Chapter 239: Ruin Expedition (3)

When Lee led the students westward, he intentionally locked his gaze with the spies stationed at the shops on the other side of the street.

*gulp*

The textile shop owner, who was a spy affiliated to the Typhoon Clan, shuddered and swallowed his saliva as his eyes met Lee's. He felt as if his heart was being pierced, his soul was about to be torn away and his bones were about to break.

The man was drenched in sweat within seconds, and the party went on their way.

"What was that?"

The man collapsed on his chair and mumbled to himself. For a moment, he felt something extremely hostile. No, he could swear he almost died.

'He is dangerous!'

The shopkeeper spoke in his mind and quickly into his shop. Through the backdoor, he exited the shop and ran to the mansion of the Typhoon Clan.

[You are letting him go?]

'Yes. He is useful.'

[How?]

'He will go and inform the clan about what had happened. They will send reinforcements for the already departed party for the Ruin. Though their relationship with the two sects is not strong or good, they will alert them for sure.'

[How is that useful?]

'Their strongest disciples will act as punching bags for my students.'

[You are abnormally convinced about your plan.]

Lee did not speak any further and kept his pace as he led the group. Through the Map, he watched over the students and kept an eye on their Mana level and health.

Meanwhile, he had converted about twenty million Essence completely into Mana. Steadily but slowly, he released the Mana towards the students and enveloped them with it.

As his Mana count began to lessen, he can feel the Mana building up in the students' bodies, saturating their body and bones. The students felt this pleasant sensation flowing out of the professor and savoured every second, while actively absorbing it.

Hudson affirmed his conclusion and gave a green signal.

[But... you will need an enormous amount of Mana to step them up to Official level mastery.]

The reply was silence and Hudson pouted and crossed his arms before his chest murmuring something.

---

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4 PM.

5,976,550 Essence harvested.

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The party walked through the streets of the city to the western gate. The students' appearance as a group of 13 and Lee leading them gave off a mysterious aura. Only those with Mana affinity could tell that it was the signature of well-tamed Mana coursing through their veins. For this display of power, Lee had asked D to notify him if the Mana level falls below a certain limit.

Like Lee had guessed, the three giants were alerted of their departure. The two sects and remaining one clan send their people to confirm their direction and their possible target. When they found their objective to be daring and unseen in the previous decade, the three giants did send a handsome amount of cultivators as reinforcements.

The unusually higher amount of disciples deployed as reinforcements were because of two reasons. One, the students were led by Lee Shen who is a dangerous guy himself. Two, the spies confirmed and reported that the students emanated quite a powerful energy from them.

The twin stars burning up in the sky their head did very little damage to the students' pumped up morale and the reason was Lee himself. He was continuously pouring out his Mana to his surroundings and covered the students within it. It acted as a protection from the surroundings and also penetrated the 13 students' skin as they were doing an active physical deed.

Lee chose this moment to fill the students with Mana because he had evaluated this situation suitable to it. The absence of any other professors in the vicinity would help him release his Mana reserve without being questioned. The students did not raise doubt as they were both surprised by the insane reserve Lee had in his body while feeling safe inside the envelope.

The second and important reason was to make those standing on the streets shudder at the dense cloud of Mana. Though those without affinity cannot control any, they could still feel the presence of energy around them if given enough focus or if the energy was dense enough.

This also marked the dawn of the Alaqvier academy's task force!

---

Five minutes to 5 PM.

The enormous size of the Piscerent city made them walk quite a lot of distance. If it was Lee alone, he could have flown to the target in an instant. But because of the 13 students in tow, he took the time-consuming, hard way.

And this decision benefitted the students as a person in motion or doing physical work could easily and efficiently accumulate Mana into their being. This characteristic clearly distinct Mana from Qi.

The daylight displayed clear indication of receding into the horizon. The twin stars that burned with pride and power at mid-day had lost their lustre.

From a distance, the students could see the city walls with a humongous gate in the middle.

"Hey, someone is coming."

One of the soldiers standing at the bottom of the wall next to the gate nudged the soldier standing next to him. The spear-wielding man with Qi affinity looked over his shoulder and then turned around. Because of the spreading darkness but the lingering presence of daylight, it was uncomfortable to clearly observe object beyond a certain range.

"The information is correct. You go first."

Another soldier who had a sheathed sword in his waist spoke as he pushed the shoulder of the spear-wielding soldier. He nodded with bravery and courage and stepped forth.

The surrounding soldiers heard the murmur and turned around to see the party approaching. The footsteps in unison soon neared the gate vicinity, and those on the walls also poked their head.

"Halt."

The soldier raised his hand and ordered the party of 14 to halt. Lee came to a stop after taking a few more steps and stood right in front of the soldier.