War Erupts

Nanyuan City.

The people were unaware of the events unfolding in Great Xia Prefecture.

Above the tall buildings outside the academy.

The woman did not appear. The middle-aged man and an old man with white hair stood together, gazing at Nanyuan Middle Academy.

"Hall Master Chen, I didn't expect you to come this time..."

The middle-aged man said with a fawning smile.

"Mm."

The old man didn't say much. He looked down, his brow furrowed slightly. After a long pause, he asked, "Wu Hen, do you think there's a trap?"

"A trap?"

The man paused for a moment, then slowly said, "I'm not sure, but Nanyuan currently only has two Soaring Realm experts. As for the City Guard, I can confirm that the Centurion hasn't broken through to Soaring."

"Is that so?"

The old man said nothing, his brow still furrowed.

This mission made him feel uneasy.

First, the scale of the operation was too large.

Second, Nanyuan had already prepared. Under normal circumstances, the mission would have been canceled.

But this time, it wasn't.

The order from above was to proceed!

As for Great Xia Prefecture, there were no reinforcements. This was the answer from above, a very certain one, that Great Xia Prefecture had no reinforcements coming.

There was also a third point: they were not familiar with Great Xia Prefecture.

The Ten Thousand Races Cult's main areas of activity had not been Great Xia Prefecture before. Although they had some presence here, their understanding of Great Xia Prefecture was not deep enough. Launching the plan so rashly was a bit risky.

Given the nature of the people above, if they were deploying Soaring Realm experts, or even multiple Soaring Realm experts, they would have certainly made thorough preparations beforehand.

"Wu Hen, you've been in Nanyuan for many years. Are there any Wanshi powerhouses in Nanyuan who can fight beyond their level?"

"I don't think so?"

The middle-aged man replied, "At least, I haven't heard of any. If there were, they would have gone to the Battlefields of the Heavens, or Great Xia Prefecture. No one would stay in Nanyuan. There are Qianjun Realm experts, though. Su Long from the Demon Suppression Army back then could fight Wanshi beyond his level, but that was only Wanshi."

"Su Long?"

"An old soldier from the Demon Suppression Army. He's already gone to the Battlefields of the Heavens."

"Oh, the Demon Suppression Army... Xia Longwu's soldiers back then. He's made a name for himself on the Battlefields of the Heavens over the years, rising from a second-tier legion to a first-tier legion. There are many strong individuals."

The old man was also quite familiar with the front lines. He thought for a moment and then asked, "Are there many retired front-line soldiers in the city?"

"Not too many, and they're all older. There aren't many in their prime, less than 300, spread out across Nanyuan."

"We have to be wary of these people too!" the old man said gravely. "These old soldiers who have been to the Battlefields of the Heavens, surviving to retirement means they've licked blood from the tip of a knife. Tell the men below to be careful and pay attention."

"Understood!"

The old man glanced at the sky and said no more.

After a while, a plume of fire appeared outside the city. Within the city, a hundred-man City Guard unit quickly rushed towards the outskirts.

The middle-aged man said joyfully, "Another hundred-man squad gone. The City Guard has less than five hundred men left!"

The old man, however, still frowned. "Be careful!"

Knowing it was a diversion, Nanyuan still sent a large number of City Guards to the outskirts to eliminate the Ten Thousand Races Cult members. Was it confidence, or... were they truly forced into a corner?

"Less than half of the City Guard remains. Over 300 are guarding the City Lord's Mansion, and the rest are almost all gathered near Nanyuan Academy. The streets are filled with people from Jifeng Hall..."

The old man looked around, assessing the situation. Near Nanyuan Academy, there were about 200 City Guards and less than 100 people from Jifeng Hall. Including instructors and the academy guard team, there were 260 people. The Dragon Martial Guard had not left. In total, there were less than 600 people at or above the Qianjun Realm.

As for the students, they were ignored.

It was impossible for there to be any Qianjun Realm experts among them.

There were two Soaring Realm experts. Including Wanshi and the Dragon Martial Guard, there were less than 15 people. The rest were Qianjun Realm experts.

Actually, there was only one Soaring Realm expert. The City Lord, Wu Wenhai, was still in the City Lord's Mansion, and it would take time for him to arrive. The old man had still included him, as he wasn't too far away.

"Are all the personnel in place?"

"They're all here!"

The man hurriedly said, "The Hall Master has gone to meet them. They are all elites, with a full 30 Wanshi Realm experts, and the rest are high-level Qianjun Realm experts, 300 people in total! Those below the high-level Qianjun Realm are causing chaos outside the city."

300 elites at or above the Qianjun Seventh Level, and 30 Wanshi Realm experts!

The old man made a calculation. On this day, six cities were mobilized, and the manpower in other places was even greater.

This meant that over 2,000 cultivators at the Qianjun Seventh Level, more than 200 Wanshi Realm experts, and possibly over 20 Soaring Realm experts had been deployed!

Such a force was enough to form a ten-thousand-man legion.

"They've thrown everything they have... The Tianyi Divine Cult has put all their accumulated resources into this!"

The old man felt a sense of unease, a tremor running through him.

The Ten Thousand Races Cult had many sects, and the Tianyi Divine Cult was considered one of the stronger branches, after all, they had allied with a faction of the God Race.

But even so, committing so much strength at once, plus the forces to block reinforcements from Great Xia Prefecture, this was almost the entire strength of the Tianyi Divine Cult.

If they threw it all out at once, wouldn't they be afraid that the Tianyi Divine Cult would be completely wiped out?

The ones creating slaughter on the periphery were just some cannon fodder sects; if they died, they died. But this time, they were deploying true elite members, and there was a difference.

"The mission offers many contribution points, but to slaughter these students, it doesn't seem worth such a major operation. What are they thinking up there?"

The old man frowned, feeling like the gains wouldn't outweigh the losses.

Unfortunately, he couldn't reach that level of understanding.

"Oh well, I can only hope everything goes smoothly, then we'll withdraw quickly and hide our tracks."

It would take some time for the over 300 cult members to assemble. In a small city like Nanyuan, gathering more than 300 people required a bit of effort. This wasn't Great Xia Prefecture, where hundreds of people could be brought in without anyone noticing.

"We'll make our move in half an hour. Inform everyone, finish the battle within 3 minutes, and everyone must be evacuated within 5 minutes. After leaving the city, scatter and escape. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

The man quickly responded and soon disappeared to relay the message.

After the man left, the old man looked towards Nanyuan Middle Academy again and murmured, "Great Xia Prefecture... are they really unable to spare even a few Soaring Realm experts?"

"A'yu!"

Chen Hao and Su Yu were squatting by the entrance of the cafeteria, looking around and whispering, "What are we doing here? A tutor just called for all classes to gather for an academy meeting after school. Aren't we going?"

"No."

Su Yu held his knife and said softly, "It's safer with fewer people. With more people... it's a bit dangerous."

"Huh?"

Chen Hao was confused. Su Yu lowered his voice, "Stop talking nonsense. Something might happen today. People from the Ten Thousand Races Cult might be coming! We'll stay here. There are fewer people here..."

"No, A'yu, you're saying... people from the Ten Thousand Races Cult are coming? Then we need to quickly rendezvous with the tutors. We're only Kaiyuan, not Qianjun..."

Chen Hao suddenly became anxious.

He wasn't exactly terrified.

The academy had conducted drills. They had practiced what to do when encountering people from the Ten Thousand Races Cult and what to do on the Battlefields of the Heavens.

At this time, they should be heading to meet with the tutors.

The tutors would protect them.

"There are too few tutors. Most of them have to go into battle. The remaining few are to protect the students. At most, three to five tutors will remain to protect the students in each class, and there are many students in a class. If real danger strikes, they won't be able to protect everyone..."

Su Yu said softly, "Protecting two fewer people means one less burden."

"But... if we encounter them... A'yu... let's just go back!"

Chen Hao was genuinely worried.

Su Yu smiled, "Don't worry. Two wandering students, both Kaiyuan. The strong ones won't even spare us a glance."

"But if we encounter someone in the Qianjun Realm, people will still die..."

"That's why we need to hide well. If we really encounter enemies..."

Su Yu looked up at Chen Hao, "Do you trust me?"

"I do."

"If we really encounter them, you start cursing, curse them wildly, make them go kill you first. We won't stand together, one on the left, one on the right. If they go to kill you, they definitely won't be guarding against a small student like me..."

Chen Hao was bewildered. You're so poisonous!

You want me to die before you, that's too much!

"I'll go kill him!"

"..."

Chen Hao's face fell. What a joke. You're only at the third level of Kaiyuan, you can barely break through defenses, and you want to kill someone? Are you crazy!

"If you trust me, then let's do it! We can't go to the Academy Head and the others now, we'd just be a nuisance. We can't go to our class either, we'd just be a nuisance there too. We're too weak, we're just targets right now..."

"But the other classmates are also targets. Why don't we call them to hide with us..."

"Idiot, how can so many people hide? If they run around, they'll really die. We still have a chance."

Su Yu wasn't entirely scared. His father had often talked about killing people from the Ten Thousand Races. The ultimate goal of the academy was to teach them to kill people from the Ten Thousand Races, so there was nothing to be afraid of.

He was just a little nervous. It was the first time he would truly encounter enemies. He was afraid his legs would go weak from fear at that moment.

What if Chen Hao really cursed and the enemy went to kill him, and his legs went weak? What then?

Also, what if they encountered two people?

What about three?

"It's fine. Strong cultivators will definitely deal with strong cultivators. Searching for scattered students in the academy is something only the weak would do, because the students are too weak; without the Qianjun Realm, they wouldn't need to search in groups."

"If one person can do something, there's no reason for three to five people to do it."

"The academy isn't small. If they truly wanted to search in groups, the enemy would need thousands of people. I refuse to believe they could infiltrate thousands of people; Nanyuan would be too foolish."

"Besides, if there were that many people, even staying with the teachers would be a dead end. There shouldn't be such a situation."

Su Yu judged in his heart, dragging Chen Hao into the cafeteria. He found a corner and whispered, "You hide here, like you're trembling. Squat down. If it's just one person coming, make some noise yourself. If it's two people... then run! Run for your life!"

There was a small door in this place that led outside. Chen Hao nodded urgently, "What about you?"

Su Yu pointed to a small corner nearby. "I'll hide there. Don't look this way, or you'll get me killed, understand?"

"Got it!"

Chen Hao immediately nodded, then still put on a crying face. "A'Yu, why don't we go find my dad?"

"Nonsense. Going out alone at a time like this is suicidal!"

Su Yu cursed softly. "I don't know the specifics of the arrangements, but your dad and the others probably have missions too. Don't think about useless things. Pray I don't get cold feet later, or you're finished!"

"A'Yu, are you going to kill someone?"

Chen Hao said with a bitter gourd face, "You can't do it. How about I hide and ambush them?"

"You?"

Too lazy to bother with him, Su Yu took a deep breath. "It's hard for you to even break through defenses. Watch me! Also, according to the rules, if we can actually kill a member of the Ten Thousand Races Cult, Haozi, your War Academy will have hope!"

As soon as he said that, Chen Hao's eyes lit up instantly!

He had been a little scared and had forgotten.

That's right, the academy had regulations. If they could kill a member of the Ten Thousand Races Cult and prove their identity, they could get bonus points.

Of course, this rule hadn't been used in many years because the students were all Kaiyuan, and how could they kill members of the Ten Thousand Races Cult?

It was hard to kill them even with poison.

Of course, some geniuses had done it. Did geniuses care about bonus points?

"A'Yu... could it be... you're doing this for me..."

Chen Hao was so moved!

A'Yu was willing to risk his life to get him into the War Academy. He was too touched, so touched he almost cried.

Su Yu rolled his eyes. What is he thinking?

He just felt that hiding here with two people was actually safer. At this time, being in a crowd made him a bigger target. Of course, if he actually killed the opponent, then they could talk.

Su Yu wasn't sure if he'd dare to claim responsibility. How could a Kaiyuan kill someone?

"But if the opportunity is right, and I really kill one, I can create a scene and let Haozi get bonus points for the War Academy. It's not impossible."

A Kaiyuan killing a Qianjun was almost impossible. Almost, which meant it was possible.

Qianjun weren't unkillable. If they were careless, being decapitated with a single sword strike would still kill them.

As for why a Qianjun from the Ten Thousand Races Cult would be so stupid... ask the dead, Su Yu didn't know.

"Then it's best not to use the Tear skill, but to kill him with a knife!"

Su Yu gripped the knife in his hand. When the time came, his hands would be filled with strength, and he would kill the opponent with one strike. As long as the opponent didn't run, the chances were high.

Would a Qianjun run from a Kaiyuan's sneak attack?

Most likely not!

Just as he was thinking, a roar suddenly came from outside: "Students, gather! Those who haven't gathered, hide where you are!"

"Enemy attack! The beasts of the Ten Thousand Races Cult are here!"

"Don't panic! Listen to the instructors' orders and form a defensive circle for self-preservation!"

"Close the classroom doors! All instructors, meet the enemy!"

"Guard team, assemble!"

"City Guard, Jifeng Hall, charge!"

"Kill!"

With a roar, the entire Nanyuan Academy moved in an instant.

At this moment, Su Yu felt no fear, only some nervousness and a surge of excitement. The only thing he didn't feel was fear. He believed the teachers could win. He could barely suppress the urge to go out and see how the teachers killed the enemy.

When his father was home, he often told him stories of glorious eras, of armies of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, charging into battle, leaving corpses strewn everywhere, blood flowing like rivers, and the heavens trembling!

On the Battlefields of the Heavens, the human race's blades pointed forward, invincible!

"I really want... to see!"

Su Yu was a little impulsive. Chen Hao was even more impulsive. He gripped his knife, wanting to rush out, but quickly suppressed the thought, afraid he would get Su Yu killed.

"Kill!"

The clash of close combat and the sound of weapons colliding instantly echoed throughout the academy.

Other than "kill," there were almost no extra sounds. During wartime, nothing else was needed; one only needed to obey orders.

Outside the teaching building of Nanyuan Middle Academy.

Hundreds of people on both sides, upon contact, immediately began slaughtering each other without any verbal exchange.

The ten-person squad of the Dragon Martial Guard, led by Squad Leader Xia Bing, instantly surrounded the elder at the fourth level of the Soaring Realm.

Xia Bing, at the second level of Soaring, clad in golden armor and wielding a long saber, showed no fear. A muffled shout escaped him, "Form ranks, kill!"

The ten men quickly encircled the elder, their ten sabers slicing through the air as the battle commenced!

The City Lord Wu Wenhai, who had been stationed at the City Lord's mansion, soared up from the rooftop the next moment. Also wielding a long saber, he instantly killed towards the woman.

"Wu Wenhai, you've come to die yourself!"

The woman let out a sharp cry. Wu Wenhai was indeed here. Fortunately, they had anticipated this.

The middle-aged man known as "Wuchen," seeing the two Soaring Realm experts entangled and even the Dragon Martial Guard members tied up, was instantly overjoyed. Disregarding everyone else, he charged straight towards Liu Wenyan in the distance.

"Your opponent is me!"

"And me!"

Instantly, two men attacked.

One wielded a saber, and the other a sword.

"Zhang Yun, Zeng Hua!"

The middle-aged man called out their names, snorted coldly. He recognized them: the commander of the City Guard and the head of Jifeng Hall, both at the ninth level of the Wanshi Realm.

However, how could they contend with someone in the Soaring Realm!

"Kill!"

The two exchanged no pleasantries. There was nothing to discuss with the beasts of the Ten Thousand Races Cult; kill them first!

"Bang!"

The crisp sound of weapons clashing echoed. The next moment, Wuchen soared into the air, bypassed the two, and headed straight for Liu Wenyan behind them. There were still quite a few instructors at the Qianjun Realm over there.

Today's objective was not to kill the City Lord, not to kill the Soaring Realm experts, nor to kill these two high-ranking officials of Nanyuan.

It was to kill the academy's geniuses, the flames of civilization like Liu Wenyan.

They were the ones worth money!

In front of Liu Wenyan, several Qianjun Realm instructors raised their sabers, ready to attack. The two Wanshi Realm experts behind them reacted extremely quickly. In the blink of an eye, they broke through the air and chased after them, stomping on the ground and leaping up. Zhang Yun shot out, slashing his saber at the Soaring Realm Wuchen.

"Cross over our corpses first!"

With a furious roar, the two men surrounded Wuchen again.

"Seeking death!"

The two Wanshi Realm experts fought desperately. Wuchen was only at the second level of Soaring, and his altitude was insufficient. He could only descend instantly and fight with the two.

Otherwise, he would easily become a target in the air.

"Instructor Liu, you should go first..."

The few Qianjun Realm experts protecting Liu Wenyan urged the old man to leave. Liu Wenyan, however, did not move. He looked around at the widespread fighting and couldn't help but curse, "They think highly of Nanyuan. Those scoundrels from Great Xia Prefecture must know we have quite a few Soaring Realm experts and would definitely support other cities, not us!"

Everyone was somewhat confused, but there was no time to ask.

Liu Wenyan continued to curse, "They believe so much that I can succeed today? What if I fail? They're playing with people's lives! Don't let me find out who gave the order, or I'll kill them!"

Some people in Great Xia Prefecture believed he could achieve Will Manifestation today, but the key was... what if he couldn't achieve it?

Liu Wenyan rambled, muttered, and cursed, no longer the refined scholar.

"I'm the most useless one, how could I possibly succeed? You believe in me too much. I'm just a piece of trash, you all know that. Otherwise, why would I have been expelled..."

Liu Wenyan mumbled, feeling a bit dejected.

If I weren't so useless, how could I still be unable to achieve manifestation at my age? I want to, but... it's really too difficult.

"You're too ruthless, forcing me with the lives of the academy..."

"I knew it, you have no humanity. If I really manifest, I'll get revenge on you first..."

Liu Wenyan continued to mutter. At this moment, golden light shone from above his head, his body trembled, and his feet gradually began to leave the ground.

The expressions of the people around them changed slightly. In the distance, the Academy Head, who was fighting someone, showed a smile. "Old fellow, it seems you can't succeed without being pushed. From today onwards... there will be one more Soaring Realm expert!"

"Wanshi Realm experts, don't continue the pursuit, come quickly!"

Wuchen roared. He saw it, his face filled with shock, and he angrily shouted, "Come quickly, kill these two bastards!"

As he spoke, several Wanshi Realm experts broke through the air and arrived.

Wuchen also instantly broke free from the two and charged towards Liu Wenyan. He couldn't let this old fellow manifest his will and step into the Soaring Realm. Otherwise, even if they killed some students today, the mission completion rate would be greatly reduced.