34: Chapter 34 Save her!

"Ah!"

A short, terrified scream came from the emergency exit at the other end of the corridor.

Tang Ningfei and Gu Changming exchanged a quick look, both having a general idea of what had happened.

Then, moving almost simultaneously, their figures blurred as they rushed from the main entrance to the center of the corridor.

At the end of the corridor, around that corner, Zhao Chenghan and Lu Shiyao were stumbling out.

Lu Shiyao ran in front, her face deathly pale. Zhao Chenghan followed closely behind, but he was half a step slower.

Since they were still quite a distance away, Gu Changming wasn't nervous; he even had time to shout to Zhou Tunan, who was still dazed at his own doorstep, "Time to go."

After shouting, he and Tang Ningfei prepared to turn around and retreat from this side first.

As for the lagging Zhao Chenghan and Lu Shiyao, there was nothing to be done.

They chose to go that way themselves, so if an accident happened, they naturally had to bear the consequences; they shouldn't expect someone to always bail them out.

But at that moment, Lu Shiyao's scream rang out again.

"Ah! What are you doing?!"

Tang Ningfei paused her steps and turned to look.

She saw Zhao Chenghan, who had been lagging behind, suddenly reach out, grab the hem of Lu Shiyao's clothes as she ran ahead of him, and pull back forcefully!

Caught completely off guard, Lu Shiyao lost her balance from the sudden pull, stumbled forward a few steps with a scream, and fell heavily to the ground.

Meanwhile, Zhao Chenghan took the opportunity to accelerate without looking back, instantly overtaking the fallen Lu Shiyao and rushing toward Gu Changming and the others.

This was a perfect illustration of the saying, "Better a fellow daoist die than I."

This time, Gu Changming simply stopped, turned his head, and looked calmly at Tang Ningfei beside him, waiting for her reaction.

She was the one who brought both of them along; now that this had happened, with one dragging the other down to save himself, would she feel some responsibility?

And this was considered mild—only one person was being harmed.

Sometimes, a "piece of rat sh*t" like this could cost the entire team their lives.

Gu Changming continued to watch her, his eyes narrowing.

Sure enough, in the next second, Tang Ningfei shouted, "Block the Shadow Devourer! Save her!"

Hearing this, the corner of Gu Changming's mouth curled into an almost imperceptible arc.

Just as he had expected.

In this situation, the best choice was actually to abandon Lu Shiyao and take the chance to escape. As for Zhao Chenghan, he would naturally become their next bait during the escape.

However, this was only the second Assessment, and most people's mindsets hadn't been tempered to the point of prioritizing maximum benefit above all else. Moreover, as a girl in her early twenties who hadn't entered society yet, she would definitely feel that it was her fault if the other person lost their life.

So, Gu Changming wasn't surprised that she made such a choice in this situation.

In fact, he was waiting for her to make this decision.

After all, if they ran...

Without the chance to fight the Shadow Devourer, how could he guide her to discover the Hidden Rules of this Assessment?

After shouting, Tang Ningfei was the first to rush forward, while raising her hand to point from a distance at the fallen Lu Shiyao.

An incantation quickly passed her lips, and an almost imperceptible faint white light drifted from her finger, covering Lu Shiyao's body.

Gu Changming's movements were equally swift; as soon as she moved, he pushed off with his feet and followed closely behind Tang Ningfei.

At that moment, the Shadow Devourer also flashed out from the corner, its posture completely different from its previous sluggishness.

As soon as it appeared, its arm made of shadows lunged toward Lu Shiyao's head.

The arm rapidly deformed as it extended, the front of the palm suddenly splitting into three pitch-black spikes that stabbed straight down!

Just as the spikes were about to pierce Lu Shiyao's head, the spell Tang Ningfei had cast earlier took effect.

A layer of faint light flashed across Lu Shiyao's body and vanished.

*Puff!*

The shadow spikes collided with the faint light, producing a dull thud.

Gu Changming naturally seized this opportunity. A cold glint flashed from his sleeve as several sharp steel nails whistled through the air, shooting straight at the Shadow Devourer's blurry head!

The steel nails hit accurately, sinking into the black shadow.

However, this potentially lethal attack only caused the Shadow Devourer's movements to stiffen for a very brief moment.

Gu Changming clicked his tongue; he had thought stabbing the head would have a different effect.

Taking advantage of the moment the Shadow Devourer was hindered by the steel nails, Zhou Tunan didn't just stand there either. He rushed forward, grabbed the shell-shocked Lu Shiyao, dragged her away from the Shadow Devourer, and quickly retreated to the rear.

At this point, only Tang Ningfei and Gu Changming remained directly in front of the Shadow Devourer.

Gu Changming quickly glanced at Tang Ningfei and said, "Let's attack together."

Tang Ningfei nodded heavily, her mouth continuously chanting incantations.

With a backhand motion and a "clang," Gu Changming drew the Tang sword from his back, its snow-bright blade held across his chest.

Almost as he finished the movement, Tang Ningfei's spell was ready.

Cold air condensed in front of her, instantly forming a sharp Ice Spike that shot through the air toward the Shadow Devourer's chest!

Seeing this, Gu Changming's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, his expression changing slightly.

It wasn't what he had expected... He thought she would use the Fireball spell again.

While his thoughts raced, his hands were not slow. He stepped forward, his Tang sword carving a sharp arc as he slashed toward the opponent's arm.

The Shadow Devourer reacted quickly, immediately flipping its wrist. The weapons clashed, sending back a heavy jarring force.

Gu Changming used the momentum to retreat back to his original position.

The Ice Spike hit the Shadow Devourer, but it only caused ripples in the black shadow surrounding it before dissipating, failing to cause any substantial damage.

"It's useless," Gu Changming had to say. "Try a different elemental magic!"

Tang Ningfei also saw that the Ice Spike had little effect and hurried to change to another incantation.

Gu Changming held his sword across again, his gaze locked on the approaching Shadow Devourer.

The Shadow Devourer's condensed arm swept out like a whip. Gu Changming didn't meet it head-on; he sidestepped and swung his Tang sword diagonally, trying to deflect the attack.

While the two were engaged, Tang Ningfei held her palm upward, and a blazing fireball suddenly took shape.

Gu Changming caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and finally felt a bit more at ease.

As she pushed forward, the fireball whistled through an arc and accurately struck the Shadow Devourer's chest!

*Boom!*

The fireball exploded, sending scorching air waves in all directions, and the blinding light instantly illuminated the dim corridor.

At that very moment, everyone saw that the instant the firelight covered the Shadow Devourer's entire body, its forward pouncing motion suddenly stopped. Its entire twisted body became stiff, as if bound by invisible ropes, showing a very obvious stagnation!

The Shadow Devourer's brief stiffness made Tang Ningfei daze for a moment, but she didn't fully realize what it meant.

Gu Changming seized the opportunity and hurried to guide her: "Keep going, fire elements seem to have a miraculous effect."

Tang Ningfei's eyes sharpened, and she understood instantly.

Then she whispered the incantation again, and a new fireball quickly formed in her hand.

However, just before she could hurl the fireball at the Shadow Devourer...

The stiffened black shadow suddenly trembled and abruptly collapsed, turning into a flat shadow that clung to the floor and walls, rushing toward Tang Ningfei at a speed far exceeding before!

The black shadow suddenly rose as it approached, and a scythe-like shadow blade slashed out like lightning, aiming straight for Tang Ningfei's neck!

Tang Ningfei's pupils constricted; her incantation was interrupted, and the fireball almost dissipated.

But at that moment, Gu Changming flashed forward and blocked her.

His Tang sword slashed out with the sound of breaking wind, accurately parrying that vicious strike!

A piercing sound like clashing metal erupted.

Gu Changming used the force to step back half a pace, grabbed the still-dazed Tang Ningfei, and barked, "Let's go!"