Chapter 88 - Torch of Life
Principal Sun turned his head around, and when he looked at Meng Chao, his eyes were full of praise.
Then, he strode forward and pounced into the wolf pack like a hungry lion.
Principal Sun had one ultimate technique that brought him to fame in the Red Dragon Army and struck fear in those who heard of his name. That technique was known as Demon Subduing Pole.
He had rampaging spirit energy sent into his arms, and this spirit energy would circulate at high speed in the spirit meridian systems to form spirit magnetic field rotation energy and spirit energy magnetic field. This not only turned his arms as tough as steel, he could also deliver monstrous punches that reduced everything within a circular area of dozens of meters to powder.
At that moment, profound and complicated spirit tattoos that overlapped with each other appeared on his arms. He was like a huge towering pillar in Mahavira Hall. All the Demonic Bloody Moon Wolves that he punched felt as if they had been sent into a meat grinder. Their tendons snapped, bones cracked, brains gushed out, and their eyes popped out.
Some of the more unfortunate wolves even lost their spines. They did not die immediately, but fell limply on the ground as they coughed up pinkish bubbles. Their originally fierce eyes shone with fear and despair.
A Demonic Bloody Moon Wolf, which was the second strongest wolf in the pack, opened its mouth and bit down on Principal Sun’s right arm.
Principal Sun rammed his right arm deep into the creature’s throat, as if it was really a pole that could subdue demons. His arm pierced its neck and diaphragm, and he crushed its heart!
“Ha!”
Principal Sun glared and shouted like a titan subduing demons. Spirit flames surged at his palms, and they burned the wolf’s organs to a crisp.
Another Demonic Bloody Moon Wolf snuck up behind him and bit down on his calf.
Principal Sun did not even frown. He seized the wolf by the neck and rammed it against the ground. Then, he clamped it between his armpit, and with a crack, the wolf’s head fell limp in a weird angle. The creature had been crushed to death by Principal Sun
This demonic sight made the blood of Meng Chao and the examinees surge.
The wolf howls shuddered in the fog.
The fearless beasts had become terrified of the humans, who feared death even less than they did.
The wolf king finally retreated.
It called the remaining wolves and disappeared without a sound. They vanished, just like a nightmare that faded away.
The students who survived cheered. They were so happy that they cried.
“Students, I’m sorry that we didn’t manage to detect the turbulence of the space-time torrent beforehand. We ended up causing you to run into this accident.”
Principal Sun wiped off the blood and grime from his face. His arms remained in their battle state—swelled up and burning. But his expression had become gentle, the way it was usually. He smiled and said, “But you did very well. You showed the courage and attitude that Dragon City youths should have. Your teachers and schools are proud of you
“Don’t worry. I’ve already contacted the reinforcements and sent them our coordinates. In at most twenty minutes, they will find this place. We will definitely be safe.”
“That’s great!
“We’re safe!”
“We won!”
The students who survived the disaster hugged each other.
“Rest for the time being. Force yourself to eat wolf meat and drink wolf blood. Then, take a sitting stance to regulate your breathing and recover your strength!”
A spark shone in Principal Sun’s eyes, and he said in a tone that brooked no argument, “Even if you have only one minute left, you must defend your stations. You cannot give the wolf pack a chance to attack you. I will defend you until the very end!”
While speaking, Principal Sun strode in the direction in which the wolf pack had escaped.
His body was surrounded by burning spirit flames, and he was like a burning pillar of fire that lit up the night and chased away the fear in the students’ hearts.
With such a powerful fighter as their guardian, everyone was at ease. They quickly sat down and used their stances to treat their injuries.
Meng Chao’s eyelids twitched when he saw the old principal’s slightly swaying figure. He also noticed that the spirit flames’ color was changing continuously, and they were gradually losing control.
‘Is Principal Sun injured?’
The Bloody Moon Wolf King had been heavily injured, and it even had a dagger in its neck. Principal Sun had to have done that.
Principal Sun had fought fiercely against the wolf king while surrounded by a wolf pack and bought them time to calmly gather together and set up their defenses.
And for that he paid a terrible price. Who knew just how badly injured he was?
“Principal Sun!”
Meng Chao quickly went up to support the old principal, only to find that his skin was burning like red-hot steel. His breathing was heavy, and pinkish bubbles came from his nose and the corners of his lips. Meng Chao gasped in spite of himself.
“Hush…”
Principal Sun motioned for Meng Chao to keep quiet with his head. They took a few steps into the forest.
“This is…”
Meng Chao was very observant. He saw a large wet patch at the spot where Principal Sun’s heart was. Even though he hid it with gel and bandages, red blood continued flowing out.
It was a fatal wound.
Principal Sun had fought against the wolf king and suppressed its pack despite his fatal wound so he could protect the examinees!
Meng Chao had complicated emotions in his heart.
In his previous life, Principal Sun hadn’t joined the practical test for university entrance as an invigilator.
Based on his memory fragments, Principal Sun was injured badly by the Evolved Demonic Air Ripping Eyes when the fog descended three days ago and was bedridden for a long time in the hospital.
But since Meng Chao gave him a reminder before the fight, the old man was only injured lightly instead of ending up bedridden.
Yet who would have known that this heroic citizen would carry out the glorious tradition of not retreating from the frontlines if he was only lightly injured and come to be an invigilator before fully recovering from his injuries. When the fog descended, he even took the initiative to jump into the space-time rift.
Meng Chao had seen it very clearly. Principal Sun was within the area where the turbulence of the space-time torrent occured, but he could have stayed out of the situation.
Yet he reached out to grab an examinee who fell into the fog, and when he noticed that he could not make it in time, he decided to just jump in and be transported into the wild.
He took the initiative to stand in front of the Bloody Moon Wolf King to carry out his duties as the invigilator!
Suddenly, a terrifying thought rose from the bottom of Meng Chao’s heart. ‘I harmed Principal Sun. If I hadn’t caused this butterfly effect, Principal Sun would not have appeared here. If he risks his life like this, there’s a possibility… that he will die!’
Meng Chao was terrified and quickly said, “Principal Sun, why are you still using your spirit energy?. Hurry up and sit down to rest. I have an emergency health kit with me!”
A great price had to be paid for using supernatural abilities.
They had to push the limits of their cells to circulate spirit energy, which meant that they had to continuously shave off their own lives.
Years of fighting against monsters had destroyed Principal Sun’s organs, tendons, and bones, causing the fearsome Heavy Cannon in the past to have long since become someone at the end of his strength. Otherwise, he would not serve as the principal of Ninth High School and be in retirement.
Now, every time he used the heavy cannons, the recoil caused astonishing damage to his body.
The continuous fights forced Principal Sun to the edge of death, but he still forced himself to activate his spirit energy, which made the rampaging energy surge and boil in his blood vessels and turn his skinny arms into the demon subduing poles that could support the heavens and earth. It was no different from suicide!
“I’m sorry, Meng Chao, but I can’t fight anymore. Even so, I can’t sit down nor pull back my spirit energy.” Principal Sun smiled calmly. “That creature is very smart. It hasn’t run far and is definitely watching us coldly from the dark. If it finds out that I’m just putting up a strong facade, it will definitely pounce over without hesitation, and that will be the end.
“I have to hold on and release all my spirit flames to scare it… until the reinforcements find us.”
“You’re going to die!” Meng Chao said, worried. “With your current condition, you should be nursing yourself in a medical cabin. You shouldn’t even be moving your pinky! If you continue using the spirit magnetic field rotation energy and burn your spirit flames, you’re just shaving off your own life! You’ll definitely die!”
“Meng Chao, we will all die,” Principal Sun said faintly. “Regardless of whether I am a member of the Red Dragon Army, the principal of Ninth High School, an invigilator, a normal Dragon Citizen, or an Earthling, I have never thought about never dying.”
“I know that you’re not afraid of death, but you’re different!”
Meng Chao’s mind was in a mess. In his worry, he did not even think about the words he was using anymore. “You’re a hero. You can’t die in vain like this!”
“Me? A hero?” Principal Sun let out a bark of laughter. “I’m no hero. A true hero would not have let so many children be killed by monsters, and he wouldn’t—Cough—he wouldn’t be so exhausted after killing a few Demonic Bloody Moon Wolves.”
The blood he coughed out was black.
It was the sign that the wolf’s poison had invaded his body and was corroding his organs.
Meng Chao shook his head vigorously. “To me and all the Ninth High School students, you’re the greatest hero in the world. You have to lead Ninth High School to glory and defeat First High School, Second High School, and Construction High School!”
Principal Sun looked at him for a while. “Alright, then I will undertake the difficult task of becoming a hero this time!
As he spoke, the spirit flames on his arms became even brighter. The spirit tattoos rose out of his body and turned the “demon subduing poles” into two lighthouses.
The darkness grew restless. It moved like waves.
The two shining lighthouses stood at the center of the darkness. They were unshakeable existences.
“Since I’m a hero, there is no reason for me to back down from a fight!” Principal Sun’s gaze was intense and his tone firm.
Meng Chao found himself speechless. He was stunned for a long time. Then, he pleaded. “The reinforcements will arrive in just a few more minutes. The wolf king needs to catch a break too. The wolf pack won’t come back so soon!”
Principal Sun’s eyes flashed.
Meng Chao was stunned for a moment before he came to a realization. “You haven’t notified the reinforcements and were only comforting us just now?”
“Hush. The reinforcements can’t be far away. Even if they can’t find us in twenty minutes, they will in half an hour. At most, an hour. They will definitely find us,” Principal Sun said. “And my mission is to use everything that I have to intimidate these monsters and make sure that they don’t dare to get close to you before the reinforcements arrive.
“Meng Chao, instead of wasting your breath on an old coot like me, it’d be better for you to eat more monster meat and drink their blood to recover your strength and fighting power. If… I’m saying IF I die and the reinforcements haven’t yet arrived, you might have to fight on your own for a while. And only then will you have hope of surviving!”
Principal Sun coughed up another mouthful of black blood.
His blood was like fuel. It made the flames around him burn even brighter.
When the principal saw his student’s slightly puzzled eyes, he smiled and placed his hand on the student’s shoulder. “I’m really not a hero. I’m just a normal human, and there are those among us who will risk everything even if they know that they will die. Even if all their bones are shattered, they will carry on with the task that they must do. There are people like that, don’t you agree?”