The Revenge of the Reborn Supreme Sovereign

Chapter 537 - 525: Where There’s Something Unusual, There’s a Demon!

Hua Xiaotian didn’t know how Demi Immortal Qilian had found out that the source of the disaster was the Qiantang River. He only knew that Demi Immortal Qilian was deeply disappointed and furious, and that he himself was the cause of it all.

The command, "Do not come to see me until you’ve reached the Middle Stage of the Gang Realm," had invisibly sealed the terms of their separation.

"Yes, Master!"

Knowing Demi Immortal Qilian’s unyielding nature was like knowing an arrow, once loosed, could never return. Though he had a thousand things to say, they all condensed into that simple reply. With that, Hua Xiaotian rose from the ground, his spirit dazed and his expression forlorn. Turning his back to the old figure meditating cross-legged before the cliff, he began to walk, step by step, down the mountain path.

「At the same time.」

Over a dozen helicopters lifted off from various locations across Huaxia. Their destination was set directly for the Qiantang River in Jiangsu and Zhejiang—the very same river that lay unnervingly still in the pitch-black night.

「In the male dormitory area of Jinling University.」

After standing quietly on the balcony for a few minutes, Qin Fan cast his Divine Sense out across the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang region. While using his Divine Sense to cover an entire province was no simple task for someone at the Golden Core cultivation level, he could barely manage it by expending some True Qi. The search swept through his mind like a feed from a celestial surveillance network, playing back every event in the region in real time.

He witnessed all sorts of scenes: domestic violence, secret affairs, even murder. But Qin Fan had no interest in any of it. However, as he filtered out these uninteresting scenes, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

This shouldn’t be happening! Could it be that this ominous sky is covering all of Huaxia? Not just a local anomaly in Jinling, or even just Jiangsu and Zhejiang?

Just as he was about to retract his Divine Sense, he discovered dozens of auras belonging to Martial Artists gathering near the Qiantang River. The vicinity was also sealed by an Illusion Array, a bewitching spell that would make intruders walk in circles, preventing anyone from stumbling in by accident. Everything was centered around the Qiantang River as if it were a containment line.

What’s going on? Things that seem this strange are never simple; this situation is just too bizarre!

"The Guardian Institute?" he murmured, a thought striking him. Weren’t those the same people who had visited his home to invite him to join their organization? What on earth was the Guardian Institute doing gathered at the Qiantang River, with Magicians having set up an Illusion Array?

The Divine Sense he was about to withdraw took a sharp turn, plunging toward the eerily silent Qiantang River.

With that dive, Qin Fan froze. His eyes widened slightly. The next second, his breathing grew ragged as excitement surged through him. Neither the serpent from Yanjing Ridge nor the more recent Orochi from Japan had elicited such a strong reaction from him. But the presence he now felt with his Divine Sense made his breath catch in his throat.

This excitement, however, was short-lived. As his Divine Sense delved deeper, he was suddenly stunned.

"How is that possible!" he exclaimed involuntarily. He had sensed on this creature the very aura of the serpent he had slain at Yanjing Ridge. His thoughts came to a screeching halt.

Not daring to probe any further, Qin Fan swiftly retracted his Divine Sense. He rushed back into his dorm room, carelessly throwing on some clothes. Then, silently, he returned to the balcony and leaped, floating effortlessly down from the seventh floor. His slender figure evaded the school’s security cameras, moving like a phantom in the night.

Amidst the eerie silence of the Qiantang River, the nearby residents slept peacefully, unaware that a potential catastrophe was brewing in the pervasive hush. But the Martial Artists from the Guardian Institute, stationed as a cordon along the riverbank, were anything but calm. Each one was more tense than the next, their eyes locked on the river’s surface as if fearing a sudden, devastating change.

At that very moment, over a dozen armed helicopters carrying Magicians were hurtling through the sky toward the Qiantang River at top speed. Meanwhile, Hua Xiaotian, having descended from Kunlun Mountain, abandoned the thought of contacting Qin Fan after Demi Immortal Qilian’s furious rebuke. He unleashed the full, unreserved speed of a Gang Realm master, hurtling tirelessly through the forested mountains and rugged ranges.

A tense prelude to the anomaly at the Qiantang River had begun.

Whether it was magicians such as Lai Zhuge, prominent Martial Arts figures like Hua Xiaotian, or every member of the Guardian Institute, they all knew one thing: their time was running out. No one knew how long the river’s uncanny silence would last, but they all understood that the moment it was broken, a catastrophe could erupt in an instant. Furthermore, they had to consider the risk of public panic, which meant they were on a tight schedule.

While praying the strange quiet would hold, they hoped to eliminate the threat beneath the water before dawn. After all, once the sun rose, the Illusion Array would have to be dismantled and the cordon lifted. Otherwise, their very presence would be enough to cause panic among the local residents long before the creature in the river did. If news of this spread across the internet, the consequences would be unthinkable. It was a price that not even they, or the highest decision-making authority, could afford to pay.

Moving like a ghost, it wasn’t long before Qin Fan arrived in the vicinity of the Qiantang River.

GURGLE! GURGLE!

GURGLE! GURGLE!

GURGLE! GURGLE!

Just as he drew near, a series of gurgling sounds erupted from the river’s surface, growing louder and spreading wider by the second.

Hidden in an unnoticeable dark corner, Qin Fan raised an eyebrow and tentatively cast a Concealing Breath Spell to mask his aura.

Strangely, the moment his aura vanished, the gurgling stopped. The Qiantang River returned to its dead silence.

"Heh. So it’s affected by my aura?" he murmured with a playful smirk, a realization dawning on him. But he didn’t attack. He decided to wait and see what kind of trouble the Guardian Institute was trying to handle.

"Damn it, it’s moving! It’s moving!"

"Why isn’t Master Hua here yet? Where are those Magicians?"

"Contact Master Hua now! Report the situation and ask for his orders!"

"Wait, calm down! It’s quiet again, it’s gone quiet!"

Beneath the dim yellow streetlights, the members of the Guardian Institute cried out in alarm as the distinct gurgling rippled through the river. The sudden noise had nearly snapped their already taut nerves. Fortunately, the sound didn’t last long, allowing their hearts, which had leaped into their throats, to settle slightly.

But it was only a slight relief. With their many years of experience in the world of Martial Arts, they knew that this gurgling was an omen—an omen of something they were completely unprepared to face.

Master Hua, please hurry! We need reinforcements, now!

With panicked eyes fixed on the river, this was the silent plea of every member of the Guardian Institute.