Chapter 164: Unyielding to the Death

Lung Jiu sensed a terrifying wave of magical energy and his expression changed drastically. "Quick! Get behind me!!"

From his storage space, Lung Jiu retrieved his ultimate trump card: a high-tier barrier scroll. He had looted this item after slaying a boss in a high-difficulty dungeon. It could be activated instantly to generate a barrier with 100,000 shield points, capable of nullifying both physical and magical damage!

Zhou Shen and Fang Shu realized the danger immediately and sprinted toward Lung Jiu at full speed!

BOOM!!

Liang Jingyu detonated his Shield of Defiance, releasing all the accumulated damage he had absorbed previously magnified tenfold.

Lung Jiu could no longer care that his able subordinates had not yet crossed the threshold; he frantically shattered the barrier scroll to fend off the catastrophic explosion.

Zhou Shen, being a mage, possessed sluggish movement speed. Only half of his body made it inside the protective zone, leaving the other half exposed outside.

In contrast, Fang Shu, specializing in agile close-quarters combat, moved with incredible swiftness.

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Centered on Liang Jingyu, an energetic shockwave with a diameter of one hundred meters erupted outward.

Even a barrier boasting 100,000 armor points shattered in an instant. Lung Jiu, Fang Shu, and Zhou Shen were all struck by the blast wave. Fortunately, the barrier had absorbed the vast majority of the impact, leaving the trio to sustain roughly ten thousand points of damage. Lung Jiu, a high-tier Marquis-rank expert, possessed a health pool as high as thirty thousand; he could barely withstand ten thousand points of damage.

However, Fang Shu was a different story altogether. Being only at the peak of General-rank, his maximum health pool was a mere twelve,000. When ten thousand points of damage hit, Fang Shu’s entire set of equipment shattered into pieces. His skin was ripped wide open, exposing bloody, mangled flesh. Agony scorched his wounds, yet the perverted Fang Shu actually reveled in the excruciating pain, intentionally raking his fingers across his own lacerations to amplify the agony.

As for Zhou Shen the mage, whose health pool was barely ten,000—coupled with the fact that half his body remained outside the barrier—his lower half was completely blown apart, leaving the remainder of his torso hanging by a thread in agonizing torment.

The depraved Fang Shu stared at Zhou Shen's blown-apart lower half and his agonizing moans, drooling as he laughed shrilly, "Zhou Shen, doesn't it hurt? Don't be afraid, let me help you out!"

Zhou Shen's expression turned ashen. He wanted to speak, but found he lacked even the strength to part his lips. "Nn—"

Bang!

Fang Shu swung a flail, smashing his teammate's head into a bloody pulp. "Haha, simply gorgeous!"

At the epicenter of the shockwave, Liang Jingyu could no longer endure the overwhelming energy. Every meridian in his body snapped. In his final, fleeting moment of life, he saw that the enemy had survived the defiant explosion. A desolate look crossed his face. He knew that, in the end, he had failed to fulfill his duty as an instructor; he had failed to protect his students.

I am sorry, students!

If there is an afterlife, I will undoubtedly be your instructor once more, and I will surely keep you safe!

Boom!

Liang Jingyu’s body exploded directly, transforming into countless particles of energy.

Watching Liang Jingyu vaporize via self-detonation, Lung Jiu clutched his wounds and said coldly, "Damned bastard, he almost killed me. Fortunately, I had a high-tier barrier scroll!"

With all the instructors slaughtered, the remaining students posed no threat. Lung Jiu sat cross-legged on the ground, chugged a bottle of high-grade health potion, and initiated a state of meditation to maximize the healing efficacy and speed of the potion.

Fang Shu followed suit, downing a health potion and entering a meditative trance to rapidly repair his battered physique.

Ding Yan, Ye Ziyan, and Shangguan Chaoyue had originally been executing guerrilla tactics, specializing in picking off isolated stragglers.

When the three of them heard a deafening explosion in the distance, they exchanged bewildered glances.

Ding Yan's expression shifted. "Could something have happened to the instructors... No, I have to go check it out!"

Shangguan Chaoyue spoke with speechless exasperation, "Ding Yan! Are you seeking a death wish? If even the instructors couldn't defeat them, going over there is just marching to your execution!"

Ding Yan remained fiercely optimistic, "What if the instructors are currently locked in a stalemate with the enemy, and we're just lacking an outside reinforcement to turn the tide? Besides, I'm not stupid; I'll just sneak back for a peek. If the situation looks bleak, we can always retreat immediately!"

Ye Ziyan naturally deferred to whatever Ding Yan decided, leaving Shangguan Chaoyue with no choice but to tag along.

Because the students had fled in all directions, the members of the Vast Heaven Guild were heavily dispersed in their pursuit.

Supplemented by Shangguan Chaoyue’s advance scouting as an assassin, the trio managed to sneak back to the mountain stronghold without triggering any major mishaps.

However, the stronghold had already been reduced to a colossal crater. Near the entrance of the mysterious abyss, the corpses of the nine instructors were stacked neatly atop one another like firewood—the handiwork of the deranged Fang Shu.

Ding Yan’s eyes reddened instantly. "The instructors... they're all dead!!"

Ding Yan could not comprehend it. Didn't those members of the Zhi Zi Legion constantly preach about freedom, evolution, and fairness? Why, then, were they killing people? Why resort to such savage, brutal methods?! How were they any different from ruthless terrorists?!

Right then and there, Ding Yan swore a silent, solemn vow in his heart: one day, he would slaughter every single member of the Zhi Zi Legion down to the last soul!

Shangguan Chaoyue urged them to depart immediately, warning that the area remained perilous.

Yet Ding Yan kept his eyes locked firmly onto the spatial rift. "Chen Mo hasn't come out yet. We'll set up an ambush here. The moment Chen Mo and the others emerge, we can coordinate our strike from the inside and outside to kill the enemy!"

Abruptly, Lung Jiu snapped his eyes open.

Though Ding Yan and his companions were five hundred meters away, with Lung Jiu’s formidable strength, virtually no sound within a thousand-meter radius could escape his ears.

As an assassin, Shangguan Chaoyue was exceptionally sensitive to murderous intent.

"Not good! The enemy has detected us! Run!"

Swish, swish—

Lung Jiu moved at the speed of sound. In the blink of an eye, he bridged the five-hundred-meter gap and materialized directly before the trio.

"So it's three little kids who don't know the meaning of death! What's this, you still wanted to coordinate an inside-and-out attack to kill me? Haha, come on, I'm standing right here. Let me grant you three little brats a chance!"

Realizing escape was no longer an option, Ding Yan knew they had no choice left but to fight. Through gritted teeth, he spoke in an icy tone, "You killed the instructors!!"

Lung Jiu sneered, "That's right, I killed every single one of them!"

Ding Yan leaped violently into the air. "Then there's no mistake! I'm going to avenge the fallen instructors!!"

Fivefold Flame Sword!!

Fueled by blinding fury, Ding Yan experienced an explosive breakthrough in his combat talent. Originally capable of executing a threefold slash at most, he directly unleashed a fivefold flaming strike!

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

Five flaming sword phantoms converged, their destructive power compounding exponentially!

Lung Jiu shook his head dismissively. "Too weak! Vast Heaven Hammer! Die!"

Lung Jiu could not even be bothered to expend energy materializing an ethereal hammer; instead, he swung a solid, heavy blow directly at Ding Yan's body!

Leaf Shield!

Thud—

Never in his wildest dreams had Lung Jiu anticipated that his opponent possessed a defensive skill!

Although his casual hammer blow shattered the Leaf Shield, it failed to inflict fatal damage.

Enduring the searing pain tearing at his chest, Ding Yan roared, "Pay with your life for the instructors!"

Bang!

The fivefold flame sword slashed into Lung Jiu, cutting clean through his B-tier warrior breastplate and biting deep into his flesh.

-1000 HP!!

It dealt a full thousand points of damage!

Lung Jiu flew into a frenzy. "You mere piece of trash actually managed to wound me! You're courting death!!"

Huh?!

Lung Jiu lunged forward to retaliate, only to discover that his ankles had been tightly bound by vegetation sprouting from the ground!

Damn it, these little brats are really full of surprises!

Stealth Critical Strike.

Shangguan Chaoyue had remained hidden in the shadows the entire time, biding her time for this exact opening!

Their teamwork was flawlessly synchronized. Shangguan Chaoyue’s assassin twin blades lunged swiftly toward Lung Jiu’s throat.

Lung Jiu channeled his Vast Heaven energy and unleashed a localized shockwave, effortlessly shattering all the entangling vines before executing a counter-swing with his Vast Heaven Hammer.

The Vast Heaven Hammer materialized into a twenty-meter-long energy colossus. Boom!!

Brute force overcomes all techniques!

No matter how blindingly fast Shangguan Chaoyue was, facing the overwhelming torrent of power heading straight for her, she was blasted hundreds of meters backward in an instant, her life or death entirely unknown.

Lung Jiu paced step by step toward Ding Yan. "Have you prepared your last words?"

Ding Yan threw his head back and burst into wild laughter. "Haha, I'm ready. My dying words are: before I kick the bucket, let me rail your wife!"

Lung Jiu’s face turned an immediate shade of sickly green. "You little bastard, you're dead!"