Chapter 596: Testing Strength

BOOM!

A great battle erupted once more in an instant.

On the Profound Mystery Sect’s side, only a dozen or so people remained. They fled frantically, striking back as they flew.

Meanwhile, the Gale Light Academy contingent gave swift chase, their eyes crimson with hatred.

Between them, a battle line stretched across the sky.

"Xuan Ye, are you alright?"

During the pursuit, Vice Director Ge quickly came to Ye Xuan’s side and asked with concern.

Ye Xuan had been struck by the battle wraith and blasted by lightning earlier. Although he seemed perfectly fine now, Vice Director Ge and the others were still quite worried.

"I’m fine."

Ye Xuan shook his head, his gaze cold and sharp. "In fact, I’ve never felt better."

After breaking through to Tier Seven, Ye Xuan felt his entire body surging with Profound energy. The feeling of his power returning put him in a great mood. His gaze was sharp, and he unconsciously radiated the aura of his past life.

Seeing this, Ge Puzi and the others beside him paled slightly. They had naturally sensed Ye Xuan’s breakthrough to Tier Seven, but they hadn’t expected that after the breakthrough, his every move would give them a sense of awe and intimidation.

They found it somewhat hard to believe.

"Elder Tianyi, you’re not going anywhere."

At that moment in the sky, Su Xiuyi let out a cold cry and launched a fierce attack.

RUMBLE!

The Profound energy surged with heaven-shaking might. Su Xiuyi’s single strike immediately caused the fleeing Qiu Diantian and his men to spit blood, their speed dropping sharply.

"Elder Tianyi, save us!"

Sect Master Qiu Diantian of the Nine Yang Sect and the others cried out in terror.

But Elder Tianyi just sneered. Without a backward glance, he continued to flee at high speed with Tang Zhao and the others.

His own life was in danger at this point; only an idiot would stop to save someone. As for the few from the Nine Yang Sect, he would just let them fend for themselves. Perhaps they could even slow down their pursuers for a moment.

"Damn it!"

Qiu Diantian and his men cursed loudly as they watched Elder Tianyi and his group flee without hesitation.

How could they not realize? Elder Tianyi of the Profound Mystery Sect had abandoned them.

"The few from the Nine Yang Sect are yours to deal with."

Su Xiuyi didn’t stop. After shouting this cold instruction to Elder Jian and the others, he continued his urgent pursuit of Elder Tianyi.

Behind him, Elder Jian and the leaders of the other major powers hesitated for a moment before surrounding Qiu Diantian and his men.

"Everyone, let’s talk this over."

Qiu Diantian and the others said hurriedly.

Right now, Elder Jian’s group outnumbered them by nearly two to one. If they fought, they would surely be the ones to fall.

"Now you want to talk? Qiu Diantian, weren’t you arrogant when you were killing the experts from our factions earlier?"

Elder Jian and the others had no intention of listening to Qiu Diantian. With a sneer, they all attacked.

BOOM.

The two sides quickly clashed. Profound energy of various colors erupted, shaking the heavens.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Su Xiuyi was in hot pursuit of Elder Tianyi and his group.

"We’ll split up."

Elder Tianyi glanced at the relentless Su Xiuyi and frowned.

He knew very well that their only chance of survival was to split up and divide their pursuer’s attention. If they stayed together, they would all die.

SWISH!

After giving the order to Tang Zhao and the others, Elder Tianyi instantly shot off on his own.

"Trying to escape?"

Su Xiuyi sneered. Seizing the opportunity, the Celestial Derivation Book in his left hand suddenly burst with myriad rays of light.

SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH SWOOSH!

The light instantly formed a cage, enveloping Elder Tianyi and his group.

At the same time, he opened his feathered fan. The void roiled, and a brilliant ray of light shot toward Elder Tianyi in an instant.

"Bastard!"

Elder Tianyi roared and threw out a palm strike, forcefully blocking the attack. But in doing so, he was completely enveloped by the cage of light manifested by the Celestial Derivation Book.

’Where the hell did Su Xiuyi get so many treasures? Damn it all!’

Elder Tianyi trembled with rage, his eyes bloodshot.

But he didn’t even have time to be angry; he could only face Su Xiuyi’s relentless attacks.

RUMBLE.

An astonishing battle unfolded once again across the sky.

「Meanwhile.」

The experts from the Nine Yang Sect were in deep crisis.

"Everyone, split up and run!"

Qiu Diantian shouted in panicked fury, his face contorted. He then ignored Yan Song and the others and turned to flee.

"It seems Elder Tianyi isn’t the only one with a habit of abandoning his own to escape. You have it too, Qiu Diantian."

Elder Jian and the other faction leaders sneered and gave chase to Qiu Diantian.

Qiu Diantian was so furious his eyes could have shot flames. ’Out of all these people, why are they all coming after me?’

Seeing that Elder Jian and the others had all targeted Qiu Diantian, Elder Dong and Elder Yao didn’t compete with them. Instead, they focused on the remaining few.

Among them, Yan Song, the Vice Sect Master of the Nine Yang Sect, immediately became their target.

Just as the two were about to make a move, SWISH, a streak of light suddenly appeared before them.

"Leave Yan Song to me. Let me see for myself the power of a Tier Seven Third Layer expert."

Ye Xuan’s black hair billowed without any wind as a violent aura surged from his body. The aura of a Tier Seven First Layer Martial King began to circulate slowly.

Although he had only just entered the realm of a Tier Seven Martial King, the oppressive aura emanating from Ye Xuan was even stronger than that of some Tier Seven Third Layer Martial Kings.

"Xuan Ye, what are you...?"

"How can you possibly face a Tier Seven Peak expert like Yan Song alone? Let’s team up."

Elder Dong and Elder Yao exclaimed in surprise.

This scene was also witnessed by the Martial Artists from other factions. Liu Chen and Peng Xiang of the Sky Empire couldn’t help but sneer. They thought this Xuan Ye must be out of his mind to seek personal glory at a time like this. It was simply courting death.

The two even had a malicious thought: ’It would be quite a show if Yan Song killed Ye Xuan.’

"It’s fine. I’m more than enough."

Ye Xuan swept a confident gaze over Elder Dong and Elder Yao.

As soon as he spoke, an invisible gale formed around him. Amidst the roar of Profound energy, the Void-Treading Feathers on his back suddenly unfurled, crackling with flashes of lightning. Accompanied by arcs of electricity and peals of thunder, Ye Xuan’s figure blurred and shot toward Yan Song.

This confidence and dominance left Elder Dong and Elder Yao dumbfounded.

The lightning flashing from Ye Xuan’s Void-Treading Feathers, in particular, gave them a feeling that they wouldn’t dare to face him in battle.

How could they have known? Ye Xuan’s Void-Treading Feathers were a Tier Seven Spiritual Treasure. Before, Ye Xuan could only utilize ten to twenty percent of their power. Only now, after breaking through to become a Tier Seven Martial King, could he truly unleash their might.

’That kid is intercepting me all by himself? The heavens are helping me! As long as I can beat him back, I can definitely get away. All I need to do then is burn some Profound energy to escape. At my speed, besides Su Xiuyi, no one else will be able to catch me.’

The fleeing Yan Song was panicked, but when he saw that it was Ye Xuan pursuing him, he was suddenly overjoyed.

He knew that Su Xiuyi was busy chasing Elder Tianyi and had no time to deal with him.

All he had to do was kill Ye Xuan, and he would have a real chance at survival, a real chance to escape.

With his life on the line, Yan Song immediately formed a sign with his fingers. Two gray-brown snakes of qi pierced through the void, fast as lightning, and shot toward Ye Xuan’s neck.

As Ye Xuan flew through the air, he suddenly felt a sinister chill.

"Flowing Water Sword Intent!"

The Sword of Judgment on Ye Xuan’s back was suddenly unsheathed. With a cold look, he gripped the sword in his right hand and swung it out quietly.

As he slashed, the sound of crashing waves suddenly echoed in the void, as if an endless torrent of water was surging madly, drowning Yan Song’s attack.

BOOM-BANG.

The two gray-brown qi snakes were hit instantly. Amidst a violent roar, they were immediately torn to shreds and exploded.

SWISH!

The heavy sword in Ye Xuan’s hand didn’t stop, continuing its trajectory as it shot toward Yan Song.

CRACKLE.

Fueled by Ye Xuan’s Profound energy, arcs of electricity even appeared around the body of the sword.

"What?"

Seeing this, Yan Song was completely astonished, his eyes filled with horror.

That last attack had seemed simple, but in his desperation to escape, he had already used his full strength.

He thought it was a sure thing, but he never expected Ye Xuan to neutralize it in an instant.

A First Layer Martial King blocking an attack from a Third Layer Martial King—Yan Song had seen situations like that before.

However, a First Layer completely shattering a Third Layer’s attack, remaining entirely unimpeded, and even launching a powerful counterattack? He had never even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it.

’That kid just broke through to Tier Seven First Layer, and I’m already a Tier Seven Third Layer Martial King... How can this be...?’

Yan Song mumbled to himself, unable to believe it. If he weren’t seeing it with his own eyes, with Ye Xuan’s powerful attack rushing toward him, he would have thought he was hallucinating.

But after his brief shock, his expression instantly became savage.

"Good, kid. It seems I underestimated you. Then take this! Spirit Serpent Coils the Heavens!"

Yan Song roared. Above his head, the phantom of a giant serpent suddenly appeared. The serpent seemed to possess a spirit of its own, its cold eyes staring indifferently at the nearby Ye Xuan.

An invisible Martial Soul fluctuation bloomed from within Yan Song. A massive, gray-brown spirit serpent immediately appeared on his body, merging with the Profound energy he released. A sinister, terrifying aura filled the void.

The gray-brown spirit serpent, as if alive, broke free from Yan Song’s body and grew even larger. A vicious aura shot straight toward Ye Xuan’s mind.

ROAR!

The spirit serpent let out a silent roar and opened its cavernous mouth, snapping down at Ye Xuan. The sound carried a wave of dizzying energy.

A glint flashed in Ye Xuan’s eyes. He instantly understood: the opponent’s spirit serpent attack also contained a Soul Sense attack. It seemed the giant serpent Martial Soul above Yan Song’s head was of no ordinary attribute.

However, using a Soul Sense attack in front of Ye Xuan, a Seventh Grade Soul Refiner, was, without a doubt, a ridiculously foolish mistake.

Channeling his Seventh Grade Soul Power, Ye Xuan immediately blocked Yan Song’s Soul Sense attack. At the same time, the Sword of Judgment in his hand transformed into a black bolt of lightning and struck heavily upon the massive spirit serpent’s head.