Desolate Devouring Art

Chapter 118 - All Dead

“Quick, restrain him! Don’t let him set up his spiritual array!” The teacher of Advanced Class Three yelled, urging Jiang Hua and others to kill Song Ling quickly.

“Change formation!” Jiang Hua entered the spiritual array and stabbed his longsword at Song Ling, attempting to kill him. Little did everyone know that Advanced Class Three had become desperate and could only rely on their martial capabilities since their spiritual array was useless against Song Ling.

As the longsword approached Song Ling, Liu Wuxie still didn’t move, allowing Song Ling to deal with the spiritual array himself.

“Are they insane? Trying to kill another student openly!” The students from other classes were shocked when they saw Jiang Hua’s action.

Many Profound Grade students watched closely as a competition between spiritual arrays was even more exciting than a battle between martial techniques. At the same time, Advanced Class Three’s act of killing another student under so many watchful eyes had caused an uproar.

Xu Lingxue turned into a purple shadow appearing in a remote corner with no one noticing her.

“Senior Sister Xu, they’re in danger!” the woman in yellow cried out, witnessing Jiang Hua’s longsword on the verge of impaling Song Ling before targeting Liu Wuxie.

Xu Lingxue was anxious, but she was helpless. It was too late for her to help as she was far away and knew nothing about spiritual arrays.

“What is he doing? Is he just going to stand by while his friend is slain?” News about Liu Wuxie had long spread throughout the Imperial Academy, but few people had seen him before. Song Ling’s life was in danger, yet Liu Wuxie merely stood aside, offering no assistance.

As the longsword approached Song Ling’s neck, Song Ling placed the last flag into the ground. When the last flag pierced into the ground, the entire training ground disappeared, and no one could see what was happening inside. The entire spiritual array was enveloped in a faint mist that obstructed everyone’s vision. Along with the spiritual array, Jiang Hua and the other students from Advanced Class Three also disappeared.

“What’s going on? Why did the spiritual array change? Where did they go?” Chaos erupted in the surroundings as this had never happened before. Not only was Advanced Class Three’s spiritual array broken, but it was accomplished by someone who had joined the Imperial Academy merely five days ago. If this news were to spread, the reputation of Advanced Class Three would take a heavy blow.

Xu Lingxue was on the verge of stepping in, but she forcefully held herself back, deciding to observe the situation first.

“Teacher Gao, what should we do? We’ve lost contact with them!” The remaining students of Advanced Class Three turned to Teacher Gao as they didn’t know what to do next.

Teacher Gao was also placed in a dilemma, and he couldn’t possibly intervene as it would make it even more embarrassing.

“The few of you enter the spiritual array with me!” Sun Shizhou, who had been silent, spoke up. He called out to two youths donned in purple robes and six in blue robes. In addition to himself, a total of nine rushed into the spiritual array, disappearing in the fog.

As time passed, there wasn’t any commotion from the spiritual array, nor did the fog show any signs of disappearing. Roughly fifteen minutes later, Teacher Gao finally couldn’t keep watching as there wasn’t any movement.

“Do you think they might have died inside?” The crowd began to speculate as the silence from the spiritual array continued. The lack of activity was concerning, and the outcome seemed bleak.

“Don’t bullshit. Sun Shizhou and the other two are Profound Grade students. They’re formidable in spiritual arrays, and a spiritual array of this level can’t possibly trap them.” Given the prolonged silence, the onlookers continued to speculate.

“Teacher Gao, do something!” An hour later, the students of Advanced Class Three could no longer hold their patience and appealed to Teacher Gao. As classes ended, the crowd swelled, with over three thousand people gathering.

“What’s going on?” The newcomers asked loudly. After all, not everyone was privy to the day’s match.

“It has been a long time since we fought spiritual array masters. Which talented spiritual array master challenged Advanced Class Three?” The other class students came over curiously.

“One who joined the academy five days ago and the other who joined the academy yesterday.” Hearing that, the students who had just arrived staggered in shock.

“Pardon? What did you just say? Someone who joined yesterday challenged Advanced Class Three? Is he out of his mind?” Everyone naturally couldn’t believe it as it was the same as courting death for someone to challenge Advanced Class Three without years of training as a spiritual array master.

The youth gestured with a helpless shrug and continued to watch because Teacher Gao was about to make his move.

Teacher Gao entered the spiritual array, which was beyond everyone’s expectations.

As soon as Teacher Gao entered, Liu Wuxie and Song Ling came out from the other side. Everyone was shocked when they saw Liu Wuxie and Song Ling.

“They’re still alive?!”

The situation was baffling. By all logic, Song Ling and Liu Wuxie should have been defeated, especially considering that Sun Shizhou, a Profound Grade student, had been in the array for an hour. His skills should have been more than sufficient to handle the two.

Ignoring the stares of the crowd, Liu Wuxie and Song Ling positioned themselves under a tree. Song Ling appeared anxious, his eyes fixed on the training ground.

“Look, the fog is disappearing!” Shortly after Liu Wuxie and Song Ling emerged, the fog blanketing the training ground began to clear. The scene within the spiritual array became somewhat visible; numerous figures were seen moving, their weapons clashing.

Ten minutes later, when the fog had completely cleared, the sight within the spiritual array was revealed to all. The sight sent a shiver down everyone’s spine, causing them to gasp in surprise.

“Pinch me! I must be dreaming!” a Profound Grade student exclaimed to his junior.

“Ouch! That hurts! This isn’t a dream!” The student winced in pain, realizing from the sting that this was indeed reality.

With her hand covering her mouth and disbelief in her eyes, Xu Lingxue stared at Liu Wuxie.

Feeling someone’s gaze on him, Liu Wuxie turned to look but couldn’t spot Xu Lingxue due to the distance and the crowd.

The ten students who had set up the array, including Jiang Hua and the group led by Sun Shizhou, who entered the spiritual array later, were rooted to the spot. Sun Shizhou’s sword was lodged in Jiang Hua’s heart, while the blades of the two youths in purple robes had severed Sun Shizhou’s neck.

It turns out that they had killed each other.

Teacher Gao’s eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging on his face as he watched his students perish. A potent wave of murderous intent radiated from him. The unusual circumstances of their deaths, marked by evident fear on their faces, suggested they had encountered something horrifying before their demise.

Anyone could tell that there was something unusual about their deaths. They were companions, and it made no sense for them to kill each other. This was a mystery that left everyone baffled.

Only a handful of people were aware that this was an extraordinarily potent spiritual array. Upon entering the array, they would begin to slaughter each other, unable to differentiate between friend and foe. While some knew about this, the method of its execution remained a mystery to all present.

Such an advanced spiritual array was only familiar to the upper echelons of the Imperial Academy. The unprecedented number of fatalities, including three Profound Grade students, was shocking. The fact that so many students had died in front of thousands of spectators, all at the hands of a student who had joined the Imperial Academy less than a day ago, was staggering.

The other students of Advanced Class Three trembled in fear, not daring to look at the training ground. They felt a sense of relief that they hadn’t entered the spiritual array, or they, too, would have met the same fate.

“I’ll kill the two of you!” Teacher Gao’s roar echoed as he transformed into a beam of light, charging towards Liu Wuxie with murderous intent. He released his aura as a Marrow Cleansing Realm expert when he charged over.

Just as he was about to reach Liu Wuxie, a gaunt man descended from the sky, halting Teacher Gao with a mere palm. Their clash generated a powerful shockwave, separating them, and the thin old man positioned himself in front of Liu Wuxie.

This elderly man, with a purple gourd hanging from his waist, disheveled hair, and ragged clothes, bore the appearance of a vagabond.

“Jin Jianfeng, you dare stop me?!” Teacher Gao looked at the skinny old man with a hint of fear in his eyes after stabilizing himself. Jin Jianfeng was the teacher of Advanced Class Seven, a first-class teacher. He had chosen to remain at the Earth Grade, unwilling to instruct the Profound Grade.

“Gao Yingzhang, you’re not young yourself, and you have the cheek to make a move against two juniors?” Jin Jianfeng took the gourd from his waist and took a few gulps. The moment the gourd popped open, an alcoholic fragrance began to spread.

“These two dared to kill twenty students of my Advanced Class Three. Am I not allowed to kill him?” Gao Yingzhang gritted his teeth, pointing at the corpses of the deceased students. Even Sun Shizhou was dead, and he was a Profound Grade student. Twenty students had died like that, and no teacher could accept it.

There were numerous teachers in the vicinity, apart from the students, but they were unable to glean any clues from the spiritual array as it had already vanished.

“Which eye of yours witnessed me committing the murders?” Liu Wuxie retorted, a smile playing on his lips.