“I don’t need the cores. You can use them.”
As Su Jianmo spoke, a trace of sadness flashed through his heart.
Shen Biqian had already told him about his condition.
He couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
Having talent so great that cultivating would cause his body to explode and kill him…
Wouldn’t it have been better to have lower talent and rely on hard work instead?
At least then he could achieve something through effort.
His current situation was far worse.
Every path forward was blocked.
Naturally, Shen Biqian noticed the gloom in his eyes.
Secretly, she made a promise to herself.
Even without relying on that unreliable voice, she would find a cultivation method suitable for him.
“We’re about to head to Building Four and escort the students trapped inside.”
Mu Ranzhu suddenly spoke.
“Would you like to join us?”
Since Mu Ranzhu was someone she had admired in her previous life, Shen Biqian genuinely wanted to go.
Besides, he and his group had just saved both her and Su Jianmo.
No matter what, she should agree.
The problem was that she had exhausted nearly all of her spiritual energy.
If they encountered another beast, she could only stand there helplessly.
Seeing her hesitation, Mu Ranzhu said,
“I know you just fought a major battle and need rest.”
“You don’t need to fight.”
“Just stay in Building Four, keep watch, and reassure the students.”
“You won’t have to use any spiritual energy.”
At that point, Shen Biqian could only nod.
After reaching an agreement, they fought their way to the school’s security office and commandeered a bus.
As she sat on the bus, Shen Biqian couldn’t help feeling shocked.
She had nearly died fighting a single beast.
Meanwhile, Mu Ranzhu’s group was killing them one sword strike at a time.
Comparing people really is infuriating.
When they arrived at Building Four, Su Jianmo suddenly said,
“I don’t need to recover spiritual energy.”
“I’ll help escort the students.”
Bai Xue immediately frowned.
“You just finished a major battle.”
“You should rest.”
Shen Biqian sighed.
She understood him better than anyone.
He was both proud and extremely traditional.
He firmly believed that men should protect women.
Even in her previous life, when circumstances had been unimaginably harsh, he would rather be covered in wounds himself than allow her to suffer even the slightest injury.
The earlier battle must have left him feeling frustrated.
He wanted more combat experience.
“The more places he goes, the more wood-element energy gathers around him.”
“If we leave him trapped inside Building Four, that wouldn’t be good either.”
Bai Xue looked displeased.
Wasn’t it because he’d been protecting her that he got injured so badly?
Yet Shen Biqian didn’t seem worried at all.
“Easy for you to say.”
Li Nan quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“If a beast breaks into the building, that’ll be a problem.”
“Building Four also needs someone stronger to stay behind.”
“Since Su Jianmo wants to escort students, I’ll stay instead.”
In the end, Mu Ranzhu made the final decision.
Seeing that everyone else agreed, Bai Xue could only let the matter go.
However, her dislike of Shen Biqian deepened.
When the trapped students saw Shen Biqian covered in blood from head to toe, fear appeared in their eyes.
Wherever she walked, people immediately moved aside, leaving a large empty space around her.
Helplessly, she smiled at Li Nan.
“I’ll leave first.”
“You take them to the bus.”
Li Nan hadn’t expected things to turn out like this.
He returned a bitter smile.
“Go ahead.”
“But don’t wander too far.”
“If something happens, it’ll be easier for me to rescue you.”
“Got it.”
Shen Biqian found an empty classroom and walked to the open area behind it.
Sitting cross-legged, she took out the three red beast cores from her pocket.
“Hey.”
“These are fire-element cores, right?”
The voice immediately sneered.
“Where did you pick up this garbage?”
“They’re the lowest-grade cores imaginable, filled with impurities.”
“What do you want them for?”
Shen Biqian felt helpless.
She had nearly died obtaining those three fire-element cores, yet the voice dismissed them as trash.
“This is Earth.”
“A place where spiritual energy is almost nonexistent.”
“Could you lower your standards a little?”
The voice sounded even more aggrieved than she was.
“Coming to this miserable place is already something I deeply regret.”
“Can you stop reminding me?”
After a pause, it continued:
“Whatever.”
“Garbage cores are still better than no cores.”
“You’re far too weak right now.”
“Hurry up and absorb them.”
Hearing that they wouldn’t harm her despite their impurities, Shen Biqian relaxed.
She held a core in her hand, closed her eyes, recited the cultivation formula, and began absorbing the fire-element energy within.
A long time later, she opened her eyes.
They really are trash.
Even after absorbing all three cores, she had only recovered a tiny amount of spiritual energy.
Looking down, she saw that the previously bright red cores had turned gray.
The spiritual energy within them was gone.
As she casually tossed them aside, she noticed black residue on her palm.
Using her fingers to poke and rub it, she couldn’t identify what it was.
“Hey, what’s this?”
“Impurities.”
Shen Biqian blinked.
“Why were the impurities expelled outside my body?”
“In all those cultivation novels, aren’t they supposed to enter the body together with the spiritual energy?”
“Cultivation novels?”
“What are those?”
The voice paused before continuing smugly:
“Whatever they are, that’s the normal situation.”
“But with me here, do you think I’d allow that garbage to contaminate my space?”
Shen Biqian was delighted.
Whatever the reason, being able to absorb only pure spiritual energy was beneficial to her.
Still, one question remained.
“Why would impurities entering my body contaminate your space?”
She asked casually.
The reaction was immediate.
“Just focus on cultivating!”
“What does my space have to do with you?!”
If it has nothing to do with me, why are you reacting so strongly?
Shen Biqian’s eyes rolled thoughtfully.
The mysterious space she had only visited twice…
There was definitely something strange about it.
“I haven’t visited your space in a long time.”
“How about letting me look around?”
The voice was silent for a moment before replying stiffly:
“Your spiritual energy is almost depleted.”
“Any random beast could kill you right now.”
“Stop thinking about nonsense and recover your spiritual energy!”
Shen Biqian paused.
Still, she figured the space wasn’t going anywhere.
Sooner or later, she’d uncover its secrets.
So she nodded and focused on cultivation.
Seeing that Shen Biqian had stopped obsessing over the space, the mysterious voice secretly let out a sigh of relief.
If that crafty woman ever discovered the secret of the space, his absolute authority would be challenged.
When Shen Biqian finally emerged from cultivation, all of her depleted spiritual energy had fully recovered.
Moreover, the previously blurry leaf inside her dantian had become noticeably more solid.
Stretching her limbs, she stood up in an excellent mood and went to find Li Nan.
When she found him, he was surrounded by a crowd of girls.
His face was full of misery.
The moment he spotted Shen Biqian, his eyes lit up.
After great effort, he squeezed his way out of the sea of admirers.
“You’re finally here.”
Shen Biqian grinned mischievously.
“Don’t boys usually enjoy being surrounded by girls looking at them with admiration?”
“Why are you avoiding it like the plague?”
Li Nan smiled bitterly and shook his head.
“A little admiration is nice.”
“But too much enthusiasm is hard to handle.”
Shen Biqian noticed red marks all over his arms where people had grabbed him.
She couldn’t help sympathizing.
“They’re just terrified.”
“Who would’ve thought that a peaceful life would suddenly be invaded by man-eating demonic beasts?”
Li Nan sighed.
Even so, he remained standing beside Shen Biqian and refused to leave.
The students were still afraid of her blood-covered appearance.
They didn’t dare approach.
Shen Biqian didn’t care.
She casually found a place to sit.
“Only this many people left?”
Li Nan nodded.
“Everyone else has already been escorted away.”
“They were too scared and kept refusing to leave, so they stayed until now.”
“But this is the last trip.”
“Mu Ranzhu and the others should be back soon.”
Shen Biqian understood completely.
In her previous life, she had also been a powerless nobody.
Faced with endless hordes of demonic beasts, she had been terrified.
When someone appeared who could kill those terrifying monsters with a single sword strike, of course people would cling to them desperately.
Suddenly, Shen Biqian spoke coldly:
“You all must return to your dormitories later.”
“We have no obligation to stay with you forever.”
“If you refuse to go back…”
“Then just wait to be eaten by the beasts.”
“Shen—”
Li Nan had just begun to speak when Shen Biqian shook her head, signaling for him to stay silent.
“You’ve all seen it for yourselves.”
“Demonic beasts are swarming in overwhelming numbers.”
“Humanity’s apocalypse has probably arrived.”
“In the past, as daughters cherished by your families, you could rely on your parents at home and your husbands after marriage.”
“But now, the only person you can rely on is yourself.”
“The only way to survive in this apocalypse is to overcome your fear, pick up a weapon, and fight back.”
“Relying on others won’t save you.”
The girls who had been glaring angrily at Shen Biqian gradually fell silent.
Looking at her blood-covered body, they slowly came to a realization.
The fear and resentment in their eyes began to fade.
If she could fight demonic beasts with her bare hands and end up covered in blood…
Then they could do it too!
Shen Biqian smiled.
There were no cowards at X University.
After all, cowards could never have earned admission to a world-renowned university like this one.