"Roar!"
A beastlike roar suddenly rang out in midair.
Streams of golden light coalesced into a towering figure.
He stood a hundred zhang tall, clad in golden battle armor and wielding a massive axe.
He lowered his head and glanced at Xia Yu, his gaze flashing like lightning.
Golden flames burned wildly across his body.
The next instant, he plunged straight down into Xia Yu's body.
"Intermediate battle intent? Battle Intent Burning!"
At last, the woman's expression changed.
A little Spirit Origin Realm cultivator had comprehended intermediate battle intent?
Was this a joke?
The next instant, she saw Xia Yu straighten his chest.
Golden flames seemed to burn in Xia Yu's eyes, which blazed with battle intent.
"Hah, woman!"
Xia Yu lunged forward and unleashed a punch.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, a sharp shout came from the horizon.
At the same time, a figure rushed over like lightning and thrust a palm at Xia Yu, blocking his punch.
It was none other than Xia Yu's master.
Xia Yu was driven back without a sound.
Su Deyu frowned slightly, then his expression returned to normal.
He had never expected Xia Yu's punch to be so powerful.
"Take your junior brother back," Su Deyu instructed Shen Yuxuan.
"Dean Su, isn't interfering like this against the rules? Do you think the Martial Saint Academy has no one to stand up for it?" the woman said coldly.
In truth, she had already intended to kill him. She had merely been waiting for Xia Yu to attack so she could finish him with a single strike.
But she had never expected Su Deyu to appear, much less move faster than she did.
What a pity, she lamented inwardly. This Xia Yu deserved to die!
"Qi Huang, you certainly live up to your status as a legacy disciple of the Martial Saint Academy. At such a young age, you've already reached the third level of the Emperor Realm."
Smiling, Su Deyu said, "As for whether I've broken the rules, you don't get to decide. Is there a problem with me disciplining my own disciple?"
Qi Huang fell silent.
"Su Deyu, twisting reason like that-you really are as shameless as ever!"
Suddenly, a voice rang out from midair.
Before the words had faded, a figure appeared.
"Greetings, Master." Qi Huang hurriedly bowed.
The newcomer was Qi Huang's master, Yuan Pingtian, the vice dean of the Martial Saint Academy.
Moreover, he was a vice dean with real authority. The dean, Yuan Pingdao, was his elder brother, a direct descendant of Yuan Dehai.
"Su Deyu, aren't you going a little too far, bullying my disciple like this?"
Still smiling, Su Deyu said, "You're the one going a little too far with those words, Vice Dean Yuan. I haven't even touched your disciple. How have I bullied her?"
"If you want to fight me, you don't need an excuse!" Su Deyu said with a smile. "How about it? Shall we fight?"
Yuan Pingtian narrowed his eyes and said nothing.
He knew he was no match for Su Deyu.
In the entire Martial Saint Academy, only his elder brother could gain the upper hand against Su Deyu.
Otherwise, the Dao-Seeking Academy would have long since been taken over by the Martial Saint Academy.
He would not invite humiliation upon himself!
Su Deyu smiled. "Not wanting to fight is the right choice. Let the children handle their own affairs. Certain rules must be obeyed."
"Otherwise, if everyone throws the rules aside, how many of the Martial Saint Academy's younger generation do you think could escape the palm of my hand?"
Yuan Pingtian narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Are you threatening me?"
Su Deyu's expression darkened. "What kind of person do you take me for?"
"Am I that sort of person? I'm merely telling you a fact. These are the rules the ancestors and His Majesty established back then."
"Besides, my Dao-Seeking Academy now has only three disciples. How many does your Martial Saint Academy have?"
"I'm simply making one thing clear to you: don't break the rules! If you do, your Martial Saint Academy cannot afford the consequences!"
"Leave the younger generation's affairs to the younger generation. What business does an Emperor Realm powerhouse have coming out to interfere?"
"My disciple is part of the younger generation too. Is she not allowed to advance a little faster?"
At that moment, Yuan Pingtian wanted nothing more than to slap Su Deyu to death. You've hogged every last word!
"An Emperor Realm cultivator still counts as a youngster? I'm in the Emperor Realm too. Does that mean we're all part of the younger generation?"
Su Deyu sneered.
If this fellow dared claim that he, too, belonged to the younger generation, Su Deyu would immediately send him flying with a slap.
Hearing Su Deyu's words, Yuan Pingtian froze as well.
In the Xia Dynasty, only two people stood at the highest level of cultivation: the An family's ancestor and Yuan Pingdao, dean of the Martial Saint Academy. Both were half-sages.
In reality, a half-step sage was still in the Emperor Realm.
They had simply been stuck at the peak of the Emperor Realm for a long time. As they aged, their cultivation grew, leaving them virtually unrivaled within the same realm.
They had also gained some comprehension of the Sage Realm, yet remained unable to enter it.
Thus, the term half-sage had come into being.
If Emperor Realm cultivators counted as youngsters, then everyone really would count as a youngster.
"Hmph! What use is a sharp tongue? Even if neither of the Martial Saint Academy's two legacy disciples makes a move, our inner disciples are more than enough to make that brat suffer. He dared kill someone from our Martial Saint Academy. He must die!"
As though he felt he had not been emphatic enough, Yuan Pingtian added coldly, "No one can protect him-not even you!"
Su Deyu smiled, turned, and walked away with easy grace.
"Master, are we just letting him leave like that?" Qi Huang could not help asking.
"What else can we do? I can't beat him. That old bastard has reached full perfection at the peak of the Emperor Realm. Even together, you and I are no match for him."
Yuan Pingtian spoke irritably. Nothing had gone his way since he stepped out today, and nothing had gone the Martial Saint Academy's way either.
Hearing her master's words, Qi Huang naturally had nothing to say.
But she turned to Xu Weilin and said coldly, "Why didn't you attack directly and kill Xia Yu? Do you realize that now we've let him escape, there's no telling when we'll get another chance to kill him?"
"For every day he remains alive, the Martial Saint Academy keeps getting slapped in the face."
Xu Weilin narrowed his eyes, but did not dare say much.
He knew very well how powerful Qi Huang was and what standing she held in the Martial Saint Academy.
It was precisely for that reason that he had not attacked, wanting to charge into the Emperor Realm in one go.
"Do you think staying silent will help? Let me tell you: this matter is the inner disciples' responsibility. It's your responsibility, Xu Weilin. If you can't kill Xia Yu, forget about entering the Emperor Realm."
With that, Qi Huang turned and vanished.
For a long while afterward, Xu Weilin stared in the direction Qi Huang had left, saying nothing.
In his heart, however, he had already cursed Qi Huang countless times.
You couldn't do it even as an Emperor Realm cultivator. Even with the vice dean included, you still couldn't do it, yet you take your anger out on me. That alone is enough for me, Xu Weilin, to look down on you.
Of course, he could only say such things in his heart.
He did not dare voice them either. Otherwise, he reckoned his head would fall from his shoulders.
He fiercely glared at the surrounding inner disciples. Seeing the gloating looks on their faces, Xu Weilin's expression darkened.
He said coldly, "You're told to cultivate diligently, but you never take it seriously. The entire Martial Saint Hall got slapped in the face-smack, smack, smack-by a little Spirit Origin Realm child. Aren't you ashamed? Do you still have the nerve to show your faces outside?"
The inner disciples: "..."
Just then, a figure descended from the sky.
"Where's Xia Yu?" the Seventh Princess, An Qing, asked anxiously.
Before you continue