Full-Time Magister: What kind of demonic tree is this? It's clearly a sacred tree!

Chapter 36 Municipal Building

Mu Nujiao breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing a transparent barrier form in front of her, but she did not stop releasing magic. Instead, she launched a full-scale attack on the cave demon slave.

"Let's go! There's no need to waste time here!" Lu Zhenghe shouted. Mu Nujiao subconsciously looked behind her, but didn't see the cave demon slave, Zhang Chen, or Mo Fan. She also shouted, "Zhang Chen and Mo Fan are gone!"

"We can't even take care of ourselves, let's go!" Lu Zhenghe ordered angrily. Mu Ningxue turned around and looked behind her. Sure enough, she didn't see Mo Fan. She wanted to go to Mu Nujiao's side to ask for details, but then she heard the sound of thunder and fire exploding in front of her.

Turning back to look ahead, Mo Fan and Zhang Chen were running and knocking away the cave demon slaves in front of them.

Xu Dalong asked in confusion, "When did those two run off to the front?"

Zhang Chen and Mo Fan were also puzzled when they saw them, but they didn't say anything.

"Let's go!" Seeing that the two of them had already cleared a path through the cave, Lu Zhenghe shouted, "Earth-type, use Earth Wave!"

Zhang Chen and Mo Fan rejoined the group and ran with them to the other end of the tunnel, rushing from the darkness into the sunlight, their eyes unable to open for a while.

"Take a headcount! Take a headcount!" Lu Zhenghe, who seemed to have led a team before, didn't relax. Rubbing his eyes, he shouted, "We're all here!" Liao Mingxuan quickly counted his people from the Imperial Capital Academy. "We're all here too!" Song Xia said. Mu Nujiao asked Zhang Chen, "Why did you two go to the front?"

The others, also curious, perked up their ears. "Guess?" Zhang Chen glanced at the tunnel and said, "The demon flesh inside hasn't been collected yet. I'll call Mo Fan over tonight."

"Fine, don't tell me then!" Mu Nujiao glared at Zhang Chen and said, "Mo Fan, how did you get to the front?" Mu Ningxue asked Mo Fan, making everyone's ears perk up again. Mo Fan raised an eyebrow and grinned, "The brigade commander and I saw demons coming out of a side cave, so we just fought our way in. Who knew it led directly here? We were worried about you guys, so we had to fight our way back. Ningxue, we arrived just in time, didn't we!"

Although Mu Ningxue was somewhat skeptical, she still gave a soft "hmm." Mu Nujiao and some other girls shared her skepticism, while the boys, except for Zhao Manyan, did not believe it at all.

Actually, after the two of them went in, they encountered a place with a water source near the railway tracks. They made a point of checking whether there were any demons living around before they started to set up tents and rest.

As night fell, the boys sat on the ground around the campfire. The firelight reflected in their hearts, making them restless.

The night was quiet, broken only by the crackling of firewood. Suddenly, Zhao Manyan spoke, "Are you sure they're bathing in the stream?"

"Yes, Mu Ningxue, Mu Nujiao—they are both here."

"Peng Liang, why don't we send you to take a look? With your shadow-based abilities, they shouldn't be able to detect you!"

"This isn't a good idea," Peng Liang said somewhat shyly. As he said it wasn't a good idea, he had already turned into a shadow and disappeared into the shadows of the woods.

Less than two minutes later, the woods were frozen over.

"Hahaha, I guess that idiot Peng Liang got caught. Our captain's Ice Domain will be detected as long as there's any magic fluctuation within a certain range!" Xu Dalong burst into laughter. When Zhang Chen and Mo Fan returned, they saw a group of girls angrily cursing Peng Liang. Just as they arrived, Mu Nujiao asked aggressively, "Where were you two just now?!"

"Bored, just wandering around. What's this?" Zhang Chen wasn't about to tell them they'd gone back to the tunnel. Pointing at Peng Liang, he changed the subject, "That shameless, lewd bastard tried to peep at us while we were showering, luckily Ning Xue sensed him beforehand! Are you sure you just went wandering around?!" Mu Nujiao asked again, "Guess!" Zhang Chen was too lazy to argue with her. Mu Nujiao was so angry she wanted to beat him up right then and there. "Guess! Guess! Guess! I'll guess you to death! If I could beat you, I'd make you—"

Mo Fan heard that Peng Liang almost saw his first wife taking a bath and had already dragged him away for a friendly sparring session.

Zhang Chen returned to his tent and began meditating. He felt that his spatial ability was about to reach the third level of the intermediate stage.

Aside from the somewhat dangerous encounter in the cave, the group's journey was relatively smooth afterward. They did not encounter any more groups of demons, and after traveling for about ten days, Jinlin City finally came into view.

They stood atop a mountain ridge, facing a vast plain basin. To the west stretched endless plains and hills, while to the north flowed a winding river that cut past a city that was now in ruins and overgrown with weeds, heading further into the distance.

"I never imagined that Jinlin City would change like this in just fifteen years!" Xu Dalong exclaimed. "Let's go, let's explore the outer area first and count how many demons are roaming around." Song Xia said. They explored the outer area and to everyone's surprise, there were only a few demons roaming around in the forest. They didn't see any groups of them, so the exploration was completed smoothly.

"Let's go straight in and finish this quickly so we can get back sooner. Staying out here for too long makes me feel uneasy," Luo Song said.

Luo Song has lost a lot of weight in the past ten days, and he simply doesn't want to suffer here any longer.

"The survey is never going to end so easily. We have many points to survey, and they've all been marked. Unless we split up," Lu Zhenghe said.

Zhang Chen had a sudden thought: splitting up would be great. I still want to kill more demons to nourish the tree. I'll find an opportunity to separate from them.

"It's not wise to split up," Song Xia immediately shook her head.

"Then let's just step on them one by one!"

They walked along a road full of cracks, with trees blocking out the sky on both sides, and the houses covered with unknown vines.

"We need to find a safe place to settle down first!" Shen Ming smiled, looking at the mountains of dried excrement around them. "Right, we're essentially in a desolate city roaming freely with demons. A safe place is essential for escaping or defending ourselves in case of danger, and it also needs a wide field of vision for lookouts. So, our first choice is a tall building, and one whose rooftop is connected to other buildings." Lu Zhenghe said, "I think that one's good." Mo Fan pointed to the distance. Song Xia looked in the direction he pointed, comparing it with the map, and said, "You certainly know how to pick a place! That should be the municipal building!"

Zhang Chen had a bad feeling. Wasn't it Mo Fan who chose the beef storage warehouse last time? Could his jinx have come true again?