Chapter 314

Su Bei placed the unconscious king on the bed and let out a long sigh. His original plan had been to release the king at a critical moment to take charge of the situation, while he himself would enjoy the rest of the plot as the honored guest who had saved the king.

But from the looks of it now, the king would probably want to return to his country immediately after being set free. Although Su Bei’s actions were understandable, in the king’s eyes, he had disregarded Wu Mingbai’s safety and openly defied the king’s request.

Even the favor of having saved his life might not be enough to win him over. It would be safer to return to his own country.

Picking up the tablet that had fallen on the bed, Su Bei switched the view directly to the secret chamber. By now, Wu Mingbai had successfully summoned the guardian deity and had begun fighting it. Ai Baozhu didn’t immediately help him escape; after all, they hadn’t achieved their objective for coming here. If they fled now, wouldn’t they have come in vain?

However, just as the king had said, Wu Mingbai was clearly no match for Godean Zhuo. In the video feed, he looked utterly battered. Ai Baozhu, on the other hand, was relatively comfortable in the secret chamber, having used an item to protect herself while someone else drew all the fire. She hadn’t contributed anything significant.

“Let’s just run if this doesn’t work,” Ai Baozhu finally considered giving up, seeing that he had no chance of defeating his opponent. “Your country’s guardian deity seems to have lost its mind. We won’t get any answers by continuing to fight.”

Yet, the tormented Wu Mingbai did not choose to give up. He shook his head, his eyes firm as he said, “I think I’ve figured out a way. Baozhu, next, I need you to activate your ability to protect me when I’m facing real mortal danger. Can you do that?”

Ai Baozhu thought she couldn’t. If she couldn’t, she couldn’t. She had never been the type of fool to blindly take responsibility upon herself. Her face was a mask of incredulity. “I can’t. What gives you so much confidence in me?”

Although Wu Mingbai was taken aback by this response, he wasn’t actually surprised. He immediately continued, “Then make a video call to Jiang and Bing right now. Let them help me with the timing.”

What a great idea! Ai Baozhu’s eyes lit up, and she immediately dialed the number.

Su Bei, watching from above the castle, had to admit that Wu Mingbai was quite resourceful. When he had heard Wu Mingbai ask Ai Baozhu that first question, he had been just as astonished as she was.

Of course, Wu Mingbai and Ai Baozhu’s relationship was good now, but only to the extent of being friends. They were far from the point of entrusting their lives to one another. For Wu Mingbai to be willing to place his life in Ai Baozhu’s hands when it wasn’t absolutely necessary, Su Bei almost suspected he had been possessed. The Wu Mingbai he knew wasn’t such a hot-headed person.

It was only when Wu Mingbai proposed the second plan that Su Bei understood. He probably never intended to execute the first plan at all. Even if Ai Baozhu had said she could do it, Wu Mingbai would have found a way to make that video call.

But having seen this, Su Bei was also very curious about what Wu Mingbai was planning. Had he already figured out a way to deal with Godean Zhuo? Or perhaps a way to communicate with its lucid self?

The video call connected quickly. After understanding the situation, Lan Subing and Jiang Tianming, who were together, readily accepted the task. Although Wu Mingbai’s plan was dangerous, they showed only worry and made no attempt to dissuade him.

The three of them knew each other best. Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing knew that since Wu Mingbai had already made a decision, a few words of persuasion wouldn’t change his mind. The only thing they could do was ensure Ai Baozhu rescued Wu Mingbai in time.

The plan began. Wu Mingbai no longer dodged, attacking the guardian deity as much as possible.

Su Bei keenly sensed that Wu Mingbai wasn’t just simply attacking the guardian deity; he was doing something else, but Su Bei couldn’t immediately figure out what it was.

The frequent attacks annoyed the guardian deity, and it finally delivered a fatal blow. A brown orb of light, the size of a human head, attacked Wu Mingbai from behind, from within his visual blind spot.

Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing shouted in unison, “Save him!”

At this critical moment, Ai Baozhu did not falter. The instant the orb of light was about to make contact with Wu Mingbai, she timely unleashed her ability, [Glorious Domain], covering the entire secret chamber. She successfully deflected the orb out of the domain, and its owner along with it.

Strangely, despite not being hit, Wu Mingbai collapsed to the ground, unconscious. And the guardian deity, which had been attacking relentlessly just moments ago, stopped moving. If its face weren’t still on the stone wall, they would have suspected it had already fled.

“What’s going on?” On the other end of the phone, Lan Subing asked anxiously, “Why did Mingbai faint?”

Ai Baozhu leaned in and squatted down to check the situation. After a moment, she shook her head in confusion. “He doesn’t have any wounds. I don’t know what happened. What should I do now? Should I take him away?”

“No, wait a little longer,” Jiang Tianming refused decisively, then explained, “This should be part of Mingbai’s plan. Leaving here might ruin it.”

Ai Baozhu was easily persuaded. She found a chair nearby, sat down, and waited patiently.

Five minutes later, a strange phenomenon occurred. A large number of earthy yellow light specks began to emerge from the wall and converge on Wu Mingbai. Ai Baozhu’s ability was useless at this moment; she couldn’t stop these light specks from entering and merging with him.

“What is this stuff?” Ai Baozhu anxiously tried to block them with her hands, swatting the light specks away, but it had no effect.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Tianming and Lan Subing grew anxious as well. Although a rational voice told them that these light specks might not be a bad thing, their worry for Wu Mingbai prevented them from remaining calm.

Jiang Tianming’s voice carried a rare sense of urgency. “Use an item! Use whatever you have that can maintain Mingbai’s current state. We’ll reimburse you later.”

“Wait, let me look,” Ai Baozhu immediately began rummaging through her Storage Ring.

But before she could find anything, Wu Mingbai’s slightly hoarse voice sounded out, “No need to look, I’m fine.”

“You’re awake!” the three of them exclaimed in joyful unison. Lan Subing quickly asked, “How are you feeling now?”

Wu Mingbai didn’t answer immediately. He slowly stood up as the brown specks of light continued to drift from the stone face towards him. He extended a hand to touch a speck, and the moment he did, it naturally merged into his body.

Letting out an irrepressible laugh, Wu Mingbai turned his head, his brown eyes filled with excitement. “I couldn’t feel better!”

After his explanation, everyone finally understood what had happened. To put it simply, he had been using his successive attacks to integrate his own Earth Element into the entire environment. At the moment he was on the verge of death, he successfully became part of the situation and managed to communicate with Godean Zhuo, which was also an Earth Element entity.

Its actions were no longer under its own control, but its consciousness was still present, just suppressed into a small corner, unable to emerge.

Godean Zhuo said that there was a problem with this year’s ceremony, and all the faith that it should have absorbed had been converted into resentment. It was because it had absorbed this abnormal faith that it had lost its sanity.

This transformation was irreversible; it could no longer return to normal. Fortunately, Wu Mingbai’s appearance created an opening. It could transfer all of its power to Wu Mingbai. While this wouldn’t restore its sanity, it would at least prevent it from causing any more losses to the Afei Nation.

“Is this guardian deity really so selfless? What great favor does the Afei Nation owe it?” Ai Baozhu was greatly shocked. In the current situation, although Godean Zhuo had lost its sanity, its power was undeniable. Few could deal with it, and even if powerful Ability users came, it could escape to the Nightmare Beast World. Yet it chose to give up its power and life just to reduce the losses of the Afei Nation. This was something Ai Baozhu found very hard to understand.

Wu Mingbai remained silent for a moment before revealing the truth from Godean Zhuo. “Actually, it is an existence formed from the resentment of all the deceased ancestors of our Afei royal family. That’s why it doesn’t want to see the hard work of its descendants over so many years be destroyed. The guardian deity said that if it wasn’t me who came, it would not have transferred its power to anyone else.”

In other words, it was because its own descendant had arrived that the guardian deity was willing to make such a selfless contribution. If a stranger had come, it probably would not have been willing to help.

As expected of an opportunity exclusive to Wu Mingbai. Su Bei had said that his royal status would definitely be useful, not just a source of trouble for him. This proved it.

However, this status brought as much trouble as it did benefits. Su Bei took out his phone and sent a message to Ai Baozhu, who was also on her phone: “Leave quickly, Andrew is coming to get you.”

From the tablet’s surveillance, he could see that Andrew had already received news of Wu Mingbai’s infiltration into the castle, told to him by his twin brother.

Here, it had to be said that the second princess was much more composed. With Weise in the castle, she might not have been unaware of Wu Mingbai’s entry. But she didn’t tell Andrew, not wanting to reveal her own cards. In contrast, the twin brother, after this incident, would have revealed to not just Andrew but also the king that he had spies in his own castle.

Ai Baozhu’s phone was on silent, but because she was looking at it, she saw Su Bei’s message immediately. “Su Bei sent a message! Ah… We need to go! Andrew is coming!”

With their strength, escaping should have been relatively easy. After all, the king was absent, so Andrew couldn’t seal the castle, leaving them with many escape routes. But Wu Mingbai showed a troubled expression. “The energy transfer isn’t finished. I can’t leave.”

Leaving now would mean interrupting the transfer. He could have received eighty percent of Godean Zhuo’s power, but if he stopped now, he would only get forty to fifty percent.

Seeing the specks of light still continuously pouring into him, Ai Baozhu immediately understood his meaning and said, “Then let’s just keep guarding you here. You try to have a good talk with that Andrew, see if he can wait a little before making a move.”

Although she said that, they both knew the hope of persuading Andrew was slim. If he were the kind of person with a brain who could be reasoned with, he wouldn’t have chased after him before, nor would he be coming for him so quickly now. Wu Mingbai had no idea how he had managed to earn such a high level of vigilance from the man. Was he that strong?

What Wu Mingbai didn’t know was that Andrew’s wariness towards him actually stemmed from the recent World Competition. Back then, they were teleported to the Nightmare Beast World together, and Andrew had witnessed firsthand just how strong Wu Mingbai was—at least, much stronger than him.

In his mind, personal strength was the greatest asset in the fight for the throne. And Wu Mingbai, being stronger than him, was naturally someone to be extremely wary of.

In less than a minute, the two heard the sound of uniform footsteps. It was Andrew, arriving with the guards. Just as they had thought, reasoning with Andrew was pointless. He was single-mindedly convinced that Wu Mingbai had snuck in with ill intentions and directly ordered his subordinates to attack and apprehend him.

Although it was clear he didn’t want Wu Mingbai dead—he even specifically said, “Take him alive”—the sheer force of the attack would make it impossible for Wu Mingbai to peacefully receive the energy from the guardian deity.

This would not do.

A cold glint flashed in Su Bei’s eyes. He couldn’t let Wu Mingbai’s power-up be interrupted by anyone. With the [Earth Element] ability, Wu Mingbai was more likely than anyone else to completely eliminate the meteorite.

What if he didn’t absorb the energy completely, and they ended up falling short by that little bit in the end? Sure, the author would ultimately let him complete the mission, but whether someone would have to be sacrificed along the way due to insufficient power was anyone’s guess.

Given his status, if someone really had to be sacrificed, Su Bei was 100% certain the author would choose him.

Therefore, he couldn’t leave such a vulnerability open. Wu Mingbai had to absorb as much energy as possible. That way, even if the situation he had just imagined did come to pass, at least Su Bei wouldn’t regret his inaction at this moment.

“Wake up, it’s your turn to make an entrance,” Su Bei forcefully shoved the king lying beside him, rousing him.

Suddenly awakened from his unconscious state, the king was still a bit dazed, but his brain automatically received the message from Su Bei: “Your second son is about to kill your first son. If you don’t wake up soon, you might have to bury your own son.”

These words shocked the king into full alertness. He shot up. “What! Where?”

After saying this, his brain quickly recalled the events before he passed out, and he immediately glared at Su Bei. “What did you do? You were the one who knocked me out, weren’t you? This is great disrespect! How is Mingbai now?”

Since the deed was already done, Su Bei wasn’t one to feel guilty after the fact. He said with righteous confidence, “I just let you rest for a while. Wu Mingbai has now received the guardian deity’s inheritance, but your not-so-bright second son, Andrew, is trying to interrupt his reception of it. You need to go down personally and stop him. Hmm… they can still hold on for a little while, but if you want to continue holding me accountable, things might really go wrong over there.”

He then handed the tablet to the king, gesturing for him to see the situation for himself.

Although the king didn’t understand what Su Bei meant by the guardian deity’s inheritance, he could see that Andrew was indeed attacking Wu Mingbai. If it weren’t for Ai Baozhu holding them back with her ability, Wu Mingbai would probably have been riddled with holes by now.

A wise man submits to the circumstances; concern for his children triumphed over everything. He immediately let go of his earlier anger and hurriedly said to Su Bei, “Quick, take me down there! Didn’t you say the time was right?”

Of course, waking him up was precisely his goal. Su Bei lifted the king by the waist, carrying him over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing, and lightly jumped down from the upper floor. He then promptly grabbed a railing and swung them inside.

He didn’t need to lead the way after that. The king burst forth with astonishing speed, immediately rushing to the basement and letting out a powerful roar, “Stop!”

At the sound of this familiar voice, the entire scene fell silent. Everyone present had heard the king’s voice and instinctively turned to look in the direction it came from.

Andrew turned his head in disbelief and saw, at the doorway, the king he thought was dead. Andrew’s eyes instantly reddened. “Father, you’re not dead!”

Su Bei: “…”

If it weren’t for Andrew’s surprised and relieved expression, Su Bei would have thought he was disappointed that the king was alive. The guy really didn’t know how to talk. Just listening to that sentence, one might think he didn’t want the king to live. How could someone who couldn’t even speak properly dare to covet the throne? Wasn’t he afraid of leading the entire kingdom into a ditch?

The king’s face also darkened in an instant. He strode over with a grim smile and punched him, then looked sternly at the guards, questioning sharply, “Who gave you the nerve to harm the prince?”

The guards subconsciously looked at Andrew. Andrew finally came to his senses, realizing he hadn’t been doing good deeds during this time, and he instantly felt guilty. “Well… I was afraid my royal brother was up to no good, so I brought them to stop him. He snuck into the castle, which really didn’t look like he was here to do anything good. It’s so good that you’re alive, Father! Where have you been all this time you were missing?”

“Don’t change the subject. Do you take me for a fool?” The king, exasperated, smacked him on the head again. “You just wait until this is over.”

He then looked at Wu Mingbai, mainly at the brown specks of light continuously pouring into his body, and asked hesitantly, “Mingbai, what is happening to you?”

Wu Mingbai first glanced at Su Bei, then began to recount what had just happened. While he was speaking, Ai Baozhu sidled up to Su Bei and asked curiously, “You disappeared to save the king?”

“Something like that,” Su Bei shrugged. He disappeared because he wanted to; saving the king was just a side benefit.

“What’s there to hide about this? Next time you go, can you give us a heads-up first?” Ai Baozhu said with dissatisfaction.

Hearing her complaint, Su Bei immediately opened his phone and showed her the “Do not disturb” message he had sent earlier. “I did.”

That counted as a heads-up? Ai Baozhu couldn’t hold back an ungraceful eye-roll. But she also knew that getting Su Bei to truly report his whereabouts was impossible, so she quickly stopped being angry and making things difficult for herself.

Just then, Wu Mingbai finished his explanation. Learning that he had absorbed the guardian deity’s power, the king said with relief, “That’s wonderful. From now on, you will stay in the Afei Nation and cultivate properly. I will help you withdraw from Endless Ability Academy. Our country’s Earth Element ability masters will guide you.”

“Who said I’m withdrawing?” Amidst the varied expressions of the others, Wu Mingbai raised an eyebrow and flatly rejected his proposal. “I will not leave Endless Ability Academy.”

Su Bei wasn’t interested in the dispute between Wu Mingbai and the king over where he belonged. If the outcome were subject to change, he might have been interested. But what was the point of watching a dispute with a foregone conclusion?

Seeing him about to slip away, Ai Baozhu, who was beside him, had the sense not to say anything, but she also stealthily followed him out.

Once they were on the staircase, she asked in confusion, “Why are you coming out?”

Being able to bring the king out meant that Su Bei must have saved him. If he stayed there now, once Wu Mingbai’s matter was settled, Su Bei should receive a handsome reward. Therefore, even if he was bored, he should have stayed.

It had to be said that Ai Baozhu did indeed understand Su Bei. If there were no other complications, Su Bei would have done just that. Unfortunately, he knew what he had done and couldn’t bet on the king having enough tolerance. “I’m preparing to return to my country. Today.”

After saying that, he even nodded to himself with an “Mm,” as if affirming his own statement.

Ai Baozhu: “…”

She had always felt that she herself was quite willful, but sometimes when she compared herself to Su Bei, she felt she was quite considerate. However, the moment she opened her mouth, she revealed her equally willful nature. “Why? Is something else going to happen? Then I’m going with you.”

Logically, with the guardian deity’s energy depleted, the earthquakes in the Afei Nation should stop. As for the rampaging Nightmare Beasts, as long as there were no natural disasters interfering, they would be no big deal once reinforcements from other countries arrived.

Ai Baozhu felt that by staying here to help in such a dangerous situation, she had already done more than her duty. If there was new danger ahead, a danger that would make Su Bei choose to leave the Afei Nation immediately, then she would have to leave with him.

“That’s not it,” Su Bei shook his head, saying with complete honesty, “I might have offended the king a little.”

Upon hearing this, Ai Baozhu was about to say, “But didn’t you save him? How could you have offended him?” But on second thought, given Su Bei’s personality, it was indeed possible for him to do something like that.

Not dwelling on the matter, her eyes darted around, and she asked coyly, “In that case, does this mean we won’t have any more problems from now on?”

“Not necessarily,” Su Bei said innocently. How would he know if there was more plot in the Afei Nation? In any case, he didn’t plan to participate. “If you don’t want to run into danger, I suggest you return to our country directly, just like me.”

Upon hearing this, Ai Baozhu was instantly disappointed and hesitated for a moment. “I’ll think about it.”

When he said he would go, he went. Su Bei didn’t give anyone time to react. After talking with Ai Baozhu, he immediately returned to his room to grab his luggage and then used the Teleportation Array given by Lei Ze’en to teleport back to his country. Thanks to the massive earthquake caused by Godean Zhuo, the Afei Nation’s protective arrays were destroyed. Otherwise, teleporting out wouldn’t have been so easy, as most countries have anti-teleportation measures at their borders.

Teleporting back home, Su Bei looked at the vanished teleportation talisman, pondering when he could ask Teacher Lei for another dozen. It was great to have a teacher with the [Teleportation] ability. Such powerful teleportation talismans could sell for a sky-high price on the open market, and even then, they’d be hard to come by. Even at Endless Ability Academy, redeeming one from the points store required a significant amount of points.

If their homeroom teacher wasn’t Teacher Lei’s best friend, and if they weren’t considered students personally taught by Teacher Lei, they certainly wouldn’t have the privilege of using such teleportation talismans for free. Forget using them for free; they might not even be able to buy them with money.

As far as Su Bei was concerned, the matter in the Afei Nation was completely over. All that was left was to wait for the manga to update.