Chapter 55: Blooming Twice? The Terrifying Arrow Released Once More!

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A jaw-dropping amount of damage popped up above the Void Predator's head.

Shang Yana had seen this summoned beast behind Li Yao, so she felt not the slightest bit of fear.

She stepped out from beneath the Void Predator, blinked her eyes, and said earnestly:
"Thank you, big bug."

It was a good thing she had listened to classmate Li Yao's advice earlier!
While hunting the magma hounds, she hadn't released a single skill.
Otherwise, even if this big bug had shielded her, lacking defensive skills, the mere shockwave alone would have grievously injured her.

Over thirty thousand points of damage was no laughing matter!

"Xiaoya!"

Seeing that Shang Yana was unharmed, Shang Hao hurriedly rushed to her side, holding his shield.

What kind of summoned beast was this again?
Over thirty thousand damage, and it hadn't even depleted a third of its health bar?!

A secret shock stirred in Shang Hao's heart.
Even with his full constitution build and a stack of high-tier equipment, his health pool at the moment barely broke twenty thousand.

A summoned beast could possess a health pool comparable to a raid boss?
Since when were Summoners this fierce?

Not only Shang Hao, but Shang Mingxu and Shang Qian also arrived at Shang Yana's side at the same time.
They looked like they were concerned for Shang Yana's safety, but in truth, this oversized bug gave them an overwhelming sense of security!

The two fragile squishies knew that, let alone thirty thousand damage, even a mere ten thousand points of attack landing on them would instantly plunge them into a near-death state.

Shang Qian: "Xiaoya, are you hurt anywhere? Let me heal you first."
"Yeah, Sister Xiaoya, you have no idea how worried we were about you just now."

Shang Mingxu also crowded close, offering honeyed words of concern.

Shang Yana glanced at them.
When she was attacked earlier, she had been right in the center of the elemental storm.
Just because she couldn't see clearly didn't mean she didn't know what was happening outside.
If they had truly cared, they wouldn't have stood frozen in place like that.

"I'm fine."

Ultimately, Shang Yana still cared about their old ties and didn't want to watch them throw their lives away for nothing.
"Their target should be me. Take advantage of this moment and leave quickly."

Hearing this, the approaching trio suddenly froze.
Their complexions turned extremely ugly.

The target was Xiaoya?
Was it really safe for them to be standing this close?

As if making a momentous decision, Shang Hao spoke with a grave expression.
"Since that's the case, we won't be of any help staying here. Xiaoya, and... Brother Li Yao, hold on for now. We'll head out of the Tower of Eternity first and notify the family to send reinforcements."

Shang Yana didn't say a word and slowly walked back to Li Yao's side.

Right at that moment, Li Yao's expression shifted.
That lingering fluctuation from before appeared once more.

With a maximum level of 25 yet capable of unleashing thirty thousand damage, Li Yao didn't even need to use his brain to know the enemy had definitely utilized some kind of prop.
Even he hadn't expected that such a prop could be used in succession.

It seemed that the head of the Fifth-Transition professional had truly brought massive trouble to the Yan family.

A smile crept up the corners of Li Yao's lips.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow converging with countless elemental energies suddenly hurtled forward.

The Void Predator's agility was not high.
The previous time had been because Li Yao was prepared in advance, but this time, there was simply no way it could shield Shang Yana in time.

A terrifying chill instantly locked onto Shang Yana.

The three members of the Shang family abruptly leaped backward in panic.
Protection? How were they supposed to protect her against that?
Thirty thousand damage was horrifying to behold; whoever took that hit would die without a shadow of a doubt!

"Gale Wall!"
"Wind-Breath Entanglement!"

Locked on by the elemental arrow, Shang Yana displayed unprecedented composure amidst the mortal peril.
Knowing there was no place to hide, she cast two defensive skills simultaneously and brought her slender sword horizontally across her chest.

"Crack!"

The moment they collided, the Gale Wall shattered instantly, completely failing to halt the elemental arrow by even a fraction.
The Wind-Breath Entanglement could reduce magic damage by 15%.

Shang Yana's pupils constricted as her entire body plunged into an icy abyss.
She couldn't withstand this.
Was she really going to die here?

"Tide-Treading Slash!"

Shang Yana raised her slender sword; even in death, she would not sit idly by and wait to perish!

"Huh?"

Shang Yana only felt a tightening around her wrist and a lightness in her body as she rose into the air.
The next second, Shang Yana found herself cradled in Li Yao's arms, a blank look still lingering on her face.

"Boom!"

A terrifying burst of elemental energy exploded directly behind Li Yao.
The overflowing energy storm swirled in all directions.

Shang Yana's expression changed drastically.
"Classmate Li Yao?"

Shang Yana looked up at Li Yao, only to find his expression entirely normal, as if he hadn't suffered any damage at all.

Li Yao asked as he set Shang Yana back down on the ground, "Are you alright?"
"I... I'm fine."

Shang Yana's face flushed as red as an apple before she suddenly snapped to attention.
"Wait!"
"Classmate Li Yao, are you alright?"

Li Yao looked at her with the expression of someone gazing at an absolute fool.
Did you really think I wouldn't care about my own safety and just rush in to save you?

Clearly failing to read Li Yao's expression, Shang Yana recalled the moments before and was moved to the verge of tears.
She was afraid of death, too.
Just then, Classmate Li Yao had been like a ray of light, parting the shadows of death and shining directly upon her.

Yet, Classmate Li Yao had emerged completely unscathed from such an attack.
He must have used some kind of invincible prop.
And yet, he clearly didn't have to bother with me at all...

Shang Yana's face burned crimson, her head spinning in a daze.

Meanwhile, the 14 professionals detected by Li Yao were approaching the pair from all directions.

The three members of the Shang family hadn't gotten far yet; watching the enemies advance to meet them, they retreated step by step.
Putting up a bold front, Shang Hao immediately recognized the leader of the opposing group.

"The Yan family... Yan Yue, what... what do you want?"
"Our Shang family has no grudge against you, right?"

"No grudge?"

Yan Yue was a red-haired youth clutching a longbow. Glancing at Shang Hao, he said dismissively, "You don't even know what's going on, which means your status in the Shang family must be pretty mediocre. Get lost, we'll deal with you later."

At the same time, Shang Yana pushed aside her embarrassment from a moment ago, sidled up close to Li Yao, and whispered:
"They are a team specially cultivated by the Yan family to subjugate low-level Nightmare dungeons. The leader is called Yan Yue, an S-grade professional."

Shang Yana swept her gaze across the surrounding perimeter.
"If I remember correctly, six S-grades and eight A-grades... almost the entire vanguard force of their subjugation team is here."

Now she finally understood why Sister Ziyin had asked Classmate Li Yao to join the party.
Against a lineup like this, let alone the likes of them, even if Sister Ziyin herself came in person, she would definitely be no match for them!

Shang Yana couldn't fathom it.
Although the Shang and Yan families were not on the best of terms, most of the time they minded their own business.
Was it really necessary to dispatch a lineup like this just to kill her?

Li Yao glanced at Shang Yana's puzzled expression.
He really didn't have the heart to tell her that the primary culprit behind the feud between the Shang and Yan families was standing right beside her.
This was precisely one of the reasons he had agreed to Shang Ziyin's request to protect her.
After all, the whole mess had started because of him.

"Are they all A-grade and above?"

Shang Yana's words also made Li Yao take the people before him seriously.
If even a single one of them managed to escape, it would pain him deeply!

"Not only that."

Unable to dwell on other thoughts anymore, Shang Yana said with a heavy expression: "If it's these people, I know what that energy arrow from earlier was."
"The Yan family's Platinum-tier prop: the Convergent Arrow. A single-use item that can absorb ten skills with damage exceeding 1,000 and release a single arrow of fixed damage."
"The crucial part is that a single Convergent Arrow can be fired three times!"

"Three times?"

Li Yao immediately commanded the Void Predator to shield the two of them.
In Li Yao's eyes, the terrifying part of that arrow wasn't the damage, but the speed.
If Shang Yana hadn't been standing close to him earlier, he might have been forced to use the invincibility skill on his heart-protecting mirror.

"Classmate Li Yao, my sister asked you to come and protect me, right?"

Li Yao nodded.

"Then you don't need to anymore."

Shang Yana looked at Li Yao and handed him a scroll.
No matter how strong Classmate Li Yao was, facing 14 top-tier professionals who came fully prepared, he was definitely no match.
Rather than both of them dying here, it would be better to let Classmate Li Yao escape first.

"And what about you?" Li Yao asked with a hint of amusement.
"I still have..."