Long River Eternity

Lin Ding's speed was slightly faster than that of the shadow, and the distance between them was shrinking. After speeding for more than ten kilometers, the distance between them had been reduced to less than a hundred meters.

As the distance closed, Lin Ding finally saw the true form of the shadow in front of him. It was actually a handsome human with three pairs of wings. At this moment, the man also noticed Lin Ding following closely behind him, and instantly stopped in mid-air, turned around and rushed towards Lin Ding.

A deafening collision sound pierced the night sky. The two men's fists collided fiercely. The nearby monsters were startled by the loud noise and let out low growls, but after feeling the powerful aura of the two men in the air, they instantly quieted down.

After a brief exchange, Lin Ding retreated half a step, while the man retreated two steps. Apparently, realizing he might not be Lin Ding's opponent, he asked, "Why are you following me?"

Lin Ding looked at the man carefully and found that he was blond and blue-eyed, with a stunningly handsome appearance. Lin Ding asked, "Are you human or a demon? I have never seen anyone with wings like this."

The man was silent for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Of course I am a human, but Kyushu is so vast, have you ever met all the people in the world?"

"This..." Lin Ding was speechless for a moment, so he had to ask again: "So where are you from? What's your name?"

"My name is Alex, and I'm from a medium-sized city in Dongzhou near Haizhou. My companions are in trouble in Haizhou, and I must go to support them immediately. Goodbye." Alex said frankly, obviously not wanting to get entangled with Lin Ding any longer, and turned around to leave.

"He's lying! He used to be from the Western world. Catch him and ask him clearly!" For the first time, Yang An's voice was filled with urgency.

Lin Ding sensed the urgency in Yang An's tone, and without hesitation, he rushed forward and shouted, "You're lying! Stay here!"

Alex didn't turn around upon hearing this. Instead, he flapped his six pairs of wings, sending a sudden gust of wind towards Lin Ding, causing him to pause slightly. Then, a dazzling white light flashed from Alex's wings, and he flew forward at astonishing speed, disappearing into the night in an instant.

"So fast..." Lin Ding exclaimed.

"He must have used some secret method. I didn't expect that there were still people surviving in those places, and they evolved into the appearance of angels. After the revival of spiritual energy, all kinds of monsters and demons appeared, and things became more and more complicated." Yang An pondered.

"Who is he?" Lin Ding was puzzled.

"Ten thousand years ago, the world was divided into three races: yellow-skinned, white-skinned, and black-skinned. The people near China were basically all yellow-skinned, known as the Eastern world, while black-skinned and white-skinned people were mostly concentrated in the Western world. At that time, it was the most powerful country in the West, the United States, that started the world war. It and China were the two most powerful countries in the world at the time." Yang An explained slowly.

"With the defeat of the United States, they launched a devastating retaliation, and finally a nuclear war broke out in the world, leading to the destruction of the world. After that, I have never seen any other races except the yellow race, and the only remaining Chinese people have struggled to continue the human flame with our help. We always thought that other humans in the world had perished, but we didn't expect that there were humans surviving in the Western world." There was a hint of sigh in Yang An's voice.

"Haven't you ever been to other countries to see if there are any survivors?" Lin Ding asked.

"Didn't my sister tell you? We have always been ordinary people without any cultivation. It is basically difficult to reach other countries relying on manpower alone, not to mention that there are many monsters and beasts along the way." Yang An said helplessly.

"So are they coming to us this time for revenge?" Lin Ding asked.

Yang An was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I don't know. I'm afraid it's not that simple. We have to return to Zhongzhou City as soon as possible and tell my sister about this. She's the only one capable of investigating this now."

"Okay." Lin Ding nodded in response.

The next morning, several people gathered in the school. Lin Ding told Wei Wu and Liu Xianxian what happened last night and said that they needed to arrange the affairs here as soon as possible and return to Zhongzhou City as soon as possible.

After hearing this, the two realized the seriousness of the matter. Liu Xianxian said, "My family affairs have been almost dealt with. My parents will be heading to Zhongzhou City soon."

Wei Wu's expression seemed a little unnatural. He said, "My grandma said she is old and doesn't want to leave the place where she has lived all her life."

"So do you plan to stay here and take care of your grandma?" Liu Xianxian asked tentatively.

"The headache is that she won't let me stay to take care of her. She insists that I go my own way, saying that she's not yet at the stage where she needs someone to take care of her. It's so frustrating." Wei Wu said with a frown.

"So what do you think?" Lin Ding asked.

"I don't know either. When she heard that I followed you to join the military department, she refused to let me stay." Wei Wu scratched his head.

"I'll give you something good. Let your grandma drink it." Lin Ding smiled and threw a small bottle to Wei Wu.

"What is it?" Wei Wu asked curiously, wanting to open the bottle cap.

"Don't open it, or the spiritual energy inside will be lost." Seeing Wei Wu about to open the bottle cap, Lin Ding immediately stopped him. "This is the spiritual liquid flowing from the underground spirit summoning array. It can make people rejuvenate. My father secretly collected some and gave it to me when he went to the research institute."

"This is more precious than spiritual essence. It will definitely be of great use to your cultivation. It would be bad to give it to me." Wei Wu handed the bottle back to Lin Ding and declined.

"This is of little use to me, and I'm stuck in a bottleneck period now, so I can't use it for the time being. Give it to your grandmother, so that she can become younger and be able to take care of herself, which will also relieve your worries. Don't be polite to me." Lin Ding patted Wei Wu's shoulder with a firm tone.

Wei Wu looked at the bottle in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Then I won't be polite. I will find you a spiritual vein and return it to you later!"

"Okay, remember, watch your grandma while she drinks it. Otherwise, once the rich spiritual energy contained in the spiritual liquid leaks out, it will probably attract the covetousness of nearby monsters." Lin Ding warned solemnly.

"I understand." Wei Wu carefully put the bottle away and nodded in response.

"Okay, Wei Wu's problem has been resolved. Let's go visit Director Tang, then go home to say goodbye to our families, and return to Zhongzhou City as soon as possible." Liu Xianxian said.

So they walked into the school. Because the previous office building was destroyed and was still under reconstruction, the teachers were temporarily working in the cafeteria behind the teaching building.

The group found Director Tang busy at work in the cafeteria. Seeing the three of them, Director Tang smiled with surprise. He was particularly happy to learn that their strength had improved again and that they had joined the military department.

Several people chatted with Director Tang for a long time. During this time, Vice Dean Wu came back from get out of class. Now he has been promoted to dean. However, when the monsters invaded, many teachers in the school sacrificed their lives to protect the students. Now, even as the dean, he has to teach the students temporarily.

Dean Wu recognized them immediately upon seeing them, feeling overwhelmed with emotion. He had never imagined that after their separation, they would surpass him in strength. They were truly exceptional! From now on, Nanshan Academy and even the entire Nanshan City would be proud of them.

Lin Ding and the other two felt a little embarrassed by the praise, and waved their hands modestly, saying that it was just good luck.

The few of them chatted until noon, until the school bell rang and many students rushed into the cafeteria for lunch. The sharp-eyed classmates immediately noticed Lin Ding and the other two, and came forward to greet them. More and more classmates came over, surrounding the few of them, and asked Lin Ding to talk about his experiences during this period.

Lin Ding's enthusiasm was undeniable, so he recounted his experiences to his classmates. They were all amazed. Some envied Lin Ding's cultivation, some lamented Wei Wu's transformation, and some girls were moved to tears by Feng Hao's pitiful life story. But no one was jealous of them; they were all genuinely happy for them.

One of the classmates said that Wei Wu and Wang Qingshan, who were both Class A at the time, now stayed in the ruins. Wang Qingshan might have just broken through the Hidden Yuan Realm not long ago, while Wei Wu has already reached the Yuheng Realm. Not to mention that Lin Ding, who was unable to practice before, has become someone who can compete with the Tianquan Realm. It's really fate.

Everyone gathered around Lin Ding and his companions, chatting with each other. It was so lively that Lin Ding felt as if he had returned to the days when he was studying in school.

It was not until the afternoon class bell was about to ring that the students, urged by Dean Wu, left and returned to the classroom one after another.

After exchanging a few more words with the two teachers, by the time they left the school, it was already afternoon.

After leaving the school, several people were on their way home. Lin Ding asked Wei Wu and Liu Xianxian to go home as soon as possible to arrange the rest of the things, and set off for Nanzhou City in the afternoon to catch the train early the next morning.

Several people agreed to meet at the city gate in two hours.

Walking down the street, they encountered the patrol captain, Zhan Wushuang. Nanshan City's proximity to Ruins 0 meant the city's defense fell almost entirely upon the powerful within. Consequently, the city's law enforcement and defense teams merged into a single unit, calling themselves the Security Team.

"Hey, Brother Wushuang, are you on patrol? We also met a girl named Zhan Wushuang in Zhongzhou City. She turned out to be a beautiful girl. Isn't it interesting?" Wei Wu greeted him familiarly with a teasing smile on his face.

Zhan Wushuang stared at Wei Wu sternly, his gaze as sharp as a torch, and said in a deep voice, "I've heard everything about you from Tang Yuanqing." Before he finished speaking, he suddenly attacked, punching Wei Wu hard in the chest. However, a punch from a mid-stage Kaiyang Realm cultivator couldn't cause any damage to Wei Wu, who didn't even retreat a step.

Wei Wu looked at Zhan Wushuang with a puzzled expression. Seeing this, Zhan Wushuang patted Wei Wu's chest gently with a hint of a smile on his face. "You've really become very strong. I remember when we were little, you were always slacking off, fighting and making trouble, and I often beat you up. I never thought you've reached this level of cultivation now. It seems I won't be able to beat you anymore."

However, Zhan Wushuang's expression instantly turned serious: "But you have to remember, the first step on the road of cultivation was taken by Wudi. His energy is contained within you, so don't embarrass him in the future! Otherwise, even if you break through to the Tianji Realm or Tianxuan Realm, I will beat you up, do you understand!"

When Wei Wu heard this, the scene of Zhan Wudi passing on his skills to him before his death emerged in his mind. He was shocked and immediately put away his smile. His expression became serious. He straightened his chest and responded loudly and seriously: "Understood!"

"If you understand, then get out of here." Zhan Wushuang said, and left without looking back. Only after he was far away did he reveal a relieved smile and murmured softly, "Stinky boy."

After watching Zhan Wushuang leave, the few of them separated and went home to say goodbye to their families.

Two hours later, the group gathered smoothly and rushed to Nanzhou City at full speed. Shortly after dark, they finally arrived in Nanzhou City. Lin Ding went straight to Linglong Pavilion and took the ancient books prepared for him by Qin Hanming. Then he told him about the appearance of Westerners in Nanshan City.

Qin Hanming was equally shocked upon hearing this, but he couldn't deduce their purpose for appearing in Jiuzhou. He could only be certain it wasn't simply revenge; there must be some hidden agenda. However, since he had never been good at combat, he could only try his best to gather intelligence, leaving the investigation to Yang Nian.

After finishing the conversation with Qin Hanming, the few of them found a hotel near the train station to stay in, and boarded the train back to Zhongzhou City on time the next day.