On top of the ruins

"Is this Jiangcheng?" Ye Xirou walked along the street, looking around. Collapsed houses and sunken ground greeted her eyes, a scene of ruins and devastation.

"Young lady, please step aside!" a shout came as an old man operated a shovel vehicle, clearing away large rocks.

"Young lady, it's dangerous here. Don't wander around!" The old man warned her.

Ye Xirou nodded and stepped back. This was Jiangcheng after the disaster, where half of the city's buildings had been destroyed, and humans were rebuilding their homes on the ruins.

"Ah!" Suddenly, a cry of anguish rang out. Ye Xirou turned her head and saw a giant frog, over three meters in size, extending its crimson tongue and coiling it around a man, ready to swallow him.

The frog's body was purple, but its face was white, as if it were wearing a human mask, exuding an eerie presence. It was a C-grade monster, known as the Human-Faced Frog, which preyed on humans and possessed considerable intelligence.

"Help! Save me!" The man struggled desperately as the Human-Faced Frog entangled him.

"It's a monster! Run!" Many people screamed and fled for their lives.

"Find a Slayer! There should be one nearby!" The Human-Faced Frog let out a sinister smile, then retracted its tongue, preparing to devour the man.

Swish! In an instant, a beam of light flashed by, severing the frog's tongue. The man fell to the ground in a disheveled state.

"Gua!" The Human-Faced Frog became furious. How dare someone interrupt its meal! It looked around and finally spotted Ye Xirou. It realized she was the one who had interfered, so it decided to devour her first.

"Gugua!" The frog let out a strange cry as its long tongue shot straight toward Ye Xirou like a dart.

"Evil creature! Stop!" a stern shout echoed, followed by a burst of white light slashing towards the Human-Faced Frog's tongue.

Swish!

The frog's tongue, resembling a whip, forcefully slapped the white light, shattering it.

"Young lady, it's dangerous here. Please leave!" A figure flashed and appeared beside Ye Xirou.

Fang Qingmo stared intently at the Human-Faced Frog, shielding Ye Xirou behind him. Startled, Ye Xirou nodded and stepped aside.

"Huoyang, Su Ying, let's attack together and end this quickly!"

"Understood!"

"No problem!"

The three of them unleashed their spiritual power and launched an assault on the Human-Faced Frog. As C-grade anomalies, dealing with a C-grade monster was not too difficult for them.

Ye Xirou watched their battle with curiosity. She had reached the C-grade level when she was only ten years old. From her perspective, there was a huge disparity between the C-grade anomalies in Jiangcheng and those in the imperial capital. She wondered why such a small place would have such powerful individuals as close to Sword Saints.

"Lightning Slash!" Fang Qingmo shouted, his long blade enveloped in golden spiritual power, cutting the Human-Faced Frog into two halves.

"Gua!" The frog let out a cry of anguish and dissipated into nothingness.

"Boss, the spell bestowed by the City Lord is really amazing!" Chen Huoyang exclaimed, his eyes filled with envy. Compared to the Flame Art he had bought at a high price, Fang Qingmo's Lightning Art was indeed much more formidable.

On that day, the Bone Maiden Clan went on a rampage, and many Slayers lost their lives. Those who survived received rewards from the City Lord, and Fang Qingmo was granted a powerful offensive Lightning Art. It's worth mentioning that Yang Qi and the Water and Fire Twin Gods' misdeeds were exposed, and they were despised by the people of Jiangcheng. All of Yang Qi's remaining property was confiscated and used for the reconstruction of Jiangcheng. His relatives were also banished and driven out of the city, causing his whole family to be divided and scattered, bringing great relief to the people.

Although the entire Bone Maiden Clan was wiped out by the Sword Saint, five Bone Maidens who went to pursue the Water and Fire Twin Gods managed to escape that day and left Jiangcheng overnight. Perhaps they still had the possibility of making a comeback.

"Young lady, are you alright?" Fang Qingmo asked.

Ye Xirou nodded and replied, "I'm fine. Thank you all for your help."

"It's better for you not to wander around during this period. Ever since the Bone Maiden Rampage, various strange incidents have been occurring one after another. To be honest, Jiangcheng is not very safe right now."

Ye Xirou couldn't understand and asked, "If the Sword Saint is guarding Jiangcheng, why do these anomalies dare to wreak havoc?"

"To be honest, even we don't know who the Sword Saint is," Fang Qingmo replied. "If it weren't for the Sword Saint's intervention this time, we wouldn't have known about the existence of such a powerful individual in Jiangcheng."

"Oh, and there was also the peerless expert who caused a sensation by blasting the Beishan Cemetery into the sky recently," Fang Qingmo added. Perhaps they are all the same kind of people, hiding in plain sight.

"Who knows, there may be many powerful individuals hidden in Jiangcheng," he continued. "However, unless it's a matter of life and death, they are unlikely to intervene."

Fang Qingmo smiled and said, "Jiangcheng belongs to all of us, not just to a single powerful individual. We need to rely on everyone together to protect it. We shouldn't depend too much on them."

Hearing these words, Ye Xirou couldn't help but look at him with admiration. Even a low-level anomaly like him had such insights, much better than those idle elites in the Imperial Capital.

"If you don't have any business, miss, we'll take our leave. It's important to protect yourself when you're out and about."

"Alright, thank you."

After Fang Qingmo left, Ye Xirou continued to walk around Jiangcheng. She had never left the Imperial Capital before, so she was curious about other cities.

"Brothers and sisters, let me tell you, this time I've found a powerful anomaly to explore Tianwang Elementary School again!"

"What? What do you mean? I'm not afraid at all. Just a mere Tianwang Elementary School, what can it do to me!"

"That year, I stood with my hands in my pockets. I didn't know what a worthy opponent was!"

"Mark my words, within a week, I will definitely lead a team to conquer Tianwang Elementary School."

On the roadside, Wen Qing spoke excitedly in front of a screen.

A face full of excitement.

Ye Li had already agreed to her invitation, so she would ask Ye Li to take her to explore Tianwang Elementary School.

Thinking of this, Wen Qing couldn't help but admire her own cleverness and wit.

And all of this was observed by Ye Xirou by the roadside.

Tianwang Elementary School? Powerful anomalies?

Some keywords piqued her curiosity.

So, she approached Wen Qing.

"Hello, miss," Ye Xirou greeted.

"Hmm?" Wen Qing looked up and was instantly stunned.

What a beautiful woman.

Wen Qing considered herself a top beauty, but compared to the woman in front of her, she felt inferior.

They say a smile from her can captivate a hundred hearts, and even the beauties in the imperial palace would pale in comparison.

"Miss, what is Tianwang Elementary School that you mentioned earlier?" Ye Xirou asked.

Upon hearing Ye Xirou's question, Wen Qing was taken aback, then cunningly replied, "Miss, you're not from Jiangcheng, are you?"

"Well, I'm indeed not from Jiangcheng. But how did you know?" Ye Xirou asked.

"No one from Jiangcheng doesn't know about Tianwang Elementary School. It's a notorious haunted school in our area," Wen Qing explained mischievously.

Thus, Wen Qing shared the legends and her experiences related to Tianwang Elementary School with Ye Xirou, further arousing her curiosity.

As someone from the Imperial Capital with broad knowledge and experience, Ye Xirou could infer that Tianwang Elementary School must possess powerful anomalies.

"In that case, when you go to Tianwang Elementary School again, could you take me with you?" Ye Xirou asked.

"You?" Wen Qing looked at Ye Xirou suspiciously.

"Yes, I'm also an anomaly. Take a look," Ye Xirou said as a pure spiritual power shimmered on her hand, dazzlingly radiant.

"Wow! Is this spiritual power?" Wen Qing exclaimed, her face filled with curiosity.

"Sure, sure, Miss, I'll take you with us. The more people, the more strength!" Wen Qing enthusiastically replied.

"Then let's exchange contact information. I'm Wen Qing," she suggested.

"Ye Xirou," Ye Xirou introduced herself.