The light curtain condensed by the Wanhua Guardian Formation swayed like a lone boat in a storm beneath the relentless bombardment of the Dragon Palace Water Army's Myriad Dragons Overturning Seas Wave battle formation. Its light flickered violently, brightening and dimming without cease.
The Runes of principle that had once flowed across the light curtain in orderly patterns had now become chaotic and dim, as though they might collapse at any moment.
Xuanjizi, Elder Teng, Yun Xi, and all the disciples maintaining the formation were pale as paper, their auras weakened to the extreme.
As the one controlling the main formation, Xuanjizi bore the greatest pressure. Golden blood continuously seeped from the corner of his mouth, and the hands forming seals trembled slightly. Though his Seeking Literary Heart still beat stubbornly, its radiance had greatly faded.
Fine cracks had appeared across Elder Teng's vine body, while the Guardian light gathered by Yun Xi had thinned like gauze. Even Jin Li, renowned for his defense, now bore pale marks across his body.
They had nearly reached the end of their strength. The absolute gap in power could not be completely bridged by will and principles alone.
With a peak Taiyi Golden Immortal at the helm and the sustained assault of a formation formed by countless aquatic clans, the attack's power was simply too terrifying.
"Senior Brother... we can't hold on much longer..." a Registered Disciple cried weakly, his voice filled with despair.
Xuanjizi gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at the apocalyptic tide of attacks beyond the light curtain, a sense of powerlessness rising in his heart.
Had the Academy, its foundations still unsteady, come to ruin already? Was the Firewood of Inheritance of the Confucian Dao truly to be extinguished here?
At that critical moment, just as the Wenhua light curtain gave an ear-piercing wail and was about to shatter—
An indescribable change quietly occurred at the very heart of the Academy.
It was neither an earthshaking eruption of momentum nor a tide of energy sweeping across heaven and earth. It was a power of... Stability.
It was as though an invisible hand had gently pressed the pause button on time.
The roaring, world-destroying Myriad Dragons Overturning Seas Wave—the countless surging billows, streaking ice spikes, and exploding water mines—all came into contact with some invisible boundary.
Like flying insects trapped in amber, they abruptly froze! They were not blocked, nor were they destroyed. Rather, their violent momentum and destructive intent—
Under the intervention of some higher-level power, were forcibly smoothed away and held in place!
The boiling sea instantly became smooth as a mirror, not even a ripple stirring upon its surface.
The deafening roar came to an abrupt halt, and an eerie, absolute silence descended between heaven and earth. Even the light itself seemed to stop flowing as all things froze in place.
This sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
On the Dragon Palace Water Army's side, Ao Zhan's vicious grin of assured victory froze on his face. He felt as though his connection to the military formation had been severed by something.
The attack that had gathered the power of countless aquatic clans vanished like a clay ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace. Countless aquatic soldiers remained in their casting stances, their eyes filled with bewilderment and horror.
On the Academy's side, Xuanjizi and the others felt the pressure around them suddenly vanish. The force that had nearly crushed them disappeared in an instant.
They stared in astonishment at the motionless scene outside, as though it were a painting, scarcely daring to believe their eyes.
Then, a gentle, impartial, vast yet unfathomable aura slowly spread from the depths of the Academy like a newborn morning sun.
The aura was not overbearing, yet it possessed a silent, all-pervading force. In an instant, it enveloped the entire battlefield and soothed all agitation, killing intent, and fear.
A figure in green silently appeared above the Academy, standing before Xuanjizi and the others.
He still wore that simple green Daoist robe, and his face remained peaceful and composed. Wanhua had emerged from seclusion.
He did not look back at the wounded disciples with their feeble auras, nor did he immediately make a move against the Dragon Palace Water Army.
His gaze first swept calmly across the vast attack held frozen in place, as though he were admiring an interesting work of art.
Only then did it fall upon Ao Zhan, the Dragon Race general at the front of the military formation, whose expression had drastically changed.
His eyes were clear and profound, as if they contained an ancient sea of stars. There was neither joy nor sorrow, neither anger nor resentment within them—only the calmness of one who saw through everything.
"Disturbing another's quiet cultivation is not proper conduct for a guest."
Wanhua spoke. His voice was not loud, yet it entered the ears of every living being with perfect clarity, like a spring breeze brushing over a frozen lake. "Using strength to oppress others is not the righteous path either."
As he spoke, he merely raised a sleeve and gave it a gentle flick.
There was no dazzling Divine Light, no surging fluctuations of mana. Yet the moment his sleeve swept past, the frozen Myriad Dragons Overturning Seas Wave, brimming with destructive power—
As though wiped away by an invisible hand, began to break apart and dissipate without a sound!
There was no explosion, no collision. It was the most fundamental form of dissolution and return to origin.
The enormous waves transformed into the gentlest water vapor and merged into the sea. The ice spikes melted into clear droplets, and the energy of the exploding water mines was soothed into docile spiritual energy...
In no more than a single breath, that terrifying attack capable of destroying an entire world vanished into thin air, as though it had never existed.
The sea completely returned to calm, even more tranquil than before the attack. Sunlight once again spilled down, shining upon the mirror-smooth waters and reflecting countless points of golden light.
Silence!
Deathly silence!
On the Dragon Palace Water Army's side, every aquatic being, from General Ao Zhan to the lowliest shrimp soldier, stood dumbstruck. As though immobilized by a binding spell, they stiffly remained where they were, barely even breathing.
They could not comprehend what had happened before their eyes. What kind of power was that?
With such casual ease, with a mere flick of his sleeve, he had neutralized the full-force strike of a formation formed by countless aquatic clans? This had completely surpassed the bounds of their understanding!
After their brief astonishment, the Academy disciples could no longer suppress their excitement and wild joy!
Xuanjizi and the others looked at the figure before them. He was not particularly tall, yet he seemed capable of holding up the entire heaven and earth. Their eyes grew hot, their hearts filled with indescribable reassurance and reverence. The Sage had acted!
And he had done so in such a calm manner that they could not comprehend, yet found utterly awe-inspiring!
Wanhua's gaze remained fixed on Ao Zhan, as though he had merely done something insignificant.
"Does the Dragon Palace wish to discuss the Dao with me?" he asked blandly. His tone was peaceful, yet it carried a pressure that pierced straight into the soul.
Ao Zhan shuddered violently and snapped out of his overwhelming shock. Looking into Wanhua's calm, unruffled eyes, he felt a chill rush from the tip of his dragon tail straight to the crown of his head.
All his arrogance and killing intent vanished at that moment!
He did not doubt that if the other party wished it, that flick of the sleeve would have erased not merely the attack, but their entire Water Army!
This was a Primordial Chaos Sage! An existence capable of dissolving even an attack from the Dao Ancestor! And he had actually led troops to besiege his Daoist grounds?!
Overwhelming terror instantly seized Ao Zhan's heart. He opened his mouth, only to find his throat dry and unable to produce a single sound.
Every harsh word and every threat seemed so pale and laughable before an absolute disparity in strength.
Wanhua's appearance, with his incomprehensible and irresistible might, and with his detached, unruffled bearing—
Instantly reversed the situation and completely crushed the Dragon Palace Water Army's aggressive momentum.
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