The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

In particular, the explosion of the corpses of the three Soul Kings killed by Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Chen Zifeng was so powerful it felt like an earthquake. The steep cliffs on both sides trembled, and the wild beasts deep in the Mingdou Mountains let out terrified cries, creating chaos.

Moreover, Ma Xiaotao and the other two were all in the center of the battle, surrounded by the most fallen corpses; they were completely in the epicenter of the explosion.

Fortunately, Xu Zihuang's warning, and his use of his third soul skill, Time Distortion, delayed the explosion, allowing them to use their strongest defensive measures immediately.

In this critical situation, the inner court disciples demonstrated their exceptional adaptability. Dai Yueheng unhesitatingly used his three amplification-type soul skills. While he might not be as strong as Ma Xiaotao, his White Tiger Martial Soul was inherently a combination of offense and defense.

Ma Xiaotao, on the other hand, fully activated her second soul skill, Phoenix Rebirth, and her third soul skill, Phoenix Wings Soaring. As a power-attack type soul master, her Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul and Dai Yueheng's White Tiger martial soul have different focuses; she excels more in ranged attacks. These are the only two soul skills that amplify her abilities. However, her own soul power is as high as level 68, so her overall defensive strength is not much inferior to Dai Yueheng's.

As for Chen Zifeng, although his cultivation was inferior to Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng, the Soul King's corpse not far from him had been directly cut into several pieces by his Soul-Chasing Sword, significantly reducing the power of the explosion. Among the three, he actually faced the least pressure.

As the three of them unleashed their defensive measures, Xu Zihuang's reinforcements arrived. A thick, dark red crystal barrier instantly solidified around them.

The terrifying explosion shattered the dark red crystal barrier that Xu Zihuang had conjured, turning it into countless fragments. But at least it gave the three of them a slight delay.

Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, and Chen Zifeng were blasted to the side, all coughing up blood, clearly suffering internal injuries. However, thanks to their soul skills and soul power protecting them, they managed to avoid being contaminated by the highly corrosive and toxic blood produced by the exploding corpses.

In contrast, Xixi was not so lucky. She was not far from Ma Xiaotao and the other two. Although she was not in the center of the explosion, she was an agility-type Soul Master and lacked defensive means.

All he could rely on was his own soul power, the lightning protection around him, and the protection of Xu Zihuang's crystal barrier.

She was thrown back by the terrifying force of the explosion, crashing heavily against the mountainside, her face ashen. Fortunately, the surrounding boulders formed a natural barrier, leaving only some poisonous blood on her back.

In an open area, Xixi's speed might have saved him from such a predicament. But unfortunately, in this narrow canyon, no more than fifty meters wide, he had no way to escape.

Ling Luochen and Yao Haoxuan, who were relatively far from the center of the battle, were in no better condition than Xixi.

One of them is a control-type, and the other is a support-control type. Their defensive capabilities are even less than Xixi's.

Fortunately, Xu Zihuang's crystal barrier and Ling Luochen's ice crystal armor helped defend them, preventing their situation from becoming too dire.

However, Yao Haoxuan, who released his martial soul and transformed into a giant, was the one who suffered the most explosive force due to his enormous size. His body was covered with poisonous blood, billowing thick smoke, and he let out screams.

Although Ling Luochen absorbed less of the explosive force, her martial soul was of the ice element, which offered almost no boost to her physical abilities. She was immediately rendered unconscious. Fortunately, with Yao Haoxuan shielding her, she was spared from being contaminated by the poisonous blood.

Gongyang Mo's martial soul is the Rainbow Dragon, which gives him the innate ability to fly.

He was already in the air when the corpse exploded, and with Xu Zihuang's third soul skill, Time Distortion, helping to delay the explosion, he quickly took the opportunity to vigorously flap his seven-colored wings on his back and climb into the sky. As a support-type soul master, he was the least affected by the explosion.

As for Wang Yan, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou on the other side, they did not venture into the battle. Protected by Xu Zihuang's soul skill, they were only affected by the impact of the explosion, suffering only minor internal organ tremors.

Xu Sanshi even had the energy to activate his second soul skill, Xuanming Shield Formation, to block the splattering poisonous blood for everyone.

Xu Zihuang's chest heaved violently; his soul skills were indeed powerful. However, they also consumed a great deal of his own soul power. In particular, his third soul skill, Time Distortion, which delayed the Corpse Explosion—an attack equivalent to a Soul Saint—had nearly depleted his soul power in an instant.

"Jiang Xuejie, Wang Dong, stay hidden!" Xu Zihuang shouted a reminder before pulling Ning Tian into his arms and quickly leaning against a nearby large rock.

Jiang Nannan and Wang Dong quickly realized what was happening. They were far enough away from the battle to simply defend themselves against the poisonous blood, which they were strong enough to handle.

Blood splattered on the surrounding rocks, hissing and filling the air with an intensely pungent stench and a damp, soothing sensation. An area several hundred meters in diameter appeared to be covered in a layer of blood plasma.

"Hahahaha... How powerful is my corpse explosion? No matter how strong you are, you will all perish here. Before my chain of corpse explosions, even if you are not killed by the explosions, you will be poisoned to death. Since you dare to cause trouble for me, I will turn you all into corpse slaves!"

The arrogant voice of the Grim Reaper echoed through the canyon.

His corpse explosion was indiscriminate, and none of his subordinates, who possessed the same level of cultivation as Ma Xiaotao and the others, survived the terrifying explosion.

But he didn't care at all. As long as he was alive, it wouldn't be difficult to rebuild the Death Messenger bandit gang.

But the next moment, the Death Messenger's arrogant laughter abruptly stopped.

"Damn it!" The old man's angry roar suddenly rang out, and under this roar, the Grim Reaper felt as if his consciousness was about to blur.

The disheveled figure arrived at the same time as the roar rang out; it was Elder Xuan.

He had been secretly following the group all along. With his cultivation level, he could clearly sense that the highest-ranking member of the Death Messenger bandit group was only a five-ring Soul King. They would have absolutely no chance of resisting the elite disciples of the inner courtyard.

But an unexpected incident still occurred. He never imagined that the Death Messenger, with the cultivation of a Soul King, could unleash a Corpse Explosion with power comparable to an attack at the Soul Saint level.

One can only imagine the feelings of Elder Xuan right now. It goes beyond simple grief and indignation. With him personally overseeing the situation, such significant damage still occurred.

If Yu Tianhuang hadn't noticed the anomaly beforehand and used his soul skill to protect everyone, the outcome would likely have been even more disastrous.

"Who goes there?!"

The Death Messenger let out a terrified scream, and five spirit rings—three yellow and two purple—flashed in succession on its body.

But in the hands of the super strong Elder Xuan, everything was in vain.

With a swift grab of his right hand, the Death Messenger exploded into a cloud of blood mist before it could even resist under the terrifying pressure.

This time, Elder Xuan was truly enraged. He casually killed the Death Messenger, and with a wave of his hand, a dense, earth-yellow soul force instantly filled the canyon, causing all the poisonous blood that was corroding the rocks and the bodies of the inner disciples to evaporate in an instant.

With disheveled hair, Elder Xuan surveyed the situation of everyone. The only thing that comforted him was that, thanks to Yu Tianhuang's quick thinking, the worst-case scenario had not occurred.

Yao Haoxuan, Ling Luochen, and Xixi, who sustained more serious injuries, were not in mortal danger. Ma Xiaotao, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Gongyang Mo, although seriously injured, remained conscious.

A group of inner court disciples gathered together, and Wang Yan also came over with Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and He Caitou.

"Elder Xuan, how is the situation?" Wang Yan asked with a sorrowful expression.

Old Master Xuan patted his forehead in frustration, his red eyes peeking out from his disheveled hair, filled with self-reproach.

“Ling Luochen and Xixi both suffered severe internal injuries. However, Yao Haoxuan is the most seriously injured, as the poisonous blood has already invaded his body. All three of them need to receive timely treatment.”

Wang Yan then looked at Ma Xiaotao and the other two with concern.

"Xiao Tao, Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, Gongyang Mo, how are you all doing?"

"I'm alright, just some internal injuries from the shock. But I estimate it will take at least half a month to recover before I can use my martial spirit again." Ma Xiaotao's face was extremely pale.

This also means that she will be unable to compete in the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament for the first half of the month. Three members of the current starting team have been lost, and Dai Yueheng and Chen Zifeng are likely in no better shape.

With them unable to play, it's questionable whether Shrek Academy can even hold out for another two weeks.

“My situation is similar to Xiao Tao’s,” Dai Yueheng added, explaining his own predicament. His fists were clenched, and his mood was no better than Ma Xiao Tao’s. He had been eagerly anticipating the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament being held in Xingluo City for a long time.

Chen Zifeng didn't react as strongly as the other two, but he was still somewhat shaken.

"My situation is probably slightly better than Xiao Tao's and Dai Yueheng's."

Looking back now, he still feels a chill of fear.

If it weren't for Yu Tianhuang's soul skill, he would have paid a heavy price with the limited defensive power of his Soul Chasing Sword Martial Soul.

Gongyang Mo, who was usually soft-spoken, became unusually serious at this moment.

"When the corpse exploded, I managed to take off in time and avoid most of the impact. I only suffered some internal injuries. With the help of medicine, I should be able to go back into action in about ten days."

Although Wang Yan was simply asking about their injuries, they all knew in their hearts that the upcoming Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament was not going to be a good thing.

Elder Xuan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, the self-reproach in his eyes had been replaced by determination.

"Wang Yan, the arduous task of leading everyone to Xingluo City to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament falls on your shoulders. You should first take Xiao Tao and the others to Xingyue City to stabilize their injuries, and then head to Xingluo City immediately. I will take Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan, and Xixi back to the academy for treatment. Without further ado, let's split up."

After saying that, Elder Xuan released the level-eight flying soul tool he had used earlier to travel, wrapped the three of them in soul power, and flew at full speed towards Shrek Academy.

Although the accident caused varying degrees of injury to the inner court disciples, fortunately none of them were in mortal danger.

There is still a chance to salvage the situation.

Wang Yan watched as Elder Xuan disappeared into the distant horizon before turning his gaze away and sighing softly.

"Let's go back to Starmoon City first."

He knew that Elder Xuan was filled with self-blame, but such an accident couldn't be entirely blamed on him. Who could have imagined that a Soul King-level evil Soul Master could unleash a Soul Saint-level attack by detonating a corpse?

Moreover, as the teacher in charge, he also has an inescapable responsibility.

Fortunately, none of the children in the reserve team were seriously injured, otherwise they would have felt guilty for the rest of their lives.

Jiang Nannan and Wang Dong emerged from behind the rock they had used to conceal themselves, their faces filled with shame. As they looked at the approaching crowd, each one paler than the last, their shame intensified.

"Teacher Wang."

From beginning to end, only the two of them were of no help whatsoever.

"You don't need to blame yourselves. The responsibility this time lies with me; I failed to command everyone properly." Wang Yan gave a wry smile and stepped behind another huge rock.

Xu Zihuang leaned against the rock, holding Ning Tian tightly, his deep purple eyes revealing weariness.

Ning Tian rested her fair chin on his chest, her light blue eyes misty as she stared at him intently.

In reality, only a short time had passed between Xu Zihuang hiding behind the rocks with Ning Tian, ​​Xuan Lao appearing to kill the God Messenger, and his departure.

Ning Tian had not yet recovered from the previous crisis and the shock he had received from Xu Zihuang.

But Xu Zihuang's tired appearance was deliberately feigned. With his physical strength, even if his soul power was exhausted, he wouldn't be so weak that he couldn't even stand up.

However, what he did was entirely reasonable and there was nothing wrong with it.

Having done everyone such a huge favor, how could I not do my best to show it off?

Upon seeing Wang Yan and the others, Ning Tian seemed to wake from a dream and hurriedly stood up shyly.

Although she had long since decided in her heart that she loved Yu Tianhuang and didn't mind having close contact with him, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward under the watchful eyes of everyone.

"Teacher Wang," Xu Zihuang called out, making a move to get up.

However, Wang Yan stopped him.

"Tianhuang, you should sit down and rest. We'll leave the Mingdou Mountains once everyone has recovered."

Dai Yueheng, Chen Zifeng, and Gongyang Mo all looked at Xu Zihuang with gratitude, especially seeing how difficult it was for him to even get up. Besides gratitude, a sense of shame welled up within them.

Despite being regular team members and senior students of the inner academy, they ended up needing help from an outer academy disciple.

Ma Xiaotao patted her chest even more boldly.

"Anyway, I've already owed you a lot of favors before, so I won't say more. If you need my help in the future, as long as it's within my power, I'll do it for you."

"Senior Sister Xiao Tao, and all the seniors, please don't be so polite. Didn't Elder Xuan say that since we joined the Shrek Academy's Supervisory Group, we've been comrades-in-arms? Supporting each other is only natural." Xu Zihuang smiled gently.

"Well said." Wang Yan nodded approvingly and gestured to the crowd.

"Alright, everyone, sit down and cultivate to recover your soul power. Time is of the essence; we still need to get to Star Luo City within the limited time to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Battle Tournament."

He Caitou couldn't help but ask, "Teacher Wang, the senior students from the inner academy are injured. You don't mean you want our reserve team to represent the academy in the competition, do you?"

Wang Yan smiled wryly, "I'm afraid that's all we can do. However, the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament will last for a month. As long as we can hold our ground, we can hold out until the academy's reinforcements arrive and Xiao Tao and the others recover from their injuries. It's only a three- to five-day journey from Xingluo City to Shrek Academy. So, in reality, we only need to hold out for a few days."

Wang Yan's words reassured everyone.

The start date of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament is drawing ever closer.

Chapter 160 The Competition Begins