In the sky, after Xiao Chen thrust his sword, he slowly sheathed it.
On the other side, Chao Xiu was already covered in wounds, his sacred artifact armor shattered and broken.
He looked at Xiao Chen with a dazed expression and muttered, "Wendao Academy's top genius truly lives up to his name. I admit my defeat in this battle. But don't get complacent too soon. Your Wendao Academy may have many experts, but your ordinary disciples are not in an advantageous position. My junior brothers will drag your people from Wendao Academy down with us."
"Oh, really?"
The corners of Xiao Chen's mouth curled into a mocking smile. "Why don't you take a look at your junior brothers now?"
Chao Xiu instinctively turned his gaze toward the battlefield within Taixu Valley.
There, Du Gu Ming, looking half-mad, was slaughtering the disciples of Dayan Holy Land.
Meanwhile, the people of Wendao Academy had long since retreated to the side, standing guard and vigilantly preventing the disciples of Dayan Holy Land from escaping.
"This… how can this be?"
Xiao Chen said, "Earlier, when Du Gu Ming was fighting my junior sister, he actually let his mind wander. That gave her the chance to confuse his mind."
Hearing this, Chao Xiu's pupils dilated in shock as he asked in disbelief, "You… you were distracted by something else even while fighting me?"
Xiao Chen smiled. "I hardly needed to use my full strength against you. Letting you experience my sword intent was already a gift."
Pfft—
Chao Xiu was so enraged by these words that he spat out a mouthful of blood, then slowly fell to the ground.
Cao Youqian couldn't help but sigh, "Senior Brother, you don't just kill people—you crush their spirits too!"
Xiao Chen shot him a look of disdain. "You've got some nerve to talk. Even though your fist intent is already perfected, you still let Wang Lie get away."
"Well…"
Cao Youqian replied awkwardly, "I thought Wang Lie would fight to the bitter end, but instead, he pulled a desperate move and even abandoned his own tiger. That was a spirit tiger with the bloodline of a sacred beast!"
Xiao Chen said nothing more, simply lowering his gaze to the ground, ready to strike at any moment.
Cao Youqian asked cautiously, "Senior Brother, from what I saw just now, your sword intent has reached perfection, right?"
Xiao Chen nodded slightly. "That's right. Are you thinking that since your fist intent is perfected, you want to spar with me?"
Cao Youqian hurriedly shook his head. "Am I that kind of person? Senior Brother will always be Senior Brother—he's not someone I could challenge."
As they spoke, the disciples of Dayan Holy Land below had already suffered heavy casualties.
Some disciples tried to run to the outskirts, but the Wendao Academy group had long since been lying in wait.
In less than an hour,
The disciples of Dayan Holy Land were nearly wiped out. Du Gu Ming stood atop the mountain with a long sword in hand, staring blankly at the scene, at his fallen comrades on the ground, his entire body trembling as he muttered, "What happened? What on earth just happened?"
If not for the lingering sound of the zither in the sky reminding him that the battle wasn't over, he might have already left.
Du Gu Ming looked up to see Xiao Chen and Cao Youqian glaring at him like tigers eyeing their prey. Somehow, he summoned a surge of courage and roared, "I'll fight you to the end!"
Just then, he suddenly felt a chill on his back. As he was about to turn around, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Turning his head slowly, he saw a yin-yang Taiji diagram engulfing him.
"Ah!!!"
Moments later, Du Gu Ming collapsed in despair.
All the onlookers from the various factions gasped at the sight.
Hiss—
Isn't this group from Wendao Academy a little too terrifying?
Xiao Chen and Cao Youqian aside, their peerless power is understandable, but that Qin Qinming, clearly only at the late True Fate Realm, actually defeated a genius of the Heaven Origin Realm.
Could it be that, in this lifetime, Wendao Academy will truly reign supreme over Tianxuan?
Xiao Chen spoke up, "Junior brothers and sisters, start clearing the battlefield."
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
Everyone excitedly began cleaning up the battlefield—after all, this was a benefit bestowed by their senior brother.
However, everyone tacitly avoided touching the storage rings of the three top prodigies from Dayan Holy Land.
A short while later, after the battlefield was cleaned up, they all looked at Xiao Chen and the others with eyes full of admiration.
Just then, a girl in purple came up to Cao Youqian. "Brother Overlord Fist, you're amazing!"
That sweet "brother" instantly drew everyone's attention to the girl.
They watched as she, completely unreserved, wrapped her arms around the burly Cao Youqian. Admiration flashed in their eyes.
Xiao Chen asked, "Da Qian, who is this girl in purple?"
Cao Youqian smiled and replied, "Senior Brother, she's just my good little sister. Xiao Yi, hurry and greet my senior brother."
Song Zhaoyi bowed respectfully to Xiao Chen. "Song Zhaoyi greets Senior Brother Xiao."
"No need for formalities."
Xiao Chen didn't linger on her, and quickly blended back into the crowd.
Song Zhaoyi also didn't look at Xiao Chen any further, instead keeping her eyes on Cao Youqian.
After the great battle ended, the other observing factions all departed.
The members of Wendao Academy gathered together to find their fellow disciples and make preparations to leave.
...
Taixu Valley.
Inside Dayan Holy Land's camp, it was a scene of devastation.
The head of the Dark Hall smashed everything in sight, while the surrounding elders looked grim and furious.
Just now, over fifty soul lamps belonging to Dayan Holy Land had gone out at once.
This meant that, within the Taixu Secret Realm, fewer than five disciples of Dayan Holy Land survived.
This batch who entered the Taixu Holy Land were the best disciples in sixty years, and now less than one-tenth remained.
At this point, how could they possibly explain this to the sect master when they returned?
The head of the Dark Hall shouted furiously, "Investigate! You must find out which faction is responsible for this. Once we know, I will pursue them to the death!"
"Yes, sir!"
Not a single elder voiced an objection.
Just then, an aged voice rang out, "Xiao Ye, you alone are not enough to make a Holy Land pay the price. Let this old man take action himself."
Upon hearing the voice, everyone respectfully called out, "Greetings, Fifth Sage!"
A white-haired elder stepped out from behind the screen.
This was none other than Dayan Holy Land's resident Semi-Saint—Diwu Qingyun.
He swept his gaze over the assembled crowd and said, "Don't let this matter spread, lest it alert others. Though this time our Dayan Holy Land suffered heavy losses in the Taixu Secret Realm, as long as Lei Aojie still lives, our hope isn't lost. Leave the rest to me."
"Yes, sir!"
The crowd withdrew, though all of them secretly cursed Lei Aojie. As a candidate for Holy Son, how could you let your future cohort be slaughtered like this?
But no matter what, they were determined to fight whoever was responsible—until the bitter end!
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