Chapter 552: Void-Entering Bead

Above Santafe City, the battle between Gale Light Academy and the Profound Mystery Sect had reached a fever pitch.

BOOM!

The battle between the two sides was world-shaking. The entire sky above Santafe City surged with Profound, and stray blasts of it would occasionally rain down, tearing massive gouges into the city’s buildings and streets.

"Vice Sect Master Duan, if this keeps up, we’ll all be in danger."

Zhou Zhanlun and the others said anxiously while fighting.

As the battle dragged on, they were reaching their limit.

Duan Tianlang glanced at his struggling men and knew the situation was dire. He steeled himself, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes, and abruptly activated the large, earthen-yellow seal.

VMMMM...

The hazy, earthen-yellow great seal suddenly flared with brilliant light. A terrifying aura emanated from it as it slammed into the dagger in Jiuchen’s hand. The great seal, which had previously been unable to break through Jiuchen’s defenses, now surged with power and sent Jiuchen flying back.

’How did this kid’s strength suddenly increase so much?’ Jiuchen was startled, doing his best to stabilize himself.

"Break!"

Having landed a blow, Duan Tianlang immediately urged the earthen-yellow great seal to smash down on the Jingang Profound Treasure controlled by Elder Dong.

CRASH!

Elder Dong’s Jingang Profound Treasure was merely a Seventh Grade Profound Treasure. How could it withstand the assault of Duan Tianlang’s Eighth-Level Imperial Soldier? It shattered in an instant, and Evil Kill, who had been trapped inside, seized the opportunity to rush out.

VMM!

The hazy aura of the Imperial Soldier swept out. Elder Yao and the others felt their qi and blood roil, and they all retreated.

Zhou Zhanlun and Leng Wuji gained a moment of respite and hastily made their escape.

VMM!

Immediately after, the hazy, earthen-yellow great seal shot toward Ye Xuan. Wisps of the hazy Qi of Chaos enveloped Crazy Battle, protecting him. At the same time, the great seal didn’t just release its aura as it had when pushing back Elder Yao and the others. Instead, it suddenly flared with intense light and bore down directly on Ye Xuan, its terrifying energy signature completely enveloping him.

"Not good! Xuan Ye, fall back!"

Elder Dong and the others roared in shock and anger.

They had already figured it out. Duan Tianlang’s previous attack on them was just to rescue Zhou Zhanlun and the others. But his attack on Ye Xuan was not only to save Crazy Battle—it was to kill Ye Xuan instantly.

Under the assault of Duan Tianlang’s Eighth-Level Imperial Soldier, even a heaven-defying Tier Six Martial Venerable like Ye Xuan would surely die.

"Die!" Duan Tianlang’s gaze was vicious. ’Ye Xuan’s reputation is just too great. I’ve watched his growth every step of the way, clear as day.’

Six months ago at Gale Light Academy, Ye Xuan’s strength was only approaching that of a Tier Seven Martial King. Now, only half a year later, the kid’s cultivation had jumped a full tier, and he even injured an expert like Crazy Battle. Duan Tianlang couldn’t imagine what kind of powerhouse Ye Xuan would become if he were allowed to keep growing.

Therefore, of everyone here, Ye Xuan had to be the one to die.

Under the gazes of all present, the earthen-yellow great seal spun madly as it bore down. Its terrifying aura seemed to freeze the very void, suppressing everything.

Beneath the great seal, the Profound Power in Ye Xuan’s body solidified to the point he couldn’t even circulate it. The seal hadn’t even landed yet, but its terrifying aura was already suffocating him.

"Zhenyuan Stone, break it for me!"

At the critical moment, Ye Xuan didn’t dodge. He knew that with his current cultivation, being locked on by an Eighth-Level Imperial Soldier meant there was no escape. He furiously circulated the Profound in his body, pushed the Zhenyuan Stone to its absolute limit, and threw it up fiercely in front of him.

CLANG!

One black, one earthen-yellow—the two mountain-like treasures collided with a deafening roar like the tolling of a great bell. The Zhenyuan Stone erupted with a radiant glow before being viciously blasted away, crashing into a building below.

The massive building, which stood hundreds of feet tall, was instantly smashed into rubble and reduced to dust. The entirety of Santafe City shook violently, as if from an earthquake, causing the chests of countless distant Martial Artists to tighten as they stumbled and fell.

An invisible shockwave swept out from the point of impact.

RUMBLE RUMBLE!

In the city below, dozens of tall buildings collapsed one after another.

Below the Zhenyuan Stone, Ye Xuan was sent flying by the shockwave. The Rock Armor covering his body shattered, and he tumbled into the ruins below, spraying blood.

"Xuan Ye!" Elder Dong and the others shouted anxiously, their eyes filled with tension.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

Meanwhile, Duan Tianlang and his four companions quickly regrouped.

"Hmph. What kind of Profound Treasure was that kid using to block a strike from my Thick Earth Seal? A pity. Without that Profound Treasure’s defense, that Xuan Ye would’ve been reduced to meat paste, utterly annihilated. But it’s about the same now. Under the impact of the Thick Earth Seal, Xuan Ye is surely dead—he’s just left a whole corpse behind."

Without time for another attack, Duan Tianlang raised his hand and quickly recalled the Thick Earth Seal.

"Not good, they’re trying to escape! Don’t give them the chance!"

Jiuchen’s eyes were splitting with rage. He roared furiously and charged forward in an instant.

Invisible Profound formed a barrier between heaven and earth, enveloping Duan Tianlang and his men.

"Hahaha! You think a few of you can stop us? I’ll remember what happened today. I will be sure to repay you next time!"

Duan Tianlang let out a ferocious roar and recalled the earthen-yellow great seal. A pained look crossed his face as a Void Bead suddenly appeared in his hand.

The moment the bead appeared, it emitted a hazy light that enveloped all five members of the Profound Mystery Sect.

"Not good."

Seeing the bead, Elder Dong and Elder Yao cried out in alarm. They remembered clearly how at Gale Light Academy, Duan Tianlang and his men had used this very bead to break through the academy’s protective array and escape in an instant.

WHOOSH!

The ethereal bead emitted a hazy light, wrapped up Duan Tianlang’s group of five, and shot into the sky. The barrier of Profound that Jiuchen had deployed had absolutely no effect on it, as if it didn’t even exist.

"Haha, until we meet again!"

Duan Tianlang’s arrogant voice drifted down from the sky. His Void-Entering Bead had been a gift from a certain great personage within the sect. It was an Eighth Grade treasure that could only be used three times before being rendered useless.

This was, in fact, the final use, which was why Duan Tianlang had looked so pained. However, compared to killing Xuan Ye and escaping safely from Gale Light Academy’s encirclement, using it one time was nothing.

’Are we just going to let them leave like this?’

Elder Dong and the others could only watch helplessly as Duan Tianlang’s group shot toward the heavens, unable to stop them.

The people of Santafe City below were also watching, dumbfounded. They clearly never expected things to develop to this point.

Ten top experts from Gale Light Academy had arrived, full of aggression and confidence, to ambush the Vice Sect Master of the Profound Mystery Sect. Who would have thought that not only would they fail to capture a single person, but one of their own would fall instead? If word of this got out, Gale Light Academy’s prestige would surely plummet.

But just as Duan Tianlang and his men were about to soar into the sky and vanish...

"Leaving so soon? Did you ask for my permission?"

A cold voice suddenly echoed through the air.

From the ruins below, a figure suddenly rose into the air. In his hands, Array Discs appeared one by one, transforming into streaks of light that shot into the hands of Jiuchen, Elder Yao, Elder Dong, and Tianlun.

It was none other than Xuan Ye, who had been knocked underground earlier.

Elder Dong and the others exclaimed in pleasant surprise, "Xuan Ye, you’re okay..."

Ye Xuan waved his hand and said quickly, "Elder Dong, save it for later. If you want to keep Duan Tianlang and his men here, activate this Array Disc now."

Elder Dong and the others hesitated for a moment. Although they didn’t understand what Ye Xuan was trying to do, they trusted him and quickly activated the Array Discs in their hands.

VMMMMMM...

Nine beams of rainbow light shot up from their Array Discs. Combined with the light from Ye Xuan’s hand, the ten streaks of light converged high in the sky. An invisible barrier materialized between heaven and earth, enveloping Duan Tianlang’s ascending group in the nick of time.

’That kid’s not dead?’

Inside the shield of light created by the Void Bead, Duan Tianlang and his men stared in shock at Xuan Ye below. At the same time, they saw the invisible barrier that now blocked their path of escape.

"Hmph, how many times have you tried? Still not willing to give up? You think you can stop us with a mere array?"

Duan Tianlang sneered and pushed the Void Bead to its limit. The streak of light containing the five of them instantly collided with the barrier above.

He was completely confident in the bead in his hand. According to the great personage who gave it to him, the bead possessed the ability to traverse the void. Even an Eighth-Level Array would typically be unable to stop them, and there was no way the array Ye Xuan had just deployed could possibly be Eighth-Level.

However, the scene that followed left Duan Tianlang and his men stupefied. Upon touching the barrier above, the streak of light they had become came to an instant halt, as if caught in an invisible net.

’Impossible!’ he cried out in his mind, and began pushing the Void Bead with all his might.

Beams of hazy light rose from the bead one after another, but no matter how hard he pushed it, they still couldn’t break through the invisible barrier.

"Xuan Ye, this is..."

Below, Elder Dong and the others were stunned, but their expressions quickly turned to ones of ecstatic joy.

Ye Xuan sneered. ’With my insight, the moment I saw the Void Bead in Duan Tianlang’s hand back at Gale Light Academy, I knew it was an Eighth Grade Void-Entering Bead.’

’A Void-Entering Bead is a special treasure created by a Martial Emperor who has mastered spatial travel. They infuse their comprehension of Domain Realm barriers into a Profound Treasure, creating something that can traverse the void to a certain extent.’

’The reason Gale Light Academy’s protective array and Jiuchen’s barrier of Profound couldn’t stop them was because neither could lock down space itself.’

’This Array Disc I refined can’t actually lock down the void either. To truly lock down space, you’d need a peak Eighth-Level array. What my Array Disc actually does is exploit a certain special principle to damage the void, creating a slight spatial disturbance.’