Deep within Kugu Ridge stands a towering hundred-meter-tall thousand-year bamboo, with only the top three green leaves yet to turn black.

Zhou Chisheng, sitting cross-legged under the bamboo, glanced up at the horizon; his time was running out. A small red wooden sword jumped from his sleeve and transformed into a little red bird that flew away.

Zhou Chisheng hadn't expected this moment to arrive so quickly...

A little red bird flew into Beifeng Academy, while Yu Xiaoman walked her husky around the campus. The surrounding Beifeng Academy students all greeted her; Yu Xiaoman was considered a prominent figure in Beifeng Academy.

As a first-year student at Beifeng Academy, Yu Xiaoman had already become a Martial Cultivator at the Qi Control level, a remarkable cultivation talent that many envied.

With the former renowned general Fei Feng as her master and Ling Yuyan as her mentor, Yu Xiaoman's strength was formidable, ranking among the top of the same level Martial Cultivators in Beifeng Academy.

At Beifeng Academy, Yu Xiaoman was called Senior Sister, signifying her as the strongest female student in the academy.

Walking along the path, Yu Xiaoman saw a red bird flying in the sky towards the inner part of Beifeng Academy.

Seeing the red bird, she thought of the fiery phoenix Lu Yu described, and remembered the putrid fire vulture she saw at Kugu Ridge, making her chest feel nauseated.

Even after so long, recalling that scene still felt extremely disturbing and sickening.

"It's been so long, and I haven't seen Master Lu. I wonder how he's doing now?"

In reality, the city where Yu Xiaoman lived had built walls and became one of the safest shelters in Hua Country, and she had adapted well to the changes in the world.

Because the city she lived in was one of the central cities in Hua Country, highly regarded, it didn't experience major disasters, smoothly transitioning through those difficult times.

Yu Xiaoman also did not encounter any danger and naturally registered to become an official Martial Cultivator.

Thinking of Lu Yu, she instinctively opened her friend list and was surprised to find Lu Yu actually in Beifeng City.

Last time Lu Yu said he was leaving Beifeng City, she thought he was as before, gone for a few days and then back, but unexpectedly a few months passed, and she hadn't seen Lu Yu's shadow.

The messages she sent to Lu Yu were mostly unanswered.

Just as Yu Xiaoman hesitated about whether to send a message to greet Lu Yu, the jade pendant at her waist vibrated, and Ling Yuyan's voice passed into her mind from the jade pendant.

"Something happened, return quickly."

The message was concise, and Yu Xiaoman could sense the gravity in Ling Yuyan's tone, as if something major had happened.

"Little Black, we're going back." Yu Xiaoman called out to the husky running around. Hearing her, the husky quickly returned to her side, following her to the courtyard where she usually trained.

The former Shadow Dog King, following Yu Xiaoman, also benefited greatly, having reached the Demon Core realm, though its identity had already been discovered by both Fei Feng and Ling Yuyan.

After three-party negotiations, it was agreed to let it stay at Beifeng Academy, with the condition that it couldn't stray more than ten steps from Yu Xiaoman and must not act without permission within the academy grounds, or else Beifeng Academy's strongmen would take action against it.

Trading freedom for the enhancement of its strength was not unacceptable for the Shadow Dog King.

Moreover, it hoped to follow Yu Xiaoman and become a national protector beast.

Although this hope was slim, it did not stop it from pursuing its dream.

Upon receiving a warning from Zhou Chisheng, Beifeng Academy quickly convened a meeting with many of its high-level members, simultaneously passing the message to the City Lord of Beifeng City and the leading families.

The Demon General had always been a thorn in their side. They too wanted to remove this thorn, but unfortunately, repeated calls for external assistance had never yielded strong support.

To completely eliminate the Demon General requires a cultivator above the Disassociation realm, which Beifeng City lacked; they could only seek help from outside.

The closest they came to success was when the City Lord of Beifeng City contacted Lin Feng, who had visited Beifeng City once before, managing to secure assistance from the Helong Legion.

Thus, Beifeng City issued a quest to the Disassociation realm players in the Helong Legion to eliminate the Demon General, offering a very generous reward for the task.

At that time, the strongest individuals from the military in the Helong Legion planned to complete this task and claim the generous reward promised by the City Lord of Beifeng City.

However, the outbreak of a real-world demon calamity prevented these strong individuals from pulling away, forcing them to reluctantly abandon the quest, leaving the City Lord of Beifeng City with no choice but to let the Demon General linger at Kugu Ridge, helpless.

Kugu Ridge had been sealed with an array set by an Array Master invited by the City Lord of Beifeng City, but the sealing array was only effective in containing the Demon General.

After all, if they truly had the ability to seal and suppress it, the City Lord of Beifeng City would not have sought help from the Helong Legion.

In fact, higher authorities had responded to the City Lord of Beifeng City's requests several times, sending people to observe the situation of the Demon General. Several envoys, upon arrival, all deemed that the situation had not escalated to a point where special personnel needed to be dispatched for cleanup.

After all, the map of the Great Zhou Dynasty was vast, with danger zones in every region, many of which were more perilous than the dormant Demon General, places that required strong guardians that couldn't be easily relocated.

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