Chapter 333: Chapter 333: Celestial Tier Spiritual Artifact, Xiao Tian Survived

An unknown island in the Spiritless Sea Region.

The night grew deeper, leaving only the sound of waves crashing against the reefs and the heavy, suppressed breathing of the group.

Any sense of relief from having survived the disaster had long since vanished, replaced by a deep unease and anxiety about the unknown.

Seven people gathered together, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.

Why?

Why would a private plane bound for the White Eagle Empire deviate from its course without anyone noticing and fly to a godforsaken place like this?

Why had the experienced pilots and crew vanished as if into thin air, without even having time to send a distress signal?

"Damn it! This has to be a conspiracy!"

Zhao Cheng from Huaqing University finally couldn’t hold back anymore, growling through clenched teeth.

"It must be the work of those bastards from the White Eagle Empire! They don’t dare to face Great Xia head-on, so they resort to these dirty, underhanded tricks!"

In his eyes, this was clearly an assassination attempt targeting them, the prodigies of Great Xia.

This whole bullshit International Youth Martial Dao Tournament was just a front!

A trap to lure them out and wipe them all out in one fell swoop!

"The White Eagle Empire may be despicable, but they shouldn’t be this stupid."

A calm voice cut through Zhao Cheng’s indignation.

The speaker was the Beast Tamer from the military academy, Qin Feng. He was soothing his restless Black Eagle, his own brow tightly furrowed.

"Risking all-out war with Great Xia just for ten students who haven’t even reached their full potential? That’s not a worthwhile trade, no matter how you look at it."

Qin Feng’s analysis was calm and realistic.

They might be prodigies, the future, but they were still just the "future."

To ignite a war between two superpowers just to snuff out a few uncertain "futures"... as long as the higher-ups in the White Eagle Empire weren’t complete idiots, they wouldn’t do something so foolish.

"Besides, don’t you think it’s too much of a coincidence?"

Qin Feng’s gaze swept over the group, his voice carrying the distinct sharpness of a military cadet:

"Of all times, the King Realm teacher who was supposed to accompany us wasn’t here. They’d just said something came up and they’d be a few days late, and then bam, we run into trouble. The timing is just too perfect."

Hearing this, Zhao Cheng scoffed. He couldn’t stand this kind of pseudo-rational analysis.

In his eyes, this was just demoralizing their own side while boosting the enemy’s morale.

"Heh, so what are you suggesting? That one of our own from Great Xia arranged for the plane to fly to this godforsaken place, deliberately setting us up?"

Zhao Cheng’s tone was dripping with sarcasm.

Qin Feng frowned but didn’t argue with him further.

He just felt that there was more to this than met the eye, that it was full of too many inexplicable loose ends.

The others remained silent as well, lost in their own thoughts.

Luo Qingyu, however, hadn’t participated in their discussion at all.

Her gaze was fixed on the darkness-shrouded sky, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

’Shen Yixuan... Gu Yuexi...’

One had charged back into the most dangerous part of the sky to save someone, while the other was considered to have virtually no chance of survival.

Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, and her anxiety was so overwhelming she could barely breathe.

Just then!

A figure stumbled out from the clouds above, plummeting straight toward the island.

"It’s Shen Yixuan!"

Luo Qingyu cried out and rushed forward without a second thought.

BAM!

Shen Yixuan slammed heavily onto the beach. He was unsteady upon landing and immediately dropped to one knee.

His face was frighteningly pale, his forehead slick with cold sweat, and his aura was in utter disarray.

It was obvious that his Qi Blood had been massively depleted from forcibly flying and searching over a wide area within the Spiritless Void Realm.

"Shen Yixuan! Are you alright?"

Luo Qingyu quickly helped him up, her voice filled with worry.

Shen Yixuan waved her off and slowly pushed himself up from his knee. He didn’t answer Luo Qingyu, instead sweeping his bloodshot eyes over the group.

Finally, his gaze landed on Luo Qingyu’s anxious face.

He opened his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbed, but in the end, he just shook his head with difficulty.

His normally gentle, refined face was now etched with unconcealable exhaustion and deep self-reproach.

"I... I couldn’t find her."

"Sister Gu... she..."

He didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone present understood.

A Sixth-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist, falling from an altitude of ten thousand meters with both their Qi Blood and Mental Power completely suppressed...

Forget falling into the raging sea; even if she’d landed on a pile of cotton, it would have been a fatal drop.

The entire beach once again fell into a dead silence.

A bleak sorrow, born from a sense of shared fate, spread through their hearts.

Even Zhao Cheng wouldn’t—or rather, didn’t dare—say anything at a time like this.

Besides, his fellow Huaqing student, Xiao Tian, was also missing, his fate unknown.

Just as the oppressive atmosphere reached its peak—

BZZZMMM!!!

Without any warning, an incredibly brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from the surface of the distant sea!

The light was like a miniature sun, instantly piercing the thick darkness of the night and illuminating a hundred-meter radius of the sea as if it were daytime!

The majestic and pure aura of a Spiritual Artifact was still clearly perceptible, even from over a thousand meters away!

"Is that... a Celestial Tier Spiritual Artifact?!"

Everyone started in unison, whipping their heads around to look.

In this godforsaken Spiritless Sea Region, how could there possibly be the aura of a treasure of this level?

The only explanation was... it was one of their missing companions!

Was it Xiao Tian? Or Gu Yuexi?

Hope instantly reignited in Shen Yixuan’s dim eyes, and his spirits soared!

He began to circulate his Qi Blood again, about to fly over and investigate.

"Captain!"

Qin Feng from the military academy stopped him, volunteering himself.

"My Black Eagle can still fly. It can carry you, and we’ll go together!"

"Alright!"

Shen Yixuan didn’t stand on ceremony, immediately leaping onto the eagle’s back.

The Black Eagle let out a clear cry, beat its wings, and took off, carrying the two of them like a black lightning bolt toward the source of the light.

The closer they got, the clearer the aura of the Celestial Tier Spiritual Artifact became.

On the surface of the turbulent sea, a faint golden barrier of light was tenaciously protecting a figure, keeping them from being swallowed by the massive waves.

It was... Xiao Tian!

A trace of disappointment flashed through Shen Yixuan’s eyes. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Although they were all part of the Great Xia team and saving him was the right thing to do, deep down, he had been hoping to see the cool, stubborn junior.

However, he quickly composed himself.

The two had the Black Eagle dive down. Braving the huge waves and expending a great deal of effort, they finally managed to pull the unconscious Xiao Tian from the sea and bring him back to the island.

"Xiao Tian!"

Seeing that Xiao Tian was safe, Zhao Cheng rushed over excitedly. He checked his breathing and his pulse, only letting out a long sigh of relief after confirming he was just unconscious.

"I knew it! How could anything happen to Xiao Tian!"

He wore an expression of pride and lingering fear, as if Xiao Tian’s survival was entirely thanks to his prayers.

And so, of the ten members of the Great Xia team, nine had been reunited.

Only Gu Yuexi’s fate remained unknown.