bioinnovel Chapter 179 Night Raid on the Mountain Gate
Chapter 179 Night Raid on the Mountain Gate
The sun sank completely below the horizon, its last rays swallowed by the night, but the City of Ten Thousand Beasts did not fall silent.
Conversely, the core city of Lanzhou radiates a different kind of vitality under the night sky, with neon lights lighting up one after another, adorning the entire city like a luminous pearl fallen on the grassland.
However, no one in the Blue Orchid Courtyard was in the mood to appreciate the night view outside the window.
The remaining matches in the afternoon were nearing their end, and the holographic screen was showing the qualifying matches ranked fifth to eighth.
In the past, a competition of this caliber would have kept the students of Lanzhi Academy glued to the screen, analyzing tactics, discussing details, and cheering for every brilliant move.
But today, the scene on the screen seemed to be playing some insignificant background music, and everyone's eyes were focused in the same direction—on the snow-haired girl sitting by the window, resting her chin on her hand and quietly waiting for nightfall.
The qualifying matches were very exciting. Lin Feiyan, who narrowly lost to Lanzhi Academy, actually won two consecutive matches in the loser's bracket, dragging Fentian Academy's ranking back to fifth.
Although it's still fifth place like last year, this year's fifth place is much more prestigious than in previous years.
There are just too many monsters; we're out of options.
Normally, everyone would have been discussing this heatedly, but now, even the talkative Ning Xiaoman only gave a perfunctory "Oh" after seeing the competition results, her gaze immediately drifting to the window as she muttered softly, "Why isn't it completely dark yet..."
Xue Youyou took in all of this, a slight smile curving her lips.
Her gaze swept across her teammates' faces, finally settling on Su Wanrou. This player, who had displayed incredible nervousness during the match against Burning Heaven Academy, was now gripping her skirt tightly with both hands, her knuckles white, her lips pressed into a thin line, looking ten times more nervous than during the previous match.
In the match against Burning Heaven Academy, Su Wanrou's problem wasn't a lack of strength, but rather a poor mentality. She would become so nervous and lose focus when faced with unexpected pressure.
It wasn't just Su Wanrou. Cui Yelan was always too tense, becoming anxious and insecure in crucial situations. Luo Yan was overly cautious, missing opportunities due to her excessive prudence. Each of them had their own problems…
This is true even in matches, let alone when playing against top-tier teams.
Perfect, tonight's trip will be a good opportunity for them to practice their mindset.
Xue Youyou thought to herself.
As night deepened, the hands of the clock on the wall slowly slid past six. There was still no word from Meng Yanqing. Xue Youyou glanced down at the message Meng Yanqing had sent on her bracelet—
Grandma held me back, not wanting me to leave; she probably won't be back until later (sorry.jpg)
Xue Youyou quickly typed a line of text.
That's such a shame. We were all planning to take a trip to Beast City together tonight, but unfortunately you're not here.
After sending the message, she closed the chat window and stopped replying to Meng Yanqing's "angry" emoji.
Xue Youyou stood up, her gaze sweeping over everyone present. Her voice was soft, yet crystal clear: "Let's go."
Two simple words, light and casual, like going out for a walk.
But no one could treat this as a stroll. The courtyard, which had been slightly noisy just moments before, became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Everyone looked at each other, their breathing becoming heavy.
It wasn't until this moment that many people woke up from their dream and truly realized how incredible the thing they were about to do was.
They were just students. To put it nicely, they were elite students; to put it bluntly, they were just elite students from a second-rate academy.
Making it into the main tournament of the academy league is already an achievement of incredible luck. But tonight, they're going to face off against an extraterrestrial force that even the Pet Beast Alliance wouldn't dare to offend easily—a behemoth from a higher-level state.
This seems a bit crazy...
At the critical moment, Su Wanrou suddenly stood up, her lips trembling, her voice shaking noticeably: "You...Youyou, should we reconsider?"
Her reason was screaming alarm bells. This was no joke; this was suicide.
Xue Youyou turned around to look at her. There was no blame or disappointment in her clear, almost transparent eyes. Instead, she smiled gently and said, "Relax, just treat it as a practice match."
"A training match...?"
Su Wanrou opened her mouth wide, her expression as if she had heard some absurd joke.
Why did she feel like Xue Youyou was smilingly pushing them into a ditch? What kind of training match is it to kick the gates of a superior state power?
She looked around for help, only to find that not everyone was backing down.
Ning Xiaoman had been so excited since the afternoon that she couldn't sit still. Now, she suddenly jumped to Xue Youyou's side, waving her fists and shouting, "Waaah—, we're finally going! I've been so restless!"
Xue Youyou subtly moved half a step to the side, avoiding Ning Xiaoman's spittle.
On the other side, Lin Yueyao's expression seemed calm, but there was an uncontrollable smile on her lips.
She was a worldly woman, having done her share of shady work in the Moon Worship Cult, but this was her first time undertaking a mission of this caliber. Just thinking about challenging a higher-level state made it seem far more promising than staying within the Moon Worship Cult.
Suppressing her excitement, she stepped forward and asked earnestly, "Chief, should we prepare night clothes and masks? That would make our actions easier and less likely to be traced afterward."
After asking the question, she waited expectantly for Xue Youyou's answer. In her opinion, with Xue Youyou's meticulous mind, she must have already prepared the equipment.
However, Xue Youyou merely glanced at her and nodded in satisfaction: "Good suggestion."
Lin Yueyao's eyes lit up.
"but."
Xue Youyou abruptly changed the subject, her tone revealing a hint of self-righteous arrogance: "This is unnecessary. Remember, my style, Xue Youyou's style, has always been to remain true to myself."
Lin Yueyao was taken aback for a moment, then a light flashed in her eyes, and she excitedly shouted, "Yes!"
As the group stepped out of Lanzhi Courtyard, a cool night breeze greeted them, carrying the slight chill of early autumn. The streets of Beast City remained bustling, neon lights flashing, and people coming and going, but this twelve-person team moved through them with an incongruous aura of menace.
According to the location found online, the Qingqiu branch's headquarters is located in the southeast corner of Ten Thousand Beasts City. That area is outside the city's bustling area, adjacent to undeveloped primeval forests, and is usually sparsely populated.
The further southeast you go, the sparser the neon lights become, replaced by increasingly dense tree shadows and a stronger sense of wildness.
The asphalt road under my feet had turned into a dirt road at some point, and the buildings on both sides had changed from high-rise buildings to low walls. Further ahead, there were no walls at all, only lush trees rustling in the night wind.
"It seems we've arrived."
Snow quietly stopped.
Everyone followed her gaze and froze in surprise.
There is a mountain in front of me.
To be precise, it's a wild mountain completely preserved within the city. It's not high, probably only four or five hundred meters, but it's lush with trees and rugged rocks, their jagged outlines gleaming in the night. At the foot of the mountain stands an ancient stone gate, with two powerful characters carved on its lintel.
Qingqiu.
Two figures stood on either side of the mountain gate, dressed in matching blue uniforms, their backs ramrod straight. Behind them, the mountain path wound its way up, and one could vaguely see several antique pavilions scattered on the mountainside, brightly lit, a stark contrast to the pristine wilderness at the foot of the mountain.
Xue Youyou observed everything before her with great interest. When Lu Yuan said that Qingqiu's base camp was a small mountain, she thought it was an exaggeration. She never expected that in a developed city like Wanshou City, there would actually be such a wild mountain that had not been swallowed up by reinforced concrete.
If this were a world of cultivation, it would resemble a standard sect headquarters.
"hehe……"
She chuckled softly, strode towards the mountain gate, and said casually, "Go up and say hello to them."
Several scattered footsteps came from behind. Some people walked firmly, while others walked unsteadily, but in any case, everyone followed.
The two beast tamers guarding the gate saw the group approaching in a grand procession from afar. They exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a mixture of wariness and disdain.
The mountain gate of Qingqiu has stood here for over a hundred years, and no fool has ever dared to cause trouble.
As Xue Youyou, who was walking at the front, drew closer, one of the gatekeeper beast tamers frowned, stepped forward, and shouted in a deep voice, "Halt! Who goes there!"