Imperial Capital Academy.

Inside an office filled with the scent of books.

Dean Liu Ruichuan pushed open the door and walked in.

A gentle smile hung on his face.

"Professor Chen, that new dungeon you designed is now the hottest topic in our academy."

He walked to the desk, looking at the woman who was engrossed in reviewing documents, and praised her sincerely.

"Principal Deng even specifically mentioned it to me, saying your 【First Sunlight on Simon】 is simply a perfect one-to-one replica of Old Simon City."

"Truly worthy of being the Imperial Capital Academy's only S-rank Formation Master."

The woman looked up upon hearing this.

She was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with long black hair casually tied back with a wooden hairpin, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Behind the lenses, her eyes were clear and calm.

A fitted pair of women's trousers paired with a white shirt outlined her graceful figure, exuding an intellectual and gentle beauty.

She adjusted her glasses, a polite smile gracing her lips.

"Dean Liu, you flatter me."

"I am originally from Simon City, and I was also a survivor of the city-destroying war back then."

"Every blade of grass, every brick, every tile there has long been etched into my mind."

"This life, I probably won't ever forget it."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ruichuan's smile faded slightly, replaced by a hint of emotion.

"Yes, that disaster..."

He sighed.

"If your grandfather, Old City Lord Chen Guanyi, knew of your astonishing achievements in the Dao of Formation today, he would surely rest in peace."

At this point, Liu Ruichuan changed the subject, a look of discussion appearing on his face.

"However, Professor Chen, while your dungeon design is excellent and can indeed give students an immersive experience of the oppressive feeling of a beast tide besieging the city..."

"Isn't its difficulty a bit too high?"

"I heard that several mentors personally led teams in, but couldn't make it to the end and were eliminated summarily."

"This really dampens the students' enthusiasm. You see... can the difficulty be lowered just a little bit?"

The woman looked at Liu Ruichuan, her polite smile still on her face, but she gently shook her head.

"I'm really sorry, Dean Liu."

"I'm afraid I can't fulfill your request."

Liu Ruichuan's face showed obvious surprise.

"Professor Chen, what do you mean by that?"

The woman gently closed the document in her hand, crossed her fingers, placed them on the desk, and looked at him calmly.

"To be frank with you."

"In fact, regarding the 【First Sunlight on Simon】 dungeon, I never designed any conditions for completion from the very beginning."

"It was, from the start, a dungeon that cannot be completed."

"You..."

Liu Ruichuan was completely stunned. He widened his eyes, even more confused.

"Why would you design a dungeon that cannot be completed?"

"If the students find out, where will they find the motivation to continue challenging it?"

The woman lightly shook her head, her gaze passing over Liu Ruichuan and out the window to the clear blue sky.

Her voice was as soft as a dream.

"My original intention in designing this dungeon was never to hope they would bravely kill enemies, ignite their fighting spirit, and finally, with great difficulty, defend Simon City to make up for the regret of not being able to defend Simon City back then."

Her tone was calm, yet it carried an unshakeable sadness.

"I just... want those prodigies who grew up in an era of peace to experience it firsthand."

"Experience what true despair feels like."

"Experience the futility of struggling and roaring, only for it all to be in vain."

"Just like... just like I was back then, hiding in the ruins, watching my grandfather being engulfed by flames."

Listening to these words, Liu Ruichuan opened his mouth, but in the end, it only turned into a long sigh.

"Alas... it seems that incident back then left a considerable shadow on you."

"Making it so you can never move past it..."

"That's not a shadow, Dean Liu."

The woman interrupted him, turning her gaze back to his face.

Her eyes were still calm, but deep within them, a cluster of cold, faint flames seemed to burn.

"That is an obsession."

"An obsession that I can never forget, and never want to forget."

She again showed that polite smile, but her tone carried a hint of playfulness.

"So, I kindly ask Dean Liu to keep it a secret for me."

"I still hope that more students will gather the courage to challenge this dungeon."

"They are still young; a few more setbacks won't hurt."

Liu Ruichuan: "..."

...

At the same time.

Inside the dungeon.

The Abyssal Demon Catfish in the sky moved slowly.

Its colossal body, like a floating island, cast a massive shadow under the reflection of dark clouds and lightning, enveloping the entire Simon City.

With large sections of the city wall destroyed, the original city gate was already completely buried by countless collapsed boulders.

"Cough... cough cough..."

Wang Xicheng struggled to push away the stones pressing on him and crawled out of a pile of ruins in disarray.

He shook his dazed head, still a bit disoriented.

"Damn it... we were fighting so well, how did the city wall collapse?"

"Just now... what exactly happened?"

At this moment, another student, equally covered in dust, also crawled out of the ruins not far away.

He looked up at the sky, his voice trembling uncontrollably, pointing at the huge shadow.

"Cap... Captain... you... quickly look at the sky!"

Wang Xicheng instinctively looked up upon hearing this.

The next second, he was struck as if by lightning, standing frozen on the spot.

That colossal, indescribable silhouette, those hundreds of tentacles dancing in the lightning, that terrifying Aura originating from ancient times...

All of it made his heart feel as if it were tightly squeezed by an invisible large hand, making even breathing difficult.

"This... this damn thing... seems to be a Level 40 Hell-level BOSS..."

He swallowed hard, feeling his throat so dry it was about to smoke.

"Are... are you kidding me?"

"A Level 40 Hell-level BOSS appearing in a Level 30 dungeon?"

"How are we supposed to play this?!"

The boy next to him reminded with a trembling voice.

"Cap... Captain, you think, could this be... the one that perished with Old City Lord Chen Guanyi back then...?"

Wang Xicheng suddenly jolted, realizing something.

Right!

It must be like this!

Among those in the city who could deal with a BOSS of this level, only Old City Lord Chen Guanyi, who had not yet appeared, remained.

Just then, the beast tide in the distance regrouped.

Having lost the barrier of the city wall, they swept into the city like a black swarm of locusts.

Wang Xicheng suddenly turned his head and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"How many are still alive?!"

From the ruins, figures emerged one after another.

But most of them were the NPC professional guild members who had organized themselves earlier.

The actual Imperial Capital Academy students, at a rough glance, numbered fewer than twenty.

Moreover, every single one was injured and in a sorry state.

Wang Xicheng's heart sank sharply.

Such immense losses had been sustained even below the city wall.

Not to mention... those who were standing on the city wall just now.

They were probably... completely wiped out.

That great Devil King Gandalf, who had shocked them time and again.

Presumably, he also did not escape.

Looking at the increasingly close black torrent, the solemnity on Wang Xicheng's face was suddenly replaced by a tragic smile.

He bared his teeth, revealing blood-stained white teeth, and looked at the few remaining students around him.

"Brothers!"

"We've held out for so long this time, it's already quite good!"

"Next time we come in, we'll definitely have a chance to complete it!"

"So, for this last time, let's... kill to our heart's content!"

With that, he raised the greatsword in his hand high and was the first to charge towards the black torrent in a desperate assault.

"Go! Kill to our heart's content!"

"Kill!"

Not only the Imperial Capital students, but even the surviving guild professionals also roared and followed closely behind.

Those dozens of tiny figures were like lone boats about to be swallowed by towering waves.

Just then.

A high-pitched and ancient chant came from the ruins in the distance.

The sound pierced through the heavy rain, through the fighting, and clearly echoed in everyone's ears.

"Forbidden Spell: Thousand Mile Ice Seal!"

Buzz—!

An extreme cold, like a white ripple of death, suddenly spread outwards from the center of those ruins!

In an instant, the heavy rain solidified, and the air froze.

That imposing black torrent instantly stopped on its path of charge.

Countless monstrous beasts maintained their running and pouncing postures, completely sealed by a thick, crystal-clear layer of ice, turning into lifelike ice sculptures.

The entire battlefield, in a flash, became a chilling world of ice.

Wang Xicheng and the others abruptly stopped.

With indescribable shock on their faces, they all looked towards the direction from which the sound came.

Only to see, atop the collapsed ruins.

A figure clad in a star moon magic robe stood quietly.

The staff in his hand still emitted an icy blue afterglow.

Rainwater slid down his stern cheek, his gaze as cold as ten thousand years of ice.