Demon's Heart

"It seems we can only trust Jiang Chen; he is our last hope for survival!"

Someone said while watching Jiang Chen fighting the monster.

"The barrier here was triggered, the teachers should be arriving soon, right?" someone asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not!" a tall boy replied. "The barrier has been triggered for a while now, and no one has arrived yet. Someone must have tampered with it."

Who could have tampered with it? Besides this monster, who else could it be?

A girl with a bit of baby fat asked the question weighing on her mind: "How did this monster sneak into the school? Isn't the school supposed to be the safest place?"

Indeed, it was precisely because the school was the safest place, protected by a powerful barrier, that they could study here with peace of mind.

If the school wasn't safe, then where could be considered safe?

"Everyone, don't panic. Monsters can only take human form and live in the human world once they reach S-rank. To avoid triggering the barrier, they cannot use the Devilish Qi within their bodies, so they are actually no different from ordinary people."

"Aren't we safe right now precisely because of the barrier's protection?"

Hearing this explanation, everyone felt a little more at ease.

Now, they could only pray that Jiang Chen would be able to defeat this monster.

Outside the barrier, Jiang Chen and Nie Xiaoqian were locked in battle.

Jiang Chen was barely able to suppress the Fox Fire radiating from Nie Xiaoqian's body.

He had originally intended to use the Lapis Lazuli Infernal Fire, which he had used most frequently in combat.

In an instant, he seemed to hear the call of Sode no Shirayuki.

He switched to using Sode no Shirayuki instead.

This was his first time using Sode no Shirayuki in battle.

Bankai is the second release state of the Zanpakuto Sode no Shirayuki.

It also consumed a massive amount of soul power.

Jiang Chen consumed his last Restoration Potion to recover his depleted soul power.

It was fortunate he had the Restoration Potion, otherwise, the one who would be finished today would definitely be him.

This Nie Xiaoqian was truly worthy of her thousand years of cultivation.

Her strength was extraordinary.

She was completely on a different level from him at the moment.

At this moment, Nie Xiaoqian had only one thought in her mind: to kill Jiang Chen, kill him!

Nine tails emerged from behind her!

Each tail represented a century of cultivation.

A fox demon can have at most nine tails.

After nine hundred years of cultivation, and another hundred years to take human form due to obsession.

From then on, her cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds.

When the people in the stadium seats saw that Nie Xiaoqian actually had nine tails, the thought in their minds was that Jiang Chen was doomed to lose, and they would not survive either.

This fox demon was by no means an ordinary one; the nine snow-white tails behind her said it all.

The legendary Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.

This was a legendary monster, born with a century of demonic power; how could they, mere mortals, possibly deal with it?

"Wuwuwu, what do we do? Are we dead for sure?" a younger girl cried out.

"This is a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, a variant species mentioned in the Monster Handbook."

"It's ten or even a hundred times stronger than an ordinary monster."

The fatty also saw all of this, and his mood was extremely complex. He knew very well that with Jiang Chen's strength, even if he couldn't win, escaping would be no problem at all.

Was he staying behind now to protect them?

But facing such a powerful monster, did Brother Chen still have a chance of winning?

"Fatty, don't give me that dejected look; I'm not dead yet."

Jiang Chen had been keeping an eye on the fatty's situation; he was afraid that the fatty might still be under the influence of the monster's charm technique and do something abnormal.

After all, this fox demon was no ordinary monster.

Her strength exceeded his initial predictions to a certain extent.

After observing for a moment and finding that the fatty was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Heh, Jiang Chen, you'd better worry about your own life instead of fretting over others!"

"Whoosh!"

A loud bang erupted.

The ice on Nie Xiaoqian had shattered.

She appeared before Jiang Chen completely unscathed.

At this moment, her demonic power was ten times what it had been just before.

Nie Xiaoqian curled her flame-red lips into a cold sneer: "Jiang Chen, you are the only human in a thousand years to force me to use my true form."

"As a reward, I will leave your corpse intact!"

"A monster who kills at the drop of a hat—no wonder you were abandoned; there isn't a shred of kindness in your heart!"

This seemed to strike a sore spot in Nie Xiaoqian's heart. Her expression turned ugly as she shrieked: "Shut up!"

"Being abandoned is nothing shameful; after all, the world is full of scumbags. But Nie Xiaoqian, with that ugly face of yours, who would ever want you!"

"You're courting death!"

Nie Xiaoqian turned her hand into a fist, manifesting gusts of demonic wind as she struck heavily toward Jiang Chen's heart.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission to provoke Nie Xiaoqian. You have received the special reward: Kido skill Six Rods Prison of Light!]

"Six Rods Prison of Light!"

Just as Nie Xiaoqian's fist was about to strike Jiang Chen's heart.

Jiang Chen chanted loudly toward the air.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"What is this ghost thing? I can't break free!"

Nie Xiaoqian used her demonic power, attempting to break free from the restraints of the Six Rods Prison of Light.

Unfortunately, the more she struggled, the tighter the bindings became.

She let out a miserable scream.

Seeing Nie Xiaoqian bound and unable to move.

The fatty's heart jumped into his throat. He wondered, had Brother Chen won?

Jiang Chen brandished the Zanpakuto in his hand and called out: "Sode no Shirayuki!"

Hearing Jiang Chen's call, Sode no Shirayuki transformed into countless blades in the air. These blades were transparent, visible only when refracted by the sunlight.

Jiang Chen drew a circle with the blade in his hand and shouted: "Bankai - Snow Dance!"

Thousands upon thousands of blades, carrying world-destroying power, surged toward Nie Xiaoqian as Jiang Chen's voice fell.

"You are nothing but a lowly human. You want to kill me? Keep dreaming!"

Nie Xiaoqian felt the power contained within the thousands of blades and steeled her heart: "Full release of demonic power!"

"You think of releasing it only now!"

"Sode no Shirayuki, freeze her demonic power for me!"

Demonic power could actually be frozen? How was that possible!

Nie Xiaoqian didn't believe it at first.

But then she saw a layer of Frost that was difficult to melt covering her demonic power.

It was causing her power to grow weaker and weaker.

It was gradually trending toward being sealed.

How could this be...

Nie Xiaoqian could not believe the scene before her.

A human was actually using a freezing ability to seal her thousand-year-old demonic power.

With her demonic power sealed, she was no different from an ordinary person.

This ability of Jiang Chen's to seal demonic power already exceeded the scope of human capability!

At this moment, a sense of fear took root in Nie Xiaoqian's heart. She truly felt that this human could kill her.

Before, she had only been wary, not believing that Jiang Chen could pose much of a threat.

But now...

As Jiang Chen displayed strength sufficient to kill her, Nie Xiaoqian was afraid.

"Don't kill me!"

In the face of life and death, Nie Xiaoqian had a desperate desire to live.

She still had an obsession in her heart that remained unresolved.

She could not die!

"If I don't kill you, will you let me go?"

Jiang Chen stated the facts: "From the very beginning, it was destined that only one of us could survive."

"Where is Ning Caichen!"

"You said his name, so you must know where he is?"

Jiang Chen had no idea where Ning Caichen was; back on Earth, he had only read Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio and knew the story of Nie Xiaoqian and Ning Caichen.

But the Nie Xiaoqian before him was clearly a different Nie Xiaoqian who had nothing to do with Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.

Therefore, Jiang Chen did not know where the Ning Caichen she spoke of was.

It was Omniscient who had told him in the first place that as long as he said the three words "Ning Caichen," she would reveal herself.

As for where Ning Caichen was, did he really need to know?

"As long as you tell me where Ning Caichen is, I will tell you where the Demon's Heart is, how about that..."