Lu Sheng remained silent, narrowing his eyes as he watched the scene unfold. Saya and Tang Dun followed his gaze.
The chaos on the field had begun to escalate further, with nearly half the crowd now drawn into the fray.
The most prominent battle group was around Sarl, whose fiery orange hair stood out. He had previously made a poor impression and rubbed too many people the wrong way, and he was now being beaten by a group of Level 12 powerhouses.
But this guy was genuinely formidable. Surrounded by seven or eight Level 12 powerhouses, he stubbornly held his own, his demeanor wild and unyielding.
The middle-aged guide, who had clashed with Sarl throughout their journey and had been forcibly dragged into the battle group by him, now stood by his side. With each strike, he aided him. Sara's ability to endure the beating thus far owed in part to the guide's assistance.
Saya watched from the sidelines, his brows deeply furrowed. He couldn't help but voice his frustration: "Why is the guide protecting someone like Sarl? Just let everyone beat him up. Maybe after a good thrashing, everyone will calm down and this chaos will end..."
"No way. These people aren't just looking to beat Sarl up to vent their anger. They want to kill Sara, and Sarl wants to kill them too."
Tang Dun, standing nearby, spoke in a deep, resonant voice.
Saya, struck by Tang Dun's words, suddenly recalled his own earlier irrationality and realized something. He stared wide-eyed at the scene for a moment longer before blurting out, "Wait, all these combatants seem to be people who absorbed beast cores before!"
Lu Sheng heard Saya's words, turned to glance at him, and remarked indifferently, "You're not entirely stupid."
Saya ignored Lu Sheng's remark, his eyes fixed on the battlefield. His expression turned utterly shocked and grave.
"Is this the side effect of beast crystal cores? Even the martial will of a Level 12 warrior can't resist it? That's terrifying...
This damn guide is so irresponsible! Such a crucial matter, and he just casually mentions it in passing?"
Saya now began to feel fortunate that he hadn't obtained a single crystal core along the way. What had once seemed like bad luck had unexpectedly turned into a blessing.
But as this thought crossed his mind, he froze again.
"Something's not right. I clearly didn't absorb any crystal cores. Why was I affected just now? Don't tell me this side effect is contagious?"
Saya felt a bit dazed and instinctively looked toward Lu Sheng.
Lu Sheng remained calm as he replied, "Side effects are impossible. You were affected simply because your strength is too weak."
"You..."
Saiya Jun's face flushed red. He was about to retort—Lu Sheng, aren't you just an 11th-level cultivator like me? But then he remembered Lu Sheng's mysterious aura and swallowed the words back.
Suppressing his embarrassment and irritation, he pressed on, "What's the real reason? Just tell me straight, Lu Sheng."
Lu Sheng scanned the entire area, his gaze slowly settling in one direction. Saya and Tang Dun followed his line of sight but saw nothing. Then they heard Lu Sheng speak calmly:
"If I'm not mistaken, it should be something—or rather, someone—that's affecting the magnetic field in this area, including everyone's emotions within it. Making people irritable, volatile, and prone to losing their reason, thus leading to the chaos we see before us."
"What kind of existence?"
Saya instinctively pressed.
Lu Sheng glanced at him and replied indifferently, "Something capable of amplifying the residual negative substances from beast cores within martial artists' bodies by hundreds or even thousands of times, to the point where even a Level 12 martial artist is affected. What do you think it is?"
Saya froze, but before he could answer, Tang Dun beside him muttered gloomily, "Far stronger than a typical Level 12—possibly even a Level 13 commander-class beast!"
"Hiss—"
Saiya sucked in a sharp breath, his neck craning back as his head tilted upward. Shock and horror froze him speechless.
"A... a commander-level beast? Im... impossible."
His face drained of color as he stammered out the words. No wonder he was so terrified. The mere mention of a commander-level beast was utterly terrifying.
Consider this: commander-level equates to a Level 13 martial artist.
Level 13, eh? You might not even encounter one across dozens of star sectors. Only in the main star sector of a galaxy would you stand a chance of seeing one.
A Level 13 martial artist? Even within an entire galaxy, such a being would be counted among the mighty, a true overlord-level figure.Now if you told him he'd just entered the Interdimensional Battlefield today only to run into a Level 13 Beastmaster, he'd wonder why he bothered coming in at all—might as well have gone straight to buy a Star Lottery ticket.
Saya's mind was in a whirl when he overheard Tang Dun and Lu Sheng's conversation.
"That Huang Ji guy got away."
"Yeah, he probably isn't new here. He seemed more familiar with the Battlefield than the guides.
Sensing trouble and bailing early is pretty standard."
"So should we run?"
Before Lu Sheng could answer, Saya shuddered violently, snapped back to reality, and shouted urgently, "Yeah, we gotta get outta here fast! That's a Level 13 beast! Are we just going to stand here and wait to die?"
Saya's shout was admittedly a bit loud.
It cut through the chaos like a knife through butter, making the words "Level 13 beast" ring out with startling clarity and abruptness.
And those words seemed to carry some strange, magical power. The entire chaotic battle group froze and fell eerily silent for half a second. Dozens of eyes turned to stare at Saya simultaneously, making him shiver violently as his face drained of color. Fortunately, before anyone could react to Saya, a voice boomed out across the field.
"If you know it's a Level 13 beast and don't want to die, everyone stop fighting immediately!"
The roar came from the middle-aged man who had led the group.
At that moment, his aura surged to its fullest, radiating an unparalleled presence. Four brilliant silver edges flickered faintly behind him.
This was the sign of four rule galaxies entering his body.
Even more powerful than Sarl!
Not only that, but the other guide—previously unremarkable, round-faced, and perpetually smiling—stepped forward silently. His smile vanished completely. Narrowing his eyes, he scanned every member of the battle group.
Each person his gaze touched felt a chill run down their spine. He seemed even more dangerous than the first guide.
With both guides now present, the chaos on the field abruptly fell silent. Even the most unruly Sarl reined in his defiance slightly, though his eyes remained bloodshot. Like a predator, he fixed his icy, cruel gaze on those who had just surrounded and attacked her.
Seeing Sara halt, the others also stopped their actions.
The moment they ceased fighting, many immediately sensed something amiss and realized what had happened. Each of them was an elite who excelled in every aspect across the Hundred Great Star Regions.
Those bold enough to venture into the Battlefield certainly possessed formidable mental fortitude.
How could they have lost their composure so easily just now—and in such a collective, mind-boggling fashion! Coupled with the terms "Level 13 beast" mentioned by the guide and Saya, many faces instantly twisted into expressions of shock and disbelief.