Almost as soon as the panic arose, it faded. The scholars and disciples grew solemn. For all the systems they had, if the Covenant truly wanted them dead, trying to escape would be a waste of energy and resources. They were better off remaining together for their final days.
A sudden anger flared in Li toward the two cat guards, but wisdom quickly prevailed. The two minute-men stationed here hadn't been part of the plan. Sadly, they would likely be killed too, and fighting them would serve no purpose.
According to the schedule, two days remained after tonight—but no one knew who would be next on the assassination list. Emergency fortifications would be made, though it was likely the Covenant already expected they'd find out. The vigilant disciples stormed out, full of fury and betrayal.
It was no use troubling the guards or anyone else now. All they could do was continue pretending they knew nothing of the plan to purge them.
Master Zhang and his disciples rose and left. Li walked down the steps, but Master Zhang remained behind, sitting down and bowing his head, soft tears splashing onto the cold stone.
They were trapped. There was no way out, and they were marked for death. The Covenant—an institution he and Xiao Shu had dedicated nearly their entire lives working inside—had betrayed them. Xiao Shu had been the first, killed by something while serving the Covenant. Now, they were coming for Li.
As much as he wanted to sit and bask in the serenity of this place, Li knew they had to begin working on defenses. If even one of them survived and escaped into the universe, it would be enough.
The vigilante group had started using furniture to construct an organized barricade. Not long after, someone rushed out with a plan, though Li barely skimmed it. From this point on, the campus edges were off-limits, and all four guards had to remain on duty at all hours.
No one seemed able to sleep that night. Instead of returning to the dormitory block, Li sat on the steps of the central study hall, watching the vigilante disciples construct their defenses.
In the center of the courtyard, the Imbecile stood motionless—no longer twitching. The moon was hidden behind a veil of clouds, and beyond what Li could see stretched only an endless forest. A swirl of emotions turned within him.
It had been a personal battle to remember what he'd forgotten, to uncover what had happened to Xiao Shu. Yet now, the Covenant also wanted answers.
He wouldn't have been surprised if they were the very ones who had killed Xiao Shu after coming too close to their secret—then somehow erased Li's memory when they found him outside the office.
Strangely, they hadn't killed him. But now, it seemed they intended to. He cursed them under his breath. His life's work—one of his largest missions in the universe—was now one of the enemy's objectives.
And now, he viewed the Anti-Covenant differently. They had seen the injustice long before he had. And now, they were rising against it.
Who knew how many other worlds were suffering right now—entire purges taking place with little to no trace in the news? But at the same time, how many were beginning to realign with the Anti-Covenant? How many were starting to resist?
Li thought of Naryssa and the chief's daughter. They were still within the Covenant, oblivious to the deeper conflict. If the Anti-Covenant got to them, they'd face the same extreme punishments as those who had taken part in the suppression of innocent worlds.
It wasn't fair, but just being associated with the Covenant now marked someone as guilty in the eyes of a growing faction in the universe.
Suddenly, Li didn't feel like giving up anymore. He had to make it out of this place—to get back to Naryssa and the chief's daughter. They were innocent, only working for what they believed to be right. But he knew the truth now.
He rose from the steps, fury rising in his chest, and sprinted toward the vigilante group.
"I'll help with the fortifications. What's the plan?"
After a quick briefing, he dashed into the lower storage rooms beneath the campus. What had once been dark, desolate chambers were now alive with activity—filled with disciples and masters preparing for war.
Li and another vigilante disciple hauled a large wooden bench and laid a straw mat over it, carrying it to the surface to add to the barricade.
Meanwhile, the masters who had stayed with the Headmaster in the central study hall were now circulating with papers—final plans in hand.
The strategy was set.
The vigilante disciples would hide underground, surrounded by artifacts and extra supplies, ready to ambush the enemy. Others would conceal themselves in the buildings, armed with modified spears and crossbows designed to pierce through refined armor. The masters would form a ring around the Headmaster at the center of campus prepared to unleash their most powerful techniques.
The alternative plan was harsher.
If the initial defense failed, the attackers would be lured into marked buildings and underground chambers, which would then be demolished and burned. In the chaos, the defenders would scatter into the forest—dispersing before they could be captured.
It was nearly midnight by the time the fortifications were complete, and exhaustion weighed heavy on everyone. In the combat training building, Master Zhang stood alone, channeling his focus. Using his system, he launched a sequence of precise attacks on a practice dummy.
Bit by bit, an energy blade—seemingly conjured from the very air—sliced the dummy into fragments with surgical precision.
For the finale, Master Zhang brought his hands together in a fluid motion. A neon blade burst forth between his palms, radiating power. With one swift strike, the dummy was vaporized—reduced to floating atoms.
It was part of Master Zhang's Historical Blades system. Of all the techniques Li had witnessed, the most devastating had been the Golden Scabbard Unsheathing: Beheading the Oppressive King though he had only witnessed this attack once during the first year he had been on Wisdom Bank.
Up above, on one of the balconies silhouetted against the night sky, Li spotted Master Xing. She was calmly manipulating the water in a small pot, her hands moving with delicate precision.
From the swirling liquid, a small beast began to form. It danced in the moonlight, its fists jabbing rhythmically forward and back while Master Xing watched with a quiet smile.
Then, the creature suddenly lashed out. As its fist extended, the water sharpened into an icy spike, gleaming and lethal.
This was only a fragment of her power. When she commanded a larger body of water, these creatures became devastating forces on the battlefield. Her ultimate technique was known as Hegemon of the Oceanic World: Blow to the Wrongful Inheritor.
When she unleashed it, a massive oceanic beast would rise—called forth from the deep memory of some faraway sea. It would draw back its colossal fist and then strike with terrifying precision, all its power concentrated on a single point of the opponent's body.
The impact was enough to crack bone and shatter defenses. The move represented a historic final blow—a legendary coup in which the rightful ruler of an oceanic planet struck down a usurper and reclaimed their throne.
Meanwhile, the only technique Li had truly mastered was a straightforward combination of swift rushes, ranged bursts, and precise spear strikes.