Chapter 220

Chapter 220

Chapter 220

In this life-or-death moment, everyone fought desperately. Even I, in the arena’s corner, was nearly exposed several times. The arena was battered, nearly collapsing.

During the fight, Jiang Tianming realized something, addressing Cyril and Li Xiang, “You can’t leave now, can you? That’s why you’re stalling. If we’re doomed in twenty minutes and no one can enter, why stay?”

They’d entered via a blood array, sacrificing lives, showing the venue’s tight defenses. Getting in was hard—leaving likely was too.

“So?” Cyril didn’t deny it, curious what Jiang Tianming meant.

“So, if we hold you here, even if we die, you’re stuck with us!” Jiang Tianming turned to Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe, the strongest, “Collapse the arena to trap them. It’s our only shot at revenge.”

He’d given up on them relenting after all that talk. Better to focus on avenging themselves.

Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe got it. He meant creating an earthquake-like collapse to trap them. With their abilities, they likely couldn’t escape quickly.

Cyril raised an eyebrow, surprised but amused, “Going for mutual destruction? You sure your teammates are ready to die?”

Lan Subing, pale from heavy ability use, stayed silent, but her blue eyes showed unwavering resolve, clenching her fist in support.

I chuckled, relaxed, “Just do it.”

I didn’t say we wouldn’t die—though true, it wasn’t needed. I didn’t know how we’d survive, and I didn’t need to grandstand.

Others nodded. Early or late, death was death. If they wouldn’t join “Black Flash,” trapping Cyril and Li Xiang was some comfort.

The arena filled with tragic resolve, everyone ready to “spill blood for the cause.” Some held off Cyril’s duo, while Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe wrecked the arena.

Jiang Tianming’s plan worked—Cyril and Li Xiang moved to stop it. They were here for the mission, not to get trapped.

Li Xiang summoned countless corpses, swarming Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe. Cyril, unfazed, left them to his teammates, focusing on a 1v3.

His demeanor puzzled me. He wasn’t using his full strength—his ability could kill us faster than Li Xiang’s. Even in pure physical combat, he held back.

Did he not want us dead? Or was he just indifferent, watching the show?

Meanwhile, protected by others, Wu Mingbai and Huangfu Mingzhe tore into the arena. Building it was hard; destroying it was easy, especially with one’s brute strength and the other’s [Earth Element] tailored for it.

Initially, Wu Mingbai’s damage was minimal, so Li Xiang sent most corpses after Huangfu Mingzhe. But he underestimated Wu Mingbai’s cunning. Beneath his sunny exterior, he was sly.

In under five minutes, fully prepared, he detonated all his hidden lines.

“Boom!”

Like an earthquake, the arena collapsed, caving in as Jiang Tianming planned, dropping everyone inside. To ensure Cyril and Li Xiang couldn’t leap out with their superior physiques, Wu Mingbai had buried earth element orbs, deepening the collapse.

Reactions varied. Forewarned, I stepped across stones like a martial artist, landing lightly. Jiang Tianming, prepared, used [Object Control] to lower himself and Lan Subing on stones. Wu Mingbai conjured an earth pillar, descending like an elevator…

Unprepared, Zuzong and the others crashed, yelping in pain.

Li Xiang recalled his corpses instantly—they were fragile. Despite the dire situation, he didn’t think he’d die, so he preserved his hard-won forces.

Once everyone steadied, Huangfu Mingzhe laughed defiantly. Glancing at the distant light above and the muddy ground below, he said, “Let me add some fuel.”

Using an ability, his golden glow turned earthy brown.

“[Five-Clawed Golden Dragon] has five elemental aspects,” Si Zhaohua whispered to me and Jiang Tianming, “but far weaker than Wu Mingbai’s.”

Huangfu Mingzhe punched the ground, and the soil, as if controlled, began disintegrating rapidly, aiming to drop them deeper, making escape harder for Cyril and Li Xiang.

But unexpectedly, before the soil broke much, a new hole opened below, swallowing everyone.

The first hole was Wu Mingbai’s, but this wasn’t—his Mental Energy couldn’t make two in a minute.

Even the usually calm Cyril and Li Xiang looked shocked. Others were dumbfounded.

Why was there another hole?!

Caught off guard, everyone fell, landing on a hard floor with thuds.

Before they could stand, figures surrounded them. The underground was pitch black, no light at all, so even Ability users’ eyes couldn’t see who they were.

Using advanced Mental Energy, I vaguely outlined their forms—they seemed eyeless, with tiny noses, four torsos, and at least eight limbs. Their clothes weren’t normal fabric but soil-like.

They chattered incomprehensibly, possibly a dialect. Though likely national, no one understood.

Others weren’t fazed, but I, seeing their forms, was shocked. I’d thought them non-human, like aliens. Hearing their language, were they human?

As they approached, everyone tensed, readying abilities. But their faces changed—somehow, their abilities were heavily suppressed.

Lan Subing, already drained, barely felt her ability. Others were similar. I could see Destiny Compasses but couldn’t adjust pointers, despite barely using Mental Energy.

Yet, I wasn’t scared—rather, I smiled. Suppressed abilities meant Cyril’s [Cell Erosion] might be weakened.

In other words, we might not die soon.

A great relief. I’d wondered how we’d survive—this was it.

Others didn’t have time to think. Unable to use abilities, they stayed silent, letting the strange figures approach and bind them.

Their physical prowess remained, allowing combat, but this was clearly the strangers’ lair. Attacking rashly could worsen things. No one was foolish enough to act.

The rough touch of their bindings puzzled the blind group. Shouldn’t it be hands? Why so coarse?

Who were they? How were they under the venue? Did the Ability Government know? Why bind them?

Questions swirled, including for Cyril and Li Xiang, all silent, pondering the situation.

Then, Manga Consciousness pinged, “King of Abilities updated!”

My mind cleared of questions, left with one thought—“This author loves cliffhangers!”

The figures gestured for us to follow. We complied, walking through the dark cavern.

The utter darkness meant eyes didn’t adjust—we saw nothing. This underground had no light.

After many turns, they led us to a damp room, then left, closing the door.

Only then did anyone speak. Huangfu Mingzhe frowned, “What’s going on? Who are these underground people? Anyone see them?”

“I…” Zuzong raised a hand weakly. Though unseen, his voice betrayed his unease. “I felt them.”

His [Arena] ability trained him to sense surroundings in darkness, moving freely even blind.

So, besides me with Mental Energy, Qiao Mu with shadow powers, and the “Black Flash” duo, he knew the most.

Wasting no time, he said bluntly, “They’re weird—I’m not even sure they’re human. You might not have noticed, but when they tied us, they used at least three hands each.”

Jiang Tianming frowned, “Hiding in such darkness long-term would degrade vision, right? Multiple arms, no eyes—it doesn’t sound human.”

Cyril spoke, intrigued, “That description… Did you notice their hair color?”

“I couldn’t see,” Zuzong replied, then snapped, “Wait, why am I answering you?”

His words reminded others. Huangfu Mingzhe easily snapped his ropes, “No abilities? I don’t believe you two can take us all in pure combat!”

He saw a chance to kill Cyril and Li Xiang. Without abilities, their speed and strength, though superior, weren’t overwhelming enough to handle so many.

Others’ eyes lit up, glaring at the duo. Li Xiang coughed weakly, saying slowly, “Killing us now just sends us out.”

They carried “Black Flash” items—dying outside wasn’t easy.

Si Zhaohua and Huangfu Mingzhe’s faces changed. From big factions, they knew the life-saving tricks groups had. If caught by an Academy, abilities or items might block their escape. But killed here, they wouldn’t truly die.

Cyril smiled, “So, let’s explore together. I’m curious about these creatures. Maybe after, I’ll let you go.”

“Hmph,” Huangfu Mingzhe sneered.

Wu Mingbai, playing naive, said as if believing him, “Great! We’ll find answers together. What’d you mean by hair color?”

In the dark, Cyril glanced at him, answering slowly, “Legend says when Ability users emerged, some were different. Instead of controllable abilities, their bodies mutated—three heads, six arms. Normal Ability users were shunned then, let alone them. After a great earthquake, they vanished, with no historical record since.”

“You think these are their descendants? How could they hide underground so long? What do they eat or drink?” Zuzong disagreed, unconvinced they were human after sensing them.

Cyril remained calm, “Think abilities only gave them deformed bodies? No, they had special powers. Records are scarce, only mentioning their persecution. Besides multiple limbs, another trait is natural white hair.”

“They do have white hair,” Qiao Mu spoke suddenly. Her [Shadow Leap] gave her high dark perception, like daylight, so she saw them clearly.

She’d been silent, scared. Without Cyril’s story, she’d have thought, like Zuzong, they weren’t human.

Besides eight coarse, tentacle-like limbs, they had grayish-blue skin, white hair, and odd features—nothing like humans.

“Then it’s them,” Cyril affirmed. “We should contact them. They might send us back.”

“Why do anything?” Si Zhaohua suggested, “Just wait. Our teachers will save us.”

We’d fallen in plain sight, not some hidden corner. Even if teachers couldn’t enter immediately, they’d find us in an hour.

His logic was sound, easing everyone’s tension, brows relaxing.

“They won’t come,” I said abruptly, then fell silent.

“Why?” Si Zhaohua asked, surprised.

After a pause with no answer from me, Li Xiang spoke, “This place is off, cough. We fell in, but they might not find it. How else could these people hide so long?”

The venue’s foundation, built by earth-element masters, wasn’t this deep. Unless carelessly made, they’d have sensed this space.

Over years, maintenance never detected it—clearly indicating a problem.

He didn’t mention that, upon falling, the nearby corpses they’d pre-placed vanished. This was likely a Different Space—how they fell in was unclear.

If outsiders couldn’t find us, we needed an escape. Si Zhaohua said, “I’ll go back to where we fell and fly up. If I find an exit, I’ll pull you up one by one. If not, we’ll try something else.”

Though abilities were suppressed underground, he could likely summon [Angel] to fly and alert the outside.

It was the safest plan, and no one objected. Then Zuzong asked, “How do we sneak Si past these… people?”

No one spoke. His concern was valid—rashly escaping could alert them, endangering those left behind. None of us could mask it, especially with abilities unusable.

While others pondered, I thought of something else—why did Wu Jin tug me earlier?

It was when Cyril said, “We should contact them.” Fearing notice, he’d only pulled my hem lightly.

It could only mean Cyril’s words were off. But I didn’t see anything wrong. Neither Cyril nor Li Xiang wanted us rescued by the Academy—it’d trap them. Seeking another exit via the locals was normal.

I’d ask Wu Jin later, I decided, lowering my eyes. More pressing was Li Bowen and Qiao Mu’s Destiny Compasses, showing extreme danger.

Their large pointers were at twelve o’clock—something big was coming. Their small pointers were far right, nearly maxed, meaning it wasn’t good.

From their small pointers, I guessed they might not die but would be gravely injured. That’s why I’d warned them—waiting was death.

The protagonist squad wouldn’t die, but others might. I warned them for their sake and mine—I wasn’t part of the squad.

True to his protagonist role, Jiang Tianming calmly analyzed, “We shouldn’t seek an exit yet. First, map this place and adapt to the dark. Even if Zhaohua finds a way out, can you pinpoint our drop spot?”