The sequence is too involutional, luckily I am too.

Chapter 172 Is Nangong Muyu a Traitor? A Turtle in a Jar

Lu Yan's golden artifacts ultimately had the advantage in numbers. The more than twenty artifacts worked together seamlessly, combining offense and defense, and in a short time, they suppressed the six death row inmate puppets.

The crisp sound of clashing weapons and the deafening roar of energy bursts created a cacophony of golden light and the black aura of the puppets, blasting out layers of air waves and billowing dust in the arena.

After suppressing the secret puppet, the remaining golden artifacts immediately changed direction, launching a fierce attack like arrows released from a bow, heading straight for Nangong Muyu. Their light was dazzling, and their momentum was overwhelming.

"Hey, hey, hey, this is so unfair!"

While Nangong Muyu was scrambling to dodge and weave, her robes torn in several places by the energy of the golden artifact, her hair disheveled, and all her previous composure gone, she exaggeratedly complained, but her right hand secretly reached to the top hat, her fingertips subtly hooking something, clearly hiding a backup plan.

"As expected, he still had a trump card up his sleeve."

Lu Yan was not surprised at all. A look of understanding flashed in his eyes. He suddenly accelerated and pounced on Nangong Muyu like a ghost. The armor-piercing golden sword in his hand drew a dazzling sword light and cut straight at Nangong Muyu's wrist with a sound of air being cut. He interrupted his actions and did not give him any chance to summon the new puppet.

Nangong Muyu became increasingly disheveled, attempting several times to use the flames to shift his position and escape. However, each time Lu Yan, with the Dragon King's Eye, accurately predicted his movements, his sword strikes following him relentlessly, forcing him to retreat repeatedly. His feet left deep furrows in the ground, and the exaggerated smile on his face faded somewhat.

Seeing this, the audience members whispered and discussed among themselves, while those in the prime seats leaned forward slightly, their eyes filled with anticipation.

However, not everyone was fooled by appearances. Bai Xiao, Ning Ran, and the others vaguely sensed that something was amiss.

Although Nangong Muyu's six secret puppets were strong and their coordination was perfect, their combat strength was far from what they had anticipated.

Lu Yan, on the other hand, was clearly holding back, not showing any of his other abilities so far, and not even using his domain. In particular, the long sword he carried alone at his waist had been hanging there quietly the whole time, which was completely different from his usual habit of storing all his weapons in his weapon box. It looked strange no matter how you looked at it.

Just as the group was filled with doubt, Nangong Muyu's face suddenly lost all its disheveled appearance, revealing a triumphant smile.

"Did I say that my secret doll had to be taken out of my top hat?"

His tone remained light, yet it carried a subtle hint of smugness and coldness. Before he finished speaking, a wisp of eerie black light appeared at his fingertips.

Lu Yan's heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of crisis instantly swept over him. He instinctively tried to retreat, but he was too late.

In the blink of an eye, six strangely shaped puppets appeared out of thin air behind him, surrounded by thick, inky black mist that churned with a pungent, fishy stench. Their weapons, stained with black blood and gleaming with an eerie cold light, slashed fiercely at Lu Yan's back with such speed that they were nothing but black shadows, impossible to dodge.

Everyone suddenly realized what was going on.

Nangong Muyu's previous disheveled state and evasiveness were all a facade, a prelude to this fatal blow!

Lu Yan's eyes narrowed, and without thinking, a flash of light appeared around him as he stepped directly into the mirror space, narrowly avoiding the fatal blow. The next second, he appeared at the other end of the fighting arena, his figure as steady as Mount Tai.

But his gaze completely lost its indifference, staring intently at the six newly appeared puppets. His aura suddenly turned cold and dangerous, like a sharp blade about to be drawn, with an overwhelming sense of oppression.

These six puppets also exuded the aura of the peak of Sequence 6, but they were completely different from the previous death row puppets. They were surrounded by an extremely dense and unyielding aura of evil god pollution. Wherever the black aura passed, the air became viscous and turbid, carrying a nauseating fishy smell.

They are not ordinary superhumans at all; they are all followers of the evil god!

What's even more unsettling is that after these eerie god-worshipping puppets appeared, they all knelt down and chanted obscure and incomprehensible eerie words in a low, hoarse, and chaotic voice that made people dizzy and uneasy.

As the eerie whispers spread, a large amount of black pollution began to emanate from the fighting arena. Twisted black patterns quickly appeared on the ground, from which a foul-smelling black liquid seeped, corroding the stone slabs underfoot and making a sizzling sound. The area of ​​pollution expanded at a visible speed.

The next instant, a series of scarlet system subtitles popped up in front of Lu Yan's eyes.

[The professor of arcane arts has detected a high concentration of eerie divine energy. Contamination level: Dangerous! Host is warned to be cautious!]

Lu Yan's eyes suddenly sharpened, and the golden artifacts around him instantly gathered in front of him, forming an indestructible golden barrier.

At the same time, his right hand slowly rested on the hilt of the Thousand Cuts Blade at his waist, and his gaze fell on Nangong Muyu.

"What exactly do you want?"

Nangong Muyu, however, still wore that exaggerated smile, as if he wasn't the one who had summoned the mysterious puppet and caused the pollution, as if it was all just an insignificant joke.

He slowly bowed to Lu Yan, his tone light, yet every word piercing, carrying a deadly malice: "I'm sorry, but I still can't seem to accept defeat, so—goodbye!"

The moment the words fell, the six puppets of the cultist exploded simultaneously, their flesh and bones separating. However, they did not scatter; instead, they floated and rotated eerily in mid-air, rapidly reassembling and piecing themselves together at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually solidifying into a bizarre altar with a distorted shape and covered with strange runes.

The next moment, the runes on the surface of the altar suddenly lit up with a faint black light, and the crack in the center of the altar abruptly opened.

Countless thick, inky gray mists, carrying a biting chill and a putrid stench, surged out from within, spreading rapidly in all directions like a tidal wave. Wherever they passed, the air became viscous and turbid, and even the light was slowly swallowed up.

Then, twelve powerful figures slowly emerged from the altar, exuding a strong sense of oppression. They were all Sequence 5 Apostles of the Evil God!

Behind these apostles, a steady stream of believers of the evil god were being sent.

Chaos erupted instantly!

In the audience seats, beside the golden seats, and in various corners of the fighting arena, people who looked like ordinary spectators and staff suddenly tore off their disguises, revealing the hideous marks of the cultists on their bodies, and launched fierce attacks on those who were caught off guard.

Screams, the clash of weapons, and the roar of energy bursts instantly filled the entire fighting arena, turning the once bustling arena into a battlefield.

But this chaos extends far beyond the fighting arena.

Through the dome of the arena, one can see that the entire floating island is engulfed in flames and chaos, with an astonishing number of cultists emerging from all directions, destroying everything in sight!

The source of all this was none other than Nangong Muyu, who seemed cynical and only wanted to be defeated!

"Nangong Muyu is actually a follower of the Ghost God?"

Yin Shuo and Qian Xin both changed color, their faces filled with disbelief, but upon closer reflection, everything seemed to have a traceable origin.

The moment Nangong Muyu took the initiative to challenge him, something strange began to happen. It seemed that this eccentric person was deliberately trying to attract everyone's attention.

The goal is to bring together all the elites of the original shelter!

This is clearly an opportunity for the followers of the evil god to surround and kill all of humanity's elite here!

"Never mind that now, let's run!"

Qian Xin covered his head and dodged with incredible agility.

Not to be outdone, Yin Shuo, relying on the deception path and the door path, actually rushed directly to Ning Ran's side.

In this situation, it's safer to stay with Ning Ran.

Meanwhile, a battle has also broken out on the gold medal side.

Chen Qi completely shed his former unruly demeanor, his expression becoming solemn. The smoke he exhaled instantly transformed into chains, binding a low-level follower of the Ghost God who attempted to launch a sneak attack. He then tightened the chains, directly crushing the opponent's body.

Ning Ran reacted extremely quickly. Naturally sensitive to killing intent, he drew the Yama Blade from his waist the moment the Ghost God's followers made their move. With a flash, the blade flashed, and several approaching Ghost God's followers were instantly decapitated, their blood splattering all over his robes.

Seeing this, the others in the golden seats also reacted, suppressing their shock and activating their abilities to join the battle.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, the other students in the fighting arena reacted and picked up their weapons to fight the cultists around them, with none of them backing down.

They were, after all, elites selected and trained through rigorous processes, and they had fought many battles against the followers of the evil god.

If it weren't for the news of Nangong Muyu's betrayal, they wouldn't be in such a passive position.

Now that they've realized what's happening, they naturally won't let the followers of the evil god cause trouble anymore.

"I never imagined you would be a traitor."

Lu Yan looked at Nangong Muyu, who was hiding behind the Apostle of the Evil God, and sighed softly.

"Really? Judging from your expression, you don't seem particularly surprised."

Nangong Muyu shrugged, then pulled out another top hat from somewhere, gently put it on her head, and bowed to Lu Yan again, her tone still light and cheerful.

"My performance is over. Now it's your turn."

After he finished speaking, brilliant flames erupted around him, and his figure instantly transformed into a blur, disappearing completely among the followers of the evil god.

"What a bastard!"

Lu Yan's lips twitched, his tone tinged with helplessness, but he couldn't help turning his head to look in the direction of the Divine Tree Palace.

Now that the actors are all in place, shouldn't the teachers get started?

Meanwhile, deep within the courtroom.

Jiang Nandao, Xue Jiansheng, and Wan Zhuliu stood side by side, with a towering, enormous cross standing before them.

Just as Nangong Muyu summoned the followers of the Ghost God and the black pollution aura swept across the fighting arena, the three of them moved in unison, extending their palms and pressing them heavily onto the cross in front of them.

A golden glow emanated from the palm, spreading rapidly along the lines of the cross, instantly illuminating the entire cross with a dazzling golden light.

The next instant, two enormous golden eyes suddenly appeared above the floating island, with a golden cross mark slowly flashing in the center of each eye, and a majestic and sacred aura swept over the entire floating island.

"Judgment of the Heavens, open!"

The three shouted in unison, their voices loud and firm, piercing through the crystal wall and echoing throughout the entire floating island.

With a shout, the core of the floating island suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light, which spread like a tide, instantly enveloping the entire primordial shelter.

Wherever the golden light passed, all the believers of the evil god felt as if they were isolated from the outside world by an invisible barrier.

No matter how they brandished their weapons, they could not touch the civilians around them. Their all-out attacks were like stones sinking into the sea, unable to even cause a ripple.

Meanwhile, in various corners of the shelter, the court investigators, who had been lying in wait for a long time, began to appear.

Dressed in uniform black uniforms, their movements were perfectly synchronized, their eyes sharp as knives, as they swiftly attacked their designated targets—the followers of the evil god—without the slightest hesitation.

Even more devastatingly, the secret strongholds of the cultists hidden throughout the sanctuary were also subjected to a brutal purge by the Inquisition at the same time.

The inescapable net that had been laid long ago has finally tightened!