Chapter 188: Tough Choice

In the air above the Tongyou Peak…

She Zhihong, Lang Jingyun, and Lu Zhanyi revealed themselves at the same time. When they released their attacks in unison, the protection formation of the Tongyou Institution trembled violently. It seemed as though it would shatter at any moment.

Dense fog appeared all of a sudden to surround their forces, causing a shift in the battlefield immediately.

Even though they were close to achieving their goals, She Zhihong’s expression was far from happy. Instead, a look of irritation flashed across it. “Is this what your Four Spiritual Peak means by only having a single Martial Extermination Realm expert holding the fort?! How do you explain that extermination origin?!”

A look of shock appeared on Lang Jingyun’s face when he was faced with the old expert’s questioning.

Lu Zhanyi cleverly moved to the side the moment She Zhihong started. He started saving those trapped in the poisonous fog, and he chose to ignore the other two completely.

Even though he was roped in by the Four Spiritual Peak, he didn’t belong to any power! He didn’t wish to be dragged into the meaningless power struggles!

The only reason he accepted the mission to begin with was because of the benefits they promised him.

He was willing to assist them, but he would never risk his life! After all, there was no use holding all the riches in the world when one was dead! He also swore never to take part in the power struggle or enmity between the four races of the Tongyou Peak. In return, they wouldn’t be allowed to command him as they wished either.

The poison fog covered a huge area under the foot of the Tongyou Peak, but even though it was powerful, the potency of the poison would dissipate as the fog dispersed even more. Experts at the Martial Extermination Realm would be able to move around as they pleased once they were ready for it.

However, the same couldn’t be said for the forces they brought along! More than ten disciples had already fallen into the poison fog. Of course, most of them were merely at the Martial Extermination Realm.

There were several others who managed to escape the region surrounded by the fog. Even though their lives were no longer in danger, they had to restore their strengths with various medicines. They wouldn’t be able to fight for the foreseeable future.

In an instant, the assailants on the Tongyou Peak suffered a huge blow to their strength. They lost some fighting strength before the war even started!

“Who?!” She Zhihong roared and the spear in his hand shot outwards, tearing a hole through the protection formation.

His extermination origin swept through the air like a snake and huge explosions rang through the skies as they smashed into the body of the Qiling Peak.

When he retrieved his spear, another wave of poisonous fog emerged from the hole he created in the protection formation.

Even with his cultivation, he could only retreat hastily. He didn’t wish to be polluted by the unknown poison.

“This junior is Kang Ci of the Tongyou Institution. I wonder how I should address senior?” A blurry figure appeared in the air.

Lang Jingyun quickly explained, “This person is one of the four great masters of the Outreach Division of the Tongyou Institution. He serves under Yun Jing. He took part in the war previously, but he was only a Martial Intent Realm expert then. I have no idea how he managed to break through in such a short period of time…”

She Zhihong shot a glare towards Lang Jingyun but he eventually turned to the blurry figure. “This old man is She Zhihong. I am She Zhiqing’s brother!”

Kang Ci’s phantom nodded lightly and sighed, “I see…”

“You made a move against lower leveled cultivators, violating the promise all Martial Extermination Realm cultivators made in the past… Are you planning on going against the oath?” She Zhihong growled.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Kang Ci chuckled, “What do you mean? You guys started an attack on our Tongyou Peak all of a sudden. I only reacted instinctively. Those who were affected by the poison fog were merely collateral damage when you attacked us!”

A snort left She Zhihong’s lips. “You’re being unreasonable…”

Kang Ci’s expression turned frosty all of a sudden. “Humph, if not for your sneak attack, why would they be injured? Am I supposed to let you guys destroy the Tongyou Peak as you wish? Are you stupid? If I let you run wild, I won’t be able to explain my actions to the others!”

“Nonsense!” She Zhihong snapped.

Before he could continue, soft laughter rang through the air. “How laughable! You took the chance when the deputy patriarchs left to launch a sneak attack on our Tongyou Peak and you’re claiming to be the victims here. Are your actions really glorious? Should I prepare a medal for you? Both of us are enemies and we’re going to fight to the death anyway. Stop wasting time trying to gain the moral high ground on us.”

The figure of a pretty lady appeared above the protection formation after the words rang in their ears and Liu Qinglan’s projection appeared.

“With the two of us here and so many of your disciples incapacitated, I suggest you scram. It’s your choice if you wish to risk it all, our Tongyou Peak will never yield to despicable scum like you!” Liu Qinglan snorted before her projection disappeared alongside Kang Ci.

A look of hesitation appeared in She Zhihong’s eyes.

Lang Jingyun felt his heart thumping in his chest, both from anger and fear. He eventually asked, “Uncle Hong, what do we do now?”

The entire group had fallen into an extremely awkward situation now that they were exposed. The opponent had another Martial Extermination Realm expert on their side, and they also had a fully functioning protection formation.

The three of them were definitely unable to shatter the protection formation for real. They might be able to poke holes in it, but the formation would recover quickly.

If they really wanted to shatter the protection formation, they would have to send out the entirety of their forces to assault the periphery of the barrier in all directions. If they were able to do that, they might be able to wear the barrier down eventually.

It was too bad the lower leveled cultivators of their assault group were affected by the poison. They wouldn’t dare to venture near the barrier anyway. Under such circumstances, they wouldn’t be able to shatter it!

However, if they chose to retreat at that moment, all their preparations would have been for naught.

Regardless of whether it was She Zhihong or Lang Jingyun, they were confident of shattering the protection formation of the Tongyou Peak before they came. They dreamed of shattering the stalemate in the battlefield between two worlds, but their plan was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Their faces stung from the shame and humiliation!

Faced with such a difficult choice, the two of them were at a loss of what to do when the awkward situation was shattered by a loud blast. A strong shockwave tore through the lands.

She Zhihong, Lang Jingyun, and Lu Zhanyi turned to stare towards the direction of the disturbance and stared at each other in fright.

The three of them weren’t the only ones who were shocked. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci who were on the Tongyou Peak appeared near the edge of the barrier before staring in the same direction.

“This… This disturbance is larger than when someone enters the Martial Extermination Realm! Either a Martial Extermination Realm expert fell, or a monster is achieving a breakthrough to the Martial Dipper Realm!” She Zhihong muttered. Of course, he didn’t think it was possible for someone to advance into the Martial Dipper Realm at all.

“Which direction did that come from?” He asked Lang Jingyun.

“It’s the Coral Forest!”