Chapter 109: Entering a Dream, Seeing a Familiar Figure
White Tiger didn’t answer.
He simply tightened his arms.
The pressure was even tighter than before.
It was a grip tight enough to press Yun Sheng completely into his embrace, tight enough that she could clearly feel the rise and fall of his chest with every breath, tight enough... as if he were afraid she would disappear in the next second.
Yun Sheng’s breath hitched.
She could feel his heartbeat. It was no longer the steady, strong rhythm from before, but slightly faster, as if something were surging beneath a calm surface.
She wanted to look up at him.
But in the next instant, he moved.
Holding her, White Tiger kicked off the ground. His figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, instantly covering more than ten meters and landing on a relatively flat boulder.
Several pollutants trying to approach were thrown back by the Spiritual Force Field around him, letting out terrified screeches.
He loosened his grip slightly.
His hands moved from her waist but still hovered protectively at her sides, as if ready to pull her back at any moment.
"Now, you attack. I’ll defend."
Yun Sheng froze for a moment, looking at him.
"...Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes."
He paused, then raised his hand.
The silver Spirit Barrier unfolded once more. This time, it only enveloped the rock they stood on. The area was smaller, but the barrier was far more condensed and solid.
"I’ll block the Shadow Lizard’s spiritual attacks," he said. "You just focus on fighting."
Yun Sheng took a deep breath and turned to face the black, shadowy figure circling nearby.
The Shadow Lizard’s speed was like that of a true shadow. As it darted between the jagged rocks, it could even leave three illusory afterimages in different places at once.
That was its spiritual power interfering with its target’s vision, making it impossible to tell which was the real body.
Yun Sheng closed her eyes.
She spread her spiritual power into an extremely faint sensory net, laying it across the ground like the finest of spider silks.
Every time the Shadow Lizard moved, its feet created a minuscule vibration. The illusions did not.
’Found it!’
Yun Sheng’s spiritual power began to condense into thin needles.
Not four at once, but one after another, linked head to tail like an invisible chain, tracing a continuous trajectory through the air.
The first thin needle shot toward the illusion to the front left.
Just as she expected, the Shadow Lizard’s real body dodged to the right—and ran straight into the second thin needle.
The grayish-black blur let out a shriek, its form faltering for a split second, but it continued its high-speed movement.
The instant it shrieked, a sharp sonic wave attack exploded outward!
It was another one of the Shadow Lizard’s killing moves—a spiritual attack combined with a sonic blast, powerful enough to make a Low-level Guide or Sentinel lose consciousness instantly.
Yun Sheng’s eardrums throbbed violently, and a sharp, stabbing pain shot through the depths of her spiritual landscape.
But in the next moment, all the discomfort vanished abruptly.
The energy of the silver barrier enveloping them surged, and she was wrapped in a gentle, silver glow.
And when the ear-piercing sonic wave hit the barrier, it was instantly nullified.
White Tiger’s arm was still loosely around Yun Sheng, unmoving.
Yun Sheng didn’t look up at him.
But she could feel the warmth of that barrier, the strength of that embrace. It was like a silent promise: ’You just charge forward. I won’t let you get hurt.’
She once again condensed her spiritual power into a thin needle. This time, she didn’t aim for the Shadow Lizard’s current position.
Instead, she aimed for where it would be in the next second.
Prediction.
The Shadow Lizard seemed to run right into it. The thin needle plunged precisely into the side of its neck.
It snapped its massive maw open, a dark light glowing in its throat.
It was its final, most frenzied attack—compressing all of its spiritual power into a devastating spirit pulse, intent on taking its enemy down with it!
Yun Sheng had no time to dodge.
But she didn’t panic.
The arm around her waist suddenly tightened. The silver barrier in front of her rapidly solidified, becoming as thick as an insurmountable wall.
The Shadow Lizard’s spirit pulse slammed into it, letting out a muffled BOOM. The barrier trembled slightly but didn’t show a single crack.
Yun Sheng watched the shadowy figure stagger to a halt five meters away. Its final attack had been completely blocked, and the spiritual power coiling around it began to fluctuate violently—a sign of exhaustion.
She didn’t give it a chance to recover.
She raised her hand, gathering all her remaining strength into a thick Spirit Needle, and rammed it viciously into its open maw, right through the back of its skull!
The Shadow Lizard’s shriek cut off abruptly.
The black, shadowy figure crashed to the ground, twitched twice, and then lay still.
Yun Sheng gasped for breath, sweat dripping from her temples and soaking the hair there.
Her knees buckled and she started to slide down, but in the next second, a firm grip steadied her.
Her back was pressed against White Tiger’s chest. Through the thin combat suit, she could feel his body heat and the rhythm of his heart.
He just held her like that. He didn’t speak, didn’t move. He simply let her lean on him.
As if waiting for her to regain her strength.
After what felt like a long time, or perhaps only a few seconds, Yun Sheng found her voice.
"Thank you."
She spoke softly, her breath still unsteady.
A very soft reply came from behind her.
"Mhm."
The sound was right by her ear—low, muffled through his mask, yet for some reason... incredibly reassuring.
Yun Sheng didn’t say anything more.
She leaned into his embrace, gazing at the Shadow Lizard’s corpse in the distance as her breathing gradually steadied.
Just then, a series of sharp screeches echoed from the distance.
The pollutants that had been putting up a desperate fight suddenly scattered and fled the moment the Shadow Lizard died, as if they had lost their lynchpin.
"After them! Don’t let them escape!"
The moment the captain’s voice fell, a dozen or so spiritual bodies shot out like arrows from a bow, pouncing on the routing pollutants.
Before long, the last black shadow had vanished at the edge of the gray mist.
The battlefield was left with nothing but wreckage and the heavy panting of the Sentinels.
But the sky was beginning to darken.
The gray mist seemed to grow thicker in the twilight, and the wind carried a rancid, decaying smell that was more bone-chilling than before.
The captain looked up at the sky, then strode over to the instructor. The two exchanged a few words in low voices, their expressions growing grave.
"Everyone..." the instructor called out urgently, "Pack up immediately! We’re on the transport in five minutes! We have to leave this area before it gets completely dark!"
The cadets scrambled into action, gathering their equipment, taking stock of supplies, and helping one another toward the transport vehicle.
Yun Sheng was among them.
Her temples were throbbing, and every step felt like a needle was pricking her.
Those last few attacks had drained nearly all of her spiritual power. Now, even just standing was a struggle.
As she boarded the vehicle, she stumbled and nearly fell, but thankfully someone to her left caught her.
It was Cheng Nian.
"Yun Sheng, you look awful..." Cheng Nian said, looking at her with concern. "Quick, sit down. Lean on me and rest for a bit."
Yun Sheng nodded and chose a window seat.
"Yun Sheng, did you overuse your spiritual power just now? I heard overexerting yourself feels awful..."
Hearing Cheng Nian’s worried words, Yun Sheng shook her head. She wanted to say "I’m fine," but though her lips moved, no sound came out.
Seeing this, Cheng Nian didn’t say anything more.
She scooted closer to Yun Sheng and gently patted her own shoulder. "Yun Sheng, lean on me. It’ll be more comfortable."
Yun Sheng paused for a second, then looked at her.
Cheng Nian didn’t look back, staring straight ahead, but the tips of her ears were a little red.
"Don’t look at me, just rest. If something else happens later, you’ll be useless in this state."
Yun Sheng hesitated for a moment before gently leaning her head against her.
The surroundings gradually fell silent.
There was only the low hum of the engine and the occasional soft gasp from the wounded.
Yun Sheng closed her eyes. Before long, the sounds faded away, and her consciousness began to blur.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in that familiar, empty space.
’I’m dreaming again!’
Before she had time to think, her gaze was captured by something.
Ahead, through a hazy layer of mist, stood a familiar figure.
He was just standing there, motionless, like a silent statue, and also like... he had been waiting for a very long time.