「Music Hall」
All eyes were on Luo Yuzhu as she spoke with great eloquence.
"Spirit!" She held up a finger, a mocking smile on her face. "The most distinctive feature for a martial artist breaking through from Grandmaster to the so-called Heavenly King is the condensation of this thing called Spirit."
Qin RenSheng from the Ministry of Rites added with disdain, "Without Spirit, we young scholars might be helpless against him. But *with* Spirit, we can easily sentence him to death!"
Hearing the term "martial artist" made Guo Jufeng quite uncomfortable. He could sense their deep-seated prejudice against martial artists, whom they clearly looked down upon. As they continued, he could no longer hold back.
"Are you all really from the Heavenly Person Academy? Or are you impostors? A Heavenly King's Spirit is the materialization of their spiritual power. With it, they don't even need to lift a finger; a re ntal attack can kill from afar. And you call such a terrifying thing a flaw? You act as if it's easy to deal with. That's utterly absurd!"
Xiao Xuanye also frowned deeply. A Heavenly King could annihilate these students with a single glance. Where do they get the audacity to sentence one to death?
Among the crowd, anyone with a deep understanding of martial arts felt that Luo Yuzhu and her companions were speaking nonsense. They seed to have gone mad.
"Hmph!" Wei Mingyan, the most impatient of the group, scoffed at the murmuring crowd. He turned and snapped at Yan Qinghe, "You hold the highest position here, don't you? Get them all out of here! Don't let them interfere with our mission to slay demons and vanquish evil."
Yan Qinghe, annoyed, was about to retort when Situ Peiyuan interjected, "Wei, don't be rude. There is strength in numbers. In fact, we can make use of everyone's power."
"Eldest Brother, you an..." Zhu Changzai and the others looked at him, their expressions shifting.
Situ Peiyuan smiled faintly and addressed Yan Qinghe. "Elder, please arrange for everyone to assemble in the formation I require."
Yan Qinghe was baffled. Guo Jufeng wanted to snap back, "Why should we listen to you?"
"Don't you want to eliminate Long Tianji?" Situ Peiyuan asked, standing with his hands clasped behind his back, looking as though he had already seen through their deepest thoughts.
Yan Qinghe and the others were speechless. It was true. They desperately wanted to get rid of Long Tianji, an unstable elent who they couldn't control and who was now lording over them.
The key issue, however, was that they had only just managed to establish a good relationship with him. Could they truly afford the consequences of turning on him so suddenly?
"Words alone are not proof," Xiao Xuanye said, his tone grave. "What backing do you have to guarantee success in a single strike?"
"Very well. Since you wish to see it with your own eyes, I shall grant you a glimpse," Situ Peiyuan said with a snap of his fingers.
Imdiately, several strongn carried out a large box. When it was opened, it revealed an object veiled by a golden silk cloth. Just as everyone expected him to dramatically unveil the secret weapon, he instead solemnly straightened his clothes and posture. Then, he perford a deep, reverent bow toward the box.
Zhu Changzai and the others mirrored his actions with solemn gravity.
"We respectfully beseech the Holy Corpse!"
"We respectfully beseech the Holy Corpse!"
"We respectfully beseech the Holy Corpse!"
VMMMM!
An invisible wave of energy surged forth, and the silk cloth flew up on its own. Everyone stared intently, then gasped in unison.
"This is..."
It was a mummified corpse seated cross-legged, enveloped in a swirling purple mist that gave it a mysteriously divine appearance.
Situ Peiyuan continued to kowtow while loudly reciting ancient literary classics in an eloquent, cadenced voice. Zhu Changzai and the others joined the chant, their voices filled with scholarly spirit and commanding presence. Their voices rged, resonating like a great bell that shook the very soul.
The most astonishing thing happened next. As if activated by their voices, the faint purple light around the mummified corpse flared up with a WHOOSH, like a fla doused in gasoline. It expanded a thousandfold, its brilliance nearly blinding everyone.
The entire music hall was bathed in a purple glow. Within the light, a faint silhouette began to materialize—a figure holding a feathered fan, dressed in a scholar's scarf, radiating an aura of mighty righteousness.
"Holy... crap..."
Deeply affected by the presence, everyone felt an unbidden surge of poetic inspiration. They opened their mouths as if to compose a verse, but all that ca out was a crude exclamation.
「Restroom」
Shen Youling's pupils contracted in terror as she watched a mass of mycelium creeping toward her, about to engulf her.
Suddenly, the crazed smile on Mu Fan's face froze. He whipped his head around. Although they were separated by thick walls, the purple light from the music hall poured through them without any resistance.
HISSS—
As if splashed with sulfuric acid, Mu Fan clutched his face and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Smoke started rising from his entire body. "What the hell is this stuff?!"
He fell to the ground, writhing in agony, as all the mycelium filants covering him ignited with a POOF! His formidable power rapidly drained away as if its source had been severed. The whispers of the ancient god in his mind went silent.
"Damn it! Damn it all!"
Suddenly weakened, Mu Fan was both furious and terrified. He had no ti to think about capturing Shen Youling. He imdiately fled like a dog with its tail between its legs, a wretched and pathetic sight.
In a corner stall, Zheng Shiyin also let out a painful scream. The Parasitic Hearteaters hidden inside her were forcibly squeezed out of her mouth and nostrils. They writhed on the ground a few tis before going still.
Then, Zheng Shiyin's screaming stopped abruptly. She sat up, rubbing her stinging nose, and looked around in a daze. "What... what happened to ?"
Shen Youling could only stare, equally bewildered.
No matter what had happened, it seed they were saved.
「Outside the Music Hall」
Lee Encai still had a few talismans left, but her movents were too slow. Even when she managed to activate one, Yan Luoyang would dodge like a startled rabbit, leaping away unhard.
"Hmph, let's see how much longer you can last. Once you're out of those pathetic trinkets, I'll skin you alive—AAAAHHH!!"
As he was making his furious threat, he was suddenly struck by the purple light. He instantly caught fire, the pain so intense he felt he was dying. Clutching his head, he scurried away and vanished in a flash.
"Huh?" Lee Encai stood dumbfounded. She cautiously reached her hand into the purple light. It was warm and soothing, completely harmless to her.
"Haha, this is fantastic!" she laughed aloud and, without a mont's hesitation, headed back inside. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew that as long as she was bathed in this light, she would be safe.
「Inside the Music Hall」
Everyone craned their necks, gazing up at the phantom in the air. The longer they looked, the more imposing it seed—as vast as a mountain, as deep as the ocean. It felt even more powerful than the giant sword and ape phantoms that Yan Renjie and Long Tianji had manifested.
"Incredible..." Xiao Xuanye and Guo Jufeng murmured in unison. They never imagined that an ancient figure, dead for who knows how many years, could still release their Spirit. But then they realized, No, this isn't Spirit. It's a spiritual force even more advanced than Spirit.
In life, this mummified corpse must have been far beyond the realm of a Heavenly King. He was most likely... a War God! Or an existence on that sa level.
When Situ Peiyuan finally covered the mummy with the golden silk cloth once more, all the purple light vanished. The phantom in the air disappeared along with it.
"Now, surely you believe us," Zhu Changzai said, looking around proudly as he and the others rose to their feet.
Luo Yuzhu continued to explain, "When a martial artist is fortunate enough to beco a Heavenly King, what is the wisest course of action? To stir up trouble and make enemies everywhere? Heh, only a fool would do that. The correct approach is to find a safe place, lie low, and avoid conflict and the use of one's Spirit whenever possible."
"Exactly," Che Huanyu added with a sneer. "Especially right after a breakthrough, their Spirit is at its most fragile. It's fine for bullying anyone below the Grandmaster realm. But the mont it encounters a tool that targets the spiritual level, it will shatter like a bubble."
Qin RenSheng nodded. "Therefore, as long as this Long Tianji has not beco a Martial Saint, his Spirit remains highly unstable. A single brush with the righteous energy of the venerable Holy Corpse will be enough to blast him into an idiot!"
Xiao Xuanye finally understood. It all made sense. An ordinary person's spiritual power was ethereal and formless, which ant it couldn't be easily targeted. But when Long Tianji broke through to the Heavenly King realm, his spiritual power transford into a tangible Spirit. And because it was tangible, yet unstable, it was incredibly vulnerable. If it collided with a corresponding counterforce, it would be the end of him.
"Haha! What is this called? It's called 'every bane has its antidote'!" Guo Jufeng clapped his hands and laughed. As a Grandmaster, the purple light hadn't affected him at all. That was because he didn't have a Spirit to be attacked. When Long Tianji returned, he would be in for a nasty surprise.
Ning Yuexi was also overjoyed. She had been feeling helpless, with no idea how to get her revenge. Was this not instant karma? If she had known about this critical weakness in a Heavenly King's Spirit, she would have contacted the Academy from the very beginning.
Wei Zichu's heart sank. This is bad. Brother Lin is in danger now. Her eyes darted around as she discreetly tried to pull out her phone to send Lin Tang a warning.
"What do you think you're doing?" Guo Jufeng sneered. He shot out a hand and crushed her phone into scrap tal. A powerful wave of his energy slamd into her, forcing blood to trickle from the corner of her mouth and making it difficult to breathe.
She struggled to speak. "Weren't... weren't you all good friends with Uncle Long? Why would you..."
"Pah!" Guo Jufeng spat, his voice seething with hatred. "I dream of devouring his flesh and flaying him alive! I just never had the chance. Hmph, now that the opportunity is here, how could I possibly miss it?"
He hated Lin Tang the most, and Long Tianji was a close second. As soon as Long Tianji is dead, I'll go and kill that little bastard Lin Tang...
Xiao Xuanye was more cunning. He didn't imdiately show his delight. Instead, he frowned slightly. "If it's so easy to suppress Long Tianji, why did you ask everyone to assemble in a formation? What was that about needing everyone's power?"
Situ Peiyuan smiled calmly. "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Although we are completely certain of victory, we must still guard against the unexpected. My plan is this: when Long Tianji appears, we will once again beseech the Holy Corpse. At that ti, I want all of you to join in reciting famous Confucian texts. This will amplify the righteous energy, ensuring our success is absolute!"
"I see!"
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