Chapter 438: Sneak Attacking and Still Wanting to Steal Potato Chips?

The Haotian Academy could not possibly allow these scholars to fall entirely into mortal peril, so every participant in the academy examinations was issued a Cave-Heaven Token, a magical tool engraved with a seal that was neither metal nor jade; once activated, the spirit seal released a powerful defense for a short duration while simultaneously dispatching a message to the cultivators aboard the sky-patrolling dharma vessel.

Although the outer mountain range, even with only a portion designated for this examination, remained immensely vast and could not be monitored in its entirety, the token once kindled would transmit a signal to the vessel, representing a forfeiture, whereupon a cultivator would naturally arrive to rescue them.

Of course, this did not mean it was entirely without risk; should the seal fail to activate before a swift demise, or if it were shattered directly by a far mightier attack, such tragedies were not entirely unheard of.

Outside the Cloud-Severing Mountain of the Haotian Academy, Jiang Xiaoyue held a communication jade in one hand and cradled a bag of potato chips in the other, initiating her text-and-image live broadcast.

"Sister Lanruo, do you want some more?" Jiang Xiaoyue crunched on the chips while offering the bag, which was larger than her own head, to Li Lanruo with a giggle, "Now the boss can't stop me from eating!"

Li Lanruo took a chip and chewed, her face a portrait of sheer bliss: "So delicious! How come the shop doesn't carry these potato chips?"

"This was won by this princess when opening a gift box during the New Year!" Although others had drawn treasures like the Ink-Snow Divine Sword or the Thirteenth Rune, and she had previously complained about drawing garbage, she now felt quite proud before Li Lanruo, who had never opened a box before, "These are all new products never sold in the shop!"

At that moment, from the hidden recesses of the surrounding wilderness, faint and unusual rustlings began to stir.

"Look there!" A young cultivator clad in black parted the leaves before him and instantly spotted a distracted little girl munching on potato chips, alongside an equally distracted blue-robed beauty also eating chips.

"To think there are stragglers?!" Another black-robed youth looked as if he had discovered a new continent, "And they seem to... completely lack any awareness of us!"

He beckoned backward: "Come here! All of you, come here!"

"That... seems to be the little princess of the Jiang Family?!" A youth in yellow robes suddenly froze, apparently recognizing her, "Won't doing this offend the Jiang Family too much?"

"What is there to fear?! We will just snatch everything on her person and leave her unharmed! If we cannot touch this one or that one in the Haotian Academy examination, we might as well pack up and go home early!"

"I just checked; the good things in the vicinity have been mostly swept clean. It must have been taken by this little girl!"

"Reasonable!" They surveyed their surroundings, numbering about ten people in total, "Let everyone strike together in a moment!"

Though many masters from great factions participated in the academy examination, others were not entirely without opportunity.

If one lacked sufficient strength, surviving alone in this spiritual mountain filled with restrictive seals while searching for celestial treasures was naturally no easy task.

Therefore, those with some wit would either seek alliance under a powerful expert to swell their might, or travel in groups so that if they encountered a peril a single man could not match, they could rush forward together to minimize their losses.

These ten or so individuals were clearly harboring such a design, and moreover, several among them hailed from the same sect, making their bond even tighter.

Ten against two, and a sneak attack at that; by any metric, victory seemed virtually assured!

"Brother Huang! Deploy the Snare Array to restrict their spiritual energy!" the black-robed cultivator whispered, "Await my command, and I shall first shatter her protective dharma tool with the Black Feather Serpent Needles!"

"Very well! To think Brother Mo would bring out the Black Feather Serpent Needles?!" The yellow-robed man licked his lips, "I wonder what spirit elixir they are eating with such relish; let us snatch it later and have a taste as well!"

"Well said! Let us also taste something fresh!" The black-robed cultivator let out a sinister chuckle, having already concealed his breath and crept forward.

Immediately following came a sharp, air-rending whistle: "Strike!"

With that shout, a pale blue net of light abruptly materialized around Jiang Xiaoyue and Li Lanruo!

These glowing meshes interwoven and extended deep into the surrounding spiritual mountains; beneath the shroud of this light net, the flow of spiritual energy within the two girls instantly stagnated, and at that very moment, several slender black needles flew forth with a low, piercing shriek!

At this juncture, Jiang Xiaoyue still seemed not to have reacted.

"Charge!" The black-robed cultivator's face lit up with joy, "Success!"

His expression turned cold; this Snare Array could absolutely restrict most of the opponent's spiritual energy, and even if they raised their remaining power to defend against his Black Feather Serpent Needles, it would be impossible to withstand the onslaught of so many people!

Upon his command, ten or so silhouettes of cultivators in yellow and black emerged from their hiding places, and an assortment of spells and dharma tools came swarming forth!

Just then, they suddenly saw that within Jiang Xiaoyue's small hands, she now held two bizarre, deeply metallic dharma tools, one black and one white.

The black-robed cultivator could perceive that the opponent had not channeled any spiritual energy at all.

"To think she is even weaker than imagined!" The black-robed cultivator sneered; the girl could not even rouse her spiritual energy!

From the hollow black muzzles, a sudden burst of fierce gunfire erupted!

Bang bang bang bang bang!

Ten or so cultivators and several dharma tools dropped to the ground like dumplings tossed into a pot!

"...Clearly your spiritual energy... was already suppressed...!?"

Jiang Xiaoyue swapped the magazine and muttered to herself: "This gun isn't very useful... Without this princess infusing her spiritual energy, it actually possesses only this much power?!"

"Pfft—!" The black-robed cultivator spat out a mouthful of old blood, though whether from injury or pure fury remained unclear.

Beside her, Li Lanruo: "..."

At the same time, far away in Jiuhua City, Li Haoran was holding several strange bullets adorned with faint blue spiritual runes, explaining to the crowd: "Now, through our countless efforts, the bullet has been crafted into its eighth model, the Spirit-Piercing Round!"

He pinched the bullet in his hand and spoke: "Based on the Magnum round, the firearms utilize the special guns from 'Devil May Cry 3' capable of condensing demonic power as the foundational framework, engraved with formations specifically designed to break a cultivator's protective dharma tools or spells."

"Has it been tested?"

"Currently only tested at the magical firing range," Li Haoran said, "The last time the boss brought Xiaoyue over, she bought some bullets, but I don't know how the actual effects are..."

"Pfft—!" The black-robed cultivator spat another mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.

Those who had not lost consciousness quickly buried their heads.

Xiaoyue had already taken a screenshot and posted it to the group chat: "[Laughing] Aren't I amazing? I knocked down ten or so cultivators all at once!"

"Awesome, awesome!"

"Incredible!"

"Xiaoyue will surely take first place!"

Only then did Jiang Xiaoyue happily strip them of everything they possessed: "Hmph! When this princess was getting her kills stolen and sneak-attacked every day in Legend, you lot didn't even know where you were!"

"Ah...! My spiritual herbs!" Watching Jiang Xiaoyue joyfully plunder a vast hoard of spiritual treasures and exotic herbs from their bodies, several men wished to weep but had no tears; what kind of accursed dharma tool possessed such devastating power even when spiritual energy was suppressed?!

How were they supposed to survive?!

On the spot, they invoked their Cave-Heaven Tokens, GG!