Chapter 485: Stand Out Yourself for Me?

...

Aboard the dharma vessel, Nangong Lin laughed with manic abandon. "And here I thought the Haotian Academy was some formidable power, but from where I stand, you are nothing but a flock of clay chickens and pottery dogs!"

"Hahahahaha! I originally believed only a single Sacred Ancestor would awaken this time, but who could have foreseen three of them waking in succession? It seems my Wentian Sword Palace is truly destined to rise! It is heaven's will, purely heaven's will!" The Second Elder beside him also roared with laughter. "Palace Master, a great deal of their main force is noticeably absent from this crowd. Word has it they went to that little shop that opposes us. Permit me and the three other Grand Elders to escort one Sacred Ancestor to that establishment, capture them, and while we are at it... utterly annihilate anyone associated with them!"

"Go then," Nangong Lin replied, his expression darkening slightly. "Among those not present at the Haotian Academy, there are a few whose strength exceeds yours. Return to the Sword Palace first, and request the newly awakened Heaven-rank Sacred Ancestor to lead the way. That will ensure absolute certainty."

...

Inside the vessel's cabin, the various family heads were still forced to sit together and watch. The elder guarding the area laughed boisterously. "It seems you lot are in for a visual feast. In a moment, the Second Elder will invite that Heaven-rank Sacred Ancestor into the world. To think people like you actually have the fortune to gaze upon such majesty!"

This elder thought to himself with great relish, "Just a little longer, and I shall truly open your eyes!"

...

Massaging his temples, Boss Fang felt his mind spinning in a groggy haze, having spent over half a year being utterly thrashed inside the game cultivation room.

The rapid, overlapping chatter of the crowd only made his head throb worse.

"Hmm? Why does the boss look so pale and unsteady on his feet? What on earth did he do upstairs?!"

"...I feel completely drained. As I thought, one really shouldn't indulge in this kind of thing for too long." Boss Fang shook his head, only to suddenly realize a crowd of people was staring at him, utterly dumbfounded.

"What were you all just saying?" Boss Fang knit his brows. "Xiaoyue was bullied at school?"

A sudden epiphany struck him, and he slammed his hand onto the table. "Don't they know Xiaoyue is under this boss's protection?!"

"What?! Someone dared to bully my little sister?!" Jiang Xuan, who had been deep in his game, bolted upright instantly.

Zhen Yan and Xue Ming, the two bodyguards, slammed their tables and stood as well. "Someone dared to bully our little Princess?!"

"Let's go! Time to teach them a lesson!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Outside Yuanyang City, several streaks of sword light instantly pierced the high heavens like flashes of lightning.

...

Within the Haotian Academy.

Most of the disciples and elders had gathered together. Though the academy's collective strength was likely a notch above the former Wentian Sword Palace, looking up at the sky where the mountain-protecting grand array had been easily torn apart by sword gas, and seeing the patch of golden mist swallowed whole, terror gripped the hearts of many.

Nangong Lin stood atop the colossal dharma vessel in the sky, gazing coldly down at the panicked crowd below.

Had that golden cloud not blocked the assault at the critical moment, preserving the majority of the academy's elite, the entire Haotian Academy would have been razed to the ground by now.

As an ancient clan, their hidden cards extended far beyond this. Otherwise, given how the fertile soil of Lingzhou constantly brought forth extraordinary talents, how could a mere seven clans rule the realm?

They were able to awe and subjugate the various great families and sects precisely because every single hidden card they possessed held a terrifyingly catastrophic power.

Flanking the dharma boat where Nangong Lin stood, rolling clouds of black malevolent energy continued to spread outward. The mist extending from both sides of the vessel resembled two massive, dark wings, within which strange entities seemed to writhe. Occasional glimpses of scales or horns were revealed, and within the darkness, pitch-black, spherical objects—partially illusory and partially real—stretched and solidified into the shapes of swords.

With a single command, countless dark sword lights fell like a torrential meteor shower!

With a thunderous roar, the earth shuddered. A nearby Hall of Dharma Propagation was struck by a black sword; its massive structure cracked apart, then violently shattered into pieces. Billowing waves of soil and dust surged upward, reducing it to ruins almost in the blink of an eye.

In the sky, a massive array diagram unfurled as if to blot out the heavens. Several elders strained with all their might to sustain it, but it was painfully obvious that this diagram, too, would eventually be breached. Furthermore...

The nightmare-like black figure in the sky had easily broken two of the Haotian Academy's hidden cards in succession. If he chose to strike personally, this array diagram likely wouldn't last a single second.

"No wonder the Wentian Sword Palace has grown increasingly arrogant and domineering over the past century..." Elder Yu bellowed in a freezing tone. "You have been plotting this since thousands of years ago, haven't you? And now, you finally cannot wait any longer?!"

"Wait?!" Nangong Lin exuded an aura demanding absolute submission upon pain of death. Standing at the prow of the dharma boat, he looked down upon the earth as if gazing at mere mortal insects. He raised his hand high, then swept it down. "Why should I wait any longer?! Today, I shall annihilate the Haotian Academy! Those who do not submit shall find only death! Give..."

"How can this man talk such big game?!" Jiang Xiaoyue glared at the sky. "Humph! Just wait until the boss gets here and beats you to death!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a sudden, piercing chill struck Nangong Lin. A streak of azure light seemed to descend from the highest heavens, cleaving through the sky as it slashed straight down!

Immediately following it, a flash of black sword light flickered and vanished.

Subconsciously turning his head back, he saw an incredibly faint line had appeared on the floor of the vessel's forward section at some unknown moment. Then, the entire front half of the dharma vessel began to slide downward along that very seam.

Like a colossal meteorite falling from the stratosphere, it ignited through atmospheric friction, turning into a massive fireball as it plummeted toward the earth!

The ground quaked violently, and the malevolent aura in the sky scattered like parting mist, as though retreating in fear of something. In the distant heavens, auspicious clouds converged, and a young man wearing a purple-gold crown and wielding the azure Demon Suppressing Sword stood poised upon the heavy clouds.

"Ah—!"

"Jingtian?!"

Beside Jiang Xiaoyue, whether they were young women or men, disciples or elders, a chorus of screams erupted.

"Isn't that a fictional character?!"

One had to realize that this was a character from a game. Much like the Matrix in The Matrix, it was a fictional world. No matter how powerful a setting was constructed within a fictional world, even if it could destroy worlds, it remained an illusion. Just like in The Matrix, Neo could do anything within the Matrix, and he could even perfectly utilize skills like judo or boxing in reality after learning them in the virtual world.

Yet in reality, he still couldn't do anything extraordinary, unable to even defeat a single Sentinal.

But what were they seeing right now?!

The Demon Suppressing Sword?! Jingtian?!

"What is that?!" The family heads of the various clans watching the live broadcast from within the Wentian Sword Palace's dharma vessel suddenly widened their eyes. Witnessing this scene, the head of the Xun family, who was currently eating a spiritual melon, nearly sprayed melon seeds across the entire floor.

"Who bullied Xiaoyue and the others?! Step forward yourself?!" The figure in the sky, who resembled an immortal god, suddenly spoke.

"..." Hearing that voice, everyone's face twitched in unison.

Is this freaking boss?!