Two hours had passed since the Space Rift appeared. The night sky was starless, and outside the window, only the promotional screen for the Spiritist Tournament still emitted light.
On the screen, the seeded contestants held their Creations with solemn expressions, their backs surrounded by overlapping Divine Tombs, with giant god phantoms floating behind.
With a crack, the screen closest to Old Street was shattered by a flying Zerg Beast fragment, leaving only a corner of the god phantom merging into the Divine Tomb.
Chu Ran's expression was calm, and she silently swallowed a mouthful of blood. Unlike the public's worry, her Spiritual Power was not depleted, but her body began to ache intensely.
Although Daji had not been deified, the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox had reached the peak of the demon race. A powerful divine soul required a powerful physical body to bear it.
Chu Ran had persisted until now, first because her original body had never stopped physical training from childhood, and second because she had only swallowed the remnant soul of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.
Even so, her body was at its last gasp.
The clones began to disappear.
A low-class Zerg broke through the defense and landed on the ground. Gradually, Zerg Beasts also found opportunities to dodge fatal blows and escape to the ground.
Fortunately, the Life Cicada had retreated, and Edwood's ethereal figure solidified. What awaited the Zerg Beasts and low-class Zerg was not delicious flesh but a dark gray mist filled with the aura of death.
One by one, the Zerg Beasts and low-class Zerg dissolved in the mist. Feeling his Spiritual Power recover, Edwood squinted with satisfaction.
On the other side, Lei Jianguo woke from unconsciousness.
Chang Han stumbled over. "Lei Jianguo, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine," Lei Jianguo said, using the Cyan Long Spear as a crutch to slowly stand. His gaze fell on the transparent liquid that had fallen after the Life Cicada was injured. "The spot you chose for me was good."
The life force emanating from the transparent liquid drifted into his body, preventing his vitality from continuing to drain.
As if responding to his words, the Spiritists and soldiers who had fallen near the transparent liquid woke up one after another, coughing and gasping as they climbed to their feet.
"Everything about the Life Cicada is good stuff," Chang Han said, looking at the transparent liquid and began calling people to bring over the comrades who still had a breath left.
Lei Jianguo propped himself up with the Cyan Long Spear, looked up at Chu Ran, who was slaughtering in the sky, and Edwood, who was picking up scraps. After confirming they could hold on a little longer, he looked around to assess casualties.
At this moment, fewer than a quarter of the people were still alive. Those near Edwood were in the best condition and had already started to follow him in cleaning up.
Then Lei Jianguo's gaze fell on Chu Dao, who was still unconscious in the distance. The Life Cicada's targeting had been too obvious; he hadn't woken up yet.
Lei Jianguo's eyes showed disgust—this old man could never bear a heavy burden. He gave Chang He a meaningful look.
Chang Han understood immediately and quickly called a few people to carry Chu Dao and throw him into the space transfer gate, with a diplomatic excuse: "Send a message to Gao Yuan to get Old Master Chu to treatment immediately. We can't let a hero bleed and also cry."
The Life Cicada's blood wasn't much, and it wasn't worth wasting on this old man.
Lei Jianguo moved step by step to the Life Cicada's blood, bent down, scooped up a handful, and put it in his mouth. Instantly, a warm current surged into his body, and his depleted Spiritual Power was moistened like dry, cracked earth meeting spring rain.
"Lei Jianguo, how dare you!" Chang Han had just thrown Chu Dao out when he turned and saw Lei Jianguo's action.
Hearing this, Lei Jianguo sped up, took three mouthfuls, and after feeling his Spiritual Power recover by half, he immediately picked up the Cyan Long Spear and charged toward the center of the battlefield.
Could he, a legion commander, be outdone by the branch president of the Spiritist Association?
Chang Han's face turned livid. Others didn't know Lei Jianguo's condition, but he had personally thrown Lei Jianguo out—how could he not know?
If Lei Jianguo's Spiritual Power was forcibly depleted one more time, it would be directly destroyed!
But seeing Chu Ran's clones disappearing in the sky, Chang Han didn't call out.
Last time, they relied on Chu Ran to solve the Zerg invasion at the Garbage Dump, causing her Spiritual Power to be completely destroyed. Anyone would find it hard to do the same again.
Lei Jianguo clearly knew this. Before he even charged into the center of the battlefield, he poured all his newly recovered Spiritual Power into the long spear.
Thunder roared across the night sky, lightning illuminated the darkness. The S-class god, God of Thunder, returned to the mortal world!
Edwood tilted his head. Madman.
He looked up at Chu Ran, whose fierce movements showed no sign of slowing. He sighed, waved his staff again, and a giant bone dragon roared out from underground, crashing toward the tide of Zerg Beasts.
Outside the space transfer gate.
Gao Yuan, with a smile on his face, had Old Master Chu sent to an emergency pod, while forcibly pressing Chu Zhi into a nursing chair. "There's less than half an hour left. Rest and heal here."
As soon as he turned around, his face darkened instantly. Useless—no wonder he survived a light injury back then; he was just coasting!
Gao Yuan looked at the live broadcast and saw Lei Jianguo piercing through three or four low-class Zerg with a single thrust. His face darkened even more.
Was Lei Jianguo trying to achieve Spiritual Power Destruction and then retire directly?!
Gao Yuan cursed inwardly and snatched the communicator from his subordinate to call Charlie An again. "How much longer do you need?! Did your sister pull strings for your perfect graduation scores?! Two hours, ten minutes, and thirty-one seconds!"
"Any later, and your protective shield can serve as Lei Jianguo's coffin lid!"
Charlie An didn't even let Gao Yuan finish the last word before hanging up. He couldn't help but glance at the live feed, then, like an enraged fire-breathing dragon, charged back into the lab. "Speed it up! Whoever finishes their part first gets their research grant approved!"
Gao Yuan threw the communicator to the ground again, but his subordinate, having learned from experience, dived and caught it firmly. "Calm down. We can't afford to buy another one."
The economic loss this time was already beyond his heart's capacity.
Gao Yuan took a deep breath. "How's the fleet?"
"They've arrived above the abandoned planet, but with the S-class Zerg Life Cicada there, progress is slow," the subordinate quickly explained, seeing Gao Yuan's bulging veins. "This time, four A-class Zerg came. The fleet is sharing half the pressure, but thermal weapons are far less effective against high-class Zerg than Creations and divine power."
Gao Yuan knew everyone was giving their all. He stared at the densely packed Zerg and Zerg Beasts on the live feed, gritting his teeth. Twenty more minutes—they had to hold on!
Hold on!
That was the voice of everyone watching.