Chapter 555: Sneak Attack from Behind

WHOOSH!

The moment the flame appeared, the blood-red light surrounding it was instantly split apart, creating a long, narrow path—a vacuum.

Jiuchen had no time for shock. He seized the opportunity, shooting the black dagger from his hand at the critical moment. His target was Duan Tianlang. The enraged Duan Tianlang was startled by the sight. He only had time to raise the Thick Earth Seal in front of him before being struck by the dagger. He immediately coughed up a spray of blood and was sent flying backward.

"What is this flame..."

As he flew backward, Duan Tianlang stared at Ye Xuan in shock and anger. Although Jiuchen’s strike hadn’t hit him directly, it had caused immense internal damage, nearly shattering his organs.

This was all because of the crimson, ethereal flame Ye Xuan had suddenly released. That flame had almost instantly broken through all of his blood-qi defenses.

Among them, Elder Yao was the most knowledgeable about flames. He was now staring at Ye Xuan in utter shock, a look of horror on his face. "Celes... Celes... This flame is..."

The ethereal flame that shot from between Ye Xuan’s brows only appeared for an instant, but the Profound Fire within Elder Yao’s body reacted like a courtier meeting its king, exuding an aura of terror.

This phenomenon could only be caused by the legendary Celestial Fire. Otherwise, not even an Earth Fire could make his own self-cultivated, Seventh Grade Lord Level flame react so strangely.

’Just what is that flame? Its aura is terrifying.’

’It broke through a blood light close to Tier Eight. Could it be an Earth Fire?’

’That Xuan Ye is only a Tier Six Martial Venerable. With his cultivation, even an Earth Fire shouldn’t be able to break Vice Sect Master Duan’s blood light.’

Both the Gale Light Academy and Profound Mystery Sect factions were stunned.

Down below, the countless Martial Artists of Santafe City were also dumbfounded, including the City Lord of Santafe City, Zhu Jingyi.

Previously, Duan Tianlang had been magnificent, fighting Jiuchen and the others alone and displaying unparalleled combat strength. It had made everyone sigh with emotion at the terror of the Profound Mystery Sect’s Vice Sect Master.

Many had even believed that Gale Light Academy’s attempt to corner the Profound Mystery Sect would not only fail but would end with them suffering a great loss.

But who would have known that at the last moment, a young man would step forward and instantly shatter Duan Tianlang’s blood light, creating an opportunity for the Gale Light Academy experts at his side to strike.

The image of the ethereal flame instantly cleaving through the blood light was deeply seared into everyone’s minds, an unforgettable and inexplicably shocking moment.

At the same time, they all began to speculate what kind of flame Ye Xuan had unleashed.

Listening to the shocked discussions around him, Ye Xuan, who had just used the Endless Molten Flame, had a pale face and quickly began to regulate his breathing. He also gave a wry smile. This was exactly why he hadn’t used the Endless Molten Flame right away.

Celestial Fire was simply too rare. Once word got out, it would inevitably attract the covetous eyes of countless powerful experts.

In this world, there wasn’t a single Alchemist or Artifact Refiner who didn’t want a good flame. This wasn’t just true for the experts of the Dream Realm Plain; even in the Profound Domain, experts with ordinary flames were everywhere. If they learned that he possessed a Celestial Fire, it would inevitably lead to trouble.

But given the situation just now, he couldn’t afford to worry about that. If he hadn’t broken through Duan Tianlang’s blood light, they would have been the ones in danger.

Bloody rainbows of light pulsed around Duan Tianlang. His expression flickered, his gaze savage. He was clearly not in good shape, and his aura was at most eighty percent of what it was before.

"Xuan Ye, I never thought you had a move like this. Good, this is just great!"

Jiuchen was both shocked and delighted. Now that Duan Tianlang was severely injured, he was confident he could fight him even without the help of Ye Xuan’s flame.

Medicine City, who was at his side, also laughed and said, "Young Master Ye, I didn’t expect that the Curious Void Origin Flame we specially concocted back at the academy for this operation would actually come in handy. If it weren’t for this Curious Void Origin Flame, that Duan Tianlang might have really gotten the upper hand."

Medicine City said excitedly, winking at Ye Xuan.

As an Alchemist, he was the only one who had immediately recognized that Ye Xuan had used a Celestial Fire. Understanding the value of a Celestial Fire, he had instantly concocted this excuse to divert everyone’s suspicions.

"So that flame was the legendary Curious Void Origin Flame?"

Sure enough, after hearing Medicine City’s words, many of the Alchemists in Santafe City had a look of sudden realization.

The Curious Void Origin Flame was a very special flame in the Alchemy Realm. It was a type of flame formed when a Seventh Grade Lord Level Alchemist or higher infused their own Profound Fire with various rare Fire Element materials.

It could greatly enhance the attack and destructive power of one’s own flame and was often used in battles between Alchemists. It was widely known in the Alchemy Realm, but those who could actually concoct it were extremely rare.

’If it was the Curious Void Origin Flame, then maybe it really could do something like that.’

Ye Xuan understood Elder Yao’s meaning and laughed. "That was just an accident on our part, but I didn’t expect it to have such a miraculous effect. It seems even the heavens are on our side."

After this whole ordeal, Jiuchen and Duan Tianlang both scrambled to take the time to heal their injuries.

Just a moment later, Jiuchen suddenly shot forward.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

He attacked recklessly, once again clashing with Duan Tianlang.

After suffering heavy injuries, Duan Tianlang’s strength was greatly diminished, and the two were now evenly matched.

Although it was just a draw, Jiuchen’s face was ecstatic. His fighting spirit boiled as he sneered, "Duan Tianlang, let’s see what you can do now."

Duan Tianlang had taken the Blood Burst Demon Transformation Pill, which would only last for half an hour. As long as the fight continued, Duan Tianlang would be the one to lose in the end.

Duan Tianlang’s expression was grim as he seethed with resentment. ’If Ye Xuan’s flame hadn’t broken my blood light, how could I have gotten injured?’

"Hmph, Jiuchen, don’t get cocky. So what if I can’t kill you? You think I can’t kill them?"

Duan Tianlang’s eyes darted, and an obscure light flashed in their depths. Instead of defending against Jiuchen’s attack, he controlled the Thick Earth Seal and smashed it fiercely toward Ye Xuan and the other students.

"I’ll kill these people first, then I’ll deal with you."

"Not good."

Jiuchen was shocked. If he continued his attack, he could indeed injure Duan Tianlang again, but Ye Xuan and the other students couldn’t possibly withstand a single blow from him. They would surely die.

That was a result Jiuchen could not accept.

In the crisis, Jiuchen rushed to rescue Ye Xuan and the others.

BOOM!

At the last possible second, he finally arrived, using his black dagger to block the massive, blood-colored seal.

"Get back!" Jiuchen roared at Ye Xuan and the others below.

As long as Ye Xuan and the others scattered, he had plenty of ways to wear Duan Tianlang down and kill him.

"Yes."

Celestial Wheel and the others quickly scattered.

But just then—

A brilliant blade of light suddenly shot out from the crowd. A ghostly figure instantly appeared behind Jiuchen, their battle saber swinging like the Grim Reaper’s scythe toward Jiuchen’s head.

"Die!"

At that moment, Jiuchen was using all his strength to resist Duan Tianlang’s attack. He had no power left to defend against the blade coming from behind.

"Not good!"

"Look out!"

"Shi Zhanxin, what are you doing?!"

A series of shocked and furious cries rang out. Everyone stared in rage at the figure in the sky—it was Shi Zhanxin, one of the seven students from Gale Light Academy.

No one had expected that at this critical juncture, Shi Zhanxin would suddenly attack Jiuchen.

"Hahaha, go and die!"

The moment Shi Zhanxin attacked, Duan Tianlang burst into crazed laughter. He fiercely drove the Thick Earth Seal forward, sending an even more terrifying power crashing down on Jiuchen, making it impossible for him to get distracted.

If Jiuchen dared to divert his attention to block Shi Zhanxin’s attack, he would be crushed to death by the Thick Earth Seal. But if he focused on resisting the Thick Earth Seal, Shi Zhanxin’s attack would be enough to kill him.

In an instant, Jiuchen was trapped in a fatal predicament.

Under the shocked and angry gazes of the crowd, Shi Zhanxin’s battle saber came crashing down, a hint of madness in his eyes.

No one knew that, just like Lv Feng, he was also a disciple of the Profound Mystery Sect.

Compared to Lv Feng’s high-profile nature, Shi Zhanxin had always been low-key at the academy. He rarely interacted with Lv Feng; they even had some minor conflicts with each other.

Therefore, after the conflict between the Profound Mystery Sect and Gale Light Academy broke out, Shi Zhanxin immediately became an inside agent.

According to the mission the sect had given him, he was supposed to remain undercover and gain the trust of Gale Light Academy.

To achieve this goal, he had contributed greatly during Gale Light Academy’s previous purges of the Profound Mystery Sect, showing no mercy when clearing out the sect’s strongholds.

These actions finally earned him the trust of Celestial Wheel and the others, allowing him to become one of their group and get the opportunity to participate in this operation.

Originally, if Duan Tianlang and his men had been able to escape, Shi Zhanxin would not have revealed himself. But seeing Vice Sect Master Duan in danger, this chess piece was finally put into play.

Shi Zhanxin knew very well that Jiuchen was the leader of the Gale Light Academy group. As long as Jiuchen was killed, the others like Elder Dong and Elder Yao would be no threat. They would be helpless against the power of the Vice Sect Master.

In that instant, Shi Zhanxin unleashed his most terrifying power—a strike equivalent to that of a Tier Seven First Layer Peak Martial King—and brought it down upon Jiuchen’s head.

In the sky, everyone held their breath. It all happened too suddenly, so suddenly that no one had time to react. They could only watch helplessly as Shi Zhanxin’s battle saber fell.

DING!

Just as Shi Zhanxin’s blade was about to strike Jiuchen’s head, a clear, crisp ring suddenly echoed through the heavens. A black heavy sword had appeared out of nowhere in front of the blade, blocking Shi Zhanxin’s fatal blow.

"Heh heh, after hiding for so long, you finally couldn’t hold back anymore? I’ve been waiting for you."

An indifferent voice echoed through the heavens. Ye Xuan stood proudly beside Jiuchen, a cold smile on his lips.