CHAPTER 83: NING XUEJIAN

Gao Qingyu's trio bristled against the intense killing intent that was suddenly surging out of Wei Zihao's body.

Wei Zihao felt as if he could hear a voice in his mind.

"Let's work together and kill everyone here. Otherwise, both of us will die! You did nothing wrong, yet they're trying to kill you. All you did was eat a Blood Spirit Ginseng, is that an unforgivable crime? Who wouldn't do the same thing in your shoes?

“I can give you everything that they can't! Wealth, power, you name it! Open your heart to me. Abandon your sense of justice and throw away that accursed jade pendant! Become one with me!"

Wei Zihao's expression instantly became twisted with fury and indignation.

He's right! What did I do wrong? All I did was eat a Blood Spirit Ginseng! Anyone would've done the same thing in my shoes, so why do I deserve to die?

His mind was corrupted in an instant, and he didn't even put up any resistance.

The jade pendant in his hand fell to the ground, and a burst of darkness rose up around him like a flurry of black flames, engulfing his entire head to form a new face.

This new face had a pair of eyes that resembled bottomless abysses, and it sneered, "So you caught me! But so what? You're powerless to stop me!"

The darkness took on the form of a hand before grabbing onto a faint ball of light, which was Wei Zihao's soul.

The ball of light was quickly tainted by darkness, instantly making it indistinguishable from the rest of the darkness around it.

Meng Hejun and Gao Qingyu both heaved a forlorn sigh.

They had considered the worst-case scenario, but never had they imagined that Wei Zihao would willingly cooperate with the malicious entity and offer up his own soul to be devoured.

Having said that, this was an understandable decision. Not everyone was willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. It was simply a matter of personal choice, and Wei Zihao had shown his true colors in his final moments.

They had already done everything in their power to try and ensure his survival, but this outcome was hardly surprising to them.

After all, it was clear that Wei Zihao wasn't someone who possessed much mental fortitude.

Huang Yifan immediately sprang into action, thrusting a palm toward Wei Zihao, while Meng Hejun tossed out a Soul Destruction Jade Hood without any hesitation.

The jade hood released a tremendous amount of energy in the form of holy white light, instantly encompassing and immobilizing all of the darkness.

"You think that's enough to stop me?" the black shadow roared as it retaliated with all its might.

The darkness took on the form of two massive, black hands, which grabbed onto the edges of the Soul Destruction Jade Hood.

Right at this moment, Huang Yifan's palm came crashing down onto Wei Zihao's head, instantly shattering his entire body from head to toe and reducing him to a pile of mincemeat.

With its physical vessel gone, the darkness was quickly sucked into the Soul Destruction Jade Hood, following which the opening of the jade hood closed on its own, and it fell to the ground, where it began rolling around like some type of possessed toy.

Clearly, the shadowy figure still hadn't given up.

"Thank heavens this is only a soul fragment, and one that hasn't fully developed, at that," Meng Hejun mused with a look of lingering fear in her eyes. "If it had been given some time to grow stronger, then we would've truly been in some trouble."

Gao Qingyu was also thanking his lucky stars.

Wei Zihao was a very mediocre student in the academy, so if it weren't for Fang Che, no one would've noticed the gradual change in his complexion, and even if they did, they wouldn't have thought anything of it.

After all, using certain cultivation arts and consuming certain pills could have an impact on one's physical appearance, so that would've hardly been a cause for alarm.

If the soul fragment had successfully taken over Wei Zihao's body, it would've been able to devour more souls while remaining completely undetected.

As it grew in power, it would've been able to devour souls at a faster and faster rate, and before long, the entire academy would've been reduced to a demonic hellscape, and eventually, the population of the White Cloud Prefecture would've been wiped out in its entirety.

Just the mere thought of the potential consequences that could've been were enough to raise a film of cold sweat on Gao Qingyu's forehead.

The three of them exchanged a relieved glance with one another.

"Thank heavens we intervened in time."

"It's all thanks to Fang Che!"

Right at this moment, a resounding boom rang out from the Soul Destruction Jade Hood on the ground, and the trio looked on with incredulous expressions as a crack appeared on its surface.

A wisp of darkness was quickly seeping out of the crack.

The darkness was looking nowhere near as potent, clearly indicating that it was severely weakened, but it had managed to break free!

Meng Hejun hurriedly pulled out the other Soul Destruction Jade Hood, feeling extremely grateful for the fact that Dongfang Sansan had the foresight to give her two jade hoods instead of just one.

Never had she even heard of a soul breaking out of a Soul Destruction Jade Hood from the inside, and with that in mind, she couldn't help but wonder exactly who this soul fragment belonged to.

The second Soul Destruction Jade Hood was set down next to the first one, sucking in all of the darkness that escaped from the latter.

It was a seamless process, and all of the darkness was captured without fail.

"Master Nine's foresight is truly unmatched!" Meng Hejun praised in earnest.

The darkness had already expended the vast majority of its power breaking through the first Soul Destruction Jade Hood, leaving it in an extremely feeble state, so there was no way it could force its way out of the second one.

Right at this moment, a white-robed figure abruptly appeared in the room.

"Is it done?"

"Yes, Master Ning!"

The trio hurriedly extended a collective respectful salute to the white-robed figure.

The figure picked up the jade hood, then took a moment to examine the broken one, and he remarked to himself, "As expected of..."

Gao Qingyu's trio were listening intently, eager to hear the identity of the soul fragment's owner, but the white-robed figure's voice trailed off there, maintaining the suspense.

He stowed the two jade hoods away into his spatial ring, then said, "Well done. Brother Nine is very pleased, and your White Cloud Warrior Academy will be given a reward the next time all of the academies are gathered for a conference."

"Please thank Master Nine for me!" Gao Qingyu said in an ecstatic manner.

Dongfang Sansan was giving him an opportunity to show off to all of the other academy deans, and that was a reward in itself!

He was determined to take advantage of this opportunity to gloat to all of the other old farts as much as possible during the next conference!

"Brother Nine has also said that he's willing to fulfill a request of yours, as long as it's within reason. If you have any request you'd like to make, you can tell me, and I'll relay it to Brother Nine," the white-robed figure said.

The trio exchanged a glance with one another, following which Gao Qingyu spoke on their behalf. "We have no additional requests. We've only done what's to be expected of us."

"Alright, in that case, I'll be going now. There's still an ongoing battle that I have to attend to."

With that, the white-robed figure raced out the window as a streak of white light, instantly vanishing into the distant sky.

"Was... Was that Master Ning Xuejian?" Huang Yifan asked in a stunned voice.

"That's right."

Ning Xuejian was the third-ranked warrior on the Cloud Weapon Archive.

"I've heard so many stories about Master Ning Xuejian and his extraordinary feats, but nothing compared to meeting him in person!"

Huang Yifan's eyes were glowing with idolization as he spoke.

Meng Hejun's heart was also filled with admiration as she said, "I heard from my father that Master Ning is my eldest uncle's lifelong target. My eldest uncle admires Master Xue Fuxiao the most, but Master Ning Xuejian is the one that he aspires most to become. My uncles even brought this up the last time I went to visit them.

“I've never met my eldest uncle, but whenever my father and my other uncles mention him, they always speak of him with gratitude and reverence. These bells were given to me by my eldest uncle as a birth gift."

She raised her wrist as she spoke, causing her bracelet of bells to chime in a soothing manner.

"My eldest uncle found these bells in the cave abode of a powerful warrior. They contain a mystical power that can preserve one's soul even in death. This is something that my father has always felt great guilt and remorse over. If my eldest uncle had been carrying these bells, he would've been able to survive even after his body was destroyed in battle by Duan Xiyang.

“According to my mother, my father held me and burst into tears after he returned and passed on my eldest uncle's parting gift to me. I may have never met him before, but I have a pretty good idea of what he was like, given how much my seniors always spoke about."

"How are the Star Lords?" Gao Qingyu asked.

"They're fine, but they look much older than before."

The Star Lords weren't particularly powerful, but they deserved to be looked up to for their moral and upstanding character.

Meng Hejun allowed her thoughts to wander for a moment, following which she said, "Master Nine most likely sent Master Ning as a safety precaution in case we were unable to capture that soul fragment. Having said that, I wonder who the owner of the soul fragment could've been to warrant a personal visit from Master Ning."

The same question was also on Huang Yifan and Gao Qingyu's minds.

***

In the distant sky, a streak of swordlight was racing through the air, threatening to slice the very heavens into two.

Even from hundreds of kilometers away, any bystanders who witnessed this streak of swordlight were struck by a sensation of sharp pain in their eyes, forcing them to avert their gaze.

"It's Master Ning!"