High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1601: Chapter 345 Beyond the Curtain of Light

The jade talismans in Jiang Yu’s hands were certainly of premium quality.

But as she tossed out those talismans, she obviously ignored the golden ’Sun’ hovering mid-air.

The light cluster formed by the school’s guardian array scattered endless brilliance, effortlessly dissolving many jade talismans, and some were even warped by the illusory symbols, redirecting their power onto Zheng Qing.

Among the spells in her law book, the only one seemingly effective at the moment was the dharma seal on the cover page that could summon a doppelgänger of the Jiang Family’s ancestor.

”Don’t!” Zheng Qing gritted his teeth and glared at the witch, using his gaze to stop her from activating the dharma seal, while forcefully uttering each word: ”Don’t... waste... time... I... am fine... Zhu Si!”

The little witch had just climbed back into the school with the hunters from the Atonement team, following the green vines, and was still disoriented, staring out through the dense golden barriers at a blurry yet vaguely familiar scene.

Her figure wavered amidst the golden radiance as if she were a beautiful soap bubble—one gentle poke, and she’d utterly shatter.

Jiang Yu’s fingers froze on the law book’s cover page for several seconds.

Finally, she drew a deep breath, turned around, and hugged the still-dazed Zhu Si tightly. Then, she turned back, glaring fiercely at Zheng Qing with a hoarse voice: ”... I’ll wait for you at the bookstore.”

With that, she stomped her foot, causing a jade pendant hanging at her waist to shatter with a loud crack. Wrapping herself and Zhu Si with its energy, they transformed into a stream of light, breaking through the golden barrier and darting away in an instant.

Perhaps it was because she was a registered student of the First University, or maybe it was simply due to the pure aura surrounding her, untainted by demons or the corruption of the Old Gods; the school’s guardian array did not obstruct this streak of light. Only a thread of golden light hesitated around Zhu Si for a moment but soon retreated, allowing Jiang Yu to take the little witch away from this binding domain.

The other hunters from the Atonement Hunting Team were certainly no fools.

Though they still didn’t fully comprehend the unfolding events, it didn’t stop them from making the right choice: quickly following behind Jiang Yu to leave the area encased in golden light.

Zhuzhu, the Faceless Demon’s incarnation, also wanted to sneak away behind these young witches.

But under the Heaven Luo Ground Net, evil spirits had no place to run.

When Jiang Yu turned back to glance, she saw a third ’amber’ forming beneath that mass of golden light. She stumbled, landing on the lakeside near Bell Lake. Her legs gave way, and she could no longer stand.

...

...

The figures rushing out of the guardian array’s golden light barrier immediately drew the attention of those by the lakeside.

Almost simultaneously, beams of teleportation light shot forth from the pavilion along the lakefront corridor, the fake mountain on the western shore, and the small plaza outside the Book Mountain Library—all heading toward the direction of those escaping figures.

Li Meng, who had been tailing Lin Guo and holding onto the little warlock to keep him quiet, froze the moment her peripheral vision caught sight of one of the figures.

Then, she completely forgot her earlier advice to Lin Guo about ’remaining calm’ and countless other magical techniques, leaping out from behind the bushes.

”Hey! Cousin!” the little witch shouted, waving both hands toward Jiang Yu, yelling loudly: ”Cousin! I’m here... Look here! ... Who’s that?”

Li Meng immediately spotted the young girl being held in Jiang Yu’s embrace. Her eyes widened, thoughts about what she had just intended to say melting from her mind. Flipping her palm, a jade ring flashed with a clear brilliance, enveloping her as she sped toward Jiang Yu’s position.

Lin Guo reached out his arm, grabbing at nothing but air.

He stared speechlessly at Li Meng’s disappearing silhouette—this was the same volatile girl who, just a few seconds ago, had clung to him, telling him to keep calm and not to pounce on every wandering sheep, for all he knew that sheep might have an important mission.

But now.

The little warlock withdrew his gaze, redirecting it back to the lake. Those familiar sheep horns were still faintly visible beneath the water’s surface. Without further hesitation, he sprinted toward his sheep.

...

...

As Jiang Yu and the others broke free through the golden light barrier, Augustus and Lei Zhe, seated in the pavilion along the lakefront corridor, simultaneously lifted their heads to look toward them.

”Students of Jiuyou?” Augustus spotted the young witches’ robe colors in one glance.

”The Jiang Family girl,” Lei Zhe’s gaze flickered with shards of starlight as he recognized the identity of the first witch: ”... In Dean Yao’s class.”

”That’s my brother.” A heavy voice came from behind Lei Zhe, belonging to Uncle Zhang Zhi, the red-faced warlock. He stepped forward, his joints emitting sharp cracking sounds as he did.

”Hmph,” Deng Xiaojian rubbed his smooth chin, an odd look in his eyes as he gazed at the final blurry figure hidden behind the golden barrier: ”... I think I know who the one that hasn’t come out yet is.”

Last year, around the Moon Hunting season, he had helped Zheng Qing train the Atonement Hunting Team for quite a while. He knew these young witches well, making it easy to identify those who had escaped the golden barrier.

”It’s Zheng Qing, isn’t it?” Sepulano stood behind Augustus, the fat on his cheeks trembling slightly as he strained to speak: ”I know he organized a decent hunting team, called Atonement... Him being here... why am I not surprised at all?”

”He might just be Jiuyou Academy’s biggest troublemaker in recent years.” Sir Friedman stood beside the fat wizard, glancing at the few blue robes on the other side while hinting at something: ”... I think he’s better suited for Starry Sky Academy.”

The president of the Starry Sky Academy’s student council merely smiled upon hearing this, refraining from responding. For him, words were a waste of time; given the chance, he’d rather spend his energy snapping the necks of demons.

”Elwin, accompany Uncle Zhang Zhi to take a look,” Lei Zhe turned his head slightly toward one of his subordinates, instructing softly: ”If you need any assistance, respond promptly.”

The slender warlock standing in the shadow of the pavilion’s pillars tugged at the hood on his head and responded quietly. Meanwhile, Uncle Zhang Zhi, unable to contain his anxiety, had already torn apart a teleportation talisman when Lei Zhe began speaking.

Augustus turned back to glance at Sir Friedman.

Sir Friedman nodded slightly, his cloak rippling as his form dissolved into fragmented crimson shadows, trailing behind the two veterans of Jiuyou Academy, disappearing from the pavilion.

Just then, a small disturbance arose behind the bushes, slightly away from the pavilion.

Li Meng darting toward her cousin, Lin Guo chasing the sheep horns in the lake—both had caused the concealment talismans hanging on them to lose their effectiveness, revealing them to the old students in the pavilion.

”Children?” Augustus frowned, an expression of mild displeasure crossing his face: ”What kind of work is the cleanup team doing? What if something goes wrong?”

Before he could issue further orders, an old fishman suddenly burst out of the lake, scooping up the little warlock who had reached the lakeside and tucking him under his arm, frantically running away from the water.

Behind the old fishman, the sound of more splashes resonated continuously.

One group after another of fishmen emerged from the lake, fleeing in panic toward the woods. Many were even too rushed to put on robes, hastily using a few pieces of shells to cover themselves.