Several layers of overlapping barriers unfolded in front of Zhang Ye, blocking the spear-sharp vines. At the same time, another vine, tipped with a bud resembling a man-eating flower, lunged at him from another direction.
Without even looking, Zhang Ye simply raised his other hand, and several more barriers were instant-cast.
Every single one of them was Tier Nine magic!
The vines possessed terrifying offensive power, often shattering three or four layers of barriers in a single strike, but they were nowhere near as fast as Zhang Ye's instant casting.
As they blocked the dense barrage of attacks, the sound of shattering barriers chimed together in rapid succession, clinking and clanging like a musician composing a song.
This melody echoed continuously in Katelansi's mind.
In her eyes, the terrifying Saint Materials around them and everything else seemed to fade away. All that remained was the dark silhouette of the figure shielding her against the light.
Yet, she felt as though that silhouette was radiating light.
An unprecedented sense of security welled up in her heart.
Zhang Ye turned around. Even without raising his hands, he could instant-cast spells—raising them just looked cooler.
He looked down at Katelansi, who was sitting on the ground, staring blankly at him.
At this moment, Katelansi had completely lost her usual icy beauty persona. She was covered in dust, her fair skin slightly flushed from the scorching heatwave, and traces of blood stained the corners of her mouth and nose. Her icy-blue hair was a tangled mess, giving her a disheveled yet tragically beautiful appearance.
Zhang Ye waved his hand in front of her face. “Hello? Anyone home?”
Katelansi: “...”
Zhang Ye's voice snapped Katelansi out of her daze. Her face instantly flushed red, but she couldn't tear her eyes away.
Suddenly, she saw Zhang Ye reaching his hands toward her. Startled, she cried out, “W-what are you doing?!”
Zhang Ye rolled his eyes at her. “Can you even move like this? Or would you rather stay here and dance with them?”
Katelansi looked at the sky full of vines held back only by the constantly flashing magic circles, and she couldn't help but shiver.
She bit her lip and shook her head gently.
In the next instant, with a soft gasp from Katelansi, Zhang Ye scooped her up in a princess carry. In this position, his hands inevitably brushed against the bare skin of her legs.
This caused Katelansi's body to tremble involuntarily.
Her face flushed crimson all the way to her ears. She lowered her head, not daring to look at him.
If anyone were to lift her bangs, they would see that her eyes were trembling, almost completely out of focus.
Zhang Ye didn't pay any attention to her reaction. Instead, he gathered all the mana in his body.
Thirty-times multiplier—Tier Nine [Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Blazing Flame Lion]!
A massive magic circle instantly materialized above Zhang Ye's head. This was the spell he had previously analyzed and copied from Leona.
A colossal blue flame lion, spanning hundreds of meters, roared as it charged upward, slamming into the cage of vines sealing the sky.
A Tier Nine spell at a thirty-times multiplier, further bolstered by the Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhancement and elemental advantage, was devastating. Combined with the fact that the Saint Materials were already withered and weakened from starving for so long, the flame lion tore open a massive gap in the vine canopy with just a few swipes.
Zhang Ye immediately instant-cast a [Hydrogen-Oxygen Enhanced · Bursting Flame] magic circle beneath his feet. Blue flames erupted, rapidly turning white as they propelled him straight into the sky.
The vines lashed out after them, unexpectedly extending for hundreds of meters.
But Zhang Ye was too fast. They had no way of trapping him again and could only watch as he vanished into the distance.
It was only then that Leona's figure finally appeared.
It wasn't that she was late on purpose. Rather, the Saint Materials had completely blocked mana fluctuations, preventing Leona, who was dozens of kilometers away, from sensing that Katelansi was in danger.
If not for the commotion caused by the erupting flames, she probably wouldn't have noticed at all.
For a Saint-tier powerhouse, a distance of dozens of kilometers was extremely short and could be crossed in a single teleportation. However, death could arrive in an even shorter span of time.
If Zhang Ye hadn't shown up, Leona would have arrived too late.
Even a delay of just a few seconds would have been fatal.
It was the literal boundary between life and death.
Zhang Ye touched down on the ground and set Katelansi down. Leona quickly rushed over and began healing Katelansi while asking, “What happened?”
Zhang Ye looked into the distance at the purple pollen mist drifting out of the ruined botanical garden. Through the haze, the terrifying, swaying vines were still faintly visible.
It was indeed that pollen mist that had blocked the mana.
If Zhang Ye hadn't had his little ones keep an eye on Katelansi, she probably would have perished right then and there.
The thought left Zhang Ye with a lingering sense of dread.
Katelansi's injuries weren't actually that severe. Her internal organs had just suffered a shock, and her mana was in disarray. Under Leona's healing and guidance, she quickly recovered.
Once she was back on her feet, Katelansi whispered a thank you to Leona.
But Leona shook her head, gesturing toward Zhang Ye with her chin. “The one who saved you was him.”
Katelansi lowered her head. After a brief silence, she slowly walked up to Zhang Ye and mumbled in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, “Thank you...”
Zhang Ye placed one hand on his hip and cupped his other hand over his ear, leaning his head in closer. “What did you say? I couldn't hear you.”
With his incredibly powerful perception, how could he possibly not have heard her?
Katelansi bit her lip, remaining silent.
At this moment, she felt an overwhelming sense of shame.
She wasn't ashamed because of Zhang Ye's teasing. Rather, she was ashamed because she hadn't listened to his warnings and had gone off to explore on her own, only to get into deep trouble and require his rescue just to keep her life.
“What are you trying to say, exactly?” Zhang Ye asked, playing dumb with a playful grin.
Katelansi gritted her teeth and suddenly looked up, her icy-blue eyes staring directly into Zhang Ye's. Her face was completely flushed, resembling a ripe, tempting peach.
“I'm sorry!”
“And... thank you!”
She yelled, her voice ringing loud and clear, as if she was genuinely afraid Zhang Ye wouldn't hear her.
Zhang Ye nodded in satisfaction. Then, he turned around and gathered mana in his throat. In the next instant, a soundwave packed with surging mana boomed outward: “Everyone, assemble!!!”
They had to stick together. If they encountered another situation like this, Zhang Ye couldn't guarantee he would always make it in time to save them.
Before long, everyone gathered. Seeing that Lina and the others were perfectly fine, Zhang Ye breathed a sigh of relief.
Shana had also returned safely. However, seeing how disheveled Katelansi looked, she couldn't help but gloat a little. “Look at you. Did the iceberg crash into a rock?”
Hearing this, Katelansi's face instantly turned cold. Having just survived a life-or-death situation, her emotions were still highly volatile. Frost immediately began to radiate from her body, making it look as though she might strike at any second.
“If you don't know how to speak, shut up!” Katelansi snapped coldly.
Seeing Katelansi speak to her in that tone, Shana got upset as well. Flames ignited around her, and she scowled, her face darkening. “Am I wrong?”
The two had never gotten along, and the atmosphere instantly became tense and hostile.
Lina and the others watched, feeling somewhat bewildered.
What was going on? They were ready to fight the moment they saw each other?
Seeing this, Zhang Ye felt a bit helpless and called out, “Both of you, behave.”
To everyone's surprise, at his scolding, Katelansi immediately withdrew her frost and turned her face away, refusing to look at Shana.
This left Shana utterly astonished. This iceberg had opposed her since they first entered the academy, and they had bickered countless times, so she knew Katelansi quite well.
Logically speaking, if Zhang Ye spoke to Katelansi in that tone, she would definitely give him a cold shoulder. After all, she had always seemed to dislike him. But why was she being so obedient this time?
He told her to behave, and she actually did?
However, seeing that Katelansi had backed down, Shana could only withdraw her scorching mana as well. She turned her head in the opposite direction, the two of them standing like fire and water.
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