Chapter 340 - 226: Fight to the Death, an Accident (2)

Chapter 340: Chapter 226: Fight to the Death, an Accident (2)

The royal Yuan Demons were tall and handsome, just as the samples from the Lingxi Biological Research Institute had suggested.

The five of them—three men and two women—were tall and slender. They wore archaic battle armor, and their movements in combat were so graceful, they might have been mistaken for gods in ancient times.

Yu Fei’s eyes were sharp. He noticed the royal Yuan Demons’ combat prowess was immense—it took two human Grandmasters just to hold off one of them.

The battle was a fierce stalemate.

So, he turned his attention to the endless swarms of Spider Demons in front of him. A battle between Grandmasters was beyond his ability to influence. His duty was to focus on the task at hand: stopping all the Spider Demons.

Yu Fei noticed that the Martial Artists assigned to protect them had never once revealed themselves. This puzzled him. ’To be able to remain so perfectly hidden, they must be Grandmasters as well. If they made a move, they could probably defeat the high-ranking royal Yuan Demons quickly. So why aren’t they doing anything?’

Faced with the frenzied, numberless mid-rank demons, Martial Artists were falling and dying every moment. If even a fraction of their protectors were to intervene, it would drastically ease the pressure on the battlefield.

But it seemed these protectors only cared about the lives of the Celestial Pride Class students, showing no regard for the other Martial Artists.

Yu Fei couldn’t figure it out. He could only push his doubts aside and focus on slaying the enemy before him.

Heart-pounding fluctuations rippled from the sky above, where over a dozen Grandmasters were locked in a deadly battle. The ambient energy of the entire area grew turbulent. Influenced by this, the mid-rank Yuan Demons grew even more frenzied, making the defensive fight increasingly difficult for the students.

Working together, the group had lost count of how many 6th-rank Spider Demons they had slain.

Before they knew it, three hours had slipped by. More and more Spider Demons flooded the battlefield. Yu Fei’s reserves of Inner Qi were completely depleted. Although he could refine Yang Qi to recover some of it, the rate of recovery was nowhere near his rate of expenditure.

The chaotic battle was fraught with peril, and Yu Fei frequently had to unleash his Immeasurable Sword Qi to bail out his comrades. His Inner Qi expenditure far outstripped his recovery, making it impossible to build up any reserves.

By now, only Feng Hua, Hengji, Chi Yu, and Jiang Nianwei remained by his side. The others had all retreated to have their wounds treated. The one in the worst shape was Xiang Kun; the poor guy had his leg hacked off by a blade demon.

At the critical moment, Yu Fei had spotted the danger and saved Xiang Kun’s life with his Immeasurable Sword Qi, even managing to retrieve the severed leg.

After that, people began to retreat from the battlefield in waves. As for Xiang Kun, modern medical-martial techniques could reattach his leg perfectly without any side effects. But if the leg had been lost, it would have undoubtedly had a major impact on his future in the martial arts.

Yu Fei had just parried a long axe swinging at his face when he saw that another Spider Demon had found an opening and was bringing a hammer down on him.

His Inner Qi was depleted, leaving him with only his physical strength. He could only watch as the massive hammer descended, gritting his teeth and angling his sword, Zhanming, in front of him to absorb the blow.

Feng Hua saw what was happening but was powerless to intervene. The others were in perilous situations of their own and could only watch in horror as the hammer descended with the force of a mountain.

"Yu Fei!"

Jiang Nianwei cried out, forced to watch helplessly.

Relying on his superhuman reflexes, Yu Fei did his best to adjust the angle of Zhanming, trying to avoid the spikes on the massive hammer.

BANG!

This was a 6th-rank Spider Demon, significantly stronger than a 5th-rank.

Sparks flew as sword met hammer, and the blow sent Yu Fei flying sideways.

The others were momentarily stunned. After all, not even a Gang Qi Martial Artist would dare to block an attack from a 6th-rank Spider Demon’s polearm using only their physical body.

"Shit!"

But then they saw Yu Fei wipe the blood from his lips, rise to his feet in a fury, and charge the Spider Demon that had ambushed him.

"Die!"

Chi Yu was stunned. ’Yu Fei... he doesn’t look that badly hurt?’

After his practice of the Melt Gold Jade Body Skill had reached the Minor Accomplishment stage, Yu Fei had absorbed numerous transcendent metallic and jade-like properties, and his body had begun to take on a quality that was both tough and yielding. The instant he was struck, dark red patterns within his body flared to life, absorbing much of the kinetic energy and apparently activating some latent characteristic.

As a top-tier Iron Body Skill, its many effects were designed for combat, not just pure defense.

The moment he was injured, a nameless rage ignited in Yu Fei’s heart—a mixture of shame at being wounded and fury toward his enemy.

The emotion surged with incredible speed as a strange power coursed through his muscles and bones. Enraged, Yu Fei lifted his sword and charged head-on.

On the first clash, sword met hammer, and Yu Fei was once again knocked away.

His rage deepened. He let out a furious roar, his eyes turning red. With his anger boiling over, he became recklessly headstrong, raising his sword and charging in again.

BANG!

But this time, he held his ground. A searing energy coursed through him as his muscles bulged and swelled, layer by layer. He instantly grew taller by half a foot, his previously loose Profound Armor stretching taut against his frame.

"HRAAAGH!"

Veins bulged on Yu Fei’s forehead as he, through sheer force, knocked the Spider Demon’s massive hammer aside. He burst forward with incredible ferocity, getting inside the demon’s guard. With a few rapid swings of Zhanming, he hacked it to pieces!

Suddenly, a deafening war cry erupted from the city wall behind them. Feng Hua looked back to see countless Martial Artists, their Gang Qi flaring, leaping down from the walls. They crashed into the tide of Yuan Demons like an avalanche, extinguishing it.

Reinforcements had finally arrived!

The moment the Spider Demon fell to pieces, Yu Fei’s mind cleared. An unprecedented wave of weakness washed over him, and the sword Zhanming in his hand suddenly felt impossibly heavy.

"This..."

’I remember getting so angry the moment I was hit,’ he thought. ’All I wanted was to kill the Spider Demon that ambushed me. It was like I lost my mind.’

’Did something go wrong with my Cultivation Technique?’

"Are you okay?"

Jiang Nianwei rushed to his side in concern, sheathing her twin blades and reaching out to support him as she asked.

Yu Fei rarely lost control of his emotions; today had been far too strange.

"I’m... I’m fine, but I’m out of the fight..."

Yu Fei was deeply confused. His Inner Qi was still steadily recovering, yet he felt utterly exhausted. That sudden burst of power seemed to have drained him to his very core.

Seeing his state, Feng Hua immediately had everyone retreat. Reinforcements had arrived, and besides, they were all in bad shape, especially with Yu Fei’s sudden, strange episode.

The small group immediately formed a protective circle around Yu Fei and fought their way out.

Yu Fei struggled onto the city wall, dragging Zhanming with him. As he was about to leave, he glanced back one last time. The battle between the Grandmasters still raged in the distance. Down below, with the arrival of reinforcements, the line was holding firm. Even though the Spider Demons were far more numerous and higher-ranked than usual, they were being held at bay, unable to advance a single inch.

"Let’s go."

The mission should have been a resounding success, but Yu Fei’s strange condition left everyone feeling uneasy.

「Back at the camp.」

Only a few people remained; most of the members from the two classes had been rushed to the rear for medical treatment.

Feng Hua asked with concern, "Yu Fei, shouldn’t you go to the field hospital and get checked out?"

He waved a hand. "I’m fine. I think it’s an issue with my Cultivation Technique. I’ll ask one of my instructors about it when I get back to the academy!"

’He was right. When he looked within, he saw that the red patterns in his bones and muscles, which had only become substantial after he’d refined and absorbed all those transcendent metallic and jade properties, were now significantly dimmer. He had no idea why.’

’Ye Shuping will probably know what’s going on. I’ll ask him when I get back. I also have questions about the Martial Artists protecting us on the battlefield, the Yuan Demons... I’ve built up a lot of questions this time. I can ask that old man all of them, fair and square.’

Jiang Nianwei added worriedly, "You need to go see Mr. Tang as soon as you get back. It looked like you completely lost your mind back there. That’s incredibly dangerous!"

She recalled the moment his eyes had glowed red, his face contorted into a savage expression. Even though his power had spiked, losing control like that was clearly abnormal.

Feng Hua suddenly spoke up. "Here’s an idea: you should head back to Shenhan first. The seven-day combat training is technically over; now we’re just waiting for the final tally of our contributions. We’ll look after the other injured members and return together later."

"I’ll go with you!"

Jiang Nianwei offered. She was deeply worried about Yu Fei. An injury was one thing, but a mishap with one’s Cultivation Technique could damage their very foundation. That was a matter of utmost importance.

Yu Fei could feel their concern. He smiled. "It’s probably not that serious. Maybe it’s a beneficial change from the technique. Don’t forget, my combat strength shot way up in that state!"

"Look at you, Mr. Big Shot! Now get out of here and go back! Just get your merit points ready, because you’re treating all of us to a huge feast when this is over!"

Seeing Yu Fei’s relaxed demeanor, Feng Hua’s worries eased as well.

In the end, he couldn’t argue with Feng Hua and Jiang Nianwei and agreed to head back to Shenhan ahead of the others.

The combat training had lasted seven days. To Yu Fei, it felt like an eternity, and yet also like no time at all. Through the endless days and nights of slaughter, a string in his heart had been pulled taut, never relaxing.

He had a feeling that he would be spending much of his future fighting in the Abyss.