The Traitor

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Explosions roared across the battlefield, shockwaves colliding midair and fracturing the ground beneath them. Lan Hua, Mu Kangyuan, and every professor in the university fought fiercely against hundreds of Emperor-tier beasts and dozens of Epic-tier members of the Radiant Sun Organization who had stormed the university. The deafening howls of rampaging beasts mixed with the agonized screams of students as chaos spread in all directions.

Mu Kangyuan cursed in frustration. "Where the hell are Vice Director Fan and the Director?!"

Lan Hua, standing atop a majestic Ice Phoenix, her presence radiating an overwhelming frost, replied coldly. "I don't know, but for now, focus on the battle!"

At that moment, massive roots from the Emperor-tier trees shot toward them from all directions. But before they could reach their targets, a dark aura of death energy surged outward, rotting the roots into decay.

Lan Sihong's voice boomed as she unleashed her powerful presence. "Prepare to die, all of you!"

Mu Kangyuan turned his gaze toward Lan Sihong, who was clutching the severed head of a Radiant Sun member. He let out a mocking laugh. "I thought you weren't coming."

Boom!

A massive explosion shook the battlefield. The Emperor-tier trees paid no mind to Lan Sihong's threats, continuing their rampage and destroying everything in their path.

Students ran in terror, their screams merging with the sound of collapsing buildings.

Mu Kangyuan narrowed his eyes at the beasts. "These trees… they came from the Immortal Tree Secret Realm, didn't they? I remember them."

Lan Hua responded, "Probably, but the situation is out of control! Let's kill them!"

Lan Sihong pulled out her communication device and tried to contact the surveillance control room, only to receive no response.

Meanwhile, inside the surveillance control room…

The monitors were pitch black. The room was littered with corpses of security personnel, their bodies showing clear signs of having been dead for over twelve hours.

Lan Sihong clenched her fists, her eyes filled with rage. "Those bastards!!"

The moment she spoke, an immense burst of energy erupted from her body. She summoned all ten of her beasts at once, while Mu Kangyuan and Lan Hua did the same, preparing for a full-force assault.

Above them, eleven Emperor-tier beast tamers suddenly appeared.

They were the reinforcements from the Seven-Colored Peacock Chamber of Commerce, the university's allied faction who had finally broken through the barrier sealing the school. Among them was Guang Limei.

The new arrivals immediately engaged the rampaging trees, using their overwhelming power to subdue the chaos.

Finally, after an intense and bloody battle, the massacre ended. The university lay in ruins, nothing but wreckage remaining. But before the battle had completely concluded, the Radiant Sun members who were still alive detonated themselves, releasing a lethal poison into the air, causing everyone in the vicinity to lose 50% of their power.

Lan Sihong, Lan Hua, Mu Kangyuan, and the Emperor-tier tamers sat among the rubble, exhausted and bloodied, their eyes scanning the devastation with disbelief.

"All of this… happened in less than ten minutes," Mu Kangyuan murmured, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"But they had hundreds of Emperor-tier beasts… and the Radiant Sun Organization's elite operatives," Lan Hua whispered.

At that moment, a professor stepped forward to report the overall situation. "Over seventy percent of the university has been destroyed. The entire resource vault, from F to SSS-grade materials, has been looted. Rare beast eggs and young beasts have vanished without a trace. Every secret realm from Gold to Diamond tier capable of resetting has been stolen. Several Epic-tier guards and professors have gone missing. Most importantly... Vice Director Fan has disappeared, along with the entire Holy Sword Team from the fourth-year students, leaving behind no traces. Many students from other years have suffered severe injuries. In particular, the first-year top student, Gu Tian, has sustained the most severe wounds. He was afflicted by the Sun Venom, rendering him powerless and reducing him to an ordinary human. Additionally, the fourth-ranked Bai Chen, fifth-ranked Lin Tai, and sixth-ranked Ye Feng have all suffered critical injuries."

A heavy silence filled the air. No one's expression shifted much they held little attachment to the university. Some even despised it.

Lan Sihong broke the silence with urgency. "What about Han Tian? Is he safe?"

The professor quickly answered. "Student Han Tian is unharmed, ma'am."

Lan Sihong exhaled in relief. Meanwhile, Mu Kangyuan furrowed his brows slightly, about to say something. But before he could open his mouth, Vice Director Fan descended from the sky, his body covered in wounds. In his grasp, he dragged along a frail old man by his hair it was Ji Gang, the professor in charge of guarding the Immortal Tree Secret Realm.

Mu Kangyuan's voice carried clear displeasure. "Where the hell have you been?"

Vice Director Fan, breathing heavily, ignored Mu Kangyuan's question and declared, "I found the traitor. And I know who's behind this whole mess."

Lan Sihong clenched her fists, her eyes burning with hatred. "Who is it?"

Vice Director Fan smirked coldly. "See for yourself. Probe this traitor's memory, and you'll know everything."

With that, Vice Director Fan flung Ji Gang's battered body to the ground before Lan Sihong. The old man had no strength left to resist his vocal cords had been destroyed, rendering him incapable of speech. His beasts were dead, his limbs shattered, his body crippled beyond repair.

Yet his eyes burned with fury and resentment, as if he had been betrayed by someone he trusted. Ji Gang struggled desperately, trying to convey something to those around him, but no one cared to notice.

Without a second thought, Lan Sihong extended her hand, channeling her power into Ji Gang's mind, diving into his memories.

In the fragmented memory, Mu Kangyuan sat in a hidden chamber within the university, engaged in a secret discussion with Ji Gang about a nefarious plan. They spoke about stealing the dimensional gates, looting resources, and orchestrating assassinations of the university's most talented students. A list of names was displayed targets marked for death. They also discussed releasing a particular chemical into the Immortal Tree Secret Realm to drive the beasts there into a frenzy, ensuring they would attack anyone nearby.

The final memory fragment revealed Ji Gang receiving direct orders to eliminate several guards and professors who might obstruct the plan and he had carried them out mercilessly. His next mission was to detonate the dimensional gate leading to the Immortal Tree Secret Realm.

Lan Sihong clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. The information she had extracted was shocking, but what was even more alarming was that… these memories were fabricated. They had been altered and manipulated by someone. The modifications were so seamless that an ordinary person would never notice them.

Her jaw tightened. "Those bastards."

This level of memory alteration was impossible without an exceptionally advanced medical technique and required an SSS-tier artifact like the Path of Memories a forbidden relic of immense danger. A hundred years ago, it had caused a global catastrophe that wiped out billions of lives. Almost all of these magical items had been destroyed, leaving only a handful in existence.

Lan Sihong took a deep breath, rapidly piecing together the puzzle in her mind. Whoever was behind this deliberately framed Mu Kangyuan. They knew he frequently clashed with high-ranking officials in the university, making him the perfect scapegoat. With this forged evidence, someone like Vice Director Fan, who already despised Mu Kangyuan, would undoubtedly jump at the chance to have him executed immediately.

Yet… there was a flaw in their plan.

The traces of memory tampering were so obvious that it was as if they had been left behind on purpose for her to find.

What did that mean?

Did they want her to expose the truth? Was this another layer of deception? Or was there something far more sinister at play?

Lan Sihong narrowed her eyes, shifting her gaze toward Mu Kangyuan, who was still playfully teasing Lan Hua. Meanwhile, Vice Director Fan glared at him with undisguised hatred.

She quickly reevaluated the situation.

If Mu Kangyuan died, the Radiant Sun Organization would reap the greatest benefit. And of course, she herself would gain greater authority within the university. However, there was a secret shared only by Mu Kangyuan, Lan Hua, and herself something known only to the three of them.

After a long silence, she made her decision.

She could not allow this game to end so easily.

Mu Kangyuan had to fake his death.