Eldritch Horror Theatre

’This Visceral Attack really is handy!’

Fu Qian looked at the corpse on the ground, then down at his right hand.

Taking advantage of the moment the middle-aged man crashed headfirst into the barrier earlier, he had decisively closed the distance and used Visceral Attack through the wound torn open by his whip.

The result was the instant, one-hit kill of this transcendent—someone at least at Tier 6. It was as if a grenade had gone off inside the man’s abdominal cavity, blasting it completely empty.

The skill was simply terrifying. In terms of sheer destructive power, it was basically his strongest move.

Its only flaw was the steep activation requirement: he had to be in melee range.

Plus, there was no guarantee that some transcendents at higher realms wouldn’t still be bouncing around happily even without their internal organs.

Fu Qian shook his head and flicked a finger toward the barrier.

A few drops of blood flew from his fingertips and smashed against the unseen wall, scattering into a fine mist without leaving a single trace.

There was no way to leave a mark.Fu Qian hoisted up the middle-aged man’s corpse and cleaned up the scene, erasing all traces.

’Alright, time to go get some backup.’

There was no point in staying here any longer. With so many people inside, it would be a waste not to make use of them.

With the scene cleaned up, Fu Qian quickly traced his way back. It wasn’t long before he heard voices ahead, and looking from a distance, he spotted Ji Liushuang and the others.

Compared to when he had left, the elite squad looked considerably worse for wear. At a glance, almost everyone was injured.

But alongside those nine, there was a new addition: a man dressed in fine black clothes, possessing sword-like brows and starry eyes. He had an imposing bearing and wore a sword at his waist.

That standard expert getup... Was this the legendary Li Weixuan, the temperamental transcendent at Peak Tier 4 whose sword skills bordered on the divine?

During their earlier rest, the squad had talked about this vice dean leading the team more than anyone else.

Fu Qian had also passively heard plenty about his glorious achievements; it was obvious the man was an idol to quite a few of them.

Seeing him now, he truly had a well-deserved reputation.

Li Weixuan appeared to be only in his forties. His bearing was steadfast and his gaze piercing—much like a heavy sword polished ten thousand times over, sharp and weighty, balancing hardness and softness.

No wonder that assassin brother had been so hell-bent on luring the tiger away from the mountain. In a head-on clash, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.

This was likely the most terrifying transcendent he had encountered so far.

Peak Tier 4. Terrifying to this degree.

At that moment, the group of people opposite him all turned to look in his direction.

”He’s back.”

Among them, Yuan Xin pointed at Fu Qian with a frown, looking rather hostile.

’Were they just talking about me?’

”I’m back.”

Completely ignoring everyone’s strange expressions, Fu Qian greeted his teammates as naturally as could be.

Li Weixuan turned around and gave Fu Qian a measuring look.

”Where did you just go?”

”Scouted out the situation.”

”You went back the way we came to scout?”

Someone in the squad scoffed.

”Did you find anything during your scouting?”

Li Weixuan showed no reaction, his eyes fixed on Fu Qian.

”I did. In fact, I was just about to share it with everyone.”

Fu Qian looked completely at ease.

”We can’t get out.”

”What do you mean?”

”Exactly what I said.”

Fu Qian made a gesture.

”The path we took to get here is now blocked by an invisible barrier. We’re essentially grasshoppers trapped in a glass bottle.”

These words shocked everyone present.

”What kind of nonsense are you spouting? If you’re going to make up an excuse, at least put some effort into it...”

Anger flared on Yuan Xin’s face. It was bad enough that this guy had deserted them in battle, but now he was standing here talking utter rubbish.

In fact, it wasn’t just Yuan Xin; the others shared the same reaction, especially the one whose arm had been pierced by the hair.

The group had barely escaped the earlier siege, and even now that person’s arm was still limp and sore. Looking back at the earlier scenes, they felt like a complete joke.

What made it detestable was that this guy had known those things were hairs all along, yet he just stood there watching the spectacle. Later, he even abandoned his teammates and ran off on his own, which was utterly despicable.

”A barrier...”

Li Weixuan didn’t immediately reprimand him. Instead, he stared at Fu Qian thoughtfully.

”Are you at Tier 6?”

Tier 6?

Hearing this, Yuan Xin and the rest could barely believe their ears. When did this guy advance?

One had to know that their group was already considered prodigies among their peers, yet even Ji Liushuang, the strongest among them, had only just touched the threshold of Tier 6.

”Yes.”

Fu Qian had never intended to hide anything in the first place, so he hadn’t deliberately concealed his aura. It was perfectly normal for Li Weixuan to see through it.

”Alright.”

Li Weixuan gave Fu Qian a deep look. He didn’t know much about the student standing before him, but he had already heard about what had just transpired.

Bizarre as the monsters were, a Tier 6 transcendent wouldn’t have fled from a situation like that. But if what he said was true...

”Take me to see it.”

The journey was dead silent. Fu Qian led the way, while everyone else cast deeply conflicted gazes in his direction.

Young people were naturally competitive, and quite a few of them had been gearing up to show off their skills in front of Li Weixuan during this event.

Now, going by Li Weixuan’s tone, this guy with the awful personality was almost certainly a genuine Tier 6. Didn’t that mean he was even stronger than Ji Liushuang?

”This is the place.”

Upon arriving at their destination, Fu Qian pointed ahead, gesturing for everyone to observe for themselves.

An invisible barrier here? They couldn’t see a thing!

Everyone exchanged blank glances.

Frowning, Yuan Xin stepped forward and pushed a hand out, only to freeze in disbelief.

”There’s really something here!”

Yuan Xin couldn’t help but shout back. Hearing this, all the squad members rushed forward in disbelief, only to be entirely stopped by the barrier.

Someone tried pounding it with force, finding no reaction at all.

How could this be? There hadn’t been any obstruction when they came in.

Li Weixuan wasn’t in a hurry to step forward, but watching the scene unfold, he couldn’t stop his brows from knitting together.

”Use a weapon.”

Up ahead, Ji Liushuang nodded at his words. She drew her sword and aimed it toward the barrier, prompting the crowd to quickly make room for her.

Taking a deep breath, her mind still and her breath firmly focused, Ji Liushuang struck out in a flash.

Azure light burst forth, fast as a startled swan. This strike was a few degrees sharper than her previous ones, crossing a distance of several steps in an instant as her sword stabbed against the invisible barrier.

’Not bad.’

Li Weixuan’s eyes shone with approval. Though this sword strike was slightly immature, it already possessed the proper intent.

Yet this thunderous attack failed to stir even a single ripple. The moment it touched the barrier, it could advance no further, leaving only the trembling blade to emit a low hum.

This...

The group’s eyes went wide. It really was indestructible!

”Everyone, step aside.”

Li Weixuan’s voice rang out. The squad’s expressions sobered as they immediately cleared a path.

It was finally happening. Fu Qian watched the scene unfold with satisfaction.

He hadn’t placed any hope in Ji Liushuang or the others from the start. What he was waiting for was Li Weixuan’s move.

Peak Tier 4, wielding a divine weapon.

This was likely the strongest penetrating force to be found in these ruins.

If the barrier could be shattered through sheer force, then this was absolutely one of the most likely options to do it.