Chapter 75: The First Encounter with Fan Tianxing

After the priest had finished speaking, he led a group of priests toward the city center. Seeing this, Fan Tianxing waved his hand, “You all go as well.”

Thus, apart from Fan Tianxing and Ren Zhonghao, only two martial artists at the Kaiyuan Realm remained at the original spot; the others proceeded to the city center.

Watching everyone leave, Ren Zhonghao hurried over, massaging Fan Tianxing’s shoulders as he spoke, “Director Fan, aren’t you going?”

Director Fan stroked his face and reclined, clearly enjoying the massage. “Although the risk in this operation is extremely low, my life remains paramount. If I die, humanity would be finished.”

He then pointed at the two Kaiyuan Realm martial artists who stayed behind. “These two were specially trained by the Huaxia authorities to protect me.”

“Director Fan truly thinks of the bigger picture!” Ren Zhonghao flattered shamelessly, all the while marveling at how people like him are born to be protagonists.

Not long after, Fan Tianxing suddenly burst out laughing. “Hahaha.”

“Director Fan, have you thought of something delightful?”

“No, no, I’m just laughing at these strange creatures. In the end, they’re nothing but low-level, inferior beings.” Fan Tianxing waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh? And how do you figure that?” Ren Zhonghao asked curiously.

“You see, when humans defend a city, we have dedicated patrols and coordinate to confront enemies. These strange creatures, even with a city, merely wander within, waiting to be defeated one by one.

Moreover, they are utterly devoid of any system. They kill whoever they encounter, which leads them to frantically scavenge for survivors afterward.”

He shook his head, a smile lingering at the corner of his lips. “If I were the leader of these strange creatures, I’d deploy small groups at strategic positions and launch unexpected ambushes! If that were the case, even with a vast disparity in strength, we’d be at a severe disadvantage.”

He was merely speculating, though. The truth was, the gap between humans and these creatures was immense. This time, the team sent to subjugate Tianjing City consisted of A-levels who were no better than foot soldiers, some even at the Kaiyuan Realm. As far as he knew, the B-level strange creatures in Tianjing City were already top-tier. There was simply no comparison.

While he relaxed and mused, the expedition team had already reached the edge of the city center.

“Captain, something’s off. Why are only low-level strange creatures here? Where have the others gone?” a spirit controller in a brown trench coat called out to the bald man, He Xin, whom Fan Tianxing had previously chastised.

He Xin was the strongest among those present, at Kaiyuan Stage Three, and thus naturally became the captain.

He Xin sensed something amiss but couldn’t pinpoint it, so he tried to reassure everyone, “Don’t worry. They’re just a bunch of low-level creatures. What tricks could they possibly pull?”

No sooner had he spoken than everything around them was bathed in a blood-red light, and everyone’s strength was suppressed to the extreme.

“What’s happening?” He Xin stared at his surroundings, bewildered.

“Not good! A huge number of strange creatures are approaching us!”

“Weren’t there supposed to be no A-levels?”

“Damn it! These creatures have been strengthened!”

All the humans were thrown into panic, unsure how to respond to the sudden turn of events.

“Don’t panic! Even if there are many of them, we have three Kaiyuan Realm fighters. No matter how many, they’re just cannon fodder!” He Xin waved his hand, rallying morale.

Everyone snapped out of their panic. Yes, even if there were many, what could they do? Even S-levels were nothing compared to the Kaiyuan Realm.

Just as their confidence returned and they prepared for battle, a seductive voice echoed through the air.

“Oh? Is that so?”

At the same time, a massive demonic dragon appeared in the sky, radiating an overwhelming, majestic presence.

“Not good! It’s a Kaiyuan Realm! Retreat!” He Xin responded instantly, issuing the order to withdraw without hesitation.

All fighting spirit vanished. The aura from the demonic dragon was simply too powerful; even if their strength weren’t suppressed, they still wouldn’t be able to win.

The dragon descended slowly, bearing Feng Tianlin and his party.

The situation was now entirely one-sided: Tianjing City’s strange creatures, those from the Phantom Train, and their group—all enhanced in power. Defeat was almost impossible.

“So this is the famed Fan Tianxing?” Feng Tianlin smirked and issued a command to the strange creatures, “All of you, attack the humans! Try to keep some alive!”

The moment the order was given, the strange creatures were invigorated, as if receiving divine instruction, and surged toward the humans without hesitation.

“My creatures won’t obey me!”

“Mine either!”

“Damn it! Some are trying to attack me!”

“...”

Chaos ensued among the spirit controllers. Most had lost control over their creatures, and some even found themselves under attack.

There was no choice but to flee.

“Ouch!” With a cry, a martial artist crashed into something invisible and was sent flying, landing hard on the ground.

“There’s something blocking the way!” He pointed ahead, shouting.

Everyone instinctively slowed their steps, cautiously feeling their way forward.

“There really is a barrier!” A Kaiyuan Realm martial artist raised his fist and struck it hard.

The barrier didn’t budge.

Seeing the strange creatures steadily closing in behind them, everyone’s hearts sank.

“Everyone, attack the barrier together!” He Xin ordered.

At this critical moment, facing a passive barrier seemed preferable to confronting terrifying creatures.

Everyone threw their efforts at the barrier, but it was all in vain.

A fox, pure white and bearing nine tails, darted into the crowd. She swayed her tails and sped directly to He Xin, giving him no time to react before striking him with a paw, sending him flying.

The blow nearly shattered He Xin’s body. He struggled to his feet, only to receive another slap to his gleaming bald head.

This second strike knocked He Xin unconscious. The other Kaiyuan Realm martial artist was pinned down by a demonic dragon, unable to escape with his current strength.

Now, only the last Kaiyuan Realm priest remained. He frantically cast talismans, their golden light dispatching many strange creatures and keeping him safe for the moment.

But just then, he pulled a talisman from his pocket, about to throw it, when he realized something was off. Looking down, terror seized him.

The talisman had transformed into a small teddy bear. Before he could react, the bear exploded, enveloping him in thick smoke.

As the smoke lingered, intense cold swept over him, and a massive arm plunged into his abdomen.

When the smoke cleared, his legs were frozen solid, and blood gushed from a hole in his stomach. He clutched the wound, coughing blood, and looked around—the battle was nearly over.

All Kaiyuan Realm fighters had lost their ability to fight, while the strange creatures continued to pour in, seemingly endless. Feng Tianlin, mimicking a loudspeaker, addressed them.

“Insignificant humans, surrender now and you may yet keep your lives!”

But these people had received professional training. Surrender was out of the question. They continued their desperate resistance, fighting to the death.

Feng Tianlin shook his head, “Since that’s the case, let them enter the hallucination.”