Chapter 18

Seeing that the people around her could no longer hold on, with some contestants already injured and the spiritual energy rapidly depleting, Su Lanjin realized they were nearing their limit.

If they didn’t come up with another solution soon, they might really end up being torn apart and killed by the sinister demons.

Su Lanjin raised her hand again to cast a formation. She no longer had time to carefully study whether this vortex portal was identical to those in the cultivation realm. She could only rely on instinct, drawing talismans again based on the current situation.

As she lifted her hand to start the formation, Ni Shushu had already stopped her own work on the magic array and stared fixedly at Su Lanjin’s movements.

It was as if the sword made of spiritual energy had received Su Lanjin’s command—it cut through the swarm of demons unhindered, cleaving one demon after another, weaving through their ranks until they were completely annihilated.

And Su Lanjin?

With her eyes gently closed, she raised her hand and drew formation symbols. The demons surged toward her, but were all blocked by a golden light surrounding her. They couldn’t get close and could only bare their fangs and roar at her in frustration.

Nearly all the sinister demons rushed toward Su Lanjin. The entire mountaintop, from a distance, looked like it had been swallowed in darkness, with only a beam of golden light in the center piercing through the thick miasma.

The thick, twisting demonic energy enveloped everything, and only through small patches of light could one faintly make out a figure inside.

“She’s in danger. We have to get to Su Lanjin!”

“There are way too many demons—we need to come up with something fast!”

Several people looked anxiously toward the mountaintop. At some point, it was as if all the demons had received a command—they were surging toward Su Lanjin’s position. Even the ones descending from the vortex in the sky were doing the same.

Wave after wave of demons leapt down, abandoning the others entirely and charging straight toward Su Lanjin.

The scene shocked everyone.

【Does Su Lanjin have some kind of flower that attracts demons? Even if she doesn’t know, someone else watching should’ve figured it out by now, right?】

【I don’t think so. It’s probably because the demons want to eliminate the biggest threat first—the one who poses the most danger to them.】

【I’m really worried for Su Lanjin. She’s all alone, facing millions of demons. The dense crowd of them is triggering my trypophobia.】

【Can’t the escape instructors nearby step in and help? We all know this is a last resort—at least save their lives first, especially Su Lanjin!】

“There have been too many complaints submitted to the main system. We have to handle this immediately.”

After receiving a flood of complaints and reports, a staff member rushed over in a fluster.

“Let me think…”

The person in charge, who was already balding, rubbed his thinning scalp.

This year was supposed to be his last overseeing the selection trials—he would retire in just a few months. And now, something like this had to happen right at the end.

He had originally planned to do what he always did: nothing. But now…

The supervisor paced nervously back and forth, finally gritting his teeth and saying, “Then let’s temporarily suspend—”

“Wait.”

Just as he caught a glimpse of the live stream out of the corner of his eye, he froze.

In the live feed, countless golden lights had burst forth, sprinkling down like raindrops.

When the golden light collided with the sinister demons, the merging of black and gold was so awe-inspiring that everyone who witnessed it held their breath.

It was as if, beneath that golden light, they could vaguely see the glow of Buddhist radiance—just like the records from the ancient texts about Blue Star.

Legend said that Blue Star had long had its own devoted followers. A hundred flowers bloomed, and every belief received comprehensive responses—and now, they were witnessing that very moment.

“It’s the Buddha’s light!”

“So that’s what the legendary Buddhist radiance of Blue Star looked like.”

“I think I just saw paradise… Is that the right term? I need to go check the archives again.”

The person in charge, who had just been about to suspend the competition and send in the instructors for rescue, swallowed his words.

“Su Lanjin… truly awe-inspiring.”

It wasn’t just her strength—what truly mattered was that she could capture everyone’s hearts, and in such a dazzling, high-profile way, let everyone witness her power.

It almost made the sinister demons seem… not so terrifying anymore.

“She’ll succeed, right?”

The audience watching the live stream from the outer perimeter of the desolate star murmured to themselves, their eyes never leaving the screen. With their hands clasped together in anticipation, they whispered with growing excitement, “She definitely will.”

Under the watchful eyes of the viewers, the spectators beyond the desolate star, and the competitors still inside the selection trial, the golden light blazed brighter and brighter.

“Roar!”

“Hiss!”

As soon as the sinister demons came into contact with the golden light, they let out snarling, furious howls, completely ignoring the nearby competitors. Some of the weaker ones even disintegrated into ashes on the spot.

All the contestants: “……”

All the viewers: “……”

【Good heavens, is she even human?】

【She’s way too strong!】

【She’s seriously amazing. Can a human really do something like this? If everyone learned this kind of technique, would the interstellar world even have sinister demons left?】

【That amount of spiritual energy far surpasses S-level, right? Could she actually be double-S? Our interstellar system hasn’t had anyone this powerful in hundreds of years!】

【Correction—Marshal Wen Hanzhou was a triple-SS three years ago.】

Putting aside the barrage of compliments in the live stream chat, the competitors on the field could no longer describe their awkwardness in words. They could only stare wide-eyed, watching what Su Lanjin would do next.

Meanwhile, Jian Xiangxue and the others weren’t idle. They captured the snarling sinister demons one by one, restraining them until they ran out of spiritual energy—then, once they recovered, they repeated the cycle over again.

“With the power of spirit, seal the demonic rift.”

“Bind!”

From a distance, Su Lanjin let out a low command. The surrounding golden light swept across, and the remaining sinister demons, not yet destroyed, were suddenly frozen in place. One by one, the charging monsters began to vanish before everyone’s eyes.

Even the swirling vortex in the sky began to close. A fleeting glimpse of a red eye within the vortex made Su Lanjin, her head still tilted upward, momentarily freeze in place.

The heavy, nauseating energy of evil still lingered around them, but it couldn’t distract them from watching her every move with full attention.

They had never seen such a large-scale slaughter before. The sinister demons that had once seemed unbeatable were completely wiped out by just a few of Su Lanjin’s gestures.

This was nothing short of a miracle.

With a loud boom, the golden light around Su Lanjin dispersed. The sinister demons were gone, and only Su Lanjin remained, standing dazed in place. The rift in the sky had somehow been sealed without anyone noticing.

The countless vortexes appeared to be cloaked, leaving only faint golden runes glowing in the sky.

Song Juncai, now conscious, lay on the ground staring blankly at the sky, which had returned to its original state. Faint shadows flitted across the sky, and Su Lanjin stood atop the mountain peak, her eyes tightly shut, the spiritual energy in her hand shifting with her movements.

At that moment, the spirit sword returned to her side, circling around her as if to guard her.

Her face was deathly pale, yet none of the contestants dared to approach her.

“Did… did that talisman really seal the vortex?”

Gong Jiaxin rubbed her eyes in disbelief.

She couldn’t help but shriek in her heart like a prairie dog.

“Is Su Lanjin even human? She actually used talismans to seal a vortex?”

But… she had clearly tried that herself before!

So the distance between her and a true powerhouse… was still like mountains and oceans apart?

Just as Gong Jiaxin was sighing in awe, Ni Shushu also stood there in a daze — Su Lanjin was truly powerful.

Standing to the side, Jian Xiangxue pressed her lips together, a flicker of admiration and appreciation flashing through her eyes. But soon after, a strong fighting spirit took over.

How could one not feel thrilled to face such an opponent? She could hardly wait to spar with Su Lanjin — even if defeat was certain, she still wanted the chance to challenge the best.

【!! Who else? I’m asking, who else! Who else could achieve something like this!】

【She’s really too strong. This year’s freshmen are totally breaking the rules — no, Su Lanjin is breaking the rules.】

【Any other talisman masters here? Can someone explain if this is something a talisman can even do? Sealing with a talisman?】

【According to historical records, Blue Star once had this kind of method — sealing with talismans, sealing with formations. Back in the days of the ancestors, it seemed everything could be used for sealing.】

【I feel like I attended a fake academy.】

【I’ve made up my mind. Once Su Lanjin chooses her academy, even if I have to block the gates, I’ll make sure she explains how she did it!】

【Compared to this kind of boss-level person, I feel like a total failure.】

【So what exactly did I learn in the past five years at the Realm Management Academy? The talisman master identity I was once so proud of… in Su Lanjin’s eyes, who just turned eighteen, it seems to mean nothing.】

【Raising my hand weakly… I’m that same double-S talisman master from before. I’m dying here — I still haven’t learned how to draw talismans with spiritual energy, and this boss is sealing vortexes barehanded. I’ve totally failed my teacher.】

【My teacher once told me I was the most hardworking and talented genius he’d ever seen — if he saw Su Lanjin now, he’d definitely take that back.】

A certain double-S ranked talisman master sat in front of the quantum terminal, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His eyes even showed a trace of shame.

Su Lanjin’s existence had completely shattered the centuries-old understanding and use of talismans. If the live stream hadn’t been restricted to a limited audience, this kind of genius would’ve already been known throughout the entire interstellar world.