One Thing at a Time

A full half minute passed.

Only then did Huo Zhenshan let out a long breath, expelling the foul air from his lungs.

He spoke slowly, his voice echoing across the empty ruins with an unprecedented gravity.

“The Demon Emperor withdrew.”

“Because the coordinates are gone.”

Huo Zhenshan pointed toward the abyssal black fog dissipating in midair.

“The Demon Saint was the coordinates and sacrificial offering for this abyssal passage.”

“Now that the Demon Saint is dead, the passage can no longer be maintained.”

Lei Qianjue froze.

“But…”

“How could the Demon Saint have died?”

“That was a Demon Emperor’s hand personally protecting him!”

Huo Zhenshan turned and gave Lei Qianjue a deep look.

“Because…”

“He forcefully killed the Demon Saint.”

Huo Zhenshan extended a finger and pointed toward Su Yuan in the distance.

Each word rang out with absolute force.

“Martial Spirit realm.”

“He withstood the supreme pressure of a Demon Emperor’s projection crossing realms!”

“Right under the watchful eye of the Abyssal Sovereign.”

“With a single shot!”

“He forcefully killed the Demon Saint!”

Boom!!!

Those words exploded in everyone’s minds like a nuclear bomb with a yield of one hundred thousand tons!

The Martial Emperors and Martial Kings present collectively sucked in a sharp breath.

Their scalps went numb!

Every hair on their bodies stood on end!

They stared at Su Yuan with wide eyes, looking at him as if he were a monster.

Was this even possible?!

Did this make any sense?!

A Martial Spirit possessed no more than ten million units of blood and qi.

The Demon Saint possessed over ten billion!

The gap between them was more exaggerated than that between an ant and an elephant!

Not to mention, there was also a Demon Emperor backing him!

If any one of the Martial Emperors present had been in that situation, let alone forcefully killing the Demon Saint, they would never even have been able to stand upright beneath the Demon Emperor’s pressure!

Yet this young man called “Su Yuan” had actually withstood the Demon Emperor’s pressure and instantly killed the Demon Saint?!

“This…”

Lei Qianjue’s body began to tremble violently.

His single eye was filled with shock, as if his entire worldview had collapsed.

“Where did this peerless genius come from?!”

“When did the Great Xia Nation start hiding a monster like this?!”

Lei Qianjue was completely convinced.

He felt utterly inferior.

He had always thought that, as the vice principal of Demon Martial University and a Martial Emperor with over one hundred million units of blood and qi, he had seen every kind of genius in his long life.

But today,

he finally understood what it meant that there was always a higher mountain beyond the mountain, and a greater genius beyond the genius.

Looking at the cold, hard face of the “Su Yuan” before him and the astonishing killing intent radiating from his entire body, Lei Qianjue suddenly thought of the top talent Demon Martial University had just recruited—Shen Wudao.

He possessed the Innate Fiend Physique.

His blood and qi had already reached the terrifying peak of the Martial Warrior realm upon enrollment.

The upper echelons of Demon Martial University had always regarded him as their most precious asset, treating him as their secret weapon for this year’s National Freshman Exchange Tournament.

In fact, Lei Qianjue had just been boasting to Nie Changkong that they would teach the freshmen from Capital Martial University a good lesson at the tournament.

But now,

Lei Qianjue was frantically shaking his head inwardly.

Teach them a lesson, my ass!

As he looked at this “Su Yuan,” he could not help comparing the two in his mind.

If—

if this “Su Yuan” was not some hidden powerhouse secretly trained by Nie Changkong for many years,

but instead a freshman who had only just entered his first year of university,

then the scene…

Lei Qianjue could not help shuddering.

A first-year student with nine million units of Dark Gold Divine Blood!

A master of peak Soul-Forging Spear Intent!

Someone capable of going head-to-head with a Demon Emperor and forcefully killing a Demon Saint!

If he went to participate in the National Freshman Exchange Tournament…

What would be the point of fighting?

The freshmen from the other schools might as well line up, kneel down, and surrender!

If their vaunted Shen Wudao dared to bare his teeth at this “Su Yuan,” the other man probably would not even need to draw his spear.

Just releasing a trace of the pressure from his Dark Gold Divine Blood would be enough to crush Shen Wudao’s prized Innate Fiend Physique into a pool of gore!

If that were really the case,

then all of Demon Martial University—even every martial arts university in the nation—would have to submit completely to this young man’s authority.

They would not be able to summon even the slightest thought of resistance!

At that thought,

Lei Qianjue let out a long sigh of relief.

He raised a hand and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Thank heavens!

Thank heavens!

Lei Qianjue looked at Su Yu’s face, disguised by the Myriad Forms Concealment Technique to appear weathered and ruthless.

He secretly congratulated himself.

That appearance, that bearing, those decisive, battle-hardened methods—

he was absolutely some old monster who had licked blood from the edge of a blade for years!

Or perhaps the ultimate weapon secretly cultivated by the military!

There was no way he could be a first-year student at Capital Martial University!

That freshman called Su Yu might be talented, but at most, he was just a fledgling Martial Master.

How could he possibly possess the world-shattering strength of this young man?

“Old Nie.”

Lei Qianjue turned to Nie Changkong, his voice carrying a trace of sour envy.

“You people at Capital Martial University really hit the jackpot.”

“To think you were hiding a trump card like this.”

“But fortunately, he’s a secret weapon you’ve been cultivating in secret, not one of the freshmen you recruited this year.”

Lei Qianjue patted his chest.

“Otherwise, our Demon Martial University might as well forfeit this year’s exchange tournament.”

Hearing Lei Qianjue’s relieved words,

Nie Changkong, standing beside him,

was completely numb.

He kept both hands tightly clasped behind his back.

All ten fingers were twisted together so hard that his nails were nearly digging into his flesh.

Aggrieved!

Utterly aggrieved!

Looking at Lei Qianjue’s expression of relief after surviving a disaster, Nie Changkong felt as though ten thousand grass-mud horses were stampeding through his heart!

He was dumbfounded!

He truly was dumbfounded!

Others might not know, but he did!

Who the hell would believe it?!

The peerless god of slaughter before them, the one who had gone head-to-head with a Demon Emperor and forcefully killed a Demon Saint, leaving every Martial Emperor and Martial Saint present with numb scalps—

was actually that freshman who had only just started his first year, Su Yu!!!

He was the exact “fledgling who was, at most, a Martial Master” whom Lei Qianjue had said would be taught a lesson at the exchange tournament!!!

The corners of Nie Changkong’s mouth twitched uncontrollably.

He desperately wanted to shout aloud:

Old Lei!

That Shen Wudao from your Demon Martial University isn’t even worth a fart in front of him!

But he could not say it.

To protect Su Yu from being targeted by even higher-ranking experts of the Abyssal Cult,

and for the sake of the future of the Great Xia Nation,

he had to keep this earth-shattering secret buried deep in his stomach!

Even if it gave him internal injuries, he had to maintain an air of unfathomable calm!

“Ahem.”

Nie Changkong cleared his throat.

He forcibly suppressed the surging blood and qi in his chest.

Then he slightly raised his chin and spoke in an exceptionally indifferent tone.

“Old Lei.”

“Don’t sell yourself short.”

“Your Shen Wudao from Demon Martial University is quite impressive too.”

“As for the exchange tournament, participation is what matters.”

Lei Qianjue curled his lip.

Although he had been thoroughly shaken by the peerless god of slaughter known as “Su Yuan,” the moment he heard Nie Changkong’s lofty, condescending tone as he evaluated a junior, his competitive spirit immediately flared up.

“Cut the crap!”

Lei Qianjue glared with his only remaining right eye and snorted, unable to hold back his retort.

“Old Nie, I admit that this trump card of yours is truly terrifying. I, Lei Qianjue, am convinced!”

“But let’s keep one thing separate from another!”

“Your first-year student, Su Yu, has comprehended the Manifestation Spear Intent. His talent is indeed astonishing. But unfortunately, our Shen Wudao from Demon Martial University possesses the Innate Fiend Physique. When it comes to fighting at the same level, he’s definitely a little stronger than your Su Yu!”

“Don’t think that just because Jingwu has a ‘Su Yuan,’ you can run roughshod over everyone. In this year’s freshman exchange tournament, Demon Martial University will still take first place!”

“We’ll see who’s really stronger in the arena!”

Hearing Lei Qianjue’s resounding declaration,

Nie Changkong, who was standing nearby,

was completely dumbfounded.