Chapter 23: The Silver-Haired Savior and the Bewildered Beast

Professor Lu strained to widen his eyes, hoping to discern the features of the young woman in the sky. However, due to the distance and the intense sunlight, he could only vaguely make out her silver form.

Yet, that iconic silver-white hair!

There could be no mistake; this girl had to be the entity they had been searching for day and night.

“Quickly, capture it!” Professor Lu urgently exclaimed. ‘If not now, then when?’

Hearing the professor’s command, those around him gradually snapped out of their recent joy of escaping disaster, swiftly preparing their filming equipment.

Although Professor Lu couldn’t comprehend why the raging flames had vanished so suddenly and illogically, he was almost certain it was the silver-haired girl’s doing. Hadn’t every recent event, defying human understanding, been linked to her? Who else could accomplish something so extraordinary?

Many had previously worried about the silver-haired girl’s intentions, unsure if she posed a threat to national security. Now, however, it seemed she had protected them. She was likely an ally, not an enemy.

More crucially, only she possessed the ability to halt the rampaging beast at this moment. Military reinforcements would still take some time to arrive, and even then, it remained uncertain if the army could contend with such a ferocious creature.

****

Gazing at the Red-Horned Beast before her, Lin Ling felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

‘Are all these ancient creatures so volatile? They just emerge and immediately run wild. What a temper!’

To be frank, Lin Ling felt a degree of disappointment and dissatisfaction. If they were all this aggressive, taming them would be incredibly difficult. It would be a blessing if they simply didn’t cause trouble on Blue Star, let alone become effective combatants.

At that moment, Lin Ling’s thoughts drifted to Wangzai, who had been constantly endearing himself lately. He perfectly embodied the ancient proverb, ‘A wise person submits to circumstances.’

For some unknown reason, the little guy had become remarkably docile and sensible, his previous rebellious streak completely vanished. He now obeyed her every command.

Bisika had mentioned helping her train Wangzai, but these results seemed almost too good to be true.

‘Then why not capture these so-called ancient fierce beasts, package them up, and ask Bisika for help?’

‘I’m truly a genius!’

With this thought, Lin Ling turned her gaze to the ‘fierce beast.’

It was approximately 10 meters long and seemed to stand 6 meters tall, its entire body covered in a hard, dark brown shell, giving it the appearance of a pangolin. The most significant differences from a typical pangolin were its immense size and the two grotesque, giant red horns protruding from its head.

Its spiritual energy attribute was fire, just like Wangzai’s, but its spiritual power was slightly superior.

As Lin Ling observed the giant pangolin—no, the Red-Horned Beast—it finally noticed her floating in the air.

To ensure the safety of both the surrounding humans and the horned beast, Lin Ling was not releasing her spiritual energy. For her current self, expending too much spiritual energy or using more than ten percent of her power could cause the souls of nearby creatures to shatter.

Thus, she had to act with extreme caution, maintaining only a fraction of her spiritual energy around her body for flight.

To the Red-Horned Beast, however, Lin Ling appeared as a tempting morsel: rich in spiritual energy, yet seemingly not powerful.

‘It lost its Star Source! So, it will take her as a substitute!’

Excitement and savagery gleamed in the Red-Horned Beast’s eyes.

The next moment, the Red-Horned Beast pushed off with its powerful legs, lunging fiercely at Lin Ling in mid-air. It opened its massive maw, ready to swallow the seemingly weak human girl whole.

Reading the Red-Horned Beast’s thoughts, Lin Ling couldn’t help but feel a touch of helplessness.

‘Alas, its intelligence is truly concerning…’

‘I suppose I’ll have to teach you a lesson first.’

Instantly, a strand of Lin Ling’s silver-white hair elongated, its base unraveling and reshaping into a colossal palm the size of a truck.

“Smack!” It slammed directly towards the Red-Horned Beast.

*Thud!* Before the Red-Horned Beast could even register what was happening, Lin Ling’s palm sent it hurtling back to the ground, where it created a massive crater.

Though slightly stunned, the beast’s ferocity propelled it to leap up once more, initiating a second attack!

“Smack!” Another palm strike.

It leapt again!

“Smack!” Another palm strike.

Again!

“Smack!” Another palm strike.

…

…

Lin Ling, however, had no desire to let such a dirt-covered creature get anywhere near her.

After eight such repetitions, the Red-Horned Beast was utterly disoriented, its four limbs wobbling precariously on the ground, as if it had been dazed.

‘But surely, it should settle down now,’ Lin Ling thought, stifling a yawn.

Meanwhile, elsewhere,

Professor Lu and his team watched, utterly dumbfounded.

The terrifying aggressor, who had just been so menacing and driven them to despair, was now being treated like a game of whack-a-mole by this girl! No one present could believe their eyes.

“This girl is definitely not human! Human hair couldn’t possibly defy physics like that!” Professor Lu declared, his finger trembling as he pointed at the young woman.

“Exactly!” his assistant chimed in. “And according to our observations, the girl is floating in the air without any visible aids!”

The events unfolding recently were truly beyond belief.

****

‘Should I say its head is truly stubborn?’

Despite the repeated lessons, the Red-Horned Beast refused to concede. It steadied itself, then glared at Lin Ling once more.

A massive amount of fire-attribute spiritual energy gathered in its abdomen. ‘If I can’t reach her, I’ll just blast this human down! She dares to treat me like this; she must pay the price!’

‘Judging by that stance, it’s planning to unleash a spiritual energy blast, isn’t it?’

Lin Ling discerned the Red-Horned Beast’s intention, yet remained unconcerned; its attacks would merely tickle her. Still, she had to consider the surrounding people. The residual heat from a fire-attribute spiritual energy blast could potentially harm the onlookers.

With that in mind, Lin Ling restored her hair to its normal state and activated an even more formidable ability.

‘It seems this fellow won’t cry until it sees the coffin. Very well, I’ll give it a truly unforgettable lesson!’

****

Just as the Red-Horned Beast finished charging its attack, its spiritual energy blast ready to fire,

The spiritual energy and physical strength within its body were inexplicably and severely weakened in an instant.

The massive beast suddenly felt an overwhelming weariness.

This sudden surge of powerlessness plunged the Red-Horned Beast into confusion and fear. As it desperately tried to understand the cause, it noticed a multitude of ice crystals spreading upwards from its tail and legs.

‘?!’

‘Ice?!’

Instinctively, the Red-Horned Beast attempted to use its fire-attribute spiritual energy to vaporize the ice. Yet, it helplessly realized that there was no strength left in its body, no surplus stamina to even summon its spiritual energy.

‘W-w-what is happening?!’

The previous ferocity vanished from the Red-Horned Beast’s eyes, replaced by an unprecedented horror and an intense feeling of powerlessness.

The next second, enveloped in an aura of despair, the Red-Horned Beast’s body was entirely covered in frost, abruptly freezing into a colossal ice sculpture!

“Now you know fear, don’t you?”

Lin Ling mused with a hint of smugness.

Subsequently, the young woman gently raised her hand, once again using spiritual energy to lift the Red-Horned Beast’s ice sculpture into the air.

The very next moment, under everyone’s astonished gaze, the once colossal ice sculpture visibly shrank at an incredible pace, becoming palm-sized before settling into Lin Ling’s hand.

“Done! Time to call it a day! Let’s go home!”

Professor Lu and his team had intended to approach Lin Ling at this point to communicate.

However, before they could even make a move,

Under the disbelieving stares of everyone present, Lin Ling’s body slowly disintegrated into a multitude of silver-white light particles, vanishing from their sight in an instant!

This scene once again shattered people’s understanding of reality.

“Captain, am I dreaming?”

“Is this a miracle?”

“Can I post this on Weibo? I feel like I could become a big influencer.”

…

…

The succession of events had left everyone present utterly speechless.

Why would ice form out of thin air in the middle of summer? And that shrinking defied the law of conservation of mass!

Professor Lu’s mind, meanwhile, was plunged into an unprecedented chaos. Completely ignoring his assistant’s calls, he slumped to the ground, questioning everything he knew.

‘What… what in the world is happening…’