Han Feng's desperate cries yielded nothing.
Silence.
Nothing.
His proud posture slowly deflated. His gaze swept across the encircling crowd.
He had already accepted death.
But his pride would not permit him to die pathetically.
"Han Feng." Su Qian's voice was cold, his gaze sharp. "When you trespassed into my academy, did you ever imagine you would die here?"
"The victor is king; the vanquished, outlaw." A hint of mockery curled Han Feng's lips. "If not for the aid of some unknown force, what could your academy have done to me?"
Su Qian's jaw tightened.
He's not wrong.
"But that is reality." His voice was flat. "You have lost. Death awaits you."
Han Feng's gaze shifted.
To Xiao Jietian. To Medusa. To Shui Ye.
"You are from Boundless Heavenly Hall, are you not?"
His tone was certain.
"I know every faction in the Black-Corner Region. Even the reclusive Heavenly Serpent Mansion—I am familiar with their workings."
A pause.
"But your Boundless Heavenly Hall appeared from nowhere. Its true origins… I have been unable to uncover."
Xiao Jietian did not deny it.
"Yes. We are Boundless Heavenly Hall."
A pause.
"And we are here because you first harboured ill intentions toward us."
Han Feng's expression flickered.
Earth Demon Old Ghost. His disappearance.
So that's how it is.
"I see." His voice was soft. "No wonder."
Then—
Black mist erupted.
Thick. Suffocating. Spreading in all directions.
"SAVE ME! "
Han Feng's voice shattered the air—desperate, raw, clinging to the last shred of hope.
"Hehehe…"
The laughter was chilling. Scraping. Ancient.
"How pathetic." The voice dripped with contempt. "Save you? I have no interest in that."
A pause.
"But your soul… and your Heavenly Flame…"
Another pause.
"Since you are doomed to die regardless, why not offer yourself to me?"
Black chains materialized.
They pierced Han Feng's body.
His eyes widened—disbelief, betrayal, why—
Blood erupted from his lips.
The chains withdrew.
They pulled with them a translucent soul form—and within it, a cluster of deep blue flame.
The surrounding students strained to see.
Some stood on tiptoe. Others' eyes glowed faintly—pupil-type Dou Techniques, straining to pierce the black mist.
Han Yue's heart clenched.
He's in there.
He's fighting.
He could die.
She stepped forward.
Xiao Yu caught her wrist.
"Let go!" Han Yue's voice trembled. "I need to go to him! Even if I die—I want to die beside Xiao Jietian! To die together—I have no regrets!"
Her Dou Qi erupted. Xiao Yu's grip shattered.
She took another step.
A slender figure in green descended before her.
Cool fingers pressed against her shoulder—gentle, absolute. Her body stilled.
"With your strength, you cannot go."
The voice was clear, cool—yet carried unexpected gentleness.
"He is safe within. No threat exists."
Han Yue looked up.
A delicate, beautiful face. Regal. Composed.
Little Fairy Doctor.
Within the arena—
Protector Xuan grasped Han Feng's soul form.
"You cur! Die a thousand deaths!"
Han Feng's spectral form thrashed, cursed, raged.
Protector Xuan ignored him.
He stuffed the soul into a containment bag.
Hehehe…
With this soul and this Heavenly Flame, my reward from the Soul Hall will be substantial.
He turned to depart.
His movement technique was peerless. His stealth arts, absolute. Unless a Dou Zun intervened, no one could truly halt him.
An Eight-Star Dou Zong opponent? He would sacrifice half his life and escape.
The gain far outweighs the risk.
THUD.
His face met space.
…What?
He reached out. Tapped.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Solid.
"Hehehe…"
Xiao Jietian's voice drifted through the void, pleasant, conversational.
"Don't you enjoy 'hehehe-ing'? Why have you stopped?"
Protector Xuan's composure cracked.
"You seek death, boy! "
Chains launched toward Xiao Jietian.
They struck empty space—sparks flying, harmlessly deflected.
Before he could attack again—
A giant purple palm materialized before him.
Poisonous gas coiled around it. Light purple flame danced along its edges.
It reached for him.
"You dare lay a hand on him?"
Little Fairy Doctor's voice was absolute. Emotionless.
"Die."
Protector Xuan's mind reeled.
Dou Zun?!
In this desolate Northwest Continent?!
"Netherworld Soul Devour!"
Souls poured from his bag—screaming, writhing—into his mouth. Han Feng's soul among them.
As he was consumed, Han Feng laughed.
"Protector Xuan! You cur! I never imagined you would die so soon!"
His voice was wild, exultant, mad.
"Good! GOOD! Hahahaha!"
His laughter faded.
The Medicine Emperor's final curtain fell.
His life had begun with the Soul Hall—colluding with them to murder his master.
It ended with the Soul Hall—dying by their hand, consumed as fuel.
A perfect circle.
Protector Xuan's aura surged.
Four-Star Dou Zong.
Five. Six. Seven.
Eight-Star Dou Zong.
His chains flailed, desperately battering against the descending palm.
Useless.
A pebble cast into the ocean.
No ripples. No resistance.
"Annihilate. "
The giant hand closed.
Protector Xuan's soul-form crushed.
It fragmented—points of light, dissipating into the void.
The palm dissolved into purple mist.
Gone.
Xiao Jietian's finger flicked.
Pure Lotus Devouring Life-Spirit Holy Flame.
It surged through the sealed space—burning, purifying, erasing.
"AHHHHH—! "
A final, agonized scream.
A minuscule wisp of residual soul writhed within a cluster of crimson flame.
"I have never—encountered such a scoundrel!" The voice was faint, fading. "Even in death—you burn the space! You might as well—perform a full funeral service—!"
The black mist dissipated.
Xiao Jietian and his companions were revealed.
The Gold and Silver Elders, still sprawled on the ground, seized the moment of distraction.
They attempted to flee.
Jin Mo had been watching.
Metallic Dou Qi swept forward—cutting, grinding, scattering.
They became powder.
The wind claimed them.
Su Qian exhaled.
The academy is saved.
The battle had been intense, yet somehow… not. The academy grounds were largely undamaged.
Less destruction than a single Heavenly Flame eruption.
His gaze drifted to Han Feng's remains.
If not for Boundless Heavenly Hall's aid…
This academy would have run with blood.
And that woman—the one who delivered the final blow.
Death itself, given form.
If she had turned her hand against me…
I would have ceased to exist in an instant.
Shift.
Underground.
Xiao Yan, descending into darkness, pursuing the wounded Fallen Heart Flame.