In Su Xiuyi's eyes, Zhan Wushuang's actions were a path to death.
At that moment, Wang Lin stood before Southern Heaven Academy, his expression dark as storm clouds. Back then, he had crossed hundreds of millions of miles of mountains and rivers in a single night, ventured deep into Demon Race territory, and slain a demon king. He had then rushed back as fast as he could to save Su Xiuyi, losing both arms in the process. As the emperor's teacher, Wang Lin was naturally terrifyingly powerful, but what demon king of the Demon Race was weak? Wang Lin had already suffered grievous injuries in that battle and had never recovered. That was one of the reasons the Great Zhou Emperor had not summoned him.
Zhan Wushuang's sudden attack now had caught Wang Lin completely off guard.
"How dare you, Zhan Wushuang! What are you trying to do?" Shen Dong's teacher hurriedly flashed in front of Ji Zhan. He appeared to be intervening, but in truth, he harbored malicious intentions.
Ji Zhan wanted to act, but Shen Dong's teacher subtly blocked him, causing him to lose the initiative. By the time he could act, it was already too late.
Wang Lin was furious when he heard this. As the emperor's teacher, he naturally had his dignity. Without a word, he stepped forward, but before his foot landed, his injuries flared up. With a retch, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Hm?"
"Did he suffer such grievous injuries in that battle with the Demon Race back then?"
"What an opportunity!"
A cold sneer touched Zhan Wushuang's lips, and his attack grew even more ferocious.
"Zhan Wushuang, how dare you!"
Beside Wang Lin, Tiezhu's expression changed drastically when he saw his grandmaster cough up blood. He stepped forward and charged straight at Zhan Wushuang, ready to face death without flinching.
"Get lost!"
Facing Tiezhu, however, Zhan Wushuang's lips curled in contempt. He gave a cold snort, and his saber Qi alone sent Tiezhu flying. The gap between their strength was too great. Nearly all the muscles and bones in Tiezhu's body shattered. His face went pale as paper, blood gushed from his mouth, and he fell.
"You wretch, you're courting death!"
When Wang Lin saw that he could not tell whether Tiezhu was alive or dead, his eyes instantly turned red. All these years, Tiezhu had been the only person at his side. Su Xiuyi had brought Tiezhu back after saving him, and Tiezhu had stayed by Wang Lin's side through everything. Wang Lin had long regarded him as his own grandson. Seeing Tiezhu risk his life to save him sent him into a complete rage.
Wang Lin no longer cared about his injuries. The terrifying power within him was rapidly unsealed, as though a peerless beast had awakened. Even the void around him began to twist.
His two empty sleeves seemed ready to transform into peerless divine weapons.
A chilling killing intent poured from his entire body, and faint rumbles of thunder sounded in the void. Southern Heaven Academy seemed to have turned into an ancient battlefield of corpse mountains and blood seas.
The expressions of everyone around Wang Lin changed instantly. Even Shen Dong's teacher was utterly horrified at the sight. He had never imagined that, despite such grievous injuries, Wang Lin could still unleash such terrifying cultivation. Horror welled up in his eyes.
Only then did he realize that if he provoked Wang Lin, Wang Lin still had the strength to kill him.
"Impossible?"
"Damn it, wasn't this old fellow gravely wounded and on the verge of death? How could he still unleash such terrifying strength?" Zhan Wushuang's heart skipped a beat. His hair stood on end as that terrifying power locked onto him, frightening him.
Though Zhan Wushuang was powerful, Wang Lin's cultivation had awakened to the Mountain and Sea Realm in the blink of an eye. The power he exuded was enough to suffocate him. Zhan Wushuang was proud and loved to fight, but he was not stupid.
He knew that, after he had gravely wounded Tiezhu, Wang Lin had developed the intent to kill him. Though the Battle Sect would use his death as a pretext to make trouble for Southern Heaven Academy, that would have nothing to do with him once he was dead.
Zhan Wushuang knew that if he took another step forward, he would surely die.
So he hurriedly shot backward toward Ji Zhan, putting distance between himself and Wang Lin.
At the same time, he hurriedly said, "Senior Wang, I misspoke just now. I failed to rein in my own power in time and injured myself. It had nothing to do with you. As for injuring this young brother, I suffered a slight Qi deviation just now. I apologize."
Zhan Wushuang's expression was extremely ugly. He saw Ji Zhan step forward and block Wang Lin. With a flicker, he appeared on the Blazing Flame Berserk Lion's back. The lion soared into the air and carried Zhan Wushuang away in flight.
"Senior Wang, you mustn't kill Zhan Wushuang, or Southern Heaven Academy will be finished," Ji Zhan said, blocking Wang Lin.
Only after hearing Ji Zhan's words did the killing intent in Wang Lin's eyes slowly fade. His terrifying power was sealed once more. He could not use it unless absolutely necessary, or it would cause his death.
Wang Lin's face was a little pale. Clearly, he had paid a price for unsealing some of his cultivation just now.
His already grievously injured body had suffered frost on top of snow.
Inside Myriad Text Academy, a glint of icy coldness appeared in Su Xiuyi's eyes.
Wang Lin had treated him like his own son, raised him, and taught him a formidable set of skills. When Su Xiuyi had released the Heavenly Fox Saintess, Wang Lin had disregarded his own safety and ventured into the extremely dangerous Demon Race territory. At the cost of grievous injuries to himself, he had slain a demon king and saved Su Xiuyi's life.
For several years, Tiezhu had quietly brought him meals and carefully checked on his condition to see whether he was still alive. Now Tiezhu was grievously wounded too, and ripples appeared in Su Xiuyi's heart, which had long been still and untroubled.
"Zhan Wushuang, you shouldn't have come to Southern Heaven Academy."
The next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded in Myriad Text Academy. An identical Su Xiuyi stepped out of Su Xiuyi's body. There were now two Su Xiuyis. It was strange in the extreme.
What Su Xiuyi had just used was a Devil Race divine ability he had obtained by signing in over the years: Demonic Shadow Clone.
There was no telling this clone from the real one. Unless a saint appeared, no one could discern the difference, and it could last for three days. It was created by a Devil Race patriarch, who had developed it from the Buddhist divine ability Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell, which he had secretly learned from the Buddhist sects.
After leaving a clone behind, Su Xiuyi's true body became even stranger. His body turned into a pool of water and flowed without a trace into the stream beside Myriad Text Academy.
The Mountain and Sea Realm experts guarding the place outside did not notice the slightest thing amiss.
Myriad Text Academy remained as it was. Everything seemed normal, as though nothing had happened.
What Su Xiuyi had used was also a terrifying divine ability: the innate divine ability of the Five Elements Race's Water Race, which allowed him to transform into a water spirit. Combined with a "water" Will Character he had obtained by signing in over the years, his use of it was utterly seamless.
He followed the stream out of Myriad Text Academy. After traveling far enough away, a transparent water figure appeared in the tranquil stream. The next moment, the figure vanished again, replaced by a pile of yellow earth on the ground. A moment later, the earth melded into the land and disappeared.
(End of chapter)