Chapter 604 - 386: Taking Action
Chapter 604: Chapter 386: Taking Action
"You really don’t know your place. Master Ma is someone countless people wish to curry favor with but can’t. I’m giving you an opportunity to work for him."
Xu Yang’s reaction made Luo Zhao very happy. What he wanted was exactly for Xu Yang to offend Master Ma.
This Master Ma seemed amiable, but Luo Zhao knew the man was actually a narrow-minded and petty person.
"Master Ma, let me help you fetch the water."
Having used Master Ma, Luo Zhao began to fawn over him, taking the initiative to grab the iron bucket from his hand to help fetch water.
"No need, I’ll do it myself."
Master Ma narrowed his eyes and glanced at Xu Yang. Rejecting Luo Zhao, he strode toward the cold pool. A surge of blood-red Qi-Blood erupted from his entire body, clearly indicating that he was also an expert whose Body Refining Cultivation had reached the Qi Blood Manifestation Realm.
Master Ma arrived at the edge of the cold pool and took off the lid of the iron bucket. He first drew a full bucket, glanced at it, and, seemingly unsatisfied, poured it back to draw another bucket. Only then did he return with the bucket in hand.
"Master Ma, this is just routine procedure. Please forgive me."
Luo Zhao stepped forward and opened the lid. After confirming that there was no Profound Water Spirit Loach in Master Ma’s bucket, he helped cover the iron bucket again.
"Everyone, I will be taking my leave first."
Carrying the iron bucket, Master Ma cupped his hands and strode away.
"SPLASH..."
However, he had barely taken two steps when the usually calm Jade Cold Pool suddenly rippled. Everyone was drawn by the sound and turned to look, only to see a Profound Water Spirit Loach leap out of the water before dropping back in.
"Huh... a Profound Water Spirit Loach?"
Master Ma, carrying the iron bucket, also halted his steps and turned around. He saw several more Profound Water Spirit Loaches leaping out of the water.
"Did something happen?"
Xu Yang’s heart tightened. He had been here for a considerable amount of time and knew that these Profound Water Spirit Loaches usually lived at the bottom of the cold pool, rarely ever leaping out of the water.
Moreover, at this moment, the Profound Water Spirit Loaches were no longer leaping out of the cold pool in twos and threes, but in dense swarms. The water of the entire cold pool seemed to be boiling.
"What’s going on?" The crowd revealed looks of confusion. This was the first time they had seen such a situation.
Of course, there was even more greed in their eyes. With so many Profound Water Spirit Loaches, catching just one or two at random would allow their Cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.
"BANG!"
Suddenly, the surface of the cold pool exploded. Amidst the splashing water, a streak of golden light shot out, rushing toward a man standing by the edge of the pool.
The golden light was as fast as lightning, resembling a sharp golden sword. That person’s Cultivation was also at the Celestial Essence Second Layer, but he couldn’t react in time at all. Just as he planned to move sideways to dodge, the golden light had already pierced through his chest.
His physical body, with a Body Refining Cultivation that had reached Qi and Blood Manifestation, was as flimsy as paper, pierced through without any resistance.
"SQUELCH!"
The golden light was accompanied by splashing blood, and a blood hole the size of a bowl appeared on the man’s chest. The man’s body abruptly stiffened, his eyes widened, and in the blink of an eye, his body turned into an ice sculpture.
Everyone gasped. An expert with a Celestial Essence Second Level Cultivation and Body Refining at the Qi Blood Manifestation Realm had died just like that.
"BANG!"
The golden light fell to the ground with blood, scattering ice crystals. Everyone focused their eyes and saw that it wasn’t a golden light at all—it was clearly a Profound Water Spirit Loach, over three feet long and entirely golden.
Its body was covered in fine scales, as thick as an adult’s wrist, making it look like a sharp sword pointed at both ends.
It held a bright red heart in its mouth and was swallowing it in large gulps.
It was exactly the heart of the person whose body had just been pierced.
"A Profound Water Spirit Loach King?" Luo Zhao cried out in disbelief, his eyes filled with greed.
Ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches were only seven or eight inches long, but the one before them was over a meter in length. It also wasn’t the emerald green of typical Profound Water Spirit Loaches, but golden.
People had always said there was a Profound Water Spirit Loach King in the Jade Cold Pool, but they never expected it to be real.
If someone were to eat this, the benefits would be unimaginable.
"It really is the Profound Water Spirit Loach King!" Zhuang Tao, Zhang Cheng, and the others were breathing heavily, their greedy gazes fixed on the entirely golden Profound Water Spirit Loach.
If they could eat this Profound Water Spirit Loach King, so what if they were kicked out of the Celestial Strategy Academy?
With their talent, the value of continuing to stay in the Celestial Strategy Academy couldn’t compare to eating this inestimable Profound Water Spirit Loach King.
No one cared about the person who had just been killed by the Profound Water Spirit Loach King; their eyes were filled only with desire for the creature.
A man named Chen Yong didn’t say a word. With Gang Yuan surging all over his body, he took the lead and pounced forward.
Violent airwaves exploded, and the surrounding ice crystals that hadn’t melted for years were completely shattered into dust. Like a fierce gust of wind, he reached out with his five fingers covered in solid Gang Yuan.
The Profound Water Spirit Loach King standing on the ground swallowed the last bit of the heart and opened its mouth to let out an ear-piercing shriek.
The next moment, its tail flicked against the ground, blasting ice crystals mixed with dirt. Its fully golden body shot out like an arrow released from a bowstring. Chen Yong’s five fingers grasped at empty air, and his expression changed drastically.
"BANG!"
The golden light pierced through Chen Yong’s Protective Gang Yuan and his body, which was comparable to a Spiritual Soldier, leaving behind a blood hole the size of a bowl.
Just like the person before, he hadn’t even reacted before his entire body turned into a pristine white ice sculpture, his heart plucked out by the Profound Water Spirit Loach King.
Zhuang Tao, Zhang Cheng, and the others, who had been about to make their move, felt their scalps tingle and cold sweat pour down their bodies upon seeing this.
Two experts who were no weaker than them had died just like that.
"Attack!" Master Ma shouted in a low voice, and the iron bucket he held was violently swung out.
At the same time, several ghost-like figures silently appeared around them. Shrouded in white cloth, they blended perfectly with the surrounding ice crystals. Their movements were completely silent, and no one knew when they had crept so close.
"BOOM!"
The massive iron bucket tore through the air, emitting a thunderous, muffled boom as it carried a crushing force.
Zhang Cheng, who had leaned over to kiss ass earlier, hadn’t even reacted when the iron bucket heavily smashed into his chest.
"CRACK!"
A chorus of bone-shattering sounds rang out. Like a fly swatted by a Palm, Zhang Cheng’s body cracked all over in an instant. He was almost flattened into a meat patty as he was sent flying sideways, blood splattering everywhere.
He didn’t even have time to scream. Upon landing, he directly became a puddle of mangled flesh pasted against the ground.
"Master Ma, what are you doing?"
Seeing Zhang Cheng’s tragic death, Zhuang Tao was both shocked and furious. He hadn’t yet realized that Master Ma was the mastermind behind all this, mistakenly thinking the other party was merely driven by greed for the Profound Water Spirit Loach King just like them.
"Ma Daxing, you’re courting death!" Luo Zhao roared angrily.
Zhuang Tao hadn’t seen those figures lunging forward like ghosts, but Luo Zhao had. He instantly understood that the abnormality of the Profound Water Spirit Loach and the Profound Water Spirit Loach King jumping out of the cold pool to kill people were all Master Ma’s doing.
"Kill them all. Don’t give them a chance to send out a signal."
Ma Daxing spoke coldly. He didn’t continue killing; instead, as he spoke, he carried his iron bucket and turned into a dark streak of light, charging toward the Profound Water Spirit Loach King.
"Join forces against the enemy! Look for a chance to call for help!" Luo Zhao roared.
Naturally, he didn’t intend to fight to the death. However, if he didn’t shout and force everyone to fight desperately, he wouldn’t have a chance to escape.
Not to mention those ghost-like individuals, just Ma Daxing’s Celestial Essence Fourth Layer Cultivation alone was enough to slaughter everyone present.
However, no one was a fool. Joining forces against the enemy meant certain death, whereas escaping might offer a glimmer of hope.
Most importantly, none of them had suspected Ma Daxing would be a problem, so none had brought their signal flares when they came out.
Xu Yang had started fleeing the very moment Ma Dayuan made his move. Stepping with the Wandering Dragon Void Step that was nearing Great Success, he charged into the distance.
His five senses had long since detected that, aside from Ma Daxing, those ghost-like individuals all possessed a Celestial Essence Third Level Cultivation.
Let alone him only having a Celestial Essence Second Level Cultivation, even if he were already at the Celestial Essence Third Layer, today would still be dangerous.
"Bastards!" Luo Zhao was burning with rage, his expression twisting.
It was one thing for Xu Yang to run, but to his dismay, not a single other person followed his words. Even Zhuang Tao, who had the best relationship with him, abandoned him and fled without hesitation. Not one person was helping him.
Of course, it wasn’t that he didn’t want to run; it was because he had already been locked onto by two auras brimming with killing intent. That was why he had incited the others, hoping someone would buy him time. Unfortunately, no one fell for it.
The two people who had locked onto him both possessed a Celestial Essence Third Level Cultivation and Body Refining that had reached the Qi Blood Manifestation Realm. Their Cultivation was no weaker than his.
His curses had just fallen when the two figures exuding fierce killing intent approached like ghosts, their auras fracturing the ice-crystal-covered earth.
One of the two used their fists, while the other wielded a sword, attacking from the front and the back. Every strike was aimed at vital spots.
Before they even arrived, their overwhelming killing intent rushed over, colder than the water of the Jade Cold Pool.
Luo Zhao couldn’t worry about anything else. He knew that if things went wrong today, his little life would be forfeit right here.
Hastily raising his Protective Gang Yuan, vigorous Qi-Blood erupted from his body as he spun around and threw a punch at the sword-wielding man.
A solid, concentrated Fist Aura tore through the air and instantly smashed against the Sword Aura.
With a resounding BOOM, the Sword Aura and Fist Aura exploded together, sending a visible shockwave rippling in all directions.
Luo Zhao was delighted. He had originally dreaded this sword-wielding man the most, but upon exchanging blows, the opponent turned out to be weaker than he had imagined. The man and his sword were blasted back by his punch, posing no threat at all.
As for the fist-using man, he had planned to tank a hit from him anyway.
The two had attacked him almost simultaneously, but taking a fist head-on was always better than taking a sword head-on.
But he never expected that this whole thing was a ploy; the true attack was coming from the fist-using man.
The moment he repelled the sword-wielding man, a much stronger aura suddenly erupted from the fist-using man. The fist tore through the air and heavily slammed against his Protective Gang Yuan.
"BANG!"
A muffled sound echoed. Luo Zhao felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The Qi-Blood shrouding his body was entirely shattered, and his Protective Gang Yuan was effortlessly pierced.
The fist, sharper than a blade, stabbed into his lower back like a heavy spear.
At the same time, the others were also facing the assassinations of the white-clothed men.
Xu Yang had sprinted a dozen meters and was just about to pull out the signal flare from his waist to call for help, when he saw a snow-white figure shoot up from the frost, slashing a sword directly at his head.
"BOOM!"
The sharp Sword Aura tore through the air, ripping the void with an ear-piercing screech. If he continued forward, he would undoubtedly be cleaved in half by the strike.
Even before the Sword Aura arrived, the heavy pressure caused his body to feel like it was sinking, making his hair stand on end.