Chapter 420: SOS From The Dragon Group (1)

From the moment the Corpse Emperor went berserk, it took only a few seconds for the entire Corpse Whisper Plains to shift into a state of chaos. When they heard the eerie and terrifying roar of the Supreme Corpse Emperor, all the zombies grew more agitated.

Their movement speeds increased and their attack power and defense doubled as they grew frenzied and bloodthirsty. This was the amplification brought on by the Corpse Emperor’s wrath.

The high-grade zombies, in particular, began to spread outward from the Corpse Emperor’s nest at incredible speeds in search for the thief.

Qi Shisan instantly sensed the rapid approach of dozens of strong corpse energies, at least at the Golden Body Realm, converging toward him and the others.

“Quick, gather the students and retreat immediately!” He shouted.

As his words echoed, a sudden violent wind swept through the area. The dark-red soil was whipped up, and in an instant, the air was thick with dust, forming a red sandstorm. Visibility dropped to nothing beyond a meter.

“Damn it, a corpse qi storm!” Ding Yifeng’s face changed drastically.

He hurriedly organized the instructors to locate the scattered students as quickly as possible, instructing everyone to activate the teleportation formation on their identity combat badges to return to White Deer Academy immediately.

This was the Academy’s fail-safe measure. Generally, even the weakest students could activate their identity combat badges, which would generate a protective shield and a teleportation portal, ensuring their safe return. But things could always go wrong.

"Kill." Qi Shisan transformed into a streak of light, charging forward to intercept the approaching high-grade zombies.

He held back a dozen Golden Body Realm corpse kings. He slapped the hilt of his sword and it shot out like a flash of light.

Snap! Whizz!

A faint glimmer streaked through the air as a grade-six corpse king was instantly decapitated. The corpse qi storm churned up red dust, making vision impossible, but Qi Shisan fought with closed eyes. One hand clutched his wine gourd, the other his ancient sword, as he kept slashing.

In an instant, he had slain six or seven corpse kings. But the tide of corpses seemed to have no end. When they sensed Qi Shisan’s powerful aura, more high-grade zombies quickly closed in.

Clang!

A towering tyrant zombie that was over three meters tall grasped Qi Shisan’s sword with its claw, emitting a metallic screech. The tyrant zombie was a grade seven star beast, comparable to a Dao Union Realm powerhouse in the human world.

Its massive form was armored with a black shell-like exoskeleton that was as tough as armor. It was resistant to blades and even hot weapons. But most frightening of all, the tyrant zombie possessed an adult’s intelligence, making it far more difficult to handle than the corpse kings, who had minds akin to ten-year-old children.

Qi Shisan felt the pressure building.

“Taixuan Sword Art!” He shouted as his ancient sword unleashed an explosion of boundless sword qi.

After a strenous exchange, he decapitated the tyrant zombie. But Qi Shisan felt a wave of fatigue wash over him as his inner qi was severely depleted. He kept battling as he retreated, drawing a large number of high-grade zombies away from White Deer Academy’s hunting grounds and the students.

Surrounded by waves of high-grade zombies, Qi Shisan found himself in increasingly dangerous situations.

“Despicable thief!” A mental storm emanated from the area, rippling outward.

A figure clad in a leather jacket emerged from within the corpse tide. This person was quite stylish, sporting slicked-back hair, aviator sunglasses, and skin that appeared unnaturally pale and smooth. Apart from the eerie white complexion, he looked remarkably like a living human.

He rode atop a white corpse tiger. Together, man and beast emanated an apocalyptic aura of terror.

Their presence locked onto Qi Shisan, and the person spoke in a rigid tone, “Hand over the Sacred Crystal of my Emperor.”

Qi Shisan’s heart sank. This was the White Tiger Corpse, one of the Four Divine Generals under the Corpse Emperor.

As one of the ultimate bosses among the star beasts in the wilderness surrounding Xiajing City, the Corpse Emperor was well-known to humans, and so were his Four Divine Corpse Generals: the White Tiger Corpse, Black Tortoise Corpse, Vermilion Bird Corpse, and Azure Dragon Corpse. These monsters had given even the strongest human warriors countless headaches. Each one was comparable to a quasi-Saint Realm in human terms.

“I don’t know anything about a Sacred Crystal,” Qi Shisan replied. “You must have the wrong person.”

“Deceitful human.” The White Tiger Corpse snarled, “It’s been barely a month since we signed the ceasefire agreement, and now you’re sending thieves to steal the Sacred Crystal secreted by His Majesty, the Corpse Emperor.”

Qi Shisan frowned. He was beginning to piece together what had happened. But this was unrelated to White Deer Academy.

“Kill.” With a wave of his hand, the White Tiger Corpse unleashed the horde.

The corpse tide surged forward like a tsunami. Qi Shisan’s blue robe billowed as his sword qi erupted. This place was no longer safe. Judging by the time, the academy’s staff and students should have all evacuated by now.

He had no intention of facing off against the White Tiger Corpse head-on. He took a swig of his old wine, spat it out, and swung his sword in a powerful First Sword Slash. The sword qi ignited the alcohol, and a thunderous explosion rang out as a kilometer wide area transformed into a sea of flames.

Countless zombies were blown back. Piercing screams echoed as they writhed, engulfed in fire. The White Tiger Corpse sneered coldly as the tiger corpse beneath him opened its mouth and inhaled, drawing all the flames into its belly. But when he looked again, Qi Shisan was nowhere to be seen.

"The aura of the Sacred Crystal was indeed absent from that human just now. Ignore him and immediately expand the search area to locate the despicable thief." The White Tiger Corpse commanded.

Zombies of all levels within hundreds of miles sprang into action.

A minute later, A rather disheveled Qi Shisan appeared at White Deer Academy’s gathering point inside the city. It was no small feat to escape from the watchful eyes of one of the Four Divine Corpse Generals; the mere mention of it would astonish anyone.

“Have all the students made it out?” He asked Ding Yifeng as soon as he saw him.

Ding Yifeng’s expression was grim.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Qi Shisan’s heart sank. “How many are missing?”

Ding Yifeng grimly replied, “Three.”

“Who?”

“Li Xiaofei, Lin Wan, and Su Wanqing from the senior class, Central White-Robe House.”

Qi Shisan inhaled sharply, feeling a headache come on. Lin Wan was a promising sophomore talent from the Eastern Blue-Robe House, a strong candidate for the academy’s battle team and highly regarded by everyone.

Su Wanqing was even more exceptional. She was a core member of White Deer Academy’s battle team and had cultivated to the Five Spirits Realm. Coupled with her striking beauty, she was extremely popular within White Deer Academy.

As for Li Xiaofei...

Qi Shisan glanced at Li Junjie in the crowd. To his surprise, the academy’s top genius didn’t appear as anxious as he had expected. Instead, Li Junjie looked calm, seemingly unworried about the safety of his classmate.

“I’m going out to search,” Qi Shisan declared through gritted teeth. “Everyone else, return to the academy.”

“I’ll go with you,” Ding Yifeng replied.

Several other instructors also stepped forward, requesting to join the search. Despite the academy’s waning reputation, its teachers still upheld the chivalrous spirit of ancient martial arts. Even knowing the dangers awaiting them outside the city, they were eager to go and bring their students back.

After a moment of thought, Qi Shisan said, “Old Ding, come with me. We’ll split up to search. The rest of you, take the students back to the academy, and keep this situation under wraps for now.”

“Chief Instructor.” At that moment, Li Junjie raised his hand. “Let me go with you.”

Qi Shisan didn’t hesitate. “You lack the necessary experience, and since your identity combat badge can’t activate its formation lines without the central array, it would be far too dangerous to head out...”

“But—” Li Junjie tried to argue.

Ding Yifeng patted his shoulder. “I promise you, we’ll find Li Xiaofei and bring him back.”