Gu Jianlin felt a foreboding the moment he heard the words "Great God."

"Judith, senior?"

The strand of hair atop Su Youzhu's head stood on end in the chilling wind, and a trace of astonishment flickered in her beautiful eyes. "Her student?"

Only Lu Zijin knew what those two scoundrels were really thinking—it was guilt!

"Senior Judith is a world-renowned Priest, a Ninth Rank Great God. The line begging her for treatment could stretch from Iceland to Rome. She no longer sees patients publicly, having already stopped long ago. However, she's taken a few students worldwide. This Miss Yuuki happens to be one of them, here at the Qilin Immortal Palace specifically for training and to seek a promotion opportunity—she's a Fifth Rank Pope."

Mr. Liu introduced with a wide, cheerful grin, "The other one is Da He Wang, a member of Ying Province's Eightfold Shrine, and a Fifth Rank Fate Player."

He rubbed his hands together. "All familiar faces!"

Yet, deep down, even he was secretly alarmed.

They had initially come to rescue Miss Moon Princess, but it seemed that she was quite alright.

The most surprising part was that the "Chair Killer" was here too.

Alright, maybe he should now be called the Qilin instead.

Anything else would seem disrespectful.

Admittedly, this teenager was incredibly reliable.

When his girlfriend got into trouble, he rushed over immediately.

Not bad!

With successors of Qing and Chi in the party, survival was certain!

Mr. Liu suddenly felt his back straighten with confidence!

Yuuki Yocchi bowed deeply. "Hello, nice to meet you all."

Da He Wang also bowed deeply, shouting, "I'm Da He Wang, a Fifth Rank Fate Player, thrilled to meet you all!"

It was said that Yingzhou people used to be quite arrogant, especially in the early last century when their President led the human Ascenders in resisting the Vermilion Bird Divine Palace's invasion. Even the President herself suffered severe injuries and underwent a period of weakness lasting over fifty years, enticing opportunists from around the world.

However, just when the Yingzhou people were scheming, the Heavenly Person Realm descended from above and killed their Susano.

That Susano was also a Demigod.

From that point on, people realized that the Heavenly Person Realm not only suppressed the Ancient God Clan but was also effective against human Ascenders.

As is well known, the President is inherently suspicious, and after that, she would occasionally wander around Yingzhou.

Whenever she was in a bad mood, people would die.

To the point that now, when Yingzhou people encounter our citizens, they are utterly subservient.

It was as if they could feel the suppression in their very bloodline.

They had been worrying about having no supplies here, but right on cue, a perfect support class walked through the door.

Encounters with teammates in a place like this were enough to wake your spirits, but before anyone could exchange pleasantries, they heard tremors from the underground tunnel—the creaking of coffins being opened, accompanied by a terrifying aura!

Mr. Liu pulled out a quaint Jade Mirror. Its sleek surface reflected swirling black mist pouring out and ominous shadows emerging from the coffins, their blood-red eyes glowing in the dark—a resurrection of Hell's demons!

And it wasn't just one—there were eight coffins in total!

"Run!"

Their expressions changed instantly, and they bolted!

A skeleton giant, aflame with Divine Sacrificial Fire, materialized out of thin air, blocking the tunnel's end and gathering Dark Energy.

Gu Jianlin leaned on past lessons, resolutely avoiding an entanglement with these Pseudo Ancestors and opting solely for guerrilla tactics!

"Strange, theoretically, the awakening of these Ancestors should require specific triggering conditions. Why would they all wake up spontaneously?" Su Youzhu gripped the Demon Extermination Sword, swinging instinctively with what little spirituality she had left to unleash a Dimension Slash. It split apart the overhead stone wall, sending rubble tumbling down.

"Ha, leave it to an academic strategist to still be analyzing the why at a time like this!"

Lu Zijin clapped her hands together. The scattered rubble coalesced with a boom into a sturdy stone wall.

Da He Wang gritted his teeth in frustration. "I know what's going on—it's Old Master Si from the Youying Group! I don't know what methods he used, but he's leveraging the lives of those candidates to activate some kind of Alchemy Matrix here. That caused all these Pseudo Ancestors to awaken prematurely—they weren't supposed to wake up for a while yet! We barely escaped being caught in the process."

While running and catching his breath, he growled, "Yet they have ways to completely avoid these attacks!"

"That's how the Si Family operates. I've heard the candidates they train are usually controlled using spiritual toxins. When it comes time for sacrifices, they have no choice but to die. And yet, despite this blatantly exploitative style, people still choose to work for the Si Family." Yanai Yuki, sprinting on long strides, released a gentle Holy Light that enveloped the group.

Exhausted spirituality gradually rejuvenated—that's the benefit of having a support class healer!

"Impressive."

Su Youzhu stared at her expressionlessly.

Lu Zijin cast a cold glance in her direction. A true healer indeed.

"This is exactly why I can't stand the Si Family. They engage in Ascender loan schemes worldwide, not limited to financial resources or protection services—it's basically fraud and abduction. They control the families of these Ascenders, forcing them to work while feeding them spiritual toxins for coercion." Mr. Liu panted heavily.

Gu Jianlin thought, "So that's how it is," and then asked, "Third Master, long time no see. Where are your companions?"

Su Youzhu also glanced over, her gaze calm.

"We were ambushed by Old Master Si and got separated!"

Mr. Liu's face darkened as he gritted his teeth. "I fear they're in grave danger!"

Though it might not be as dire as he made it sound.

Gu Jianlin could still sense the presence of both the Butcher and the Scholar; however, their life force had undeniably weakened significantly.