The man rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. People who stand at the very peak of the hierarchy have a responsibility to the ones they command. The outbreak of war with the goblins meant, essentially, that he had to fight and strategize relentlessly, without rest or sleep.

  Even now, when the fighting had ceased, Ze Yun still could not afford to rest. Such was the fate of those who had chosen greatness.

  In about twenty minutes, he would be there.He was currently sitting on the Archbeast known as the Golden Swan. An extremely rare creature, and at the same time extremely powerful. Its only drawback was its lack of speed, which was compensated for by its endurance.

  They were now flying a few hundred meters above the ground, avoiding the mountains. Ze Yun observed the forest territories of the Outer Court from above. He could already see the walls of the academy from a distance. He wanted to settle this matter as quickly as possible, as he had much more important things to do.

  As soon as he approached the academy, he ordered the beast to lower its flight, and once he was at the right height, he jumped off the Swan and ordered it to find a safe place in the distance.

  He wasn't particularly concerned about Glendol Parasites. They were mainly dangerous to mortals and only on rare occasions were they able to take over the bodies of cultivators. The academy was an ideal feeding ground for them, as it was populated only by low-level cultivators in the form of children.

  However, the high end of their capabilities was to take over a person at the Foundation Establishment stage; it was physically impossible to take over someone at a higher stage. As one of only eight people at the Golden Core stage in the entire sect, Yun had no reason to worry.

  When he landed on the academy grounds, he was surprised to find that it didn't look too damaged. A few buildings were destroyed, but most of them looked fine. He had anticipated complete destruction, but it seemed that the parasites hadn't destroyed everything.

  He used his [Qi Sensing] ability. This time, he was even more surprised.

  He also noticed someone approaching him. A non-human.

  He was about 300 meters away. Ze Yun decided to wait for the individual to arrive. He arrived shortly thereafter. A short man with a balding head, around the 8th stage of Qi Refinement.

  Surprisingly, he was also the only parasite in the entire academy. Ze Yun also sensed that quite a large number of children had survived. Unfortunately, they were all at low stages of cultivation.

  The parasites had transformed the most talented ones and left only trash behind. They had to escape. Damn, this probably applies to May as well.

  The parasite approached and bowed. Ze Yun snorted.

  “Where are the others of your kind?” he asked. Of course, he already knew the answer, but he didn't want to kill the only remaining witness right away.

  “They fled. They sensed impending doom, so they decided to leave the sect's territory.” he replied, without looking him in the eye.

  “Why did they leave you here alone?”

  “To deliver a message to those who would come here. In this case, to you.” he replied, still not looking up.

  As he had expected, he was a messenger who would give him information.

  “So what is this message?” he asked with slight irritation, expecting an answer he would not like. “We have left your territory and do not want further conflict.” he replied.

  “I'm afraid that's impossible,” he snorted. “Where did you take the children from the academy?”

  “Unfortunately, they are already far away, and it is impossible to find them.”

  “We'll see.”

  “And even if you managed to find them, it's too late. They have been transformed and are now one of us.”

  “You only transformed the most talented ones and left those without talent behind.”

  The parasite shrugged and shook his head helplessly.

  “That's just our nature. Most of the students survived. We cared for them as if they were our own.”

  Ze Yun looked at him wrathfully. He wasn't lying; he could sense the presence of hundreds of students in the building. However, he wasn't concerned about the fate of those students, but rather the fate of one particular person. From what he knew, May was talented, so she was surely no longer here.

  “That's not good.”

  “Oh...? I didn't think cultivators cared so much about their students... Especially since I know this academy is absolutely nothing special.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  He snorted at his words. Indeed, the death of a few dozen disciples from this backwater would not bother the sect. Most likely, none of them would have made it to the Inner Court anyway. Of course, they would not ignore this completely, largely for reasons of the sect's reputation rather than their compassion for the children.

  Of course, once the parasites had left the sect's territory, there wasn't much they could do. The borders between sects were sacred. However, in this case, he had to find a female named May Shang, on the orders of his progenitor.

  “I'm not going to explain myself to some parasite,” he replied, waving his hand. “I'm tired of talking to a worm like you.”

  The parasite bowed.

  “I accept my death; it is my role.”

  He laughed. He wasn't in the mood to kill.

  “Normally, I would just cut off your head. But I'm annoyed, so I'll take you to the Inner Court. You'll certainly be an interesting toy for the alchemists and medics there to conduct experiments and research on.”

  The parasite's expression remained unchanged, still as stone. However, Ze Yun sensed a change in its breathing and heart rate, and felt a slight satisfaction inside.

  “So be it.” he responded to his words, continuing to pretense calm. He certainly did not expect him to be so brutal.

  Ze Yun decided to gather some more information. Although he knew that the mission had failed, since he had already wasted his time, he could at least kill the remaining parasites and recover May's body.

  “Which way did your... specimens go?”

  “I will not answer that question.”

  We'll see.

  His years in the military taught him many things: camouflage, discipline, and torture. He did not hesitate to use his most brutal technique of inflicting pain.

  The parasite fell to the ground, trembling with pain. He noticed blood flowing from his mouth onto his hands. His teeth and gums were bleeding profusely. He felt a drilling sensation in his teeth. Soon after, his teeth began to crumble more and more, and the pain grew worse.

  For the first time in his short life, he felt such a terrifying sense of dread. Living such a short life, the parasite had never experienced anything like this before.

  “Speak. Which way did they go?”

  He writhed in pain, trying to remain loyal, but Ze Yun knew it wouldn't last long. No one is immune to torture.

  “South...!! Agh!” He screamed, pounding his fists on the ground in pain. He was already covered in blood.

  “South? Where are they going?” He didn't answer. So he continued to speak. “The pain won't stop! Answer me!”

  “To the Imperial Love Sect AAA! From there... To the West!! Until they reach the Great Black Forest!” He shouted at the top of his voice. “Please! Stop!”

  It makes sense. There are only two places in this region where creatures like them can survive. And they have just escaped from one of them. However, this hope is deceptive. They have no chance of even getting past the Imperial Love Sect... A bunch of fanatics who will burn them at the stake.

  He deactivated his ability. Using it for too long could kill him. Besides, now that he had experienced real pain, the mere threat of using it again would be enough to make him talk.

  “Was there a girl with light hair with them? Her name is May.” He anticipated the answer. He was practically certain that she had been transformed and had gone with the rest of the parasites.

  The parasite fell silent. Seeing this, Ze Yun frowned.

  “Was that dose of pain not enough? I have many other techniques!” He shouted at him, not expecting him to still be unwilling to talk.

  “No... That's not it.” He gasped, his voice tired and sore. “She... She's not with them.”

  He fell into thought. This could mean two things. Either for some reason they hadn't transformed her and she was still on the academy grounds, or she was dead. The latter option seemed more likely. Why wouldn't they transform someone so talented?

  “She's dead?” he asked, certain of his deduction. After a moment, the parasite replied.

  “No... She... Escaped.” it said with long pauses, struggling to maintain its self-awareness.

  “What?” He was in complete shock, not expecting such a possibility in the slightest. Even with his many years of experience, he hadn't even considered such a possibility.

  That... shouldn't be possible. How could she have escaped beforehand? First of all, she would have had to somehow know what was going on in advance. Let's say that's somehow possible. But then there's the question of the escape itself. The parasites must have been guarding the academy. Escape would have been difficult even for someone at the Foundation Establishment stage.

  After a moment, he regained his composure. He understood that his ancestor indeed had to have had an important reason for giving this girl attention. The whole matter seemed to involve more than met the eye.

  “Tell me everything you know.”

  “I... I don't know. The queen was looking for her, but to no avail... She disappeared in the forest...”

  He nodded. He wasn't lying; he knew that thanks to his ability. His mood immediately improved. The fact that she was alive was good news.

  Finding her in the forest shouldn't be difficult.

  “Anything else?” he asked the parasite.

  “The queen... She sent her people, strong, stronger than me... But no one returned... She suspected that... Someone was protecting her.”

  He nodded. That would make sense and explain how she managed to escape. If she had any allies outside the walls, they could have helped her escape. It was certainly more logical than the idea that she could have escaped on her own somehow.

  “Your words have been useful, so I have changed my mind. I will grant you a painless death.”

  “Thank you.”

  However, he did not immediately set off in search of May. First, he looked around the academy and confirmed that there were no other uninvited guests.

  Then he went to the place where the children were being held to reassure them of their safety.

  All the children looked at him with tears in their eyes and happiness. Finally, they had been rescued.

  “Reinforcements from the Inner Court will be here soon.” he said to the children. He had never been very good at talking to children.

  “What about the academy?” one of the children shouted.

  “This will be determined by the Inner Court. For now, the activities of the Eastern Court Branch of Cloud Academy will definitely be suspended.” He said, “Unfortunately, most of the teaching staff has been... Well. In any case, the Inner Court cannot afford to send more teachers here at present.”

  All the children howled and began to cry. The closure of the academy was much worse news for them than the parasite attack! This meant stagnation and a slowdown in their cultivation, and also closed off the chance of entering the Inner Court.

  “Silence!” he shouted, irritated by the fact that he had to talk to small children. “The more talented ones will be redirected to other Outer Courts.”

  Of course, other academies couldn't afford to take in hundreds of students all at once either. But he just wanted to reassure them. Probably only a few people will get into the South or North Outer Court Academy.

  Hearing his words, the children calmed down a little.

  Hmm, the reinforcements should be here soon. I sent them a message some time ago. As soon as they arrive, I'm going to look for this May Shang!

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