Eternal Country

"Who saved me?" Tie Nan's heart pounded. He was acutely aware that his stamina wouldn't last long. Under the frenzied assault of those mutant rats, his energy was being drained at an alarming rate. He had only been able to withstand one more attack before his defenses would collapse entirely. Once that happened, the other rats would pounce and rip him apart. He had no combat techniques to speak of—only his sturdy defenses. Against those monsters, even if he didn't die immediately, serious injury was inevitable.And a serious injury in this environment was no different from death.That arrow had saved his life.

"It looked like it was fired from this building," Li Zhilin said, adjusting his glasses, eyes gleaming as he stared at the tower ahead. "This building—I know it. It's one of the top residential towers in Shanghai—Tianjing Tower. The people who live here are all either rich or powerful. The facilities inside are high-end. Ordinary folks can't afford it. Anyone living here has to be quite capable. There's definitely an expert in that building."

Clearly, he wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this place.

"The entrance gates are locked, so monsters inside should be limited. The tower has an underground parking garage—spacious. As long as the entrances are sealed, it should be pretty safe. We head for the garage entrance. If there's a real expert in there, it might be a lot safer than out here," Li Zhilin said, already forming a plan within just a few breaths.

"Alright, let's move toward the underground garage," Liu Qingqing nodded in agreement.

If the person who fired that arrow really lived in the tower, then the building would definitely be safer than outside. Just that iron arrow alone—she was certain its power exceeded her own wind blades. It had pierced through two mutant rats in a row and still embedded halfway into the ground. That level of force was terrifying.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Suddenly, sharp sounds split the air again. In the darkness, the crisp noise of arrows piercing flesh rang out again and again. Rats that had been encircling them dropped one after another, nailed to the ground. The arrows sank several inches into the concrete.Each shot was fatal. Not a single arrow was wasted.

One.Two.Ten.Thirty!

The rate of fire was astonishing—nearly every breath brought a new iron arrow through the air, drilling through a rat's skull or body. Many were killed instantly by a single headshot. Each arrow was a perfect kill: swift, ruthless, and accurate.

"Teacher Liu! Everyone! Move now! There's a master in the building helping us! Let's go!" Liu Qingqing shouted, shocked by the sheer precision of the archery. But there was no time to hesitate. She urged her teacher and classmates to move quickly toward the building.

The sudden barrage had thrown the rat swarm into disarray—this was the perfect chance to break through. Delay any longer, and who knew what might happen?

Everyone understood that clearly. Without needing another word, they all bolted toward the building at full speed. Not a single person dared stop to pick up the willpower beads or light orbs dropped by the fallen rats.

Li Zhilin, Tie Nan, and Liu Qingqing led the way, but the rat swarm was simply too massive. Even with the cover fire from the mysterious archer, they couldn't suppress all the rats. These creatures were bloodthirsty and utterly insane. They didn't know fear. Despite the trio fighting desperately, people were still being caught, dragged into the dark, and killed.

By the time they reached the underground garage, more than a dozen had died. The scene was gruesome.

As soon as they entered, Li Zhilin activated his water screen to block the entrance, shouting urgently, "Quick! Find something to block the entrance! The cars won't start, so push them over manually! If we can't seal it, the rats will get in, and we're all dead!"

Immediately, people started smashing car windows and pushing vehicles with all their strength to barricade the entry.

"There's a rolling gate at the garage entrance. It's not powered, but we can pull it down manually. Once it's locked, those rats won't be able to get in easily," Liu Qingqing added quickly after surveying the area.

Everyone worked together, frantically sealing the garage.

Up on the balcony, Yi Tianxing watched the students rush into the garage. He frowned slightly but said nothing. Seeking safety was a natural human instinct. These people had seen his iron arrows and realized there was an expert in the tower—so they came, hoping it would be safer than staying outside.

"Still, people ultimately have to rely on themselves."

Yi Tianxing shook his head. That kind of mindset was understandable, but in a doomsday environment, relying on others only brought momentary safety. In the end, survival depended solely on oneself.

"And those willpower beads shouldn't be left behind. Each one is a shortcut to getting stronger. As for those rats—there's a lot of them, but they're within a manageable range. No reason to let them go."

He had already observed these rats closely. Although vicious and as big as house dogs—capable of ripping flesh clean off with one bite—they were still just beasts. What made them dangerous wasn't their strength, but the sheer destructive force of the swarm.

In terms of raw power, they were no stronger than ordinary people. If one wasn't afraid, had the will to fight and kill, they weren't that hard to face alone.

And for Yi Tianxing, they were even less of a threat.

"Perfect opportunity to test the new use of my Innate Yin-Yang Eyes. Condensing Yin-Yang Locks requires a massive amount of souls. With prey delivering themselves to my door… why wouldn't I take them?"

He strode toward the lobby. Glancing at the three women still deep in their visualizations, he didn't wake them. He grabbed his Tang Blade, picked up a battle spear, and strapped the tiger fang combat knife to his thigh. Then he stepped out, locking the security door behind him. He had the key—he could let himself back in later.

The tower itself was quiet, though there was the faint scent of smoke. Clearly, someone inside was burning firewood to keep warm—temperatures had dropped drastically. No one dared venture outside anymore. The floors had already been cleared out previously, so Yi Tianxing made it to the ground floor with ease.

He opened the iron gate.

Creak—!

The moment he stepped outside, a wave of blood stench hit him. A giant rat lunged out of the shadows, mouth wide, aiming for his neck—completely without warning.

"Courting death!"

Thanks to his cultivation of the Heavenly Dragon Scripture, Yi Tianxing had honed his danger sense to an instinctual level. He twisted his body at lightning speed and, mid-spin, slashed his Tang Blade downward. In the darkness, a flash of cold light shone.

The rat was fast—but his blade was faster.

Before its claws even touched him, the blade split it clean in two. Dead instantly. Its eyes flickered, and a wisp of soul was dragged from its corpse. At the same time, Yi Tianxing stored away the dropped willpower bead.

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!

Dozens—no, hundreds—of glowing red eyes emerged from the shadows. Rats. All staring at him. The scent of blood was drawing them in fast.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds had gathered. The sight made one's scalp crawl.

"Perfect. Time to test the Yin-Yang Locks!"

Rather than fear, Yi Tianxing's eyes lit up with excitement. With a thought, his pupils shifted, silently becoming black and white.

Clink! Clink! Clink!

Three black-and-white chains—each three to four meters long—shot out from his eyes. These were the Yin-Yang Locks. He had successfully forged three. The fourth was forming but still partially illusory. It needed more souls to become whole.

As the chains emerged, the air around him grew still and frigid. Faint ghostly noises echoed along the links, sending chills through any soul that dared look at them. Even the rats sensed something was wrong.

"Yin-Yang Rings—seal them!"

With another shout, the three chains burst with black and white light. They disintegrated into glowing rings—Yin-Yang Rings.

Each chain split into eighty-one rings. Three chains meant two hundred and forty-three rings in total. All of them radiated divine black-white light, shooting toward the rats.

Squeak! Squeak!

Each ring locked onto a rat, snapping around its neck like a glowing halo. Once caught, the rats screeched in agony, thrashing and clawing at the rings. They didn't die instantly, but it was clear they were in unimaginable pain.

Two hundred and forty-three rats collapsed at once, writhing and howling.

Yi Tianxing's eyes gleamed. Without hesitation, he stepped forward, blade flashing. The downed rats could only scream. They couldn't dodge, couldn't fight back.

Each slash was a kill.With every death, the ring returned—dragging a struggling rat soul along with it, screaming as it was sucked into his Yin-Yang Eyes.

Inside, the fourth chain was being reforged—the illusory rings slowly solidifying as each soul was refined.

The rat massacre…Was shockingly effortless.