Chapter 76: Chapter 76: True Dragon Essence Blood
"Shen!"
When Lin Ke’Er saw Shen Daoxing approaching, she hurried over to greet him.
Her eyes were wide, filled with shock and admiration.
Shen Daoxing’s performance just now had been simply astounding. His strength was so immense, it was impossible not to be captivated.
He had fought three opponents at once and hadn’t lost an inch of ground.
And these weren’t just any three people; they were all newly-risen prodigies from various kingdoms.
At this moment, Lin Ke’Er’s heart was filled with nothing but reverence and adoration for Shen Daoxing, as if he were the only person in the entire world.
Shen Daoxing smiled and waved his hand. "Come on, let’s find a place. I want to study this Bodhi Fruit first."
"Huh!?"
Lin Ke’Er nodded, only then noticing Chen Baxian behind Shen Daoxing. Confused, she asked, "And what’s this about?"
Shen Daoxing said flatly, "From now on, he is my slave."
"What!?"
Hearing this, Lin Ke’Er’s face was a mask of shock. "Are you serious?"
Shen Daoxing shrugged. "If you don’t believe me, you can ask him. He volunteered."
Lin Ke’Er looked at Chen Baxian.
Chen Baxian habitually lifted his chin. "That’s right. I have voluntarily become Master Shen’s slave."
Lin Ke’Er’s beautiful eyes went wide, her mouth falling open.
The news was simply staggering.
Chen Baxian had actually become Shen Daoxing’s slave! His status was noble, and his position in the Yan Kingdom was extraordinary. Not only was he a disciple of the number one Chen Family, but the Yan Kingdom’s Royal Family also held great expectations for him.
For Chen Baxian to become Shen Daoxing’s slave now... if word of this got out, it would cause a massive uproar and send shockwaves through the Yan Kingdom.
"Let’s go."
Shen Daoxing walked in front. "If we wait until dark, we won’t be able to find a place to rest."
"Oh... okay."
Hearing Shen Daoxing’s words, Lin Ke’Er quickened her pace to follow.
...
「At the entrance to the True Dragon Secret Realm.」
Experts from the various kingdoms’ factions had gathered here, patiently waiting for their disciples.
Although the time limit for the True Dragon Secret Realm was ten days, quite a few disciples chose to come out after only three to five days.
A major reason for this was that they couldn’t bear the cruelty within and fled, fearing a life-or-death confrontation.
After all, not every genius had been forged in blood and fire, and not everyone was unafraid of death.
This was perfectly normal.
As some geniuses exited early, news from inside the True Dragon Secret Realm began to spread.
"That Overlord, Chen Baxian, is just too strong! I saw five people from the Yan Kingdom surround him, and he killed them all in a counterattack."
"Of all the people to provoke, they had to go after Chen Baxian!"
"Mo Yunlei is the truly incredible one. I heard he charged into the core region of the True Dragon Nest all by himself and harvested a third-grade Celestial and Earthly Treasure."
"I heard Zhu Kai and Meng Zifeng had a duel, but it ended in a draw."
"Is Meng Zifeng really that strong? To be able to fight Zhu Kai to a standstill?"
...
As news continued to trickle out, the experts from the various kingdoms were all abuzz with discussion.
When they heard news about the geniuses from their own kingdoms, they would erupt in cheers.
On the Martial Kingdom’s side, Chen Guanggu stroked his long beard and said faintly, "Ling Shuanghua, I haven’t heard any news about your Sword Institute’s disciple. Doesn’t your Sword Institute claim to only recruit elites? I imagine he must be wreaking havoc in the True Dragon Secret Realm, right?"
Lian Sheng, a teacher from the Divine Wind Academy, shook his head. "Among the Six Kingdoms, Shen Daoxing is just a nobody. Even if he died, it’s unlikely any news would get out."
He didn’t say this to belittle Shen Daoxing, but merely to state a fact.
People like Fang Rong from the Divine Wind Academy were all more famous than Shen Daoxing. After all, Shen Daoxing had joined the Sword Institute less than a year ago before coming to participate in the True Dragon Secret Realm.
"Hmph!"
Ling Shuanghua said indifferently, "Worry about your own disciples."
Next to Ling Shuanghua stood a stunningly beautiful woman. She was Lin Ke’Er’s master, the National Preceptor of the Tang Kingdom, Huang Yarong.
Hearing this, her willow-like brows furrowed. After all, her own apprentice was following that Shen Daoxing.
Chen Guanggu let out a loud laugh. "I don’t need to worry about the disciples of my Celestial City Academy. They will spread our academy’s prestige just fine. I hope your Sword Institute does the same, and doesn’t drag down the name of Celestial City Academy."
Huang Yarong whispered, "Shuanghua, is Shen Daoxing’s strength really not a problem?"
"Of course not."
Ling Shuanghua’s brows knitted slightly. "Do you not trust me?"
"Of course I trust you. That’s why I let Ke’Er follow Shen Daoxing."
Huang Yarong said, aggrieved, "She’s my only apprentice... it’s normal for me to be a little worried."
"Hahahaha!"
Chen Guanggu laughed heartily. "National Preceptor Huang, you will come to realize that your choice today was a mistake. You’ve personally sent your own apprentice down a dead-end path."
He was in an excellent mood. If he could hear news that both Shen Daoxing and Lin Ke’Er had died, he would be even more delighted.
Huang Yarong snapped coldly, "You old bastard, why are you spouting so much nonsense?"
Instead of getting angry at Huang Yarong’s curse, Chen Guanggu simply figured that since her apprentice, Lin Ke’Er, was about to die anyway, it didn’t matter if he let her vent a little.
"Big news! Celestial City Academy students, including Zhou Bu’Er, Hua Lin, and Tang Ying, have died in the True Dragon Secret Realm! Their deaths were extremely gruesome, and the scene of the crime was like a Purgatory on earth."
Hearing this news, everyone present was stunned.
After all, up until now, the geniuses from the various kingdoms had mostly been sparring. Even if there were deaths and injuries, they were few.
The only exception was when the geniuses from the Yan Kingdom provoked Chen Baxian and five of them died.
But Celestial City Academy... they had been wiped out as a group.
Three of the Celestial Capital’s Four Heroes were dead. This was truly shocking.
"SWOOSH—!"
Just then, a staggering aura descended from the sky. The hearts of all the experts present jolted, and they turned to look at the newcomer.
It was Chen Guanggu from Celestial City Academy. He now exuded a bone-chilling coldness as he approached the genius who had brought the news and asked frigidly, "Speak! How did my Celestial City Academy disciples die? Who killed them?"
The genius from the Zhao Kingdom was only at the Sixth Layer of the Profound Platform Realm. Being stared down by an expert at the Spirit Transformation Realm like Chen Guanggu, his heart instantly trembled.
The genius’s elder quickly said, "Mao Wang, quickly tell him everything you saw!"
Celestial City Academy was, after all, the top academy in the Six Kingdoms, and as its vice-dean, Chen Guanggu’s status was extraordinary.
Chen Guanggu also realized he had lost his composure. The person before him was just a junior, after all. He forced a smile. "Young man, don’t be afraid. I just want to ask you a few things."
As he spoke, he took out a bottle of Elixirs.
The genius took a deep breath, finally relaxing a little, and then recounted what he had seen.
At the same time, many of the surrounding experts pricked up their ears. The Celestial Capital’s Four Heroes were not nobodies. For three of them to die at once was undoubtedly a devastating blow to Celestial City Academy.
"After I entered the True Dragon Secret Realm, I started searching for Celestial and Earthly Treasures..."
The genius from the Zhao Kingdom spoke slowly, "On the second day, I found the bodies of about a dozen Celestial City Academy disciples in a dense forest. They died horribly, all killed in a single blow..."
As he said this, a look of terror appeared on his face.
Chen Guanggu interrupted him impatiently, "Did you find the bodies of Tang Ying, Zhou Bu’Er, and Hua Lin?"
The genius quickly shook his head. "No!"
’Didn’t see their bodies!?’
Chen Guanggu’s brow furrowed, his expression turning grim. "Then why are you spreading rumors that those three from my Celestial City Academy are dead?"
The genius’s elder’s face changed as well. "That’s right, why are you spreading rumors?"
The genius said, aggrieved, "I didn’t see their bodies because there were no bodies left. I only saw three identity Tokens on the ground."
As he spoke, the genius took out three identity Tokens.
Chen Guanggu took the Tokens. His body trembled, and his vision went black for a moment.
These were indeed the identity Tokens of Hua Lin, Zhou Bu’Er, and Tang Ying.
Students of Celestial City Academy would never lose their identity Tokens, even in death. That was the rule.
"AARGH!"
Chen Guanggu’s pupils constricted, and his features twisted in a grimace.
He was truly enraged now.
Three of the Celestial Capital’s Four Heroes were dead. What a devastating loss!
Celestial City Academy’s future was practically ruined!
Now, when he returned, he would surely face a reckoning from his peers.
"Who was it!?"
Chen Guanggu’s eyes darted around fiercely. ’There aren’t many people with this kind of ability. No more than five... no, no more than three!’
The genius from the Zhao Kingdom said with a tremor in his voice, "I really don’t know, but judging from the footprints, it looked like the work of a single person!"
Hearing this, everyone present was shaken to the core.
’One person!?’
’A single person killed three of Celestial City’s heroes and dozens of other Celestial City Academy disciples!?’
’This person is too monstrous, aren’t they?’
’Besides those few monstrous talents, there’s probably no one else.’
Instantly, the experts present began to ponder just who this person could be.
Chen Guanggu clenched his fists so tightly his teeth ground together. "Mo Yunlei is still in the secret realm. He will definitely get revenge. He must!"
"We’ll just wait and see!"
After speaking, he used a Secret Technique to inform Mo Yunlei of the news.
This Secret Technique was a one-way transmission. Inside the secret realm, Mo Yunlei could only receive the message; he couldn’t reply because of the realm’s shielding Restrictions.
Chen Guanggu was utterly confident that once Mo Yunlei received the news, he would investigate to the very end and kill the murderer with his own hands.
...
