Chapter 498: Tearing Off All Pretenses

"What Elder Dong said is what I wanted to say," Elder Yao stated coolly. "Before this person became a student of our Gale Light Academy, how your Profound Mystery Sect dealt with him was none of our business. But now, he is a student of Gale Light Academy. Until he graduates, we naturally have an obligation to protect him."

"Every single student is a part of our Gale Light Academy. Regardless of what he has done in the past, as long as he hasn’t violated the rules of our Gale Light Academy, we will absolutely not tolerate him being bullied by any other power."

"The students of our Gale Light Academy are not people that any power in the Dream Realm Plain can dispose of as they please. It doesn’t matter how strong or how large that power is."

Elder Yao’s voice was slightly hoarse, but as it reached the ears of the students present, they were all deeply moved, their eyes welling with tears.

"Hahaha, good. Very good." Duan Tianlang suddenly burst into laughter. The next moment, his laughter stopped abruptly. His gaze turned grim, and a suffocating aura emanated from his body.

"And what if I insist on taking him away today?!"

Duan Tianlang’s words fell like the coming of a storm, and an incredibly oppressive atmosphere spread over the entire martial arts arena.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The three who had remained silent until now—the Profound Mystery Sect’s Supreme Elder Leng Wuji, Evil Kill, and Zhou Zhanlun—also unleashed their own profound and intense auras.

"ROAR!"

As if sensing the battle intent in its master’s heart, the mutated Demon Beast, Kuidi, suddenly opened its cavernous maw and roared at the sky. A fetid wind swept out like a bloody ocean, filling the heavens.

In an instant, the sky and earth changed color. The winds churned as surging Profound Yuan, like an enraged black sea, rolled forth in massive waves.

At this moment, every student present felt a heavy weight in their hearts, as if a giant boulder was pressing down on them, making it difficult even to breathe.

When the mighty rage, a million corpses fall.

The great powerhouses of the Profound Mystery Sect released their respective pressures without reservation, transforming the entire martial arts arena into a chaotic battlefield.

"Vice Sect Master Duan, aren’t you going a little too far?"

The expressions on Lu Jun and the others turned grim.

"Too far?" Duan Tianlang sneered. "This man is a wanted criminal of our Profound Mystery Sect, hiding in your Gale Light Academy. Yet not only do you refuse to hand him over, you obstruct us at every turn. With your actions, how can the Profound Mystery Sect possibly save face?"

"Today, if you do not hand this man over, our Profound Mystery Sect will not let this matter rest."

The aura emanating from Duan Tianlang intensified in an instant.

BOOM!

Brilliant Profound Yuan swept across the martial arts arena like a celestial curtain, directly shattering a corner of the Gale Light Academy’s arena and sending rubble flying.

The students near the arena retreated frantically under the force of this energy blast, their faces pale. Some of the weaker students even had blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, their eyes filled with horror.

"How dare you!"

"Duan Tianlang, this is Gale Light Academy! We won’t tolerate your insolence!"

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Lu Jun and the others roared in fury. With a wave of their hands—BOOM!—two terrifying pressures collided, and an energy field materialized out of thin air, shielding the students from the pressure Duan Tianlang had released.

"Hahaha, for the past several hundred years, Gale Light Academy and our Profound Mystery Sect have been known as two of the three titans among the top ten powers of the Dream Realm Plain. Today, I, Duan Tianlang, will see for myself just how strong your Gale Light Academy truly is."

With a cold laugh, Duan Tianlang shot into the air.

BOOM!

His long black hair whipped about wildly, his green martial robe fluttering in the wind. What a dashing and unrestrained figure he cut.

"Let me be the one to face you."

Lu Jun roared angrily and was the first to soar into the sky.

"Excellent."

Duan Tianlang laughed loudly as the longsword at his waist suddenly unsheathed. DING! The clear cry of a dragon rang through the heavens. As the sword was drawn, a sky full of purple cherry blossoms appeared, drifting on the wind.

A desolate and solitary artistic conception flowed through the air. At the same time, Duan Tianlang’s speed increased explosively.

WHOOSH!

The purple longsword flickered in and out of existence like an ephemeral illusion, suddenly appearing before Lu Jun.

’So fast.’

Lu Jun was greatly alarmed. With a BOOM, terrifying Profound Yuan formed an invisible barrier in front of him as he shot his palms out like lightning.

A sky full of palm phantoms, dense and numerous, transformed into a black tidal wave that swept over everything.

"Barbarian King’s Tyrant Fist—Sweeping the World!"

BOOM!

The two terrifying forces collided in mid-air. The black tidal wave surged relentlessly, like a silent ocean containing infinite power.

"Not bad, but unfortunately, it’s still lacking a little something."

A trace of arrogance and confidence touched the corners of Duan Tianlang’s mouth.

"Spirit of the Nether Dream—Sky of Cherry Blossoms!"

DING!

With another soft chime, the purple longsword in Duan Tianlang’s hand once again burst forth with a sky full of cherry blossoms. The power of his sword attack surged in that instant.

PFFT!

The palm phantoms, which had been like a black dam stubbornly resisting Duan Tianlang’s attack, were instantly pierced. A sharp stream of Sword Qi shot out from within.

Blood blossomed as the palm phantoms shattered. A fist-sized hole appeared in the robe on Lu Jun’s chest, from which a spurt of blood shot out.

"So this is the great Gale Light Academy? Nothing special," Duan Tianlang’s disdainful voice echoed through the air.

"Lu Jun."

"Are you all right?"

"That guy..."

The expressions of Qingfeng, Elder Yao, Elder Dong, and the others changed drastically.

All of their attention was focused on Lu Jun.

But just then—

Suddenly—

"Die!"

A cold voice rang out. Just as everyone’s attention was on Lu Jun, Crazy Battle, who had been standing quietly on the stage, suddenly brandished a golden wheel of light and swung it viciously at Ye Xuan.

"Indestructible Wheel of Light—Void Slash!"

BOOM!

A golden wheel of light appeared, shooting out violently. In an instant, it seemed to transform into a golden sun, continuously unleashing a golden radiance that sent out ripples of gold across the sky as it slashed madly toward Ye Xuan with a speed that left no time to react.

"Not good!"

"Xuan Ye, get back!"

This sudden development stunned everyone present. They never would have imagined that while the Profound Mystery Sect’s Vice Sect Master Duan Tianlang was fighting Lu Jun, this Crazy Battle would launch a sudden, lethal attack against Ye Xuan.

In front of the arena, Master Qingfeng and the others shot forward, attempting to intercept Crazy Battle’s attack.

But before they could get far, SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! Several figures suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path to the rescue.

It was Leng Wuji, Evil Kill, and Zhou Zhanlun.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they had long anticipated Qingfeng’s reaction, and they intercepted the masters in the nick of time.

BOOM!

The two sides clashed hastily, and each was forced back more than ten meters.

"You..."

The expressions on Qingfeng and the others instantly became incredibly ugly and filled with fury.

They were already a step too slow to act, and after being blocked by Leng Wuji and his men, rescuing Ye Xuan was now completely impossible.

Thinking it over, from Duan Tianlang’s initial attack to Crazy Battle’s sudden move, and then to Leng Wuji’s group instantly blocking them—the enemy’s actions were all linked. This was clearly premeditated.

In an instant, expressions of angry anguish appeared on their faces. They looked anxiously toward Ye Xuan, and the thought that such a genius was about to perish felt like a knife twisting in their hearts.

This was especially true for Elder Yao and Elder Dong. Although they hadn’t interacted much with Ye Xuan, his performance in the written exam had made them admire him greatly. They even wanted to accept him as a Direct Disciple. They never imagined that before they even had a chance to speak with him, Xuan Ye was about to fall.

If Elder Yao and Elder Dong were heartbroken, then Yun Aoxue and Xia Qixi were scared out of their wits.

"No..." The two of them screamed, their eyes wide with shock and anger, but they could only watch helplessly as the golden wheel of light instantly engulfed Ye Xuan.

BUZZ!

At that critical moment, a yellow light suddenly flared up around Ye Xuan. An earthy yellow suit of Rock Armor abruptly appeared on his body.

At the same time—

WHOOSH!

A pair of pale purple wings suddenly appeared on Ye Xuan’s back. Bluish-purple lightning surged as Ye Xuan shot into the sky, fast as a thunderbolt.

As he shot away, Ye Xuan also violently shoved Luo Cheng and Zhang Lie, who were standing beside him, out of the way.

BOOM!

A tremendous roar echoed through the heavens.

Before everyone’s eyes, the golden wheel of light slammed viciously into the ground. Rock shattered and dust filled the air as an astonishing shockwave rippled out from where Ye Xuan had been standing.

"PFFT!"

Amidst the sound of blood spraying, every student within a radius of several dozen meters was sent flying by the shockwave, each one cutting a sorry figure.

The sharp crack of breaking bones could even be heard coming from their bodies.

As far as the eye could see, dozens of students lay scattered in disarray near where the golden wheel had landed, all of them wailing in pain. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

"Profound Mystery Sect!"

Lu Jun and the others roared, their eyes bloodshot and practically bursting with fury.

’Despicable. Utterly despicable.’

They could never have imagined that the great Profound Mystery Sect would actually dare to fight so openly in their Gale Light Academy, even disregarding the safety of their students. Such an act was practically a declaration of war between the two great powers.

"We must inform Vice Director Ge about this immediately."

Rage burned in their hearts.

This matter was no longer just about Xuan Ye, but a confrontation between two top-tier powers.

For the Profound Mystery Sect to dare act so ruthlessly within Gale Light Academy clearly showed that they no longer held the academy in any regard.

"Vice Director Ge just entered seclusion not long ago. Send someone to wake him at once."

The order was quickly passed to a nearby Gale Light Academy staff member, who immediately ran off to deliver the message.

"All students, get out of here right now! Quickly!"

At the same time, Elder Dong roared the order, urging the students to flee.