After Xu Zhouling finished speaking, he turned his gaze toward Dong Fu and nodded.
“Marquis Dong, sorry to trouble you.”
“A small matter.”
Dong Fu smiled, but his expression grew solemn.
He flipped his right palm, spreading his fingers slightly, and countless fine white particles suddenly condensed in his palm.
It was the True Gang Qi controlled by Gangjin Rank experts!
The Gang Qi churned like boiling water, emitting a low, vibrating hum.
“Rise!”
Dong Fu barked in a low voice. At some point, an object had appeared in his left hand, which he tossed into the air.
Shen Xiuhan, standing nearby, saw it very clearly.
The object was a palm-sized carriage.
Cast entirely from fine copper, it was exquisite and compact. The body of the carriage was engraved with dense runes that shimmered with brilliant light.
Wrapped in the Gang Qi, the small carriage flew into midair.
Suddenly, a brilliant light erupted!
Immediately after, a heavy, violent pressure crashed down from overhead.
“Roar!”
A violent howling of wind and a roar full of tyranny came rolling down from the highest heavens.
On the martial arts field, gasps of shock rose one after another.
“What is that?!”
“Heavens... a demon beast! It's a demon beast! With this kind of pressure, it must be at least a Tier Five great demon!”
“Look behind it! What is it pulling?!”
Dozens of elite disciples instinctively took half a step back, staring up into the sky in stunned silence!
Shen Xiuhan lowered the sleeve blocking his face and narrowed his eyes, looking up at the horizon as well.
In midair, a vicious flood dragon over thirty zhang long bared its fangs and claws.
Its body was pitch-black all over, with scales as large as cattail-leaf fans. Its massive head peered down, its scarlet tongue flickering in and out. A pair of cold, sinister orange-yellow vertical pupils looked down upon everyone on the martial arts field.
What was even more shocking was that bound to the vicious flood dragon's neck and back were several pitch-black chains as thick as water buckets.
Runes flashed across the surface of the chains, which extended all the way from the dragon's body to the rear, tightly buckled to a massive carriage.
And that carriage was precisely the object that had been in Dong Fu's palm just moments ago.
In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a grand carriage over ten zhang long, glowing with brilliant colors.
Seeing this, Shen Xiuhan thought to himself:
Expanding and shrinking at will, controlled entirely by the mind... This flood dragon carriage is likely an extremely valuable spiritual artifact!
As he was thinking, he noticed that although the vicious flood dragon was bound by the chains, it still proudly raised its head, its vertical pupils gleaming with savage light, refusing to descend.
Dong Fu's face darkened. He pressed his right palm down through the air, his voice booming like spring thunder:
“Vile beast! Get down here this instant!”
“Roar!”
The black flood dragon raised its head and roared, sending waves of sound rolling out that set the ears of many disciples on the martial arts field ringing and turned their faces pale.
However, the black chains around its neck and back lit up in response, and countless mysterious runes suddenly burst with blinding light.
The chains tightened abruptly, squeezing its scales until they creaked!
The vicious flood dragon's roar instantly turned into a pained wail. Its massive body could no longer hold itself up, and it crashed downward, bringing the precious carriage down with it.
Xu Zhouling took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs:
“Disciples, board the carriage with me!”
With that, his figure soared into the air, turning into a streak of light as he swept toward the precious carriage hovering at a low altitude.
The spiritual light on the outer layer of the precious carriage suddenly swept forward, rippling like water, and his figure merged into it, disappearing in an instant.
“Swish! Swish! Swish!”
Wen Qingye, Feng Buting, Gongsun Bei, and Lei Xiao—the four Gangjin Rank experts—followed closely behind.
Four streaks of light sliced through the sky, and spiritual light flashed repeatedly as they were swallowed up one by one.
Feng Buting did not forget to look back and glare at a few of his juniors. Those Feng Clan disciples snapped out of their daze and hurriedly followed.
On the martial arts field, the disciples of the various academies were also fully prepared. Without any further hesitation, they executed their movement techniques and swept toward the precious carriage.
For a moment, dozens of figures took to the air like a swarm of locusts, the sound of rustling robes cutting through the wind continuously.
“Let's go.”
Wen Zheng had appeared beside Shen Xiuhan at some point.
The Chief Disciple of the Tingquan Academy still wore his usual smiling expression. He reached out to pat Shen Xiuhan's shoulder and said in a caring tone,
“Keep close to me.”
Shen Xiuhan nodded, saying nothing.
Both of them exerted force through their feet simultaneously, leaping forward like two unsheathed swords, one after the other, toward the shimmering, brilliant carriage.
Whoosh!
Shen Xiuhan felt his body lighten, and the next moment, he was inside the precious carriage.
He steadied himself and looked around, feeling slightly surprised.
Although the precious carriage looked no more than ten zhang long from the outside, it contained an entirely different world within.
Inside was an extremely spacious cabin, easily large enough to accommodate over a hundred people without feeling crowded.
Dozens of disciples had already taken their seats in the cabin. Some were speaking in low voices, while others closed their eyes to rest, their faces still carrying traces of excitement and tension.
Right at that moment, the roar echoed once more.
Looking out through the glass window, Shen Xiuhan saw the chains around the vicious flood dragon's neck suddenly tighten. The runes flared with brilliant light, forcing a long cry that sounded like a mixture of pain and rage from its throat.
In the next instant, the flood dragon's tail whipped violently.
Its massive thirty-zhang body tore through the sky like a bolt of black lightning. The precious carriage turned into a streak of flowing light, gliding across the sky at an unbelievable speed.
Tingquan Island shrank rapidly in their field of vision, turning into an inconspicuous green speck on the lake's surface within a few breaths.
Immediately after, Chiming Island, Feixuan Island, and Kaiyang Island receded into the distance in an instant, their speed mind-bogglingly fast!
Yet, inside the cabin, it was as stable as solid ground, without even a hint of turbulence.
Wen Zheng walked over with his arms crossed, asking with a smile, “Fast, isn't it?”
“Astonishingly fast!”
Shen Xiuhan withdrew his gaze and shook his head in admiration.
“Of course it is. This object is a spiritual treasure!” Wen Zheng explained, “This spiritual treasure is called the Black Flood Dragon Carriage. It was crafted from a Tier Five great demon slain by the former Daoist Master Guangwu, Dong Daosheng!”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan pointed curiously out the window. “The black flood dragon pulling the carriage?”
“Exactly.” Wen Zheng nodded. “That demon beast was known as the ‘Black Dragon King.’ It rampaged across the islands of the Southern Sea for over a hundred years, devouring countless living beings. With no one to keep it in check, it grew increasingly arrogant.”
“One day, the beast dared to invade our Great Qi territory, devouring a hundred and thirty-six citizens in one go before leaving.”
“At the time, Daoist Master Dong was serving as the Marquis of Zhenhai. Hearing of this disaster, he was absolutely furious and immediately pursued it into the Southern Sea alone.”
“That battle lasted for a full ninety-one days.”
“On the Southern Sea, saber-glow and dragon blood intertwined. Raging waves shattered the shores, and the sun and moon lost their luster.”
“In the end, Daoist Master Dong severed the demon's head, drew out its soul, gouged out its heart, stripped its flesh, and dismantled its bones. Using the dragon's bones as the frame, its skin to cover the carriage, and its soul as the guide, he refined this dragon carriage.”
Shen Xiuhan's heart surged as he listened, and he could not help but ask, “A Tier Five great demon... Is that equivalent to the Xiantian Divine Ability Rank?”
“Yes.”
Hiss!
Shen Xiuhan silently sucked in a breath of cold air.
This Old Daoist Master Dong truly possessed peerless divine abilities. Not only had he slain the demonic Daoist Master Yin Cha with a single palm strike, but he had also killed a Xiantian-level great demon. Such divine courage was truly awe-inspiring.
As his thoughts churned, the sound of two sets of footsteps approached at a leisurely pace.
“Brother Wen!”
The one leading was a young man, lean and sturdy, with sharp facial features.
Following behind him was a woman dressed in plain white robes, her face covered with a light veil, revealing only her eyes and brows.
Her eyes and brows were beautifully shaped, like distant mountains painted in ink. Even though the light veil obscured her face, it could not hide the pure, ethereal elegance that emanated from her very bones.
Shen Xiuhan's gaze swept over them, and he noticed that both of them wore a wooden plaque at their waists, carved with the numeral “One.”
At this moment, Wen Zheng turned his gaze over and smiled. “Ah, Brother Qu. And this must be the eldest young lady of the He family, He Suyi?”
One of the Four Prodigies, Qu Wu!
One of the Seven Elegances, He Suyi!
These two were indeed the pride of the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion.
He Suyi bowed gracefully, her voice sounding like pearls falling onto a jade plate, crisp yet gentle. “Suyi greets Chief Disciple Wen. I heard that Tunan caused some trouble in the academy and brought trouble to Academy Head Wen. Suyi apologizes on his behalf.”
“Oh? Such a thing happened? I was actually unaware.” Wen Zheng was surprised, but he waved his hand, not paying it any mind.
Seeing this, Qu Wu smiled and took over the conversation. “Brother Wen, you have made quite a name for yourself in Guangwu Prefecture. I heard you destroyed several Yinsha Sect branches in a row, striking terror into those demon spawn.”
“Ah, it was just minor skirmishes...” Wen Zheng was humble in his words, but his face was beaming with smiles, clearly in a good mood.
Qu Wu and He Suyi had clearly come on behalf of the Zhenhai Marquis Mansion to exchange pleasantries. After a few polite words, they clasped their hands in farewell and turned to walk toward the Feng Clan disciples.
From beginning to end, neither of them spared Shen Xiuhan a second glance.
Shen Xiuhan stood where he was, his expression as calm as still water, showing not the slightest ripple of emotion.
“Well?” Once the two had walked far away, Wen Zheng turned his head back, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
“What do you mean, well?”
“What do you think of that woman?”
“Huh?”
Shen Xiuhan was taken aback.
He had thought Wen Zheng was asking how it felt to be treated like air, but it turned out his senior brother was asking about her.
Wen Zheng burst into laughter, patted his shoulder, and brushed past him.
After taking a few steps, he paused and tossed back a sentence: “Her strength is lacking. She only managed to squeeze into the ranks of the Four Prodigies and Seven Elegances by relying on Qu Wu's favor.”
He paused, his voice growing a fraction cooler.
“Once you break through to the Huajin Rank, knock her off that seat of the ‘Seven Elegances’.”
“That seat is not for her to sit on.”
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