Reborn as a lotus, she initially refuses to hand it over to the state.

Chu Zhou smiled, because at the very moment the strange rock broke through its defenses, the blood-red patterns on the surface of the dark stone body flickered violently.

Immediately afterwards, a faint wisp of black-gold primordial energy seeped out from the edge of the stone.

Chu Zhou's eyes lit up; a familiar scent had returned.

This old man is still easily amused.

The strange rock also sensed something was wrong immediately. Its crimson giant eyes shrank sharply, and it immediately tried to conceal its aura.

Unfortunately, it was too late; Chu Zhougenxu was already waiting nearby.

Almost the instant the source seeped out, dozens of cyan roots instantly emerged, like a school of fish attracted by the smell of blood, directly plunging into that wisp of black-gold source.

The strange rock exploded on the spot, angrily shouting at Chu Zhou, "Stop! Lotus Demon, stop right now!"

Chu Zhou ignored it completely. The roots intertwined, and the blue light flowed. That wisp of black-gold essence was directly drawn into the roots.

The next second, a system notification sounded.

"Ding, Evolution Points +8000."

"Ding, Evolution Points +10000."

"Ding, Evolution Points +12000."

Chu Zhou's mood immediately improved.

After breaking through to the sixth rank, the efficiency of absorbing the essence of the strange stone is significantly higher than before.

Although this wisp of essence was not much, its quality was high enough that the strange stone trembled with anger.

"Shameless! You shameless lotus demon! I was speaking to you, and you dared to launch a sneak attack!"

Chu Zhou said, "How can this be called a sneak attack?"

The strange rock roared, "You buried your roots beforehand, and you call that a sneak attack?"

Chu Zhou laughed and said, "Little Shi Shi, don't say such unpleasant things. We've known each other for so long. It's not too much to ask you to share some of your essence with me, is it?"

The strange rock was shocked. It had lived for countless years and had seen the treacherous, the greedy, and the shameless.

But I've never seen anything as brazen and shameless as this blue lotus.

The strange stone gritted its teeth and said, "Lotus Demon, you're shameless!"

Chu Zhou smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment."

The other party simply pretended to be dead. If they actually chatted with Chu Zhou for even a few words, Chu Zhou would definitely make them furious.

Meanwhile, the Lingnan Awakeners Academy.

Night had fallen, and most of the students had returned to their dormitories to rest. Only a few figures remained on the training ground, practicing by the moonlight.

Since the second spiritual energy tide ended, the cultivation atmosphere in the academy has changed significantly.

After experiencing the polluted rat incident in the abandoned village, many students understood the importance of strength, so they all worked hard to cultivate and improve their abilities.

Lin Qingxue sat by the dormitory window, looking down at her palm. The wisp of blue light in her palm had already receded.

She could feel that power still existed, like a seed, quietly taking root deep within her body.

She was just about to close her eyes and rest.

Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire college.

Lin Qingxue suddenly stood up, and then a series of exclamations came from the dormitory corridor.

"What's going on? Red alert?"

"This isn't a drill, is it? Get up and assemble!"

Outside the window, red alarm lights lit up simultaneously throughout the entire academy, covering the training grounds, teaching buildings, administration buildings, and medical buildings.

Lin Qingxue's expression changed slightly. She knew that an alarm of this level could not possibly be an ordinary accident.

Soon, the broadcast echoed throughout the college.

"All instructors, proceed immediately to the conference room in the administration building."

"All students at level two and above, assemble at the training ground within ten minutes."

"I'll repeat myself: all trainees at level two and above, assemble at the training ground within ten minutes."

The entire college was instantly in an uproar.

The lights in the conference room of the administration building were glaring.

More than a dozen faculty members rushed over, their faces all bearing solemn expressions.

Vice President Zhou Wenshan stood in front of the conference table, his face grim.

He is in his fifties and his awakened ability is earth-type defense, with peak third-tier strength.

He was usually in charge of teaching and student management at the college, and his temper was always mild, but at this moment, his expression was extremely ugly.

The conference room door was pushed open, and a woman dressed in a black combat uniform strode in.

It was Su Wan, the action captain of the Linjiang branch of the Ninth Bureau.

Several members of the Ninth Bureau followed behind her. Zhou Wenshan looked at Su Wan and said, "Team Leader Su, you've arrived."

Su Wan nodded and asked directly, "How's the situation in Nanjiang City?"

Zhou Wenshan did not answer, but simply pushed an urgent battle report to the center of the table.

Several instructors looked down.

The next second, everyone's expression in the conference room changed.

[Urgent Battle Report]

[Nanjiang City Hit by a Large Animal Tide]

[Six surrounding towns out of contact]

[The southeastern defense line of the city is in critical condition]

[Requesting urgent support from Lingnan Awakeners Academy]

A male instructor suddenly stood up: "Nanjiang City, isn't that the neighboring city?"

Another female instructor turned pale: "How could it be so fast? Nanjiang City is quite a distance from the Lingnan Mountains, and there are military defenses stationed on its outskirts, aren't there?"

Su Wan said in a deep voice, "The defense line has been breached."

The meeting room fell silent instantly. Zhou Wenshan pressed the remote control, the projector lit up, and a drone video appeared on the screen.

The footage shows that the highways surrounding Nanjiang City are completely paralyzed, with a large number of vehicles stuck near the toll stations.

Some people abandoned their vehicles and fled. In the distance, in the mountains and forests, a dark herd of beasts was advancing towards the city.

Wolves, wild boars, mutated lynxes, macaques, and even black birds circling low overhead.

The beasts didn't charge indiscriminately; the wolf pack flanked them from both sides, while the wild boar herd charged the roadblocks like heavy armor.

The birds kept swooping down, attacking the patrol team's observers.

Several instructors felt a chill run down their spines: "This is no ordinary beast tide."

Su Wan's eyes were icy: "That's right, this is an organized attack. The Ninth Division judged that there is at least a late-stage fourth-tier demon beast commanding it, and it may even be stronger."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

Late stage of the fourth tier—that's no longer an ordinary beast.

In the Lingnan region today, an existence of this caliber would be enough to trigger a disaster.

Zhou Wenshan then opened a second video, this time from the law enforcement recorder of the frontline patrol team.

The screen shook violently, filled with gunshots and screams.

A young patrolman shouted as he retreated, "The eastern defensive line has fallen!"

"Double, the eastern defensive line has fallen!"

"Requesting backup, requesting backup."

Before he could finish speaking, a black wolf covered in blood suddenly pounced out of the ruins.

The screen flipped instantly, followed by a jarring noise.

The meeting room was deathly silent. A young instructor asked in a trembling voice, "How many casualties have there been?"

Zhou Wenshan said, "The current confirmed death toll is 372, and the number of injured exceeds 2,000."

"These are just the figures that have been tallied so far. Six surrounding townships are out of contact, so the actual number of casualties is likely much higher."

After he finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

Zhou Wenshan looked at everyone and said in a deep voice, "The Ninth Bureau's Linjiang branch has already dispatched an advance team."

"The troops stationed in Nanjiang City are organizing a second line of defense."

"But they need the support of awakened beings, especially those with healing, mental, fire, and large-scale control abilities."

Su Wan continued, "The Ninth Bureau is short-handed, the abandoned well quarantine zone cannot be withdrawn, and Linjiang City also needs to be guarded. Therefore, this time, the academy must send people."

One of the instructors looked grim: "The students are going too?"

Zhou Wenshan said in a deep voice: "All elite students above the second rank are included in the reserve combat sequence, not sent up to their deaths."

"Instead, they are responsible for evacuating the civilians, treating the wounded, and clearing out low-level alien beasts. As for the front line of defense, it will be the responsibility of the Ninth Bureau, the garrison, and the instructors."

No one in the meeting room objected anymore.

This is the significance of the Awakened Academy: in ordinary times, they enjoy resources and receive training, but in times of crisis, they must stand up.

Zhou Wenshan took a deep breath: "Let's gather."

On the training ground.

Thousands of trainees had gathered, red warning lights were still flashing, and everyone's face showed unease.

Lin Qingxue stood in the crowd, her heart pounding.

Beside her, a short-haired girl whispered, "Qingxue, do you know what happened?"

Lin Qingxue shook her head: "I don't know."

Not far away, Chen Xueli was also standing in the crowd. She was originally an exchange student of the Martial Alliance and had been staying at the academy temporarily to assist with training. After hearing the alarm, she rushed over immediately.

Chen Ziyang, standing beside her, looked a little pale: "Sis, something's not right."

Chen Xueli frowned, but she didn't say anything.

Soon, Zhou Wenshan led a group of mentors onto the high platform.

Su Wan and the players from the ninth inning stood to the side.

Upon seeing Su Wan appear, Lin Qingxue's expression became even more serious; even people from the Ninth Bureau branch had come.

This indicates that the matter is definitely not minor.

Zhou Wenshan stood on the high platform, scanning the entire audience.

He didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "The beast tide has broken out."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire training ground fell silent.