I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 90 - 89: Preliminary Round (Part 7)

After falling into the water, Cui Tianxiao was grabbed by the collar by Li Xing and pressed onto a wooden plank. The two looked at the ship debris scattered around them, both shocked and angry.

"Xiao Ming, did you see what it was?"

Qi Ming spat out water, grimacing as he said bitterly, "It was a large Water Beast, moving too fast to make out the type. I couldn’t even reinforce the talisman array before it crashed into us."

Li Xing asked, "Where’s Qingtian?"

Li Xing glanced around but didn’t see Ye Qingting. Her heart tightened. The incident happened so suddenly that she could only grab the nearest Cui Tianxiao. She didn’t know if Ye Qingting heard the warning and escaped in time.

Just then, about thirty to forty meters away, Ye Qingting emerged from the water with a splash, the Ice Elemental Spirit bursting from within him, freezing the river’s surface.

Ye Qingting ran while releasing the Primordial Spirit to freeze the water, racing across the ice towards the three.

The ice path extended from Ye Qingting to them and all the way towards the riverbank as Ye Qingting shouted, "Get up quickly, there’s a Heaven Rank Water Beast!"

When the ship was struck, Ye Qingting was thrown without any warning, landing in the water away from the ship, just in time to see the Water Beast’s true form attacking them.

The three jumped onto the ice and raced towards the shore. Ye Qingting soon caught up, and while running, Cui Tianxiao looked back and asked, unwilling to give up, "Why is a Heaven Rank Water Beast here? Qingtian, are you sure you didn’t see wrong?"

"Stop talking and run!"

Ye Qingting couldn’t believe there was a Heaven Rank Water Beast here either, but the Heavenly Horn, which only Star Beasts of level thirteen and above could grow, was glaringly evident in the middle of its forehead, making it impossible to mistake.

"Splash——" A huge sound of the water breaking made all four turn their heads at once. What they saw made it unnecessary for Ye Qingting to urge them; the three instantly sped up, desperately racing towards the shore.

A Crocodile Beast as large as a medium-sized flying device slithered along the ice path in pursuit. Its massive paws easily shattered the solid ice that could support the weight of four people, as if effortlessly smashing an eggshell. The distance between the humans and beast shrank rapidly.

The unexpected major incident had the live broadcast room in an uproar. A wealthy student monitoring channel 84 used their money power to send a message on the world channel, causing a striking colored barrage to appear in all live broadcast rooms simultaneously.

// Breaking news! A Heaven Rank Star Beast has appeared in channel 84’s broadcast, the team is in a life-and-death crisis, the broadcast may end at any moment, hurry to watch! //

In no time, countless accounts swarmed into channel 84’s broadcast room, causing momentary network lag, giving the administrators of channel 84 a headache, losing a few more strands of hair.

Cui Tianxiao ran until he was out of breath, complaining as he ran, "My god, weren’t Heaven Rank Star Beasts supposed to go deep into the forest? Why is there one left behind?"

Not only was Cui Tianxiao puzzled, but even the teachers in front of the large screen couldn’t figure it out.

Luo Jun sprang up: "Principal, I request immediate on-site support!" Before receiving approval, she turned to Zhou Song: "Lao Zhou, aren’t you skilled in playing with Teleportation Arrays? Now, right away, immediately! Send me over!"

Zhou Song was bristling with anger, talking to a complete layperson was aggravating.

"Are you kidding! Without an endpoint position how can I teleport, and right away, immediately? Luo Jun, stop daydreaming, will you!"

Luo Jun: "Isn’t obtaining coordinates easy? Remove the optical brain block and have those kids send one."

Zhou Song pointed to the screen: "Look at them, do they have the time to spare right now?" The four students were running ahead, souls flying behind, legs sprinting so fast they left afterimages, where’s the energy to send coordinates.

Luo Jun: "Then... hack into their optical brain!"

Zhou Song laughed in exasperation: "Could you use your brain a bit, I’m a talisman master, not a hacker!"

Luo Jun: "Tch, if you can’t do it just admit it, why make so many excuses!"

Zhou Song: "You, who are you saying can’t do it!" No matter how old men get, they can’t stand being told they can’t.

"Alright, stop arguing and sit down." The principal Wenda watched the Crocodile Beast on the screen closely chasing the four, frowning deeply.

"Teacher Luo, the coordinates for the destination of the Teleportation Array are crucial. Without them, the margin for error in blind teleportation is significant. Even if Professor Zhou sends you nearby, by the time you hack through and reach them, what’s meant to happen will have happened."

"Principal, are we just going to watch them be pursued by a Heaven Rank Star Beast?" Luo Jun was the type with a sharp tongue but a soft heart. She was always confrontational towards Li Xing, but if anything happened to Li Xing, she would be the first who couldn’t bear it.

"I believe students trained by Harssas can handle crises," Wenda set down his teacup, interlacing his fingers, watching the screen. "Even if they can’t win, they can activate the Transmission Array to return. Abandoning the match or losing their lives, they know which is more important."

Since the principal had spoken, even if Luo Jun was unwilling, she had to hold back. However, she couldn’t understand why Gustav, having already advanced to a Heaven Rank Star Beast, stayed in the Peterson River Basin when the Deep Forest would be more beneficial for its growth.

Luo Jun: "Principal, you asked me about Gustav’s situation before the competition began, did you foresee this?"

Wenda nodded, explaining to all the teachers focused on this: "Crocodile Beasts are lazy by nature, attached to their nests. Unless a more powerful Star Beast threatens their safety, or their nest is destroyed by irresistible forces, they won’t easily leave their birthplace, even if there’s no food left there to continue enhancing their power."

"The Heaven Rank Star Beasts deeper in the forest won’t hunt at the outskirts, so Gustav is too lazy to change territory. Only if other Water Beasts or Star Beasts advance to Heaven Rank could threaten it; otherwise, nothing challenges its dominion. It’s the king of the Peterson River."

"Hmph! If I’d known, I should have killed it three years ago to stop it from harming others!" Luo Jun punched the table, full of regret.

Three years ago, when she encountered Gustav, she was on urgent business, and Gustav was at a crucial upgrading stage. Both knew the other wasn’t easy to deal with, and fighting would yield no benefits in a short time. So after glaring at each other, they went their separate ways. Now thinking back, she felt deep regret.

Luo Jun’s sudden punch startled Zhou Song, and the old professor, through his glasses, rolled his eyes into a meme expression:

"The reason this Crocodile Beast is nicknamed the Devil is because of its strong camouflage ability, being elusive, tough-skinned, and highly resistant to damage. Otherwise, with the lazy nature of Crocodile Beasts, it wouldn’t rank in Heaven. But you two, one Witch, one Devil, if you truly fought, it would be quite a spectacle!"

Luo Jun bared her teeth with a fierce expression: "Lao Zhou, you’re itching for a fight, aren’t you? Want me to loosen up for you?"

Professor Zhou aloofly turned his head, muttering under his breath, "Brute."