Chapter 48: The Fall of Zhu Yan

Zhu Yan’s eyes flashed with madness; he knew he would die today, and rather than be captured, his core stolen, and his soul scattered, he would rather detonate his demonic core and take one with him.

He threw his head back and let out a deafening roar, his demonic power surging wildly.

His body swelled at a visible rate; his crimson fur bristled upright, radiating blinding red light.

“If that’s the case, then let us perish together!”

“Demon God’s Mirror, explode!”

“Bad! He’s going to self-detonate!”

Kage Long’s face changed instantly; he urgently activated his heart-scale armor to form a thick golden shield, while spewing forth a lightning barrier.

Lu Wu summoned the power of mountains and rivers, erecting an impregnable defense line.

Tao Tie slammed his mouth shut, retracted his massive body backward, and spat out a thick black mist to weaken the explosion’s force—but it was already too late.

Zhu Yan’s body exploded with a deafening roar; a terrifying energy shockwave surged like a tidal wave, illuminating the entire mist-covered region with crimson light.

The ground was blasted open into a pit dozens of zhang deep, the rocks at its bottom melted into magma.

Lu Wu’s shield shattered instantly; he was thrown back by the shockwave, a trickle of golden blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Kage Long’s lightning barrier crumbled at once; his heart-scale armor cracked, leaving several deep wounds that bared bone.

Tao Tie’s black mist was scattered; his massive body was flung away, crashing into a distant mountain wall with a dull thud.

Dust settled; within the massive pit remained only a bloody, unrecognizable pulp—Zhu Yan’s presence vanished utterly from heaven and earth.

Lu Wu shook his injured arm, gazing at the pit, his brow slightly furrowed: “I didn’t expect Zhu Yan to have some spine—he chose self-destruction.”

Kage Long licked his wounds, his eyes filled with lingering dread: “Thankfully we reacted in time; otherwise, we might have perished here today.”

Tao Tie climbed up from behind the mountain wall, brushed the dust off his body, and spoke with a hint of regret: “Pity my snack—gone like that.”

The three exchanged glances, said no more, and turned to fly into the depths of the mist.

Outside Jiannan Pass, the mist reformed, as if the battle had never occurred—but the aftershocks of Zhu Yan’s detonation stirred considerable turmoil among the demonic beast clans.

Within the human realm—

Mo Yuan personally erected three statues of Liu Qingxuan: two at the Academy of Literature and the center of Linjiang, one at Shanhai Pass, Liu Qingxuan’s longed-for destination.

The entire human race unanimously posthumously honored him with the posthumous title “Liu Sheng,” making him the only person in human history to be revered as a Sage without ever entering the Saint Realm.

【System detects host has completed mission: Defeat Zhu Yan】

【Reward distributed: 15 Low-Rank Draws, 7 Mid-Rank Draws, 5 High-Rank Draws】

【Proceed with one-click draw?】

“One-click draw.” Jiang Xia’s voice was low; his fingertip hovered over the draw button in midair for half a second before finally pressing it.

The wheel before him began to spin; though this should have been a moment of joy, not a trace of happiness reached his eyes.

Every reward felt like it had been bought with Liu Qingxuan’s life.

【Fifteen consecutive Low-Rank Draws】

【Congratulations, host has obtained: 50 Exploding Tags, 30 Shuriken, 50 Kunai, Ninjutsu—Wind Clone Technique, Ninjutsu—Sexy Jutsu】

【Eight consecutive Mid-Rank Draws】

【Congratulations, host has obtained: Earth Release—Earth Flow Wall, Water Release—Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Six Akatsuki Cloaks】

“Puh!”

Jiang Xia, who had been grieving, couldn’t help but curse aloud.

“Damn system, Itachi’ve been eating my points all along, and low-rank draws always giving me trash is fine—but now Itachi don’t even pretend anymore? Mid-rank draws giving me Akatsuki cloaks?”

“I saw the Akatsuki cloak in the point shop—it only cost 1000 points!”

【Ding~ This draw is purely based on luck; host, don’t slander the system.】

Jiang Xia glared at the system’s feigned innocence, and a surge of unreasoning rage rose within him.

【Five consecutive High-Rank Draws】

【Congratulations, host has obtained: Eight Gates Release—Gate of the Scenery, Lightning Release—Kirin, Wind Release—Spiral Shuriken, Forbidden Technique—Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu】

【Congratulations, host triggered critical hit: Mangekyo Sharingan upgraded to Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan】

【Host】: Jiang Xia

【Realm】: Peak of Great Martial Master (6000/)

【Abilities】: SSS-rank Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, SSS-rank Rinnegan, SSS-rank Wood Release

【Skills】: Izanagi, Shinra Tensei, Wanxiangtianyin , Tailed Beast Bomb, Amaterasu, Kamui, Tsukuyomi, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Flying Thunder God Technique, Wind Release—Spiral Shuriken, Rasengan…

【Physique】: 3000 Qi

【Items】: Exploding Tags, Kunai, Huaxia Currency, Rations, Jiraiya’s Icha Icha Paradise, Shuriken

【Ninja Tools】: Kusanagi Sword, Ten Pounds Sword, Yata Mirror

【Points】: 0

【Draw Opportunities】: None

Jiang Xia ignored the system prompts, his hands rubbing the broken copper coin as he stared blankly toward Liu Qingxuan’s statue.

“Old Xia, what are Itachi daydreaming about?”

A large hand slapped Jiang Xia’s back; a figure stood beside him, wearing his usual cheerful grin, though sorrow lingered faintly in his eyes.

“About Professor Liu…” Wang Teng started to offer comfort, but Jiang Xia raised a hand to stop him.

“Don’t,” Jiang Xia clenched the coin until his knuckles turned white. “Fatty, what do Itachi want?”

“Heh, almost forgot the real reason!”

Wang Teng slapped his forehead, his tone lightening. “My brother Wang Chong has a parent-teacher meeting today. My parents are tied up with work, so it’s our turn.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Jiang Xia slipped the coin into his pocket; as he rose, he noticed the system panel still on the reward screen and tapped to close it.

“Let’s go.” He stepped toward the door, then suddenly paused, his hand unconsciously touching his face.

“Am I that famous now?” he frowned, voice tinged with concern.

“What if I go to school and get mobbed by parents asking for autographs? That’d be a nightmare.”

Wang Teng burst out laughing, slapping his back. “Old Xia, are Itachi dreaming?”

He laughed until he couldn’t stand, pointing at Jiang Xia’s face. “Director Mo specifically gave Itachi a thick mosaic filter over your face—looks like a walking QR code.”

“Everyone outside is buzzing, guessing which of the Four Sages killed Zhu Yan—who’d ever think it was Itachi?”

Wang Teng leaned in, winking and teasing.

“Come on, judging by your tone, Itachi’re disappointed? Itachi actually want to strut around elementary school as the ‘Savior’?”

Jiang Xia rolled his eyes and walked down the stairs. “Stop talking nonsense, or we’ll miss the meeting.”

Yet, as he turned, his lips couldn’t help but twitch upward.

Being seen as ordinary, free from the halo of Liu Sheng’s sacrifice—this was better.