Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 189 - Deep Trouble

After training for a month, Liu Wuxie’s blade intent had grown swiftly and almost solidified. The blade intent locked onto the three old men and fixed them in place.

Following the battle at Dragon Rock Volcano, Liu Wuxie’s combat abilities had increased manifold, transforming him into a different individual.

“Formation!” The eldest among the three elders shouted without any delay, and they accelerated their pace, circling Liu Wuxie.

Liu Wuxie was clueless about their intentions and patiently waited, curious about their next move. By the third breath, they had completed over a hundred laps around Liu Wuxie, to the point of dizziness and nausea.

“Stream Rush!” The elders halted and charged at Liu Wuxie like a rushing stream, aiming to knock him off his feet with their powerful momentum.

“Interesting!” This was Liu Wuxie’s first encounter with such a formation, which utilized the air currents generated by their running for an attack.

“Liu Wuxie, you can die now!” the three elders roared.

Liu Wuxie began to spiral along with the current, losing control. Taking this opportunity, the three elders attacked with their weapons, releasing a powerful radiance that enveloped the sky.

“You think you can kill me with such trivial tricks? The three of you will be the ones dead!” Liu Wuxie declared, disappearing from sight and dodging the elders’ attacks.

“Shit!” The elders were taken aback as they struggled to track Liu Wuxie’s swift movements, realizing their lives were now in his hands. When they regained their composure, Liu Wuxie released a ray of light from his Heretic Blade.

The body of the old man standing on the right exploded and was reduced to a piece of skin, falling to the ground. He was devoured entirely by the Sky Devouring Divine Cauldron.

After losing one person, the remaining two were no longer a threat.

Liu Wuxie could easily take their lives without even having to execute the Overlord Fist.

“Quick! Quick! Inform the patriarch that this brat has grown stronger!” The two old men were horrified and escaped without any hesitation. They knew that only someone in the high levels of the Marrow Cleansing Realm could kill Liu Wuxie now.

Knowing there would be endless troubles if he allowed these two to return to the mountain, Liu Wuxie performed the Nine Heavenly Crane Dance and appeared before the two elders, preventing them from escaping.

“Go all out!” The two elders gritted their teeth and attacked. They were determined to drag Liu Wuxie down with them even if they had to die.

If there had been three of them, they could have held their ground slightly. But there were only two of them, and they didn’t even have the qualifications to counterattack.

“Momentous Gleam!” Liu Wuxie swung his blade, which destroyed the two elders’ weapons. The weapons used by the two were also profound artifacts, but their swords were naturally incomparable to the Heretic Blade. After losing their swords, they could no longer resist and were forced to retreat.

“You can die now!” The Heretic Blade flashed with a chill as a fireball shot out without warning. This was the fire attribute that Liu Wuxie had comprehended, and not many people knew about it.

Shao Dongli and the others didn’t know of his identity, and it would take some time for them to investigate.

The elders were instantly consumed by the flames, not even having the opportunity to cry out. Once the deed was done, Liu Wuxie stood still, staring at his hands in disbelief.

“Has my fire attribute become this potent after absorbing the Fire Spiritual Bead?” The reality was irrefutable, and he had no choice but to accept it. Even if he had consumed heavenly flames, he wouldn’t have reached this level of power. Could it be due to his unique dantian? That was the only plausible explanation left.

Other cultivators could only manifest ordinary flames by practicing fire-attribute cultivation techniques. Then again, they could deal with ordinary cultivators and have no lethality against experts.

His dantian had changed the quality of the fire, not to mention there was a volcano in the world within his dantian and the Fire Spiritual Bead in it. This resulted in the mutation of Liu Wuxie’s flame and increased its temperature significantly.

The flame was so powerful that even the interspatial pouches were incinerated into ashes, making Liu Wuxie feel heartache. He swiftly cleaned up the battlefield and dug a giant pit, throwing all the corpses inside before turning them into ashes with fire.

After ensuring that there were no clues left behind and even the Xue Clan wouldn’t be able to find out who killed these people, Liu Wuxie carried on his journey.

When he returned to the Imperial Academy a day later, the news of his return spread throughout the academy like wildfire.

“Junior Brother Liu, you’re finally back! You’re in deep trouble!” Li Shengsheng ran into Liu Wuxie’s courtyard after learning of his return.

Liu Wuxie had intended to retreat to his quarters for some rest, aiming to complete his assignments the next day to avoid expulsion from the academy. However, the unexpected arrival of Li Shengsheng threw a wrench in his plans.

“I’m in deep trouble?!” Liu Wuxie was baffled. Could it be that the Xue Clan had discovered his actions? But how could that be? Even if the Xue Clan had found out, it wasn’t a big deal since he was already at odds with them.

Song Ling and the other students rushed over anxiously, looking at Liu Wuxie with concern.

“You’ve killed Vice-Headmaster Qin’s nephew. Weren’t you aware?” Li Shengsheng inquired.

Liu Wuxie was taken aback. He had heard of Qin Shi from Fan Yeping and had been planning to settle his grudge with Xiao Yanlong upon his return. After all, Xiao Yanlong had sent Fan Yeping to assassinate him, and he would have been killed if he hadn’t been strong enough.

Xiao Yanlong was indeed Qin Shi’s disciple, but Liu Wuxie couldn’t remember killing anyone with the surname Qin.

“Who are you talking about?” Liu Wuxie asked, looking helpless. After all, he had ended the lives of countless people in the past few months, but he had only targeted those who deserved it and had not taken a single innocent life.

“Do you recall Guo Zhong?” Li Shengsheng asked in a hushed tone, wary of being overheard. Anyone aware of Liu Wuxie’s return would likely inform Qin Shi, who was a high-ranking member of the Marrow Cleansing Realm and beyond Liu Wuxie’s ability to contend with.

“How could Guo Zhong be Qin Shi’s nephew?” Liu Wuxie was further puzzled. The two had different surnames, Qin and Guo, so how could they be related? While Guo Zhong might have some connection to Qin Shi, Liu Wuxie found it hard to believe that Guo Zhong was Qin Shi’s nephew.

Li Shengsheng explained, “It’s a complicated story. Everyone in the academy knows that Guo Zhong is Qin Shi’s illegitimate child. Before Qin Shi became the vice-headmaster, he had a sworn brother with the surname Guo who died early. Within a year of his death, Qin Shi seduced his wife and fathered Guo Zhong. He claimed that Guo Zhong was his sworn brother’s posthumous child, but in reality, Guo Zhong was his son.”

While many were privy to this information, no one dared to discuss it openly. After all, gossiping about the vice-headmaster, Qin Shi, was risky.

Liu Wuxie frowned because he hadn’t expected that. Guo Zhong was the one who tried to ambush him, and he was killed with thousands of cuts.

“Junior Brother Liu, you should lay low for now. Qin Shi only has one son, and now that his only son is dead, he will be after you,” Li Shengsheng advised Liu Wuxie to leave at once. Once things had calmed down, they could seek their teacher’s intervention in the matter.

“Lay low?” Liu Wuxie dismissed the idea with a shake of his head. As an Immortal Emperor, he had never been so frightened as to consider hiding. Qin Shi was merely a vice-headmaster, and Liu Wuxie didn’t regard him highly.

If he were to hide upon his return, how could he face anyone in the future? Thus, without any hesitation, Liu Wuxie rejected Li Shengsheng’s suggestion.

“Senior Brother Li, this is bad! Qin Shi is coming in this direction with a group of people!” Wang Yonghao, who was guarding outside, suddenly ran into the courtyard.

It had only been an hour since Liu Wuxie’s return to the academy, and everyone already knew about it. Thus, it was natural that Qin Shi would rush over immediately.

After all, Qin Shi had already declared that no one could prevent him from avenging Guo Zhong’s death. Anyone who dared to oppose him would be treated as an enemy and expelled from the academy. This feud could only be resolved if the headmaster intervened.

Since morning, Xu Lingxue has been feeling uneasy. Ever since she knew that Liu Wuxie had killed Qin Shi’s son, she wasn’t in the mood to cultivate for the past month. When she came out and heard that Liu Wuxie had returned, she instantly became anxious for him.

Glancing at the room where her master was in seclusion, Xu Lingxue bit her lips and walked out of the courtyard. Baili Qing opened her eyes the moment she left with a hint of disappointment.

......

A crowd of students had gathered, eager to see how the situation would unfold. Liu Wuxie had gained notoriety for his actions a month ago, when he had killed numerous students, violating the academy’s rules. As a result, he was given tasks to complete or face expulsion.

However, before Liu Wuxie had left, he had killed the vice-headmaster’s son. Even though Liu Wuxie might have left, the academy was still shrouded in fear, especially when encountering Qin Shi.

“Junior Brother Liu, leave quickly! Teacher isn’t in the academy, and no one can protect you.” Li Shengsheng pulled Liu Wuxie, urging him to leave immediately as there was still time.

A few days ago, Jin Jianfeng had left the Imperial Academy. No one knew where he went; only Jin Jianfeng could protect Liu Wuxie in the academy.

“No one can leave this place alive today!” A powerful shockwave tore through Liu Wuxie’s courtyard as Qin Shi appeared.

Liu Wuxie noticed a young man following behind Qin Shi, who must be Xiao Yanlong, the one who had ordered Fan Yeping to assassinate him.

When Qin Shi appeared, his murderous intent filled the air, and it was clear that no one could prevent him from killing Liu Wuxie that day.

Facing Qin Shi, Liu Wuxie wore a faint, fearless smile.

“It’s my honor to welcome the vice-headmaster to my humble abode!” Liu Wuxie bowed, leaving everyone speechless to see him so cheerful when facing Qin Shi.

Qin Shi’s gaze was venomous as he stared at Liu Wuxie, his murderous intent palpable.

“Speak, how do you want to die today?” Qin Shi asked.

“Why should I die when I’m perfectly alive and well?” Liu Wuxie retorted, a smile still on his face as he faced Qin Shi. The latter was only at the ninth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, not someone in the True Core Realm. This was why Liu Wuxie didn’t fear him. The only inconvenience would be if he had to use his Immortal Emperor abilities, which could potentially damage his soul sea again.

“The reason is simple: because I want you dead!” Qin Shi’s justification was as straightforward as that. If he wanted Liu Wuxie dead, then Liu Wuxie would have to die.

The atmosphere grew tense as four to five thousand students gathered outside, curious to see how Liu Wuxie would handle the situation. However, they all knew that Liu Wuxie’s days in the academy were numbered.

Some students gloated, others sighed in pity for Liu Wuxie’s impending demise, but most were indifferent, as the death of a student was a common occurrence for them.

“What arrogance. I stand here today, curious to see who can kill me,” Liu Wuxie scoffed. If he didn’t want to die, no one in the world could kill him.