by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
Unrivaled Sky Crushing Punch!
This was an imitation of Zhan Wushuang's technique. Although Xiang Shaoyun's version wasn't quite at the level of Zhan Wushuang's, he could unleash at least 70 percent of the original technique's might.
More importantly, Xiang Shaoyun's soul was comparable to a fifth-stage Sovereign. When his soul attacked with his battle intent, the might he amassed was more than enough to punch above his weight.
The overseer had not expected that Xiang Shaoyun had actually formed a solid soul body. Moreover, his combat strength was far beyond the seventh-stage Emperor Realm and was, in fact, at a level that could match them. Fear rose within him, but in his current situation, retreating was not an option. Thus, he mustered all his strength and met Xiang Shaoyun's punch.
Alas, with Xiang Shaoyun's soul at the same level of strength as the Sovereign, he was no longer a match. After all, Xiang Shaoyun was a prodigy. His raging battle intent pushed the might of his punch to the maximum and blasted the Sovereign's palm attack apart. The fist pushed on, and it struck the Sovereign.
Bang!
The Sovereign's body was smashed apart, and he was forced to release his soul foundation once again. He managed to barely stop the rampaging fist.
At the Soul Foundation Realm, even if one's body was destroyed, one could still rebuild one's body with proper materials so long as one's soul foundation survived. The soul foundation was akin to a Sovereign's second life.
Unfortunately for the Sovereign, the moment his soul foundation was out, five ghostrunes started attacking it madly. Gui Qi pounced on the soul foundation and started gnawing on it, pushing the soul foundation to the brink of destruction.
"No! Save me!" the Sovereign cried out in fear.
"You won't survive," declared Xiang Shaoyun coldly. He launched more punches toward the soul foundation.
The soul foundation was incomparably firm since it was forged from numerous rare materials. Even so, it couldn't withstand Xiang Shaoyun's bombardment and was punched apart. The remaining overseers trembled. An overseer who was as strong as them was killed just like that. It felt unreal to them.
As high-level overseers of the academy, they were all strong enough to fight opponents with higher cultivation levels. Even with the Nether Soul Domain suppressing about half of their strength, they could still unleash the strength of fifth-stage Sovereigns. And yet, someone like that was easily finished off by a soul body. It was incredibly shocking.
After the overseer was killed, a golden clump of flame flew out. It headed straight for the Nether Soul Domain's border, trying to escape the space.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay!" Xiang Shaoyun naturally wouldn't allow a high-level flame like this to escape him. It was about time Yun Flame advanced again. He took out the human skin and wrapped it around the Noble Glazed Flame.
The human skin seemed completely immune to flame. It was definitely something left behind by a powerful flame controller for it to possess such an inconceivable power. Unsurprisingly, the moment the Noble Glazed Flame was bundled inside the skin, it calmed and turned obedient, allowing Xiang Shaoyun to pull it into his astral cosmos sea.
Xiang Shaoyun did not dare to devour the Noble Glazed Flame right here as he would most likely suffer from it. He needed to make sufficient preparations before the attempt, and now, he still had to deal with the surviving overseers.
The overseers were using all their strength to attack Xiang Shaoyun's soul. They were aware that this was the quickest way they could save themselves. After all, the destruction of one's soul signified one's death.
Chapter 894: That Kid Is Really a Devil
With the Nether Dragon Soul Headband, Xiang Shaoyun's soul was effectively invincible. Furthermore, he had a filthless soul and a solid soul body that possessed a formidable combat strength. In the Nether Soul Domain, he was like a fish back in water. He held the complete upper hand over the overseers. They were unable to pose him any sort of threat.
As if to add salt to the wound, the ghostrunes kept harassing the overseers. Endless chains were still shooting toward them from all directions. The suppression of the overseers never stopped.
If they could actually use their soul foundations, it wouldn't be so easy for Xiang Shaoyun to defeat them. But in this situation, taking their soul foundations out only meant more trouble. The ghostrunes were eagerly waiting to the side, greatly restricting the options available to them. Thus, the more they fought, the gloomier they felt.
"Xiang Shaoyun, if you continue keeping me here, I'll die with you!" threatened one of the overseers even while he was attacking Xiang Shaoyun with his black spear.
He ignited his blood essence, pushing his combat strength to an even higher level. Each stab of his spear was accompanied by an incredible power. He was actually using a forbidden technique. It was obvious he was getting really desperate.
Xiang Shaoyun ignored all the attacks and descended upon the overseer like a storm. Kick after kick was unleashed at the overseer from numerous unexpected angles, leaving wounds all over his body. Eventually, the overseer's spear was dragged away from the chains. Without his spear, he was akin to a toothless tiger.
"Even if I die, you'll die with me!" said the overseer, deciding to throw all caution to the wind. He was planning to explode his soul foundation to kill both himself and Xiang Shaoyun.
"This isn't bad. Gui Qi, you guys stop him!" commanded Xiang Shaoyun the moment he sensed what the overseer was trying to do.
The five ghostrunes attacked together, charging the overseer's mind repeatedly to assault his soul, interrupting his attempts at detonating his soul foundation.
Xiang Shaoyun accurately grabbed the momentary distraction and arrived before the overseer to attack with all his strength. A terrifying fist shot out, shining dazzlingly like a brilliant golden star and punched through the overseer's head.
By this point, the two remaining overseers were scared out of their wits. They used their final trump cards, hoping that they could at least keep their lives. One of them took out a broken saint weapon. He nearly pierced through the Nether Soul Domain's border, but with a casual swing of Xiang Shaoyun's Radiant Saint Sword, he was beheaded.
In this domain, Xiang Shaoyun was basically a god. He could appear anywhere with a single thought. And with him using even his saint sword, none of the overseers could hope to stop him. The final remaining overseer couldn't escape either. With the constant interference from the five ghostrunes, he couldn't even detonate himself and was killed mercilessly.
The room Xiang Shaoyun was locked in was in Situ Mingyu's backyard. His thick murderous intent and the dense devilish aura did not spread outside the room thanks to the formations in place, but as a previous generation elder, Situ Mingyu was incredibly powerful. Both he and Mo Luo could sense the appearance of a different aura.
"This is bad. Something happened in the room!" Situ Mingyu exclaimed as he rushed toward the room.
Mo Luo followed him, and the two arrived outside instantly. They looked toward the same direction and could sense the vague existence of a devil. When their senses swept over, their faces shifted.
"That kid has made his move. Let's go!" Situ Mingyu said as he rushed toward the hill at the back of his villa.
Naturally, Mo Luo tagged along with him. That hill was the place Situ Mingyu usually secluded himself in cultivation, and it was also where the secret room was located. It was not a place others could easily approach.
The two were Heaven Battling Realm experts. When they moved, it was as though they teleported. In the blink of an eye, they arrived before the secret room.
Apart from them, many elders in the elders' residential district also sensed something happening. They were all individuals of extraordinary strength. Nothing could escape their senses.
"Where is this devilish aura coming from? It's actually within one of the elder villas? Has an elder subdued a devil slave?"
"This devilish aura isn't too thick, and it is
incredibly pure. It seems to be coming from Old Situ's place. This seems weird."
The elders muttered among themselves, but none of them tried doing anything. They wouldn't make a fuss just because they had sensed a little devilish aura. After all, they were people who had experienced many things and would not be easily alarmed.
On the other hand, when Xiao Wei sensed the aura, he exclaimed, "Fifth elder, there's devilish aura there! It might be something released by Xiang Shaoyun!"
Zhang Wujing had just left Mo Luo's place. They failed to locate Mo Luo and were on their way back. When he heard Xiao Wei's words, he asked in astonishment, "That kid is really a devil?"
"I can guarantee he is human. He had once entered the Devil Domain, so maybe he had consumed some devil blood there. It's not like no humans have done that before in order to obtain a devil's special ability," said Xiao Wei confidently.
In fact, he was the one who had personally recruited Xiang Shaoyun at the Devil Domain. He would naturally speak for Xiang Shaoyun.
"Ok. Let's go. I can sense Mo Luo and Situ Mingyu's auras as well," said the fifth elder. He increased his pace and rushed over, with Xiao Wei following closely behind him.
At this time, Situ Mingyu had just blasted the secret room's door apart. He and Mo Luo both strode inside. When Situ Mingyu entered and saw the corpses on the ground, his eyes widened in anger. Thick killing intent surged out of him as he roared, "Bastard, you dare kill my granddaughter? I'll kill you!"
Xiang Shaoyun was the only survivor in the room, so the murderer could only be him. Situ Mingyu had not expected that a moment of negligence would result in something like this. He wished for nothing more than to tear Xiang Shaoyun apart.
Just as Situ Mingyu was about to kill Xiang Shaoyun, Mo Luo said, "Brother Situ, don't ruin his body. This is a nine-star physique. It will be a good material to make a clone with."
"You're right. I will pluck his soul out and leave an empty body behind," said Situ Mingyu as his arm reached for Xiang Shaoyun.
Xiang Shaoyun had just finished killing Situ Yan and the overseers before breaking free from the torture rack. He hadn't gotten the chance to escape, and he was completely helpless before Situ Mingyu. He was easily captured again.
Just as Situ Mingyu was about to pull Xiang Shaoyun's soul out, Xiao Wei's voice rang out, "Elder Situ and Elder Mo Luo, please stay your hands."
Chapter 895: Clash of Elders
"Mo Luo, stop them for a bit," said Situ Mingyu, viewing Xiao Wei with complete disregard. He sent a powerful burst of consciousness into Xiang Shaoyun's soul, trying to erase the soul forcefully.
Situ Mingyu was at the Heaven Battling Realm, a Saint. His soul was incredibly powerful, strong enough to turn the soul into a clone. Forcefully invading Xiang Shaoyun's mind space was like a walk in the park for him.
Xiang Shaoyun's Nether Soul Domain was unable to stop the invasion, and Situ Mingyu's consciousness assumed the shape of a palm that grabbed at his soul. Unable to avoid the palm, Xiang Shaoyun could only hide inside the Nether Dragon Soul Headband and focused on defending, hoping he could survive.
He also started chanting the Nether Dragon Soul Curse, creating numerous ancient symbols that hovered around him. Instead of attacking the palm, they orbited his soul and protected him. At the same time, the Nether Dragon Soul Headband started exuding an ancient aura that combined with the symbols to form a unique defensive barrier, stopping the palm in its path.
Situ Mingyu sensed what was happening, and his eyes gleamed as he said, "Incredibly powerful soul, and something seems to be blocking my consciousness attack. Looks like you keep a lot of secrets, kid."
Just as he was about to continue his attack, Xiao Wei and the fifth elder rushed into the room. Mo Luo alone couldn't stop the two of them.
"Elder Situ, what are you doing!" shouted Xiao Wei when he saw Xiang Shaoyun's ruined face. He ignored Situ Mingyu's status and rushed over toward Xiang Shaoyun.
Situ Mingyu did not continue attacking, but he said coldly, "Xiao Wei, look at the corpse on the ground. My only granddaughter was killed by this bastard. You're asking me what I'm doing?"
Mo Luo also chimed in, "That's right. This kid is a devil. True to his nature as a devil, he had harmed his fellow disciple. That is punishable with death!"
"The truth will reveal whether he is a devil. But the two of you are bullying a member of the younger generation, kidnapping one of the academy's top three disciples to torture him privately. You were even planning to kill him. Nobody can withstand the principal's wrath if he finds out about this," said Xiao Wei, feeling intensely guilty toward Xiang Shaoyun, whose face was completely ruined.
He was the guardian elder the academy had appointed for Xiang Shaoyun. He had assumed that Xiang Shaoyun would be safe in the academy, so he hadn't been keeping a close watch on him. Thus, he felt responsible for all that had happened.
"I don't care who he is, but he needs to pay with his life for killing my granddaughter," said Situ Mingyu, trying to make use of his status to pressure Xiao Wei.
Mo Luo said, "We were only trying to figure out if he is really a devil, but he actually resisted and killed Elder Situ's granddaughter and the overseers. A devil like this must be executed!"
He then launched a terrifying finger beam toward Xiang Shaoyun, ignoring what the other elders had to say.
Xiao Wei blocked the attack and stood before Xiang Shaoyun. He glared at Mo Luo and said, "Elder Mo Luo, are you trying to kill an important witness before we can figure out what happened?"
"The truth is clear for all to see. If you want to stop me, I'll just cripple you as well," threatened Mo Luo resentfully.
Situ Mingyu also threatened, "Xiao Wei, get lost. That little strength you have is not enough to stop us."
Xiao Wei paled and had no choice but to look at Zhang Wujing, hoping that he would help. Zhang Wujing knew that he could completely avoid getting involved, so he said, "We need to first figure out the truth. In my opinion, we need to call a meeting between the elders to see what the other elders have to say. After all, he is one of the academy's top three disciples. He needs to represent us in the competition of four academies soon. If we kill him now, we are only weakening ourselves."
"So my granddaughter is going to die for nothing?" asked Situ Mingyu furiously.
Mo Luo said coldly, "Having a devil represent us is an insult. We might as well just kill him. There are so many geniuses in the academy. He alone won't make much difference."
Zhang Wujing was about to say something when two powerful auras started heading their way. Soon, two people appeared before the room. They were none other than Feng Huosuo and Shadowflash.
"Everyone, we sensed some devilish aura, so we rushed over. What happened here?" Shadowflash asked with a wide smile on his face.
"Is there a devil creating trouble here?" Feng Huosuo asked with a sarcastic tone.
Both newcomers were elders, with Shadowflash being a high-level elder. Thus, they were not lacking in terms of status. From their behavior, it was obvious who their actual target was.
"You're just in time. A devil just murdered Elder Situ's granddaughter and a few overseers. Tell me, is this not punishable with death?" asked Mo Luo.
Mo Luo had long known that these two probably hated Xiang Shaoyun as well. That was why he asked the question. If the two agreed as well, Zhang Wujing and Xiao Wei would no longer be able to do anything.
"A devil has actually intruded upon our academy? This is no joke. Who recruited the devil? I wonder what that person's intention was," Feng Huosuo went on the offense.
He had always been hostile toward Xiao Wei, and he also knew Xiao Wei was Xiang Shaoyun's recruiter. He was obviously trying to frame Xiao Wei.
"Feng Huosuo, don't try to lie. Yes, I recruited Xiang Shaoyun, but he is definitely not a devil. Don't you dream of framing me," Xiao Wei retorted.
"Hehe, if he is not a devil, are you alluding that Elder Situ and Elder Mo Luo are both blind? You probably ha
rbor evil intentions toward the academy!" Feng Huosuo accused.
Shadowflash agreed, "That's right. It is undeniable that Xiang Shaoyun had killed Elder Situ's granddaughter. Whatever the reason, internal killings are prohibited in the academy. He should be executed."
Xiao Wei knew that things were getting bad, so he had to ask for Zhang Wujing's support, "Fifth elder, we need to seek the principal's opinion about this."
But Zhang Wujing wasn't given a chance to speak as Situ Mingyu immediately released thick killing intent and threatened, "Cut the nonsense. I am going to kill this kid no matter what. Anyone trying to stop me will be considered my enemy."
Zhang Wujing didn't dare to say anything anymore, with Situ Mingyu making his position this clear. Although Zhang Wujing had a high status, Situ Mingyu was a previous generation elder with a higher status. On top of that, there was also Mo Luo with the same status as him. Even Shadowflash and Feng Huosuo were siding with them. It did not seem wise to offend them all for the sake of Xiang Shaoyun.
Behind Xiao Wei, Xiang Shaoyun was observing everything. The more he heard, the colder his eyes became and the more sullen he felt. Not only were they bullying someone from the younger generation, they were even trying to kill him. If he could survive today, he would not spare a single one of them.
Just as Situ Mingyu was about to attack again, a figure appeared like a specter before everyone. None of them knew how this newcomer had arrived.
Chapter 896: I Am Young Master's Loyal Servant
Situ Mingyu, Mo Luo, Zhang Wujing, Xiao Wei, Shadowflash, and Feng Huosuo were among the strongest existences in the academy. Each of them was at the Heaven Battling Realm, and their senses were incredibly sharp. In the span of thousands of miles, they could sense even an ant moving. And yet someone had actually appeared before them undetected. It was obvious how strong this newcomer was.
They felt a chill creep up their spines as the newcomer was giving them an alarming sense of danger. The newcomer was a beastman, having the head of a wolf and the body of a human. His gray wolf head looked incredibly fierce, and his entire body exuded vicious energy.