All was tense on the battlefield. It seemed that a new battle would break out any second now with how furious Bai Yunfei was. The moment when the Core Stone and the Soul Sealing Mandate’s area-of-effect skills activated would be the moment when war would break out once again.

And then it began.

Everyone capable of fighting on both sides of the field charged at one another at once. Bai Yunfei lead the group at the very front while elder Jin and a dozen other Soul Kings appeared from the Core Stone to join the formation. Because of their addition, the battlefield had now an equal amount of Soul Kings on both sides.

So far, the opposing side had the Late-stage Soul Emperor, Dong Wanlei, the Mid-stage Soul Emperors, Huo Zhenting and Lin Dongxiao, and the Early-stage Soul Emperors, Qi Ning and the black-robed elder from the Soul Refining School. There was also the biggest enemy: the Mid-stage Soul Emperor Dongfang Ming whose true strength had yet to be measured.

On the Crafting School’s side was the Late-stage Soul Emperor, Chu Yintian, the Mid-stage Soul Emperor, Yang Yao, and the Early-stage Soul Emperors, Hu Yang, Yang Ying, Ouyang Hua, Xiao Binzi, Li Chengfeng, Xiao Qi. And last but not least was the one comparable to a Mid-stage Soul Emperor, Bai Yunfei.

The Crafting School had the advantage in terms of numbers, but not in terms of fighting strength. Chu Yintian, Yang Yao, Hu Yang, and Ouyang Hua were all heavily weakened, especially Chu Yintian after being on the receiving end of one of Dong Wanlei’s attacks. He, Yang Yao, and Hu Yang were all also weakened after having their strongest soul armaments destroyed while Ouyang Hua was hurt in his battle against Lin Dongxiao.

A definite conclusion had yet to be made over this battlefield, considering all the factors. There were still variables such as Mo Ni and his group to consider. They could pop out any second and complicate the situation even more...

—————————

Bai Yunfei charged at Dongfang Ming with Xiao Qi hot on his trail. Yang Yao and Hu Yang were both fighting Huo Zhenting together while Xiao Binzi fought Qi Ning. Yang Ying opted to continue fighting the Early-stage Soul Emperor from the Soul Refining School while Li Chengfeng decided to take on Lin Dongxiao. Ouyang Hua, on the other hand, relegated himself to the backlines so he could recuperate his strength and provide backup in case hew as needed.

As the strongest one there, Chu Yintian, of course, chased after Dong Wanlei to fight. The two were streaks of red and violet in the sky as they fought with storms of fire and lightning against one another with a ferocity intense enough to discourage anyone from drawing close.

But it was the battle underneath them that was the most intense. Every Soul King fighting on this battlefield fought with an intensity far greater than the Soul Emperors.

Everything within a five kilometer radius of the Crafting School’ gates was a mess. Distortions in space opened up with each attack and the world rang out with the deafening explosions of their attacks.

......

“Be careful, Bai Yunfei! That Dongfang Ming has managed to create himself a demonic body! Normal methods won’t kill him! You have to destroy his ‘core’!”

Heavenfire’s voice spoke into Bai Yunfei’s mind along with several other key information he had about demonic bodies. As he spoke, Heavenfire quickly explained to Bai Yunfei about the abnormality that was Dongfang Ming.

“The pinnacle of demonic armaments, a demonic body! A body that’s basically undying!!”

Bai Yunfei gasped inwardly to himself. The fury he felt didn’t lessen in the slightest, but he did gain an iron edge of determination to it.

“No wonder his aura is so strange, if his entire body is an armament, then his own soul is acting as its spirit!!” He thought to himself, “Then that means his body is similar to Qin Long. ‘Regeneration’, is it? He can heal from having his arm cut off multiple times, then. And probably faster and more often than Qin Long could...”

Bai Yunfei felt exasperated at how troublesome his battle with Qin Long had been. He could see the parallels between Qin Long and Dongfang Ming, but the scale was so different that he might as well be comparing a newborn chick to an adult eagle. Just thinking about how to defeat Dongfang Ming had Bai Yunfei creasing his eyebrows in annoyance.

“Destroying the ‘core’ is the important part, but...that’s also the strongest point of the body. If even teacher Chu’s soul armament was destroyed by it, how should I go about it...?”

The questions were endless and the solutions non-existent. He couldn’t find a solution no matter how much he wracked his brain. He didn’t even have much time to do so, he was already just moments away from slamming into Dongfang Ming!

Neither combatants infused their attack with any energy. As if coming to an agreement somehow, the two of them simply lashed out with a single straight punch.

It was a probing attempt to see how strong the other person was. But by attacking without hesitation like this, Bai Yunfei could activate the +12 additional effect of the Critical Glove while he was at it.

“Bang!!!”

There was a muffled, but loud, explosion as the two fists collided and sent both persons flying backward.

Neither side seemed to have dealt more damage than the other, but Bai Yunfei had a strange expression while Dongfang Ming looked even happier.

Bai Yunfei’s right arm was quivering from the blow while Dongfang Ming’s right hand was a tragic mess to behold. All five of his fingers were bent out of shape and his hand was a bloody mixture of flesh and bone. But it took no more than a single flash of light for Dongfang Ming’s right hand to be completely healed. He didn’t even travel backward for over a dozen meters before his hand was back to normal.

In other words, Bai Yunfei failed to do any damage onto Dongfang Ming and squandered the +12 additional effect of his Critical Glove.

“That glove is...peculiar.”

Dongfang Ming commented with a mysterious light in his eyes.

“Whoosh!”

Then Dongfang Ming realized Bai Yunfei had just thrown something jet-black at him!

“Hm?!”

Almost as fast as he detected it, the jet-black ray of light disappeared from Dongfang Ming’s sight. He leaned left at once while bringing his right hand up to guard his chest.

One half-second later, the same jet-black light reappeared and was caught by his hand!

It was the Voidsplitter! It failed to pierce his heart!!

Dongfang Ming let out a strange gasp as he felt the soul armament tremble with soulforce. Releasing his hold just a moment too slow, Dongfang Ming watched in fascination as a burst of spatial energy erupted from the dagger and tore apart his right hand!

“A spatial-type soul armament! What extraordinary power!”

Completely ignoring the fact that his right hand had just been shredded apart, Dongfang Ming marveled at the properties of the Voidsplitter. Another second and a flash of light later and his hand was back to normal again.

“Eh?”

While he had been so busy observing the Voidsplitter’s abilities, Dongfang Ming had failed to realize Bai Yunfei was already making the next move. All around him, Dongfang Ming could see the world had now a rainbow tint to it!

Everyone disappeared from his sight the next second. Not even their auras could be felt as the rainbow light around him became even more pronounced.

“The Phantasm!!”

Dongfang Ming realized. He glanced up to look at the only other person here in this place, Bai Yunfei.

Right now, Bai Yunfei was going through a set of handseals that seemed to increase his power with each hand seal he made. Upon the last seal being made, Dongfang Ming watched as Bai Yunfei’s aura suddenly spike to the level of a Mid-stage Soul Emperor!

This was his ‘Berserk’ Mode!

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In less than ten seconds, Bai Yunfei opened off the battle with a straight punch and the Voidsplitter. Then after the +12 additional effect of the dagger activated, Bai Yunfei made use of the Interdimensional Phantasm to lock Dongfang Ming in a different world while he got ready to enter his strongest state.

Feeling the same power he once wielded to immediately kill Lu Suxing, Bai Yunfei glared at Dongfang Ming with renewed determination.

The attributes he stole from Qin Long had yet to fade away, but he didn’t have much time with them either. Without those attributes, Bai Yunfei wouldn’t be able to break into the Mid-stage Soul Emperor level even with ‘Berserk’ Mode. Thus, Bai Yunfei had to make use of those attributes and the precious minutes he had left to obtain victory!

“Xiao Qi, wait for the most optimal time to strike!!”

He sent a mental command to Xiao Qi as he summoned his Fire-tipped Spear to him. Readying the spear, Bai Yunfei transformed into a streak of fire toward Dongfang Ming!