Chapter 143: Evenly Matched? Hundreds Against Tens of Thousands

The moment the Green Sovereign Divine Tree rose, every gaze turned toward the Serene Void Academy's teleportation chamber. Hundreds of streams of spirit qi swept across the academy, scanning it again and again.

After the sweep, sighs and murmurs echoed across the Three Peaks and Six Academies. Sympathy mixed with doubt filled the air. They pitied the Serene Void Academy for being reduced to such a desperate state, holding on with only hundreds of disciples against tens of thousands. Yet they also wondered whether the sudden surge of power truly reflected the academy's strength or if they were using external resources to augment it.

There was also the possibility that they were simply marveling at the sudden emergence of a genius disciple after so many years. In any case, at this moment, all eyes agreed that the academy's chief, Lu Chen, had reached a level where he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the other chiefs.

"Revealing the strength of a Sunken Core Realm cultivator while still in the Qi Regulation Realm... this new chief of yours isn't as simple as he seems. No wonder you're so confident," Fang Yuan said, his eyes fixed on Lu Chen on top of the Green Sovereign Divine Tree. "The power of that divine ability... it's nearly on par with Ning Tai's full-force strike, isn't it?"

Watching as Lu Chen slowly condensed the Serene Void Spear on top of the tree, Jun Wudi said, "A Sunken Core-level power... that's far beyond what I expected. But now is not the time to show off."

He instructed through voice transmission, "

Suppress the divine ability's strength to the Qi Condensation Realm. Make it look like you've relied on external resources to unleash this attack. Lure them in.

Lu Chen nodded. "

Understood, Uncle Jun. Just watch.

"

"If I focus all my spirit qi to the Serene Void Spear, its power will be immense. So, I'll scatter it instead, to weaken the strike."

He then turned to the cultivators outside the academy gates and shouted coldly, "Still trying to plunder our resources? None of you will return alive!"

"He quickly released his spirit qi. The Green Sovereign Divine Tree solidified, its branches blossoming with five-colored flowers. As the petals unfurled, each revealed a cluster of razor-sharp spears.

"The Serene Void Spear?" Song Ping stared at the flowers in shock. "256 flowers, each containing nearly a full spear and ten smaller spears... is this really the Serene Void Spear?"

"What kind of spell is this?!" Zhou Fan shot into the air and met eye to eye with Lu Chen. "Serene Void Academy could never have such a powerful spell. Lu Chen, what did you acquire in the Demonic Beast Forest?!"

Lu Chen met his gaze, showing no sign of panic. Instead, he started thinking of a name for the technique. "The spell's name? Since it combines the Green Sovereign Divine Tree with the Serene Void Spear, let's call it the Green Sovereign Serene Void Spear."

"Zhou Fan, can't you see that the connection between him and the tree is unstable? He's stalling for time," Wen Ziming rose into the sky, eyes locked on the divine tree's radiant spirit qi. "Kill him before he completes the spell. The spirit qi from that tree terrifies me... it must be an ancient secret art."

Gripping his chief disciple identity token tightly, he commanded, "White Cloud disciples, switch formation immediately! Black Cloud Covers the Sun Formation, Ten-Thousand-Li Shooting Spear!"

The White Cloud disciples retracted their longswords and drew obsidian spears from their spatial pouches. "Black Cloud Covers the Sun Formation, Ten-Thousand-Li Shooting Spear!"

In just three breaths, all White Cloud disciples had taken to the sky, forming a dark spear formation.

Wen Ziming glanced at Yun Ping outside the gates. "Zhou Fan, stop hesitating. Once Lu Chen completes his spell, we'll never get another chance to strike. Yun Ping, hurry up. Can't you see he's running out of stamina?"

Yun Ping ignored him, remaining in place.

Wen Ziming sighed. "

Ah...

Zhou Fan, summon the Wind Lightning disciples. Otherwise, we won't have a chance to retreat. If we combine our sect's ultimate technique, we can surely overpower them."

"

Ah...

quitting now feels unbearable," Zhou Fan slowly drew his chief disciple identity token. "I didn't expect Lu Chen to be this cunning... to think he'd hidden his cultivation all along. Wind Lightning disciples, switch formation. Use the Wind Lightning Spear."

He pulled a ghostly blue spear crackling with wind and lightning from his spatial pouch. "Wen Ziming, let's do this. Let's hope we end it quickly. I have a bad feeling... who knows what other secret arts they've obtained?"

"Good. End it swiftly." Wen Ziming responded, tossing his chief disciple identity token.

Zhou Fan glared at Lu Chen, casting his chief disciple identity token into the sky. "Lu Chen, let's see if you can withstand the combined spells of two academies."

The two tokens spiraled together, merging into a new one that floated in midair.

"Let's go. The flowers on that colossal tree have fully bloomed," Wen Ziming said to Zhou Fan, while throwing another glance at Yun Ping, who still stood motionless.

"Wind Lightning Spear, Black Cloud Shoots the Sun!"

Together, Wen Ziming and Zhou Fan gripped the fused token, driving the twin spears into a frenzy. In mid-air, the black and blue spears whirled faster and faster as the disciples of the two academies merged their formations.

As the twin spears drew nearer, the energy within them kept surging. When the disciples of both academies were only ten zhang away from Lu Chen, the two long spears had merged completely into a single dark-blue spear.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Dark, stormy clouds swirled over the dark-blue spear formation, continuously unleashing fierce winds and lightning. Everything in its path, be it buildings, flowers, and grass, was silently and utterly destroyed.

"You're finally coming? Then let's see what you've got."

Lu Chen spread his arms wide and soared into the sky. From deep within the Green Sovereign Divine Tree, several white vines reached out, pulling all 256 Serene Void disciples from the plaza onto its branches, scattering them among the flowers.

"Serene Void disciples, Green Sovereign Serene Void Spear!"

Lu Chen shouted, unleashing a surge of spirit qi. The disciples' spirit qi flared in unison, each of the 256 linking their minds to a flower on the tree.

"Serene Void disciples, strike!" Lu Chen grasped the Hunyuan Greatsword with his right hand as it materialized in the air. "Absolute Path of Protection, Nantian Dragon-Slaying Sword!"

In an instant, a dense sword qi rose from Lu Chen, swirling around the Hunyuan Greatsword and taking the form of a faint red dragon-shaped light.

He brought the sword above his head, hands together, quickly gathering and condensing spirit qi.

After three breaths, Lu Chen thrust the dragon-shaped sword qi forward. A thirty-foot-long red dragon shot directly at the dark-blue long spear. The collision erupted into clouds of dust and debris.

When the dust settled, the dragon-shaped sword qi dissipated, and the dark-blue spear formation was nearly shattered by the impact. Zhou Fan and Wen Ziming immediately channeled their spirit qi into stabilizing the formation, gradually restoring the dark-blue spear's structure.

Now, the dark-blue spear was only about three zhang away from the Green Sovereign Divine Tree. The disciples quickly regrouped and charged toward it.

***

On the Mountain Ocean Peak, Fang Yuan stared intently at the Green Sovereign Divine Tree and let out a long sigh. "He still lacks experience. To let tens of thousands close in like that... no matter how prepared he is with his technique, he won't have a chance to unleash it. Old Jun, perhaps you should go back to check, or maybe we ought to step in."

"There's no need for that. I have faith in them. Even if it's only a suspicion, he may well be the descendant of the God of Slaughter, the Imperial Lord of Ritual."

Jun Wudi waved a hand and sat down. "A single man who slaughtered hundreds of thousands... that's a godlike forebear. However weak his bloodline has grown, his descendant will not falter before mere tens of thousands."

"Very well. We'll watch a while longer. If anything happens, we move at once." Shan Long leaned against the cliff's edge, eyes fixed on Lu Chen. "With such talent and backing, we can't allow him to suffer misfortune in the Heavenly Mandate Hall."

***

At Serene Void Academy.

"Again!" Lu Chen channeled his spirit qi once more. This time, he didn't unleash the Nantian Dragon-Slaying Sword. Instead, he detonated the flower-spears of the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

The first wave of more than two hundred flower-stalk-shaped spears shot forward, forming the spear tips at the front. The second wave, thousands of smaller flower-spears, followed behind to form the shafts, with the Serene Void disciples acting as connective nodes, binding the long and small spears together.

"Still not enough... I need more spirit qi."

Once the tips and shafts aligned, Lu Chen poured all the spirit qi accumulated in the Green Sovereign Divine Tree into the formation. The surging energy flooded into both the spears and the disciples. It was primordial spirit qi condensed through Lu Chen's formation. Though only a small reservoir, it pushed the Green Sovereign Serene Void Spear's power to rival that of the dark-blue spear.

Boom! Rumble!

The Green Sovereign Serene Void Spear crashed against the dark-blue spear, unleashing a deafening roar. It was impossible to tell if the sound came from the dark-blue spear's lightning or from the sheer force of the Green Sovereign Serene Void Spear.

Shockwaves blasted outward, tearing apart the Serene Void Plaza along with nearby residences and training grounds.

The two formations clashed again and again, wearing each other down as more and more disciples collapsed. With each impact, the plaza sank deeper into the ground. Lu Chen relentlessly converted the Divine Tree's spirit qi into the formation, but even with the academy's array supporting him, exhaustion began to set in.

"So, I really underestimated their strength..." He glared at the sunken ground and spat blood. "I thought combining the Spirit Gathering Formation with the academy's chief disciple token would be enough to crush them. Looks like I was wrong. I'll have to burn the last of my spirit qi to drive them back."