Midnight Ambush

Night fell, and the land was instantly plunged into darkness.

Stars dotted the sky, while on the ground, the campfires still burned, casting faint crimson glows.

Low sounds echoed from Black Crag Mountain as black-clad figures emerged from the dense forest one after another, exuding chilling killing intent.

"Attack!" The leader lightly waved his hand, and the many black-clad men used the dim moonlight to quietly creep toward the Jia Nan Academy students.

Within the Jia Nan Academy camp, inside a tent.

Lu Yunxiao sat cross-legged, Dou Qi surging around him. His golden Dou Qi radiated a brilliant glow in the dim night.

After cultivating these past few days, he was only one final step away from breaking through to a Seven-Star Dou Zhe. At most, he would make the breakthrough within two days.

His mind was calm, but his innate Spiritual Perception remained constantly alert to everything around him.

Tap, tap, tap! Extremely faint footsteps entered Lu Yunxiao's ears, and that unusual sensation immediately jolted him awake.

His eyes suddenly opened. Light flashed in Lu Yunxiao's hand, and the Flying Rainbow Sword flew into his grasp. With a sharp ring, the longsword left its sheath. A flash of cold light streaked through the darkness as he thrust directly toward the rear of the tent.

Splat! The sword tore a wide opening through the tent and killed a black-clad man before he could react.

"An enemy attack?" Lu Yunxiao frowned. Just as he was about to shout a warning, a long howl suddenly rang out from the camp.

The howl was prolonged and highly penetrating. Lu Yunxiao immediately recognized it as a warning from the female Dou Ling. Reassured, he gripped his sword and darted out of the tent.

The moment he emerged, countless figures came into view. A large group of black-clad men had burst into the various tents and were slaughtering people indiscriminately. Some students who had been caught unprepared had only just awakened from their dreams before losing their lives.

Painful howls and miserable cries rang out without end.

"Damn it!" Lu Yunxiao cursed under his breath. Looking around, he saw corpses already scattered across the ground. They were the people assigned to keep watch, yet none of them had expected to die at these men's hands.

No wonder they had been able to creep so close without a sound. If his Spiritual Perception had not been so keen and alerted him to something amiss, even he might have been ambushed, seriously wounded, or perhaps even killed.

Still, the female Dou Ling's warning had come in time. Many mentors and senior students had reacted and swiftly begun resisting.

The Jia Nan Academy guard unit was, after all, an elite force. Though they had been caught off guard by the ambush, they were quite capable of handling sudden situations. They had now launched a fierce counterattack, and as black-clad corpses fell one after another, the attackers began to suffer casualties as well.

Bang! A brilliant flare shot through the sky, blooming with dazzling light beneath the pitch-black night.

This was Jia Nan Academy's distress signal. They had suddenly come under attack, and the enemy's assault was fierce. Calling for reinforcements was extremely necessary.

Lu Yunxiao refocused, his gaze turning sharp as he rushed toward Mentor Ruolin.

In the face of an ambush, only by uniting could they unleash their greatest strength. Fighting alone made it easy for the enemy to isolate and kill them.

The Flying Rainbow Sword flashed through the air, trailing streaks of cold light as it sliced across the throats of two black-clad men. Blood sprayed out, and both men died instantly.

"Mentor Ruolin!" Lu Yunxiao activated his movement technique and quickly closed the distance between himself and Mentor Ruolin.

"Yunxiao!" Mentor Ruolin lashed the black-clad man before her with her whip, making him spit blood before his bones and tendons shattered, killing him. She turned her gaze toward Lu Yunxiao. Seeing him alive and well, the worry in her eyes immediately lessened.

What she feared most was something happening to this monstrous genius. If such a talent were to die, it would be an enormous loss for the academy. Fortunately, Lu Yunxiao was safe. That was the greatest blessing.

"Mentor Ruolin, are you all right?" Reaching her side, Lu Yunxiao asked with concern.

"I'm fine, but many new students have lost their lives." Mentor Ruolin's eyes reddened slightly, and a trace of pain filled her moist gaze.

These new students had not even entered the academy to study yet. They were at the brightest, most beautiful age of their lives, yet they had lost their lives just like that. How could one not feel regret?

Lu Yunxiao fell silent for a moment before saying, "Mentor Ruolin, what has happened cannot be changed. But we can avenge them and make these black-clad men pay for their blood debts with blood."

"You're right!" Mentor Ruolin's gaze sharpened. Her long whip shot out, displaying the full might of a Da Dou Shi. Dou Qi Armor covered her body as her aqua-blue Dou Qi directly shredded an attacking black-clad Dou Master.

"Yunxiao, be careful and protect yourself!" Mentor Ruolin said before wielding her whip and charging toward a group of black-clad men.

"Understood!" Lu Yunxiao replied. Sword in hand, he saw the black-clad men surrounding several new students and immediately charged in to kill them.

Those black-clad men were all Dou Zhes. How could those new students at the Dou Qi stage possibly resist them? Their lives were already in grave danger.

At that moment, Lu Yunxiao appeared.

Cold light gleamed from the Flying Rainbow Sword, carrying icy, razor-sharp sword Qi as it beheaded all those black-clad men. Blood sprayed across the ground and splashed over the faces of several new students.

Seeing the spurting blood, terror appeared on the students' faces, and they turned deathly pale. Some even bent over and began vomiting.

Lu Yunxiao could not help shaking his head. They truly were hothouse flowers. The moment they saw blood, they completely lost their composure. They still needed much more tempering.

"If you're weak, hide in the rear. Don't run around, or we'll have to divide our attention to protect you." Lu Yunxiao warned the new students.

In a battle like this, these new students could not help at all. Rushing forward would be nothing more than throwing their lives away.

He did not expect them to help. It was enough so long as they did not hold everyone back.

Still, judging by their frightened appearance, Lu Yunxiao doubted they had the courage to rush forward anyway.

"U-Understood." The new students nodded, gathered together, and retreated toward the rear. The black-clad men were currently being held at the front by Jia Nan Academy's mentors, senior students, and guard unit, so the rear was safe for the time being.

Watching the new students retreat, Lu Yunxiao gripped his sword and headed into battle once more, rushing toward several senior sisters he knew.

At that moment, they were surrounded by a group of black-clad men, and their situation was equally grim.

However, they were senior students after all and possessed considerable combat strength, so they were resisting in an orderly manner.

Sweeping his sword, Lu Yunxiao killed another black-clad man. Then the Flying Rainbow Sword traced a strange trajectory and pierced through another black-clad man's throat.