Chapter 704: The Battle of the Southern Descent

When that blade-light, radiating an overwhelming aura of murderous ferocity, swept past, countless members of the House Luolan Mansion convoy watched in shock as the great road ahead split cleanly in two at that moment, the scar of the blade stretching all the way to the end of their line of sight, its terminus unseen.

And Shen Shen Jinxiao's body, along with that road, also split in two at this moment, but when his shattered physical form fell, it dissolved into wisps of black smoke that scattered away.

From the carriage behind, Niu Niu Biaobiao stepped out, gripping a gleaming pig-slaughtering knife, his gaze fixed with unusual ferocity on the spot where Shen Shen Jinxiao's body had dissipated, then he said to Li Luo and the others: "Be careful, this person is extremely bizarre, not easy to deal with."

When he had struck earlier, he had sensed a powerful yet obscure fluctuation from Shen Shen Jinxiao's body; this Purple-Glight Mentor from the Sacred Void Star Academy was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

"Heh heh, so you must be that hidden Marquis-ranked expert of House Luolan Mansion? To think you could still maintain your strength after leaving headquarters?"

At this moment, Shen Shen Jinxiao's laughter rang out across the heavens and earth, and as the void trembled, his figure materialized from thin air, his gaze locking onto Niu Niu Biaobiao as he asked with some puzzlement.

Niu Niu Biaobiao merely stared at him with a fierce glint in his eyes, having no interest in conversing with him.

Seeing this, Shen Shen Jinxiao's gaze swept over Niu Niu Biaobiao as he speculated to himself: "Based on prior intelligence, you should be suffering from extremely severe injuries, causing your own Marquis Platform to shatter. Although you've now revealed the strength of a Fourth-Rank Marquis, this shouldn't be coming from yourself..."

"Could it be that you borrowed the 'Divine Essence Substance' from House Luolan Mansion?"

"But then again, it doesn't really matter."

Shen Shen Jinxiao's gaze shifted, landing on Li Luo, and he smiled: "Li Luo, I know you're stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements to arrive, but do you think I came here today without making preparations? The clash at the House Luolan Mansion Grand Festival was merely my participation through Manager Pei Hao as a puppet. This time... with my true body descending, I won't allow myself to fail again."

He raised his palm, and in the next instant, the sky above suddenly saw a grey-white substance drifting down like snow, enveloping the entire region.

And as this ash-like grey-white substance fell, Li Luo immediately sensed that this region seemed to have been severed from the rest of the world.

At the same time.

On a great road a hundred li away from the House Luolan Mansion convoy.

A procession formed of countless students was advancing slowly through a gloomy atmosphere; every student's face had lost its former luster, and the blankness in their eyes reflected the despondency in their hearts, for they all understood that from this moment on, the Sacred Void Star Academy was no more.

The Phase Force Tree that had stood tall within the academy had, in truth, been the faith in every student's heart; now that this faith had been destroyed, naturally all their spirit and vigor were lost.

Coupled with this hazy, grey world, it added yet another layer of dejection.

Vice Dean Su Xin stood in mid-air, looking down in all directions; she could naturally feel the dispirited atmosphere within the ranks, but she was helpless. Although these students could be considered the elite of the younger generation in Great Xia, they were

ultimately still young, and had not endured much setback. This catastrophe that had befallen the Sacred Void Star Academy was almost more than even she could bear—how much more so for these young people who had taken such pride in their academy?

At present, no words of comfort would be of any use; only time could smooth over these wounds.

Once the academy was rebuilt later on, they would surely gradually recover their fighting spirit.

"Mm?"

Just then, Vice Dean Su Xin's eyes suddenly sharpened, her gaze turning toward the southwest; in that instant, she had sensed that the signal jade talisman she had given Li Luo had been activated.

"Shen Shen Jinxiao!"

A chilling killing intent erupted in Vice Dean Su Xin's eyes, and through her gritted teeth, her voice betrayed the hatred she held for that name. Although the ultimate culprit behind the academy's fate today was the Guiyi Association, without Shen Shen Jinxiao creating internal threats for the academy from within, even if that gold-and-silver double-pupiled man were a Seventh-Rank Marquis, it would have been very difficult for him to penetrate the academy's defenses and destroy the Phase Force Tree!

And having failed to detect Shen Shen Jinxiao's sinister intentions in advance, Vice Dean Su Xin felt that she herself bore great responsibility, so toward the former, she hated him all the more intensely.

"You actually dare to show yourself!"

Killing intent surged in Vice Dean Su Xin's eyes, and then her figure moved as she was about to head toward the direction of the House Luolan Mansion convoy.

Wooooo!

But just then, an eerie wailing sound suddenly echoed through this stretch of heaven and earth, and as this sound arose, within that hazy grey world, something seemed to begin pouring forth endlessly from the miasma of malice like a tidal wave.

These things surged like a flood directly toward the academy ranks.

Vice Dean Su Xin looked, and her expression immediately changed, for those things were clearly countless aberrations!

"Meet the enemy!"

Her sharp command rang out.

The many Purple-Glight and Gold-Glight Mentors guarding the students immediately formed a defensive line, and countless beams of Phase Force light shot skyward.

Vice Dean Su Xin glanced over, then withdrew her gaze, her eyes turning coldly toward not far away, where there was a lake—except now grey mist spread across its surface, and as the grey mist rippled, a gold-and-silver double-pupiled man stood upon the water, smiling as he met her gaze.

"You villain of the Guiyi Association!"

Vice Dean Su Xin's eyes were icy as she said: "Heavily wounded by the Dean, and you still dare to appear?"

The man called Lord Zhu Xuan Chen smiled faintly and said: "My appearance—was it not within your expectations?"

"And aren't you all just waiting for me?"

"That's right, just waiting for you!"

Vice Dean Su Xin's killing intent seemed to take tangible form as it surged upward. This time, with Shen Shen Jinxiao making his move, and Lord Zhu Xuan Chen being in league with him, Lord Zhu Xuan Chen could not possibly stand idly by, so there was a high likelihood he would also participate, and his target would be locked onto the support coming from the academy's side.

So Vice Dean Su Xin had been waiting precisely for Lord Zhu Xuan Chen to appear.

Be

cause she knew that Lord Zhu Xuan Chen had now been gravely wounded by the Dean—this was likewise the best opportunity to kill him and exact revenge.

And the instant Vice Dean Su Xin's voice fell, from within the academy ranks, beams of light shot skyward one after another, the void immediately trembled, and Marquis Platforms emerged one by one, like stars suspended in the sky, radiating boundless oppressive force.

Vice Dean Su Xin's eyes locked coldly onto Lord Zhu Xuan Chen's figure.

"You villain destroyed my academy—today I will surely cut you down here!"

Vice Dean Su Xin stepped out, the void behind her trembling as four Marquis Platforms manifested, like enormous vortices drawing in the energies of heaven and earth. Then she formed a seal with her jade-like hand and struck out, and atop all four Marquis Platforms, golden sigils rose into the air, illuminating a hundred li.

"Marquis Divine Talisman—Golden Deer Darknorth Talisman!"

The four streams of golden light converged and condensed, transforming into a colossal golden divine deer; the divine deer strode through the sky, frost congealing beneath its hooves, freezing the void.

Then the golden divine deer, treading upon the frost, directly shattered space and charged toward Lord Zhu Xuan Chen.

"You've even used your Marquis Divine Talisman—seems you truly hate me deeply."

Seeing this, Lord Zhu Xuan Chen could not help but smile and speak. The so-called "Marquis Divine Talisman" was a special power that only a Marquis-ranked expert who had stepped into the Fourth-Rank Marquis could condense, much like the "Marquis Domain" of an Upper-Rank Marquis.

Vice Dean Su Xin was a Fourth-Rank Marquis, and the moment she made her move, she had activated her own "Marquis Divine Talisman"—one could see how strong her killing intent was.

He shook his head, but facing the joint assault of so many Marquis-ranked experts from the academy, even Lord Zhu Xuan Chen did not dare be careless. He pressed his palms together, and his "Marquis Domain" was directly activated, instantly covering this stretch of heaven and earth with a mysterious field.

At the very same moment.

Within the even larger and longer convoy of the Golden Dragon Treasure House.

Yu Yu Hongxi's figure shot skyward; her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared toward the north, and she gave a soft command: "Guard the convoy well, I'll go take a look."

Some of the senior executives of the Golden Dragon Treasure House who were accompanying them saw this, exchanged a glance, and guessed what Yu Yu Hongxi wanted to do. Logically speaking, given the Golden Dragon Treasure House's stance, the latter should not have meddled in these matters, but Yu Yu Hongxi was after all the president, having controlled the Great Xia Golden Dragon Treasure House for many years, her authority deeply ingrained in everyone's hearts.

This time, Vice President Ning Que had not come along, so naturally no one dared to oppose Yu Yu Hongxi, and they all nodded in agreement.

And Yu Yu Hongxi's figure had already transformed into a streak of light, instantly leaping out over a dozen miles.

Roar!

But just at this moment, the sky in this area suddenly burst into flames for no reason, fire lotuses abruptly took shape, perfectly blocking Yu Yu Hongxi's path. The temperature between heaven and earth rose sharply, and the line of sight became somewhat distorted.

Yu Yu Hongxi's figure came to a halt, and on that beautiful, alluring face, a trace of coldness now surfaced.

She stared at a certain spot in the void, and her flat voice rang out.

"Zhu Zhu Qinghuo, Shen Shen Jinxiao is already a public enemy of Great Xia. At this moment you are attempting to intercept me—do I have reason to suspect that your Extreme Flame Prefecture is also involved with the Guiyi Society?"