I Am Overlord c1-962
Page 287
It was rumored that Yu Ziyang had reached the seventh-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. That was a shocking cultivation speed. Xiang Shaoyun had learned all that from the Overlord Legion members, allowing him to have a better picture of the general situation in the Flame Mountains.
The moment they arrived, an intense heatwave blasted them. The thick flame energy filled the land, urging all flame cultivators to sit down and start cultivating. Fortunately, these genius disciples had strong willpower and knew that this was not the optimal location for them to cultivate.
"Ling Lin, where should we go?" Xiang Shaoyun asked.
This was the same Ling Lin who had entered the Devil Domain with Xiang Shaoyun in the past. Both he and Jin Shui had joined the academy as Shou Xie's followers. He had recently broken through into the late first-stage Dragon Ascension Realm, but this cultivation level was considered weak compared to the other genius disciples.
He was a flame cultivator and had once cultivated here. Thus, he had a general understanding of the cultivation zone.
He answered, "Those from the Flaming Sun occupy the best cultivation spot. As for the other spots, different factions occupy them. If we are not fighting them, we can only pick some spots that are out of the way. However, those places have comparatively fewer flame spirits, and some won't even have any."
"We should just seize a good spot for ourselves," said a different person.
That person was Deng Lingtian, a peak second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. He was only a step away from the third stage.
The others voiced their agreements to his suggestion. After all, they were all hot-blooded young men and were naturally unwilling to cultivate at some second-rate spot.
Xiang Shaoyun smiled. "Good. Since everyone is thinking the same, let's go to a better spot. I am curious, what does a flame spirit look like?"
Thus, the group headed toward a certain active volcano with thick flame energy and many flame spirits. The Flaming Sun already occupied the tallest volcano, so nobody dared approach it.
Just Yu Ziyang and Yu Caidie were enough to deter many people. Xiang Shaoyun was not so arrogant that he would charge straight to their spot. Although he was confident he could put up some fight against them, he did not want to make things difficult for Yu Caidie.
Hence, he set his eyes on the Di Alliance's spot. Di Lin and Xia Yunxi were both flame cultivators, and they came here frequently. As a result, the Di Alliance occupied an excellent cultivation spot at the Flame Mountains.
After learning that, Xiang Shaoyun charged straight toward the Di Alliance's spot. Previously when he had challenged Di Lin, Di Lin had avoided the duel. Now that he was personally here charging into their territory, would Di Lin still run from the fight?
"I hope you don't disappoint me," Xiang Shaoyun muttered, his eyes filled with thick killing intent.
He had been waiting a very long time for this moment. The blood within him boiled, and he couldn't wait to battle that traitor.
When they arrived at the foot of the volcano occupied by the Di Alliance, someone blocked their path and shouted, "The Di Alliance is stationed here. Any unrelated person needs to leave, or don't blame us for not showing mercy!"
The two on guard duty had both reached late second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm.
Xiang Shaoyun merely waved his hand. "Take them down as quickly as possible."
Xiang Shaoyun couldn't even be bothered to deal with such weak opponents personally. Dealing with them would insult his status as the overlord and honor those lowly opponents.
Chapter 698: I'll Kill You First
After a few exchanges, the two Di Alliance guards were left with wounds all over and could fight no longer. The Dragon Phoenix Academy did not prohibit internal battles, but killing was strictly discouraged. Otherwise, one would be punished severely.
As for Xiang Shaoyun's act of killing Han Lingshuang on the iceberg, that was simply because he was left with no choice. Moreover, he had ample reasons to kill then, and he would not be afraid even if someone reported it.
Of course, he believed that Huo Xudong would not dare to publicize that incident. In the Flame Mountains zone, there were numerous academy disciples. Thus, it was not feasible to kill these two Di Alliance members.
The two were extremely indignant about their defeats. Their opponents had fought all together against the two of them. In that situation, they stood no chance. Xiang Shaoyun then led the Overlord Legion people up the volcano.
Before long, a group of people arrived, having descended the volcano. They had sensed the fight at the foot of the volcano and were there to provide assistance. There were about 15 of them. Evidently, the Di Alliance had recruited quite a lot of members.
As for why they had managed to recruit so many members, it was because a previous generation elder had accepted di Lin as a personal disciple. These new joiners all wished to obtain the support of the previous generation elder's faction through Di Lin. The group of newcomers was led by Di Tong and Di Shang.
"It's you, Xiang Shaoyun? You dare come to us?" Di Shang roared when he saw Xiang Shaoyun.
Di Shang was now a Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator as well, but he was two stages below Di Tong. Di Tong had reached the third stage. One could say that his progress had been rather rapid.
"That's right. Today, I'm here for the Di Alliance. If you're smart, piss off. Otherwise, I'll cripple all of you," said Xiang Shaoyun with a sinister look on his face.
He held an intense dislike for anyone from the Di Clan, as disloyalty seemed to flow in their veins.
"Trash like you dares to create a fuss? Men, take them all down!" Di Shang commanded.
With Di Shang's strength, he wasn't supposed to be able to command the Di Alliance members. But since he was Di Lin's elder brother, they still showed him sufficient respect.
"Leave Xiang Shaoyun to me. You guys deal with the others," said a sword-wielding young man as he charged forward.
His sword shone with brilliant radiance, exuding incomparable sharpness, radiating formidable might.
"Be careful, Overlord. He is Xia Qiuhua, and his strength is comparable to the deputy commander's," said Deng Lingtian.
"It's him? Yes, I've heard of him from Big Brother Tang. Good, I'll start with him," Xiang Shaoyun sneered, stepped forth, and threw a punch at the incoming sword.
An overbearing flaming fist collided with the boundless sword ray.
Rumble!
A dazzling explosion resulted, and sparks spread everywhere. The collision was like a signal that started the battle between the others as the Di Alliance people charged the Overlord Legion people.
"Kill! Kill these bastards!" Di Shang roared as if he had gone mad.
"I hate noisy people like you the most," said Xiang Shaoyun in a displeased manner as he suddenly erupted in speed and avoided Xia Qiuhua. He rushed for Di Shang.
"Eighth brother, watch out!" Di Tong had been sticking close to Di Shang, and he had a decent reaction time.
Even so, he still wasn't able to stop Xiang Shaoyun's sudden attack, as it was just too fast. One ought to know that Xiang Shaoyun was someone who had started to comprehend the second stage of footwork intent, shrinking space. Coupled with the power of his wind star and the lack of the heavy armor, he was now as fast as a peak Emperor.
Like a specter, he appeared behind Di Shang and clawed his cape, roaring, "You want to kill me? I'll kill you first. Di Batian and your siblings shall mourn for you!"
"Xiang Shaoyun, you dare harm my eighth brother?" To the side, Di Tong roared in alarm as he attacked with full strength.
However, Xiang Shaoyun ignored him, and with his fingers around the neck of Di Shang, who was already wearing a pleading expression, he twisted the neck.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out. Di Shang's neck was completely snapped, and he breathed his last. Wasn't killing fellow disciples prohibited in the Dragon Phoenix Academy? Was Xiang Shaoyun going to risk punishment just to kill Di S
hang?
Of course not. There was no chance he would be punished for killing Di Shang. Di Shang wasn't even an academy disciple. His actual identity in the academy was Di Lin's follower. The restrictions and protection of the academy did not apply to followers.
Because of that, Xiang Shaoyun did not mind killing Di Shang to vent some of his anger. The Di Clan had not only snatched the Ziling Sect from him but had also pursued him endlessly. His patience was wearing thin, and this day, he was finally erupting with scathing murderous intent.
Di Tong's attack struck Xiang Shaoyun, but the six layers of Goldplates had formed around him. Hence, the attack couldn't do much to him, making the power of the Six Goldplate Manual evident.
"Eighth brother!" Di Tong wailed miserably as he looked at Di Shang's corpse, his heart filled with sorrow.
He attacked Xiang Shaoyun wildly as if he had gone mad. With his cultivation level of third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm, he was able to push his combat prowess to the level of late fourth-stage, living up to his status as a genius cultivator.
Unfortunately, that much strength was nothing before Xiang Shaoyun. Turning around, Xiang Shaoyun unleashed his Seven Scorching Sun Claws and ripped Di Tong's attacks apart before clawing at his body.
Di Tong was not his match, and he was sent flying away and coughing up blood, bloody claw marks on his face. Just as Xiang Shaoyun was about to press on, Xia Qiuhua's attack arrived at his back.
"Xiang Shaoyun, I am your opponent," said Xia Qiuhua as he swung his blazing sword at Xiang Shaoyun.
The attack was simple yet effective, his technique simple yet profound, his attacking prowess incredible. He was a peak third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator, only a step away from fourth-stage.
If it wasn't for the fact that his cultivation level was slightly lower than Tang Longfei's, he would have long defeated Tang Longfei. Now, he was ranked third on the Jiao Luan List and was qualified to even challenge some of those on the Dragon Phoenix List.
Xiang Shaoyun could sense the threat of Xia Qiuhua, but he did not shrink. Instead, he sent a series of claw attacks forward.
Seven Scorching Sun Claws, World Tearing Stance.
Xiang Shaoyun was already capable of using the final three stances of the Seven Scorching Sun Claws. Hence, the technique had visibly grown much stronger than when he had used it before.
Chapter 699: Xia Yunxi
Neither the Di Alliance nor the Overlord Legion had expected Xiang Shaoyun to kill the moment he attacked. His act of killing had greatly shocked them all. He was behaving as an overlord should, displaying terrifying overbearingness.
The crisp "crack" the Di Alliance people had heard caused their heartbeat to accelerate and their hairs to stand on end. Because of that, their momentum was suppressed in their battle with the Overlord Legion.
When two armies fought, the brave would be victorious. The people from the Di Alliance were no longer valorous, while those from the Overlord Legion had their courage boosted by Xiang Shaoyun's overbearingness. Hence, the Di Alliance people approached defeat as well.
Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun was engaged in fighting Xia Qiuhua. Originally, Xia Qiuhua had wanted to have a fair fight with Xiang Shaoyun to see who was stronger. But Di Tong had insisted on joining the fight, turning it into a two-versus-one.
At that, Xia Qiuhua wanted to pull out, but when he recalled Di Shang's death, he had no excuse to withdraw. If they couldn't take revenge, the reputation of the Di Alliance would plummet. Their members would leave, and it would be hard for them to rebuild themselves.
Xia Qiuhua had thought that by working with Di Tong, they would be able to take down Xiang Shaoyun easily. After all, Xiang Shaoyun was only a second-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. Even if he could punch above his class, it wouldn't amount to much.
But the longer he fought Xiang Shaoyun, the higher he evaluated Xiang Shaoyun's strength. Without the heavy armor burdening him, Xiang Shaoyun's speed and offensive had become much scarier.
His claws flew everywhere, leaving claw marks around him, displaying a dreadful destructive might. Yun Flame's power made his claws even scarier, as the moment one was struck, it would be very hard to remove the flame.
Although Xia Qiuhua's simplified attacks were powerful, he was still forced into repeated retreat by Xiang Shaoyun, his attacks ripped apart again and again. As for Di Tong, he was doing even worse. Although he was fighting with all his might, Xiang Shaoyun only needed to make use of his speed as he dodged and left numerous wounds on Di Tong.
If it wasn't for the academy rules, he would have killed Di Tong as well. Of course, even if he couldn't kill, he would still vent some of his anger and beat Di Tong up real nicely. At the very least, he needed to plant a shadow in Di Tong's heart and create a mental block that would make his future advancements difficult.
With one claw, blood sprayed out of Di Tong's arm. With another claw, flesh was ripped off his thigh. With the next claw, cracks appeared on his armor. Each claw was powerful and domineering, and its flame energy invaded and damaged Di Tong's meridians.
"Ahhhh!"
Di Tong wailed like a pig being slaughtered. His entire person was dyed red with blood, looking incredibly miserable. As for Xia Qiuhua, he was forced to watch as Di Tong was tortured, his attacks failing to even touch the corner of Xiang Shaoyun's clothes. Hatred filled his heart.
"Xiang Shaoyun, take my attack!" Xia Qiuhua was completely infuriated.
With a roar, he threw his sword out.
Sword steering!
The sword steering stage was the second stage of sword intent. Had Xia Qiuhua comprehended it? That was not the case. It was merely a special ability unique to the battle technique he cultivated. It only worked within a short range, and it even had a time limit to boot. It was much weaker than the true sword steering stage.
Even so, it was still an astonishing attack. After separating from his hand, the sword increased in might as it trailed through the air like a flaming rainbow, aiming straight for Xiang Shaoyun with an astonishing might.
By the time Xiang Shaoyun sensed the sword, it had already arrived in front of his face at an unbelievable speed. He quickly reacted by leaning backward, barely avoiding the stab. However, the sword actually turned around and stabbed toward his back.
It was an uncanny attack that did indeed resemble the sword steering stage. Xiang Shaoyun was still able to react speedily, but he failed to cleanly avoid the sword as it brushed past his waist and opened a bloody gash.
It was evident Xia Qiuhua's strength was not to be underestimated. The sword turned around yet again, but this time, Xiang Shaoyun did something different and kicked out his leg, leaving an afterimage in the air.
Hurricane Kick!
The afterimage turned into a hurricane that dragged the sword in, causing it to lose control before sending it flying. The sword stabbed into a distant bounder. But by then, Xia Qiuhua had already approached Xiang Shaoyun. Using his fingers as a sword, he sliced at Xiang Shaoyun's throat.
Swordfinger Killing Technique!
He lived up to the name of a sword expert. Even when using his fingers as a sword, he could still release an exceedingly sharp sword energy. Furthermore, he attacked with ingenuous timing, attacking while Xiang Shaoyun was dealing with his sword.
Just as Xiang Shaoyun was about to be killed, the six Goldplates appeared, blocking the finger sword.
"Helper of a villain, scram!" Xiang Shaoyun roared and clawed at his opponent with both hands.
A pair of flaming palms clawed Xia Qiuhua, who couldn't retreat in time. Blood sprayed as wounds deep enough to show his bones opened on his arms, the pain so intense he could hardly make another attack.
Just as Xiang Shaoyun was about to press on and cripple Xia Qiuhua, a sword energy shot toward him from not far away. The sword attack was even stronger than Xia Qiuhua's. Taking the form of a flaming cloud, it was extremely destructive.
Xiang Shaoyun immediately sensed the threat behi
nd the attack and was forced to let go of Xia Qiuhua and step away.
When he looked over at the new attacker, his eyes gleamed with even thicker killing intent. "Xia Yunxi!"
The newcomer was none other than Xia Yunxi, the woman Xiang Shaoyun had once loved most. Face delicate and hair drifting about in the air, she floated down as her light muslin veil rippled lightly in the wind. She was akin to a fairy, her person graceful and her temperament elegant, causing the world around her to dim before her beauty.
Over the past two years, her strength had grown rapidly. She was now a fourth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. Her temperament had also grown, and her former self was incomparable to the current her.
Of course, it was not surprising for her to reach such heights. She had a mid-grade eight-star physique. Even in the entirety of the academy, her physique was considered excellent. The only reason she wasn't as well known was Di Lin. She had voluntarily sacrificed fame to become a silent woman behind Di Lin.
"Xiang Shaoyun, stop," said Xia Yunxi.
She looked at Xiang Shaoyun with a complicated gaze. Once, she saw this young man as a useless wastrel, which was why she had abandoned him and picked Di Lin. When Xiang Shaoyun's physique was revealed, she was greatly shocked and even felt slight remorse.
But it was too late for her to change her mind. Thus, she had no choice but to hide her remorse. She tried her best to assist Di Lin, hoping to keep Xiang Shaoyun suppressed. But now, it seemed Xiang Shaoyun simply refused to die. Di Lin had plotted repeatedly to have him killed, but all the attempts had failed, and Xiang Shaoyun had grown to the point he could pose as a threat.
Chapter 700: Submit and This Young Master Shall Spare You
Looking at Xia Yunxi, Xiang Shaoyun's eyes gleamed with contempt "Hehe, this is the Dragon Phoenix Academy's turf. What rights do you have to stop us from cultivating here? Want me to stop? Easy. Leave, and I won't make things difficult for you. Of course, you can also choose to defeat me and chase me away."