150: Chaos 4

He suddenly took a deep breath, and ignoring the injury to his right palm, he brought his hands together in a hollow clasp before his chest.

Inside his body, the Python Dragon Strength Mind-Cultivation Technique circulated frantically at an unprecedented speed! Every drop of the majestic blood and Qi of the Flood Dragon Tendon Realm, Initial Stage was mobilized. The great tendons throughout his body harmonized, producing a sound like the roar of a dragon and the howl of a tiger!

Pale gold Qi energy rose, condensed, and compressed between his palms!

It was not palm force, nor was it finger energy, but... an illusory "spear-shaped Qi energy" about three feet long, existing between the ethereal and the material!

The shaft of the spear was blurred, but the tip was incredibly solid, exuding a sharp intent that could annihilate everything!

This was the prototype of "Qi Energy Manifestation" that he had just realized after his Breakthrough to the Jiaojin Realm, combining his insights into Annihilation Spear Intent, the essence of Layered Waves force, and the solid characteristics of his Hunyuan Foundation!

Though imperfect and unable to last long, this single strike—was enough to decide victory and defeat!

"Break!"

Chen Linsheng gave a low shout and pushed his palms forward!

That illusory spear shadow shot out from his hands. Slow at first, it instantly transformed into a pale gold stream of light, as if ignoring space itself, and instantly pierced through the layers of saber curtains hastily set up by the gray-robed leader!

Puchi—!

The spear shadow pierced straight through the chest!

The gray-robed leader's body froze. He looked down at the bowl-sized transparent hole in his chest, his eyes full of disbelief: "Qi energy... manifestation... Jiaojin... impossible..."

Before his words could finish, he fell backward and breathed his last.

Chen Linsheng's face turned pale, and his chest rose and fell violently. This strike had drained nearly thirty percent of his blood and Qi, and the wound on his right palm split open even further, blood soaking through the bandages.

But he did not dare rest. He turned and lunged toward the gray-robed man with short daggers who was in a fierce battle with Han Tie.

Seeing his leader's death, that man's mind fell into chaos. Han Tie severed his right arm with a single saber strike, and Chen Linsheng followed up with a palm to his back, causing him to fall forward while coughing up blood.

At this moment, Mu Qingxue had also pierced the throat of the gray-robed man with the chain dart with her sword.

The last gray-robed man with the iron fan saw that the situation was dire. He feinted a move and actually turned to rush toward the light pillar, seemingly wanting to use his own essence blood to trigger some change in the Formation!

"Stop him!" Chen Linsheng shouted urgently.

But the distance was already too great. Seeing the gray-robed man about to crash into the light pillar—

Swoosh!

A faint but sharp sound of breaking air rang out.

An ink-jade prayer bead shot from the direction of the Viewing Platform like a shooting star chasing the moon. Arriving later but striking first, it precisely hit the back of the gray-robed man's head.

The gray-robed man's body stiffened, and he fell at the edge of the light pillar, no longer showing any signs of life.

Chen Linsheng suddenly turned his head and looked toward the Viewing Platform.

Eunuch Cao was still sitting upright, one less prayer bead in his hand. Meeting Chen Linsheng's gaze, his narrow eyes squinted slightly, and a faint, knowing smile played at the corners of his mouth as he nodded gently.

It was as if he were saying: Not bad, but still not enough.

Chen Linsheng felt a chill in his heart, but he had no time to think deeply and turned his gaze back to the northeast light pillar.

With the leader killed, the Blood Puppets lost their direction, and their offensive slowed slightly. Because the energy supply was unstable, the light pillar flickered violently, causing the blood-colored light shield covering the entire field to flicker as well!

An opportunity!

"Attack the light pillar with everything you've got!" Chen Linsheng roared, being the first to charge toward the dark-red, surging blood-colored light pillar.

Mu Qingxue and Han Tie followed closely behind.

The seven or eight survivors of the squad also followed desperately.

However, just as they were less than five zhang from the light pillar, another change occurred!

The three dark-purple Blood Puppets suddenly gave up on attacking others and turned together, crashing into the light pillar in a suicidal manner!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three loud explosions rang out as blood mist filled the air!

The dark-purple Blood Puppets had actually self-detonated! A massive amount of flesh and blood essence, mixed with dense Yin-Evil Energy, poured into the light pillar like a flood!

The originally flickering light pillar suddenly stabilized, its light becoming even brighter! The light shield also stabilized and even began to contract and squeeze inward, the sense of pressure becoming even stronger!

On the surface of the light pillar, a huge, blurry, pained human face composed of blood-colored mist faintly emerged, its giant mouth open in a silent scream, as if it wanted to devour everything!

"Using Blood Puppet self-detonation to stabilize the Formation's Foundation... what a ruthless method!" Han Tie gritted his teeth.

Chen Linsheng's expression was grim. All that effort for nothing!

Right at this moment—

From the southeast direction came an earth-shattering rumble and a scorching explosion!

A ten-zhang-long blade aura of interwoven red and gold fire tore through the air and slammed heavily into the southeast light pillar!

Ling Feng had made his full move!

At the same time, intense energy collision fluctuations also came from the northwest and southwest—evidently, the Pojun Guards in other directions were also attacking fiercely.

The entire blood-colored Formation shook violently. All four light pillars flickered simultaneously, and ripples surged wildly across the surface of the light shield, revealing cracks!

Before the northeast light pillar, that giant blood-colored face let out a silent shriek, and the light became chaotic once more!

"Now is the time! A combined strike!" Chen Linsheng roared. Ignoring his injuries, he poured all his remaining blood and Qi into his palms!

Mu Qingxue held her long sword high, and an ice-blue Sword Qi soared into the sky. Her sword hummed, and the Cold Ripple Sword radiated brilliant light!

Han Tie roared, his war saber stained with blood, as the military's slaughtering Saber Intent condensed to the extreme!

The Qi of the three people faintly connected as they simultaneously attacked the same spot on the light pillar!

The Hunyuan Palm force was as heavy as a mountain, the ice-blue Sword Qi was sharp and bone-chilling, and the military saber aura was tragic and resolute!

The three forces, distinct in nature, slammed into the dimmest node of the light pillar at the exact same instant!

Crack—!!!

A crisp cracking sound, like glass shattering, resounded throughout the field!

The northeast blood-colored light pillar collapsed and dispersed! It turned into a sky full of blood-colored light spots, which were then blown away by the Yin wind!

With one of the four pillars gone, the Formation was immediately broken!

The inverted bowl-shaped blood-colored light shield distorted violently, its surface covered in cracks, and finally exploded with a "bang," vanishing into nothingness!

The Yin wind that had enveloped the Drill Ground, the wailing of vengeful souls, and the feeling of mental erosion all dissipated by more than half in an instant!

Sunlight fell once more. Although it still carried the scent of blood, it made people feel as if they were in another world.

"The Formation is broken!"

"The light shield is gone!"

"Kill! Kill all these cultist Blood Puppets!"

The survivors' spirits were greatly lifted, and they roared as they counterattacked.

Seeing the Formation broken, the people of the White Lotus Sect clearly lost their composure. The elite Martial Artists mixed in the crowd began to try to retreat, and the Blood Puppets' offensive also fell into confusion.

On the Viewing Platform, Eunuch Cao slowly rose.

The Dark Jade Prayer Bead in his hand stopped turning. His narrow eyes swept across the messy Drill Ground, over the dead and injured examinees and commoners, over the people still fighting, and finally landed on Chen Linsheng, Mu Qingxue, and Han Tie.

"Pass the order." His voice was flat, yet it carried an unquestionable authority. "The Imperial Guards are to be fully deployed to cooperate with the Pojun Guards and the Commandery City Guards to clear out the remaining enemies and treat the wounded. Those who resist are to be killed without mercy. Any members of the White Lotus Sect are to be captured and strictly interrogated."

"Yes!" The attendants and the Imperial Guard commander behind him responded solemnly.

Eunuch Cao paused and then added, "Have Ling Feng, Tie Hanshan, and those three little fellows... and count that half-dead Yan Chen on the stage too—whoever is left of the top ten in the Martial Examination, bring them all before me."

He looked toward a certain direction outside the Drill Ground, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth:

"The show is over; it's time to pull in the net."