Chapter 3 - 3

Chapter 17: Operation (2)

Late afternoon was the perfect time for their operation. Any later and the students would no longer be around and they would have to spread their forces chasing after the students. Night was near so escape would also be easier after their operation.

The man did not have any issue with the plan. He was only worried about something else. He couldn't resist saying, "Apart from Wu Wenhai and Xia Bing, I'm worried that Liu Wenyan would materialize his willpower in desperation. If that happens, things will get troublesome."

"You're right. We need to be ready for that as well." The woman agreed. "But we have three Skysoar cultivators while they only have two. Both their Skysoar cultivators are at the second-stage. Even if Liu Wenyan really managed to materialize his willpower, he would still need time to strengthen his body. Prior to that, only his willpower would be at the Skysoar Realm while his body would still be stuck at the Great Strength Realm. You should be able to handle someone like that."

"But..."

The woman's eyes turned cold as she interrupted the man, "He's already over seventy in age. His physical body has waned. He won't be much of a threat even after willpower materialization. Are you afraid of someone like that?"

"No." The man hurriedly explained, "I'm only worried that we won't have anyone to handle the Martial Dragon Guards while I'm busy with Liu Wenyan. They're all Infinite Strength cultivators. Our people are also at the same cultivation level, but the moment the Martial Dragon Guards activate their war formation, only Skysoar cultivators can handle them."

"There is only a low chance of that scenario happening. Liu Wenyan has been stuck for so many years. Do you really think he can really break through suddenly?" Despite her dismissal, the woman still offered an alternative, "We'll have the hallmaster deal with the Martial Dragon Guards and Xia Bing. He can handle all of them together since Xia Bing is only a second-stage Skysoar cultivator. You'll focus on quickly killing Liu Wenyan before helping the hallmaster with the Martial Dragon Guards."

"Alright." The man was relieved. That plan should work. A fourth-stage Skysoar cultivator should be able to handle the Martial Dragon Guards.

In any case, he was also a second-stage Skysoar cultivator, so there was really no need for him to be so worried. The woman was also stronger than him. She was a tier-1 hallmaster of the Myriad Race Cult, a hallmaster for their Nanyuan branch. She was a peak third-stage Skysoar cultivator.

Nanyuan was only a small city, after all, so it was actually quite surprising that the Myriad Race Cult had stationed two Skysoar cultivators here. Even the city only had the mayor and the Martial Dragon Guards' squad leader as their sole Skysoar cultivators in Nanyuan.

Most of Great Xia's forces were stuck at the front line and only a small portion of their forces were left back home. Meanwhile, the Myriad Race Cult could focus all their strength within the Human Realm since they didn't need to operate on the battlefield.

"Long live the true god."

The woman muttered. The man hurriedly muttered the same. His eyes were filled with longing at the thought of the divine race.

Eternal life.

If he could contribute enough to earn a qualification to enter the Divine Realm and use the legendary Divine Transformation Pool, he would be able to transform from a human to a divine. They would then gain eternal life. Unlimited lifespan.

The man's eyes lit up with excitement. The higher ups had offered a rather large number of contribution points for this mission. He only needed to perform a few hundreds more missions like this and he would gain the qualification to visit the Divine Realm.

"Fifty years...I need to earn the qualification to enter the Divine Realm in fifty years. Otherwise, I'll die from old age..."

The man did not want to betray humanity, but the prospect of eternal life was too tempting. He still remembered his teacher, a mighty ninth-stage Skysoar cultivator, who had died of old age on his bed. Fear had been planted in his mind after witnessing that scene.

For humans, even a Skysoar cultivator would only have a lifespan of around 150 years. He was already over sixty in age. His body had yet to wane, but he had only been able to advance from the first-stage to the second-stage during the past ten years. How long would he take to reach the ninth-stage? Could he even reach that level before the end of his life? He did not see that happening. He could only place his hopes on the divine race to obtain eternal life.

"I made the right choice. Humanity won't be a match for the myriad races. Without any suppression in the Human Realm, the human race will not be able to withstand the onslaught of the myriad races. It is only a matter of time before we're defeated. Yes, I've definitely made the right choice!"

The man convinced himself with a firm expression. As he thought of the divine race again, reverence covered his face. For the divine race, they could easily gain a lifespan of over a thousand years after reaching the Skysoar Realm. That would give him enough time to keep making progress in his cultivation, a progress that would eventually lead him to eternal life.

…

Year 350 of the Anping Calendar, 18th of April.

This was the day before Su Yu and the others were slated to depart from Nanyuan. Tomorrow morning, they would all gather before departing under the escort of the city guards and the experts from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy.

Morning.

The moment Su Yu opened his eyes, he jumped. Someone was standing beside his bed.

"You're awake?"

An absurd question came from Liu Wenyan's mouth. Su Yu calmed himself, rather speechless at how this old man was scaring people so early in the morning.

"Instructor, you're awake."

"At my age, you'll wake up early as well." Liu Wenyan smiled. "Wake up and grab breakfast. Come with me to the school after breakfast. But today, you won't be staying with me..."

"Huh?" Su Yu's eyes flickered as he asked, "Instructor, is today..."

"If the Myriad Race Cult is going to try something, when do you think they will make their move? The people from the Great Xia Cultural Research Academy would arrive before this evening. At that time, the cult will no longer have the chance to do anything."

Su Yu was alarmed. His instructor was right. If he was someone from the cult, he would either make a move today or after the students departed and there were fewer city guards around. Thus, the cult might show up today.

"It is too dangerous for you to stay with me." Liu Wenyan had the same smile on his face. "Those fellows are afraid that I'll materialize my willpower. If they make a move, I'll be one of their priority targets. Therefore, don't stay with me today. Avoid the other experts as well. Stay with the teachers in the Great Strength Realm. There will be people in charge of protecting you guys."

"Instructor..." Su Yu hurriedly climbed out of his bed and said, "Are they really daring enough to move against Nanyuan Secondary School?"

"Of course. In the Myriad Race Cult, some are afraid of death, some are greedy, some are crazy, and some are brainwashed. But even cowardly rats like them would not hesitate to draw their blade to accomplish their target."

Liu Wenyan sighed. "These people are very odd. They might be cowardly, but they can also be braver than us at times. They will piss their pants in fear if we send them to the Allheaven Battlefield to face the divines and the devils, but when they have to face their fellow humans, they will turn fearless. Maybe for them, there is nothing scary about their fellow humans. Instead, the other races are the truly terrifying ones. They won't hesitate when it comes to fighting other humans."

Su Yu frowned. Liu Wenyan was right. The Myriad Race Cult's behavior was rather odd. They would lose all courage if they were sent to fight at the Allheaven Battlefield. They did not have the courage to face the other races. But in terms of creating trouble within the Human Realm, they would turn courageous and crazy. Even the daily execution had not been able to scare them.

"So are they merely local bullies?" asked Su Yu after giving it some thought.

Liu Wenyan smiled, "Not really. We no longer consider them as humans, so they're no longer locals. But I agree with your sentiment. That is how they are. They're weak against outsiders and cruel against insiders. These kinds of people aren't rare at all. We can see many examples of such people in the history books.

"In fact, these people don't only exist among humans. They exist in all races. After choosing to betray their people, they will become crueler to their own people just to prove that they made the correct choice. Even humans have followers among the other races that have betrayed their own races."

Liu Wenyan looked at Su Yu and smiled. "Humans are also strong enough to attract some traitors from the other races. Those are the people who had lost the confidence in their own race and decided to pledge their allegiances to us. When that happens, they will suddenly become incomparably cruel toward their own people."

Su Yu wasn't able to understand the mindset of such people, but he was well-read enough to know about the existence of such people. He did not ask more questions and left the room to brush his teeth.

Shortly after, Su Yu was at the dining table for his breakfast. While eating, he asked, "Instructor, are they really going to make their move today? There are so many students at school. Should we have the students take today off instead?"

"That's not an option. Staying on the defensive forever won't work. If we have the students take the day off, the cult will be alerted and they won't show up."

"But..." Su Yu was worried. If the cult really attacked, would the students get hurt? After all, there were a lot of students at school.

"We have our preparations in place. There will be people protecting you guys," said Liu Wenyan. "Don't think that we're being cold-blooded by using you guys as bait. If we can't be decisive when required, we will only suffer even more losses."

"Remember this, Su Yu. If one day you become a commander at the battlefield, you will have to start making hard choices. For example, you have control over an army of one thousand and another army of ten thousand. If you choose to sacrifice the army of one thousand, you'll be able to eliminate an enemy army of ten thousand with your second army. What would your choice be?"

"I..." Su Yu hesitated. After a long while, he said, "I don't know."

"Deep inside, you know the answer. You just couldn't bring yourself to say it. You're a smart person. You know the right choice. You understand how important it is to eliminate an army of ten thousand from the Allheaven Battlefield. That is significant enough to even alter the course of a war."

Liu Wenyan's voice turned soft. "That is the kind of choices the experts and sages need to make. A sacrifice of one thousand to eliminate ten thousand enemies will ensure that fewer of our people will die in the future. After all, that army of ten thousand could very well cause more casualties in the future if left unchecked. Do you think this is cruel?"

Su Yu nodded. He had never thought of all that before. Thus, he was hit by a heavy dose of reality by Liu Wenyan's sudden question. The entire thing sounded too cruel and heartless.

"Su Yu, this is war!" Liu Wenyan looked straight into his eyes. "Remember, this is war! A war where billions of human lives are on the line. We must make the necessary choices. Maybe you can say that the thousand soldiers do not deserve to die.

"Of course you're right. They're our comrades. But...this is war! Just like the choice we're making today. We know that the Myriad Race Cult might attack the school today. Even so, we still need to make the correct choice.

"Things have been chaotic outside the city over the past two days. Several villages and hamlets were attacked and many were killed. At present, hundreds of civilians have died. We don't have the manpower to deal with them. The forces of the city have been spread very thin. This can't continue. We need to gather the cult members up and eliminate them all so that peace will return. Therefore...we need to make a choice.

"Do we let our students take some risk or do we keep waiting for the cult to slaughter more people? In my eyes, our students are naturally more valuable. Nevertheless, the people being slaughtered outside the city are also humans. Su Yu, you students are all soldiers in training. Therefore, we decided to let you guys take the risk. That is the path all of you will walk in the future."

Su Yu nodded solemnly. "I understand. I was only worried earlier. Like you said, we're all soldiers. We might be weak now, but the moment we stepped into this school, we're already soldiers. The city made the right choice."

"It's good that you understand. If you really can't understand, just stop thinking about it. One day when you're at a high enough level, if a situation comes up where you can sacrifice the entire Nanyuan City to eliminate ten or a hundred times the number of enemies, I hope you will make the choice to do so. Even if you have to gain some infamy from it, do not hesitate."

Su Yu ate in silence. After finishing the breakfast, he finally looked up and said, "Instructor, so it all comes down to us being too weak. If we're strong enough to crush all opposition, there will be no need for such choices. Am I right?"

Liu Wenyan laughed with a gratified look on his face.

"Well said. You're right. Alas...we're not strong enough." For more chapters visıt novel[f]ire.net

"We will be strong enough. I believe that day will come. Humans have been growing, and the number of experts on our side has also been increasing."

Liu Wenyan nodded in agreement. Su Yu wasn't wrong. The two stopped conversing and left for the school together.

Chapter 18: Xia Longwu

"Yu!"

Chen Hao had not seen Su Yu during the past two days. He knew that Su Yu had been following Liu Wenyan around for his studies and was happy to see him again, "I thought you were kidnapped by Instructor Liu. He finally let you go? By the way, I can feel that I'm going to reach the fourth-stage soon."

"Mhm." Su Yu nodded. He could see several instructors roaming outside the classroom. He knew that they were actually on patrol.

The moment combat began, the instructors would move the students to a safer place.

"Hao, stay close to me today. Don't go anywhere."

"What are we doing?" Chen Hao asked blankly. He nodded and asked, "But what if I need to use the toilet?"

"..."

Su Yu didn't even entertain that question. After giving it some thought, he said, "Go to the Practical Office and grab two sabers later. We'll be performing some combat practices today."

"Huh? Yu, are you not afraid of getting your ass beaten?" Chen Hao asked curiously. "You can't even beat me. You got your ass kicked each time we trained."

"You know what, I'm feeling like I can kick your ass right now." Su Yu glared at Chen Hao. "Cut the crap. Just do as told."

"Ok. Sure." Chen Hao had a bright smile on his face. He did not like using his brain. Most of the time, Su Yu was the decision maker when they were together.

Su Yu still had a drop of blood essence with him. After thinking about it, he stood up and brought Chen Hao to the Resource Department."

"Teacher, can I trade for two drops of iron-winged bird blood essence?"

"Again?" The teacher's heart ached at the thought of the merit points Su Yu was wasting. "Did you fail your previous research?"

"Mhm. Teacher, I think I'm near. I just need two more drops."

"Fine." The teacher could only helplessly agree. This kid really didn't know what was good for him. This was too wasteful. He would definitely regret this after entering an academy in the future.

With his new acquisition, Su Yu had three drops of blood essence in total. Unfortunately, he only had seven merit points left after all that.

…

After a short walk around the school, both Su Yu and Chen Hao were equipped with a saber each. Chen Hao felt like Su Yu was acting weird today. Even after getting the saber, he wasn't going to practice and was just walking around with a saber in hand. Was this fellow going crazy?

At that point, it was already afternoon. With three drops of blood essence in his possession, Su Yu was deep in thought. The three drops were probably able to keep his ability active for a total duration of fifteen minutes. However, his previous activation of only five minutes was enough to cause some serious swelling on his hands. If he used all three drops at once, he would probably cripple himself.

"I doubt I'll need to keep the ability active for fifteen minutes. Even if the Myriad Race Cult does attack, I doubt they will dare stay so long. If they drag this out, they won't be able to escape. However, I still need to keep my blood essence activation secret or things can get troublesome."

Unless absolutely necessary, he would avoid using the blood essence. It wasn't like a Great Strength cultivator would be able to play a major role in the coming conflict. The school did not lack Great Strength instructors. Those in the Infinite Strength and Skysoar Realms were the ones who would be playing the decisive roles in the battle.

Su Yu looked around and his eyes flickered when he noticed that a lot of new faces had appeared in the school. Although these people weren't in their uniforms, Su Yu knew that they were the city guards and officers from the Windcatcher Department. It was clear that the city was confident the cult would either attack the school or the mayor's manor.

While Su Yu was thinking, Chen Hao's communicator rang. He hurriedly answered the call before hanging up after a short conversation. "My dad called. He told me to be careful today and not leave the school. The Myriad Race Cult is here. There have been a lot of deaths outside the city for the past two days..."

.

He paused before scolding, "Those damn animals. Don't let me see them or I'll cut all of them down."

"You? Cutting them down?" Su Yu gazed at Chen Hao without saying anything else.

Chen Hao's face turned red in embarrassment as he said, "I can't do it now, but can't I do it in the future? After entering a war academy, I'll complete my source opening in one year and reach the ninth-stage Great Strength Realm in three years. In five years, I'll reach the Infinite Strength Realm and by ten years, I'll reach the Skysoar Realm."

"That's the growth trajectory of a genius. Are you sure you can do that?"

"Piss off!" Chen Hao's face collapsed. Yeah, that did seem like a difficult feat for him. Only geniuses could reach the Skysoar Realm in ten years. But twenty years should be doable for him, right?

For humans, the period before forty was considered the golden age of cultivation. If one couldn't reach the Skysoar Realm before then, one should probably forget about it. Of course, nothing was impossible. But as one aged, one's body would start waning, bringing the success rate of breakthrough even lower.

In fact, a lot of people were stuck at the ninth-stage Infinite Strength Realm for their entire lives. Su Long was nearly fifty. He still had the chance to enter the Infinite Strength Realm. But he probably wouldn't be able to reach the Skysoar Realm.

Su Yu smiled and looked outside. Was it starting? The enemies had caused quite a lot of trouble outside the city the past few days for the sake of luring the city guards and the Martial Dragon Guards out of the city. The higher ups were aware of it, but they still had no choice but to bite the bait. Otherwise, even more people would die outside the city.

"Those bastards are truly a bunch of animals with no bottom line." Su Yu cursed. He couldn't help but wonder what the capital was doing. Couldn't they spare even a few Skysoar cultivators to help with this situation?

The Myriad Race Cult had been running rampant, but the remaining three thousand Martial Dragon Guards were nowhere to be seen. Were they occupied with something else? If that was the case, then the Myriad Race Cult was truly quite terrifying.

...

At the same time.

Great Xia City, capital of Great Xia.

Xia Longwu was clad in a full set of armor, seated on his throne with an imposing presence.

A soldier from the Martial Dragon Guards stepped through the door and loudly spoke, "Reporting! Disturbances have erupted at the twelve cities of Nanyuan, Tianshui, Kaishan, Longmen...The Myriad Race Cult has shown themselves. All the cities are requesting help. Do we answer their call?"

Xia Longwu remained calm as he spoke, "Deploy reinforcements to the twelve cities. Fifty per group. Reinforce the other sixteen cities as well just in case."

"Roger."

The Martial Dragon Guards withdrew from the room.

Next, an old man dressed like a scholar spoke, "Prefect, this is a bait to lure our forces out. The capital is probably their true target." Read full story at novel·fiɾe·net

"I know."

"Thousands of Martial Dragon Guards have been deployed elsewhere. If we send even our city guards away, the capital will be--"

Xia Longwu interrupted indifferently, "It doesn't matter. If we don't kill enough to hurt them, they will keep coming. But if the Martial Dragon Guards remain here, those bastards wouldn't even dare to come out of hiding."

Xia Longwu stood up and continued, "I'm probably their target. The Martial Dragon Guards have been deployed away from my side. Even the academy experts have been moved out of the capital for various reasons. Nearly ninety percent of our experts are currently away..."

"Prefect, do we seek reinforcements from the Great Ming?"

"What a joke." Xia Longwu snorted coldly. "Our Great Xia is ranked higher than Great Ming. How can we ask for their help? In any case, we don't even need help. We're only dealing with some rats. I can't wait to find out which divine race is it that has sneaked into Great Xia this time. Without direct support from the divine race, those rats won't have the courage to pull this off."

The old man frowned, "The divine race has sneaked into the Human Realm?"

"Absolutely. The Myriad Race Cult alone wouldn't have dared to enter Great Xia otherwise. This can be good. We're running out our blood supply from the divine race and here they are, delivering themselves for a resupply. I have been thinking of taking a stroll at the Allheaven Battlefield, but it looks like I can skip that."

With the same calm expression, Xia Longwu added, "When the fighting starts, you'll guard the city while I'll head outside. I'll be back after slaughtering all those bastards."

"Prefect..."

"Don't bother advising me." Xia Longwu's eyes turned sharp. "It's only a few bastards from the divine race. What can they do to me? I have been worried that my blade is getting dull. I can finally feed it some blood."

Xia Longwu then strode out with wide steps. His sonorous voice rang out, "Martial Dragon Guards, roll out after the divines die. Eliminate all the Myriad Race Cult members within Great Xia. Any captive you get, take them back to the capital for execution. I want to see ten thousand heads this time tomorrow."

"Roger."

A loud roar came as the reply. To accommodate the Myriad Race Cult's operation and lure the divine race out, Xia Longwu had allowed chaos to spread in Great Xia. He did not do anything for fear of spooking the divine race and scaring them away. Now, it was time to reap the harvest.

Most of the experts they could spare had been sent out of the capital. This should be enough to lure the divine race out. There were less than a thousand Martial Dragon Guards remaining in the capital, so they wouldn't even be able to activate their 1000-man formation. That should be weak enough for the divine race's liking, right?

"Since you're here to kill me, I'll give you a shot. Let's see if you can really pull that off!"

With a sneer, Xia Longwu soared into the sky before vanishing as a streak of light, leaving the city in the blink of an eye.

...

"Xia Longwu!"

The moment the golden streak vanished from the sky, a cold voice rang out. Audacious! They had thought that this prefect wouldn't have the guts to leave the capital and would wait until the other experts returned before showing up. They were even prepared to cause more chaos to force Xia Longwu to show himself. Surprisingly, that fellow had delivered himself to them just like this.

"Move out. Work together to kill Xia Longwu."

A cold voice rang out, "Work together? The academy principals are all away. By himself, Xia Longwu is nothing special. Why do we need to work together against him? I can take his head alone."

"Fool! Remember, work together! Don't be careless!" The person who was obviously the leader said, "Xia Longwu is probably halfway into that realm. If any of you want to die, I won't stop you."

"Impossible. How many years has he been cultivating? How can he--"

"That's why he needs to die. The Allheaven Battlefield does not need a new invincible expert of the human race."

"Alright."

They reached an agreement to work together. If that fellow was truly halfway to that realm, they would have to put an end to him. He couldn't be allowed to keep growing. Several streaks of light flashed out toward the direction of the golden streak.

Chapter 19: The Battle Begins (1)

Nanyuan City.

Nobody here was aware of what was going on at faraway Great Xia City.

Inside the tall building near the school.

The woman was nowhere to be seen. The middle-aged man was standing beside a white-haired old man. Both of them were looking at the Nanyuan Secondary School opposite the building.

"Hallmaster Chen, I did not expect to see you here..." The middle-aged man had a fawning smile on his face.

"Mhm." The old man was a man of few words. He looked at the school with a frown. After a while, he spoke, "Wu Hen, do you think this is a trap?"

"Trap?" The middle-aged man paused slightly before saying, "I'm not sure. But there are only two Skysoar cultivators left in Nanyuan. As for the city guards, their commander has yet to break through into the Skysoar Realm. I am sure of that."

"Is that so?"

The old man did not comment on that. His frown remained. Something about this mission felt off. Firstly, they had caused too many disturbances. Secondly, Nanyuan was ready for them. In the past, such a situation would call for a cancellation of the mission. This time, that did not happen. The higher ups wanted them to proceed with the mission. No reinforcements would be coming from the capital. That was what the higher ups told them. The higher ups sounded very confident about it.

Thirdly, they were actually very unfamiliar with Great Xia. The Myriad Race Cult had previously been focused somewhere else. Sure, they had some activities here, but they did not know enough about Great Xia. It was too risky to proceed with such a rash plan. With how the higher ups had always acted, their Skysoar Realm experts would only be deployed for well-planned operations.

"Wu Hen, you've been in Nanyuan for many years. Are there any Infinite Strength cultivators in Nanyuan capable of punching above their class?"

"I doubt so." The middle-aged man answered, "In any case, I've never heard of individuals like that. Someone so capable would have gone to the Allheaven Battlefield or the capital instead of staying here. They do have a couple of Great Strength cultivators capable of punching above their class. That Su Long from the Devil Suppressing Army was one of them, but he can only face Infinite Strength cultivators."

"Su Long?"

"A veteran of the Devil Subduing Army. He has left for the Allheaven Battlefield."

"Oh, the Devil Subduing Army? That's the army Xia Longwu used to lead. It has grown rather popular at the Allheaven Battlefield in recent years. They even managed to get upgraded into a tier-1 army. They have quite a lot of experts among their ranks."

The old man seemed familiar with the battlefield. After some thought, he said, "Are there a lot of retired veterans in the city?"

"No. And most of them are quite old already. Very few of them are still in their prime. There won't be more than three hundred of them spread across the entire city."

"We need to take precautions against these people as well," said the old man. "These veterans that have survived the Allheaven Battlefield are all ruthless bastards. Have our people watch out for them."

"Noted."

The old man stopped talking and looked at the sky. A short while later, a burst of flame erupted outside the city. A hundred city guards rushed out as a response.

The middle-aged man exclaimed in joy, "Yet another 100-man squad has left the city. There are now less than five hundred city guards in the city."

The old man was still frowning. "Be careful."

The city was aware that this was bait, but they still sent their guards away. Was that confidence or desperation?

"There are less than half of the city guards remaining. Over three hundred of them are guarding the mayor's manor. The rest are concentrated near the Nanyuan Secondary School. The streets are filled with the people from the Windcatcher Department..."

The old man scanned his surroundings. In the school, there were about two hundred city guards, less than a hundred Windcatcher Department officers, and two hundred sixty instructors and school guards. The Martial Dragon Guards were still around as well. In total, they would face less than six hundred cultivators above the Great Strength Realm.

He had directly ignored the students in his calculation. There wouldn't be any Great Strength cultivators among them. Of the forces they had to face, there were around fifteen cultivators between the Infinite Strength and Skysoar Realms. The rest of them were Great Strength cultivators.

In fact, they only needed to face one Skysoar cultivator since the mayor would be in his manor. He would also require some time to reach the school. Of course, the old man had still taken the mayor into consideration since the manor wasn't exactly that far away.

"Is everyone here?"

"Yes." The man hurriedly reported, "The hallmaster is there to gather our people. All of them are elites. We have thirty Infinite Strength cultivators while the rest of them are high-stage Great Strength cultivators. There are three hundred of us in total. The weaker members have all been assigned to continue creating chaos outside the city."

Three hundred elites of seventh-stage Great Strength Realm and above, with thirty of them reaching the Infinite Strength Realm. After a short calculation, the old man concluded that of the six cities the cult was going to attack today, Nanyuan had the lowest number of participants.

In short, no less than two thousand seventh-stage Great Strength cultivators, two hundred Infinite Strength cultivators, and over twenty Skysoar cultivators would be participating in this operation that would begin concurrently in multiple cities. That was a force powerful enough to be organized into a proper army of ten thousand soldiers.

"The Divine Skywing Sect is throwing everything they have on this operation."

The old man was feeling more and more unsettled. The Myriad Race Cult was split into many different sects. The Divine Skywing Sect was one of the stronger ones. After all, the race they had submitted to was one of the divines. As powerful as they were, they had still utilized the entirety of their strength for this operation.

Were the higher ups not afraid of destroying the sect in the event of failure? Those in charge of creating trouble outside the cities were only some weak sects sent to their deaths. They couldn't care less if these sects were destroyed. But the ones they were using for these direct attacks were their own elites. Losing these elites was very different than losing some cannon fodder.

"They're giving out so many contribution points just to kill some students. Are these students even worth it? What are the higher ups thinking?"

The old man frowned deeply. He did not feel like this was worth it. Unfortunately, his rank wasn't high enough to be making major decisions like that.

"Forget it. I can only hope that we can complete the mission smoothly before going back into hiding."

Since there were over three hundred of them, they needed some time to gather. In a city as small as Nanyuan, they needed to move three hundred people in batches. This wasn't a big city like the capital where a gathering of hundreds of people wouldn't cause anyone to bat an eye.

"We'll move out in thirty minutes. Inform everyone to finish all combat within three minutes. I want everyone to be gone within five minutes. Split up immediately after leaving the city. Do you understand?"

"Yes." The middle-aged man hurriedly answered. With a flicker, he vanished into thin air as he left to carry out his order.

The old man continued gazing toward the Nanyuan Secondary School while muttering, "Is Great Xia...really incapable of sparing even a few Skysoar cultivators to send here?"

...

"Yu!" At that moment, Chen Hao and Su Yu were crouched in front of the cafeteria while looking around. Chen Hao whispered, "What are we doing here? The instructors are calling all students to gather up. Are we not going?"

"No." Su Yu had a saber in hand as he replied softly, "It's safer to stay in a small group. It can get too dangerous in big groups."

"What?" Chen Hao was completely confused.

Su Yu said, "Cut the crap. Something might happen today. The Myriad Race Cult might be coming. We'll stay here since there won't be many people in the area."

"No, wait. Yu, the Myriad Race Cult is coming? Shouldn't we quickly meet the instructors then? We're only Source Opening cultivators, not Great Strength cultivators..."

Chen Hao grew nervous. However, he wasn't actually scared. The school had performed drills for such situations before, teaching the students how to handle themselves in the event of a Myriad Race Cult attack or a deployment to the Allheaven Battlefield. According to the drills, they should be gathering with the instructors now. The instructors would be in charge of protecting them.

"We don't have enough instructors. Most of them will be in active combat. Only a small number of them will be around to protect the students. Generally, between three to five instructors will be assigned to protect each class. With the high number of students in each class, the instructors won't be able to protect everyone well. We can reduce the burden on them by staying away."

"But...what if we encounter...Yu, we should return to the classroom," Chen Hao was starting to get anxious.

Su Yu smiled, "Don't worry. We're two random students at the Source Opening Realm. Those experts wouldn't even care about us."

"But we'll die if we meet any Great Strength cultivators..."

"That's why we need to hide well. And if we really meet an enemy..." Su Yu looked up at Chen Hao. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Start scolding the enemy. Scold them as hard as you can and make them focus on killing you. We will be hiding opposite each other. When the enemy is going after you, he definitely won't bother keeping his guard up against a little student like me..."

Chen Hao blanked out. What a bastard! This fellow was clearly trying to make sure Chen Hao would die before him! What a bastard!

"And I'll kill the enemy."

"..."

Chen Hao was aghast. What joke was that? This fellow was only a third-stage Source Opening cultivator. He probably couldn't even break through the enemy's defense, much less kill them. He must have gone crazy.

"If you trust me, do as I say. At this time, we can't go to the principal or the others. We'll only bring them more trouble. We also can't return to the classroom as we will only add more burden to the instructors. We're too weak. We'll only serve as lambs for the slaughter if we join up with the others."

"The other students are lambs as well. Let's get them to hide with us as well..."

"Are you stupid? How are we supposed to hide with more people? They will die if they rashly move out of the classrooms. We might be able to survive if we stay here."

Su Yu wasn't too fearful of the attack. He had listened to a lot of his father's exploits in the battlefield. The school had also been training them into becoming soldiers that would face the enemies of humanity. There was nothing to fear about this.

He was only feeling nervous. This was his first time encountering an enemy. He wasn't sure if he would freeze from panic when the time came. What was he supposed to do if he found himself freezing up while the enemy was moving over to kill Chen Hao? What if they were to encounter two enemies instead? Or even three enemies?

"This will be fine. The strong ones will be facing each other. Only the weaker cult members will be sent to search the school for students. After all, the students are too weak. They don't even need to form groups to hunt the students.

"It would be pointless to make several people perform a task one person could finish. I doubt they can send so many people into Nanyuan. The government shouldn't be so worthless that the enemy could smuggle too many members into the city. Also, if they really have so many members in the city, even the instructor would be in trouble. I doubt this will be the case."

After making his conclusion, Su Yu pulled Chen Hao into the cafeteria. Inside, he found a corner and whispered, "Hide here. Remember to tremble with fear while you're crouching. If there is only one enemy, try to make some noise. If there are two...run! Run like you've never before!"

A side door was nearby so Chen Hao would be able to quickly leave the cafeteria. He asked, "How about you?"

Su Yu pointed at the other corner and said, "I'll be hiding there. Remember to not look at me or you'll kill me. Understand?" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on novęlfire.net

"Got it." Chen Hao nodded in understanding. However, his face still turned sullen as he asked, "Yu, why don't we go look for my dad?"

"What stupid question is that? If we leave without escort, we'll die. I don't know what the plan is, but your dad has probably been assigned his own task today as well. Stop thinking about all that. It's pointless. Just pray that I won't freeze from fear later or you're dead."

"Yu, you're going to kill someone?" Chen Hao was aghast. "You won't be able to do it. Do you want me to be the one attacking instead?"

"You?" Su Yu took a deep breath and said, "You won't be able to even break their defense. Just let me do it. Also, according to the policy, if we really managed to kill someone from the cult, you might really be able to enter a war academy."

Chen Hao's eyes instantly lit up. All his fear from before vanished. Yes, there was really one such policy. If one could kill a cult member and prove the kill, then one would be granted bonus marks for the entrance examination.

Of course, it had been years since anyone had earned any bonus marks this way. After all, the students were all Source Opening cultivators. How were they supposed to kill any cult members? They would probably fail to make the kill even with poison.

Of course, it wasn't like nobody had ever done it before. However, only absolute geniuses had performed such a feat before. But would an absolute genius even care about the bonus marks?

"Yu...did you make this plan...for me?"

Chen Hao was greatly moved! Su Yu was only taking such a huge risk to help him enter a war academy! That was too touching! Chen Hao felt like crying!

Su Yu rolled his eyes. What was this fellow thinking? He only thought that it would be safer for the two of them to stay in the cafeteria. At this time, staying with a crowd would make them a bigger target. As for Chen Hao's entry into a war academy, they could talk about it if they really managed to kill an enemy.

Su Yu wouldn't dare take the credit for the kill anyway. How was he supposed to explain a Source Opening cultivator killing a Great Strength cultivator?

"But if we really get the chance to kill one, it won't be a bad idea to arrange the scene into something acceptable before taking the credit and help Hao get some bonus marks for the entrance exam."

It was nearly impossible for Source Opening cultivators to kill Great Strength cultivators. Nearly being the keyword there. It wasn't like Great Strength cultivators couldn't die. If they were careless enough to let someone cut their head off, they would still die.

As for why a Great Strength cultivator would be stupid enough to be killed by some students...well, the authorities would have to ask the dead cultivator that. How was Su Yu supposed to know the answer?

"In that case, it will be better for me to not kill with the Rip ability. I need to perform the kill with the saber."

Su Yu tightened his grip on his saber. After activating the ability, both his hands would be filled with strength. That would be enough for him to kill the enemy so long as the enemy did not choose to run from him. And would a Great Strength cultivator run from a Source Opening cultivator? Very unlikely.

Chapter 20: The Battle Begins (2)

While Su Yu was thinking, a shout rang out from outside the cafeteria, "All students, gather up. Those unable to make it, hide where you are."

"The enemies are here. The Myriad Race Cult bastards are attacking!"

"Stay calm and listen to your instructors. Activate the formations and protect yourself."

"Keep your classroom doors shut. Instructors, engage the enemies."

"Guards, gather up."

"City guards, Windcatcher Department, move out!"

"Kill!"

With that final roar, the entire Nanyuan Secondary School was mobilized.

At that moment, Su Yu felt no fear. He only felt a little nervous and excited at the same time. He was confident in his teachers. He even had the urge to rush out and witness the sight of his teachers slaughtering the enemies.

His father, Su Long, would frequently speak of his time in the army, talking about battles where tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of soldiers charged forward, creating fields of corpses, leaving rivers of blood behind, and causing the very heavens to tremble. In these stories, humanity was always able to sweep everything before their eyes.

"I really wish I can go take a look."

At the other side of the cafeteria, Chen Hao was feeling very excited as well. He tightened his grip on his saber and had to force himself to calm down instead of running outside. The only reason he hadn't rushed out yet was because he was afraid that he would get Su Yu killed.

"Kill!"

Sounds of battles echoed all over the school. And apart from the word "kill", no other words could be heard. During battles, no other words were required.

...

Outside the Teacher's Office.

Two groups of several hundred people each started fighting the moment they encountered each other. No words were exchanged. The squad of ten from Martial Dragon Guards instantly surrounded the fourth-stage Skysoar Realm old man from the cult under the lead of their squad leader, Xia Bing.

Xia Bing was a second-stage Skysoar cultivator clad in golden armor and golden helmet. With a long saber in hand, he roared fearlessly, "Into our formation. Kill!"

At his command, ten sabers started swinging and the fight began. Mayor Wu Wenhai, who was supposed to be in the mayor's manor, suddenly appeared from above the building. With a saber in hand, he charged the woman from the cult.

"Wu Wenhai, you're courting death!"

So the mayor was actually waiting in the school as well. The woman was relieved that they had prepared for this possibility. The middle-aged man called Wu Hen was overjoyed when he saw that the two Skysoar cultivators of Nanyuan were being kept busy. Even the Martial Dragon Guards were occupied. Ignoring everyone, he dashed straight toward the distant Liu Wenyan.

"I'm your opponent!"

"There's me as well!"

Abruptly, two men jumped out. One held a saber while the other held a sword.

"Zhang Yun, Zeng Hua!"

The middle-aged man snorted coldly. He knew these two. One was the 1000-man commander of the city guards and the other was the head of Nanyuan's Windcatcher Department. Both were ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivators. How would they be a match for a Skysoar cultivator like him?

"Kill!"

The two did not waste any time speaking. They had nothing to say to a Myriad Race Cult member. They only needed to kill him.

Clang!

Sounds of weapon clashing rang out everywhere. Wu Hen wasted no time and rose into the air before flying over the two. He went straight toward Liu Wenyan. There were a decent number of Great Strength Realm instructors around Liu Wenyan as well.

Wu Hen's target was not the mayor, the Skysoar cultivators, or the two high-ranked military officials behind him. Instead, it was the genius students and Liu Wenyan, the man known as the spark of civilization. These were the ones worth killing.

Several Great Strength Realm instructors raised their sabers and stood before Liu Wenyan in preparation for a fight. The two Infinite Strength cultivators left behind also reacted quickly and chased after Wu Hen. After a long jump, Zhang Yun swung his blade at Wu Hen.

"Over our dead bodies!"

Once again, Wu Hen was forced into combat with the two.

"Damn it!" Wu Hen was only a second-stage Skysoar cultivator. He couldn't fly high enough and was forced to land and face the two. If he remained in the sky, he would be a sitting duck.

...

"Instructor Liu, leave!" The Great Strength cultivators in charge of guarding Liu Wenyan hurriedly pulled him away. However, he refused to leave.

Looking around at the fights breaking out everywhere, he scolded, "They really have a lot of confidence in us. Those bastards from the capital must have been aware that there will be a lot of Skysoar Realm enemies participating in this, but they still skipped our city when sending reinforcements."

The others were confused at what the old man was talking about. However, now wasn't the time to ask.

The old man continued scolding, "Are they really so confident that I can do it? What if I fail? They're gambling with human lives here! Don't let me find out who this order came from or I'll give him hell!"

Clearly, some people in the capital believed that he would be able to achieve willpower materialization today. But what if he failed? Liu Wenyan unleashed a string of profanities, completely destroying the image of a scholar he had before.

"I'm the most useless of the bunch. How can I do it? They have too much confidence in me. I'm worthless. It's not like you guys don't know that. Why would I have been expelled otherwise?"

As Liu Wenyan muttered to himself, grief slowly appeared in his voice. If he wasn't so useless, how would his cultivation remain stuck at such an old age? He wanted to break through as well, but it was really very hard.

"You bastards! Damn you all for forcing me with all these lives...I have always known you guys are a bunch of ruthless assholes. I'll be sure to give you guys hell right after I break through!"

As Liu Wenyan grumbled, golden light erupted from the top of his head. His body shook as his feet slowly left the ground.

The expressions of the people around him changed. Not far away, the principal smiled as he said, "This old man really needs to be pushed, after all. From today onward, humanity will have one more Skysoar cultivator."

"Infinite Strength cultivators, stop what you're doing. To me!" Wu Hen roared. He had also noticed what was happening. A nervous expression covered his face as he roared, "To me! Kill these two!"

At his command, several Infinite Strength cultivators rushed over. Wu Hen took the chance to break free from the two and rush toward Liu Wenyan. He couldn't allow the old man to complete the willpower materialization and enter the Skysoar Realm. Otherwise, they would receive a much lower evaluation for their mission today even if they were really able to kill all the students here.

…

Sounds of fighting echoed all over the school.

Inside the cafeteria.

Su Yu and Chen Hao could hear the sounds of weapons clashing against each other, painful roars, and fearful shouts of students outside. However, they did not dare to move out and get a look. Was the school winning or losing? Even Su Yu, who was confident in their teachers, was wondering if they were really winning.

"Yu..." At the corner, Chen Hao was gripping the handle of his saber tightly. His face was both pale and flushed at the same time. He wanted to ask Su Yu if they should go out.

Su Yu ignored him. His left ear kept moving as he listened to their surroundings. The fourth-stage Source Opening Realm had not granted him much strength, but he did obtain a much sharper hearing.

"Shh!"

Su Yu silenced Chen Hao with a gesture. A short while later, heavy footsteps sounded outside the cafeteria.

"Come out! The school is arranging a withdrawal. Gather at the southern gate." The voice spoke anxiously.

A short while later, a man in his thirties walked into the cafeteria with a saber in hand. He shouted, "Are there any students here? Move faster. We can't hold on much longer. The cult members are too strong. We need to withdraw from the school!"

Heavy footsteps accompanied that anxious voice. Chen Hao looked at Su Yu anxiously, seeking Su Yu's opinion as to whether they should leave. Su Yu narrowed his eyes as he looked at the incoming silhouette. That wasn't someone he was familiar with, but there were over two hundred instructors and teachers in the school. It wasn't possible for him to know everyone. Was that really an instructor?

"Is anyone here? Our defenses can't hold much longer. We need to withdraw immediately!"

The newcomer sounded worried. The cafeteria was big. At a glance, it was thousands of square meters in size. It would waste too much of his time to search the cafeteria.

At the corner.

Hearing the instructor's anxious voice, Chen Hao could no longer hold back. Without first checking with Su Yu, he stood up and said, "Instructor, how is the situation?"

When the man saw Chen Hao, his eyes flashed with joy. A student was still a student, after all. This kid was too naive. Even the constant lessons on survival given by the school wouldn't be able to make up for the lack of experience.

In fact, he had used these same words on two hiding students a short while ago. He had spent only ten seconds luring the two out of a building with numerous rooms, a building that would waste at least two minutes of his time if he had to manually search it. These children had not suffered any setbacks in life nor had they experienced the battlefield before. Words were enough to mislead them.

"Things are very bad. Come with me. We don't have much time..."

The man started rushing toward Chen Hao. This was the third student! The man's face was covered with joy. Three hundred of them had attacked, with two hundred of them being sent to deal with the instructors, school guards, city guards, and the Windcatcher Department.

Even with the lower number of people, they still held the upper hand as a lot of them were middle-stage Great Strength cultivators. The rest of them were sent to attack the classrooms and search the school for lone students.

They had to face the instructors when attacking the classrooms. On the other hand, lone students were fewer in number and harder to find, but they were defenseless and much easier to kill. There were thousands of students in the school. Even if all the students were killed, each attacker would be able to kill no more than ten. And he had gotten three of them so far. Perhaps he might gain even more next.

"Come on, we need to leave..."

The man moved quickly and did not stop when speaking. For the man, ending a student was as simple as swinging his blade. The only thing making it difficult was the fact that these students were dispersed and hidden. The moment these students were found, they were as good as free contribution points. Chen Hao moved out of his hiding space to leave with the fake instructor and instinctively glanced in Su Yu's direction while doing so.

Su Yu was attentively observing the instructor. At the beginning, he had believed that this was an instructor as well. But soon, he sensed something wrong. He wasn't someone with a rich practical experience. But he had been hunted too many times in his dreams. The impatient tone of that man was very similar to the monsters that had been chasing after him in his dreams.

It was as though they were saying, "Come get killed! I can't wait to kill you!"

Sure, those weren't the exact words, but the tone behind the voice felt similar. That eagerness to kill was very familiar. Thus, Su Yu focused even more on the newcomer. He immediately broke out in cold sweat.

Fake!

Instructors might not have a uniform, but all of them would have their work badge on them. This person had no such item on his body. Did he drop it because of the intense battle?

"No..."

Su Yu could see it. From how the man was holding his blade, the man was preparing to swing it.

"Damn it! Hao is such an idiot!"

After cursing to himself, Su Yu acted immediately. He didn't have the time to even feel regret for being careless. Both he and Chen Hao were only secondary school students. They had never encountered something like this. They had thought that all enemies would be fierce opponents that would charge right into you. How would they have guessed that the enemy could also be a weakling relying on lies.

"Instructor!" With a shout, Su Yu jumped out. His heart was thumping crazily.

The man turned slightly sluggish as even more joy seeped into his heart.

One more! Four in total!

Su Yu's palms were sweaty as he was nervous, afraid, and uneasy. However, he was able to withstand the stress and move calmly. He had been killed too many times in his dreams. He was only afraid because this was his first taste of danger in real life. However, he was able to adapt quickly.

"Instructor, are we really losing? There are still more than ten students around here. Should I get them as well?" Su Yu said anxiously while turning his head to look at an area deeper in the cafeteria. He added, "They won't be able to escape otherwise."

More than ten? The man was wild with joy. He was going to get rich! He would get to kill more than ten students today! He might even earn more contribution points than what an Infinite Strength cultivator could from this mission. He wanted to laugh loudly. Ten Source Opening cultivators were the same as ten commoners. He could kill one per slash. They wouldn't even be able to outrun him. Latest content publıshed on novel⟡fire.net

He had planned to quickly end Chen Hao quickly, but he changed his mind and hastily said, "Quick! Call them out! We need to leave immediately!"

Su Yu's heart was still thumping heavily. He did not say anything and turned around. One swing of that man's sword and it would all be over for him. With his back to the man, he swallowed a drop of blood essence before walking deeper into the cafeteria.

He asked with a worried tone, "Instructor, can we take more people with us? I know there are more students hiding somewhere else. I don't know if the other instructors can find them..."

"More?"

There were more? The man followed Su Yu, completely disregarding Chen Hao. That was a lone student that he could handle anytime he wanted. He did not notice that Chen Hao had turned completely pale and was sweating all over.

Chapter 21: First Combat

Chen Hao had known Su Yu for years. He knew this buddy of his well. There were no other students around. That was a lie! This person was from the Myriad Race Cult! He had nearly gotten Su Yu killed!

"I'm too stupid! I'm too stupid! Sorry, Yu! Sorry..." Chen Hao's legs turned limp and his entire body felt weak. He suddenly recalled what Su Yu said previously and hurriedly said, "Instructor, I-I'm scared. My legs are limp. Can you give me a hand?"

He was really scared. And he really couldn't walk. Both his legs were trembling. The man turned around impatiently. If it wasn't for the sake of finding the remaining students, he would have cut this student down immediately. He was worried that killing this student now would scare the other students away. If they started running, he might not be able to catch all of them.

"I'll carry you." The man reached out, preparing to carry Chen Hao with him.

"Hao, you're so useless. Why are you troubling the instructor?" Behind the man, Su Yu mumbled as he tightened his grip on his saber. His palms were sweating so much the handle felt slippery. While mumbling, he approached the man. The moment the man reached out for Chen Hao, Su Yu's eyes flickered with ruthlessness. That was the moment he had been waiting for!

"Hao, walk yourself. Don't trouble the instructor..."

Whoosh!

The sound of a swinging blade rang out and the man looked back instinctively, wondering if he had been discovered. It didn't matter though. He was only dealing with Source Opening cultivators here...

Only Source...Opening?

Source Opening?

No, that was not the case!

The man wanted to dodge, but he found himself incapable of controlling his limbs any longer. His neck was suddenly assaulted by intense pain. By mere instinct, the man thought to himself that this wasn't the right way to sever one's head. The cut was too sloppy.

It hurt badly. When severing heads, one needed to be fast, accurate, and ruthless. This kid wasn't accurate enough, failing to sever the head in one go, subjecting the man to an intense torture.

Plop!

The head finally dropped to the ground. The man's body was still standing there, maintaining the same posture as before. One of his hands was still holding onto a saber while the other was still in the middle of reaching out for Chen Hao. The dream of killing more than ten students was no more. Only eternal silence remained for the man.

One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.

Plop!

The corpse collapsed onto the ground.

.

"Hu...hu...hu..." Su Yu heavily gasped for breath as his mind turned blank.

A decent amount of blood had sprayed onto Chen Hao's face, so his mind was blanking out. Killed! Yu had killed that fellow with one slash!

"Y-Yu..."

Chen Hao wasn't able to control his limbs as he fell weakly onto the ground. Using all four of his limbs, he crawled toward Su Yu, ignoring how sorry he looked. He had almost pissed himself earlier from fear.

"Yu...Yu...you...I...he's dead. He's dead...dead!"

Looking at the corpse and the blood on the ground, Su Yu's voice was hoarse as he said, "Calm. Stay calm. This is an enemy. An animal of the Myriad Race Cult. It's not like you've not seen any executions before. Let's go. We need...to change our hiding place...or more of them might come..."

This was not the time to deal with the corpse. They need to prioritize running away. That one slash he had performed earlier was causing his entire body to hurt. It wasn't a physical pain either. He was mentally in pain.

"Yes, go, we need to go..."

Chen Hao was about to crawl away before he thought of something. With his teeth clenched and his eyes shut, he turned around before searching the corpse. He did not dare to look at the corpse. But he also remembered that this would help him join a war academy!

As he searched, he could feel the sticky sensation on his palms. He didn't even dare to think about it. Before long, he found a small package. Without thinking or looking at it, he pulled it out and stuffed it into his pocket before dragging Su Yu away.

Su Yu was slightly calmed by Chen Hao's antics. He couldn't help scolding, "You're still thinking of that at this time? Are you trying to die?"

"I...can get into...a war academy with it...Yu...you killed him! You're amazing..."

Su Yu stopped talking and focused on leaving the cafeteria Chen Hao. He did not dare to go too far away as he was afraid that he would stumble upon more enemies. Instead, he picked a dark corner outside the cafeteria as the new hiding spot.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Su Yu's heart was still thumping fast, but he was slowly calming down. After a bit, he heaved a long breath and muttered, "That's nothing special. If I can get used to being killed, there is nothing I can't get used to!"

He was speaking in a self-mocking manner. Since he could accept his death, why would he be afraid of causing someone else's death? Meanwhile, battle was still raging all over the school. It might have seemed like a lot had happened, but only a minute had passed since the cult member stepped into the cafeteria.

"Hao!"

"Mhm?"

"Did you piss yourself?"

"N-no! Don't make things up! I didn't!"

Chen Hao denied with his face flushed red. Despite his strong denial, he still hurriedly glanced at his crotch. He was relieved to see it dry. He had been so scared that he couldn't feel anything. He probably wouldn't realize it even if he had really pissed himself.

"Yu...you're so incredible."

"Stop talking."

Su Yu scanned their surroundings. He could hear the shouts of their instructors. He could also see some people searching around in the distance.

"The school is losing the upper hand."

If it wasn't for that, the instructors wouldn't have allowed the cult members to freely search the school for students. There would definitely be some lone students around. Some might have been killed by now.

Looking at the saber in his hand, he wiped the blood off his body using some leaves he found nearby. Clenching his teeth, he asked, "Hao, are you afraid of death?"

"Ye-no!"

"Go. Go and see if there are other cult members nearby. If you see someone alone, just tell them that there are several students hiding here waiting for rescue."

"What?"

Su Yu explained, "The instructors don't have enough people to deal with these cult members. If we allow them to find the other students, they will be dead. Just lure an enemy or two over. I'll kill them and prevent a few deaths on our side."

"Yu!" Chen Hao was about to object when he recalled how Su Yu had killed the previous enemy with one swing of his saber. Instantly, his fear evaporated. Yeah, these enemies weren't that scary, after all..

"Ok. I'll go. Yu, c-can you still kill more?"

"Yes."

"Ok. We'll kill one more. You can get the credit for the previous kill, but can you give me the credit for the next kill? I want to join a war academy as well..."

"Sure."

At that, Chen Hao forgot all his fear and giggled in a silly manner. Even his limbs regained their strength. With his body slightly bent, Chen Hao peeked out from his hiding spot and looked around. Shortly after, he discovered several cult members searching the area. The nearest cult member was less than a hundred meters away.

Chen Hao was still somewhat afraid, but he calmed himself and spoke with a shuddering voice, "Instructor...is that an instructor?"

Not far away, the cult member's ears trembled as he looked straight at Chen Hao.

"Is that an instructor? W-we're scared. Can you take us away?"

"Instructor?"

The cult member's eyes flickered. Was this student seeing him as an instructor? That was understandable. This was a conflict between fellow humans, and both sides looked the same. A normal student wouldn't be able to separate the two from each other. Of course, a more experienced person would be able to see the difference between the two, but these students were completely inexperienced. What would they know?

"Instructor, we still have a few people here. Can you take us away? So-someone was trying to kill us earlier..."

"A few more?" The cult member grew excited. He could see that Chen Hao was really afraid. That pale face couldn't be faked.

The cult member rushed over. He did not even consider the possibility of an ambush. The instructors with the strength to mount a proper ambush would be busy fighting somewhere else by now. There were fights everywhere in the school. Even the instructors assigned to protect the students were fully occupied. They wouldn't have the manpower to spare for any ambushes.

Chen Hao hastily scrambled back behind the wall. The man's ears trembled as he stretched his hearing. He wasn't afraid of ambush, but he still instinctively kept his guard up. Unless he was facing someone stronger, he would be able to detect any hidden opponent with his senses.

"There's another student hidden there."

He could hear some faint breathing. The breathing was heavy, clearly belonging to someone nervous. It was also quite loud, so it wasn't coming from someone in the Great Strength Realm.

"You said that there are a few more of you. Are the others hiding somewhere else?"

The man glanced at his distant companions. These were his contribution points. He had to be careful not to let his companions discover these students. The man finally stepped behind the wall and saw that there was indeed another student there. The second student also had a pale face.

"An instructor is here? Zhou Tao and the others are still waiting for us. Instructor, what's going on? Has the Myriad Race Cult bastards broken into the school?" Yu hurriedly asked, joy apparent on his face. He tossed his saber away and ran forward, seemingly in great fear.

"Instructor, I'll take you to them..."

The saber had been tossed aside! The man was instantly relieved. Source Opening cultivators might still pose some threat to them with weapons, but when they were empty-handed, they wouldn't be able to kill a Great Strength cultivator even if they were allowed to attack freely. These students really thought that he was their instructor! What a foolish bunch!

"Where are they?" The man couldn't hide the joy in his voice. Like the previous cult member, he was seeing this encounter as free contribution points.

"Instructor, follow me..." Su Yu reached out, looking like he was trying to drag the man off with him.

The man frowned slightly. He wanted to avoid the hand, but he calmed down and decided to tolerate this for a little bit longer.

Splurt!

The moment that thought crossed his mind, the incoming hand turned into sharp claws before penetrating his flesh and stabbing into his heart. The hand he was using to carry his saber was grabbed by a second hand. With a crack, that arm was broken. The cult member wanted to shout, but he couldn't do so before his throat was torn apart.

Splurt! Splurt!

Large amount of blood sprayed out of the man's mouth. He collapsed onto the ground while staring blankly at Su Yu.

Great Strength Realm! High-stage Great Strength Realm! Impossible! This was Nanyuan! How could a student here be a Great Strength cultivator? This wasn't possible!

Su Yu hurriedly searched the corpse before dragging Chen Hao away. Chen Hao clearly not feeling any fear anymore. That idiot! He really thought that Su Yu could kill anyone! What was he doing standing there in excitement instead of running?

While running, Su Yu caught a golden flash at the edge of his vision. He looked up at the sky. And he was stunned by what he saw. A familiar figure was floating in the sky, shrouded in gold.

"Instructor Liu..."

Chen Hao saw the same sight. He was similarly shocked. In the air, Liu Wenyan was shining with a golden light. Source qi gathered around him.

Liu Wenyan's voice wasn't loud, but it was somehow able to spread very far, "It was never my desire to reach the Skyroar Realm. I only wish for world peace..." Thɪs chapter is updated by novel•fire.net

How cool.

How fake.

That was the thought in Su Yu's mind. Sure, that was really cool. But that was also very fake. Instructor Liu clearly longed to achieve willpower materialization. But after finally achieving it, he claimed that it wasn't his wish to enter the Skysoar Realm? What a liar!

Chapter 22: Total Defeat (1)

Liu Wenyan had broken through into the Skysoar Realm. One would not be able to soar into the sky without first entering the Skysoar Realm. Clearly, Liu Wenyan had successfully achieved willpower materialization, officially becoming a Skysoar cultivator. His body was still unrefined, but the rich source qi gathering around him would take care of that.

Dozens of meters away, Wu Hen was also floating in the air, his expression ugly. He had failed to stop the breakthrough.

"Fortunately, he has just broken through. His body remains in the previous realm..."

Wu Hen could only rejoice that it wasn't the worst case scenario yet. Liu Wenyan was an old man with a waning body. Even if his willpower had reached the Skysoar Realm, his body was still stuck in the Great Strength Realm. Wu Hen was a second-stage Skysoar cultivator. He did not fear a brand new Skysoar cultivator like Liu Wenyan.

The cult still had the upper hand here. They had more Infinite Strength cultivators while the Infinite Strength cultivators of the Martial Dragon Guards were kept occupied by Hallmaster Chen. The school had only been able to last this long due to the larger number of Great Strength cultivators on their side.

"Die!" Wu Hen unleashed all his strength, materializing a short blade from thin air. The glowing blade instantly shot toward Liu Wenyan.

"You're trying to fight a cultural researcher from range?" Liu Wenyan laughed. "I guess I can't expect much from a bunch of animals. Scum like you are incapable of comprehending the might of cultural researchers."

"Freeze."

The flying blade froze mid-flight.

"Return."

Whoosh!

The blade spun around and shot toward Wu Hen instead. Wu Hen was about to move aside when Liu Wenyan's head erupted with a blinding golden radiance.

"Freeze."

This time, he was freezing Wu Hen instead of the blade. Instantly, Wu Hen felt the space around him constricting, fixing him in place.

"Don't even think about it!" With a roar, Wu Hen started bleeding from his seven orifices. Golden light erupted from his eyes as he used all his strength and forcefully took a single step aside.

Splurt!

The blade that was aimed toward his head stabbed into his shoulder. Blood sprayed out like a fountain. He had still been hurt, but at least he had avoided a fatal hit.

"Impossible..." Fear covered Wu Hen's face. "This is not possible! You have just broken through! Even if cultural researchers are stronger, you shouldn't be able to freeze me!"

Cultural researchers were willpower cultivators. Thus, they were stronger than regular Skysoar cultivators. Physical cultivators might not be able to contend against willpower cultivators in terms of mental power, but they had stronger bodies and plentiful vitality. Liu Wenyan shouldn't have been able to fix his body in place.

"That's because you're too weak." Liu Wenyan laughed. However, he still paled slightly. Clearly, the previous move hadn't been easy for him.

Even so, he still laughed loudly. "Myriad Race Cult? Merely frogs at the bottom of the well trying to contend against the sun and the moon. Die!"

With a roar, the blade in Wu Hen's shoulder started trembling. Wu Hen's face changed as he pushed the blade out with his source qi before turning around to flee. However, he wasn't Liu Wenyan's actual target.

The blade streaked through the air and pierced through the head of one of the Infinite Strength cult members that were facing off against the commander of the city guard and the head of the Windcatcher Department before any of them could react.

The others were alarmed and instantly tried fleeing. As Liu Wenyan made another move, the cult members found their bodies fixed in place. The commander and department head wasted no time in swinging their blades and killing two of the frozen cult members. At the same time, the third cult member was stabbed by the flying blade. Four down! Four Infinite Strength cultivators had been killed in the blink of an eye.

"Wu Hen!" The woman who was fighting the mayor roared furiously, "He has just broken through. He only has a limited amount of willpower. Keep him busy! Damn it! Keep him busy! Do you want to be tortured to death?"

If Wu Hen had not fled in fear, Liu Wenyan wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to kill the four Infinite Strength cultivators. That was a heavy loss for the cult. Wu Hen's expression changed. He clenched his teeth and charged Liu Wenyan once again. At this point, Liu Wenyan's face was turning more and more pale.

In truth, Liu Wenyan was only putting up a brave front. At this point, he was basically an arrow at the end of its flight. He had used his willpower on the blade and several Infinite Strength cultivators in a row. Thus, he had almost exhausted all his existing willpower. Without his willpower, he was only as strong as a Great Strength cultivator. He would be much less dangerous with only his body.

When he saw Wu Hen turning around, his face fell as he hurriedly retreated. Wu Hen was overjoyed to see that. With a wave of his hand, he recalled his short blade and increased his speed. Liu Wenyan continued retreating, but Wu Hen was able to instantly catch up before stabbing the blade into Liu Wenyan's head.

"Die!"

The blade penetrated the head without any resistance whatsoever. Wu Hen was overjoyed.

Right that moment, a voice rang out behind him, "Idiot! Retreat!"

The roar woke Wu Hen from his excitement. He felt like he had just awakened from a dream. As he checked around him, the dead Liu Wenyan was nowhere to be seen. He had been tricked by an illusion! Willpower interruption!

"Impossible! He has only freshly broken through! How can he..."

The thought had just crossed his mind when a needle stabbed through his Spirit Palace. Source qi started leaking from his body, making it difficult for him to even stay in the Skysoar Realm.

"Damn it!"

The woman and the old man from the cult were getting anxious. Wu Hen's willpower was too weak, to the point Liu Wenyan had successfully cast an illusion on him. And with his Spirit Palace punctured and his source qi leaking, everything was over for Wu Hen.

Boom!

With a palm attack, the old man pushed Xia Bing back before turning around to flee. But nine Infinite Strength cultivators from the Martial Dragon Guards instantly charged him, stopping him from escaping.

"Retreat!" Instead of shouting the order, the old man only looked at the woman and signaled her with his eyes. He was telling her to let the others stay as a distraction while they made their escape.

Wu Hen was already finished. Sure, even with the addition of a cultural researcher on their opposing side and the loss of a Skysoar cultivator on their side, the cult still had the chance to win this fight. But what was the point of putting their lives on the line?

At worst, they would just fail the mission. Did the higher ups really expect them to fight until the end? The two reached an agreement. Not far away, Wu Hen's head had just been stabbed by his own blade. Even toward the end, he still couldn't believe everything that was happening. He had been killed. By Liu Wenyan, a brand new Skysoar cultivator whose physical body was still stuck at the Great Strength Realm.

Plop!

The corpse fell to the ground.

Liu Wenyan landed on the ground while breathing heavily. Looking at the Skysoar cultivators that were still fighting bitterly, he smiled and said, "Kill them all!"

Once again, he unleashed his willpower. The escaping Infinite Strength cultivators found their bodies turning sluggish. During combat, that was fatal. Zhang Yun and Zeng Hua promptly killed them all. The two were ninth-stage Infinite Strength cultivators, after all. As high-ranking individuals of Nanyuan, the two were not weak and were able to work well together. They were able to easily kill the cult members the moment Liu Wenyan slowed them down. Official source ıs novęlfire.net

Corpses of Infinite Strength cultivators fell one after another. At that point, the other cult members lost all their courage. If they actually had the courage to stand their ground and fight until the end, they might still stand a chance at winning the battle.

After all, they still had around twenty Infinite Strength cultivators around and their two hallmasters were still keeping the mayor and Martial Dragon Guards occupied. Thus, the cult could definitely still fight it out despite being weakened. After all, Liu Wenyan did not have unlimited willpower.

But they wouldn't have joined the Myriad Race Cult if they were really so courageous. These people were only brave when things were going well for them. The moment things went sideways, they would fall like dominoes.

"Retreat!"

"Run!"

"Run quickly!"

Hundreds of cult members had participated in this mission, and they were all fleeing in fear. With their back exposed, the instructors and city guards were able to instantly kill over a dozen cult members. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred of the three hundred cult members were killed. The remaining members started fleeing in all directions.

"Run!"

The two hallmasters were no longer in the mood to keep fighting either. The mission had failed. Since the mission had failed, they would flee. There was no need to throw their lives away. As for things like honor and glory, they were nonexistent for these cult members. For them, nothing was more important than staying alive.

Even knowing that Liu Wenyan was probably unable to fight much longer, they still fled unhesitatingly. This was Nanyuan. If they allowed themselves to get bogged down by combat, it would only be a matter of time before they were killed.

The two hallmasters were respectively third-stage and fourth-stage Skysoar cultivators. They were able to fight while retreating. After all, they were stronger than the two Skysoar cultivators they were facing.

At the same time, the other escaping cult members were using everything they had to flee the scene. ?At that moment, a group of people arrived outside the school. Some were old, some were middle-aged, and some were disabled.

"Archers, shoot!"

A white-haired old man roared, and instantly, over a dozen old men unleashed the arrows from their bows.

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, about a dozen cult members were killed.

"Spears, formation!"

Dozens of old and middle-aged men stepped forth and stabbed out with their spears.

"Sabers, advance!"

"Die!"

Sounds of dropping limbs echoed in the air as the morale of the cult members dropped even lower. Some started crying in fear and some started begging for mercy. The leading old man merely curled his lips in disdain. They were making trouble in Great Xia with only this much strength?

"Nanyuan's militia is here! Kill! Leave no mercy!"

"Die!"

The roars of the group of elderly individuals rumble through the air.

Plop! Plop!

One head after another fell onto the ground. In the blink of an eye, dozens of people were killed. Behind the cult members, the pursuing city guards approached and subjected the cult members to a pincer attack. The cult had suffered a complete defeat.

"Idiots. How can one retreat like this during combat? By exposing your backs to your enemies, what else are you supposed to do apart from dying."

The old man appeared completely indifferent. This was nothing. This was merely a skirmish with several hundred participants. Could this even be considered a battle? Some of the cult members saw the leading old man and were in complete disbelief.

They knew this old man. He was someone who would have difficulties climbing the stairs, a stingy neighborhood grandpa who would always bargain even when buying some cheap groceries. An old man like that was leading a group of senior citizens who were supposed to be doing recreational activities at the local park to kill them?

"What are you looking at? Have you never seen a killer before?" The old man roared, "Where are the ax-bearers? Throw your axes!"

Whoosh!

Instead of axes, about a dozen cleavers one could usually see in the kitchen were thrown through the air. They accurately struck the cult members, instantly cleaving through about a dozen heads.

"Old Zhang, are you blind? You nearly hit me with that!" The leading old man cursed. One of those cleavers had nearly struck him.

Behind him, an old man with a crooked back said helplessly, "My hand was trembling. I'm getting old. Come on, it's not like it hit you."

"Cut the crap." The old man roared again, "You! Youngsters over there! Have you been missing your meals or something? Why are your attacks so weak? Don't you know that we can't hold on much longer? Kill them faster! If they left the encirclement, us old bags of bones won't be able to keep up with them!"

"Die!" That drove the instructors, city guards, and Windcatcher Department officers mad. This was too embarrassing! They had allowed hundreds of enemies to escape, but these old fellows that couldn't even run were able to instantly kill about a hundred of them. If they didn't pick their pace up and kill some, they would be too embarrassed to show their faces in the city anymore.

The battle proceeded smoothly. The cult members had no discipline whatsoever, and with their crumbling morale, it didn't take long before most of them were killed. Only a few Infinite Strength cultivators were still trying hard to escape, but it was only a matter of time before they were taken down.

Of all the fights occurring, the fights of the Skysoar cultivators were the most intense. They were currently fighting outside the school. The two cult members no longer intended to fight and only wanted to flee.

Seeing that they wouldn't have much chance to kill the two, Xia Bing suddenly roared, "Let him go. Focus on the woman."

The ten Martial Dragon Guards did not hesitate and gave up on the old man to charge the woman instead.

"Hallmaster Chen!" The woman yelled desperately, but Hallmaster Chen did not even spare her a glance. He soared into the sky and streaked away. As far as he was concerned, nothing was more important than keeping himself alive.

In the blink of an eye, the old man had flown hundreds of meters away. In his eyes, one could see the joy of someone who had escaped calamity. They initially held the upper hand, but after deciding to flee, they had lost almost all their members. This old man no longer felt like staying. The people of Great Xia were indeed fierce, including their civilians. He had not expected that a bunch of retired veterans could unleash such a powerful combat strength.

Some of those veterans were only middle-stage Great Strength cultivators with weakened bodies due to old age. But after entering a military formation, they were able to kill a large number of high-stage Great Strength cultivators in the blink of an eye. That was actually one of the strengths of humanity: strict army discipline.

The old man felt very lucky that the woman had attracted the firepower away from him. The woman was dead for sure. He couldn't afford to keep thinking and focused only on fleeing, disregarding the high exhaustion rate of his source qi as he flew quickly.

He could be stopped easily if he escaped on the ground. But by choosing to fly, he also made himself an obvious target. While the old man was rejoicing his escape, a young man suddenly appeared before him.