Chapter 605 - 387: Breakout
Chapter 605: Chapter 387: Breakout
"Celestial Essence Third Layer!" Xu Yang’s killing intent almost solidified in his eyes.
This saber strike was so fast and fierce that he couldn’t dodge it; he could only face it head-on. If it were an ordinary Celestial Essence Second Layer Martial Artist, even a genius on the Lingyun List would undoubtedly die. Only those in the top ten would be able to block it.
Fortunately, although he was not in the top ten, his strength was not weaker than theirs. Furthermore, he was now a hidden Spirit Bone Celestial Pride. Otherwise, he would probably meet his end here today.
BOOM!
Without any hesitation, apart from keeping his Spirit Bone hidden, Xu Yang circulated all his power almost simultaneously. Facing a Celestial Essence Third Layer expert, even as a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, he dared not underestimate his opponent.
He circulated the Azure Dragon Dominating Body. His majestic Qi-Blood burst from his body like a smoke signal, and the dormant Dragon Qi seeped into his limbs and bones, causing his strength and physical toughness to skyrocket.
The Eight Ferocious Hidden Dragon Strength followed suit, instantly doubling his Combat Power. The power of the Dragon Symbols Heart Scripture roared like a great river, bursting forth like a broken dam.
The Burning Separation Saber was already in his grip, its blade humming and vibrating.
"Slash!"
Facing the incoming saber strike, Xu Yang knew he couldn’t dodge, so he slashed back directly. It was the Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique, which had reached the Sixth Layer Realm. This slash was even faster and fiercer than the opponent’s.
The Sword Intent, filled with death and slaughter, erupted from his body. With a flash of blood-red Sword Aura and a burst of fierce Sword Intent, the incoming Sword Aura exploded with a bang.
The blood-red Sword Aura did not dissipate; it continued its relentless cleave until it sliced open the white-clothed man’s Protective Gang Yuan, then finally detonated with a boom.
The white-clothed man shuddered, a flash of pain crossing his eyes—the only visible part of his face. The Sword Intent that had reached the Severing Illusion Realm severed not only the body but also the Heart Spirit. Although this slash didn’t harm his physical body, it injured his Heart Spirit. He felt an invisible blade slice into his Heart Spirit, nearly causing the Martial Dao Imagery behind him to collapse.
He let out a muffled groan of pain, his body flying straight backward.
A brilliant light surged in Xu Yang’s eyes. Killing intent radiated from his body as he transformed into a blood-red saber flash and chased after him.
Horror filled the white-clothed man’s eyes. Clearly, he hadn’t expected Xu Yang’s Saber Technique to reach a realm capable of striking directly at the Heart Spirit. In a haste, he stabilized his Martial Dao Imagery and raised his saber to counterattack.
However, Xu Yang’s strike had been premeditated. The Sixth Layer Realm Extreme Prison Heaven-Slaying Technique was as fast as rushing thunder. The moment the man raised his saber, the blood-red saber light had already struck his Protective Gang Yuan.
SLASH!
Like a hot knife through butter, the Celestial Essence Third Layer’s Protective Gang Yuan was effortlessly sliced open, and the blood-red saber light swept across the white-clothed man’s body.
BANG!
At the same time, the opponent’s saber also struck Xu Yang. His Protective Gang Yuan exploded with a boom. Xu Yang felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his bones and muscles rumbling.
Fortunately, Xu Yang had struck first to sever the man’s body. By the time the opponent’s saber reached him, its power had weakened significantly. Coupled with the formidable physical body forged by his Azure Dragon Dominating Body, he merely suffered a bloody gash.
Xu Yang thought, "Celestial Essence Third Layer opponents are indeed hard to kill!"
Had it not been for the element of surprise—the opponent never expecting him to possess Combat Power comparable to a Spirit Bone Celestial Pride, thus allowing his Heart Spirit to be injured in the very first exchange—he would never have killed the man so easily.
Ignoring his churning Qi-Blood, Xu Yang snatched up the opponent’s Spiritual Soldier, planted a foot on the man’s chest, and used the leverage to launch himself into the distance.
CRASH!
The severed halves of the body plummeted from the sky, shattering a large expanse of ice crystals.
"Old Fifth..."
"Ah..."
"Argh..."
Roars filled with killing intent and agonizing screams echoed from behind. Xu Yang took a moment to look back and saw Zhuang Tao’s body being pierced through by a single punch. Blood spewed from his mouth as he let out a hoarse, exhausted scream. The man who had punched through Zhuang Tao’s body was now glaring at Xu Yang with bloodshot eyes, shooting out nearly tangible killing intent.
Elsewhere, Luo Zhao was also screaming. Half of his body was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, and a deep, bone-exposing saber wound had appeared on his arm. Besieged by two experts of the same level, he had been severely wounded in mere moments.
There was another Celestial Strategy Academy student here, in a similar state to Zhuang Tao—still breathing, but beyond saving.
"Pay with your life!"
The man who killed Zhuang Tao swatted his body away with a Palm strike and pursued Xu Yang without hesitation.
A mocking sneer touched Xu Yang’s lips. Now that he had broken out of the encirclement, unless a Celestial Essence Fourth Layer expert like Ma Daxing attacked personally, a Celestial Essence Third Layer Martial Artist would not be able to catch him anytime soon—if at all—given his mastery of the Wandering Dragon Void Step.
Ma Daxing was busy trying to catch the Profound Water Spirit Loach King; how could he possibly spare the time to chase him? These people had gone to such great lengths for the Profound Water Spirit Loach King, not to commit murder.
Without hesitation, Xu Yang grabbed the signal firework from his waist and pulled it.
BOOM!
A massive firework shot into the sky and exploded. The thunderous blast echoed into the distance, leaving only a deep rumbling rolling across the heavens.
Xu Yang silently rejoiced. Because of the incident with the Purple Sun Sect, he had developed a habit of keeping signal fireworks on his person. Otherwise, he would be in serious trouble today. Luo Zhao and the others had actually had the opportunity to release signal fireworks, but they hadn’t been on guard against Ma Daxing at all. Busy trying to curry favor with him, they hadn’t even brought any fireworks along.
"Trash!" As the signal firework went off, Ma Daxing’s expression changed drastically. Only then did he realize that Old Fifth had been killed by Xu Yang, allowing the boy to send the signal.
"Don’t chase him! Catch the Profound Water Spirit Loach first!"
He didn’t have time to dwell on how Xu Yang had killed the Celestial Essence Third Layer Old Fifth. The most pressing matter was to catch the Profound Water Spirit Loach King and leave. If they delayed any longer, they would end up empty-handed today. This place was too close to the Celestial Strategy Academy. With the Cultivation of those Academy teachers, it wouldn’t take long for them to arrive.
The man pursuing Xu Yang was extremely unwilling, but he understood that catching the Profound Water Spirit Loach King was more important. Even if they couldn’t catch the King, snagging a few ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches would still be worth it; otherwise, Old Fifth would have died in vain.
Furthermore, he knew he couldn’t catch Xu Yang in the short term, and even if he did, he might not necessarily be able to kill him. Slaying a Celestial Essence Third Layer as a Celestial Essence Second Layer... Xu Yang’s Combat Power was even more terrifying than when he challenged the Battle Tower.
Turning around, he rushed toward the cold pool, pulled out a large net, and cast it down.
"Ah!"
A miserable shriek pierced the air. Xu Yang looked back and found that one of Luo Zhao’s hands had been severed, leaving him in a wretched state.
"Xu Yang, save me!" he screamed at Xu Yang’s back, desperately trying to break out of the encirclement with his remaining hand.
Xu Yang acted as if he hadn’t heard. Leaving aside the inexplicable hostility Luo Zhao harbored toward him, even if there were none, he still wouldn’t turn back to save him.
His figure moved like a dragon as he sped toward the Celestial Strategy Academy. Just as he flew a few hundred yards forward, another scream rang out. He glanced back once more; Luo Zhao had been smashed into the ground, his fate unknown.
The two men who had besieged Luo Zhao didn’t press their attack. Instead, they rushed toward the cold pool to join Ma Daxing and the other white-clothed man in capturing the Profound Water Spirit Loach King.
Against Celestial Essence Third Level Cultivation Martial Artists, the Profound Water Spirit Loach King’s lethality wasn’t as potent as before. Although it could pierce through Protective Gang Yuan, it clearly couldn’t achieve a one-hit kill. Fortunately, the Profound Water Spirit Loach King was as fast as lightning. Though forced into a steady retreat by the group, even a Celestial Essence Fourth Level Martial Artist like Ma Daxing couldn’t match its speed, failing to catch it despite several attempts.
Xu Yang didn’t continue fleeing. He stood suspended in the air a few miles away, quietly watching the scene.
"This beast is too slippery; we can’t catch it! We have to leave, or none of us will be able to escape once the people from the Celestial Strategy Academy arrive!" a white-clothed man shouted. The signal firework had already exploded; the teachers of the Celestial Strategy Academy could arrive at any moment.
"Old Fifth, that useless trash!" Ma Daxing cursed angrily. He had planned everything perfectly. He just hadn’t expected Old Fifth, a Celestial Essence Third Layer, to be counter-killed by Xu Yang, a Celestial Essence Second Layer, in just a few moves, causing a fatal flaw in the plan.
"Forget the Profound Water Spirit Loach King, I’ve netted quite a few Profound Water Spirit Loaches!" The man who had cast the net in the Jade Cold Pool shouted, lifting the large net. Inside the net woven from Silk, there was a dense, wriggling mass of Profound Water Spirit Loaches—treasures that money couldn’t buy in the outside world.
"No matter how many ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches there are, how can they compare to the preciousness of the Profound Water Spirit Loach King!" Ma Daxing’s eyes were red with fury. What he wanted was the Profound Water Spirit Loach King, not these ordinary Profound Water Spirit Loaches. If it weren’t for that little beast Xu Yang, he would have had plenty of time to capture the King slowly.
He hadn’t expected the person he cared about the least to become the culprit who ruined everything.
He tried to catch the Profound Water Spirit Loach King like a madman, but the King flickered out of reach a few times, leaving him grasping at thin air.
"If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!" the man carrying the net shouted.
"You little beast, ruining my plans! I will definitely kill you another day! Grab Old Fifth and let’s go!" Ma Daxing roared in Xu Yang’s direction, his eyes practically splitting from anger. He immediately grabbed the corpse of the slain man, and along with the others, leaped onto the back of the eagle and flew off into the distance.
He hadn’t caught the Profound Water Spirit Loach King, but if he didn’t leave now, he really wouldn’t be able to leave at all.
"What scoundrels dare cause trouble in my Celestial Strategy Academy?"
Just as Ma Daxing and his group turned into a black dot and disappeared over the horizon, a loud, explosive shout echoed from the direction of the Celestial Strategy Academy.
Xu Yang turned back and saw a ray of light streak across the sky like a shooting star, arriving before him in an instant. The billowing airwaves forced him back dozens of yards. A figure appeared; it was Mr. An Yuan, the teacher who had originally registered them.
"Mr. An, the thieves fled in that direction. They were riding a giant eagle, and the leader is the Weapon Forger Ma Daxing. Quickly, go after them!" Before An Yuan could speak, Xu Yang gave a brief account of the important details and pointed him in the direction Ma Daxing and the others had escaped.
After speaking, he noticed that An Yuan didn’t seem to be in a hurry. The teacher asked unhurriedly, "Did the thieves succeed? Where is the Profound Water Spirit Loach King?"
"The Profound Water Spirit Loach King is fine, but they caught at least several hundred Profound Water Spirit Loaches."
"Bastards!"
An Yuan’s furious voice echoed from afar. Xu Yang looked up and saw that An Yuan had already transformed into a streak of light, tearing through the air in pursuit.
"What a great opportunity!" Xu Yang thought. He originally thought An Yuan would take him along to chase Ma Daxing’s group. He hadn’t expected that upon hearing hundreds of Profound Water Spirit Loaches had been stolen, An Yuan would fly into such a rage that he completely forgot about him.
Now that Zhuang Tao and the others were all dead, there was no one left at the Jade Cold Pool. With so many Profound Water Spirit Loaches there, who would notice if he ate one or two?
With this thought in mind, Xu Yang immediately turned around and flew back toward the Jade Cold Pool.