Chapter 1115: The Two Kings Face Off

When the teams of the two great ancient academies had all gathered outside those mission strongholds and finished their preparations to enter, in the chaotic void beyond the Lesser Chen Heaven, a confrontation of staggering, almost unbelievable scale was likewise taking place.

Vast streams of heaven and earth energy here transformed into a flood whose end could not be seen, like an inexhaustible tide, surging ceaselessly.

The energy tide nearly split the void in two.

From the depths of the void, terrifyingly extreme undulations radiated outward; from time to time, ten-thousand-zhang phantom images reflected in the void, while at the same time bizarre, utterly uncanny auras let out low, hoarse howls.

In this place, one after another terrifyingly extreme bursts of energy erupted into destructive collisions.

Those were the vice-deans of the Tianyuan Ancient Academy and the various kings of the Zhongsheng Guipi Yu.

And at the very center of the energy tide that cut through the void, there was instead a stretch of calm. Here, two figures sat quietly in lotus position, as if entirely untouched by the clashes in the depths of the void.

These two figures, merely by sitting here, had become the center of this stretch of void; an indescribable aura spread silently outward, as if even heaven and earth itself would prostrate before them.

Even those king-level beings currently exchanging blows had set aside part of their attention to watch this side.

For these two were the true source and origin of the two great king-level forces in this contest.

In the void, the one seated on the left was a refined, scholarly-looking middle-aged man. He wore a yellow robe, held a bronze ruler in his hand, and had a golden gourd hanging at his waist.

The middle-aged man sat in lotus position at his ease; between his breaths, it seemed as if heaven-shaking wind and thunder were rumbling, causing the void to tremble violently without cease.

And this person was none other than the dean of the Tianyuan Ancient Academy, a peak existence at the Three-Crown King level—Wang Xuanjin.

Opposite Dean Wang Xuanjin, the void there had been dyed a ghastly pale color; even the circulating heaven and earth energy had been assimilated. Within the dense, almost viscous white fog, it seemed countless figures formed of skin and hide, each of them kneeling in a posture of utter devotion.

In the direction they knelt toward stood a youth in a white robe, his appearance clean and neat, his features gentle, a smile at the corner of his lips.

Yet that look of his did not last long before his face began to age, his skin wrinkling, his whole body emanating the air of the evening of life.

The air of decline grew ever thicker. After only a few breaths, the aged look faded, his body shrank, and he actually transformed into a child with rosy lips, white teeth, and unusually smooth, fair skin.

In just a brief moment, he had shifted through three different stages of skin and hide.

And this one was naturally the master of the "Zhongsheng Guipi Yu."

Three-Crown King, the Zhongsheng Demon King.

At this moment, the Zhongsheng Demon King, now transformed into the appearance of a child, let out a giggle. Its pupils were a pure white, a white that inspired an instinctive, heartfelt dread.

"Wang Xuanjin, this seat went to the trouble of drawing people in here for you ahead of time. Aren't you going to express a little gratitude?"

The Zhongsheng Demon King laughed lightly. From the white fog spreading behind him, a figure suddenly walked out, then knelt and sat down beside him—and that appearance was unmistakably Lan Lan Lingzi!

Only this "Lan Lan Lingzi" seemed somewhat uncanny. In her pupils, white vortexes spun ceaselessly; after a moment the spinning stilled, turning into ordinary pupils, and at the same time she smiled at Wang Xuanjin and said: "Dean, I went to the Tianyuan Ancient Academy to deliver the message for you, and no one saw through me at all."

Wang Xuanjin gazed at this skin-and-hide shell that shared the exact appearance of Vice-Dean Lan Lan Lingzi. No anger rose in his expression; instead he sighed softly: "The Zhongsheng Demon King's art of skin and hide is truly awe-inspiring. Even the two vice-deans left to guard the academy failed to spot a single flaw. Your scheming is truly admirable."

That's right—from Wang Xuanjin's words, the Vice-Dean Lan Lan Lingzi who had gone to the Tianyuan Ancient Academy this time to issue the conscription order was not actually a real person at all, but a skin-and-hide shell transformed by the Zhongsheng Demon King!

This was truly chilling to the extreme!

After all, everything Lan Lan Lingzi said and did was completely identical to Lan Lan Lingzi herself—not only were her memories fully inherited, even her style of conduct was a complete inheritance of the original.

In a certain sense, this was essentially no different from a "clone" of "Lan Lan Lingzi."

And this was precisely where the Zhongsheng Demon King's strangeness and terror lay.

"Previously you once ambushed and killed Lan Lan Lingzi; that must have been to seize the aura of her skin and hide, to plot all this, yes?" Wang Xuanjin said. In truth, he had indeed intended to send the ancient academy's students into the Lesser Chen Heaven, so in a certain sense the Zhongsheng Demon King had not entirely delivered false information—only, it had moved the timing one step earlier, and it was precisely that one step that caused the academy's students, who had not had much time to prepare, to suffer the first wave of ambush and slaughter.

"Wang Xuanjin, thanks to you all these fresh skins and hides, otherwise my 'Ten Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillars' wouldn't have been so easy to construct."

The Zhongsheng Demon King waved his hand. As the white fog spread, a space like a chicken's egg appeared in the void before him—this space was precisely the "Lesser Chen Heaven." Only now, this vast space, situated between two terrifying beings, looked rather like a toy, to be kneaded and pinched at will.

From this vantage point, white fog spread within the Lesser Chen Heaven, and at different locations, a white pillar could be seen faintly, half-hidden and half-visible.

There were seven pillars in total, standing at various points throughout the Lesser Chen Heaven, faintly forming a state of interconnection. White fog ceaselessly spewed forth from within them, as if to shroud the entire Lesser Chen Heaven.

Wang Xuanjin's gaze rested on the "Lesser Chen Heaven." This time, because of this move of the Zhongsheng Demon King's plotting, the two great ancient academies had been misled into dispatching elite students into the Lesser Chen Heaven ahead of schedule, which could be said to have somewhat disrupted his own arrangements.

Now the Zhongsheng Demon King was using the skins and hides of those captured students as materials to accelerate the forging of the "Ten Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillars."

If these seven "Ten Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillars" were completely forged, then the aura of evil intent they released would thoroughly corrupt the entire Lesser Chen Heaven. When that happened, this place would become the domain of the "Zhongsheng Guipi Yu," and the Zhongsheng Demon King could descend into it at any moment. At that point, even Wang Xuanjin would find it difficult to take the Lesser Chen Heaven back.

Yet although the situation had fallen half a step behind, Wang Xuanjin's demeanor did not show shock or anger. Instead, holding his ruler, he said calmly: "This contest is not yet over. The Zhongsheng Demon King is celebrating a bit too early."

"And do not underestimate the children inside our academy. These seven 'Ten Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillars' have not yet taken shape. As long as they are destroyed, this round can still be turned around."

The Zhongsheng Demon King's childlike appearance shifted, gradually transforming into the look of a mature youth. He laughed and said: "But if they fail, these children of yours may all end up buried there, and even their skins and hides may become my ingredients. Don't you think that would be too cruel to them?"

"So, Wang Xuanjin, this seat can still give you one last chance right now. As long as you give up the Lesser Chen Heaven, this seat will let them leave safely. How about it?"

Wang Xuanjin said softly: "Since the founding of our Academy Alliance, there has never been a single instance of compromise with the alien-kind. Countless predecessors did not hesitate to be smashed to pieces for this cause—how would we, their successors, dare lightly forget?"

"If they truly lay their bones here, the Tianyuan Ancient Academy will naturally fight the Zhongsheng Guipi Yu with everything it has, to see who lives and who dies."

As the last words fell, vast wind and thunder surged forth in the void, like a calamity of destruction.

Yet the Zhongsheng Demon King remained unmoved. His appearance gradually shifted into that of an aged elder at the end of his days, and his voice too grew sinister and vicious: "Through these countless ages, your Academy Alliance has taken the extermination of the alien-kind as its great mission, but in the end it has all been nothing but futile effort."

"Across the long ages, many forces that once stood at the peak have risen and fallen into ruin. Only we of the alien-kind endure forever, without end."

"Your Academy Alliance will, in the end, also be obliterated within the long river of time."

Wang Xuanjin smiled gently: "A thing of evil intent naturally knows not what conviction is, nor what inheritance means."

He shook his head, too lazy to say more, and cast his gaze toward the "Lesser Chen Heaven," as if he could see those many young teams gathered outside the seven "Ten Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillars."

The crux of this contest lay in whether they could destroy the "Ten Thousand Skin Evil Heart Pillars."

Otherwise, once the "Evil Heart Pillars" were complete and the Zhongsheng Demon King birthed a sliver of his will within them, then at that point, relying on these little ones, it would likely be impossible to stop him.

And although he on his side would certainly do his utmost to rescue them, the initiative had already been lost. Then there would no longer be any chance to contest this Lesser Chen Heaven, and the Tianyuan Ancient Academy's all-out effort this time would amount to a complete failure.

Wang Xuanjin gently stroked his bronze ruler, his eyes slightly lowered, while a murmur rose in his heart.

"Whether this game ends in victory or defeat in the end—it all depends on you lot."