“Yang Ye, let’s not beat around the bush.” Meanwhile, Instructor Zhuo suddenly said, “We don’t really want you to return to the academy. The main reason we’re here is that we hope you’ll help us keep that fellow, Seng Yuan, busy. Of course, our academy won’t make you help for nothing. Feel free to raise any conditions. Of course, we hope that they are reasonable!”
Yang Ye gazed at Instructor Zhuo and said, “I wonder what the academy can give me.”
“Saint Rank treasures and techniques, and extreme-grade energy stones!” Instructor Zhuo looked Yang Ye in the eyes while hoping to see wild joy or excitement on Yang Ye’s face. After all, Saint Rank treasures and techniques were extremely rare even to high rank Half-Saints. However, he was disappointed. The expression he wished to see didn’t appear on Yang Ye’s face, and there was only calmness and a trace of ridicule there.
Yang Ye flipped his palm, and the Herculean Sword and white shield appeared in his grasp, “Both these treasures are high-grade Saint Rank treasures. As for techniques….” Yang Ye exchanged the white shield for the ancient sheath, and then he condensed an intent sword and sheathed it. Next, he swiftly drew it, and a ray of sword energy shot into space. The powerful ray of sword energy tore through the space in its path, and it seemed like it could even tear through the world!
Yang Ye gazed at Instructor Zhuo, “Saint Rank treasures? I have them. Saint Rank techniques? I have them as well. I have all of that. So why would I risk my life and offend others for no reason?”
Instructor Zhuo glanced at Yang Ye and said, “Yang Ye, I know that you’re discontent from being stripped of your position in the academy and expelled from Ocean of Clouds City….”
“Senior, you’re mistaken!” Yang Ye interrupted Instructor Zhuo and said, “No matter what the reason was, I’d slaughtered the members of the secret court. That’s a crime in the eyes of the academy, and it carried extremely adverse effects to the academy. The academy wasn’t wrong to punish me and give the other members of the academy an explanation. The reason I left the academy wasn’t because the academy intended to punish me, it was because I wanted to cultivate in peace. Just as I said, I’m a person who likes my freedom, and I don’t like to be tied down!”
Instructor Zhuo and the others were quite surprised when they heard him. They’d thought that Yang Ye had left the academy on his own accord because he felt aggrieved, but the true facts weren’t so.
The black robed old man said, “We underestimated you!”
Yang Ye chuckled, “The academy is facing troubled times right now. Staying in the academy would only make me face an endless string of trouble. However, I want to improve my strength as quickly as possible. So, leaving the academy was the best choice for me. Moreover, I could even avoid even more conflicts from arising between me and the academy. That was simply like killing two birds with one stone!”
Their expressions eased up quite a bit when they heard him. In the beginning, they’d thought that Yang Ye was acting that way out of pride, but now it would seem like it wasn’t the case. The reason Yang Ye had left the academy wasn’t because he wanted to use it to threaten the academy, he just wanted to avoid trouble and cultivate in pace.
Actually, it was impossible for Yang Ye to leave the academy even if he wanted to, because he had no reason to do. At that time, he was still an instructor of the academy, and his duty was to defend the academy and the city. If he left, it would be equivalent to betraying the academy. However, the academy had stepped forward and given him an excuse to leave.
At this moment, all the Saints here couldn’t help but feel a wisp of bitterness arise in their hearts. It was especially so for Instructor Zhuo. If it wasn’t for him, then Yang Ye would still be in the city even if he wasn’t an instructor anymore. So long as he was still in the city, then it would be impossible for him to just watch as the city was breached. After all, his students and people he cared about resided in the city!
But now….
A long time passed before Instructor Zhuo said, “Yang Ye, all of us Saints are being kept busy, so no one in the city can stop that fellow, Seng Yuan. Ocean of Clouds City will fall completely in an hour at most. We need your help!”
Yang Ye glanced at them and said, “Seniors, to be blunt, what has that got to do with me?”
The black robed old man said, “The students of the outer court are still there!”
Yang Ye shook his head, “I can’t be protecting them forever. There are things they have to do on their own. Whether it ends in life or death, it was their own choice, and they can’t blame anyone for that.”
“Let’s discuss it in a different way!” Instructor Zhuo said, “From this moment onward, we’ll stop treating you as an instructor of the academy. Now, I represent the academy to seek assistance from you. You can raise any conditions you have.”
Yang Ye raised his head to gaze at Instructor Zhuo and said, “Any conditions?”
The corners of Instructor Zhuo’s mouth twitched, and he nodded, “Of course, if your requests are beyond the ability of our academy, like helping you annihilate a Platinum Rank power, then you don’t have to even mention it. Because I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from killing you!”
Yang Ye said, “I’m not that foolish. I’ll only stop Seng Yuan for an hour, and our deal will be completed then.”
The corners of Instructor Zhuo’s mouth twitched once more, but he nodded in the end.
Yang Ye said, “Since you’ve agreed, then I’ll start raising my requests. I don’t have many. It’s only 3….”
As Yang Ye described his conditions, it wasn’t just Instructor Zhuo’s face that twitched this time, the faces of the other Saints started to twitch as well.
All of them had extremely unsightly expressions on their faces!
…
Ocean of Clouds City.
At this moment, Ocean of Clouds City was in imminent danger. The northern gates and southern gates were in comparatively better states. Because the experts of the Dao Order and Ancient Sword School were still barely able to keep the python and wolf army out. However, the main gates didn’t have its gates anymore. At this moment, the area there had been transformed into a battlefield!
The corpses of humans and demon beasts were piled up into hills, and blood seemed to have formed pools on the ground.
Seng Yuan was still locked in a fierce battle with the Enforcement Team.
Seng Yuan seemed to grow more and more ferocious as the battle went on, but the Enforcement Team was growing smaller and smaller instead. Surprisingly, they were actually in a better state than they were before this.
In the beginning, the Enforcement Team wasn’t aware of Seng Yuan’s strength, so they immediately went head-on against him. But the outcome was that more and more of their companions were perishing. Later on, they changed their strategy after Yu Wushuang told them not to go head-on with Seng Yuan. She’d told them to keep their distance and try to keep him busy so that they could delay him for as long as possible!
Yes, they were just buying time!
Regardless of whether it was the members of the Enforcement Team, Yu Wushuang, or the others, all of them knew that it was impossible for them to kill Seng Yuan. Because not one of them could break through Seng Yuan’s defenses. What they were trying to do… actually, it was the only thing they could do, and it was to buy time and wait for their reinforcements to arrive.
“Enforcement Team, retreat. Team 1, take their place. Don’t get locked in battle. Use your strongest techniques and retreat immediately. Team 2, prepare yourselves. Immediately replace Team 1 once they start retreating….” Yu Wushuang was ceaselessly giving orders from atop a damaged section of the city walls.
As she gave the orders, the Enforcement Team didn’t hesitate to retreat immediately. At the same time, a group of 100 high rank Half-Saints immediately replaced them, and they started to execute their strongest techniques like they’d gone mad. Countless attacks covered the heavens and the earth as they blasted towards Seng Yuan!
They were the strongest attacks that those high rank Half-Saints could execute. While they couldn’t break through Seng Yuan’s defenses, it still wasn’t easy to resist for him. He was ceaselessly blasted back, and he was pushed back to the city gates.
Those high rank Half-Saints were clearly disregarding their consumption of profound energy, and all of them were executing their strongest techniques like madmen. They did it until their profound energy dried up, and they only retreated when they couldn’t execute another technique.
“Team 2, replace them!” Team 1 had just finished their wave of attacks when Yu Wushuang’s voice immediately resounded, and then the 2nd group of high rank Half-Saints hurriedly charged forward and started another round of attacks.
Just like that, Seng Yuan was forcefully kept busy by alternating between teams like this.
Shang Qingying spoke in a low voice, “Can this really keep him busy until Lu Wan’er and Qing Daofu arrive?”
Yu Wushuang glanced indifferently at Shang Qingying, “You’re being too naïve. This method of ours caught him off guard and coupled with the fact that we seized the initiative, he doesn’t have a chance to retaliate yet. However, this method of ours will be useless once he catches his breath!”
Shang Qingying asked, “Then our efforts were done in vain?”
Yu Wushuang shook her head, “Not entirely. Perhaps we wouldn’t be able to delay him until Lu Wan’er and Qing Daofu arrive, but it should be sufficient for Yang Ye to rush back here. Because Yang Ye should still be within the mountain range. So long as he rushes back at full speed, then he’ll be able to get back here in less than 15 minutes.”
“Yang Ye?” Shang Qingying pondered deeply for quite some time before she said, “Would he come?”
Yu Wushuang glanced at Shang Qingying and said, “What do you think?”
“I don’t know!” Shang Qingying spoke in a low voice, “I can’t see through him. He’s sometimes impulsive like a madman; but he sometimes makes me feel like he’s extremely smart and has considered the consequences of every action he takes. Logically speaking, he should come back. Because all of you are in the city. However, he would be here by now if that was the case, and it wouldn’t have taken him so long!”
Yu Wushuang looked up into the sky and said, “Whether he comes or not depends on the academy’s attitude towards him!”
Shang Qingying intended to say something else, but Yu Wushuang waved her hand and stopped Shang Qingying. She looked down at the ground below and said, “Enforcement Team, prepare….”
It didn’t take long for the 2nd team to retreat, and the Enforcement Team immediately stepped forward. But it was also at this moment that an unexpected event occurred!
Roar!
A loud roar suddenly resounded, and then some Half-Saints were immediately shaken to the point they bled from all 7 apertures. As for the experts at the Monarch Realm and below, some of them were instantly blasted into bits!
A huge Steel Ape that was around 30m tall and 12m wide appeared at the city gates. It was simply like a small mountain, and just a single finger on its hands was larger than the combined size of a few adults!
It was Seng Yuan!
He’d returned to his original form!
Countless people were horrified by this scene!
Seng Yuan glanced at the surroundings, and then his gaze descended onto Yu Wushuang who stood on a damaged section of the city walls, “Little Girl, you’re truly detestable. Die!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he raised that huge palm of his and swung it down in Yu Wushuang’s direction!
Bang!
The damaged section of the city walls which Yu Wushuang and the others stood on was instantly blasted into powder!