Life-and-Death Race

Not long after taking flight, Shen Yi sensed a powerful surge of spiritual energy rapidly closing in on him.

"He caught up so quickly!"

Shen Yi's heart jolted. Gritting his teeth, he accelerated several degrees faster.

"If even I cannot catch him, that little beast must have obtained some supreme treasure!"

At the thought, a fiery glint flashed through Wang Shangren's eyes. He formed a hand seal, and his speed increased greatly as well.

"Young brat, stop obediently and accept your death. I'll leave your corpse intact!"

Wang Shangren's cultivation was ultimately higher. In the blink of an eye, he had closed to within fifty or sixty meters behind Shen Yi.

"Senior, why is this? I bear no grudge against you, so why are you hunting this junior down?"

Shen Yi cursed under his breath, though he kept an innocent expression as he asked.

"Hmph! You silver-tongued little brat! You killed my son and sect disciples, then stole my sect's supreme treasure. No matter what, I cannot let you go!"

Wang Shangren snorted coldly. The grief of losing his son had turned his eyes bloodshot, driving him nearly mad.

Seeing Shen Yi offer no response, Wang Shangren shot out an attack. It was about to strike Shen Yi's Spirit Wings when Shen Yi twisted aside and barely evaded it. One strike failed, and another followed. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Several more bolts of spiritual energy burst forth from Wang Shangren. Shen Yi dodged left and right, somehow avoiding every single one.

"If Senior refuses to show his true skills, then this junior will be taking his leave."

Shen Yi looked back and gave Wang Shangren a faint smile. That arrogant expression instantly sent blood rushing to Wang Shangren's head, reddening his face. He summoned a longsword and shot it fiercely forward.

Sensing the violent aura behind him, Shen Yi did not panic in the slightest. He brought out the Coiled Dragon Halberd and slashed behind him. Now that he had refined the Coiled Dragon Halberd, he wielded it with even greater ease. Within five meters of himself, he could already control the halberd through the air. The halberd smashed heavily into the longsword, knocking it into a violent tremble before it fell back into Wang Shangren's hand.

"Good brat, you actually possess a high-grade spirit artifact!"

Greed shone from Wang Shangren's eyes. At that moment, he became even more convinced that Shen Yi was the culprit who had murdered his eldest son.

"Go!"

Wang Shangren suddenly stopped and formed a hand seal, summoning an enormous phantom sword. Beneath its shadow, Shen Yi's hairs stood on end. He desperately poured spiritual energy into his Spirit Wings, trying to flee this place as quickly as possible.

"You offended me and still want to run?!"

With a sweep of Wang Shangren's hand, the phantom sword slashed down. The strike left a long golden sword-shadow across the sky, splitting even the air itself. Its unmatched might howled straight toward Shen Yi.

"Danger!"

Shen Yi cried out. The Coiled Dragon Halberd spun rapidly behind him, whipping up blasts of gale-force energy. A dragon's roar rang out as Shen Yi unleashed a move from Facing the Heavenly Palace. Yet the dragon's roar was instantly drowned out by the sword's cry. At the critical moment, a black shadow appeared behind Shen Yi.

"Eeya, yaya!"

"Little Black!"

Little Black had actually stepped forward, intending to swallow that immense force, only to be blasted flying to the side. Its aura weakened considerably. Shen Yi hurriedly gathered it into his arms, unwilling to let it suffer further injury. In that instant, the phantom sword came crashing down upon him.

Shen Yi bore the brunt of it. The violent energy dealt him grievous injuries, blood pouring continuously from his mouth and nose. His body was pierced through by the sword-shadow, a horrifying wound stretching from his back all the way to his heels. Even so, Shen Yi did not stop. Activating his Spirit Wings, he staggered onward through the air toward Ninghai Immortal Academy.

"It's right ahead. I have to hold on!"

He encouraged himself, but his vision was gradually blurring. He clearly could not hold out much longer.

"He's not dead! This boy absolutely cannot be left alive!"

Wang Shangren set off again, turning into a streak of light even faster than before. Anxiety showed in his expression. "Ahead lies Ninghai City's territory. That old man Feng Yang will definitely notice what is happening here. I cannot let him keep going forward!" Killing intent surged up. Wang Shangren's gaze turned savage as he shouted, "Young brat! Hand over your life!"

Streams of sword-light shot from his hand, sealing off every route Shen Yi could take and aiming directly for the center of his back. He was confident that even a Golden Core Cultivator could not easily withstand this strike. He refused to believe Shen Yi could still escape.

As the sword-lights were about to pierce through Shen Yi's body, he could practically see the scene of Shen Yi being stabbed through the heart and perishing. A cold smile unconsciously curled across his lips.

"Impossible!"

Wang Shangren's triumph lasted only a moment before the sight before him left him stunned.

Just as the sword-lights were about to strike Shen Yi, space and time in that area seemed to freeze. The sword-lights actually hung suspended there, then shattered into specks of light and dissipated into the air.

"Dean..."

Shen Yi murmured. At last, he could hold on no longer, and his eyes slowly closed.

Wang Shangren stood rooted in place. Then he saw a figure appear above Ninghai City, crossing the distance in a single step to arrive before Shen Yi and catch him. The figure then abruptly raised his head, his gaze chilling.

"Near Yet Far! Impossible... Feng Yang has actually reached this stage."

Wang Shangren's eyes were filled with disbelief. In an instant, he understood that there was a vast, impassable gulf between himself and Feng Yang. A single glance from Feng Yang made his heart tremble and left him unable to move.

"For the Qingxuan Sect's sake, I'll spare your life!"

Feng Yang forcibly suppressed his fury and raised one hand. Wang Shangren felt a chill on his shoulder. Looking down, he discovered that his right arm had already been severed, turning into a cloud of blood mist.

"Scram."

Feng Yang vanished from before him while carrying Shen Yi, yet his voice continued to echo in Wang Shangren's ears. His tone was calm, as though he had merely done something insignificant. Bitterness filled Wang Shangren's heart, but he was helpless. He could only bow toward Ninghai City, burying his resentment and killing intent deep within.

News of Shen Yi's return caused quite a stir at Ninghai Immortal Academy. Through the accounts of Wu Liujian and the others, his deeds in the Grotto-Heaven Ruins had already become known to everyone.

When Shen Yi opened his eyes, he saw Wu Liujian standing before him, unable to hide his excitement.

"He's awake!"

At Wu Liujian's cry, Feng Yang appeared instantly.

"You brat truly have a tough life. You suffered such severe injuries and still didn't die. It was only because the Dean painfully parted with so many spiritual medicines that you were saved." Wu Liujian continued teasingly, "I saw the Dean's expression when he had to give them up. He was just short of crying."

Feng Yang glared at him, and Wu Liujian immediately shut his mouth knowingly, standing obediently to one side. "Other than some weakness, there is no serious problem." Feng Yang examined Shen Yi, a relaxed expression appearing on his face. He turned to leave, giving these juniors some time alone. "I only took one arm from that old bastard. You'll have to take his life yourself. Matters of the martial world should be settled within the martial world."

Shen Yi nodded gratefully, a desire for revenge igniting in his heart.

"Oh, right. Don't forget that the spiritual medicines used to save you this time must be repaid."

The two were rendered speechless. After talking for quite some time, Wu Liujian fell silent for a long while before finally speaking again:

"After that, Senior Sister Jiang waited for a long time, yet you still did not appear. She decided to return early to the Qianyuan Dynasty for secluded cultivation. Before leaving, she left behind a message: she will wait for you in the Qianyuan Imperial Capital!"