Three groups were thus drawn by the strange sensation. And this attraction seemed to target only ability users. After questioning the Li siblings.
"Did you feel an unusual surge?"
Li Cheng shook his head.
"What kind of feeling are you referring to?"
Pointing to the distance, "It's over there, there's a strange attraction. Don't you feel it?"
Li Cheng shook his head.
Despite his best efforts to perceive the feeling Xu An described, he still felt nothing when looking in the direction Xu An pointed.
At the same time, Liu Chang, who was on the verge of death in the tent, kept pointing his finger towards a distant direction.
"There, there."
Liu Chang's voice was hoarse and difficult, but the finger he managed to raise refused to drop.
At this moment, all the contestants with abilities in the arena seemed to feel a sense of calling.
Without delay, they led their teams towards the place with the attraction.
Of course, they encountered many people along the way.
Conflict was unavoidable.
One group, relying on their numbers, forced them to the edge of a cliff. This group also had an ability user. As luck would have it, this person's ability was ice-elemental.
Relying on this ability user, they had been overbearing and committed countless wicked deeds.
It was unexpected that they would suffer a setback at Xu An's hands.
"You'd best hand over all your supplies. Our boss is an ice-elemental ability user. Don't resist, or you'll die a terrible death," said a man who looked like a lackey, grinning lewdly at Xu An.
Guan Shan assumed a defensive posture, warily observing everyone around, afraid of a surprise attack from behind.
He watched as the lecherous men's gazes lingered on Xu An and the other girls.
Li Cheng stepped forward, shielding the girls behind him. His usual honest and simple demeanor turned sharp and fierce.
Even though Li Cheng knew Xu An and Zhou Haimai might not need his protection, he couldn't help but step forward when faced with overwhelming numbers.
Seeing the stance of Li Chen and Guan Shan, the opposing group knew negotiations were futile. Without further ado, they clashed.
The ice-elemental ability user struck first.
Two massive ice pillars flew rapidly towards Guan Shan and Li Cheng's faces.
Zhou Haimai stepped forward, using a fireball to neutralize the crisis. Seeing that Zhou Haimai was also an ability user, the other side's expressions shifted from casual banter to solemnity.
"You're an ability user too?" the man's voice was filled with disbelief.
However, Zhou Haimai ignored his nonsense.
"If you're allowed to be an ability user, why can't our team have one?"
The man had believed himself to be a favored prodigy, an ability user signifying exceptional talent. He didn't have long to gloat before discovering that the opposing team also had an ability user, and one with a fire-elemental ability, which was diametrically opposed to his own.
His previously surging blood instantly cooled.
It was as if someone had doused the man from head to toe with a bucket of cold water, bringing him to a stark clarity.
...
This minor interlude was quickly resolved by Xu An and the others.
They continued towards the place from which the summoning seemed to originate.
As they got closer, Xu An realized he wasn't an anomaly.
Judging by the people they encountered along the way.
This seemed to be a summons for all ability users.
Almost all ability users were rushing towards this place.
It was here that Xu An discovered the sheer number of ability users on the lighthouse.
Initially, Xu An thought that the awakening of abilities must be a rare occurrence.
But looking at the surging crowds heading towards this place.
It seemed that people awakening abilities on the lighthouse were indeed not a minority.
At this moment, Xu An was unaware that half of these ability users were modified post-facto.
As they drew nearer, the premonition of being summoned grew stronger.
It was as if something was guiding him from the shadows.
At the foot of the mountain, Xu An, seeing the ever-increasing crowd, called everyone together.
"For the next leg of the journey, Mei Jie and I will go alone. You all stay here and guard. If we don't return in three days, you are to head back to the camp."
Xu An's expression was exceptionally serious as he spoke.
Even Li Xin, who had intended to argue, shut her mouth.
She naturally understood that Xu An was asking them not to follow for her own safety.
"Are you going up there by yourselves? Look at how many people are protecting one ability user. Won't it be dangerous for you to go like this?" Li Xin asked worriedly.
Xu An shook his head.
"Those people going up are just fodder to be sent to their deaths. I don't want you to be like them. Zhou Haimai and I both have means of self-preservation. If a fight breaks out, escaping won't be difficult. Bringing you along might be inconvenient. You wait here. If there's no danger, I'll set off blue fireworks at the mountaintop. If you see them, come up. If you don't, leave. Understand?"
Xu An finished his instructions in one breath, looking at everyone.
The other three nodded.
"Understood."
After giving his instructions, Xu An and Zhou Haimai exchanged a look and set off towards the mountaintop.
The magnitude of the commotion in the arena naturally alerted the audience outside.
The audience watched the screens with excitement.
This was a rare grand spectacle, a rare occasion to see so many ability users gathered together.
Some who enjoyed seeing trouble brewed even placed bets on who would win if a fight broke out.
The organizers, however, were not in a good mood, as this incident was not planned by them.
"Damn it, you bunch of useless idiots! Have you even investigated what's on that mountain to attract so many people!"
"Supervisor, our wireless communication equipment cannot reach that far. We can only see what's on the mountaintop after a contestant goes up."
"Useless! What good are you all! Now that an emergency situation has occurred, you tell me you can't do anything?"
If the audience saw what was on the mountaintop first, what was the point of having these people monitor it in real-time?
Wasn't it so that the studio could handle any unexpected situations in advance? But now these people were telling him they couldn't do anything.
If they couldn't do anything, what was the use of spending so much money to keep these useless people?