Qu Chen and Sima Feng's faces darkened. They hadn't expected the enemy to arrive so quickly.

Not far away, the four powerful Great Zhou Imperial Guards stepped forward, and their overwhelming auras immediately locked onto them.

They were Divine Dao Realm experts with ten percent divinity!

Divine Dao Realm experts were like gods descending from the heavens in a remote region like this.

Zhou Yan and his subordinates followed closely behind the four Imperial Guards.

Zhou Yan looked at Qu Chen and smirked. "You went to see Lin Yue, didn't you?"

Qu Chen's gaze turned icy, but he remained silent.

Zhou Yan chuckled. "The only reason we found you so quickly was thanks to Lin Yue!"

Qu Chen gnashed his teeth and cursed, "That bastard!"

No wonder they were found so quickly. It turned out Lin Yue had tipped them off.

Zhou Yan shook his head slightly. "Manager Qu Chen, Academy Chief Sima Feng. Can you tell me something? Do you really think that what you're doing here makes any sense?"

Zhou Yan shifted his gaze to Fang Yu and added, "Especially you. As a rising star of the Guanxuan Academy, you had such a promising future. Yet, you chose the path of self-destruction. Utterly foolish."

Fang Yu stared coldly at Zhou Yan. "Your Zhou Clan holds considerable power in the Great Zhou. I don't understand why you are resorting to such illegal schemes when you already have so many resources."

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Zhou Yan laughed lightly. "Who would ever complain about having too much money?"

In any universe, cultivation required massive financial resources. The more money one had, the more powerful cultivators they could train. In addition, cultivators also had their own ambitions and desires.

Obtaining one hundred million would make one desire to have a billion, and having one billion would make one desire for ten billion.

Zhou Yan said, "Fang Yu, I'll give you one last chance. If you're willing to submit to the Great Zhou, I'll overlook today's events. The Great Zhou will also help you establish a firm foothold in the Main Guanxuan Academy.

"With our support and your potential, I believe that within a century, you'll become a major figure in the Academy."

Fang Yu remained silent.

Zhou Yan's gaze sharpened. "This is your final chance."

From his perspective, the situation was already decided. The people before him couldn't possibly resist them. However, keeping Fang Yu alive was still advantageous.

Zhou Yan continued, "Department Chief Fang, even if you don't care about yourself, think about the Fang Clan. I'm sure you don't want anything bad to happen to them."

This was a clear threat.

Fang Yu's eyes narrowed. "Do you really think that you can wipe out my Fang Clan?"

Zhou Yan smiled. "Care to test that theory?"

Fang Yu clenched his fists, remaining silent. Just then, Chen Xiao standing nearby said, "Clan Leader Zhou, I don't think we need to waste any more time with them."

Zhou Yan nodded slightly. "Well said."

He turned to the four Imperial Guards.

Without a word, the four Imperial Guards vanished into thin air.

A wave of terrifying auras instantly swept across the battlefield.

Sima Feng and Qu Chen stepped forward and launched their attack at the same time. However, their cultivation realms were lower than the four Imperial Guards, and they were also outnumbered. As soon as they clashed, they were violently blasted backward.

A complete suppression!

Zhou Yan pointed at Fang Yu and said, "Finish him first."

The four Imperial Guards charged at Fang Yu.

However, Fang Yu's eyes showed no trace of fear.

Just then, Qu Chen opened his palm, revealing a scroll. Then, he began chanting an incantation.

The scroll rose into the air, releasing a terrifying beam of radiant light.

Boom!

The four Imperial Guards were forced to retreat under the powerful light.

Zhou Yan and his men frowned deeply.

They all turned their gazes to Qu Chen.

The scroll unfurled to a width of hundreds of meters, revealing a massive landscape painting that was radiating an immense pressure.

A Divine-rank artifact!

Zhou Yan's face darkened, and his brows furrowed as he stared at Qu Chen.

"How come that guy has so many treasures?" he muttered.

Even Sima Feng was stunned. "Manager Qu, you…"

Qu Chen let out a bitter laugh. The treasure didn't belong to him but to the Immortal Treasures Pavilion. As a General Manager, he had access to numerous powerful treasures but had no authority to use them.

The Immortal Treasures Pavilion had strict rules and severe penalties to prevent its managers from embezzling or using its divine artifacts. Violators could be dismissed at best or imprisoned at worst.

At this critical moment, Qu Chen could no longer care about such consequences. Survive first, and think of the rules later.

Who would care about the rules when their lives were on the line?

Qu Chen looked up and took a deep breath. He channeled his energy into the scroll. The massive painting trembled violently before releasing a colossal beam of radiant light, forcing the four imperial Guards to retreat repeatedly.

Not just them, even Zhou Yan and his men were blasted backward by the overwhelming power of the scroll's light.

Qu Chen took a decisive step forward, countless streams of profound energy surging from within him into the scroll. He activated it again, unleashing waves of terrifying energy that caused the entire starry sky to boil.

It was a fearsome sight.

With a furious roar, Qu Chen shouted, "Destroy!"

Upon his command, the scroll transformed into countless beams of radiant light that surged toward Zhou Yan and his forces. Wherever the light passed, spacetime would disintegrate bit by bit, crumbling into nothingness.

Zhou Yan and his men grew extremely grim. They hadn't expected that a Divine-rank artifact would be so powerful. They quickly retreated.

However, unleashing the scroll's power came at a big cost.

In just moments, Qu Chen's spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Even worse, he wasn't really strong enough to control the divine artifact. His face turned deathly pale in just a few seconds.

The scroll's power waned, and its light gradually faded away.

Before long, the radiant light disappeared completely.

Seizing the opportunity, a Great Zhou Imperial Guard appeared in front of Qu Chen.

Qu Chen's face changed drastically. He raised the scroll to shield himself.

Boom!

A radiant spear light erupted, and Qu Chen was blasted away along with the scroll.

Swoosh!

Sima Feng stepped in front of the advancing Imperial Guard. Clenching his right fist tightly, he unleashed a powerful punch. Waves of righteousness aura surged outward like a tidal wave from his fist.

The Imperial Guard thrust his spear forward toward Sima Feng.

Bam!

The spear light and the mighty aura of righteousness collided fiercely, shattering upon impact. Both Sima Feng and the Imperial Guard were forced to retreat.

Before Sima Feng could steady himself, two Imperial Guards charged at him.

Boom!

Amidst the shattered waves of righteousness aura, Sima Feng was blasted away. His fleshly body disintegrated, leaving only his soul intact.

Swoosh!

A Great Zhou Imperial Guard flew toward Fang Yu, clearly intent on eliminating him first.

Given the overwhelming difference in strength, Fang Yu couldn't do anything. He stared calmly at the approaching Imperial Guard, accepting his impending fate.

At the critical juncture, Qu Chen rushed to shield Fang Yu with the scroll in hand. The divine scroll transformed into a defensive shield just as a deadly spear strike flew toward them.

Boom!

The divine scroll trembled violently from the devastating impact, and its barrier barely held on. The powerful attack sent Qu Chen, Fang Yu, and the others flying backward.

Fortunately, the divine scroll absorbed most of the impact. Without it, the attack would have killed them all. Even so, Fang Yu was still gravely injured. Cracks formed on his fleshly body, and blood poured from his wounds.

Qu Chen suddenly ignited his body and soul, channeling all his power into the divine scroll. Light radiated from the scroll, enveloping everyone with a barrier before transforming into a streak of light and soaring into the sky.

Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes. "Trying to escape? How naive!"

With that, he led his men in pursuit.

Inside the divine scroll's protective light, Fang Yu turned to Ye Guan. "Academy Chief Sima Feng, Manager Qu Chen, we'll stay behind to hold them off. Let these two escape."

Qu Chen glanced at the severely wounded Fang Yu and nodded. "Alright."

Fang Yu suddenly grabbed Ye Guan's hand and took out the Guanxuan Token. He looked at the token in his palm and said softly, "I'm entrusting this to you. If you ever meet him one day, tell him… that I was too weak to do anything, but I… never brought him shame."

Blood trickled from the corner of Fang Yu's mouth as his fleshly body shattered inch by inch.

Qu Chen swiftly passed a storage ring to Ye Guan and said, "Young brother, whether you make it to the Guanxuan Universe or not… it depends entirely on your fate."

With that, he transported Ye Guan and Zang Gang to a desolate, lifeless planet. Then, he and the others charged at Zhou Yan and his men.

Just as they made a move, four spears flew toward them with deadly precision.

Boom!

A thunderous boom erupted, and the divine scroll shattered. Qu Chen and the others plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily to the ground.

Upon impact, Fang Yu's fleshly body shattered into pieces.

Qu Chen and the rest were gravely wounded as well.

Zhou Yan and his men descended, landing near the fallen group. He fixed a cold gaze on Fang Yu and the others and commanded, "Kill them."

The four Imperial Guards flew toward them.

Fang Yu closed his eyes in despair. "Brother Yang… farewell forever."

Rumble!

Just then, a spacetime rift manifested a hundred meters away. From the rift emerged a lady clad in a blood-red robe, and she had long hair with the same blood-red hue as her robe.

A gleaming spear was in her hand.

Everyone present was startled upon seeing her.

Zhou Yan stared at the lady with narrowed eyes. "Who are you?"

The lady calmly stepped forward and replied, "Ye An."

Zhou Yan frowned. "A mere ant. Kill her."

With that, the four Imperial Guards charged at the lady in a blood-red robe.