105: Chapter 15 The Guardians Descend

Above the Sea of Thunder, the turmoil gradually subsided.

With a casual wave of his hand, Ning Yuan drew the ancient-styled dimensional bracelet left behind after Ye Xinghe's demise into his grasp.

A sweep of his divine sense, and a satisfied smile instantly appeared on his face.

"Tsk tsk tsk, worthy of being the Sword Spirit Clan's Holy Son. This fortune truly hasn't disappointed me!"

Inside were not only a vast quantity of rare spiritual materials and elixirs, but even several secret sword manuals of the Sword Spirit Clan!

Although Ning Yuan didn't cultivate the Sword Dao, these items, if sold or exchanged with the Academy for resources, would absolutely fetch an astronomical sum!

"Not bad, not bad. This haul was worth it!"

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze to a broken sword not far away, quietly hovering mid-air and emitting a faint glow.

A fragment of the Immortal Divine Sword!

This was Ye Xinghe's final trump card, and also the Sword Spirit Clan's supreme treasure!

Even though its master was dead, this broken sword still exuded an unyielding, untamable aura. Its blade trembled slightly, emitting low, deep sword hums, as if ready to pierce through the void at any moment to find a new master or return to its clan.

"Trying to escape?"

Ning Yuan chuckled darkly and made a grabbing motion with his large hand!

He firmly grasped the broken sword!

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The broken sword struggled violently, releasing sharp sword qi in an attempt to break free.

But under the suppression of Ning Yuan's vast, oceanic primordial power, its resistance seemed utterly feeble.

"Behave!"

Ning Yuan shouted lowly. The vision of the immortal ancient star within him trembled slightly, and a terrifying, world-suppressing artistic conception instantly descended!

Under theflushing of that artistic conception, the restless consciousness within the broken sword was finally forcibly erased. The light on the sword gradually calmed, becoming utterly docile.

"Hmm, this is also a good treasure."

Ning Yuan toyed with the broken sword in his hand. Though only half remained, the hardness of its material and the sharpness of its edge far surpassed ordinary divine weapons.

Later, if he could find suitable materials, perhaps he could even reforge it, or even fuse it into his own dragon slaughter spear to enhance its quality!

After happily storing his spoils, Ning Yuan finally turned to look at the two underlings behind him who had remained in a state of shock.

Zhou Qi and Lu Sheng, at this moment, were like two lifelike statues, mouths agape, eyes wide open, staring fixedly at Ning Yuan without even blinking.

Their expressions couldn't have been more comical.

"What? Both of you stunned?"

Ning Yuan waved his hand in front of their eyes.

"Huh? Oh! B-boss!"

Only then did the two snap out of it, shuddering violently before erupting into earth-shattering screams!

"Holy shit! Boss! You... you're just too damn awesome!"

"That was Ye Xinghe! The Immortal Sword Body! One of the Four Great Prodigys! And you blasted him apart with just a few punches?!"

"Am... am I dreaming?"

Zhou Qi was so excited he became incoherent, even pinching his own thigh hard enough to grimace in pain to confirm it was real.

Lu Sheng directly rushed forward and hugged Ning Yuan's leg, wailing with snot and tears:

"Boss! From now on, you're my own father! No, even closer than my own father!"

"I'll follow you for life! If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west; if you tell me to beat a dog, I'll never chase a chicken!"

"So fierce! So strong! So safe and secure!"

Facing their fanatical, near-obsessive gazes of worship, Ning Yuan was both amused and exasperated.

These two guys, was it necessary to be this excited?

It was just killing a little swordsman, no big deal!

"Alright, alright, stop wailing. Aren't you embarrassed?"

Ning Yuan disdainfully kicked Lu Sheng away, then casually took out the drop of emperor sovereign essence blood that had sparked this conflict.

Though this drop of essence blood was only at the Emperor Sovereign level, its quality was extremely high, emitting a dense imperial majesty. Clearly, it came from an exceptionally powerful Emperor Sovereign.

"Here, since you witnessed it, you share in the spoils. This drop of essence blood, the three of us..."

He was about to suggest splitting it three ways for everyone to supplement themselves.

But before he could finish, Zhou Qi and Lu Sheng, as if they had agreed beforehand, shook their heads like rattle-drums, firmly refusing!

"No, no, no! Boss, this thing is too precious, we don't deserve it!"

"Exactly! You risked your life to snatch this back, and it's loot from someone like Ye Xinghe. How could we take it?"

"Besides, we already swallowed several drops of essence blood earlier. Our bodies are about to burst now. If we take more, we'll truly suffer from excess!"

Though they coveted it, the two had good self-awareness.

A treasure of this level would be pure waste on them. Better for the boss to use it to enhance his strength.

Only if the boss became stronger could they hold on tighter. Opportunities for the good life would abound in the future!

Seeing their resolute attitude, Ning Yuan didn't stand on ceremony either.

"Alright then. Since you're so sensible, I won't be polite."

He opened his mouth and inhaled, directly swallowing that drop of emperor sovereign essence blood.

Boom!

A familiar warm current once again swept through his entire body!

After the baptism from the Thunder essence blood and countless Heaven And Earth Treasure gained from his earlier slaughter, his physical body had long reached a bottleneck.

But the quality of this emperor sovereign essence blood was indeed extraordinary, still increasing his physical body strength by another ten percent!

Though only ten percent, it was still quite good.

Ning Yuan clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within, and pondered inwardly.

"It seems that for another qualitative leap, I need at least saint essence blood, or even higher-level divine objects."

A King-level Physical Body was no small matter. Especially the closer one aimed to condense such a body, the more immense the consumption.

Resources at the Emperor Sovereign level were becoming increasingly ineffective for his current state.

"Let's go! Onwards!"

Ning Yuan waved his large hand and led his two underlings deeper into the Sea of Thunder.

Along the way, they encountered many Thunder Beasts and other prodigies.

For those who were blind and provoked them, Ning Yuan naturally sent them back to their ancestors without mercy.

For those who were sensible, or were human academy students, he didn't exterminate them completely, just casually "borrowed" some toll fees.

As for the gains along the journey, anything he couldn't use himself or was of ordinary quality, he tossed wholesale to Zhou Qi and Lu Sheng.

Even so, this made the two profit immensely, their grins stretching ear to ear.

"Following the boss, nine meals a day hungry... bah! It's feasting on delicacies every meal!"

"So happy! Is this the feeling of clinging to a thick thigh? Love it, love it!"

The two followed closely behind Ning Yuan, their demeanor even more filial than biological sons.

...

At the same time.

At the foot of Sacred Martial Mountain, Great Xia Martial Academy.

The originally relatively calm atmosphere was suddenly shattered by an extremely terrifying aura!

Rip!

The void suddenly tore open a massive rift, like a ferocious, single eye gazing down from above.

A figure of an old man in gray robes, with an ancient sword on his back, slowly stepped out from within.

With each step he took, the surrounding space rippled in layers, as if unable to bear his terrifying sword intent.

Especially the occasional flash of sharp light in his turbid, aged eyes, which actually made the five Martial Emperor Deans present feel their hearts tremble with fear!

A Guardian of the Sword Spirit Clan!

And judging by his aura, he was absolutely a seasoned, veteran powerhouse, possibly even having touched that threshold!

His arrival instantly turned the originally relaxed atmosphere grave.

Dean Zhuang Chen frowned slightly and stepped forward first, cupping his hands in greeting:

"So it's a fellow Daoist from the Sword Spirit Clan who honors us with your presence. May I ask the purpose of your visit?"

Although the other party arrived with imposing momentum, this was after all the territory of Great Xia Martial Academy. As the Dean, he naturally couldn't weaken their stance.

The gray-robed old man's face was expressionless, his eyes calm as a stagnant pool of water, revealing no emotional fluctuations.

He merely swept his gaze over the crowd indifferently, finally resting his eyes on the void rift, and spoke slowly:

"Nothing of importance."

"Just some juniors from the clan are training inside. This old man had nothing better to do, so I came to take a look."

His tone was flat, as if he truly were just a grandfather concerned about his juniors.

But Zhuang Chen and the others inwardly tensed.

Take a look?

Who are you trying to fool!

A powerhouse of this level wouldn't mobilize easily unless something major had happened!

And judging by his outwardly calm but subtly oppressive aura, clearly things were not simple!

Could it be...

A terrifying conjecture couldn't help but surface in everyone's minds.

Could it be that the Sword Spirit Clan's Ye Xinghe... had met with misfortune?

But they dared not ask further, only welcoming the elder to the seat of honor with smiles.

And though the gray-robed elder appeared composed on the surface, deep within, turbulent fury and killing intent had already surged!

Just moments ago!

He had sensed that Ye Xinghe's soul lamp... had been extinguished!

That was the future hope of the Sword Spirit Clan! The sole inheritor of the Immortal Sword Body!

To have fallen just like that in this paltry human secret realm?!

Unforgivable!

Absolutely unforgivable!

"No matter who! No matter your background!"

"Whoever kills our clan's Sword Son will pay a bloody price!"

"This old man wants to see exactly which ignorant fool dares to touch a member of my Sword Spirit Clan!"

His withered hand, hidden beneath his sleeve, was already clenched tightly, nails deeply embedded into his palm, oozing traces of blood.

He was waiting!

Waiting for that murderer to emerge from the secret realm!

As soon as the identity was confirmed, he would strike with the force of thunder and annihilate them on the spot!