Chapter -73 Poison king seal.

Chapter -73.

Shi Nian was taken by surprise by the abrupt turn of events. At first, he didn't sense anything out of the ordinary when the illusionary sea of fire was consumed—he could create that illusion anytime.

However, the distortion and floating of the dream remnants world far surpassed his comprehension. In a heartbeat, endless questions flooded his mind; he couldn't grasp why his illusion was being obliterated.

As Ye Chen's divine-level devouring intensified, the enormous heavenly painting was rapidly drawn into his mouth like noodles.

"Stop! I'll take you down!"

Once the illusion vanished, Shi Nian felt a sharp, tearing pain, as if his martial soul was being gnawed at. This unexpected discomfort left him feeling incredibly uneasy.

Soon, Shi Nian braved the excruciating pain of his vanishing martial soul and began conjuring new illusions to strike at Ye Chen.

In mere moments, the scenes around Ye Chen shifted from falling off a cliff, to being rained down upon by arrows, to sinking underwater, but when the core remnants of his martial soul were devoured by Ye Chen, those illusions burst like bubbles upon contact.

Shi Nian cried out in anguish, his body shaking violently from the hurt to his martial soul, and the illusions fell apart without any impact.

At that instant, in the teahouse, the heavenly painting had disappeared, and Ye Chen was consuming the residual haze behind Shi Nian, which represented his dream remnants martial soul.

People were bustling about, completely unaware of the two; Ye Chen's previous illusion remained effective, so there was no risk of being exposed.

When the last wisps of Shi Nian's dream remnants martial soul were fully devoured by Ye Chen, his eyes lost their luster, turning a dull gray-white, as though he had been blinded.

Conversely, Ye Chen radiated brilliance, with the golden light in his eyes intensifying. At the same time, a faint circular inner ring appeared in his pupils, resembling a second eye.

If he were to encounter a fully powered Shi Nian now, Ye Chen felt certain he could trap him within the illusion for an endless fall and instantly shatter his consciousness.

The Illusory Fox Eye had undergone a transformation, evolving into a skill uniquely his own. Now, he could cast illusions without needing to summon the Abyss and with minimal soul power expenditure.

Thud!

Shi Nian collapsed lifelessly to the ground, and a soul bone tumbled from his body.

Ye Chen stood up slightly and picked up the object. With a casual gesture, a vast expanse of golden light enveloped the entire teahouse, erasing every memory of his visit from people's minds.

Upon returning to the Imperial Academy, after a brief conversation with the concerned Liu Erlong, he spotted Zhang Ming and others focused intently on their training.

Ye Chen smiled slightly at Chen Shaoyin, the young man who hadn't yet had the chance to step onto the stage, and said, "Chen Shaoyin, you've been training for so long but still haven't fought. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! The captain must be considering everyone, which is why I wasn't allowed to compete," Chen Shaoyin replied, with a hint of disappointment, worrying that he wasn't strong enough to be chosen by the captain.

"Don't be down, little Shaoyin! We're definitely going to make it up to you," Zhang Ming and the others often looked after the youngest member, Chen Shaoyin—not just because he was younger, but because his remarkable talent set him apart. He had already reached level 42, marking him as a standout among the students in the Imperial Academy.

The captain might have decided not to let him fight due to his unique support-type martial soul, which had abilities that were "truly impressive."

"Alright, I'll count on you, seniors!" Chen Shaoyin said, grinning as he scratched his head, looking like an eager little champ.

Ye Chen understood that the reason Chen Shaoyin's soul power level was much higher than Zhang Ming and Li Jing's was that this kid dedicated himself to training far more than anyone else, practicing for at least 14 hours a day, basically diving fully into training aside from eating and sleeping.

With a serious pat on his shoulder, Ye Chen said, "Tomorrow we face Canghui Academy. Would you like to fight? But Canghui is quite strong—do you feel confident?"

"Yes! Absolutely, Captain! I can do it; I'm confident!" Before Ye Chen could finish, Chen Shaoyin excitedly clutched his arm and shouted, perhaps feeling overwhelmed with excitement after more than a year of preparation.

"As long as you're confident, you can fight tomorrow," Ye Chen replied with a smile, waving goodbye to everyone as he headed toward the teacher's dormitory.

Upon hearing the green light, Chen Shaoyin was overjoyed and turned to Zhang Ming and the others, laughing and shouting, "Vice Captain, tomorrow we fight side by side, haha!"

"That's right! Just give it your best."

In contrast to Chen Shaoyin's excitement, Zhang Ming and the others appeared a bit uneasy, especially Li Jing, whose eyes reflected a hint of apprehension, as if sensing impending trouble.

A quiet night passed, and as the members of the Morning Snow Imperial Academy arrived at the competition venue, news of Shrek's three consecutive victories in the elimination rounds echoed throughout the expansive location, allowing them to smoothly return to the preliminaries and regain their chance to participate in the next round of draws.

The other teams that had been eliminated in the first round faced a harsh fate—after losing once more, they would be completely ousted from the competition; the system was unforgiving.

"Hey, Dai Mubai, have you just arrived?" Zhang Ming spotted a familiar face from Shrek and waved in greeting. Dai Mubai, Tang San, and others returned the gestures with smiles, but Master Yu Xiaogang walked into the Shrek Academy lounge without acknowledging them, his demeanor noticeably gloomy, still struggling to adjust his mindset.

"On the second day of the competition, the first round of preliminaries: Morning Snow Imperial Academy vs. Canghui Academy!"

With a flourish of her white martial soul wings, the female host soared around the competition venue before announcing the match loud and clear.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ming clasped his hands towards Ye Chen and led Li Jing and Chen Shaoyin onto the sub-stage supported by mechanical arms.

In the crowd, whispers filled the air as spectators exchanged words.

"Did you hear? The leading teacher from Canghui Academy went missing last night. It's said he was found dead in a teahouse. It's quite strange."

"What's strange about it? Here's the twist: that old man was dead in the teahouse until this morning when someone discovered him. He passed away in broad daylight, yet no one knows what happened. It's chilling to think about."

"Come on, stop spreading wild tales! It's killing my vibe for watching the match. By the way, why isn't the soul king captain of Morning Snow Imperial Academy here today? Who's that kid who hasn't even sprouted facial hair yet?"

With that comment, many people in the audience noted the absence of Ye Chen's presence on the sub-stage, replaced by the youthful face of Chen Shaoyin, which struck them as odd.

Presently on stage, Zhang Ming perceived that the seven members of Canghui had only around level 30 soul power, and he chuckled, "Yesterday, the captain finished our match in just one minute; today, with little Shaoyin here, let's aim for three minutes."

"Arrogant!"

The captain of Canghui Academy narrowed his eyes slightly and retorted, summoning a dazzling gem-like martial soul before him.

Simultaneously, his six teammates replicated the action, each bringing forth their own colorful gem martial souls, leaving the spectators in awe.

"Seven gem martial souls? That's something special."

A look of seriousness crossed Zhang Ming's face as he realized they were up against a formidable opponent.

At that moment, Chen Shaoyin stepped forward, smiling as he said, "Three minutes? I don't think that'll be necessary. Since the captain can beat the opponent in a minute, let's make the most of this minute."

As he spoke, Chen Shaoyin slowly raised his right hand and declared, "Come forth, Thousand Poison King Seal!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a colossal seal appeared above his head, adorned with a twisted pattern in black, red, and white—an unusual sight to behold.

"Wait, Shaoyin, we don't need you right now," Zhang Ming said, his expression tightening as he eyed the Thousand Poison King Seal martial soul. But before he could finish, Chen Shaoyin shouted energetically, "First soul skill: Thousand Poison Activation! Third soul skill: Amplify Poison King Seal!"

As his words echoed, two clouds of black gas erupted from the Thousand Poison King Seal, enveloping Zhang Ming, Li Jing, and the other six. The group suddenly coughed up massive amounts of black blood, staggering about as if they were under an attack rather than receiving support.

The faces of Zhang Ming and the others twisted in horror, their lips turning dark. Far away in the lounge, Ye Chen also grimaced and remarked, "Even though this isn't the first time I've seen Shaoyin use his martial soul, this scene is still incredibly intense."

***

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