Chapter 71: Stirring Up a Hornet's Nest

A flash of crimson light flickered across Xiao Nan’s face, the twisted grin of a specter contorting the demonic mask he wore. His sudden forward charge and the sweeping strike came to an abrupt halt, and in an instant, he shot backward in retreat.

At the same time, his body moved in a way that defied human anatomy—while retreating, he bent sharply at the waist, his torso forming a perfect right angle.

In a split second, a deep pit appeared not far from his side. A bullet had grazed his chest, the force of its passage tearing through his coat and leaving a fresh scar.

A sniper...

A chill prickled between Xiao Nan’s brows—his mind was screaming a warning. The moment he beheaded the fox barbarian, he hadn’t lingered for even half a second before leaping back, sensing that he was being targeted.

The feeling was all too familiar.

Not only that, but the atmosphere around him felt distinctly wrong. A coldness was gathering, telling him that this was no place to linger.

He glanced toward the source of the danger—the fourth-floor window of the white main building.

In the shroud of night, he could just make out a pair of eyes there, icy and merciless, fixed upon him from above.

A roar thundered directly in his mind.

Suddenly, within his spirit, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared... A single point of golden light shimmered in their depths, growing ever brighter, until it seemed to blot out the world.

Xiao Nan’s heart hammered, his head spun, and his limbs went weak.

His backward flight stuttered, and he nearly collapsed—only to see, in the distance, four or five shadows darting toward him with furious, murderous intent.

“A psychic intimidation? Locked onto me from hundreds of meters away.”

“I must have stirred up a hornet’s nest—are those pursuers barbarians or humans?”

Xiao Nan’s mind raced, leaving no time to examine further.

He withdrew his consciousness, envisioning the bronze mirror, and instantly found himself in a state beyond sorrow or joy.

Having attained the realm of "sitting in oblivion," he could forget both the outside world and his inner worries. His body’s potential was unleashed, responding instinctively in the most profound way.

He let instinct take over, moving in the most effective way to survive the peril at hand.

Most crucially, in this state, he would not be paralyzed by the enemy’s psychic assault—his flesh would not be seized, leaving him a chance to escape.

He knew that the one watching from the fourth floor was a true master of the mind, someone he could not hope to contend with.

He took a deep breath.

His heart pounded like a drum, muscles surging—the very sight of his legs bulging, threatening to burst his trousers.

Leaping sideways, he rolled along the ground like a wounded hare, dodging another sniper’s shot. Xiao Nan darted through an alley and out onto the street...

He vanished into the crowd, slipping into another alley.

He did not know how long he had run, or how many streets he had crossed. Only when he glimpsed the stone bridge over the small river did his heart settle, and he finally stopped.

Not far ahead, beneath the orange glow of a streetlamp, a grand archway reflected a gentle light.

“So I’ve ended up at the entrance to First High? Of course—under threat, my subconscious must have chosen this as the safest direction. That must mean there’s a master in the school... Is it the principal, or Teacher Tang?”

Xiao Nan glanced back. Seeing no pursuers, he guessed he had shaken them off.

Sticking to the shadows of the trees, he did not enter the school gates but blended silently behind the wall.

He looked so peculiar now that if he entered the school and was spotted by teachers or staff, it would be hard to explain.

“The school’s strongest is likely Tang Zhixuan. The principal is said to be only of the third rank, not much involved, and no one really fears him.

As for Tang Zhixuan, her apparent strength is that of a fourth-rank martial artist. She can unleash a blade of air with a casual strike, though her true power is unknown.”

Most likely, she was extremely formidable.

Xiao Nan admitted to himself that if his enemy were her, he would have no hope of escape.

That faint yet overwhelming aura she radiated was like a tiger appearing beside an ordinary person.

Even knowing the tiger was tamed and would not harm him, he couldn’t help but feel wary and cautious.

He mulled over the voluptuous martial arts instructor for a moment, then let the thought go.

He had stopped to address the lingering threat.

Leaning against the wall, he regulated his breathing. As his blood and energy circulated, he felt the weakness in his body quickly fade away.

His vitality flowed smoothly, blood coursing like pearls.

His enhanced physique now recovered far faster than before—a sensation that left Xiao Nan somewhat intoxicated.

In the past, after such an explosive outburst, he would need two or three hours just to regain some strength.

To return to peak condition, he would have to eat heartily at home and sleep soundly...

He would feel better the next day.

That was what happened after the blood ritual incident.

But now?

He had scarcely finished his exertion, yet after only a few minutes’ rest, he was already rejuvenated.

“As long as I don’t have to fight continuously without rest, I needn’t worry about stamina anymore.”

His body was fine; it was his spirit that was at issue.

The sniper’s attack, the barbarian master’s pursuit—these were nothing.

What troubled him most was the one at the fourth-floor window.

Or rather, those indistinct eyes.

They seemed ancient, yet also bloodthirsty and savage.

A single glance had nearly ensnared him.

If not for having already transcended to the “sitting in oblivion” state, allowing him to withdraw his spirit and let his body act on instinct, he might never have escaped.

Had his mind been stunned and his body paralyzed, wouldn’t he have been captured alive on the spot?

“I’ve heard that among the barbarians, there are not only warriors but also priests. Such people lack physical prowess but specialize in the mind, even communicating with deities to wield divine power. I wonder if that was what I encountered today.”

Xiao Nan realized this world truly was perilous.

After killing the bear barbarian and acquiring his body’s secrets, Xiao Nan had grown quite confident in his own strength.

He thought he could now protect himself and started acting with less caution than before.

Yet barely half a day into his newfound bravado, he had been dealt a sobering blow.

The more one sees, the clearer one’s own insignificance becomes.

There was truth in that.

“My strength is not enough to ignore certain dangers... I can be bold, but not reckless.”

He composed himself, reaching to his chest, where some changes had already occurred.

As his spirit and body grew stronger, his birthmark was nearly gone. The bronze mirror had vanished somewhere, leaving no trace in the real world.

Xiao Nan only knew that whenever he thought of the bronze mirror, a misty realm would appear to his mind... It seemed bound to his soul, though he couldn’t be sure.

Now, he needed to deal with those blood-red eyes.

That strange psychic attack, it seemed, had left its mark on him.