Elimination

A golden mark lay on the red-dressed girl's forehead. It was the mark of a Level Five Core Quota, one level higher than Liu Bai's. Clearly, this girl was also a genius student.

Only after truly entering the Northern Cang Realm did Liu Bai realize that there were simply too many so-called geniuses. By now, he had practically become immune to it.

After killing the Lion King, the girl finally let out the breath she had been holding. The next moment, her entire body went limp and collapsed to the ground. With difficulty, she took out a lush green fruit the size of an apricot and swallowed it whole.

Spirit Jade Fruit? This is an excellent healing spiritual treasure. Its effects would be even better if refined into pills. Eating it directly is such a waste. Liu Bai sighed inwardly at the sight.

Knowledge of spiritual treasures such as spiritual plants, spiritual ores, and Spirit Beasts was also a crucial course at the Northern Spirit Academy. Over nearly two years, Liu Bai had memorized quite a bit of useful knowledge.

Though it felt like a waste of medicinal power, with that Spirit Jade Fruit, the red-dressed girl would probably recover seventy to eighty percent of her injuries within an hour at most.

Naturally, the three obviously ill-intentioned fellows in the sky would not simply let her recover.

The next moment, the three swooped down from the sky like eagles spotting prey...

"Heh, I knew you weren't being honest. So you really had Spirit Jade Fruits hidden away! You even managed to kill the Golden Flame Lion King. Looks like we from the Zhou Gang underestimated you before..." After surrounding the girl, a youth dressed in black sneered.

"But since you've already come this far, we won't make things difficult for you. Hand over all your remaining Spirit Jade Fruits, along with your mark. As long as you agree, we can let you leave!"

The red-dressed girl's face turned livid. She clearly had not expected these three to have been tracking her all along. Then there was no need to guess—the lion pack from earlier had definitely been a trap deliberately set by them.

But her injuries were serious now, especially with the spiritual energy inside her body churning wildly beyond her control. She could not fight again anytime soon.

"Fan Xiu, don't push people too far!" the red-dressed girl shouted frostily. On closer inspection, there was a trace of grievance and helplessness in her crystalline eyes.

"Zhou Ze has already obtained the entire Spirit Jade Fruit Tree. Why are you still hounding me like this?"

The matter was actually very simple. The girl had discovered the Spirit Jade Fruit Tree, a heavenly treasure, and then others came to seize it. Seeing that they outnumbered her, she could only retreat. But she had not expected that even so, they would refuse to let her go and still wanted to take the few fruits she had picked earlier.

The youth named Fan Xiu had no thought of showing tenderness toward a beauty. Even seeing the girl's face as she endured it all, he merely curled his lips in disdain.

The reason the three of them had been sent to pursue her together was naturally not for a few measly Spirit Jade Fruits.

The true reason was that this woman knew some information she should not know. That was why they had pursued her relentlessly all this way—to prevent this foolish woman from accidentally leaking the news.

Yet it seemed that even now, this woman still did not know why she was being hunted. She really was stupid enough!

Of course, the three of them did not intend to kill her. Once some time had passed and their boss had settled things on his end, this woman would no longer pose a threat. At that point, they would not need to keep chasing her.

But if there was a way to settle it once and for all, he would not mind using it.

After pondering for a moment, Fan Xiu's lips curled into a smile. "How about this? You can keep the Spirit Jade Fruits and all that, but I want you to destroy the mark on your forehead and withdraw from this assessment immediately!"

Wouldn't that solve everything once and for all?

Ah, I really did come up with a genius idea!

"Impossible! At worst, you can kill me, but even if I die, I'll drag one or two of you down with me!" As she spoke, the girl's originally cold and beautiful face twisted fiercely.

That truly frightened the three of them, because she genuinely had the ability to do it.

In an instant, the other two among the three looked at Fan Xiu, their gazes filled with resentment. He should not have spoken so harshly. What if this foolish woman really decided to risk her life?

As an observer, Liu Bai had noticed something. These three clearly had another reason, and their ultimate goal was to make that girl keep quiet.

It seems these people really do have some hidden secret. Perfect. Let me question them properly...

With a lift of both hands, Spirit Seals rapidly surged from his palms and sank into the air before Liu Bai. Immediately afterward, an astonishing fluctuation of spiritual energy slowly spread out.

With a full thirty-five Spirit Seals, the array he formed would be no weaker than the Divine Soul Realm Middle Stage.

Liu Bai had entered the Heart Array state. He no longer needed to use his eyes to slowly observe and draw the Spirit Map. Within only a few breaths, streaks of golden lines began to appear in the air, spreading outward like a spiderweb.

Very soon, the red-dressed girl and Fan Xiu's group sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations and warily looked in Liu Bai's direction.

After all, this was the dangerous Northern Cang Realm. They were all highly alert for the possibility of a powerful Spirit Beast launching a sudden attack.

But Liu Bai was no longer concerned with them. As his hand seal shifted slightly, a huge golden spirit array spread out before him, covering an area of several hundred feet.

The spiritual energy fluctuations triggered by the great array distorted even the surrounding air.

"Not good, someone's setting up an array!" Fan Xiu immediately shouted. With a wave of his hand, a Spirit Sword appeared in the air and shot fiercely toward Liu Bai.

Unfortunately, although the array Liu Bai had set up was merely a Second-Grade Spirit Array, with his current Array Dao Realm and his complete mastery of the array diagram, this brief time had been enough for him to fully complete the Five Wheel Sky Splitting Array.

"Chi chi."

Watching the sharp Spirit Sword hurtle toward him, Liu Bai remained utterly calm. The golden spirit array slowly rotated as sharp golden spiritual energy spread out, rapidly condensing into five golden serrated Light Wheels over three meters in diameter...

The instant the Light Wheels appeared, they began spinning at high speed. Their terrifying serrated edges cut even the air apart. Gradually, the golden light grew brighter until the entire wheels looked as if they had been forged from gold.

Clang!

With a crisp sound, the Spirit Sword Fan Xiu had fired shattered the instant it touched the spinning Light Wheel. Then, the five enormous Light Wheels spun forward at an unbelievable speed, flying straight at Fan Xiu and the other two.

"Danger! Dodge!"

Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the rapidly approaching Light Wheels, Fan Xiu immediately shouted.

He himself took out a small Black Shield Spirit Artifact and poured all the spiritual energy in his body into it.

Screech! Screech! Screech!

A massive black shield of spiritual energy completely protected Fan Xiu behind it. The rapidly spinning Light Wheels sliced across its surface, producing an ear-piercing sound.

The other two did not have such sturdy defensive Spiritual Artifacts. Even though they churned their spiritual energy with all their strength to resist, they were still badly injured by the spiritual energy Light Wheels.

One unlucky fellow even received a huge wound across his chest, nearly getting disemboweled!

Liu Bai had naturally held back. Otherwise, even the Golden Flame Lion King from before would have been sawn straight in half by those Light Wheels.

This was only an assessment, after all. If he truly killed someone with his own hands, it would inevitably be discovered by the Northern Azure Spirit Academy. It would be troublesome if he were expelled like Mu Chen from the Spirit Road.

As for Fan Xiu, who was still barely holding on, Liu Bai merely moved his mind. In an instant, the five golden Light Wheels covered in sharp serrated edges made a turn and transformed into five bolts of golden lightning from all directions. In the blink of an eye, they were about to carve him into five pieces.

"I surrender!!!"

At the critical moment, Fan Xiu directly performed an Evil God Kneel, sprawled flat on the ground and shouted his surrender.

The five Light Wheels stopped just short of his body, less than a meter away. The sharp aura radiating from their shifting, sawtooth-like arcs had already torn his clothes, and droplets of blood seeped from his skin.

Fan Xiu was drenched in cold sweat, his entire body trembling almost imperceptibly.

Just now, he had nearly been dismembered!

That bastard hiding in the back and secretly setting up an array was far too vicious. He had truly been trying to kill him!

Footsteps sounded.

Then all four people in the area, including the injured ones and the one kneeling in surrender, looked over.

A tall, slender figure slowly approached with the sunlight behind him.

"Surrender? Fine. Then as punishment for losing, hand over the marks of all three of you."

At those words, Fan Xiu and the other two immediately looked reluctant.

They had worked so hard to accumulate their current Level Five marks. Having them all stolen in a single day naturally made them extremely unwilling.

And they had not known earlier, but after Liu Bai appeared, they discovered that he was only at the peak of the Spirit Wheel Realm. His cultivation was weaker than any one of theirs...

If he had not set up the spirit array in advance, how could the three of them have lost so cleanly?

At that thought, Fan Xiu immediately had other ideas. As Liu Bai approached, his entire body tensed, ready to strike at any moment.

"How dare you force me to kneel? I'll take your life!"

Suddenly, Fan Xiu burst into action. Spiritual energy swept out of his body as he threw a punch without hesitation.

Even a Divine Soul Realm cultivator who had only just broken through to the Divine Soul Realm Initial Stage possessed spiritual energy several times denser than someone at the peak of the Spirit Wheel Realm. An ordinary peak Spirit Wheel Realm cultivator would not dare clash with one head-on, or else they would be utterly crushed.

But Liu Bai was no ordinary person. Not only did he possess three Spirit Wheels, he had also cultivated the Divine Body Refining Spiritual Art. The Mountain God Art was also a Cultivation Method renowned for its heaviness and defense.

Therefore, Liu Bai did not hesitate in the slightest. He raised his fist and met the other's punch head-on.

Bang!

The moment their fists collided, the joy on Fan Xiu's face suddenly changed. A sharp pain shot from his fist into his arm. Liu Bai's spiritual energy was exceptionally tyrannical, not only forcibly destroying the spiritual energy covering his fist, but also sending a mysterious force into his body that seemed intent on tearing him apart.

Fan Xiu's body shook as he staggered backward. Sweetness surged up his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Not only had his body been injured by the terrifying impact, but Fan Xiu also felt his entire right arm go limp and powerless, as though the bones inside had been crushed into fragments.

"It seems you weren't sincerely surrendering. Then... destroy your mark, or I don't mind personally sending you out of this world for good!"

If Liu Bai had originally only wanted their marks, then now he had truly developed killing intent.

The red glow hidden in the depths of his eyes emerged once more. A cold killing intent enveloped the area, sending chills through all four people on the ground.

"You... you can't kill me! I'm with the Zhou Gang, and if you kill me, the Inspector of the Northern Azure Spirit Academy won't let you off!" Fan Xiu shouted desperately, as though clutching at his last lifeline.

"Oh, the Zhou Gang? Heh. Then would you like to try? Try and see whether I'll kill you, and whether I'll be punished after killing you..."

Liu Bai remained unmoved. A smile entirely devoid of warmth appeared on his handsome face.

Seeing that smile, especially those eyes that regarded all life with indifference, Fan Xiu could no longer endure it. He broke down and began crying.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me. I'll listen to everything you say, everything..."

He was only sixteen or seventeen years old, after all. Perhaps he had experienced slaughter and grown accustomed to life and death, but when it truly came down to himself, he ultimately could not face death without fear.

Liu Bai smiled faintly. This fellow truly could not handle being frightened. Besides, even if he truly wanted to kill someone, he might not be able to do it. The marks on their foreheads did not merely indicate their levels; they were also a means of ensuring they would not die so easily.

Yet Liu Bai's smile, combined with that cold indifference, made the few people who saw it shudder inwardly.

With a wave of his hand, a golden beam shot from Fan Xiu's forehead and fused into the Fourth Grade mark on Liu Bai's forehead.

Because Fan Xiu's was a Level Five mark, Liu Bai's mark directly rose to Level Five after the fusion. Added to the other two Level Five marks, the mark on his forehead had begun changing from gold to dark gold.

Once it fully turned dark gold, his mark would truly enter the Level Six ranks.

As for Fan Xiu, not only would he lose the spiritual energy within his mark, but even the mark itself would be gone...

Under Liu Bai's indifferent gaze, he could only grit his teeth, shut his eyes, and directly destroy the mark on his forehead!

Very soon, only a few minutes after Fan Xiu's mark was destroyed, a streak of light raced through the sky and landed directly before them.

Liu Bai looked at the newcomer. He did not appear very old, yet the aura around him was as heavy as a mountain. He seemed to merge with heaven and earth itself, exerting immense pressure.