Chapter 6

“Wait, Su Lanjin, what do you want to do?”

While everyone was feeling down and waiting for rescue, sharp-eyed Jian Xiangxue noticed Su Lanjin summoning her spirit sword, poised to act against the ceramic jars.

The spirit sword followed its owner, proudly ready to pierce the ceramic jar.

“Kill the sinister demons.”

Su Lanjin tilted her head and looked at Jian Xiangxue, her eyes cold and indifferent.

Rather than sitting and waiting to die, it’s better to strangle the sinister demons in their cradle.

“No, you know there are sinister demons inside. What if when you pierce one jar, the demons from the other jars all come out? There are only five of us, not an army.”

Jian Xiangxue anxiously grabbed Su Lanjin, her usual calm shaken.

How could Su Lanjin think like this?

There are tens of thousands of jars. If one sword strike releases all the sinister demons, how could they possibly fight against so many?

“Su Lanjin, we just need to stay here and wait for rescue. Don’t act impulsively.”

“What if the rescue never comes?”

Su Lanjin said coldly, “One day, two days, three days, a month? Five years? Or ten?”

Jian Xiangxue fell silent, then quickly turned to look at the others.

“But even so, what if releasing the sinister demons causes the army outside, who are preparing the rescue, to start a battle? Wouldn’t that stop us from calmly waiting for help?”

Ni Shushu continued Jian Xiangxue’s words, her face full of seriousness and disapproval.

“Moreover, I can sense that after you touched the ceramic jar, the demonic energy inside the cave kept growing stronger. Even the spiritual energy inside me can no longer be controlled.”

Ni Shushu complained irritably, feeling a surge of anger in her chest that she couldn’t hold back.

If their spiritual energy completely vanished and the sinister demons appeared, they would have no way to resist.

【So where is the rescue army? Taking our taxpayers’ money but doing nothing?】

【People here are risking their lives fighting sinister demons, yet the rescue army hasn’t shown up? Isn’t this just making the empire army a laughingstock?】

【To be honest, at this speed, by the time the rescue army arrives, the cucumbers will have gone bad. Our empire is faster.】

【All geniuses, welcome to apply to the empire academy. We’re the fastest.】

【So embarrassing.】

【Our empire army is also applying to go to the wild planet. Federation brats, wait for daddy — daddy is coming to save you.】

…

The barrage of comments kept growing, including many empire people who had bypassed the firewall to watch the selection competition.

The person in charge was flustered, either urging the rescue army or kicking out those empire people who had bypassed the firewall to insult the federation officials, and also issued commands to selectively mute in the light brain system.

Meanwhile, the four people inside the live stream room looked at each other, all thinking about how to make Su Lanjin give up her idea and obediently wait for the rescue.

“Boss, everyone’s spiritual energy is being consumed by the sinister demons. The selection competition officials will send a rescue army. We just need to wait here.”

Song Juncai stood up and walked toward Su Lanjin.

The tugging feeling in his mind grew stronger. When he got close to the ceramic jar, the buzzing sound made it impossible for him to calm down and think.

It felt as if his whole body was noisy and being pulled, as if something inside him was constantly flowing.

“Boss, don’t put us in danger. We’re not you.”

The almost pleading words did not get a glance from Su Lanjin, instead, they caused her to frown.

The spiritual energy sword in her hand stirred restlessly. Inside the cave, the group split into two factions, each “confronting” the other.

The live comments were going crazy, constantly urging the organizers to track the location of the rescue army. Under the organizers’ pressure, the Federation rescue forces had no choice but to speed up.

“How many kilometers left?”

The pilot flying the ship heard the question through the headset and immediately responded, “900 kilometers remaining.”

“Speed up, proceed full line.”

“Understood, sir.”

Wei Zhe, after hanging up his light brain device, looked up at the live stream screen, furrowing his brow tightly, and couldn’t help but pick up an antique to fidget with.

This was his habit whenever he felt restless.

“They probably won’t wait for the rescue. Once the ceramic jar is opened, all the sinister demons will appear. These few kids won’t be able to handle it alone.”

“They should just stay put in the abyss underground. Once their spiritual energy runs out and they have no combat power, how can they protect themselves? These kids clearly haven’t seen the cruelty of the sinister demons.”

“Hah, the new selection competition? It’s just playing house. Let these greenhouse flowers witness the harsh reality of the tip of the iceberg.”

They hadn’t seen the rescue army that Su Lanjin had previously wiped out. They spoke back and forth with disdain and a high-and-mighty tone.

“Every year there are a few fools acting recklessly, only to be completely wiped out.”

“Those arrogant kids need to be taught a lesson.”

A group around them nodded in agreement. Wei Zhe remained silent, his gaze deep and unreadable, watching Su Lanjin’s movements without saying a word.

In the live stream, Su Lanjin ignored everyone else’s advice and firmly grasped the sword. With a sharp “crack,” the ceramic jar in front of her shattered instantly, and the sinister demons inside spilled out.

“Spirit… sinister demons, sinister demons!!”

“Fall back… fall back…”

Song Juncai seemed to have lost his mind. His face twisted in horror as he stared at the awakening sinister demons. His eyes glazed over as he grabbed the people around him and hurriedly retreated.

Ni Shushu was pulled so abruptly that she staggered and almost fell to the ground, cursing, “Song Juncai, what the hell are you doing?”

She looked at him with an expression full of blame, as if he were a complete idiot.

The live comments went wild, filling the entire screen with dense messages.

【Does Su Lanjin want everyone to die with her? Like a caveman—doesn’t the academy know? Doesn’t she know about the abyss underground? If she doesn’t know, then don’t come ruin things for the other competitors! Who did my lady ever offend?】

【Countless ceramic jars, countless sinister demons. Everyone says to wait for the rescue, but is Su Lanjin just deaf or what?】

【!!! Does Su Lanjin just love showing off that much?】

【She has a lot of spiritual energy and can kill sinister demons, but can’t she consider the feelings of the other competitors?】

【Does Su Lanjin even understand? Wouldn’t it be better to wait quietly for rescue inside?】

【There was still a chance to wait for rescue, but now, after one sword strike, just wait for the bodies to be collected.】

【Su Lanjin really deserves to die.】

The barrage of comments was overwhelming, with no sign of the previous support she had. In the face of absolute danger, all strength is meaningless—especially for a freshman.

Outside the scene, because of Su Lanjin’s action, dark clouds quickly gathered, lightning flashed, and thunder roared. The weather, which should have been summery, instantly turned cool and gloomy. Even the physically frail competitors shivered.

Parents watching from outside cursed anxiously, worried that Su Lanjin’s reckless move might endanger the other competitors inside the barren star.

“If anything happens to my child because of Su Lanjin’s actions, I will make sure her entire family pays with their lives!”

Conversations like this appeared in households large and small, showing that her series of actions had pushed some people whose interests were involved to the breaking point.

…

Unaware of the bloodshed and chaos outside, Su Lanjin did not care even if she knew.

After seeing the ceramic jars shatter, the sinister demons rolling out from inside were torn apart by her sword in one strike. Then one, two, three, countless more…

Every ceramic jar shattered in Su Lanjin’s hands, and the sleeping sinister demons that spilled out were eliminated. This cycle repeated over and over.

Bang.

Clap.

Crack.

Whoosh.

Clang.

In the pitch-black cave, Su Lanjin was like a tireless executioner. With each rise and fall of her sword, sleeping sinister demons, those just opening their eyes, and even those fully awake and ready to kill were all wiped out by her single sword strike.

Everyone: “…”

The live stream fell silent for a moment, then comments flooded in like a tidal wave, filling the entire chat.

Even under the dim camera light, the viewers couldn’t help but vent their astonishment. Some even kept following Su Lanjin’s moves, counting how many sinister demons she had slain.

The scoring ring jumped wildly, and other contestants were inspired by Su Lanjin’s reckless determination. They picked up their big swords and started to trap the demons.

One hour later.

The few who had already lost all their spiritual energy sat down on the ground, watching Su Lanjin steadily and calmly continuing to slay the sinister demons ahead.

The live stream viewers went from insulting her, to quietly watching to see what kind of trouble Su Lanjin would cause next, and finally to a numb silence.

Their faces hurt — their faces really hurt!

Who would have guessed that Su Lanjin could turn the tide, even ignoring the underground abyss’s glitches, and ultimately kill all the sinister demons inside?

However, no one let their guard down. While Su Lanjin was killing rampantly over here, the ominous energy in the barren star grew thicker, and visibility gradually worsened.

Another two hours passed before Su Lanjin finally sheathed her spirit sword and stepped over the shattered ceramic jars toward them.

“You actually killed all the sinister demons here.”

Gong Jiaxin got up from the ground, looking at her with admiration and excitement. “After the sinister demons were wiped out, even the ominous energy disappeared a lot. Our spiritual energy is slowly recovering.”

“As expected of the boss.”

Song Juncai stood up, weakly giving a thumbs-up, a smile brightening his eyes.

“When the ceramic jars broke, they all contained sleeping sinister demons with no resistance. Even for the ones that were awake, didn’t you trap a few?”

Su Lanjin put away her sword, which instantly transformed into a streak of golden light returning to her body.

“In my opinion, these are all just sinister demons. They have nothing to do with the ceramic jars or the underground abyss. Isn’t it our reason for standing here to kill sinister demons whenever we see them?”

Su Lanjin smiled lightly, wiping the blood splattered on her from the sinister demons, looking relaxed.

Turning around, she didn’t notice that under the shattered ceramic pieces behind her, black ominous energy began to surge again, slowly flowing along the inscriptions on the jars.

The ancient and mystical patterns were soon filled with ominous energy once more, with every broken shard wrapped in that energy.

The camera in the scoring ring captured all this very clearly.

The barrage of skeptical comments in the live stream was temporarily silenced, but some stubborn viewers still started mocking.

【Sinister demons disappeared, so what? They still can’t get out, right?】

【Does Su Lanjin have to show off? Fine, fine, we all know she’s strong, but isn’t she still trapped?】

【The Federation is so ‘lucky’ to have Su Lanjin.】

【Three-no alt accounts, imperial people sneaking in through VPN, bros, kick them out.】