The dense fog gradually dissipated, becoming thinner. Suddenly, a colossal horn shot up through the fog. From Wang Lan's estimated distance, the horn of the distant beast alone appeared to be dozens of meters long. This led him to surmise that the creature hidden in the fog must be about 200 meters in size.

Is this what they call an Exotic Beast? Even the giant Golden Eagle I encountered in the Nine-layer Pagoda was no bigger, right? This is no longer an Exotic Beast; this is a monster.

ROAR—

A beastly roar, seemingly from ancient times, caused everyone who heard it to feel a tremor deep within their souls.

"What's happening? What's going on…" Wu Shaohua appeared next to Wang Lan and the others in a flash. When he saw the distant behemoth, Wu Shaohua trembled violently. "My God…"

The smoke gradually cleared, revealing the monster in the fog. Not just one, but three of them.

One was a gigantic Rhinoceros Beast; the massive horn Wang Lan had seen belonged to it. Behind the rhinoceros, another massive beast with four snake heads was letting out brutal roars. Not far from this four-headed beast, a giant centipede-like Exotic Beast, resembling a dragon, flickered in and out of the dust.

"Quick… quickly retreat—" Wu Shaohua suddenly realized the danger and shouted urgently. The Star Martial Warriors of the Ninety-seventh Group, who had been shocked into a stupor, were jolted back to their senses.

What's the point in fighting this? With its size, even if we all unleashed our Star Martial Skills on it, it would be no more than an itch. But where did such terrifying Exotic Beasts come from?

"Retreat!" Captain Feather's cracking voice called out.

The moment the three giant beasts roared, the nearby normal Exotic Beasts suddenly went berserk. At the edge of their vision, a dense black tide of them rapidly surged towards Lethe Canyon like a flood.

"Everyone retreat quickly! Xinyu, we'll cover the rear!" Wang Lan shouted urgently.

"Okay!" Yu Ruoyun replied.

"Damn it…" Before Wu Shaohua could finish speaking, Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun had already vanished. Looking up at the two figures in the sky, Wu Shaohua stamped his foot furiously. I knew it would come to this, I just knew it… Are you two some kind of grim reapers, bringing calamity wherever you're assigned? Didn't I think that by placing you with the always-safe Ninety-seventh Group, we could avoid accidents? Heh… what can one do against destiny?

In the distance, howling Exotic Beasts charged forward. As far as the eye could see, there were endless hordes, easily over 50,000, raging towards them. What did 50,000 even mean? A swarm of over 10,000 already stretched across mountains and fields, an endless sight to behold; 50,000 Exotic Beasts presented a visual impact of utter infinity.

"Flame Method, Heavenly Fire Extinguishing World!" Wang Lan was the first to launch an attack. As golden Star Power surged, a golden Array suddenly appeared in the sky.

Numerous dark golden flames, like molten lava, spewed out from the Array. Magma orbs as large as cartwheels slammed into the mass of beasts, each magma fireball clearing a five-meter radius.

A single Star Martial Skill instantly killed nearly 1,000 to 2,000 Exotic Beasts.

"Wind Curtain Kill—" Yu Ruoyun was not to be outdone. Her chest heaved dramatically, and a hurricane blasted from her mouth. The hurricane instantly transformed into countless wind blades, bombarding the horde like a myriad of converging swords.

The wind blades swept through the mass of beasts, visibly clearing a fan-shaped void. At least 2,000 more Exotic Beasts were slain by Yu Ruoyun's Star Martial Skill.

This scene left the members of the Ninety-seventh Group both shocked and elated. Although they knew Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun were powerful—Yu Ruoyun was even hailed as the foremost prodigy in a thousand years—just how strong were they really? In our minds, aren't they just at the Galaxy Stage?

They had seen the strength of Galaxy Stage cultivators before. Those individuals were stronger than them, but not to such an unfathomable degree. Yet Wang Lan's Star Martial Skill gave them the impression of divine punishment descending from the heavens.

Is this a Star Martial Skill unleashed by a Galaxy Stage Star Martial Warrior? We might not be well-read, but we're not completely ignorant of the world! We saw that Galaxy Stage teacher from Jin City use his Star Martial Skill.

Its power wasn't even a tenth as strong, and it left the user exhausted, wheezing like a bull.

Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun's two Star Martial Skills delivered an almost apocalyptic shock to them.

But killing 2,000 or 3,000 Exotic Beasts was merely a drop in the bucket against the tens of thousands charging at them. Moreover, even more Exotic Beasts were madly rushing their way from afar.

"Old Wu, they're in the fortifications!" Wang Lan shouted.

"Got it!" Wu Shaohua replied.

The fortifications of the World in Picture simply couldn't withstand the charge of so many Exotic Beasts. The moment the beasts burst in, the barriers melted away like sugar in boiling water.

"Lava Charge—" Wu Shaohua roared. The ground around him cracked instantly, and molten lava burst forth like fountains. Wu Shaohua's arms also turned into bright red lava.

With a punch, the lava transformed into a flood surging into the fortifications. The landscape features within the fortifications became channels for the lava's impact, leaving the invading beasts with no escape, forced to endure its onslaught.

Countless Exotic Beasts were engulfed in the magma amidst screams. Those behind them trampled over the bodies of their fallen comrades to launch another charge.

"Fuck! We can't hold them off—" Wu Shaohua's eyes bulged as he pushed his Star Martial Skill to its limit. But the relentless beasts, fearing no death, kept closing in, reaching less than 100 meters from him in the blink of an eye.

At this distance, even as a Star Sea Stage Star Martial Warrior, Wu Shaohua had no chance to retreat.

"To think I, Wu Shaohua, a once handsome man, would fall into the hands of you Star Shine Stage animals! Fuck, I just got a girlfriend…"

"Old Wu, what are you thinking about?" A figure appeared beside Wu Shaohua. Wang Lan pressed his palm forward, and Star Power surged instantly. "Flame Method, Earth Fire Roar!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

Magma pillars erupted from the ground like evenly distributed landmines, detonating simultaneously within the horde of Exotic Beasts. The bursting magma instantly devoured thousands of them, while countless more were pushed into the fiery deluge by their own idiotic teammates.

"Old Wu, aren't you retreating yet?" Wang Lan asked.

"Bullshit! I'm the team leader. Since when does a team leader abandon his post and let his students cover the rear? You guys retreat first."

"Old Wu, are you nuts? You're the only one in our squad who can't fly!" Wang Lan exclaimed.

Wu Shaohua felt as though an arrow had pierced his heart.

The only one in our squad who can't fly… Damn it, so I'm just holding everyone back. While he was reluctant to admit the unspoken implication of Wang Lan's words, the reality was indeed so stark and merciless.

Wu Shaohua squeezed out a smile that was closer to tears and dropped the pretense. "I'm retreating. You two hurry up and fall back too. Captain Feather has already gone to headquarters to send a message; we'll fall back to Tiger's Keep to defend."

As Wu Shaohua started to retreat, Wang Lan suddenly pulled out a high-grade Soul Bead and threw it with all his might into a distant cluster of Exotic Beasts.

"Flame Method, Heaven and Earth Annihilation!"

Terrifying Star Power exploded forth. The Arrays in the sky and on the ground seemed to turn into colossal grinding wheels, pulverizing the hordes of Exotic Beasts caught within them into dust, scattering their ashes to the winds.

Fire rained from the heavens, seeking lives, while the earth's magma swallowed all in its path. This spare Soul Bead grenade bought Wang Lan and Yu Ruoyun a moment to catch their breath. In a flash, they each took a position atop the cliffs on either side of Lethe Canyon.

"Wang Lan, I have an idea," Yu Ruoyun said.

"Speak!" Wang Lan replied.

"Why should we abandon Lethe Canyon and hold up at Tiger's Keep?"

"Defending Tiger's Keep means we can receive constant support… Oh, right! If we hold our ground here, support can still reach us continuously. It's 30 kilometers from Tiger's Keep to this place. It will take Captain Feather's group an hour at most to go report and return."

"Is it that hard to hold Lethe Canyon for an hour?" Yu Ruoyun asked.

"If those three monsters don't show up, it's not hard. If they do come…" Wang Lan mused.

"If they come, we'll use Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious! We even killed Sang Guo, the Titled Strongman. What's there to fear from three beasts?" Yu Ruoyun declared.

"Quick, the Exotic Beasts are regrouping!" Wang Lan urged.

Yu Ruoyun suddenly slapped the ground of Lethe Canyon below her. "Immortal Method, Matter Conversion!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

An earth-shattering roar followed. Suddenly, seven massive mirrors erected by Yu Ruoyun appeared outside Lethe Canyon. Each mirror was hundreds of meters high and more than 100 meters wide.

What kind of Star Martial Skill is this? Wang Lan wondered.

The thought had barely formed when the mirrors suddenly shattered. Yet, as they broke apart, Wang Lan gaped in shock at what remained where they had stood. The mirrors were destroyed, but what they had reflected—or perhaps created—stayed in place.

In other words, did Yu Ruoyun just replicate seven additional Lethe Canyons with a single Star Martial Skill? Is there really such an incredible Star Martial Skill in this world? Why not replicate the two of us seven times too?

"Wang Lan, fortify the position now!" Yu Ruoyun yelled.

With no time to ponder Yu Ruoyun's miraculous Star Martial Skill any longer, Wang Lan slapped the ground, unleashing a surge of Star Power. "Hades Bone Card—"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM— A series of Gates of The Underworld rose from the ground. Using the seven Lethe Canyons as nodes, they linked together to form a five-kilometer-long defensive wall.

The moment these two maneuvers were completed, the army of Exotic Beasts reached the base of the wall. This time, the army was clearly composed of the Three-nation Allied Forces: three different kinds of Exotic Beasts coordinating with each other as if trained, displaying exceptional synergy.

Most possessed Star Shine Stage power, but the proportion of Star Cloud Stage and Galaxy Stage beasts was significantly high. They assaulted the Hades Bone Cards, but finding them incredibly sturdy, they switched to launching Elemental Attacks against them.

The deafening assaults were incessant, wave after wave. This caused the Ninety-seventh Group, hurrying to retreat behind them, to halt suddenly, their faces etched with terror as they stared at the distant, dust-shrouded battlefield.

"Is that the horde of Exotic Beasts charging Lethe Canyon? Judging by the noise, there must be at least 100,000 of them, right?" someone exclaimed.

"Truly worthy of Princess Yu, worthy of Wang Lan, worthy of students from Modu City Star Martial Academy! I always thought the four major Star Martial Academies were just a step above other first-rate academies. Now I realize it's not just a step—they're on a completely different level!" another commented.

"Mr. Wu, what's wrong?" Captain Feather suddenly halted and asked Wu Shaohua.

"No, I have to go back!" Wu Shaohua suddenly realized, exclaiming, "Those two are going to do something reckless! Damn it!"

"Mr. Wu, both of them are flying-type Star Martial Warriors; they can retreat easily. Won't your going back impede their withdrawal?" Captain Feather asked, concerned.

"Those two troublemakers don't intend to retreat at all! I fell for their damn trick! When you get back, immediately report this and request strong reinforcements. Otherwise, you can just come collect our bodies!" As his words fell, Wu Shaohua instantly transformed into a streak of light, sprinting off into the distance.

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