The elephants’ momentum gradually increased as they ran. Their bell-like roars echoed across the entire battlefield, boosting the morale of the Beastman army. All the Beastmen howled madly, brandishing their weapons as they charged toward the city walls.

Shangguan Yutong bit her lower lip, her beautiful face looking somewhat pale. A lock of hair had fallen across her forehead, but she didn’t brush it away. Her hands were clenched into tight fists, the veins on the back of her fair, jade-like hands clearly visible as she stared at the Komodo War Elephants leading the charge.

At this moment, all the surrounding Beastman troops began to assemble, their loud roars echoing from within their ranks. It looked like they were preparing for the main Beastman force to immediately follow up once the elephants breached the city, rushing into Cameron Town in one fell swoop!

"Ah! This is dangerous!" Su Embroidery couldn’t help but exclaim. Clearly, no one who saw the elephants’ massive size and freakish defensive capabilities would treat them as mere decorations. Although the city wall looked incredibly sturdy, no one was confident it could withstand a few hits from such behemoths.

"If only we could have dug some traps outside beforehand," Xiao Lin sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, this was all too sudden!"

"If this is all they have, Cameron would have been flattened a hundred years ago!" Shangguan Yutong said, practically grinding her teeth. "Why haven’t they used the Magic Crystal Cannons yet!"

"Magic Crystal Cannons?" Ling Xiao repeated the words. The term sounded vaguely familiar; his father, Ling Tianxiao, had probably mentioned it once. As if to answer Ling Xiao’s unspoken question, the number of Defense Army soldiers on the wall suddenly dwindled. Then, a dozen huge, black cannon barrels, each as thick as a person’s embrace, were mounted on the crenellations, their dark muzzles aimed at the approaching Komodo War Elephants.

"Excellent!" Shangguan Yutong’s face lit up with excitement, and she let out a cry like a little girl.

Just as the elephants were less than a hundred meters from the wall, a red light suddenly flashed at the mouth of one of the cannon barrels, and a thick beam of light shot out without a sound!

The beam of light was white, and even from a distance, one could feel the immense destructive power it contained! It struck one of the Komodo War Elephants at the very front. The five-meter-tall behemoth was blasted to smithereens before it could even let out a scream! A crimson mist of blood and chunks of flesh filled the air. On the ground, the blast carved out a massive crater, over ten meters in diameter and five or six meters deep!

Ling Xiao watched, utterly horrified. This was the first time he had seen such a powerful weapon in this world, one with such astonishing destructive force! ’For me,’ Ling Xiao thought, ’I’m afraid only a Nascent Soul Stage master from the Cultivation Realm could cause this much of a commotion!’

’With my previous Golden Core Stage cultivation, I might have been able to kill a War Elephant, but I could never have achieved such a terrifying level of destructive power!’

A sky-shaking cheer erupted from the Defense Army on the city walls!

The other Komodo War Elephants below didn’t even need their Beastman riders to command them; they frantically turned and fled back toward their main camp. The newly assembled Beastman troops were thrown into disarray by the retreat, and many were trampled to death. The entire Beastman formation descended into chaos!

"If we charged out of the city now, we might be able to rout these beasts in one go!" Shangguan Yutong said with some frustration, looking at the tightly shut city gates.

Ling Xiao suddenly asked, "Since the Magic Crystal Cannons are so effective, why didn’t they take the opportunity to wipe out all the War Elephants just now?"

Shangguan Yutong shot Ling Xiao a look. "Where do you think the Magic Crystal Cannon gets its incredible power? A single shot requires at least a dozen Tier Two Magic Beast Crystal Cores! And they all have to be the same type! Why else do you think Crystal Cores are so expensive? Most of them are bought up by the state as strategic reserves! No one would use this thing unless it was an absolute last resort!"

It seemed that apart from Shangguan Yutong, the other teachers also knew nothing about the Magic Crystal Cannons. They were all shocked to hear her explanation. Heavens, this wasn’t just a powerful weapon; it was a bottomless pit that devoured Gold Coins!

Shangguan Yutong continued, "Moreover, these things are enormous and heavy, making them difficult to transport. No Space Ring can carry something this big. In warfare, they are almost exclusively used for city defense. And as you saw, their effective range is only within a hundred meters. Therefore, Magic Crystal Cannons are typically used as a deterrent. If it weren’t for the appearance of these terrifying Komodo War Elephants, we probably would never have had the chance to see one!"

Su Embroidery chuckled softly. "Teacher Shangguan, you really know a lot!"

Shangguan Yutong smiled demurely and said, "I just happen to read a lot of old books. When it comes to this kind of knowledge, I think the strongest is probably Teacher Ling Su!"

Hearing Teacher Shangguan suddenly mention the sister he had never met, Ling Xiao’s interest was piqued, and he pricked up his ears to listen.

The other teachers glanced at Ling Xiao, then nodded in unison. Su Embroidery said, "That’s right. Teacher Lingsu hasn’t been back in a long time. She’s been gone for more than half a year!"

A nostalgic look appeared on Shangguan Yutong’s face as well. She said softly, "She should still be in the Zichuan Empire right now. When she left, she said she had obtained an ancient diagram that pointed to a location in some mountain range within the Zichuan Empire. I’m really worried about her being all alone!" Then, she looked at Ling Xiao with a smile. "You have to get stronger quickly, okay? Then your sister will have someone to protect her!"

Ling Xiao nodded. Hearing someone talk about his sister for the first time gave him a strange feeling. His impressions of the brother and sister he had never met were hazy, but deep down, he felt a powerful longing, as if just hearing their names made him feel close to them!

"The Beastmen are temporarily retreating!" Xiao Lin pointed at the troops falling back toward the Mesopotamia Grassland. "We have a chance to get into the city!"

"It’s not some kind of trick, is it?" Su Embroidery said softly.

Shangguan Yutong shook her head. "They just suffered a huge loss. It’s unlikely they’re trying to pull a fast one."

Sure enough, the main Beastman force retreated several miles before stopping to regroup.

Now, the merchant caravans and Adventurers who had been trapped outside all crowded toward the city gate. Seeing that the Beastmen had retreated to a safe distance, the Defense Army opened the gate, and Ling Xiao’s group took the opportunity to slip inside. Because Beastmen were so easy to identify, the exhausted soldiers didn’t even bother with a thorough inspection before letting the crowd in and quickly shutting the gate again.

The main street of Cameron Town was no longer as bustling and prosperous as it had been a few days ago. It was now deserted, with almost no one in sight. The group quickly returned to the Splendid Inn. After seeing a few of the other teachers downstairs and asking a few questions, they were finally relieved. All the students were currently safe and sound; none had even gone outside and were all waiting in the inn.

Ling Xiao was eager to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. After saying a quick goodbye to Shangguan Yutong, he went straight back to his room. As expected, Night Owl wasn’t there. Since refining the Foundation Establishment Pill would take some time, he first went to see Yisha. Yisha was overjoyed to see him return safely. Although she found his request not to be disturbed a bit strange, she obediently agreed without asking any questions.

Ling Xiao returned to his room and locked the door from the inside. From his ring, he took out the high-grade Alchemy Furnace he had prepared long ago. This type of furnace was fueled by Tier One Crystal Cores, making it an extremely extravagant item that no ordinary person—only the super-rich—would ever dare to use.

He took out the Purple Blue Fruit, the Heart of the Earth Dragon, and the Stone Bamboo Grass all at once. Ling Xiao fell silent for a moment, praying in his heart for the blessings of the past masters of the Shushan Sect, hoping he could succeed in his Alchemy on the first try.

To be honest, Ling Xiao was quite confident in his ability to refine elixirs, but this time was exceptionally significant. He couldn’t afford not to be cautious.

Finally, when his mind had reached a state of complete peace, Ling Xiao used his Jade Sword to cut off a piece of the Heart of the Earth Dragon and placed it into the Alchemy Furnace first.

The pure power of the Tier One Fire Crystal Core caused the Alchemy Furnace’s temperature to rise rapidly. At this moment, Ling Xiao’s mind returned to its most stable state, entering a kind of ethereal trance.

’Alchemy leaves no room for carelessness. A single moment of inattention could lead to failure.’

As time passed, second by second, more and more sweat beaded on Ling Xiao’s forehead. Alchemy was extremely draining on one’s Spiritual Power, but at the same time, it was also immensely beneficial for its growth!

Finally, hearing the sound of the Heart of the Earth Dragon being refined within the Alchemy Furnace, Ling Xiao quickly used a tool to flick open the lid, placed the two stalks of Stone Bamboo Grass inside, and continued the process. A refreshing, heart-soothing fragrance wafted from the furnace. A slight smile touched Ling Xiao’s lips, but he didn’t bother to wipe the sweat from his brow.

At last, after more than eight hours, the elixir refining process was reaching its end. Ling Xiao opened his eyes and stared nervously at the Alchemy Furnace.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside, followed by Yisha’s frantic knocking. "Brother Ling Xiao, open the door, quick! The Beastmen have broken in!"

Ling Xiao’s expression didn’t change. He focused his gaze on the Alchemy Furnace, withdrew the last wisp of heat, and flicked open the lid. Instantly, a rich fragrance filled the entire room!

Outside, the knocking on the door grew more and more urgent...