The missing students were gradually found after entering the ruins, though some left behind no bodies—only their personal belongings. The search and rescue operation was finally coming to an end.
Yang Jie assigned a group to escort the students out of the ruins while another team was tasked with deporting the captured stowaways. Keeping them around would only pose a risk.
All the students were sent back except for Su Mo and Ye Qingyi.
The two had been specifically requested to stay by Yang Jie because they had demonstrated strength and talent far beyond their peers during the earlier test.
Unlike the others, Su Mo and Ye Qingyi were at least capable of protecting themselves. Traveling with the North Star Squad wouldn’t put them in much danger; instead, it would serve as valuable experience.
For now, they were assigned to Deputy Commander Lao Li and the “Flame-Spitting Kid” for protection.
“You’re Ye Qingyi, the school belle of Jingjiang Academy,” the Flame-Spitting Kid said, recognizing him immediately. Confident in his own abilities, his gaze held only appreciation and the most basic male reaction—no excessive flattery.
Su Mo was fine with that. After all, deep down, he was still a guy. Being fawned over by a bunch of men all the time? No thanks.
“My name is Sun Yuchen, a D-rank Awakened. I heard your cultivation talent is A-rank—you might become one of the top powerhouses in the future.”
When Sun Yuchen mentioned being D-rank, Su Mo couldn’t hide his surprise.
Awakened individuals really have it easy—immediately reaching D-rank and gaining powerful abilities.
Though Su Mo had also seemingly “awakened” before, he wasn’t sure if it even counted. After all, Sun Yuchen had become a full-fledged D-rank powerhouse upon awakening, even earning the title “Flame-Spitting Kid.” Meanwhile, Su Mo’s dark-blue flames had only appeared once to burn a statue’s soul before vanishing completely, as if they never belonged to him.
Su Mo humbly replied, “Not at all, it’s not that easy.”
Ye Qingyi, left out of the conversation, couldn’t help but feel a little dejected as the attention that should have been his was taken by someone else.
Noticing this, Su Mo nudged him and said with a smile, “Let me introduce my friend, Su Mo. In terms of strength, he’s no less than me.”
“Also from our academy?” Sun Yuchen asked, puzzled.
“Yep.”
The two exchanged a brief greeting before falling silent.
While Yang Jie and Lao Li discussed their next move, Su Mo took the opportunity to ask Sun Yuchen about the North Star Squad.
Seeing the school belle take the initiative to talk to him, Sun Yuchen couldn’t stop grinning. He spilled almost everything he knew.
What guy wouldn’t enjoy chatting with a beautiful, kind-hearted girl?
Some self-proclaimed handsome, charismatic guys soon joined in, and before long, they were asking for her social media contacts—using the excuse of “looking after the newbie.”
It was a plausible reason, given that Yang Jie himself had handpicked Su Mo to stay with the team. This kind of treatment wasn’t common, making it almost certain that Su Mo would join the North Star Squad in the future.
Of course, Su Mo politely declined all such requests.
Before long, Yang Jie ordered everyone to move out immediately, with the direction determined by the compass in his hand.
Su Mo guessed that this wasn’t an ordinary feng shui compass—it was likely a magical artifact with treasure-seeking abilities.
Ever since meeting Yang Jie, Su Mo had kept his combat knife in hand to avoid exposing the storage function of his white jade ring.
Xiao Bai had been taken out of the ruins by the North Star Squad along with Wen Wenwen, and she had been very reluctant to leave.
As dusk approached, the team entered a canyon with cliffs steeper than 90 degrees—an extremely treacherous terrain.
Su Mo surveyed the surroundings and realized it was the kind of canyon that would make even Zhuge Liang drool—if someone set it on fire, their entire group would be wiped out.
Of course, that only applied to ordinary people. But they were far from ordinary.
“Everyone, rest here,” Yang Jie ordered before heading off alone to scout ahead.
Due to the increased gravity, most of the team was exhausted, collapsing to the ground and desperately gulping down food and water.
The rations mainly consisted of compressed biscuits, along with some candy and chocolate. Before eating, the others instinctively shared some of their own supplies with Su Mo and Ye Qingyi, and soon, the two had several days’ worth of extra food.
They exchanged a glance but said nothing, silently thanking those who had given them provisions.
In Su Mo’s understanding, the North Star Squad and the military weren’t so different—both existed to protect the nation. The only distinction was that the North Star Squad belonged to the supernatural world, tasked with managing and training Awakened individuals while also serving as a weapon to safeguard national interests during wartime.
The team took turns eating, resting, and standing guard. Since Su Mo and Ye Qingyi were students, they weren’t included in the night watch—but they insisted on participating. Lao Li reluctantly agreed but warned them to stay within the camp.
They were assigned the second watch, but when the time came, no one woke them—they got up on their own and reported for duty.
This single act earned them the respect of many.
The night wind blowing through the canyon was freezing, but their campsite was shielded by a protruding boulder, softening the chill.
Around 2 a.m., Yang Jie’s figure appeared in the distance—but something was off. He seemed injured.
Noticing Su Mo and Ye Qingyi keeping watch with the others, he nodded in approval.
As he got closer, Su Mo could see his wounds clearly: a small bloodstain on his chest, his sleeves completely torn off, and his forearms covered in fine cuts—some large, some small, some fresh, some old.
“Commander Yang, what happened to you?” Su Mo asked quietly.
“Ran into some trouble, but it’s dealt with,” he replied, his face as expressionless as ever, though exhaustion was evident in his eyes.
He sat down and began meditating to rest and recover.
The night passed without incident.
By the time the sun peeked over the horizon, they were already on the move again. The eerie howls of wolves from the cliffs above sent chills down their spines, wiping away the last traces of sleepiness.
The canyon was short—they reached the end in about three hours.
There, at the exit, lay at least thirty corpses scattered haphazardly. Their deaths were eerily similar: all had died from strangulation, evident from the deep marks on their necks. Some were even decapitated.
The North Star members, accustomed to death, showed no reaction. They stepped over the bodies and through the blood as if it were nothing, only frowning slightly if they stumbled over a corpse.
Su Mo fought against the overwhelming visual and olfactory assault, desperately trying not to gag—but his stomach was already churning, his body twitching uncontrollably…
Ye Qingyi wasn’t faring much better, gripping Su Mo’s arm so tightly it left deep fingernail marks.
But the worst was Sun Yuchen. At first, he stubbornly clung to his belief—“I’m a D-rank cultivator; I can’t vomit!”—but the moment he saw a disemboweled corpse with brains splattered everywhere, he finally lost the battle.
And once he started, he couldn’t stop…