Volume 1, Chapter 57: As Close as Neighbors Though Worlds Apart

"Old dog, do you know who you are waiting for?"

Muyi smiled coldly. "The four kings of the Great Gan Academy—Dragon, Tiger, Panther, and Crane—have all been executed by me."

"However, I am quite merciful. I did not slaughter the rest; I let them go."

Seeing Sima Xiangru looking around anxiously, Muyi smiled coldly and dispelled his confusion.

"What did you say? Impossible!"

Sima Xiangru widened his eyes, utterly refusing to believe it.

"Elder Sima..."

At that very moment, disciples of the Great Gan Academy finally appeared.

Weeping and wailing, with tears and snot streaming down their faces, they crowded around Sima Xiangru, recounting their harrowing experiences in the Dragon Gate Battlefield.

Previously, these disciples wouldn't even dare to draw a breath in front of Muyi.

However, that was limited to within the Dragon Gate Battlefield.

Now that they had left the battlefield, the eight hundred-odd disciples of the Great Gan Academy regained their arrogance.

They had found their ultimate backing.

Soon, Sima Xiangru learned the truth from these disciples.

"Yue Jue, Fang Yiyu, Lei Shan, and Yao Tiannan were actually killed by Muyi?"

Earlier, Sima Xiangru had refused to believe it.

He assumed Muyi was merely boasting.

But now, he finally understood that everything Muyi said was true.

"Not only did Senior Brother Yue and the others get killed by Muyi, but he also drove us out of the Dragon Gate Heavenly Island, causing our Great Gan Academy to fail to secure any ranking in this year's Dragon Gate Battlefield."

The disciples of the Great Gan Academy recounted everything that had happened in the battlefield.

It seemed they wanted to reclaim every ounce of the humiliation they had suffered right at this moment.

"Such audacity! Muyi! You actually dare to subject my Great Gan Academy to unprecedented humiliation!"

Sima Xiangru's killing intent erupted completely.

His face was ferocious, his eyes bloodshot, and he glared fixedly at Muyi as if he wanted to tear him apart alive.

"I will tear you into ten thousand pieces!"

The Great Gan Academy had suffered immense humiliation this time.

As a Heavenly-rank elder of the academy, Sima Xiangru could not bear the gazes of the surrounding crowd.

Only by executing Muyi immediately could he slightly wash away his hatred.

Boom!

With a single strike from his right hand, his formidable palm force transformed into sabers, spears, swords, and halberds, aiming to utterly pulverize Muyi.

"Sima Xiangru, are you trying to bully the young with your seniority?"

However, Nie Xun had been watching all of this closely.

The moment Sima Xiangru made his move, he struck as well.

Boom!

The two Golden Core realm powerhouses exchanged a blow across the air, their powerful forces transforming into a storm that swept across the high skies.

People from various major factions retreated repeatedly, shock filling their eyes.

It was clear that Sima Xiangru and Nie Xun meant business, and neither was holding back in the slightest.

"Nie Xun, no matter what, I am going to kill Muyi today. You cannot protect him!"

Sima Xiangru's voice was so cold it lacked even a sliver of emotion.

He now seemed transformed into a killing machine.

"Then try and see!"

Nie Xun's anger had also been thoroughly ignited. "If you want to kill him, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"

"Muyi, immediately lead all the disciples of the Divine Concealment Academy onto the cloud ship and set sail for the academy."

Nie Xun instructed Muyi at the same time.

The situation was extremely perilous now. A furious Sima Xiangru would no longer abide by any rules; he was dead set on killing Muyi.

"Elder Nie, then you..."

Muyi felt a pang of worry.

"Rest assured, that old bastard Sima Xiangru cannot do anything to me! Hurry up and leave!"

Nie Xun was not afraid of Sima Xiangru.

However, he feared that once Sima Xiangru transmitted this news back to the Great Gan Academy,

that top-tier faction, which dominated supreme, would dispatch even more powerhouses to intercept and kill Muyi.

As long as Muyi could return safely to the Divine Concealment Academy, everything would be safe.

"Take care, Elder Nie!"

With a wave of Muyi's hand, all the disciples of the Divine Concealment Academy boarded the Divine Concealment cloud ship with him.

"Depart immediately and return to the academy."

With Nie Xun absent, the three hundred-odd disciples of the Divine Concealment Academy looked to Muyi as their leader.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

Seeing that Muyi was about to leave, Sima Xiangru flew into a rage, and communication talismans in his hand instantly flew out in all directions across the heavens and earth.

The Great Gan Academy was far away from this place; expecting powerhouses from the main academy to come and intercept Muyi was obviously unrealistic.

Sima Xiangru could only hope that somewhere within a radius of a hundred miles, an elder of the Great Gan Academy happened to be passing by.

Upon receiving this message, they would intercept Muyi halfway and ensure he never returned to the academy alive.

Meanwhile, Muyi and the three hundred-odd disciples had already boarded the Divine Concealment cloud ship, cleaving through the waves and speeding away.

Half an hour later.

Standing at the bow of the ship and gazing at the boundless sea of clouds, Muyi suddenly sensed a surge of razor-sharp killing intent!

Looking up abruptly, high above the clouds, a massive palm stretching a hundred meters across suddenly descended, blotting out the sky and the sun!

The entire Divine Concealment cloud ship looked like a tiny toy within that hand, on the verge of being crushed to pieces!

"Not good! A Qianyuan realm powerhouse is making a move against me!"

Muyi was greatly shocked!

Though the assailant remained unseen, the sheer size of the palm and the emanating Qianyuan realm aura were enough to prove that this person was a giant of the Qianyuan realm!

A giant of the Qianyuan realm, casting away all shame, intended to crush him and the entire Divine Concealment cloud ship into dust.

At this juncture of life and death!

Muyi could only watch helplessly.

He was utterly powerless to contend with a Qianyuan realm giant, and under the shadow of that massive hand blocking the heavens, his body could not even move.

"A Qianyuan realm giant, actually shameless enough to make a move against a disciple of the Divine Concealment Academy. Isn't this far too shameless?"

Just at that moment, a gentle breeze swept past.

From within the clouds, a streak of azure-water-like sword Qi suddenly broke through the waves and arrived.

Boom!

That massive hand that blotted out the sky was directly destroyed by the azure sword Qi, vanishing into nothingness as if it had never existed at all.

"Peerless among scholars! Ren Yanyu!"

From the distant skies above the clouds came a voice filled with shock from an old man.

Then, that person's aura completely dissipated and he departed.

"Lady Ren, thank you for your rescue!"

Though Muyi did not know where Ren Yanyu was, he felt immensely grateful to her.

"Just passing by, saving you once more."

Ren Yanyu did not appear, her ethereal voice growing more and more distant.

"I have matters to attend to and must leave. Remember, our second duel."

Farther and farther away she drifted.

The fair lady had departed, and the crisis had been averted.

Standing at the bow of the ship, gazing at the sea of clouds where the voice had faded, a smile appeared on Muyi's face.

His first duel with Ren Yanyu had taken place in Lieshan City.

Back then, he was only at the first level of the Celestial Tier.

And now, he had already reached the eighth level of the Divine Transformation realm.

Yet, to truly earn the qualification to fight Ren Yanyu once more, he was still far from ready.

However, he was not in a hurry.

With a bosom friend in the world, the ends of the earth are like next door.

Muyi believed that his second duel with Ren Yanyu would undoubtedly be magnificent—enough to shake the heavens and move the deities!

Having survived this peril, the subsequent flight of the Divine Concealment cloud ship was extremely smooth, encountering no further attacks.

Perhaps Ren Yanyu's appearance had served as a deterrent to those attempting to assault the cloud ship.

Or perhaps they were simply fortunate enough not to encounter any more experts from the Great Gan Academy along the way.

In short, two days later, the Divine Concealment cloud ship finally returned safely to the academy with all its disciples.

On the plaza, Academy Dean Shen Yushu and Palace Master Xu Qing of the Myriad Phenomenon Palace, leading a host of elders, came out to welcome them in person.

"Dean."

Seeing Shen Yushu, Muyi smiled and said, "This disciple has not failed his mission; I have brought everyone back safely."

"Muyi, you have achieved an immortal merit this time, accomplishing something our Divine Concealment Academy has never done in a thousand years."

Shen Yushu's beautiful eyes were filled with admiration. "Tell me, what reward do you desire?"

"Contributing to the academy is only right and proper—it is my duty."

Muyi smiled slightly. "No reward is necessary."

"Of course he wouldn't dare ask for a reward! This rebellious disciple Muyi actually dared to commit insubordination and treasonously killed my disciple!"

Suddenly, a chilling voice rang out resonantly.

In an instant, the crowd on the plaza broke into an uproar.

A large contingent of people was seen approaching aggressively, seething with killing intent.

Leading them was none other than the Palace Master of the Enforcement Palace, Mo Jinghong!