Immortal of the Ages

Chapter 403: To Hell With You and Your Laws!

No sooner had he finished speaking than the Demon Prison door trembled ever so slightly.

"Panic strikes, and desperation follows," Huyan Pin snickered.

The others noticed the stir at the Demon Prison gate too, but none reacted, figuring it was just another demon testing its bounds—a common enough occurrence during trials.

Song Ze chuckled, musing aloud, "The path of cultivation is paved with the slaying of demons. It's a harsh road, and elders can't always be there to hold their hands. Even fresh initiates must tread it alone."

"Teacher Song speaks the truth!" came the chorus of flattery.

And then, in a flash!

Boom!!

A deafening explosion tore through the silence, shattering the Demon Prison Gate into fragments that soared skyward. The ground cracked under the force, sending up clouds of dust and smoke that obscured all vision.

"What the—?"

The assembled teachers and disciples, caught off guard by the unexpected breach, stood frozen in shock.

WHOOSH! A streak of azure light, a Sovereign Sword at its lead, burst forth, charging directly into the crowd!

"Lian Xi! To my side, now!" a voice thundered with rage, cutting through the chaos toward a snow-white clad girl among them.

"Huh?" Lian Xi's eyes locked onto the figure wielding the Sovereign Sword. He was furious!

Lian Xi didn't know what had transpired, but she felt a surge of anger too, making her the quickest to react.

With a crackle and a flash, she turned into a bolt of white lightning, swiftly positioning herself beside Yun Xiao, facing the crowd from the Pathseeker Society. There stood Liu Yingying, among others.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Song Ze and the other teachers all rose to their feet.

"Halt!" they commanded in unison, ready to suppress the disruptors.

But then, a thunderous voice from behind boomed, "Sit down, all of you!" Recognizing it as the voice of Uncle River, the teachers hesitated, not daring to move rashly.

"Did he just break through the gate?" Song Bomei gasped in shock upon spotting the streak of azure light.

"Impossible! That was a Yin grade formation!"

"It's alright!" Huyan Pin quickly stepped in front of Song Bomei.

Yet, the air grew colder as more figures positioned themselves in front of Lian Xi and Yun Xiao.

"What are you trying to do in this sacred place of learning?" cold voices from the direct disciples of the Three True Immortals demanded.

"Lian Xi, we can talk this out," said Tian Zhixiu, his pale eyes fixed on her, his tone neither warm nor cold.

Yun Xiao, without breaking stride, told Lian Xi, "Make them move."

"Okay!" Lian Xi seemed to know exactly whom Yun Xiao was targeting. Without a word, she wielded her hammer and axe, storming into the crowd like a tempest of thunder and fire.

Her petite frame resembled a rampaging beast, sending people flying wherever she went!

Several youths from the Academy, caught off guard by her assault, were sent soaring hundreds of feet into the air with a single strike of her hammer, as if they were shot up to the skies!

Her magic weapons, heavy as mountains, were swift as storms in her hands.

"Out of the way!" This fierce version of Lian Xi threw Tian Zhixiu into a moment of doubt. With a swift decision, he led his people to sidestep, clearing a path for Yun Xiao.

"You...!" Huyan Pin's face paled slightly at the sight. Known for her ferocity, even she found Lian Xi's beast-like momentum daunting and, with gritted teeth, she too stepped aside, her face turning a shade lighter.

"Miss Pin!" Song Bomei, previously unflustered, now felt a wave of panic as those before him fled.

Fortunately, Lian Xi wasn't after him and cleared a path instead. But it was Yun Xiao who approached Song Bomei, his Sovereign Sword at the ready, turning the atmosphere tense.

Liu Yingying, not far from Song Bomei, was petrified, her beauty marred by fear as she cried out, "Lian Xi, what are you doing?"

Before she could finish, Yun Xiao's sword underfoot transformed into a Palm Sword, pointing directly at Song Bomei.

"You're nothing but a paper tiger," Song Bomei sneered, unafraid of Yun Xiao though wary of Lian Xi.

With a smirk, he clutched the Life-Burning Queen Gu in one hand and summoned his Glacial Sword Soul with the other. The liquid-like blade brought a sudden chill, encircling him with a protective glacial stream.

"Seeking your own demise?" Song Bomei's face was layered with frost, his Early Sacred Wheel Realm cultivation dwarfed anyone in the Genesis Spirit Realm.

With a flick of his wrist, his Palm Sword technique, Icebound Forest, burst forth, turning into a forest of blades.

The Glacial Sword Soul dissipated into rain and splashed into hundreds of droplets that elongated into a forest of ice swords, thrusting towards Yun Xiao.

"Nice swordplay. It's mine now," Yun Xiao declared, his Heaven Burial Sword Soul also morphing into a liquid state, forming a blue glacier. With a tremor, it sent out thousands of droplets that instantly turned into an even larger forest of ice swords, launching a counterattack.

"What in the world..." Song Bomei was dumbfounded.

How did this young man master the swordplay of the Clearcreek Manor, and with such magnitude?

In this lightning-fast moment, Song Bomei had no time to adapt, left with no choice but to clash swords head-on.

In a flash of steel, the duel was decided. Yun Xiao's sword, swift and merciless, left Song Bomei a hand shorter, the severed limb hitting the ground with a sickening thud.

"AGHHHH!" Song Bomei's scream pierced the air as he stumbled back, clutching the bloody stump where his arm used to be, his eyes locked in disbelief on Yun Xiao. He remembered, clear as day, that Yun Xiao wasn't this formidable just the night before.

"My hand!" Song Bomei's face went ashen as he stared at his hand lying on the ground, with Yun Xiao standing ominously close.

"Yun Xiao! How dare you maim someone from our sacred lands!" Huyan Pin was livid.

But with Lian Xi by Yun Xiao's side and the elders unmoved, she held her ground.

Yun Xiao spared her a cold glance and, with a flick of his sword, lifted a white jade worm from the severed hand for all to see. The elders gasped, recognizing the Life-Burning Queen Gu.

"See this?" Yun Xiao's gaze swept across the crowd just as a horde of frenzied newcomers burst from the Demon Prison, their bodies oozing and bleeding.

With a swift motion, Yun Xiao skewered the Queen Gu and Song Bomei's hand together. The death of the white worm extinguished the life-burning curse, leaving the afflicted newcomers collapsing, frothing at the mouth but alive, their boils receding.

Relieved at this turn of events, Yun Xiao relaxed. But not everyone shared his calm.

Song Ze took a step back, his eyes wide with disbelief at Yun Xiao. He couldn't fathom how this young upstart had shattered the Demon Prison's gate.

Clearly, Yun Xiao wasn't supposed to be capable of such a feat.

"A life-burning curse? Everyone but Yun Xiao was afflicted?"

"It seems someone aimed to kill Yun Xiao in the Demon Prison!"

The crowd, no fools, quickly caught on.

"Had Yun Xiao not broken out and killed the Queen Gu, he and the others would've died in there, with no trace of the perpetrator..."

"Who would be so cruel?"

Suspicion fell on Song Ze, leading the group, and Song Bomei, from the same Clearcreek Manor, who was in control of the Queen Gu.

"Sir Song..." Liu Yingying was nearly breathless with fear, her complexion ghostly pale. She looked at Song Bomei, once a lofty prince used to belittle Yun Xiao, now reduced to a figure of pity.

In a flash, Yun Xiao was in Song Bomei's face, gripping his collar.

"What do you want?" Despite losing an arm, Song Bomei's composure remained, his gaze icy.

"Who's behind this?" Yun Xiao demanded coldly.

"Ha, who are you to me that I should report to you?" Song Bomei scoffed.

Yun Xiao nodded towards Huyan Pin. "I bested Huyan Luo last night, and The Mysterious Mansion couldn't bear the shame. The Life Burning Gu came from her, right?"

"Don't flatter yourself. You're not worthy of Miss Pin's attention. This was all my doing!" Song Bomei declared, chin held high in disdain.

"Are you serious?" Yun Xiao's grip tightened around his Heaven Burial Sword Soul.

"Trying to frame Miss Pin? Ridiculous!" Song Bomei appealed to the elders, "I admit my fault and request to be taken to the Mystic Zenith Temple for judgment. I also request that my parents be brought along for a joint trial."

"Granted!" Several teachers stood, one addressing Yun Xiao, "You've done a great service today by exposing this treachery."

"And?" Yun Xiao inquired.

"The Academy may consider admitting you as a special case, even directly as a Level 2 Ren disciple," the teacher stated, then added, "Now release Song Bomei. He will face judgment from the Mystic Zenith Temple."

The Mystic Zenith Temple, the Academy's law enforcement, derived its name from the Mystic Earth Immortal and Human Zenith Immortal.

"Did you hear that?" Song Bomei sneered, "Let go of me now! Stay away from me!"

Uncle River tightened his lips and weighed in, "Yun Xiao, the Mystic Zenith Temple will handle his judgment."

Around that time, the kids, including Yue Molin, started coming to their senses, catching snippets of the confrontation. Yue Molin, in a daze, uttered a word, his gaze fixed on Yun Xiao.

"You're nothing but a nobody now, not even a disciple of the Primordial Ruins Academy. Let go!" Song Bomei taunted with a sneer.

Yun Xiao gave him a look, a hint of amusement in his eyes, and chuckled before his sword lashed out.

In a swift move, Yun Xiao's sword grazed Song Bomei's face. Song Bomei's laughter was cut short as the upper part of his head, split at the mouth, soared through the air.

Liuying caught the severed head half and screamed, hurling it away before tumbling to the ground in a frantic escape.

Song Bomei, now reduced to a torso and a fragment of his head, stood frozen beside Yun Xiao.

"Go to hell!" With a kick, Yun Xiao sent him crashing into Huyan Pin, dusting off his hands afterward.

"Yun Xiao!!" Huyan Pin, pushing Song Bomei's body away, glared at the white-clad youth, her eyes blazing with fury, and then she laughed—a chilling, scornful laugh.

"You've overstepped your bounds!" she declared, her laughter echoing through the sudden silence.

The teachers stood up, and the prodigies from the Pathseeker Society took deep breaths, rallying around Huyan Pin.

"And now?" Yun Xiao flicked the blood off his Heaven Burial Sword Soul.

"You're not even a disciple here; you have no right to pass judgment!" Huyan Pin retorted coldly.

"Should I have waited for his parents to pull some strings and get him out?" Yun Xiao countered.

Tian Zhixiu stepped forward, solemnly adding, "The Primordial Ruins is a place of law, where justice is served through due process. Disciplinary actions against students should be a collaborative effort between the Academy and Mystic Zenith Temple. Your unilateral action constitutes a transgression."

"Right!" The others from the Academy stood behind Tian Zhixiu, their stares icy.

"Your laws? Crafted by you, for you," Yun Xiao shot back.

"Nonsense!" Tian Zhixiu maintained a calm demeanor, insisting, "Listen well! If you're not a disciple, killing a direct descendant of the Human Zenith Ruins makes you fair game for extermination by any of the three ruins, no justification needed. And even as a disciple, your crime now subjects you to the custody and judgment of both the Academy and Mystic Zenith Temple, to provide a clear answer to the entire Academy."