Chapter Nine: The Seven-Fold Strange Demon

"The reinforcements from the Martial Academy have arrived!" Before long, soldiers spotted the group of young warriors charging into the fray from afar.

Though Chen Fan and his companions were few in number, every one of them was an elite. While they lacked the seamless, mutual-support coordination of the Green Python Army, they fought with unparalleled valor, cutting down enemies with breathtaking speed.

Meanwhile, Chen Fan’s gaze shifted to a distance further away.

A figure wielding a massive broadsword, embodying the very momentum of heaven and earth, was locked in a duel against a bizarre, three-headed, six-armed creature.

Chen Fan’s eyesight was exceptionally sharp; he recognized the figure as Yin Hang, a man he had met once before. The monster he faced possessed iron-like skin and bones, and it was not only larger than an average creature but also possessed immense strength that rivaled Yin Hang’s own.

Every clash between the two sent shockwaves that cracked mountains and shattered stones, whipping up clouds of dust and debris. Any lesser monsters that strayed too close were instantly pulverized into fragments. The space around them became a void where neither man nor beast dared to tread.

"A battle at the seventh realm..."

It was utterly terrifying.

Feeling the crushing pressure of their power, Chen Fan suppressed the burgeoning curiosity and the urge to join that specific fight. Instead, he gripped his sword and dove into the crowd of monsters nearby.

With his current level of strength, killing sixth-realm monsters was relatively easy, but confronting a seventh-realm foe would be pushing his limits. Recognizing his own standing, he plunged into the thick of the beast swarm.

Mixed among the monsters were several massive beasts, some even reaching the sixth realm. Unlike the weak creatures found in the Illusionary Realm of All Manifestations, these beasts were terrifyingly formidable. Before Chen Fan arrived, these sixth-realm creatures had exerted immense pressure on the human warriors, with each one typically requiring four or five warriors of the same level just to keep it at bay.

Lightning crackled around Chen Fan’s body, his speed blurring. Even the blade energy he unleashed carried the power of thunder, devastatingly potent.

Wherever his blade passed, it was like a scythe through wheat; monsters and beasts alike crashed to the ground. Even those at the sixth realm could not withstand a single strike from Chen Fan’s sword. Though he could not yet command the power of heaven and earth, his killing speed was nearly that of a Grandmaster. Many warriors could only see a faint flash of lightning before the monsters standing before them turned into corpses.

In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Chen Fan had slain five sixth-realm monsters, with countless others of lower rank falling by his hand. The other students from the academy fought with equal fervor. Although they lacked the veteran experience of the Green Python Army, their individual strength far exceeded that of soldiers at their level, and their overall efficiency was no slower.

With the aid of Chen Fan and the other students, the pressure on the Green Python Army eased significantly. More than a hundred soldiers converged, forming a battle array that surged with murderous intent. They moved toward Yin Hang’s position, taking the initiative to intervene in the fight against the three-headed monster.

Chen Fan felt the towering malevolence radiating from the formation and was momentarily stunned. He then heard the Green Python soldiers shout in unison:

"General Yin Hang, please enter the formation!"

BOOM!

The nearly hundred-strong formation erupted with a terrifying aura. Even the oppressive power of heaven and earth surrounding Yin Hang faltered for a moment.

"Hahaha, well done!"

Yin Hang turned abruptly and merged into the formation. He pointed his broadsword forward, and the momentum of the entire array fused into one.

"Strike!"

Yin Hang’s broadsword descended!

SHING!

A sky-piercing blade beam erupted, surging toward the three-headed monster. Sensing the threat, the creature scrambled back, but it was no match for the speed of the blade.

WHOOSH.

Like a hurricane passing through, a gale swept across the field. The monster was sent flying, blood spraying the earth. Two of its three heads were severed, and two of its arms were lopped off before it crashed to the ground.

The remaining half of its body, fueled by the momentum of the impact, fled wildly in the direction away from Yan Capital. These creatures were no longer mindless killers; they possessed a degree of intelligence and knew how to avoid death. Although its injuries were severe, they were concentrated on its upper body, allowing it to move with great speed.

"Damn it! It got away!"

Yin Hang’s expression darkened. While the battle array was powerful, its flexibility was limited. It was easy to deal with large, lumbering beasts, but these agile, human-sized monsters were troublesome. If the monster were to escape to the surrounding counties, it would be a catastrophe.

Without further hesitation, he stepped out of the formation, shouldered his broadsword, and gave chase.

But the monster was desperate to escape, and its burst of speed surpassed Yin Hang’s. It was about to vanish into the distance.

At that very moment—

CRACKLE!

A flash of lightning suddenly illuminated the sky. The arc of electricity spread across half the horizon, striking the fleeing monster from the side.

BOOM!

The blinding thunderbolt flashed, and two figures were sent flying backward!

The three-headed monster’s body plummeted like a meteor, its skin scorched black. Though it appeared to have no deeper injuries, its high-speed flight was brought to an abrupt halt.

The other figure sent flying was Chen Fan. His face was flushed, his blood surged violently, and blood seeped from his nose and mouth. The black sword in his hand trembled slightly.

Yin Hang was overjoyed. He lunged forward and cleaved the monster in two with a single strike. Severely wounded and caught off guard by Chen Fan’s sneak attack, the creature had no strength to dodge and died instantly without a sound.

Yin Hang let out a sigh of relief. He turned to look at Chen Fan, breathing heavily, his expression complex. "You brat, do you have a death wish? Daring to intercept a seventh-realm monster..."

Chen Fan rotated his wrist, the surging blood in his veins finally calming down. He wiped the blood from his nose, his face filled with astonishment.

"A seventh-realm monster is truly terrifying..."

And that wasn't even a true beast, just a monster. He had only put his full strength into blocking it—hardly a direct confrontation—and yet he had ended up like this. If it were a true seventh-realm beast, its power would be even more horrific, perhaps even possessing special abilities. If not for the Luminescent Feather Garment he was wearing, which absorbed most of the impact, he would have been seriously injured.

Seeing that Chen Fan did not answer, Yin Hang had no time to dwell on it. He gripped his sword and turned back to slaughter the remaining monsters.

The swarm, already weakened, lost its leader and could no longer hold its ground. With a Grandmaster now free to act, the slaughter was swift, and the monsters were soon wiped out like harvested grass.

When the battle finally ended, Chen Fan exhaled and walked up to Yin Hang. "General Yin, how are my master and the White Cloud Dojo doing?"

Yin Hang looked at Chen Fan with a complicated expression.

"Rest assured. Though there are many monsters, they pose no threat to the city. The White Cloud Dojo is currently guarding the western wall. Master Dong’s strength is unmatched in Yan Capital—they are much safer than we are here."