Chapter 114: Ambush, Counter (3)
Before anyone knew it, the surroundings of the convoy had turned into a field of slaughter. The battle between Skysoar cultivators was ongoing in the sky. Xia Bing looked incomparably sorry with numerous wounds on his body, his blood raining down from the sky.
Everyone else was too busy to pay any attention to the fight between the Skysoar cultivators. After a short rest, Su Yu continued creating illusions. This time, he hid somewhere and played a support role instead of fighting personally.
Sure, it felt good to kill the enemies with his own hands, but the source qi exhaustion was too great for him. He was better off supporting his allies in the battle. That way, he would be able to maximize his value.
The enemies did not have a lot of people in the first place. With Su Yu's interruptions, it did not take long for over 20 cult members to fall. In the sky, the hallmaster could feel that something was off.
The gap between the two parties shouldn't be this big. Why did so many of them die suddenly? The cult members were only supposed to keep them busy instead of fighting to the death. Why were so many of them dead?
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"This isn't right..."
When he saw another cult member being cut down by a city guard, he finally noticed the issue. He exclaimed, "There's a cultural researcher around!"
A cultural researcher had appeared!
That was clearly a willpower interruption or some other trick of a cultural researcher. In any case, it wasn't the trick of a regular warrior. The cult member had clearly panicked for no reason right before he was cut down. That wasn't normal at all.
And the appearance of a cultural researcher meant that there was another Skysoar cultivator around. Even his life was under threat now.
"Retreat!"
With a roar, the cult members started fleeing in all directions. Right that moment, a golden streak of light shot over and stabbed through the hallmaster's head. Then, more golden streaks of light arrived.
Instantly, dozens of cult members were killed.
An old man appeared out of nowhere and landed on the ground. When he looked around, he frowned and said, "My apologies. I was away to scout our surroundings as I thought they would attack in the wilderness. I was mistaken."
Evidently, this was the expert in charge of protecting the Nanyuan convoy in secret. He had left to scout around, clearly neglecting the possibility that an attack might happen in Yuanshui Village.
Xia Bing landed from the sky with his body dyed red in blood. He looked at the old man and demanded, "You're alone?"
If he was alone, then it wasn't surprising that the cult members had been able to get through him.
The old man nodded, "Yeah. There were two of us, but the other person heard that something happened in Tianshui so he went ahead of us."
"His actions have negatively affected the battle."
After giving that remark, Xia Bing ignored the old man. He did not seem to care that the old man had instantly killed a sixth-stage Skysoar cultivator. After looking around, he exhaled in relief.
Fortunately, the losses hadn't been too great. About seven or eight had perished on their side. There were some unlucky students who had been killed when running around in panic. Some had only suffered light injuries. Some of the city guards had died as well.
Xia Bing did not feel sad for the students who had been killed while running around like headless chicken. They had been told to stick together. But they disobeyed and even affected the formation of the city guards. Nobody would pity them if they ended up killed.
When Xia Bing's gaze landed on Su Yu, an odd expression appeared on his face. Others might not recognize Su Yu in his new getup, but that was not the case for Xia Bing.
When the hallmaster shouted that a cultural researcher had appeared earlier, he wasn't referring to the old man. Rather, he was talking about Su Yu. This kid's willpower was still very weak yet he had been able to play such a big role in the battle. How did he accomplish that?
Xia Bing was aware that Su Yu had helped the Windcatcher Department with an Infinite Strength cultivator before, but that was an entirely different situation. Previously, the Infinite Strength cultivator had been surrounded by them. That was not the case this time.
The old man was looking at Su Yu as well. He hadn't been around to see what Su Yu had done, but he could see that Su Yu had exhausted his willpower. He could even feel the aura of a Divine Character around Su Yu.
"City guard?"
The old man muttered doubtfully. There was someone with a Divine Character among the guards? No, he soon recognized the person. That was Su Yu! The high-high genius from Nanyuan!
"He's actually able to use his Divine Character in combat..."
The old man scanned the dead cult members as the look in his eyes turned odd. This kid had used his Divine Character at least seven or eight times. That was not supposed to be possible!
…
Su Yu was sitting on the ground while panting for breath. With the city guard helmet covering his face, most people couldn't recognize him. When he sensed a gaze on him, he looked up and saw that it was the newly arrived old man. He hurriedly stood up and bowed slightly to show his respect.
That was an expert. A true expert. An enemy that had forced Xia Bing to stay on the defensive and deal him numerous injuries had been killed by this old man with one hit from afar.
This person was at least at the Cloudbreach Realm. Of course, there was also a possibility that he was at the peak of the Skysoar Realm. In any case, Su Yu wouldn't be able to differentiate between the two. He had never seen an expert of this level fight before.
The old man had also released golden streaks from afar to instantly kill dozens of cult members. This was probably not something a warrior of the same cultivation level could do. It was very likely that this old man was a cultural researcher.
When the old man saw Su Yu looking at him, he smiled and nodded in greeting. He then moved his gaze toward the other students. Some of them were crying bitterly. After scanning the crowd, the old man spoke with a voice that was soft yet could be heard clearly by everyone present.
"This is something you will experience one day.
"It might be a tad bit too early, but as soon-to-be academy students, this is not an experience you can skip. In fact, you will come to experience scenes that are even crueler than this."
"Schoolmates, teachers, comrades, friends, lovers, any of them might die before your eyes one day."
The old man slowly said, "The path of an expert is lonely and sorrowful.
"If you can't withstand that, give up now.
"From now on, death will constantly accompany you. Death will be present on the Allheaven Battlefield. Death will be present on missions. Death will be present during cultivation. From weak to strong, death will accompany you every step of the way.
"This is merely an appetizer.
"It is pointless to cry. Being cowardly is useless. If you want to give up, you can do it now. If not, get yourself together."
Meanwhile, Xia Bing was busy cleaning the battlefield. He was still bleeding badly.
When the old man was done talking, Xia Bing looked up and coldly said, "The moment you stepped out of Nanyuan, you are all soldiers. Do not say that you weren't given time to prepare or adapt. The five years you spent in secondary school was meant for getting you ready.
"The capital is the place where you will get practical experience and lessons. Did your secondary school not teach you to follow military commands? You were told to stay where you were. Why did you disobey?
"If you're so scared, don't bother leaving Nanyuan. Keep staying there. Why walk the path of cultivation?
"Do you think you're going to the capital to enjoy life? Or do you think you're there to pick up money from the ground and receive free resources?
"Those who couldn't get used to this life will be eliminated from the competition. A weakling is not worth nurturing. There are countless warriors risking their lives on the front line for meager resources compared to what you're given. Yes, you guys have talent. But what's the big deal about having some talent?
"If you only have some talent but not the right mindset, no fortitude, and no courage, you still can't become a true expert. Rather than waste our resources on you, we might as well send the resources to the front line. The soldiers there need them more than you!
"You're safe behind the front line yet are rewarded double what those at the front line could get for the same job. Why? Because of your talent. Because of the hope that you can grow into experts. But if you stop showcasing that hope, my apologies. Nobody will keep useless people around."
Xia Bing was very frank. He even pointed at the corpses of the dead city guards and furiously said, "If it wasn't for some of you who had failed to obey your orders and messed with the military formation with all that running around, these comrades wouldn't have died here.
"Because of you, they're dead. They are fellow humans. They are young too. Why must they throw their lives away for you? Because they're soldiers. They know the meaning of responsibility. Do you know the same?"
Some of the students started crying. Those who had been running around in panic earlier cried bitterly. They had survived, but that was because someone else had died for them. The city guards and Martial Dragon Guards were cleaning the battlefield silently.
The atmosphere was cold. This was the first lesson for these academy students. A true practical lesson.
Today, there were city guards and Martial Dragon Guards around to protect them. But that wouldn't always be the case. Students who couldn't withstand this pressure were better off not entering an academy.
Amid the frosty atmosphere, suddenly, someone in the crowd wailed loudly.
"Yu? Where are you? Yu...wuwuwu...he's dead..."
Chen Hao's voice rang out. He had been looking for Su Yu to no avail. When he saw the corpses on the ground, he panicked, thinking that Su Yu was dead.
Xia Bing wanted to continue scolding the students when he heard Chen Hao's wail. His face twitched.
What the fuck was that?