by Translator: Pokka; Author: 我本纯洁 (I Am Pure); Licensed From: Migu
"Our Nine Palace Academy will catch up soon," replied a Nine Palace Academy overseer.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Phoenix Academy and the Sacred Deer Academy overseers were too embarrassed to say anything. In their opinion, competing against the top two academies was simply too hard. Suddenly, something changed.
The Sacred Deer Academy disciples suddenly erupted with a mighty strength and blasted open their own path as well. Before long, they caught up with the Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples. From their momentum, it even seemed like they were going to overtake the Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples soon.
The elders and overseers saw their advance, and their expressions changed. Their gazes all landed on a certain youth none other than Xiang Shaoyun. He was fighting in an optimal state.
As he used the Seven Overlapping Waves Slash, each of his slashes was stronger than the slash before, and he was borrowing the water energy from his surroundings to further enhance his slashes. The furred claw crabs were utterly helpless against him. Beside him, Money was also attacking relentlessly with numerous lightning bolts, sending many furred claw crabs fleeing.
The human and beast pair was too strong. One could say that they were demonstrating a top-level strength among all the disciples present. The Sacred Deer Academy disciples were encouraged by Xiang Shaoyun's valor and started fighting even harder.
Jiang Qi was the Sacred Deer Academy's strongest disciple. She might look like a sweet little girl, but both she and her blue lion mount were displaying stunning combat strength. She seemed capable enough to even match a fourth-stage Sovereign in battle.
She was similarly a user of water profundity, and she could even weaken the crabs' water attacks and reduce the pressure her fellow disciples faced.
In the midst of battle, she noticed the strength of the abandoned Dragon Phoenix Academy disciple, and she was surprised by his valiance. She remembered how she had even persuaded him not to come not long ago.
However, she did not have the leisure to sit down and think about it. For now, she had to focus on weakening the furred claw crabs' attacks to allow the youth at the very front of their group to deal as much damage as he could to the crabs.
Of course, Jiang Qi was not the only genius among the Sacred Deer Academy disciples. There were a few other remarkable freaks as well. Together, they tore through the furred claw crabs, advancing with great momentum.
The Dragon Phoenix Academy naturally wouldn't allow themselves to be overtaken so easily. Baili Yixiao, Zhan Wushuang, and the other freaks unleashed their strength and accelerated their advance.
Baili Yixiao's sword of kindness was unrivaled. With a smile on his face and a sword in hand, he sent his sword energy running amok, leaving corpses everywhere. The furred claw crabs were utterly helpless against his sword.
Zhan Wushuang's battle intent surged to the sky, his spirit unrivaled as his fists reduced numerous furred claw crabs into the souls of the deceased. These two were always the center of attention wherever they went. Before them, even the likes of Lei Bao seemed minor.
However, there were a few disciples from the True Martial Academy who were actually comparable. The True Martial Academy's strongest disciple was an unassuming man. He wasn't handsome like Xiang Shaoyun or tall or sturdy.
However, he emanated an incredibly oppressive aura that caused people around him to not dare to look at him. It was as though he was a true dragon. He fought in a coarse manner, his every move momentous. As a whole, he was extremely dreadful.
Even among the True Martial Academy disciples, few dared to approach him. His loneliness and his search for a taste of defeat was something nobody understood. His name was Gudu Qiubai, a true martial lunatic. In addition to martial lunatic, he was also known as a martial addict and a martial demon. One could imagine how much of a freak he was.
It was as though he was born for the sake of martial cultivation. He could quickly master any martial technique and release its full power. In fact, a technique in his hands would even surpass its supposedly maximum power. Until today, few opponents had caught his eyes.
The number two expert of True Martial Academy was a beauty. A mask covered half her face, showing only half of her enchanting face. Looking at her, it was as though she was half a devil and half an angel. Her voluptuous figure was endlessly alluring, a perfect match for her flawless and fair skin. Nobody knew her name, so she was known as Devil Concubine.
She had many supporters. In the academy, half the male disciples were her supporters, and there was even a saying that Devil Concubine's words held more authority than an elder's. From that, one could see just how illustrious her status in the academy was.
The third strongest disciple was the self-proclaimed Little Overlord. He claimed to be the reincarnation of the ancient Overlord. He was similarly dreadfully powerful with numerous followers. However, he was still weaker than Dugu Qiubai in terms of combat prowess, and he had less rallying power than Devil Concubine. Thus, he occupied the third rank in the academy.
Even so, he was undoubtedly strong. Since joining the True Martial Academy, he had never suffered defeat. He had also hunted a lot of Sovereign Realm devils and demons. He was a purple-haired youth, and he had handsome looks. In the True Martial Academy, he was loved by many female disciples, yet he only had Devil Concubine in his eyes.
Chapter 930: Nascent Transformation Stone
Gudu Qiubai, Devil Concubine, and Little Overlord weren't the only notable disciples from the True Martial Academy. There were also a few who had gained their fame at a young age. Each of them was as strong as Baili Yixiao and Zhan Wushuang. From that, one could see just how freakish the True Martial Academy recruits were.
After all, the academy had ranked first for many years. Thus, the allure of joining the True Martial Academy was much greater than the other academies. Many geniuses preferred joining the True Martial Academy, and it was said that the True Martial Academy's cultivation resources equaled the total sum of what the other three academies offered. However, only the True Martial Academy disciples would know if it was true.
The Nine Palace Academy also had no lack of freaks. Among them, Jiu Tian, the principal's grandson, had the greatest popularity. It was said that during his birth, he had formed a resonance with the Nine Palace Sword Formation, the academy's oldest sword formation. The formation was known as the unrivaled sword formation, and it was created by their first principal.
Jiu Tian had formed a resonance with the formation at his birth, and he had even slowly mastered the formation growing up. He could form the complete formation alone, granting him the ability to harvest any head within a range of 5,000 kilometers. He could also kill those many stages above him, and he seemed unstoppable.
Apart from Jiu Tian, the academy also had a few other extraordinary freaks hailing from different powerful organizations in the dominion. Comparatively, the Sacred Deer Academy's lineup seemed weaker. They only had four ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivators, with Jiang Qi being the strongest.
She had a primary-grade nine-star physique, and she also had an Innate Water Physique. Thus, she was born with an affinity to the water element. She had comprehended the profundity of water long ago and was the Sacred Deer Academy's strongest goddess.
The other three weren't exactly weak, but they were only comparable to the likes of Yu Ziyang, Ouyang Chuanqi, and Huang Tianji, or they might even be slightly weaker than them.
Apart from these freaks, the other disciples from the four academies weren't pushovers either. They were all prodigies who had distinguished themselves from thousands, or even tens of thousands, of their peers. Everyone had different trump cards, and a low-level Emperor could very well kill a Sovereign out of nowhere. Thus, one couldn't look down on any of the disciples.
At this time, the disciples had mostly arrived near the island's center. The experts among the furred claw crabs finally showed themselves. These Demon Emperors started fighting the disciples at close range, and even Demon Sovere
igns appeared. Their legs were akin to sickles, and their pincers were even more terrifying. Some disciples were snapped in half the moment the pincers caught them, dying the island red with blood.
Xiang Shaoyun was fighting at the very front of the Sacred Deer Academy group. He had blocked a lot of dangers for them, causing the Sacred Deer Academy disciples to feel somewhat guilty. But even more of them felt gratitude. A majority of them were female, and their opinion of him improved rapidly as he, a handsome youth, braved danger after danger for them.
Meanwhile, Xia Liuhui was as shameless as ever. He shouted incessantly, "Kill! If a god comes, we slay the god! If a crab comes, we slay the crab! I, Xia Liuhui, am undefeated!"
He had decent combat strength, but he wasn't very good in prolonged combat. Thus, he was now hiding behind Xiang Shaoyun, yet his mouth never stopped shouting. From the way he was shouting, one would think that he was the one killing all the crabs. His face was truly incredibly thick.
At this time, three peak Emperor crabs appeared and charged toward Xiang Shaoyun. They swept their scythe-like legs at him, leaving a trail behind their legs as they sliced through the air. These crabs were akin to exceptional experts, and their legs contained the power of the great dao and possessed the hardness of an emperor weapon. They were strong enough to easily cut through regular Emperors.
Instead of retreating, Xiang Shaoyun charged the three crabs. With the Shark Devourer Saber in hand, he pounced on them like a massive shark. His sword was akin to a shark's sharp teeth, ruthlessly severing their legs before slicing the crabs themselves into two. There wasn't any suspense in his victory.
Then, Xiang Shaoyun swept his senses over them and pulled the three corpses into his astral cosmos sea. Their corpses were rather valuable. His gaze landed on a certain spot below where a group of crabs was protecting a certain stone. Sensing that the stone was different from regular stones, he activated his gift of instincts and scanned it.
It was as though the stone was furry, with numerous pores. It looked more like a disgusting skin tumor than a stone, and it was incredibly odd. Because the crabs shielded the stone and it shared their same color, nobody else had noticed it.
"Nascent transformation stone!" Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed.
He then dove down without hesitation. The nascent transformation stone was essentially a concentration of the furred claw crabs' essence. Their eggs could also be found on the stone, and they used it as their breeding ground. After being exposed to the furred claw crabs for an extended period of time, a stone would change from a regular stone into a nascent transformation stone.
Others might not know how important the nascent transformation stone was, but Xiang Shaoyun was well-read and knew its value well. One could use it for breeding a large number of furred claw crabs and foster a private crab army. Secondly, the stone itself was unique and could hatch the eggs of demonic beasts that had remained unhatched for thousands, or even tens of thousands, of years.
After all, many powerful demonic beasts had trouble breeding and could easily die young. Many of them even had difficulty hatching their eggs, but this stone, in particular, could smoothly hatch their eggs.
Perhaps many people would look down on these functions, but Xiang Shaoyun knew very well that many ancient clans would have some high-level demonic eggs in store. After many years of suppression, the eggs might lack vitality and no longer be hatchable. Under such circumstances, the nascent transformation stone was extremely useful.
That was why Xiang Shaoyun attached a high level of importance to the stone. He had not expected that a nascent transformation stone would appear here. If others also noticed it, he probably wouldn't have a chance to get it. Therefore, he had to get his hands on the stone first. He was confident that if he auctioned the stone, he would be able to sell it for a high price. After all, it was an extremely rare stone.
However, the ones guarding the stone were the experts among the furred claw crab. There were more than 10 Emperors and 2 Sovereigns. The disciples were unwilling to provoke the powerful group, yet Xiang Shaoyun actually split off from the Sacred Deer Academy disciples and charged toward them alone. The Sacred Deer Academy disciples were bewildered by his action.
"Don't provoke them!" Jiang Qi's voice rang out behind him.
In her eyes, Xiang Shaoyun was already a part of the Sacred Deer Academy's vanguard. However, Xiang Shaoyun completely ignored her and continued toward the stone.
Chapter 931: Breaching the Siege
"What did that kid find?" muttered Feng Huosuo, who was observing him from high in the sky. As far as he was concerned, Xiang Shaoyun was someone he needed to kill. Thus, it wasn't possible that he wouldn't pay close attention to Xiang Shaoyun.
Shadowflash had also noticed the same. Soon, he narrowed his eyes as his expression shifted, "Something is odd about the stone under the furred claw crabs."
At this time, the gorgeously dressed elder from the Sacred Deer Academy said in astonishment, "Huh? It's a nascent transformation stone. This kid has a surprisingly good pair of eyes. He actually recognized the stone."
"Indeed. Nascent transformation stones are rare, and few people can recognize one. Looks like the lord guardian's disciple is not so simple, after all," said a Nine Palace Academy elder.
"I only want to know why the Dragon Phoenix Academy expelled the lord guardian's disciple. He must be an unpolished jade for him to become the lord guardian's disciple. Is the Dragon Phoenix Academy blind?" questioned a True Martial Academy, derision in his eyes as he looked at Shadowflash and Feng Huosuo.
"What's the point of talent if one has a bad character?" replied Shadowflash.
Feng Huosuo piped in, "He had murdered two descendants of academy elders. I advise that you all be careful when dealing with him."
His words were obviously directed at the Sacred Deer Academy elder. He was afraid that the Sacred Deer Academy would actually recruit Xiang Shaoyun, which wasn't something he wanted to see. His words dampened the elders' excitement. After all, this was another academy's internal affair. It was not their place to comment on it.
At this time, Xiang Shaoyun alone had charged right into the forbidden zone of the furred claw crabs with only a saber and his mount by his side. He swung his saber repeatedly as he utilized the Seven Overlapping Waves Slash to stack his saber energies over and over, blasting several furred claw crab Emperors to pieces.
Akin to a young god of death, he killed in a clean and effective manner. The furred claw crabs stood no chance against him.
Nobody at the Emperor and lower realms was his match. The crab Sovereign was forced to act as he roared, "A puny human dares to kill so many of my sons and grandsons? Today, I will rip you apart!"
Like an exceptional saber master, the crab Sovereign swept his eight legs forward, filling their surroundings with a blue radiance. From his powerful aura, he was a second-stage Demon Sovereign. No disciple would lightly provoke an existence at this level.
Xiang Shaoyun could feel a pressure crushing down on him, but it wasn't so overwhelming that he couldn't resist it. He activated his gift of instincts and instantly saw through the openings of the crab's attacks. Where the eight scythe-like legs were falling, there were some blank spots he could use to dodge the attacks before pulling closer to the crab.
As he dodged toward the blank spot, the legs glided past him. The Goldplates around his skin were instantly sliced apart. Fortunately, his body had not sustained injury. He grabbed onto the opportunity presented to him and tightly gripped the Shark Devourer Saber with both his hands. His battle intent and saber intent soared, and instantly, he slashed seven times, unleashing the full power of the Seven Overlapping Waves Slash.
He had already reached the second stage of saber intent. Thus, although it looked like he was tightly gripping the saber, his saber had actually left his grasp and was fiercely swinging toward the crab. The crab reacted deftly and moved his massive pincers forward, blocking all seven slashes. The impact blasted the crab bac
kward.
Xiang Shaoyun was nowhere to be found, and by the time the crab sensed him, he was already behind the crab. His fists lashed out like a pair of dragons and bombarded the crab's underbelly, the crab's weakest point.
The punch sent the crab flying into the air, and the saber moved by itself and slashed down, splitting the crab's shell. Blood rained down and sprayed everywhere. The nearby crabs went mad and attacked Xiang Shaoyun with their full strength with a firm resolution to kill him off.
With the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps, Xiang Shaoyun moved like a specter and reached the nascent transformation stone. He blasted away the crabs around it and grabbed for the stone, suffering a strike from a crab's pincers in the process. If it wasn't for his tough physique, his blood would have spilled by now.
Nevertheless, he was able to stow away the nascent transformation stone. He wasted no time, and after pushing the crab Sovereign away and retrieving the Shark Devourer Saber, he called out to Money and rushed toward the depths of Lonesoul Island.
When Xia Liuhui saw Xiang Shaoyun running off alone, he shouted, "Hey, hey, boss! I thought we're fighting side by side until the sky darkens? How can you go in alone? Where is your loyalty? Hey...boss, wait for me!"
"Take care," Xiang Shaoyun said before vanishing in the midst of numerous furred claw crabs.
The nascent transformation stone was the furred claw crabs' treasure. With him snatching it from them, they would definitely be driven mad with fury.
Thousands upon thousands of crabs pursued him, and numerous energy attacks rained down on him as he fled. In fact, the entire scene looked rather spectacular.
Because of Xiang Shaoyun, the pressure the Sacred Deer Academy disciples faced was reduced, allowing them to advance more quickly. Soon, they surpassed the Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples and caught up with the Nine Palace Academy disciples.
The Sacred Deer Academy elders and overseers roared with laughter. Although their success was all thanks to their good luck of having stumbled upon Xiang Shaoyun, luck was also part of one's strength.