CHAPTER 305: CHAPTER 305: THE SEVENTH LEVEL IS DESTROYED

"Whew—"

The wings violently flapped again, and the reflections on both sides turned into virtual lines. Like a meteor, he sped toward the solitary peak, closing in rapidly.

HISS HISS HISS—

Suddenly, dozens of massive exotic beasts burst forth from below. Although they weren’t as huge as the Golden Eagle he had initially encountered, their size alone indicated they were not to be trifled with.

Moreover, as these figures broke through the void, beams of light rained down like dense droplets. If Wang Lan hadn’t already been moving at high speed, he believed he would not have been able to dodge these laser strikes.

And the power of these light beams was such that a graze would leave them severely injured, while a direct hit would mean instant death.

Despite his speed, Wang Lan’s Flame Wings were unexpectedly agile. It was as if each feather could be controlled to make fine adjustments, allowing Wang Lan to maintain high speed while dexterously changing direction.

The exotic beasts below didn’t seem particularly interested in Wang Lan. After a few probing attacks, they surprisingly didn’t give chase, allowing Wang Lan to break through and fly into the solitary peak’s domain.

"Wang Lan, we’re going to crash, we’re going to crash—We’re about to hit it—!" Yu Ruoyun yelled, pale with fright.

"Fuck, I’m out of Star Power—!" Wang Lan’s face also drastically changed with fear.

BOOM—

With a loud crash, Wang Lan tightly hugged Yu Ruoyun in his arms, turning his back at the critical moment to bravely withstand a terrifying impact with the Phoenix Saint Cloth.

BANG BANG BANG—

A series of dense explosions sounded not far away. The relentlessly pursuing Wind God Wyverns had caught up to them. But they didn’t have Wang Lan’s agile dodging abilities.

They were nearly wiped out by a round of attacks from the beasts below.

The protective barriers surrounding the Wind God Wyverns proved utterly useless; even a slight graze from the light beams caused them to explode in mid-air, leaving no corpse behind.

「At this moment, outside at the Star Martial Academy in Modu City.」

After receiving the order to temporarily end the Nine-layer Pagoda trial, the seniors and those students who had signed up for the trial began to walk out the gates one after another. As more people exited, Eld Di’s face grew increasingly grim.

"Eld Di... Has Yu Ruoyun...?" a pale-faced tactical instructor asked. Although he already had a suspicion, he dared not voice it.

All of the students had exited the gate, but the most important student was nowhere to be found.

"Has anyone seen Yu Ruoyun?" Eld Di asked somberly as he approached the neatly lined-up crowd.

"Principal, I saw him five days ago. Yu Ruoyun and three classmates were grinding at the site of the Golden Winged Fire Scorpions. And... the battle was fierce."

"I remember, later it seemed like there was a big battle, and by the time we got there, we couldn’t find Student Yu Ruoyun. But the Golden Winged Fire Scorpion tribe had been wiped out, and there were traces of clean-up at the scene. I guess Yu Ruoyun must have gone somewhere else to grind."

"Has anyone seen Yu Ruoyun after that?"

The students fell silent; the last sighting of Yu Ruoyun was two days ago. The incident at the Nine-layer Pagoda occurred this morning.

"How are the casualties?"

"Twenty dead, one hundred and fifty injured. The rest are either uninjured or slightly injured," reported the leading instructor.

Eld Di looked at the seventh level of the Nine-layer Pagoda mountainous area, which was shining with light. "Nangong, I plan to go to the seventh level. Please take care of the academy in the meantime."

"Principal! Please reconsider."

"Ruoyun must be safe!" Eld Di insisted emphatically.

Just as Eld Di took a step forward, he suddenly trembled all over. Looking up, he saw the signboard of the seventh level had gone out.

Eld Di, who had weathered countless storms and always remained composed, suddenly turned pale.

The extinguishing of the seventh level meant one thing: those who had entered the seventh level were dead. The Nine-layer Pagoda could no longer sense their life energy.

In an instant, everyone’s expression changed, and those who understood what it meant showed various reactions.

There was shock, horror, anger, and even relief.

"Principal, they’re dead!" Nangong Meng suddenly grabbed Eld Di’s arm.

"Open the pagoda!" Eld Di’s cheeks twitched violently as he held back his anger and commanded.

"Principal! They’re already dead, and it’s meaningless for you to go now. Perhaps not even their bodies will be left."

"At least I can find out how they got to the seventh level."

"Principal, not even the Five Emperors are sure about dealing with the exotic beasts on the seventh level. You must remain calm; the academy can’t function without you."

"Principal—"

The teachers who had come to their senses quickly pleaded in unison.

Eld Di shook off Nangong Meng’s arm and stepped toward the entrance of the Nine-layer Pagoda.

"Principal! They’re already dead! Are you really going to ruin the academy’s two-hundred-year foundation for those who’ve already sacrificed themselves? If you fight your way to the seventh layer, what will become of the academy? What about the future students?" Nangong Meng questioned, looking at Eld Di’s back.

"If they were still alive, I would bet the entire academy and accompany you on this journey, but look! The seventh layer has already been extinguished!"

Nangong Meng’s words made Eld Di shudder once more, as if in an instant, all his strength was drained from his body, vanishing into thin air.

「In the Nine-layer Pagoda’s seventh layer, Yu Ruoyun carried Wang Lan across the endless seven thousand steps.」

The fierce impact was finally resisted by the Phoenix Form, but even so, Wang Lan’s inner palace was still severely damaged. However, with the Self Healing talent, as long as he didn’t die on the spot, he could recover quickly.

After the Phoenix Form ended, Wang Lan blissfully passed out.

Yu Ruoyun, who had also used up the Dragon Emperor Form, wasn’t as fortunate as Wang Lan. Despite having exhausted her Star Power and physical strength, she persisted in carrying Wang Lan across the lengthy steps and brought him to the entrance of a great hall.

After placing Wang Lan on the ground, Yu Ruoyun herself slumped down powerlessly. Yet, just three seconds after sitting, Yu Ruoyun forced herself up again, her face full of worry as she looked at Wang Lan, her eyes sparkling with sharpness.

Wang Lan’s condition at this moment was very bad!

Golden flames flickered around his body, and this time, instead of protecting Wang Lan, the flames were crazily eroding his body.

When Yu Ruoyun had picked up Wang Lan, she had already sensed his condition; he was like someone possessed, with boiling Star Power coursing through his body. However, having also experienced Star Power Fusion, Yu Ruoyun’s condition was entirely different from Wang Lan’s.

The Dragon Emperor Form, which had been stuck for nearly three years, had surprisingly made a breakthrough after the fusion of Star Power.

So this is what Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious within the Azure Dragon Skill actually meant.

Even her great uncle, Qing Emperor, who inherited the Azure Dragon Skill, never truly mastered the Dragon Emperor Form because it lacked Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious. But the Qing Emperor, with his dazzling and unmatched talent, had merged the Azure Dragon Skill with the essence of wood, taking a different path to create the Azure Dragon Form. However, this method was too difficult, the conditions too demanding, and perhaps throughout history, only Qing Emperor himself could achieve it.

Yu Ruoyun had planned to wait until her Cultivation Level reached the latter stages of the Star Sea Stage and then attempt to follow in her great uncle’s footsteps. Even if it wasn’t the exact same path, it could serve as a reference. But she never imagined that the conditions for Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious would be met so effortlessly.

But... what on earth is happening with Wang Lan’s condition?

Yu Ruoyun bit her lip tightly and extended her hand towards Wang Lan’s forehead. The Phoenix Star Power continuously flowed into Yu Ruoyun’s body, and the worsening of Wang Lan’s body’s condition slowed.

But this was not a sustainable solution. Star Power didn’t appear out of thin air; without absorbing Soul Beads, an abnormal increase in Star Power had only one source—overdrawing cellular life.

In just this short period, a few white hairs had unexpectedly appeared on Wang Lan’s head.

Yu Ruoyun’s eyes flickered. A blush suddenly stained her pretty cheeks as she gazed, transfixed, at Wang Lan’s serene face. Slowly, her ’predatory’ hand reached for the ’tender youth’.

Wang Lan had a deep and terrifying dream. He and Yu Ruoyun collided head-on with an isolated peak and continued their trajectory, smashing through the Earth’s mantle and reaching the core.

In the core, magma was everywhere, its extreme heat almost roasting him alive. But at the crucial moment, Jiang Xinyu crossed time and space to arrive; a single Aurora blossomed and froze the whole mantle, dissipating the oppressive heat.

Returning to a cooler state, Wang Lan felt the heaviness of his eyelids and sluggishly opened his eyes. CLANG. A soft noise echoed near his ear. Wang Lan turned his head to find his Phoenix Saint Cloth had somehow been dismantled, scattered to the side.

Meanwhile, Yu Ruoyun was sitting not far from him, her body surrounded by Star Power that flickered like a pulsating heartbeat.

In an instant, Wang Lan recalled the events that had transpired and quickly sank into his Spiritual Sea of Consciousness. The Phoenix Form had evolved into Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious, and it was now a diamond-level Star Martial Skill.

In a rush, Wang Lan focused his spiritual power on Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious. Possessing the Power of Dragon and Phoenix, its might doubled once activated, yet the consumption of skill points remained ten per second. Thank goodness, the system still has some integrity and didn’t inflate the cost on the spot.

The only thing that annoyed Wang Lan was that the learning requirement for Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious had climbed a level, from the Galaxy Stage to the Star Sea Stage.

Just as I was about to break through to the Galaxy Stage and completely master the Phoenix Form along with other Star Martial Skills, you freaking evolved too?

Wang Lan sighed and slowly sat up.

"You’re awake?" Yu Ruoyun’s voice carried an unnatural gentleness that struck Wang Lan. Hmm, maybe she wanted to be gentle but was unaccustomed to it, which made her seem awkward, he thought.

"Where is this? How did we get here?" Wang Lan curiously scanned the hall. It was a decrepit grand hall. In the center, a deity should have been enshrined, but the altar now held nothing but a pile of rubble, a challenge even for a master puzzler to reconstruct.

"This is the Fairy Cloud Sect! The isolated peak we collided with is the mountain gate of the Fairy Cloud Sect. After we fell, we discovered this complex of buildings, and then I carried you here. How are you feeling? Do you feel any discomfort?"

"My body?" Wang Lan was initially confused. Yu Ruoyun’s tone wasn’t that of a routine inquiry but rather one of deep concern, as if he’d fallen seriously ill. I must have been unconscious for quite some time, he instantly realized.

Normally, with my Self Healing ability, I shouldn’t have been unconscious for so long. Even with the aftereffects of the Phoenix Form, I’ve built up quite an immunity. It’s unthinkable that I would have been carried here by Yu Ruoyun without being aware of anything.

"Did something go wrong with my body before?"

"Yes! My Dragon Emperor Form fused with your Phoenix Form to achieve Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious. My Azure Dragon Skill requires Dragon and Phoenix Auspicious for Foundation Establishment, which is why I couldn’t master it for so long. But I succeeded after our Star Power fused. However, because my Star Power level was much higher than yours, I absorbed too much of your Phoenix Star Power, causing your Foundation Establishment to fail. As a result, your Star Power began to backlash against your body. In the end, I had to transfer half of the Dao foundation of my Azure Dragon Skill to you to save your life."

"Sounds very dangerous... Can the Dao foundation really be transferred?"

Yu Ruoyun’s expression turned somewhat unnatural. "There are special methods to do so, indeed. But it’s a secret technique."

"I understand. I’m not planning to learn it."