Chapter 53: Professional Cleanup
A piercing sound instantly assaulted everyone’s ears.
The shrill sound scrambled their brains, leaving them dizzy and staggering.
Some of the lower-level members immediately began bleeding from their eyes, ears, and nose, collapsing limply to the ground.
The moment he heard the sound, Lu Jingyu pulled Xu Qingsui into his arms and thoughtfully covered her ears with his palms, trying to muffle the noise for her.
Nestled in Lu Jingyu’s arms, Xu Qingsui wasn’t seriously affected, but she watched as trickles of blood appeared from his mouth and nose.
Lu Jingyu was powerful enough to resist the Hai Ma’s attack.
But he had taken the full brunt of it just to protect her.
The streaks of blood by Lu Jingyu’s mouth grew more jarring. Nestled in his arms, Xu Qingsui’s heart was a mess of complicated feelings.
As a guide, Xu Ruming’s mind instantly went blank.
And just before she closed her eyes and lost consciousness completely, she saw Lu Jingyu pulling Xu Qingsui into his embrace.
The Hai Ma’s sonic attack collided with the rapidly approaching Shen Ling’an.
The dark green light surrounding Shen Ling’an’s body blocked some of the attack.
But as he drew closer, the collision of energies intensified, and the dark green light began to dim.
Fortunately, just as the dark green light vanished completely, Shen Ling’an reached the Hai Ma.
His body was now covered in dark green markings, and veins as thick as a finger bulged on his forehead.
The Emei daggers appeared in his hands again. He raised them high, aiming right at the Hai Ma’s head.
He used all his strength and stabbed down fiercely. With a CLANG, the tips of the daggers successfully pierced the Hai Ma’s skull.
But they only penetrated a centimeter before getting stuck, unable to go any deeper.
Shen Ling’an had now entered a berserk state. His eyes were crimson, filled with nothing but bloodlust.
He gripped the daggers with both hands, continuously applying force, trying to pierce the Hai Ma’s skull with sheer brute strength.
In excruciating pain, the Hai Ma writhed and struggled violently.
As Shen Ling’an was flung away, the Hai Ma, its pain momentarily eased, leaped into the air, intending to crush the man who had repeatedly provoked it into a bloody pulp.
The berserk Shen Ling’an was completely unaware of the danger. He thrashed about wildly, trying to obliterate everything around him.
Just as Shen Ling’an was about to be crushed beneath the Hai Ma, a figure appeared between them, intercepting the attack head-on.
From a distance, the unharmed Xu Qingsui watched Lu Jingyu rush to protect Shen Ling’an without a moment’s hesitation, and for a second, she wanted to curse him. ’What an idiot!’
He had just taken the full force of the sonic attack to protect her.
Although he looked much better off than the other team members, Xu Qingsui, having seen the blood, knew he wasn’t in good shape.
And in this condition, Lu Jingyu was still rushing to help—and a scumbag, at that. ’If that’s not being an idiot, what is?’
She cursed him in her heart, but as she watched Lu Jingyu block the Hai Ma’s attack for Shen Ling’an, her heart still clenched painfully.
After the collision, Lu Jingyu and the Hai Ma were locked in a stalemate.
Watching them both suspended in mid-air, Xu Qingsui began to hate her own lack of combat ability. ’I can’t even go up there and help Lu Jingyu.’
"Shen Ling’an!"
Amidst the tense standoff, sharp voices cried out Shen Ling’an’s name.
Xu Qingsui looked over and immediately frowned.
Because he had entered a berserk state, Shen Ling’an had no idea how much danger he had just been in, let alone that Lu Jingyu had saved him.
In his berserk state, Shen Ling’an only wanted to obliterate every living thing in his path.
As a result, some of the team members near him quickly became his targets.
Realizing Shen Ling’an’s condition, the team members panicked.
Furthermore, among all the members who had entered this instance, Shen Ling’an was the highest level aside from Lu Jingyu.
And with those powerful daggers in his hands, no one dared to approach and stop him.
In the chaos, some even tried shouting to snap him out of it.
But it was a complete waste of time.
Xu Qingsui kept glancing toward the confrontation, but her attention was entirely on Lu Jingyu.
She hadn’t wanted to get involved with Shen Ling’an, but with so many team members becoming his targets, the rising cries for help were making her even more frantic.
Annoyed, Xu Qingsui finally turned her attention to Shen Ling’an.
’Soothe Shen Ling’an?’
Xu Qingsui immediately dismissed the thought.
’I really don’t want to have any contact with Shen Ling’an, let alone save him.’
Suddenly, Xu Qingsui thought of Shen Ling’an’s dear partner—Xu Ruming.
And soothing Shen Ling’an should have been Xu Ruming’s job to begin with.
With an idea in mind, Xu Qingsui started searching for Xu Ruming. When she found her lying unconscious on the ground, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
The shouting grew more chaotic, and Xu Qingsui hurried over.
A thought struck her. She crouched down, swung her arm wide, and slapped Xu Ruming hard across the face.
SLAP!
Stung by a sharp pain, Xu Ruming slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Xu Qingsui. Feeling the fiery sting on her cheek, she had a vague idea of what had just happened.
"Xu Qingsui!" Xu Ruming shrieked, scrambling up from the ground.
She immediately tried to lunge at Xu Qingsui.
As the slap came, Xu Qingsui caught her wrist. To Xu Ruming’s astonishment, she said coldly, "You’d better figure out what’s going on. Your dear Brother Ling’an has gone berserk and is about to slaughter his own teammates."
Xu Ruming instinctively looked into the distance and, sure enough, saw Shen Ling’an attacking the team members.
"You’d better soothe him, and fast. Otherwise, you can just wait for him to tear you to pieces, too!"
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Xu Ruming could only swallow her anger for now.
"Xu Qingsui, you just wait! I’ll pay you back for this slap, and then some!"
After spitting out the threat, Xu Ruming turned and ran toward Shen Ling’an.
With that problem solved, Xu Qingsui couldn’t be bothered with her anymore and quickly looked back toward Lu Jingyu.
After a period of stalemate, Lu Jingyu was faintly starting to gain the upper hand.
Seeing this, Xu Qingsui’s anxious heart finally settled.
But the thought of Lu Jingyu fighting all alone made her feel like she had to do something.
After racking her brain, Xu Qingsui finally remembered her own ability: devouring spirit bodies.
Lu Jingyu’s struggle against the Hai Ma would inevitably take more time to conclude.
But if she could devour the Hai Ma’s spirit body in the meantime, she could instantly crush it, and Lu Jingyu would be able to stand down.
Having made up her mind, and seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Xu Qingsui slowly approached the Hai Ma.
Conveniently, the Hai Ma was currently focused on its struggle with Lu Jingyu, giving her the perfect opportunity to strike while it was vulnerable and seize its spirit body in one go.
Soon, Xu Qingsui was right beneath the Hai Ma. Looking up at the massive creature, she suddenly realized something.