the others, who were tied up, to follow them. Everyone obediently followed their instructions, walking together in the dark cave.

Because the entire space was extremely dark, even after being inside for a while, their eyes still hadn’t adjusted, seeing nothing. This showed that the underground space truly had very little light.

Turning left and right, making several turns, after leading them into a damp room, those people gradually left, closing the door behind them.

Only then did everyone finally have the leisure to speak. Huangfu Mingzhe frowned deeply. “What’s going on now? Who are these people underground? Did any of you see them?”

“I…” Zu Zong weakly raised his hand. Although his expression couldn’t be seen, his voice indicated his mood was probably not great. “I sensed them.”

Because of his Arena Ability, he had specifically trained his ability to perceive his surroundings in the dark. It could be said that even if he became blind, he could still move freely.

Therefore, in this situation, apart from Su Bei who could perceive his surroundings with Mental Energy, Qiao Mu with her shadow ability, and the two Black Flash members who knew their own powerful abilities, he was the most knowledgeable about the current situation.

Without delay, he directly stated his findings: “Those guys are very strange. I can’t even be sure if they’re human. Perhaps you didn’t notice, but I could feel that when they tied us up with ropes, they used at least three hands—three hands on one person.”

Hearing his words, Jiang Tianming also frowned. “Hidden in such a lightless underground place, if they’ve been hiding for a long time, their eyesight would probably degenerate. Multiple arms, no eyes… doesn’t sound very human.”

At this moment, Cyril suddenly spoke, his voice sounding very interested. “These characteristics… did you notice the color of their hair?”

“I can’t see,” Zu Zong instinctively shook his head in reply, then suddenly reacted. “Wait, why am I answering you?”

His words also reminded the others. Huangfu Mingzhe easily tore off the ropes binding him. “Now everyone can’t use their abilities. I refuse to believe you two can beat all of us relying purely on physical combat!”

Clearly, he intended to seize this opportunity to kill Cyril and Li Xiang, and it was indeed a good time. As he said, without abilities, Cyril and Li Xiang would be no match for so many of them in pure physical combat. While their speed and strength far surpassed everyone else’s, it wasn’t to the point of absolute suppression, so they couldn’t handle too many people.

Understanding this, the others’ eyes also lit up, looking menacingly at the two. Li Xiang coughed weakly a couple of times and slowly said, “If you kill us now, you’re only helping us leave this place.”

They all carried items from the Black Flash Organization; dying outside wasn’t that simple for them.

Hearing this, Si Zhaohua and Huangfu Mingzhe’s expressions changed. They themselves were from major powers and naturally understood how many life-saving trump cards an organization would have. If these two were caught by the academy, then they might indeed be prevented from using revival items due to some of the academy’s abilities or tools. But if they were killed here, they certainly wouldn’t truly die.

Cyril smiled. “So why don’t we explore this place together? I’m quite interested in these creatures myself. Perhaps after our adventure together, I might even release you.”

“Hmph,” Huangfu Mingzhe scoffed.

Wu Mingbai, however, put on an innocent, naive act, as if he believed Cyril’s words. “That’s great! We’re sure to get results if we study it together. What did you mean when you asked about their hair color?”

In the darkness, Cyril glanced at him, then slowly replied, “Legend has it that when Ability users first appeared, there was a different kind of Ability user. Unlike other Ability users who mastered controllable abilities, they had physical mutations, growing three heads and eight limbs. Ordinary Ability users were already ostracized at that time, let alone them. But after a great earthquake, they all suddenly disappeared, and no historical records have mentioned them since.”

“You suspect these people are their descendants? But how is that possible? How could they hide underground for so long without going out? What did they eat and drink all this time?” Zu Zong disagreed, after sensing what these guys generally looked like, he didn’t believe the beings here were human.

Cyril’s voice remained calm. “Did you think abilities only gave them deformed bodies? No, they also gained special powers. However, historical records don’t mention much, only their experiences of being hunted down. To determine their identity, besides the characteristic of having three heads and eight limbs, another point is that they were all born with white hair.”

“They do have white hair.” At this moment, Qiao Mu suddenly spoke. Possessing the Shadow Leap ability, her perception in the dark was higher than anyone else’s. Darkness was no different from daytime for her, so she could clearly see what these people looked like.

This was also why Qiao Mu hadn’t spoken until now; she had also been startled. If it weren’t for the story Cyril told, she probably would have thought, like Zu Zong, that these guys weren’t human at all.

Besides having eight rough, tentacle-like limbs, their skin was grayish-blue, and coupled with their white hair and strange facial features, they truly looked completely unrelated to humans.

“Then that’s them,” Cyril affirmed. “We should actively make contact. Perhaps they’ll be willing to send us back to the surface.”

“Actually, we don’t necessarily need to do anything, right?” Si Zhaohua immediately thought of another method. “We just need to wait here; the teachers will definitely come to save us.”

They had fallen in plain sight, not in some unknown corner. Even if the teachers couldn’t enter the venue immediately, they would surely come to rescue them within an hour or so.

His words couldn’t have been more reasonable. The previously worried crowd immediately felt relieved, their tightly furrowed brows relaxing.

“They won’t be coming back,” Su Bei, who had been silent, suddenly delivered this answer, then said no more.

“Why?” Si Zhaohua showed a surprised expression.

After waiting for a while, seeing no answer from Su Bei, he was about to ask again when Li Xiang spoke up to answer his question. “Because this place is wrong, cough cough. Although we could fall down, they might not be able to find us. Otherwise, how could these people hide here for so long?”

One must know that the place above was the competition venue. Although the venue’s foundation wasn’t dug this deep, it must have been built by a master Earth Element Ability user. Unless the builder was extremely careless, it would be difficult not to sense such a large space beneath.

Moreover, it had been maintained over the years, and the fact that it was never detected certainly indicated a problem.

And one more thing he didn’t mention was that when they fell into this space, all the corpses they had buried in advance nearby, which he had felt, had disappeared. This indicated that, in some sense, this place might be an anomalous space. They just didn’t know how they had fallen in.

If the people outside couldn’t find them, then they truly had to find a way out themselves. Si Zhaohua thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll go back to where we fell in and fly up to check. If I can still find an exit, I’ll bring you all up one by one. If not, we’ll think of other methods.”

Even though abilities were almost unusable in the underground world, if he simply wanted to summon his Angel Beam ability, it was still somewhat possible. Once this ability was summoned, he could fly. If he could fly up, he could report their situation to the outside.

This was indeed the most reliable method at the moment, and everyone had no objections. So now the question arose. Zu Zong asked, “How do we hide from the people here… to let Si go?”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Zu Zong’s concern was very valid. If Si Zhaohua left rashly and aroused the suspicion of the people here, causing danger to the others who remained, that would be bad. But there was no one among them who could conceal this, and even if there were, their abilities were unusable.

While others were pondering this problem, Su Bei was thinking about another one—why did Wu Jin tug at him just now?

He had pulled at him when Cyril said, “We should actively make contact with them.” Perhaps fearing discovery, he had merely tugged at the hem of his clothes.

Pulling him at that moment could only mean there was something wrong with Cyril’s words. But Su Bei hadn’t found anything amiss. Neither Li Xiang nor Cyril would want them to be rescued by the academy’s people, because then they wouldn’t be able to escape. Therefore, seeking contact with the aboriginals here for another way to leave seemed perfectly normal.

He’d have to find a chance to ask Wu Jin later, he lowered his gaze. He was more worried about something else now: the situation displayed on Li Bowen’s and Qiao Mu’s Destiny Compasses indicated they were in a very dangerous position.

The Major Destiny Pointers for both of them were at the twelve o’clock position, meaning a major event was about to occur. And the Minor Destiny Pointers were heavily skewed to the right, almost at their limit, indicating this major event would definitely not be a good one.

Judging by the Minor Destiny Pointers’ positions, Su Bei estimated that even if they didn’t die from this, they would likely suffer severe injuries. This was also why Su Bei had warned them earlier; waiting here would definitely lead to death.

The protagonist group wouldn’t die, but those outside the protagonist group? That was uncertain. So, this reminder wasn’t just for those two, but also for himself, as he was also outside the protagonist group.

As expected of the protagonist, Jiang Tianming quickly analyzed calmly: “What we should do most right now isn’t to find an exit, but to first understand the terrain here and adapt to the darkness. Otherwise, even if Zhaohua you find a way to leave alone, can you accurately return to where we fell?”