C111 Killing Half Step Mahayana

One breath...

Two breaths...

Three breaths...

Ten breaths...

On the platform, the combatants were motionless, as if frozen, neither launching an attack.

The students gathered around the stage, with their limited cultivation, couldn't fathom the deadlock above.

Yet the unusual standstill suggested that something extraordinary was unfolding.

Below, the crowd was spellbound, holding their breath as they watched the stage intently.

Beads of sweat had formed on Lie Huo's forehead.

But in this moment, he was oblivious to the sweat threatening to drip into his eyes.

He felt as though he was surrounded by a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Qin Buyi" exuded a tangible, icy killing intent that shrouded the entire platform.

The scent of blood was thick in the air, assaulting Lie Huo's nostrils.

Lie Huo's instinct was to flee, to leave this place without a backward glance.

But he was ensnared by an aura emanating from "Qin Buyi," which had him firmly in its grasp.

Lie Huo was aware that any slight movement might result in his body being torn asunder, leaving him to die a gruesome death.

The stage was awash in a crimson hue, the killing intent painting it blood-red.

Ripples formed at the stage's edge, containing the murderous aura from spreading further.

The red intensity grew, slamming into the stage's ripples from every direction.

The ripples became increasingly violent, the distortion so severe it seemed on the verge of shattering.

"Crack!"

A sharp sound signaled the first fracture in the arena's barrier.

"Crack!"

Following the initial fissure, the stage's protective ripples fractured like a spider's web, revealing a dense network of cracks.

"Boom!"

The stage's ripples could no longer withstand the onslaught of the red killing intent and burst apart.

Alarmed cries erupted from the students below.

"What's happening? Why has the arena's protective barrier shattered?"

"Such a fearsome killing intent."

"The killing intent has solidified? How many lives must be taken for such an ethereal force to materialize?"

"Where is Dean Wang? Why isn't he intervening to halt this onslaught?"

Upon hearing the murmurs of the crowd, Wang Chengfeng fought the urge to curse.

Could he even dare to intervene? Once the red killing intent breached the arena's confines, it immediately targeted him.

Wang Chengfeng was frozen in place, unable to stop the cold sweat from breaking out all over his body. He didn't dare to move a muscle.

A sinister red aura of murderous intent filled the Martial Arts Practice Field at the College of Ming Dynasty.

Before the dust could settle, the eyes of every student and teacher below the Tribulation Crossing Stage turned a bloodthirsty red.

"Kill!"

"Exterminate them all!"

"I crave slaughter, hahaha..."

Teachers and students with slightly more advanced cultivation shut their eyes tight, struggling against the pervasive aura of death, their exclamations echoing in the air.

"What on earth is this thing?"

"Why is this urge to kill swelling inside me, growing beyond my control?"

"If this continues, we'll all soon be consumed, reduced to mindless beasts driven only by the urge to kill..."

Ying Ye surveyed the turmoil in the arena, his brow furrowed, and addressed Wang Chengfeng.

"Dean Wang, if we don't intervene soon, I fear it'll only be a matter of moments before everyone below the Tribulation Crossing Stage succumbs to their base instincts and drowns in this bloodlust."

Wang Chengfeng was acutely aware of the dire urgency, his own heart racing with the desire to quell the crimson tide of malice.

But he was targeted, and he knew that any slight misstep would result in his immediate demise.

As he gazed upon the students and teachers caught in the fray, Wang Chengfeng let out a weary sigh.

"Your Highness, the First Prince, at this juncture, we must set aside concern for the others. Our priority should be to consider whether we ourselves can survive the wrath that's upon us."

With that, Wang Chengfeng cast a meaningful glance at Ying Ye, directing his attention to Qin Buyi, who stood silently upon the stage.

In the balance between the lives of others and his own, Wang Chengfeng unhesitatingly chose self-preservation.

He reassured himself internally, "I am a respected practitioner in the Middle Period of the Mahayana Stage. The worth of everyone here combined doesn't measure up to my own. If they perish, so be it."

"My death, on the other hand, would be a catastrophic loss for the Ming Dynasty."

Ying Ye held his tongue, opting not to argue. He followed Wang Chengfeng's gaze to the quiet figure of Qin Buyi on the stage.

As the First Prince, who had emerged victorious over numerous rivals, the throne was nearly within his grasp.

Ying Ye considered his own life of utmost importance and certainly wouldn't risk it for the sake of the College of Ming Dynasty's students and faculty.

On the stage, Lie Huo bore the brunt of the assault and began to tremble uncontrollably. A red aura of murderous intent enveloped him, forming a blood cocoon. This deadly energy flooded into Lie Huo's body from every direction, wreaking havoc within.

Inside the blood cocoon, Lie Huo's body thrashed wildly, yet the cocoon remained unmoved. Suddenly, it turned transparent, revealing the horrific scene to all the onlookers.

Lie Huo's body appeared as if it were a fossil, eroding over the eons. Starting from his feet, his form crumbled bit by bit, disintegrating further with each breath he took.

"Ah~!"

"The pain!"

"I... I don't want to die!"

His screams echoed through the blood cocoon, filling the entire martial arts field. The teachers and students, locked in their own battles against the killing intent, couldn't help but shudder at the sound of Lie Huo's piercing cries.

Even the stoic Ying Ye found Lie Huo's plight difficult to stomach.

With one breath, Lie Huo's feet vanished into the cocoon. After two breaths, his calves followed. Three breaths, and his lower body was gone.

Completely immobilized, Lie Huo cried out desperately, "Dean Wang, save me! Dean Wang, save me!" But Wang Chengfeng, standing below, was struggling to save himself, let alone spare any effort for Lie Huo.

After several unanswered pleas, Lie Huo's voice turned to one of utter despair. "Wang Chengfeng, this is your doing! If you hadn't pulled me from my seclusion, I wouldn't be facing this fate. Wang Chengfeng, you old fiend, I curse you to a wretched end! Hahaha..."

By then, everything below Lie Huo's chest had vanished. A few breaths later, Lie Huo was completely consumed by the blood cocoon, leaving no trace behind.

Until his very last breath, the Inferno never ceased his tirade of curses against Wang Chengfeng.

Echoes of the Inferno's final words seemed to linger in the air.

Imagine the frustration of Wang Chengfeng, one of the three esteemed deans of the College of Ming Dynasty, as he was berated to his face by the Inferno.

"Hmph, such a frail spirit, he met the fate he deserved," Wang Chengfeng remarked with a cold snort.

Ying Ye, having witnessed the Inferno's demise from start to finish, spoke with a hint of complexity, "Dean Wang, to think that mere killing intent could claim the life of one at the Half Step Mahayana stage."

"Is this the power of an immortal?"

Wang Chengfeng responded, "Immortals, though human in form, have transcended humanity. They possess myriad powers beyond our comprehension."

"The fact that killing intent can end a Half Step Mahayana is hardly cause for astonishment."