Chapter Thirty-Seven: Schemes Exhausted, All for Naught

Jupeiyuan, forthright as he was, stepped forward first and resolved Mayoujian's dilemma. "Let me be the one to experience Brother Yu's skills."

This was the strongest opponent Yu Lang had faced directly—a cultivator at the Sea-Walking Realm.

Yu Lang knew that, with the Martial Soul Pool within the Whetstone Blade and the Twin Perils Technique, he could at best display the strength of a Peak Hundred-Refinement practitioner. Practitioners at the Sea-Walking Realm had access to the Qi Sea and could even project sword energy externally. Yu Lang was well aware his chances of victory were slim, yet not nonexistent. First, Jupeiyuan would certainly underestimate him; second, Jupeiyuan would not dare to go all out, lest Mayoujian seize the opportunity to fight him next. At most, Jupeiyuan would use only twenty or thirty percent of his power.

As soon as the two exchanged blows, Yu Lang's judgment was confirmed. Jupeiyuan's swordplay was steady and left few openings, but his attacks lacked aggression.

Knowing his own strength was no match for Jupeiyuan's in a direct contest, Yu Lang adopted a strategy of exploiting weaknesses and feints, refusing direct clashes. He took advantage of Jupeiyuan's cautious nature, attacking where he was sure Jupeiyuan would defend. Jupeiyuan avoided a head-on confrontation, wary not just of Mayoujian, but also of the razor-sharp Whetstone Blade in Yu Lang's hand. Though his own sword was a treasured weapon, he lacked the confidence to match that shadowy blade.

For a time, the two seemed evenly matched, though in a peculiar way—Yu Lang was pushing himself to the limit, while Jupeiyuan held back, hindered by many restraints.

The other competitors at the Hundred-Refinement Realm abandoned any thoughts of seizing the source. In their eyes, Yu Lang was now on the same level as Jupeiyuan and Mayoujian. Their earlier disdain vanished, replaced by admiration for this scholar's prowess, convinced that he had merely hidden his dantian fluctuations through a secret art, and that his true strength was at the peak of the Hundred-Refinement Realm.

Unnoticed, the pair had already exchanged hundreds of moves. Mayoujian's smile grew broader.

Jupeiyuan, however, was secretly anxious. He had hoped to exhaust Yu Lang's inner energy with his vast Qi Sea, but found that Yu Lang's reserves seemed inexhaustible.

What Jupeiyuan did not know was that Yu Lang was not masking dantian fluctuations through some secret art, but truly had not passed that threshold. The Twin Perils Technique allowed him to convert spiritual energy into inner force at will, and the Martial Soul Pool replenished his reserves far faster than an ordinary person's dantian. Thus, even a master at the middle Sea-Walking Realm like Jupeiyuan could not wear him out.

If this continued, Jupeiyuan realized, he might well lose. Finally admitting this, he changed his strategy. His swordplay turned bold and open, with sudden flashes of sword energy bursting from his attacks.

Yu Lang was immediately forced onto the defensive, scrambling to cope as he was struck several times by sword energy. Such attacks consumed a great deal of Qi Sea, so Jupeiyuan was not faring much better, but now he was committed and could only increase his efforts, aiming for a swift victory.

With a furious shout, Jupeiyuan unleashed a powerful strike, seizing on a flaw in Yu Lang's altered sword form.

Yu Lang shouted, "I concede!"

Jupeiyuan forcibly shifted his attack, his blade slashing into the ground behind Yu Lang. The unleashed sword energy sent dust flying everywhere—mixed with the lime powder Yu Lang had seized the chance to scatter.

Mayoujian was inwardly triumphant—Jupeiyuan's Qi Sea was now surely exhausted. Suddenly, his expression changed. "Damn, the boy's run!"

"He won't get far!" From the shadows, Li Dahu appeared, pressing a longsword to Yu Lang's back and sauntering into view.

"You lot are no match for Yu Lang when it comes to cunning," he said.

Yu Lang's face was bitter. "Brother Hu, we're dorm mates, brothers."

Li Dahu looked at Yu Lang seriously. "If our positions were reversed, would you take the chance to swoop in?"

Yu Lang hesitated, then nodded. "I would, but I'd leave the source at your chest; I wouldn't kick you out of the contest."

"As you should. I'll do the same," Li Dahu promised.

Mayoujian sneered. "You talk big. Where does that leave me and Brother Ju? Yu Lang is slippery; if we don't seize this chance to eliminate him, there'll be trouble later. If you insist on protecting him, you'll have to ask my sword first!"

Li Dahu was unfazed by Mayoujian's threat. He released his concealment, revealing his cultivation at the Initial Void-Breaking Realm.

"Another Void-Breaking Realm? Monsters, the lot of them," the gathered students groaned, including Nan Jiyun, who had just broken through the day before. There were now three Void-Breaking experts among this year's new students at Moon-Washing Academy.

Yu Lang's smile grew even more bitter. "You're so dull. If I had Void-Breaking strength, I'd have come out directly and taken everything. Why would I hide in the shadows watching the show?"

Li Dahu laughed. "I wanted to test your limits. Frankly, your performance has amazed the others, but to me, it's a bit disappointing. As the most exceptional student Moon-Washing Academy has seen in a century, you ought to be capable of more."

Yu Lang handed over his source box to Li Dahu.

True to his word, Li Dahu spared the source at Yu Lang's chest and let him go first, holding Mayoujian and Jupeiyuan at bay.

Suddenly, a wild howl erupted from the depths of the forest—a striped beast burst forth.

Mayoujian cried in panic, "That's the Gale Wolf, the mount of Old Ancestor Yellow River! Its strength is nearly equal to a Void-Breaking cultivator. Brother Li, stop it!"

Li Dahu was dumbfounded and shouted, "I'm not really at the Void-Breaking Realm! I just practiced a technique that disguises my cultivation. If I really had that power, why would I be fighting for first in this contest?"

The crowd scattered in all directions.

But the Gale Wolf pursued only Yu Lang. The other students formed a sword formation to help, but the wolf's roar sent them all collapsing, powerless.

With its blood-red jaws, the wolf seized Yu Lang by the waist, toying with his limp body before biting down mercilessly, tearing flesh and leaving him a mangled wreck. Then, as if tossing out garbage, it flung him off a cliff.

Having completed its task, the Gale Wolf howled and departed.

Instructor Old Huang, arriving late, roared in anger, "Wretched beast, how dare you harm a Moon-Washing student? Where do you think you're going?" He raised his hand and unleashed a Buddhist palm imprint—solid power from the peak of the Void-Breaking Realm.

Another person arrived, easily dissolving the attack—a cultivator already at the Upper Three Realms. "Brother Huang, why harm my mount?"

A drifting voice echoed over the scene, unmistakably the headmaster of Moon-Washing Academy: "Since Old Ancestor Yellow River is here, why quarrel with the juniors? Come down the mountain for a drink with me!"

There was courtesy in his tone, but also authority. Old Ancestor Yellow River dared not be disrespectful. "Please, Headmaster Chen, don't misunderstand. I have no intention of provoking Moon-Washing Academy..."

Headmaster Chen replied only with a curt, ambiguous "Come."

Sweat beaded on Old Ancestor Yellow River's brow as he hurried his mount down the mountain.

Li Dahu, full of regret, pounded the ground feebly. "How did I not foresee this? With Zhu Yiming's vengeful nature, how could he let Yu Lang off so easily? Damn it!" Unlike Jupeiyuan and the others, Li Dahu had been watching Yu Lang for days, planning to act after Yu Lang had collected more sources—only to have his plan ruined by the others' interference.

Yu Lang, barely clinging to life, was flung deep into the wilderness, his body a bloody ruin. Gazing at the gaping wound in his chest, he felt genuine terror—a true, unadulterated fear of death.

He really was about to die. In disbelief, he reached into his own abdomen, and the grotesque pain deepened his dread. He felt his soul rapidly slipping away, until finally, his consciousness was swallowed by an overwhelming vortex.