CHAPTER 44 — When the Sky Refused to Answer
ELSEWHERE —
Miles away, deep within Blackfang Desolation—
Twenty students stood together.
Two academies.
Golden Serpent Cultivation Hall.Cloudwhisper Formation Academy.
They had formed an alliance.
A smart one.
Or so they thought.
"Captain, something's wrong," a student whispered.
The forest was silent.
Too silent.
Then—
The ground cracked.
A massive form emerged from beneath the earth.
Its body was colossal, armored in ancient stone and black crystal.Its eyes glowed with madness.
A King-tier monster.
Name unknown.
Title forgotten.
Only hunger remained.
"RETREAT—!" someone screamed.
Too late.
The creature roared.
The sound alone ruptured organs.
Students collapsed instantly.
Formations shattered.
The king monster swept its arm—
BOOOOOOM—!
Ten bodies vanished.
"DISTRESS SIGNAL—!"
A crystal shattered on the ground.
No barrier came.
The monster didn't slow.
It crushed.It devoured.It annihilated.
The King-tier monster didn't hunt.
It executed.
Twenty students.
Gone.
Blood soaked the earth.
The king monster lifted its head.
Sniffed.
Its gaze turned—
Toward the direction of Azure Dragon Academy's camp.
A moment later, instructors descended.
Too late.
TEAM ELIMINATED — RECOVERY FAILED
The island didn't explode into chaos.
It breathed.
Slowly.
Heavily.
And far away—
Something answered.
THE BROADCAST —
High above the battlefield, far removed from blood and fear, the official broadcast continued.
The commentator's voice crackled with excitement, loud and sharp, completely detached from reality.
"Ladies and gentlemen, what an incredible first phase we're witnessing!"
"Team after team advancing deeper into the island!"
"Look at this—Vermilion Academy has just secured another Epic-tier kill!"
The screen flashed.
Students cheering.
Flames erupting.
Points ticking upward.
"And here—oh! A coordinated ambush by Dragon Turtle Academy!"
"Perfect endurance! Perfect discipline!"
The commentator laughed.
"This is what the Freshman Championship is about! Growth! Brilliance! Competition!"
The camera shifted again.
Gold-tier monsters falling.
Teams retreating safely.
Clean victories.
No blood lingered.
No screams carried.
No one mentioned the tremor beneath the island.
In a modest but warm living room far from the battlefield—
Long Hao's family sat in front of the broadcast crystal.
His mother leaned forward anxiously, hands clasped.
"That's it?" she blurted. "That's all they're showing of Hao'er?"
The image shifted again—another academy's flashy battle.
His little sister crossed her arms, pouting.
"They only showed Big Brother when he was fighting those small fries!" she complained.
"I wanted to see him fight something big!"
His father chuckled softly, eyes fixed on the screen.
"…Those weren't small fries," he said calmly.
"Not for people his age."
The sister huffed.
"But he looked so calm! They cut it away!"
His mother sighed, worry and pride tangled together.
"Still… he's standing there like that. Not shaking. Not scared."
Her voice softened.
"He's grown so strong."
The father nodded once.
"Stronger than I ever was at his age."
The broadcast moved on.
But they kept watching.
Waiting.
Somewhere else—
A Manor stood that dwarfed mountains.
White stone carved with ancient sigils.
Floating staircases suspended in midair.
Pillars taller than city towers, etched with the history of bloodlines older than kingdoms.
Clouds drifted below its balconies.
Inside—
A single man sat on a throne-like chair of obsidian and silver.
His presence alone bent the air.
Before him, a projection hovered.
Ling Yifan
Standing.
Holding the line.
The man watched in silence.
Then—
He spoke one word.
"PATHETIC."
The projection flickered.
The manor remained still.
BACK TO THE TEAM -
Warmth.
That was the first thing Ling Yifan felt.
Soft.Steady.Real.
He frowned slightly and opened his eyes.
The sky above him was pale blue, filtered through broken leaves and drifting mist.
And beneath his head—
"…Huh?"
He shifted.
His head was resting on Bai Qianlan's thigh.
Her cloak was folded beneath him, one hand carefully pressing against his side, illusion petals hovering softly as she guided healing energy with meticulous care.
Ling Yifan froze.
Did not move.
Did not breathe.
Bai noticed immediately.
"You're awake," she said quietly.
His face went red.
"…I am."
"You have three cracked ribs," she continued calmly."Two internal tears. Don't move."
"…I won't."
Ouyang Xue'er peeked over from the other side, arms crossed.
"Oh? He's awake already?"
Ling Yifan closed his eyes.
"…Please don't say anything."
She smirked.
"Too late."
Nearby, Ouyang Xue'er and Mu Qingxun were helping the injured.
Han Duwei lay unconscious but stable, arm bound tightly.Zhao Lanyue's eyes were wrapped, breathing steady.Jin Roulan sat upright now, pale but alive, drinking water with shaking hands.
"…I thought I was dead," Jin whispered.
"You almost were," Ouyang replied honestly."But someone blocked a dragon breath for you."
Jin looked toward Long Hao.
He was standing a short distance away—shirt torn, blood dried on his shoulder.
Laughing.
Actually laughing.
Chen Wulian stood beside him, arm slung over his shoulder.
"HAHAHA—did you SEE that thing's face when it froze?!"
Long Hao exhaled, shoulders loosening.
"…We survived."
Chen slapped his back.
"WE KILLED A DRAGON-TIER MONSTER!"
Ling Yifan heard that.
He laughed.
A quiet, disbelieving laugh at first.
"…We did."
Then louder.
"…We actually did."
Bai looked down at him.
Her lips curved faintly.
"…Yes."
Ling Yifan turned his head slightly.
"…Thank you. For staying."
She looked away quickly.
"…Someone had to."
Chen raised his fist weakly.
"To not dying!"
"To not dying," Ouyang echoed.
"To being idiots," Chen added.
Long Hao shook his head.
"…You almost died."
"But we didn't!"
Ling Yifan laughed again, then winced.
"Worth it."
For a brief moment—
The island felt quiet.
Not hostile.
Almost respectful.
Then—
THUUUUUUUM
This time, the island answered.
The ground shuddered—not violently, not explosively—but with a deep, deliberate tremor, as if something vast had shifted its weight beneath reality itself. Loose stones rattled. Crystalline fragments from the shattered Dreadwyrm slid across the earth and went still.
Silence followed.
A wrong kind of silence.
Long Hao's breath caught. His instincts screamed, not in panic—but in recognition.
"This isn't…" Bai Qianlan whispered, voice tight. "It's not a regular monster."
Ouyang Xue'er's frost crept unconsciously along her fingers, thin threads of white tracing the air before her. Her eyes were fixed on the horizon—no, higher.
"The sky," she said quietly.
Above them, the clouds had stopped moving.
Not dispersing.
Not gathering.
Frozen.
The wind died. Heat bled away. Even sound seemed hesitant, as though the world itself had decided to listen instead of speak.
Long Hao's vision blurred for a fraction of a second.
Then the system stirred.
Not with alarms.
Not with warnings.
With… hesitation.
[Analyzing…]
The text did not complete.
Long Hao's pupils contracted.
"…It doesn't know," he murmured.
Chen Wulian laughed weakly from the crater, the sound brittle and humorless. "That's new."
Another pulse rippled through the island—closer now. Heavier. The pressure pressed against Long Hao's chest, not physical but absolute, like the presence of a rule being enforced.
Something unseen passed over them.
Not an attack.
An inspection.
Ouyang felt it first. Her breath fogged. Her frost recoiled inward, instinctively suppressed.
Bai grabbed Jin Roulan tighter.
And far above, beyond the frozen clouds—
The sky darkened.
Not with shadow.
But with attention.
Long Hao lifted his head.
"…Everyone," he said softly, voice steady despite the weight pressing down on his soul.
"Whatever's coming next…"
The system pulsed once.
[Unsealing… paused.]
"…isn't something we're meant to survive."
[CHAPTER ENDS]