Although Xia Qiming couldn't understand exactly what Chen Xu was doing, the aura carried by that dark-red orb Chen Xu had condensed was undeniably related to demons.
Ever since the Hell Archduke in the Astral Battlefield had been driven away by Chen Xu and Alifa, many people from Blue Star had entered that battlefield to experience high-intensity combat against demons.
As the general commander of Daxia, Xia Qiming had naturally visited the Astral Battlefield to study the combat methods of the Heaven coalition.
There, Xia Qiming had slain many demons and had grown accustomed to the aura of corruption they carried.
When these auras were on the returning students, they were too faint for Xia Qiming to perceive. But once Chen Xu condensed them into a sphere, it became as glaringly obvious as a fire in the dead of winter.
However, compared to this bit of corruption, Xia Qiming was more focused on Chen Xu himself.
The two were less than ten meters apart, yet in Xia Qiming's perception, Chen Xu seemed like an ordinary person, devoid of even a trace of transcendent aura.
One had to understand that in present-day Daxia, even a newborn baby would carry a hint of spirit qi, having absorbed it through their mother during pregnancy.
Yet Chen Xu didn't have a single shred of transcendent aura on him.
Xia Qiming was a Martial Artist; his perceptive abilities were naturally exceptional.
There were only two possibilities for such a situation.
First, the other person was truly an ordinary human without any transcendent power—but Chen Xu clearly wasn't that.
Second, the other person was so powerful that a Martial Artist's instincts chose to ignore them entirely.
Thinking of this, Xia Qiming couldn't help but quip.
“You brat, your strength hasn't increased again, has it? You're standing right here, yet I can't sense even a whiff of your aura.
Don't tell me you've already gone past the eternal-tier to that... what was it, the unique-tier?”
“Hehe, as expected of the general commander of Daxia. Your observation and analysis skills are truly top-notch, Teacher Xia.”
“Holy crap, you really advanced again? I was just joking! You're for real?”
The veins on Xia Qiming's forehead began to throb. How much time had even passed? How could he have advanced again?
Wasn't it said that the higher the rank, the harder it was to improve?
Take the first batch of mythic-tier powerhouses in Daxia, like Ye Bufan and Xiang Longwu—six years had passed, and they were still at the mythic-tier.
How could this fundamental law of the cultivation world simply not apply to Chen Xu?
“Hahaha, let's keep it on the down-low. I just grew a tiny, tiny bit. Just a smidge.”
As he spoke, Chen Xu raised his right hand, pinching his thumb and index finger together to indicate a minuscule gap.
After his bit of boasting, Chen Xu's expression turned serious.
“Teacher Xia, I'm afraid there's big trouble brewing in the Akhan Dynasty.”
“Are you sure? Didn't those angels say that the Hell Archduke in the Astral Battlefield was defeated by the joint efforts of you and their Angel Priest?
The Akhan world isn't far from us. Could there be another Astral Battlefield?”
Xia Qiming assumed that Hell had gone to war with Heaven again and that the flames of war had spread to Akhan.
But the reality was far worse than what Xia Qiming imagined.
“There is indeed a battlefield, but it's not in the outer regions—it's inside Akhan. I suspect that a large portion of Akhan's upper echelons, including those Archmages, have already fallen.”
Hearing this, Xia Qiming's brow twitched, and his expression became solemn.
“Are you certain? Aren't the Archmages of Akhan all science-loving shut-ins who ignore the world outside to focus only on writing their papers? Just like Zhang Jingping—they don't even enter dungeons, they just stay in the academy all day writing books and theses.”
“I'm ninety percent sure. That's why I need to go to Akhan myself to confirm the current situation.”
“You're going personally?”
“Yes. The enemy this time is likely to be even more troublesome than that Hell Archduke. I'll only be at ease if I go myself.
By the way, Teacher Xia, have everyone on the Akhan side come back. I'll send the undead army to take over.”
“Fine, I'll go arrange it immediately.”
After their talk, Xia Qiming turned and left at once. Chen Xu then looked toward the group of students who had returned from abroad.
“Everyone, things are likely to get chaotic in Akhan. For the time being, stay in Daxia and don't return to your respective schools.
Also, I need to trouble you all with something. Tell me about the people you've been in contact with recently or any strange things you've noticed.”
Following that, a soul ripple expanded from Chen Xu, pulling every Akhan student into an illusion.
Dozens of illusions ran simultaneously. From the students' accounts, Chen Xu quickly locked onto three individuals.
Professor Aaron of the Balance School, Dean Tulip of the Blooming School, and Prince Boris of the Akhan royalty.
These three had co-founded a new organization that held medium-sized academic salons on a regular basis.
These academic salons didn't restrict the identity of participants, making them one of the few high-level events that foreign students could attend.
Consequently, almost all the Daxia students had participated and interacted with those three.
Having identified his targets, Chen Xu dissolved the illusions and looked toward the academy.
His gaze pierced through layers of space, landing on Zhang Jingping.
Should he ask Zhang Jingping to go to Akhan with him? As Professor Aaron's student, Zhang Jingping likely knew many internal details that Chen Xu didn't, which would help in investigating the situation.
In truth, with his unique-tier soul, Chen Xu could completely envelope the entire Akhan world just as he did with Blue Star.
However, he was a bit concerned. After all, a Hell Demon King was behind this, and he himself was deep within the web of calamity. If his actions startled the enemy and triggered a chain reaction, it would be difficult to handle.
Alifa's Heaven coalition had not arrived yet. If a fight broke out now, his undead army would be the only ones facing the demon legions head-on.
After thinking it over, Chen Xu decided to call Zhang Jingping and head to Akhan together.
Just as Chen Xu was about to teleport over and had his spell ready, Zhang Jingping suddenly moved.
Under Chen Xu's watchful eyes, Zhang Jingping seemed to receive a message on his smart terminal. He immediately stood up and used a long-distance teleportation to arrive at the entrance of the Akhan dungeon.
Without the slightest hesitation, he entered the Akhan world.
Seeing this, Chen Xu narrowed his eyes. He pulled out his own smart terminal and saw that the latest message was a group notification sent by Xia Qiming through Fuxi, announcing the suspension of travel to the Akhan world.
In other words, it was very likely that Zhang Jingping had rushed to Akhan only after seeing this message.
“Sigh, Teacher Zhang, I hope you don't actually have a problem.”
Zhang Jingping's actions left Chen Xu feeling conflicted.
Although he hadn't spent much time with Zhang Jingping, the man was, in a sense, his introductory mentor for mental strength.
It was also because of Zhang's recommendation that Chen Xu had been able to enter the Balance School to study magic knowledge.
“I hope it's not what I think.”
Chen Xu murmured softly. He took a step forward and arrived directly at the entrance of the Akhan dungeon.
Then, he stepped inside.
A moment later, Chen Xu arrived at Daxia City No. 1 in the Akhan world.
Even without fully releasing his soul, he could sense the corruption drifting in the sky above.
“As expected, this is a serious threat.”
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