AGM 197 - Chapter title at the end of the Chapter
Silence!
At this moment, the atmosphere was embedded in total silence. Diyi just stood there, looking down at Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lan stared back at Diyi, but he dared not take that step forward.
Signaling with his hands, an old man walked out from the crowd. However, he didn’t approach Diyi, but rather, he moved towards Qin Wentian. At this moment, the killing intent gushing out from his body caused the hearts of those around him to tremble in fear.
The old man was definitely emitting an aura of at least the 7th level of Yuanfu or higher.
Qin Wentian simply gazed at the old man heading towards his direction, remaining motionless without a hint of worry on his face. Today, when Fan Le invited him for this, he never expected that it would escalate to become the decisive battle between academies for the ultimate victor. Naturally, behind the Royal Academy, there was still the representative from the Nine Mystical Palace – Xiao Lan.
Since Teacher Mustang had allowed him to participate, he definitely trusted in the Emperor Star Academy’s preparation in providing protection for him.
Hence, he stood there nonchalantly.
The old man moved so fast that a whistling sound could be heard. As he neared, the full brunt of the pressure from his terrifying aura blasted out, locking onto Qin Wentian. Despite this explosive burst, he was also on his guard against Diyi, who was standing in the air.
Diyi still wore a serene expression on his face. With a slight wave of his hands, a gigantic palm strike descended from the Heavens with shocking speed, so fast that the eyes of the crowd couldn’t even begin to track its movements.
The old man didn’t even have the time to react, before he was slammed explosively towards the ground. With a clench of the gigantic palm’s fingers, the old man was held in its grasp. Regardless of how hard he struggled, he was unable to free himself from being bound by the five fingers.
Terror flickered in the old man’s eyes, and at that moment, he was no longer a powerhouse of the later Yuanfu levels, but rather, a pitiful old man trapped by the golden palm, free for anyone to slaughter.
In the air, Diyi’s hands extended outwards, as the gigantic hand below mirrored his movements.
“You truly don’t know what’s good for you,” Diyi faintly spoke, and abruptly, he clenched his hands into a fist, causing a blood curdling scream to ring out, amidst the sounds of bones shattering. The body of the old man had been completely obliterated.
As the golden palm opened, only a droplet of blood remained within. The body of the old man had been smashed into smithereens, dissipating along with the wind.
A Yuanfu expert of the later levels was akin to an ant in front of Diyi, who didn’t even need the slightest bit of effort to kill him.
The meaning of this was extremely clear to the spectating crowd; isn’t this strength of the legendary Heavenly Dipper Realm? There was no way to resist his power, it was tyrannical to the point of striking fear into the hearts of everyone watching.
“How overwhelming.” Qin Wentian’s heart trembled as well. Was that gigantic golden-colored palm from before, a legendary Astral Nova?
Even in his dreams, Qin Wentian wouldn’t have imagined that this dusty old guardian of the Heavenly Star Pavilion was actually so powerful to this extent. Not only that, back when Yue Hanshan was lording over the Emperor Star Academy, Diyi was tolerant enough and kept a low profile instead of revealing his true powers. But as for why Diyi had done such a thing, Qin Wentian himself didn’t know. He would never have guessed that the reason was all due to him.
Xiao Lan also felt extreme shock shaking his heart. There was actually someone this powerful hidden in the Emperor Star Academy of Chu.
Calming himself, he stared at Diyi. “Did you know he was from my Nine Mystical Palace? Are you not afraid of the repercussions for killing him?”
“If I hear one more word from you, you’ll die.” Diyi stared back at Xiao Lan. Xiao Lan’s countenance instantly stiffened, as his features contorted.
Earlier, Diyi had forbade him from taking a single step forward, and now, Diyi forbade him from even speaking.
If he disobeyed, only death awaited him.
Xiao Lan had never faced such humiliation before, but at this moment, he could only tolerate it.
“The arms of the Nine Mystical Palace have extended too far. Do you really think the Emperor Star Academy is a place for you to act big?” Diyi’s palms wavered, and an instant later, his terrifying Astral Nova transformed into golden streaks of lightning, speeding towards another aged figure of the Nine Mystical Palace. Diyi was purposely aiming for their stronger Yuanfu cultivators.
The countenance of the aged figure underwent a drastic change, he frenziedly dredged up the entirety of Astral Energy within his body, trying to defend against the lightning. However, when the Astral Nova neared, he couldn’t even resist in the slightest, and was crushed to death by the pressure. His body disintegrated into nothingness from the impact, as he was killed without a trace.
However, Diyi didn’t halt his actions, and the golden streak of lightning continued dancing in the air, zooming towards two more Yuanfu experts, wasting them from where they stood.
Silence permeated the air. No one dared to even move a muscle.
Especially those from the Royal Academy, they hadn’t imagined such an ending would occur. As long as Diyi wished it, all of them would die.
The golden-colored palm hovered in the air, they didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.
The panic in Xiao Lan’s heart surged to its limits, but he kept his mouth shut, not daring to utter a single word.
Bzzz~ The golden palm swooshed past, grabbing hold of Xiao Lan. At that instant, Xiao Lan’s heart pounded madly, feeling as though it was about to burst. Recalling the scenes back when Diyi, without blinking, killed the powerful Yuanfu cultivators, he was truly terrified now that he was next.
Everyone’s hearts were seized with nervousness.
The golden palm lifted Xiao Lan up into the air, and there were no fluctuations to Diyi’s expression. He turned his gaze to Xiao Lan, “In this place where there’s no support from the Nine Mystical Palace, no one would even realise it if you died. For all your pride and bluster, wasn’t it all false arrogance? If you truly had the ability, did you even need to show off in such a small place like Chu? Today, I can temporarily spare you from death. However in future, if you dare to infuriate me again, I will make you this promise. The moment you step out of the Nine Mystical Palace, I will hunt you down and kill you.”
As the sound of Diyi’s voice faded, the golden palm abruptly flung out, catapulting Xiao Lan through the air.
“Get out of Chu.” A voice sounded out within Xiao Lan’s mind, and his body was forced by the impact of the throw to flip countless somersaults through the air before he could stabilise himself. His countenance was incredibly ugly to behold, this shame was pushing him to the brink of rage. However, again, he had no choice but to tolerate it for now.
“Emperor Star Academy.” Xiao Lan’s eyes glimmered with hatred and impotent fury. However, he didn’t dare turn his head back, and could only gulp down his resentment and continue flying away.
Diyi’s gaze turned upon the other cultivators from the Royal Academy. At this moment, all of them were trembling with trepidation, their hearts filled with incomparable terror. As long as Diyi wished for it, they would all die here.
“All of you scram,” Diyi calmly spoke, causing those from the Royal Academy to blink in wonder. Wasting no time, their silhouettes flickered, vanishing like smoke in merely an instant.
“We still showed mercy in the end.” Mustang’s fists were both tightly clenched as he sighed. Inclining his head, he stared at Diyi, “Sir, why didn’t you allow us to slaughter them?”
From the tone of his voice, one could clearly hear the rage and hatred bottled up within him.
“I didn’t want anything to happen to any of you,” Diyi replied. Mustang froze, before he drew in a huge breath and bowed, “Mustang was wrong.”
“It’s alright. For those that aren’t aware of this, there is still an extremely powerful old freak in the Royal Clan. Let’s return to the academy,” Diyi replied. Maybe the others might not know how deep the waters of Chu were. He had lived for many years, and had spent the majority of his life within the Royal Capital. Although he was relatively unknown, no one else was clearer than Diyi regarding all the happenings in the Royal Capital. Diyi was naturally knowledgeable of the number of true powerhouses belonging to the Royal Clan, but were currently hiding in the shadows.
He knew of the old freak residing in the Royal Clan, who had been secluded behind closed doors for many years. If he had chosen to slaughter all those from the Royal Academy earlier, nothing might happen to him because of his power, but what about those from the Emperor Star Academy? Was he strong enough to protect them all?
The cultivators from the Emperor Star Academy retreated. The weaker ones gathered together, looking at this legendary character from their academy. This was their headmaster, easily slaughtering countless experts with a mere wave of his hands. How imposing was that?
Diyi glanced at the crowd below, as a gentle smile appeared on his face. After guarding the academy for so many years, it could be said that his feelings and devotion to the academy was second to none. However today, he had no choice but to make this decision.
“The Emperor Star Academy, has a history of over 3,000 years. Through these years, we experienced countless rain and snow, but regardless, we always stood at the peak of Chu, enjoying eras of glory. I’m proud to say that I’m a part of the academy,” Diyi calmly spoke, there was only silence in the air as everyone attentively listened.
“However, no matter how it pains me, I have no choice but to make this major decision. From today onwards, the Emperor Star Academy shall be dissolved.”
“What?”
“WHY?” As the sound of Diyi’s voice faded, the countenances of everyone underwent a drastic change.
Perplexity, bewilderment, everyone had expressions of confusion on their faces. Dissolve? But why??
Diyi waved his hands, and the din created by the students died down. Diyi then continued, “I understand all your feelings. However, we no longer have a choice; the Emperor Star Academy can no longer exist in Chu. This decision of mine… I spent years of contemplation before I decided. Despite so, don’t be disappointed, all of you currently standing here is already an indication that your talent is above average. The world out there is truly vast, there are numerous powers that are even stronger than the Emperor Star Academy, and there will be an even bigger piece of sky for you to soar through.”
Qin Wentian calmly listened, but no one knew what he was thinking. Mustang, Luo Huan and Fan Le stood beside him.
“Teacher, did you already know of the headmaster’s decision before this?” Qin Wentian asked in a low voice, sighing.
“Headmaster Diyi made this decision to protect the innocent students, for if we continued with this war of attrition, they would end up the only unlucky victims. Although the headmaster had killed those Yuanfu experts from the Nine Mystical Palace, he had no choice but to do so as a means of intimidation. By choosing these actions, he had already decided that this would be the end.”
Mustang sighed again. Even without Xiao Lan, Diyi had still slaughtered the Yuanfu experts from the Nine Mystical Palace. They had too many methods at their disposal in dealing with students from the Emperor Star Academy.
And as to why Xiao Lan was spared, it was because Diyi knew that should he die, even if the Emperor Star Academy was dissolved, the Xiao Faction in the Nine Mystical Palace would go all out to hunt down the former members of the academy.
If Xiao Lan didn’t die, then with the earlier threats made, the Nine Mystical Palace wouldn’t dare to go too overboard.
Diyi had done what he did, only after contemplating the situation from various angles. Because of the secret of the Azure Emperor, Diyi knew that many transcendent powers already had their eyes on the academy. Under such a situation, dissolution of the Emperor Star Academy was something that couldn’t be helped and overall was the best choice to make.
Naturally, Diyi’s actions today, were also because of Qin Wentian. He had finally completed his mission in the Emperor Star Academy.
“All of you will definitely have better futures. Children, take care.” Diyi smiled as he turned, and walked in the direction at the back of the Emperor Star Academy, towards the mountains. He left behind the students, many of whom still had despondent looks and lost expressions on their faces.
Qin Wentian gazed at the departing back of Diyi. He drew in a deep breath, as a sharp glint of light flashed in his eyes, “I’m really unwilling for the academy to disappear like this.”
…………
On the outskirts of the Royal Capital of Chu, Xiao Lan was mounted on a demonic beast as he prepared to leave. He no longer had any face left to stay behind in this land of humiliation.
A strong sense of reluctance erupted in his heart, as his fists clenched in anger. Beside him, there were still a few experts acting as bodyguards, but none of them dared to speak for fear of further angering Xiao Lan.
“Who?” At that moment, one of the bodyguards froze. However, as the sound of his voice faded, a terrifying silhouette flashed by. As a slicing sound resonated out, the bodyguard’s head rolled to the ground.
In an instant, the remaining body guards’ Astral Souls appeared, unleashing their auras, however, the silhouette was too quick. In the mere blink of an eye, all of the other bodyguards were annihilated.
Xiao Lan trembled, looking at the figure in front of him. With an ashen countenance, he asked, “Wh..what do you want to do?”
“To kill you,” that figure replied, causing despair to flash in Xiao Lan’s eyes. He instantly turned, trying to retreat, yet it was all futile in the face of this unknown assailant.
Indeed, a palm sliced out with unfathomable might, separating Xiao Lan’s head from his body, stark terror still apparent in his eyes.
Only a single thought ran through Xiao Lan’s mind as he died. If he perished here, then no one would know that he was the one who killed him. It was too late for regrets.
AGM 197 - Xiao Lan’s death