Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 232 - Divine Dragon

Half a month later, Liu Wuxie came out from the cultivation chamber. His cultivation had stabilized at the pinnacle of the second level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. He had also made significant progress in the Overlord Fist and Fatality Blade Art.

He was just about able to execute the second form of the Fatality Blade Art, and he had already achieved lesser mastery in the first form.

Standing on the platform, Liu Wuxie unsheathed the Heretic Blade, which emitted a bone-chilling gleam.

“What an excellent blade!” In the last seven days, Liu Wuxie had reforged the Heretic Blade, upgrading it to a vajra artifact. The blade released a powerful blade aura that left behind marks on the surrounding walls.

Merely standing there, Liu Wuxie resembled a peerless blade. However, he didn’t swing the blade down but pointed it towards the sky. It was as if he had merged with the blade.

In the end, Liu Wuxie didn’t swing his blade down because a group of people had gathered at the foot of the mountain.

“Liu Wuxie, you’re finally out! Because of you, I failed to break into the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm! Today will be the day of your demise!” A group of about twenty Heaven Grade students charged towards Liu Wuxie, led by an individual radiating a terrifying murderous intent.

Seeing this caused Liu Wuxie to frown, a chill flashing in his eyes. Someone had come to cause trouble for him less than ten minutes after he had emerged from his seclusion.

“Is there a feud between us?” Liu Wuxie was sure he had no enmity with these twenty-odd people.

“You stole the spiritual energy belonging to us. If I don’t kill you today, I won’t be able to resolve the hatred in my heart!” The man who spoke was called Yang Shuotian. He was promoted to Heaven Grade last year and was already twenty-five this year. His aptitude wasn’t bad, and he hoped to reach the pinnacle of the Marrow Cleansing Realm before the age of forty.

After training outside for a month, he had finally reached the seventh level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm’s threshold. However, midway through his breakthrough, the sudden disappearance of spiritual energy led to his failure. Thus, it was no wonder he harbored so much resentment towards Liu Wuxie.

“What a joke. Spiritual energy belongs to no one, and you can take it if you want,” Liu Wuxie sneered. Spiritual energy belonged to nature and not any individual, and how much one could absorb depended on one's ability.

“Hmph. The Heaven Grade’s first region had been peaceful until you came. You first crippled Wang Quansheng’s group and plundered our spiritual energy. You’re the tumor of the Imperial Academy, and we will eradicate you today!” The other students accused Liu Wuxie.

Yang Shuotian wore a sinister smile at this sight.

“Did you all receive a lot of favors from Qin Shi in the past?” Liu Wuxie asked with a smile. Fan Zhen’s words had reminded him that Qin Shi had nurtured many loyalists in the academy over the years, and these people would surely seek to avenge him.

These people had arrived just as he had finished his seclusion, using the excuse of him plundering their spiritual energy.

“Liu Wuxie, stop your nonsense and prepare to die!” Qin Shi had betrayed the Imperial Academy, and no one wanted to admit that they had received favors from him. Otherwise, they might be treated as traitors as well.

Yang Shuotian drew his sword and attacked, unleashing his aura in the sixth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm that released a shockwave. He was worthy of being a Heaven Grade student because his control over the true essence was stronger than other cultivators in the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“Come at me together, and don’t waste my time.” A light shield manifested around Liu Wuxie, stopping these twenty-odd people from approaching. He drew the Heretic Blade, which excitedly buzzed as it needed a battle.

“Such audacity! If he’s seeking death, we’ll grant his wish!” All these individuals had received favors from Qin Shi in the past, and they had long harbored intentions to kill Liu Wuxie. However, they hadn’t found an opportunity until now.

Among the twenty-four, the weakest were at the fourth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and Yang Shuotian was the strongest. As all twenty-plus individuals joined forces, their combined aura created a powerful wave that caused the entire platform to tremble and cracks to form.

Liu Wuxie’s true essence manifested in various shapes around him. There was a vast difference in their true essence, and Liu Wuxie looked at the twenty-odd students coldly. “Let me show you all what true essence manifestation is!”

Unimaginable true essence gushed from three hundred and sixty-five acupoints that rumbled like thunder in everyone’s ears. A golden dragon suddenly appeared in the sky, looking vivid.

When a mighty dragon’s aura came crashing down, the twenty-four students fell onto their knees. Divine dragons were the most noble and mysterious race in the world.

Many legends in the True Martial Continent involved divine dragons, but no one had ever seen a dragon before. Even the best painter couldn’t capture even one-tenth of the divine dragon’s spirit.

However, it was different for Liu Wuxie because he had seen divine dragons before and had a good relationship with them. When his true essence manifested into a divine dragon, the sky changed as the dragon breathed out a flame that enveloped the entire platform.

This scene could be seen from a hundred miles away. Whether students were from Earth or Profound Grades, they ran out of their classes to witness the breathtaking scene of the almighty divine dragon.

The dragon was over a hundred feet long, filling the entire sky. Its golden scales looked vivid and were moving individually.

“What’s going on? Why is there a divine dragon?!”

Yang Shaotian and others could manifest their true essence but couldn’t mimic the spirit of whatever they mimicked.

As the divine dragon let out a roar in the sky, countless houses began to crumble, with shockwaves spreading out in the form of ripples.

“Quick, kneel! We can’t show any disrespect to the divine dragon’s will!” Many students went down on their knees, fearing that they might commit blasphemy and offend the dragon.

Those with weak wills were terrified to the point of wetting their pants and lying on the ground trembling. Even those with stronger wills had their legs shaking under the divine dragon’s presence.

As for Yang Shaotian and his group, they were so scared that they lost control of their bowels. They discarded their weapons, having lost their will to resist.

Fan Zhen came out of his courtyard and smiled at the divine dragon.

“It looks like I have underestimated you!” Once Fan Zhen finished his statement, he no longer concerned himself with the matter. He wouldn’t interfere with anything Liu Wuxie did unless it got out of hand.

“Do you think it’s Senior Brother Liu who caused this?” The students from Advanced Class Seven returned to their class and began to discuss excitedly among themselves.

“There’s no need to guess. It has to be Senior Brother Liu!” Song Ling said confidently because he had already regarded Liu Wuxie as a god over the past few months.

Everyone in the academy was discussing this matter. It was a pity that no one knew who had caused the appearance of the divine dragon, as it had lasted for only three breaths before disappearing.

With a swift swing of the Heretic Blade, Liu Wuxie severed the heads of the twenty-odd students, instantly killing them. It wasn’t long before all that remained were their skinless corpses, with demonic flames flickering over them.

Liu Wuxie’s expression remained unchanged. This was just the beginning because the Xue Clan, Cloud Xing Pavilion, and Prince Yongxian’s faction were next.

The news of him ending his seclusion spread like wildfire the next day. The appearance of the divine dragon soon became a hot topic in the Imperial Academy.

The subsequent two days were peaceful, with no one disturbing him. Liu Wuxie spent each day cultivating and practicing the inscription of immortal runes.

“Senior Brother Liu, are you there?” a voice sounded outside the cave.

When Liu Wuxie emerged from his abode, he was greeted by a familiar youth. He asked, “Senior Brother Gong, is there something you need?”

The young man was Ao Gong, who had previously delivered the punishment to him. He was also Fan Zhen’s confidante.

“Prince Ruyang told me to give this to you.” Ao Gong said with a hint of reverence in his eyes. In just half a year, Liu Wuxie had surpassed everyone else.

“Thank you, Senior Brother Liu!” Liu Wuxie pulled out a pill and placed it in Ao Gong’s hand. After all, establishing a good relationship with him was beneficial. Given that Ao Gong was Fan Zhen’s confidant, Liu Wuxie might need to seek his help in the future.

“Thank you, Junior Brother Liu!” Ao Gong accepted the pill happily. He was only in the Spirit Cleansing Realm, and this pill was essential to him.

After seeing Ao Gong off, Liu Wuxie returned to his abode and opened the letter sent by Chen Yusheng.

“Wuxie, my royal brother has prepared a banquet to thank you three days from now, and you have to be around. I will send someone to fetch you.”

The letter was simple and short. It had been half a month, and the Emperor must’ve recovered by now. Now that it was resolved, the Imperial City was calmer than before.

Liu Wuxie folded the letter and rubbed his forehead. He wasn’t fond of public appearances, especially now that he finally had some peace to cultivate. His goal was to try and reach the higher levels of the Marrow Cleansing Realm as soon as possible.

However, he couldn’t refuse Prince Ruyang because he had used the latter to kill Qi Enshi. He tidied himself before leaving his abode and heading in a certain direction.

This was the first time Liu Wuxie visited the courtyard where Xu Lingxue stayed. Xu Lingxue might be a Heaven Grade student, but she lived with Baili Qing.

When he knocked on the door, Xu Lingxue came out in a white dress. Compared to ten-odd days ago, she had gotten prettier and reached the third level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“What brings you here?” she asked.

She was surprised by Liu Wuxie’s sudden visit, but a hint of joy flashed across her eyes when she saw him.

“Well, I have something to discuss with you.” Liu Wuxie replied, standing outside the courtyard while she was inside, maintaining a distance of about three steps.

“What is it?” Xu Lingxue closed the doors and came out, fearing that she might alarm her master.

“There’s a banquet three days from now, and I wish you to attend with me.”

Prince Ruyang hadn’t mentioned that he couldn’t bring anyone along. Since they were husband and wife, it was only natural for him to invite her.

“You’re afraid that I’ll be upset!” Xu Lingxue rolled her eyes. After all, allowing Liu Wuxie to go to the palace alone was akin to giving him space with Chen Ruoyan. This was why Liu Wuxie planned to invite her along to avoid any misunderstandings.

“So, do you have time?” Liu Wuxie rubbed his nose, acknowledging what she said.

“I do!” Their relationship had improved over the past few months, but there were still some barriers that needed to be broken down. However, compared to the beginning, Xu Lingxue didn’t loathe him as much anymore.

The atmosphere was tense as they stood together. Liu Wuxie wasn’t proficient in interacting with women, the same for Xu Lingxue, who rarely interacted with men.

“Who allowed you to come!” A piercing chill swept toward Liu Wuxie. Baili Qing was standing on the wall, her face filled with murderous intent.