Chapter 132: Chapter 127: The Battle Begins (2)

Through the curtain of rain, Di Yunliang and his men sprinted, their faces contorted with savagery.

"Liu Yu, Miss Lanhua... you sixteen head to High School No. 2. Remember, control all the martial arts students. Incapacitate them and wait for the blood sacrifice. Everyone else, follow me to High School No. 1. We’ll take down the top martial arts prospects from both schools first. Move out!"

In the downpour, the group of cultists, their faces twisted with malice, split in two.

Rose’s target had always been Zhang Yuanqiao. The Yuqing University student was currently covered in mud, a wretched sight. Without Su Yue’s guidance and assistance, he likely would have died long ago beneath the black and red blade light.

Su Yue wasn’t under much pressure. Her head-on combat abilities were slightly weaker, and Rose was purely on the defensive against her. This gave her the leeway to monitor the entire battlefield. Her senses picked up on the intentions of Di Yunliang and his group, and the seals of her Finger Skill immediately shifted to relay the message to Han Qiubai. But in that brief moment of distraction, she saw Rose exploit another of Zhang Yuanqiao’s openings, about to behead him with a single stroke.

Su Yue had no time for anything else and rushed to his rescue.

’She couldn’t help but feel annoyed.’ Even if this red-robed Apostle was a formidable fighter, whose black Gang Qi was unpredictable and could disrupt one’s focus, and whose red Gang Qi was brutal and incredibly sharp, they were both in the Gang Qi Realm. He shouldn’t be so easily routed by a single attack.

’Honestly, Zhang Yuanqiao’s performance is worse than some powerful fifth-realm martial artists. Utterly pathetic.’

...

"Quick! Once we cross the plaza ahead, we’ll be at High School No. 1!"

At these words, the cultists’ eyes gleamed, and their pace quickened.

After being attacked by a supernatural weapon and then intimidated by the pressure from Dust Sacrifice, the fear in their hearts had been suppressed to its breaking point. They desperately needed a frenzied slaughter to release it.

Cheng YuanYu jogged along but unintentionally fell to the rear of the group.

While running, Di Yunliang suddenly noticed what looked like twinkling starlight in the rain. His martial intuition, honed by years of life-and-death crises, reacted first. He stopped in his tracks and dodged to the side. A moment later, he saw the starlight transform into sharp Sword Qi. The three cultists charging at the front were caught off guard and riddled with dense, bloody holes. They let out a wail and dropped dead.

Following the Sword Qi was a volley of attacks from all manner of weapons—blades, spears, staves, and axes—inflicting heavy casualties in an instant.

Di Yunliang’s eyes narrowed. ’Damn it, where did these guys pop out from...’

The cultists’ fighting spirit was shattered by the sudden ambush, and some were already preparing to flee.

Di Yunliang knew exactly what his men were like. They were experts at bullying the weak, at looting and slaughtering. But the moment they suffered heavy casualties, they’d scatter like frightened animals.

’No. If I let these guys run... I don’t give a damn what happens to them, but Dust Sacrifice will never forgive me.’

He sunk his Qi into his Dantian and roared, "Open your damn eyes and look! They only have one Inner Qi Realm expert! The rest are mostly just second-realm Martial Artists, and they’re outnumbered! What are you afraid of?"

Only then did the cultists halt and carefully assess the situation.

’Damn it, they’ve seen us...’

Han Qiubai tightened her grip on her longsword. She was an Inner Qi Realm Martial Artist. And while she loved Swordsmanship, her actual cultivation path was focused on support.

After receiving Su Yue’s message, she had sent Zhao Zeyang, Bu Xiuwen, and the others to reinforce High School No. 2, while she led the rest to intercept Di Yunliang’s group.

Relying on the aura-concealing effect of the Six Imperial Qi Transformation Skill, she had led her people to set up an ambush here. The results were remarkable. She personally killed one Inner Qi Realm expert and two third-realm practitioners, and her team took down two more enemies. However, they were still at a disadvantage in terms of both numbers and overall realm strength.

Han Qiubai scanned the enemy auras. They still had three Inner Qi Realm experts and twenty-three third-realm Body Tempering Martial Artists. On her side, she was the only one in the Inner Qi Realm, with just two third-realm Martial Artists. The rest were all second-realm, and they were still outnumbered.

’I have to think of something.’

Seeing how volatile the cultists were, she suddenly had an idea.

"Everyone, Mr. Kong, the Soul-Breaking Sword, is on his way! Besides, these Illuminati bastards are weak. Hold them off for half an hour, and we’ve won!"

"Don’t worry, Miss Han. I was just short on merits for a promotion anyway. This bunch of trash showed up at the perfect time."

...

Di Yunliang saw his men starting to hesitate again and said in a sinister tone, "Dust Sacrifice is watching us, you know."

"Kill!"

The moment the word was out, he charged toward Han Qiubai. At the thought of the ever-watching Dust Sacrifice, the cultists’ resolve hardened.

"Kill!"

The pouring rain fell in dense sheets as the battle commenced.

Although Di Yunliang was considered skilled among the Illuminati’s Inner Qi practitioners, the organization itself wasn’t known for its members’ individual combat prowess. After just a few exchanges with Han Qiubai, he found himself in dire straits. A moment of carelessness cost him half an ear.

"Aargh! You damn little bitch! Liu Dong, Li Mingkang, get over here and help me!"

Di Yunliang yelled, flustered and enraged.

"Heheheh... Old dog Di, can’t handle it anymore? You can’t even take down a delicate little thing like her? Come on, brothers, let’s give you a hand..."

Han Qiubai thought it was a shame. ’This enemy isn’t all that strong, but his instincts are sharp.’ He had just managed to escape a fatal blow at the cost of an ear.

Ganged up on by three Inner Qi Realm cultists, even Han Qiubai found herself outmatched. No matter how pathetic the Illuminati cultists were, anyone who reached the Inner Qi Realm had at least some real power.

The others on her team also focused mainly on stalling the cultists. Fortunately, while their opponents had high realms, their martial techniques were atrocious—not even as refined as the students’ from High School No. 1. Because of this, the situation fell into a stalemate.

...

Inside the vast Martial Arts Administration Bureau, only Wang Jie and a group of civilian staff were present. Wang Jie was making one phone call after another.

"...Immediately organize the students’ evacuation. Have them hide nearby..."

"...Send out the notice: High School No. 2 is under attack. The martial arts teachers from the other high schools are to organize and head there to provide aid. This is dangerous, I know, but it’s an order. The current situation falls under wartime protocols..."

"Jia Jingxian, I need you to mobilize your police force to protect the evacuating students. If there’s danger... protect them at all costs..."

...

’What’s that sound...’

Yu Fei’s transformation wasn’t finished, but he thought he could hear shouting and the sounds of battle from outside.

The nurse’s face was pale. She looked at a message on her phone and then turned to Yu Fei.

"Cultists are attacking High School No. 1 and No. 2. The Martial Arts Administration Bureau is trying to stop them. We’ve been ordered to evacuate..."

Yu Fei’s expression tightened. ’But then again,’ he thought, ’Su Yue is a Gang Qi Realm Martial Artist. Is it possible she can’t stop them?’

With that thought, he quickly ripped off the various sensors attached to his body, grabbed the Cyan Lotus Sword, and made to leave.

The nurse hurriedly stopped him.

"You can’t leave! Your transformation isn’t complete..."

Yu Fei gave the nurse a small smile. "Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. My transformation might not be over, but there isn’t much left. My condition is stable, so there won’t be any issues."

"You can’t go out there. You’re only in the first realm; you’ll just get in the way. Yu Fei, please listen to me. Your talent is extraordinary. You’re guaranteed to become a powerful Martial Artist in the future. Right now, you need to protect yourself, not try to be a hero. The enemies who are attacking won’t be weak. You won’t be any help out there, and you might even cause your transformation to fail. You’ll regret it."

Yu Fei took a moment to assess his condition. Ever since he had completed his Tribulation Sword Dao Foundation, his state had stabilized. He hadn’t needed any support equipment for days. The transformation of his blood was essentially complete; only the final integration remained. At this stage, the blood barrier was broken. Failure was almost impossible.

Furthermore, using his Qi Blood now might even help his skin, flesh, sinews, bones, and blood complete their final integration.

Thinking of this, he spoke again, his tone serious. "Back when I was in the Bone Tempering stage, I killed a third-realm cultist."

"What?"

While she was still stunned, Yu Fei zipped out of the room with his sword, threw open a window in the hallway, and was immediately blasted by wind and rain.

The young man didn’t hesitate. He leaped from the window and vanished into the downpour.

The nurse rushed after him, but all she saw was the open window. Yu Fei was nowhere in sight.

"Sigh..."

On the rooftop, a dense mass of Qi Blood had gathered.

Yan Sea’s expression was grim, with a hint of anxiety. After Yu Fei disappeared into the rain, the Qi Blood roiling around him intensified even further.

"What was that?"

Dongfang Yebai pointed into the blinding sheet of rain.

Ye Feng looked over curiously, then replied, exasperated.

"It’s rain. What else would it be?"

He thought she was just messing with him.

Dongfang Yebai said anxiously, "No, I think I just saw someone jump out of the campus hospital window..."

"How is that possible? The teacher just said there’s an enemy attack and we need to evacuate. Why would anyone be running around at a time like this?"

’Did I see it wrong?’

"Of course you did... Don’t tell me you’re getting scared. We martial arts students are supposed to protect the others during the evacuation..."

Dongfang Yebai snapped back, "When have I ever been scared? You’d better not be the one crying later, Ye!"