Chapter 78: Unexpected

“Run!” Kang Ci yelled but his voice was quickly drowned out by the blast that followed.

Outside the protection formation, a ray of golden and blue light squeezed through the gap that was finally about to recover and shot towards the eight squads that were about to return.

Boom!

The resounding blast swallowed the patrol squads whole, and the entire area fell eerily quiet. As the horses ran away in a state of panic, Kang Ci tried to calm his mount down before looking all around him.

As the light faded, he discovered that they were stuck in a massive crater after the explosion occurred.

Li Zengyu’s squad of five was completely annihilated, and not even their bones remained!

“Run! Hurry up and retreat!” Kang Ci roared in panic. The person who attacked had to be another expert at the Martial Extermination Realm! Yet another one had appeared!

As a loud chuckle came from the distance, a figure appeared beside the barrier.

“Expert on the Luohui Peak, it’s time to reveal yourself…”

The man looked to be a little younger than Lang Xiaoyun, and a cruel expression hung on his face. He stared directly at the Luohui Peak.

“I am Lang Jingyun of the Four Spiritual Peak and I hope to receive your pointers!” The figure who appeared spoke.

Lang Jingyun, Lang Xiaoyun… From their name alone, one could guess their relationship with each other.

Kang Ci and the others who were frantically escaping looked up at the Luohui Peak in confusion.

“Chief Shang?” Kang Ci was puzzled, but he soon accepted the fact.

Anyone who had the ability to control the three broken chains that made up the protection formation had to possess terrifying strength! Even at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm, Kang Ci wouldn’t be able to do something like that!

One had to know that Kang Ci was the strongest deacon in the Outreach Division. He was Yun Jing’s strongest general and he was considered an unbeatable existence in the Martial Intent Realm.

If he wasn't able to control the chains as he wished, the cultivator who did it had to be a Martial Extermination Realm expert! Moreover, Shang Bing had been in charge of the Contribution Division when Kang Ci was still a disciple. Strictly speaking, Shang Bing was from Patriarch Kou Chongxue’s generation and Kang Ci had to address him respectfully as ‘teacher’ when they met!

Of course, advancing into the Martial Extermination Realm wasn’t something they could conceal! The only explanation was that Shang Bing had already been in the Martial Extermination Realm before he entered the institution!

“What’s wrong? Are you still planning to hide in your tortoise shell?” Lang Jingyun snorted with irritation. “Do you plan to let this half-baked protection formation take another stroke from me?”

The moment he spoke, he pressed his palm down against the protection formation. A massive palm print that was close to thirty feet in length appeared in mid air and fell on the protection screen, creating a massive dent. It seemed to be on the verge of breaking when the sound of chains rattling came from the skies again. The chains pushed against the palm print from the other side of the screen.

Lang Jingyun’s palm print started to fade, and the barrier started recovering.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Hehe, finally…” Lang Jingyun wasn’t surprised by the interference. Instead, a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

…

At the foot of the mountain, Kang Ci brought everyone he could back to the main peak. When he eventually turned around, he saw a figure stepping into the air. It was none other than Shang Bing of the Contribution Division!

A voice rang in his mind suddenly, “Go protect the Luohui Peak.”

Kang Ci looked at those around him and he noticed their expressions. He could only relay the order he heard slowly, “I have to head over to the Luohui Peak now. Deacon Wu Tinghai will take over.”

Wu Tinghai was in charge of the patrol squads to begin with and his cultivation was second only to Kang Ci. As such, it didn’t come as a surprise when Kang Ci placed him in charge.

With the revelation of Dong Qianzui and Shang Bing’s cultivation level, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak were pleasantly surprised.

Kang Ci didn’t say too much and he rushed towards the Luohui Peak. Gliding through the air, he climbed three hundred feet up in an instant.

Cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm might not be able to soar through the air like Martial Extermination Realm experts, but they could glide for some distance.

Of course, in the eyes of ordinary humans, there was no difference between the two.

All of a sudden, a whistling sound came from behind him and Kang Ci turned to see Shang Xi following closely behind. “What are you doing?”

“There hasn’t been any movement on the Kaiyuan Peak since the start. I’ll go take a look.” Shang Xi muttered.

Opening his mouth slightly, Kang Ci sighed, “Alright, but take note of what happens below.”

…

Outside the Luohui Peak, Lang Jingyun watched as Shang Bing slowly approached. He roared with laughter, “That’s what I thought. Heh, the old man who forced his cultivation level to advance with some sort of secret technique would never be able to do something like that. Looks like you helped him secretly. With Yu Zhiqing’s arrogance, he suffered big time!”

Shang Bing snorted coldly in response, “You made a move on Martial Intent Realm cultivators and those weaker than that. Aren’t you afraid that I’ll head over to your Four Spiritual Peak to start a massacre?”

Lang Jingyun snorted in disdain, “What a joke. You’re a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator and yet you’re hiding on the Luohui Peak. If I’m not wrong, you made a move against the cultivators of my Four Spiritual Peak when they were trying to make their escape too.”

Shang Bing’s eyelids jumped and he growled, “Looks like there’s no point talking anymore. If you want to fight, let’s fight!”

“Sure!” Lang Jingyun clapped in response, “Too bad you’re not Shang Bo. I have long since wanted to experience his Shang Clan Spear Art.”

“Humph. You’re not worthy.” Shang Bing sneered. “You can think about it after you defeat me.”

A thin sword appeared in Shang Bing’s hand and his surroundings started to freeze over.

Frosty qi filled the space around him whenever he swung his sword.

Lang Jingyun’s look of disdain slowly disappeared as he retreated several feet to avoid getting hit by the frosty qi. At the same time, a four segmented whip appeared in his hand. He swung it towards Shang Bing ruthlessly.

Crackle!

A loud crack was heard and the long ice pillar that extended towards Lang Jingyun crumbled.

At the same time, two strands of extermination qi that were blue and black in color emerged from his whip. The heaven and earth qi around him started to tremble as they shot straight for Shang Bing.

Feeling a sense of danger, Shang Bing slashed out twelve times and every wave of sword light that emerged turned into a wall of ice that stopped Lang Jingyun’s assault.

When the tip of the whip shattered the eleventh wall, the power contained in his strike dissipated.

Shang Bing looked at Lang Jingyun and his expression turned serious. “Second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm?”

Lang Jingyun laughed in amusement. “That’s right. I bet you didn’t expect it.”

The words barely left his lips when a heaven-shaking roar came from the distance. “Mysterious Frost Sword, Shang Lubing! You didn’t die! Jingyun, kill him! Kill him right now!”

Lang Jingyun was slightly taken aback, but he soon released a soft chuckle. “Interesting… Shang Lubing? Mysterious Frost Sword? Looks like there’s something special going on here…”

Another voice tore through the air and suppressed the yell that came earlier. “Haha! What’s the fuss? Do you think you can be careless when fighting me? Or are you afraid that people will know how much you suffered in the hands of our You Continent’s Triple Frost?

“Fuck you…!” Before he could complete his sentence, Ji Wenlong’s voice rang through the air. “Who would have thought that Chief Shang would be able to hide his true identity from me? It’s been twenty years since you entered the institution and I failed to notice your secret…”

From how easily Ji Wenlong interrupted Lang Xiaoyun, it seemed as though the latter wasn’t having it easy when they sparred.

Even so, one could hear from Ji Wenlong’s tone of voice that he wasn’t extremely excited to discover the presence of another Martial Extermination Realm expert on their side. In fact, there was a trace of suspicion behind it.

Shang Lubing stared into the distance and sighed, “It’s not the time to focus on this. When this is over, I’ll personally give all of you an explanation!”

“Explanation? There’s no need for you to explain yourself! I heard Chief Shang mention something about our You Continent’s Triple Frost before, and Patriarch Kou is the leader of the trio! Chief Shang is Patriarch Kou’s sworn brother and he definitely knows about your presence in the institution! This has to be part of Patriarch Kou’s plan!” Liu Qinglan’s voice boomed through the air and even though she sounded like she was retorting against Ji Wenlong, what she said actually raised the morale of those from the Tongyou Peak.

Ji Wenlong no longer spoke. Instead, Dong Qianzui’s weary voice came next. “There’s no need for so much talk! Save your energy for the fight!”

As his words fell, Ji Wenlong cried out in surprise, “Elder Dong, be careful!”