Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 264 - Coward

When Liu Wuxie exited the cultivation chamber, ten-odd figures charged towards him. These people had been waiting for a long time and hurried over the moment Liu Wuxie came out.

Liu Wuxie narrowed his eyes, sensing an oppressive aura sweeping toward him. He quickly stopped and looked at the twelve people coming over.

His gaze ultimately settled on Mo Chong. He led the other eleven, and Liu Wuxie could tell he was a formidable foe.

“Are you Liu Wuxie?” Mo Chong’s eyes narrowed as he saw Liu Wuxie for the first time. He was taken aback by the fact that someone as young as Liu Wuxie had already reached the high level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

“What brings you all here?” Instead of responding to Mo Chong’s question, Liu Wuxie countered with his own. After all, it was obvious that they knew who he was since they had sought him out.

This was why Liu Wuxie went straight into the topic without beating around the bush. Ever since he had moved to the Heaven Grade region, trouble hadn’t stopped.

“Liu Wuxie, what audacity! Senior Brother Mo is talking to you, and you dare to be disrespectful?!” Some students stepped forward with murderous intent brewing in their eyes.

“Who the hell do you all think you are? Why should I be polite when you all came to my abode to stir up trouble?” Liu Wuxie retorted, his anger evident. He was well acquainted with Mo Chong's reputation; warnings about him had been issued when Liu Wuxie had selected his residence. Nevertheless, Liu Wuxie had swiftly handled any troublemakers who dared to cross his path.

He naturally wouldn’t care about their identity. Since they dared to cause trouble for him, there would only be one outcome that awaited them: to have their cultivation crippled before being thrown down the mountain.

This was the first time Mo Chong was disrespected since he was born, which naturally infuriated him.

“Senior Brother Mo, you must teach this impudent brat a lesson! Let him know that the Heaven Grade region isn’t a place to act recklessly!” The other students felt indignant, wishing they could slap Liu Wuxie’s face. However, they knew they were no match for him, so they pinned their hopes on Mo Chong.

These students were adept at stirring up trouble, skillfully pushing Mo Chong into the spotlight to confront Liu Wuxie. If Mo Chong were to retreat without taking action, his reputation would suffer a significant blow.

“Garbage, get lost if you all aren’t going to make a move!” Liu Wuxie’s tone held a hint of disdain, as he couldn’t be bothered to waste time speaking with these people.

Except for Mo Chong, who could threaten him, he could easily kill the rest with one slap.

Being called garbage, Mo Chong couldn’t hold back his anger. His face was terrifyingly grim, and his murderous intent enveloped the entire Heaven Grade region. More students gathered from the surroundings, wanting to see what was happening.

“Liu Wuxie, you have successfully enraged me, and I will tear you apart today!” Mo Chong took a deep breath, but the anger in his chest had reached its peak and could no longer be contained.

As the top disciple, Mo Chong was well-known within the academy. It was expected that he would be promoted to acting headmaster upon reaching the True Core Realm, gradually taking over Fan Zhen’s position.

However, Mo Chong was more interested in focusing on his cultivation and had no desire for the headmaster’s position. Being humiliated by Liu Wuxie was a different matter altogether, akin to being thrown into a dung pit.

The atmosphere grew tense, and the eleven students behind Mo Chong couldn’t help but gloat.

“Enrage you?” Liu Wuxie asked with a hint of disdain. “You think too highly of yourself. To me, you’re nothing more than a pathetic worm, easily manipulated by a few words from others.”

Liu Wuxie’s words held some truth. While Mo Chong was indeed talented, his character had set his limits. Without the provocation of the eleven, his conflict with Liu Wuxie wouldn’t have escalated to such an extent.

“What happened? Why did Mo Chong start a conflict with Liu Wuxie?” Many people rushed over, but they weren’t sure what was happening. Thus, they merely stood far away and dared not come close.

After all, Liu Wuxie’s notorious reputation had long taken root in everyone’s hearts.

Before long, over a hundred spectators, including several teachers, had gathered.

Humiliated and called a pitiful worm by Liu Wuxie, Mo Chong unsheathed his sword, his murderous intent spiraling out of control.

“Liu Wuxie, I want you dead!” he roared, his rationality lost in his rage. His sword, aimed at Liu Wuxie’s head, moved with such speed that it stirred a powerful gust of wind in its wake.

“Quasi-True Core Realm, interesting!” A sneer appeared on Liu Wuxie’s lips as he strode the Seven Dipper Steps to avoid the incoming sword.

He was unafraid, even if his opponents were in the True Core Realm. In his eyes, Mo Chong was only slightly stronger than those at the peak of the Marrow Cleansing Realm.

The Quasi-True Core Realm referred to those who had found the gate to the divine bridge but hadn’t yet opened it.

On the contrary, Liu Wuxie’s strength had undergone a drastic transformation after reaching the eighth level of the Marrow Cleansing Realm. That was especially the case now that his true essence contained a metal attribute after refining the Golden Marrow.

In terms of the sharpest element, metal could destroy anything.

As Liu Wuxie drew the Heretic Blade, the terrifying metal attribute spread out with the release of the blade aura and tore everything apart. Liu Wuxie already had the advantage in the fight before unleashing his attack.

“What dense metal attribute? I heard he obtained a Golden Marrow in the Python Mountain Battlefield. How did he refine it so quickly?” Everyone in the surroundings pointed fingers as they heard the news of Liu Wuxie’s deeds in the Python Mountain Battlefield.

Even if it were someone in the True Core Realm, it would take at least a month to refine the Golden Marrow. However, it had only been a few days since Liu Wuxie’s return, and he had already grasped the metal attribute.

Mo Chong unleashed forty-seven attacks, using the sword technique he was famed for. However, soon, his expression turned grave, as no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even touch the corner of Liu Wuxie’s clothes.

“Since you’ve unleashed so many strikes, why don’t you taste one of mine?” Liu Wuxie swung down the Heretic Blade, unleashing torrential blade aura.

When he swung his sword, the sky began to change. The spectating teachers staggered and nearly fell to their knees at the sight, as this strike was on par with that of a True Core Realm expert.

As Liu Wuxie’s blade aura descended, Mo Chong was pushed to his limits. His sword aura was compressed to the brink, and he was forced to retreat swiftly. The pressure was suffocating, and he found it hard to believe that he was pushed to such extremes despite his cultivation in the Quasi-True Core Realm.

“What a terrifying blade aura!” When Zhao Enzhu arrived, he was shocked. No one present could withstand this blade strike unless it were an expert in the True Core Realm.

The blue slabs on the ground began to crack under the immense pressure.

In the center of it all, cracks began to appear on Mo Chong’s body as if this attack would tear him apart. The eleven disciples who had accompanied Mo Chong turned pale with fright.

In a desperate attempt to counter Liu Wuxie’s blade aura, Mo Chong executed the “Sky Breaking Sword,” a technique he had just comprehended. Both were experts, and the Sky Breaking Sword initially managed to turn the tables. However, they soon found themselves locked in a stalemate, and neither were able to gain the upper hand.

“Hmph, this is the best you can do? Yet, you want to withstand my Fatality Blade Art?” Liu Wuxie roared as golden true essence coursed through his meridians, pouring into the Heretic Blade.

Most importantly, his true essence contained a hint of poison. Killing so many pythons in the Python Mountain Battlefield had enhanced the poison in his true essence.

“Second Fatality Form!” Liu Wuxie’s blade aura slashed down. He had only grasped bits and pieces of the Second Fatality Form, but it was a few hundred times stronger than the First Fatality Form.

Along with Liu Wuxie’s progress in the Fatality Sword Art, its power would continue to increase.

Mo Chong panicked because his Sky Breaking Sword was slowly shattering while Liu Wuxie’s attack felt like a mountain crushing down on him, causing cracks to appear on the bones in his legs.

Flee! That was the only thought in Mo Chong’s mind. Liu Wuxie’s terrifying power left him with no other option. He could not find a solution to counter Liu Wuxie’s blade or identify any flaws in his attack. Without a moment’s hesitation, he fled down the mountain, abandoning all resistance.

“Liu Wuxie, I’ll return to claim your life once I’ve reached the True Core Realm!” Mo Chong vowed. His unexpected retreat before the end of the battle left everyone in shock. Zhao Enzhu and the other teachers frowned at this development, which resulted in Mo Chong losing his status as a core disciple.

“You want to leave? Not so fast!” Liu Wuxie swung the Heretic Blade down, which flew like a thunderbolt and tore Mo Chong’s defenses apart.

The blade aura struck Mo Chong’s back, causing him to stagger. A large wound appeared on his back, drenching his clothes in blood. With no time to tend to his injuries, he continued his desperate escape, a pitiful sight for a disciple once considered a genius.

The other students spectating the battle burst into laughter, and it didn’t take long before Mo Chong fled back to his abode.

Seeing this, Liu Wuxie didn’t carry on attacking. This was because Mo Chong had lost the qualification to become his opponent, and the latter would only be a piece of garbage even if he managed to reach the True Core Realm.

The eleven students who had accompanied Mo Chong were left dumbstruck. They couldn’t believe that the respected Mo Chong had turned out to be a coward who fled at a critical moment. This was a surprise to everyone, including the teachers.

Mo Chong was ranked first among the core disciples and received everyone’s respect. This scene overturned everyone’s view of Mo Chong.

The eleven disciples, unable to escape in time, were met with Liu Wuxie’s seemingly innocent smile.

“Run!” The eleven disciples quickly fled for their lives in various directions.

Liu Wuxie’s notorious fame had long permeated the Imperial City, and those who opposed him often met with dire consequences. If they were even a step slower, they risked having their cultivation crippled by him.

“You all don’t take me seriously, do you?” Liu Wuxie’s Heretic Blade manifested into eleven blade auras flying out like comets.

“ARGGHHHH!” Screams echoed from their mouths as everyone had a fine wound on their lower abdomen with their dantian destroyed.

Liu Wuxie didn’t kill them and merely crippled their cultivation.

“Liu Wuxie, you’ll suffer a miserable end!” The eleven disciples wailed as they lay on the ground. They would rather have their limbs severed because it wouldn’t affect their cultivation. With their dantian destroyed, they would live a pitiful life worse than beggars in the future.

Liu Wuxie ignored them and headed to Xu Lingxue’s courtyard.

An hour later, Liu Wuxie stood outside Xu Lingxue’s courtyard. But weirdly enough, the courtyard was terrifyingly quiet.

A yellow-robed woman came over, whom Liu Wuxie had seen before. He recalled Xu Lingxue addressing this woman as ‘Junior Sister Yao.’

“Are you looking for Senior Sister Xu?” The yellow-robed woman asked, tilting her head to the side.