Chapter Fifty-Four: Sudden Upheaval!

“This boy cannot be allowed to live!”

Xu Shaoguang’s heart froze, shaken beyond measure. Ever since all of the Xu family’s contestants had been eliminated, they had not appeared at the venue of the Clan Martial Gathering, and thus had not witnessed the subsequent matches firsthand. After Yang Yan claimed the championship, the tales circulating in the city about him grew ever more fantastical. Xu Shaoguang, hearing these stories, maintained a half-believing, half-doubtful attitude, suspecting that others were exaggerating and spreading rumors.

He had, in his heart, already placed Yang Yan in a high position, never daring to underestimate him. Yet tonight, Yang Yan had forcibly taught him a lesson! Xu Shaoguang could sense that Yang Yan’s strength had grown substantially since their own bout. Not only was his spiritual power more robust, but the soul force emanating from him was even more troublesome, stirring the mind.

“I can’t afford to worry about conserving spiritual power anymore. Father probably won’t hold out much longer—I must end this quickly!”

With that thought, Xu Shaoguang shouted, and the Starfall Demon Hammer in his grasp erupted in crimson light. Fierce fire-elemental spiritual energy gathered instantly, launching a frenzied assault at Yang Yan.

Xu Fei and Xu Zhiming, seeing this, nodded to each other. The spiritual energy enveloping their dagger and staff surged, and with a stomp, they both lunged at Yang Yan.

Having already discerned the trio’s attack patterns, Yang Yan was no longer flustered as before. With the vast soul force he wielded, he sensed every subtle movement in his surroundings—even a sudden assault from behind would not escape his notice.

Wielding the Moonshadow Frostblade, each strike was sharp and forceful, accompanied by the muted sounds of wind and thunder, clashing fiercely with the attacks from the surrounding magical treasures.

Xu Shaoguang sought a swift resolution, and Yang Yan shared the same resolve. Though he had not yet fallen behind in facing three opponents, the disadvantage of his “Yellow-tier Basic Technique” would soon become apparent with the passage of time. Moreover, his foes were three cultivators of equal rank; competing in spiritual power consumption would be unwise. Judging by the current situation, the Xu family must have meticulously planned this ambush. There could be other assailants lurking in the mountains. The urgent priority was to escape. Once he reached the crowded city, the Xu family would surely not dare act recklessly.

With this in mind, Yang Yan’s gaze turned icy. His sword swept fiercely before him, unleashing a frigid blue blade of cold energy from the Moonshadow Frostblade.

A metallic clang rang out three times. The trio staggered backward, arms trembling violently, nearly losing their grip on their magical treasures.

“Destruction Seal!”

The three were still stunned when they saw Yang Yan not far away, now holding his sword in his left hand. In his right palm, a faint blue crystalline sigil had appeared, spinning rapidly and exuding a chilling, eerie aura.

Yang Yan’s gaze was cold and grim. He thrust his right palm forward; the blue crystalline sigil expanded in the wind, bearing an unstoppable, icy murderous intent as it smashed toward the three.

Xu Shaoguang and his companions’ hearts tightened. Having just endured Yang Yan’s thunderous blow, their bodies were barely steady, and their spiritual power was still roiling within. They had no time to evade. Though terrified by the sigil’s formidable power, they could only grit their teeth, channeling all their spiritual energy into their arms and relying on the strength of their magical treasures to withstand Yang Yan’s attack.

A deafening explosion resounded where the Destruction Seal collided with the magical treasures. Terrifying energy ripples burst forth, the nearby trees creaking, branches and leaves dropping and then swept away by the spiritual energy storm, scattering in all directions.

Xu Shaoguang and his companions’ faces twisted in fear. With anguished cries, they were thrown five or six meters back before crashing to the ground.

Blood spurted from their mouths. Their eyes, fixed on Yang Yan, brimmed with terror and disbelief.

Xu Shaoguang, especially, had borne the brunt of the spiritual energy storm and was most grievously injured. Coupled with the wound Yang Yan had inflicted on his back earlier and excessive blood loss, his face was now as pale as gold paper, sweat beading on his brow.

Under the forceful impact, Yang Yan staggered backward several steps, forcibly suppressing the metallic taste rising in his throat. Sword in hand, he charged at the fallen trio.

Though Yang Yan had infused fifteen strands of special pale-blue spiritual energy into the Destruction Seal, whose power was formidable enough to overwhelm even a cultivator of the third layer of the Spirit-Sensing Realm, he faced not one, but three opponents.

Though Xu Tianlong and his companions had not cultivated martial techniques, the spiritual power of any one of them was not inferior to Yang Yan’s. At the moment of mortal peril, they had unleashed all their spiritual energy to resist Yang Yan’s martial attack. Despite the Destruction Seal’s impressive might, their desperate counterattack was equally fierce. Thus, while the trio was blasted into bloody retreat, Yang Yan’s body also suffered some injuries.

Yet for Yang Yan, this was an opportunity to strike while they were down—how could he let it slip?

A cold blade of spiritual energy shot from the Moonshadow Frostblade, slashing furiously at the terrified trio.

Xu Shaoguang was overwhelmed by the chilling murderous aura, feeling as if trapped in an ice cavern, cold sweat pouring down. The same dread he felt facing Yang Yan in the Clan Martial Gathering—the terror of impending death—surged anew.

He wanted to raise the Starfall Demon Hammer to defend himself, but after the heavy blow and his earlier injuries, his blood and energy were in turmoil, and blood loss had sapped his strength. He could not even lift the hammer.

Just as Xu Shaoguang closed his eyes to await death, a clear explosion suddenly rang out. Opening his eyes, he saw Yang Yan’s spiritual sword light struck by a golden pillar of spiritual energy no thicker than a finger, instantly shattering and dissipating.

He hastily looked toward the source of his salvation, and his pale face lit up with wild joy as he cried out,

“Big Brother!”

Yang Yan’s gaze turned cold, staring intently toward the forest as well.

“I have no such useless brother. Three against one, all at the peak of the second layer of the Spirit-Sensing Realm, and still you couldn’t win. Aren’t you ashamed?”

A hoarse, strange voice sounded. From behind a tall tree in the forest, a figure slowly emerged, dressed in the same black-clad, masked attire, tall and thin. Though his face was covered, the fierce gleam in his hawk-like eyes could not be concealed.

Seeing this, Yang Yan’s heart sank. Since Xu Shaoguang addressed the masked man as ‘big brother,’ Yang Yan knew his identity.

A disciple of the Azure Profound Sect, the eldest son of the Xu family—Xu Hongfei.