The narrow, cramped streets were completely deserted now, without a soul in sight.
Throughout the outer city, most of the sallow, emaciated mortals were hiding in their homes, shivering with terror and not daring to step outside.
"That shaking earlier... could the rebels have fought their way in?"
"Are the rebels really that powerful?"
"If it really is the rebels, they're human like us. I hope they win."
"What good would their winning do?!"
"You think they can drive out the noble lords?
"Even if they win a battle and make a show of it, who's going to clean up the mess afterward? Once the noble lords get angry, won't they just take it out on us innocent folk? Sigh, I bet a lot of people will die gruesome deaths today."
"Still... they are our kin, after all. The ones tormenting us are those nobles..."
A chorus of muttered whispers filled the rooms. Thoughts were tangled, each person holding their own view.
Out on the street, a man in black walked swiftly, his expression hurried.
Right then, a distinctive bird call drifted through the air.
The man in black's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately veered in the direction of the sound.
After a few dozen breaths, he slipped into an abandoned courtyard.
Two people stood inside. One was a familiar face, Wu Xiang; the other was an enormous fat man dressed in fine silks and satins.
"Deacon Li, big news!" the fat man gasped, the flab on his face quivering.
This fat man belonged to the rebels and had long been lying low in Yunxue City. His business ventures had gone rather well, earning the favor of the nobles, which gave him a few connections in the inner city. As a result, he was always among the first to hear of anything that happened there.
"What on earth happened?" Deacon Li asked.
First came the tremors, and later, the military strategist of the Blood Tiger Gang had claimed someone was on a slaughtering spree in the inner city.
"Dead, they're all dead!" the fat man stammered in panic, his mind in such disarray he could barely speak coherently.
"Calm yourself," Deacon Li commanded in a crisp tone, steadying the fat man's nerves.
Only then did the fat man collect himself and piece his words together. "An expert entered the inner city and... killed the daughter of a guishen, an actual princess!"
"What... killed a princess?" Deacon Li's breath hitched.
A so-called princess was the offspring of a guishen!
That was a guishen—a divine-rank entity, a terrifying existence that held down the entire Kuijin Realm.
And someone had actually killed one!
This was nothing short of tearing a hole in the heavens!
"Is Thorn Blood hunting him down?" Deacon Li asked.
He felt torn, unsure whether they should rendezvous with this person and recruit him into the rebels. After all, doing so might bring utter disaster down upon them all.
"No!" To his surprise, the fat man shook his head. "He's hunting the nobles!"
"What?" Deacon Li was baffled.
To kill a guishen princess and, instead of fleeing, continue rampaging through the city butchering those half-human, half-gui abominations—was he trying to get himself killed?
More than a dozen Heaven-rank experts were stationed in the city.
Was this mysterious expert truly that fearsome?
"If he had left immediately, he might have had a chance at survival. But now that he's slaughtering the nobles, I fear... he must already be surrounded by Thorn Blood's elders!" Deacon Li guessed, anxiety knotting his chest.
"No!" the fat man said. "He has already slaughtered every single elder of Thorn Blood!"
"What?!" Deacon Li was utterly dumbfounded.
He could hardly bring himself to believe the fat man's words.
Though Yunxue City was not a particularly massive metropolis, it still boasted more than a dozen Heaven-rank experts.
All slaughtered?
Where had such a ruthless, terrifying powerhouse come from?
One had to realize that their rebel faction was already considered the strongest in the surrounding lands, yet they possessed a mere three Heaven-rank experts. And now, a single ruthless figure had come along and massacred every last Thorn Blood elder in Yunxue City?
"Is this true?" Deacon Li pressed, still in disbelief.
"It is absolute fact! I have already sent word to the Chief!" the fat man declared solemnly.
If he could not guarantee the information was accurate, how would he dare send it to the Chief? The Chief was a thorn in Thorn Blood's side; if he came to Yunxue City on account of this matter and walked into a trap, the fat man would pay with his life.
Deacon Li studied the fat man with an intense, penetrating gaze.
The fat man's scalp prickled under the scrutiny.
Wu Xiang spoke up then. "I trust Big Brother Chu."
Deacon Li's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally spoke in a measured voice.
"Since he slaughtered the elders of Thorn Blood and is rampaging through the city, he will inevitably draw the attention of a guishen. We must make haste to the inner city and warn him to flee!"
Deacon Li's plan was simple: go see if it was true. If it was, he would do everything in his power to help the man escape.
After all, that was a guishen.
No matter how powerful a mortal became, how could they contend with a god?
In this Kuijin Realm, there were ninety-nine guishen holding dominion!
For a mortal to brazenly offend divine might meant certain death.
As for helping Wu Xiang escort Qi Yuan, that had already slipped to the back of his mind. Though Qi Yuan had some strength, having slain over a dozen inner hall disciples of the Blood Tiger Gang, how could that compare to the terrifying figure currently tearing through the inner city?
"Let's go!" Deacon Li commanded.
The fat man gritted his teeth. "I'm coming too!"
Wu Xiang said nothing, his silence signaling his agreement.
The group hurried toward the inner city, a whirlwind of thoughts racing through their minds.
At present, the outer city was an odd mixture of eerie silence and chaotic clamor. Some mortals hid inside their rooms, too terrified to emerge, while others dragged their families along as they fled toward the city gates.
Deacon Li was well accustomed to such sights.
"I only hope the guishen has not made a move yet. Otherwise... that senior is in grave danger!"
The notion that guishen were invincible had been ingrained in their minds from the day they were born. After all, setting aside their divine might, the sheer, horrifying sight of those towering monstrosities—standing upwards of a hundred zhang tall—was far beyond anything a Heaven-rank weapon wielder, with their meager command over the power of heaven and earth, could hope to face.
"No need to worry, Deacon Li. Guishen generally remain in secluded cultivation; they rarely descend in person," the fat man offered.
Guishen resided high above; even a Heaven-rank expert might never lay eyes on one in their entire lifetime.
"If a guishen had descended, it would likely... already be suppressing that senior by now," Wu Xiang reasoned. "That senior had the strength to slaughter the elders of Thorn Blood, so he should be able to hold out for a dozen breaths or so against a guishen. And in those dozen breaths, the shockwaves of battle would surely have reached us."
If a guishen had truly descended, the shockwaves from crushing such a senior would easily carry this far. It was a sound deduction; its only flaw lay in the possibility that the guishen was stronger than imagined, wiping that senior out in an instant before any sound of battle could propagate.
Of course, there was another possibility, one that Wu Xiang did not even dare entertain.
As the three rushed toward the inner city, Deacon Li's eyes suddenly went wide. He stared into the distance, his face plastered with sheer disbelief.
"What is that?"
He looked utterly horrified.
Wu Xiang and the fat man's eyes went wide as well, expressions of utter shock washing over their faces. The fat on the large man's cheeks trembled uncontrollably.
There, just ahead at the entrance to the inner city, loomed a colossal titan!
Standing a hundred zhang tall, the gargantuan figure made the towering city walls look like children's toys.
Dark gray scales, a formidable physique, and erect crimson demon horns—all bespoke the staggering power of this terrifying entity.
"A guishen!"
"It's the guishen Dark Pupil!"
Its eerie red pupils resembled lanterns suspended high in the air, cold and utterly devoid of emotion.
The moment Deacon Li met the eyes of that hundred-zhang-tall horror, his body shivered uncontrollably.
It was the primal instinct of a living creature!
A guishen had actually descended!
What were they supposed to do now?!
His mind was in complete disarray, but all of a sudden, his focus sharpened.
"Wait... why isn't this guishen moving at all?"
Deacon Li noticed something was wrong.
The others snapped to attention as well, scrutinizing the terrifying form of the guishen with greater care.
"Its eyes are bleeding!"
"A chunk is missing from its shoulder—look at all that blood!"
"No, look closely! There seem to be words carved on it!"
Everyone looked over, only to see massive characters carved across the colossal entity's upper torso. Blood welled up from the gouges, filling the strokes like crimson lacquer, while trickling drops framed the characters like gilded borders.
"I am transforming into a mortal. Whoever disturbs me shall end up like this beast!"
Deacon Li read the words aloud with a trembling voice, a tempest raging in his heart.
A mere twelve characters, devoid of any literary flourish, yet when read aloud, they radiated pure, overwhelming dominance.
To slay a guishen, prop its corpse upright, and carve a declaration into its flesh...
What staggering arrogance!
What awe-inspiring majesty!
***
"Master... you're back?" Zhao Yan had been on pins and needles, and only let out a breath of relief when he saw Qi Yuan return.
However, seeing Qi Yuan's robes completely drenched in blood, his heart leaped into his throat once more.
"Master, did you wipe out the Blood Tiger Gang?" Zhao Yan could not help asking.
"Ah, the Blood Tiger Gang? I forgot about them." Qi Yuan genuinely had forgotten.
This time, he had turned the inner city upside down in slaughter, hacking away until his blade was chipped and curled. Fortunately, he was not only born with divine strength, but he also ran remarkably fast—comparable to those middle school classmates netizens always bragged about. After keeping busy for so long, he had genuinely forgotten all about the Blood Tiger Gang.
"The Blood Tiger Gang is still around? Then the blood on you, Master...?" Zhao Yan was thoroughly bewildered, having no idea what had transpired.
"Nothing much. I just casually killed a guishen," Qi Yuan replied nonchalantly.
"Master, you can't just throw around nonsense like that!" Zhao Yan blurted in a panic.
"It's almost dark; I need to get some sleep," Qi Yuan said, heading straight toward his room.
Zhao Yan watched his master's retreating back, his lips moving as if to speak, but he held back. He was still worried that the Blood Tiger Gang might come looking for trouble.
"Sigh," Zhao Yan sighed quietly.
About a quarter of an hour later, a knock came at the door.
His heart in his throat, Zhao Yan walked into the courtyard. "Who is it?"
"It's me!" a crisp, clear voice called out.
Recognizing the familiar voice, Zhao Yan's face lit up with surprise and delight. "Hongmei, it's you!"
The door swung wide open, and Hongmei stepped inside, dressed in snug-fitting attire.
Looking at the familiar figure, Zhao Yan's expression was filled with joy.
Three years ago, he had brought home a severely injured, unconscious young woman he had found in Yunxue City. That young woman had been Hongmei.
Unlike ordinary women, Hongmei had always longed to seek out the legendary "Academy."
Zhao Yan had only learned of this "Academy" through her.
The Master of the Academy was a mysterious existence who roamed the various realms, accepting disciples and compiling ancient texts. At present, the Master of the Academy happened to be in the Kuijin Realm. If they could meet the Master of the Academy, join the institution, and serve him, they might... receive his protection, or perhaps even leave this realm altogether.
"Three years apart, and you haven't changed a bit, Zhao Yan!" Hongmei looked at him, her face glowing with vitality.
"Why did you come back, Hongmei?" Zhao Yan asked, unable to suppress his delight.
He had harbored feelings for her in the past.
"I have good news for you..."
"You found the Academy?" Zhao Yan asked eagerly.
"Yes!" Hongmei nodded. "Two years ago, while searching for traces of the Academy, I finally met some of its scholars. After enduring numerous trials and tribulations, I passed the test and was admitted."
She said it casually, but Zhao Yan knew the journey could not have been easy.
"Congratulations!" Zhao Yan was genuinely happy for her.
Joining the mysterious Academy meant having the chance to escape this cage.
"Now, the Master of the Academy has arrived in the Dark Pupil Domain to gather world affairs and compile ancient texts, so I traveled here along with several senior brothers and sisters," Hongmei explained. "Since it wasn't far from Yunxue City, I thought I'd come back to take a look."
She looked at Zhao Yan with a complex gaze, carrying a hint of affection.
"Hey, last time you refused to leave with me. Now that I've found the Academy, do you want to join with me? By the way, if you can't bear to leave your master behind, you can bring him along too!" Hongmei looked at Zhao Yan expectantly.
Back then, she had invited him to search for the Academy with her, but he had declined.
"I..." Zhao Yan looked troubled. "With my master's temperament, he would never go to the Academy. He raised me, and it wasn't easy for him. I need to take care of him and see him through to the end of his days!"
He had always held his master's kindness close to his heart. What was more, his master had now offended the Blood Tiger Gang; how could he abandon him?
Hearing this, Hongmei felt a twinge of disappointment. Yet wasn't it precisely this character of his that she valued? If Zhao Yan were cold and unfeeling, she never would have fallen for him in the first place.
"As it happens, I'll be staying here for a while. Mind if I stay over?" Hongmei did not bring up the matter of him joining the Academy again. After all, she could not guarantee that Zhao Yan would definitely be admitted.
"Not at all!" Zhao Yan said happily.
"By the way, has anything interesting or significant happened in Yunxue City lately? You know the Master of the Academy wants to record the great events of the world and compile them into a book."
"Doesn't... seem like it," Zhao Yan said, shaking his head.
Offending the Blood Tiger Gang was a monumental event for them, but from the perspective of history, it was merely an insignificant trifle.
"That's fine, we can talk about it slowly," Hongmei replied breezily.
Reuniting with an old friend was like sweet rain after a long drought.
***
Amidst the rolling mountains.
A young girl followed behind an elder in long robes, a look of naive bewilderment on her face.
"Grandfather, did something big happen? I've rarely seen you smile like this."
The robed elder's face was weathered with age, his back hunched, looking just like an old man battered and ground down by the years.
Yet he was none other than the renowned Master of the Academy.
"'I am transforming into a mortal. Whoever disturbs me shall end up like this beast!'"
"Good, good, good! This trip to the Kuijin Realm was worth it for this scene alone!"
The Master of the Academy laughed heartily, not having been this happy in a very long time.
Hearing this, the young girl immediately reviewed the newly compiled information. A moment later, a look of profound emotion crossed her face.
"To think such a hero would emerge in enemy-occupied territory," the young girl murmured with feeling.
To slay a guishen in enemy-occupied territory—what did that signify?
It meant that enemies would come in an endless tide.
It meant making an enemy of the entire world!
The guishen of the Kuijin Realm would converge and join forces to slay him. Even if he managed to survive that calamity, guishen from other worlds would come, leaving him with nowhere to hide.
"I truly wish to meet such a hero. I do not wish for... our Divine Wood Universe to fall, only for no one to ever know that it once possessed a magnificent civilization, or remember those venerable heroes who charged forward wave after wave!"
The book the Master of the Academy wished to write was titled *Outline of Realm History*.
He feared that once the Divine Wood Universe fell, no one would remember this grand, resplendent universe. Its civilization would wither away into nothingness, forgotten by all.
And so, he traveled across the realms, measuring the world with his footsteps and recording it with his brush, authoring the *Outline of Realm History*.
Chapter 549