Chapter 196: Ambush

Under the protection of numerous Royal Knights, the sixteen academies set off in a grand procession toward Wuhun City.

The journey was smooth and unobstructed, passing peacefully for ten days.

The carriages of Gu Lei Academy were at the very front, with the carriages of the Element Academy following alongside; Nan Feihuang appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, but his spiritual power was constantly monitoring the surroundings.

The previous locations were not the most suitable spots for an ambush, but soon, they would enter a mountain valley.

Nan Feihuang guessed that this was the place of the ambush from the original story.

The vanguard entered the mountain range, situated between two low hills, when suddenly, a cold aura emanated from the mountains on both sides of the path; most of those present were Spirit Masters with extremely keen senses for danger, and in an instant, they felt their hair stand on end.

The captain leading the Royal Knights shouted, "Everyone, be on alert! We have a situation."

The members of the Royal Knights guarding the Spirit Masters immediately raised their knight lances, while the participating students from the various spirit academies looked relaxed and carefree; with so many genius Spirit Masters here, what did they have to worry about? Although they were fewer in number than the Royal Knights, if a real fight broke out, their strength was not proportional at all; furthermore, there was no shortage of powerhouses among the teachers leading each academy, with at least a dozen Spirit Masters between level sixty and seventy, and such a force was enough to face an army of over ten thousand.

They had no idea what kind of opponents they were about to face.

Countless falling rocks descended like raindrops from the hills on both sides; the attack was not only abrupt but also fell in a very orderly fashion.

Some even took the initiative to attack these guys who appeared to be "mountain bandits," but when they were fully convinced they could easily crush their opponents, they were given a rude awakening.

At this moment, thousands of men in black suddenly appeared on the hills on both sides, rushing toward the various academies at an astonishing speed.

As spears moved and stones fell, they used the long spears in their hands to continuously deflect the falling rocks; the five hundred soldiers' spears formed a steel defensive line, and in such unfavorable terrain, they did not let a single stone pass in front of them for a short time—they were truly well-trained.

The hills on both sides were not very high, so the gravity of the falling rocks did not reach an insurmountable level; the knights of the Royal Knights retreated a few steps, leaving only a passage in the center for people to pass through, and held their knight lances high, meeting the falling rocks head-on.

Dazzling halos of various colors began to flicker as everyone from the various academies completed their martial soul manifestation, ready for battle.

At this moment, the overall quality of the Royal Knights was displayed; although they were not all Spirit Masters, their overall strength was very formidable.

However, as more and more rocks fell, these Royal Knights gradually began to struggle, and some particularly huge boulders crashed into the various teams, splitting them apart.

Among these men in black, there were actually a large number of Spirit Masters, including nearly a hundred Soul Kings above level fifty; such a massive force was not something any random power could muster, and the teachers of the various academies immediately realized that this was not some mountain bandit robbery, but an organized attack.

This was the opponent's true purpose: these rocks were not meant for attacking, but for blocking unnecessary targets so they could focus all their efforts on dealing with their intended targets.

However, the people from the various academies were not afraid and stepped off their carriages; they were not ordinary people with no strength to truss a chicken, but the most elite young Spirit Masters.

As each academy was separated by the huge rocks, several dozen men in black appeared before Gu Lei Academy.

The three leaders had an extraordinary aura, and even without summoning their martial souls, it was clear they were high-level Spirit Masters.

After all, the Gu Lei Team was led by Brute Force Sect Master Jia Chong and the Food-type Soul Saint Elder Zhang; even if Elder Zhang had no combat ability, Jia Chong was a solid level eighty-four Spirit Douluo powerhouse.

"It seems this isn't a simple mountain bandit raid!" Jia Chong muttered.

He could feel that among the three leaders, one possessed power that was almost not inferior to his own.

There were not many top-tier figures on the continent; there were only a dozen or so Title Douluo, and fewer than a hundred Spirit Douluo.

Famous figures more or less knew of each other.

Although the person opposite was masked, Jia Chong still recognized him somewhat, "You are, Huang Zhen..."

"Shut up!" the man in black roared, stopping Jia Chong from revealing his identity, "Jia Chong, if you don't want to die, you should know what should be said and what should not."

Jia Chong quickly shut his mouth; he had almost caused a disaster just now.

This person was named Huang Zhenshan, with the Zhenshan Iron Sword as his martial soul; he was one of the Spirit Douluo experts under Ju Gui Douluo in the Spirit Hall, famous for a long time, with a soul power level around eighty-three.

He certainly wouldn't be bold enough to act on his own to attack the participants.

In other words, this was the Spirit Hall causing trouble.

Jia Chong was a Sect Master after all; his mind didn't turn fast, but he wasn't a fool. Since the Spirit Hall came masked, it meant they didn't intend to kill everyone, otherwise, why hide their identities? But if he publicly called out their identities, everyone who heard would have to die, and he would be harming others.

"Since the attack isn't for a massacre, it must be aimed at someone. Is it the Crown Prince?" Jia Chong glanced at Nan Feihuang beside him, "No, if it were for the Crown Prince, with me here, one Spirit Douluo wouldn't be enough, and he wouldn't have stopped me from revealing his identity just now. Clearly, he doesn't want a death match with us. It should be the same at the other academies; one or two Spirit Saints with a group of Soul Kings are just stalling for time. The real main force will head toward the target."

"Tang San!" After a brainstorm, Jia Chong quickly locked onto the Spirit Hall's true target; only Tang San, who possessed Twin Spirits and was born into the Clear Sky Sect, had this possibility.

"It seems you've figured it out, Jia Chong," Huang Zhenshan said, "I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. As long as you stay here obediently, your people will be fine."

If it were an ordinary person, he would have suppressed them long ago, but Jia Chong was a Spirit Douluo powerhouse after all; it was best to keep him blocked to avoid complications.

"Children, do not act rashly." Jia Chong protected all the students behind him; since he had guessed the Spirit Hall's purpose, he did not intend to meddle.

Whether Shrek lived or died, what did it have to do with them? Offending the Spirit Hall for their sake was not worth it.

"As expected of Sect Master Jia Chong, you truly know when to advance and retreat. It seems we won't need to resort to weapons today," Huang Zhenshan said with satisfaction.

His assigned task was to block Jia Chong and the Gu Lei Team; as long as they stayed there obediently and didn't move, he was happy to be idle.

(End of chapter)