Chapter 178: A Stage For Blood (4)
Ningyan’s breath caught. His hands instinctively grabbed at the wrist around his neck but it didn’t move.
Lan Yunlai tilted his head slightly, studying him. "Though... I’m certain I’ve seen you before."
A faint smile curved his lips. "At the Celestial Beast Academy. During the Dance of Dragons Festival."
His grip tightened just enough to make Ningyan gasp. "Who would have thought... you would become family?"
Ningyan gritted his teeth. His gaze snapped away, searching desperately. And then he saw him.
Jun Yongrui.
The dragon beast king had broken away, a glowing steel grey sword materializing in his grasp, his target clear.
Jun Haoxuan.... Who was still locked in combat with Lan Tianheng. He was distracted.
Ningyan’s eyes widened. "No—!"
The word never left his mouth.
Lan Yunlai’s grip tightened sharply, cutting off his voice and his breath.
His vision flickered.
Lan Yunlai leaned closer. Close enough that his presence felt suffocating. "Why don’t you focus on your own fate, Su Ningyan?"
Ningyan gritted his teeth. The glow in his eyes intensified, burning and blinding until it erupted outward in a violent burst of power.
A shockwave exploded from his body.
Lan Yunlai was forced back, his grip on Ningyan’s throat shattered as he was slammed away, his feet dragging harshly across the cracked earth before he steadied himself.
For the first time, he looked... surprised.
His gaze dropped briefly to the fractured ground beneath him then lifted.
Ningyan hovered above.
His phoenix wings beat powerfully against the air, each motion stirring violent currents of qi. That ominous purple glow coiled around his body like a living storm, overwhelming and unstable.
His eyes were locked on Lan Yunlai. But only for a moment.
Ningyan turned. His gaze snapped toward the battlefield beyond.. searching.
Jun Haoxuan.
He found him still alive. Jun Yongrui had been intercepted.
Shen Taiyu and Liu Roubing, Haoxuan’s biological mother stood against him, their fury unmistakable as they held the dragon beast king back, lightning and force colliding violently in the air.
Ningyan exhaled, relief flickering briefly across his face.
He turned again. Wuhen...
The nine-tailed fox prince was still locked against the monstrous creature and in that very instant, he was tearing one of its heads clean off.
Ningyan’s focus sharpened. No more hesitation.
With the aid of the soul amplifier rushing through his veins, he brought his hands together, closed his eyes and entered cultivation.
A translucent barrier formed around him, smooth and impenetrable. A cocoon of concentrated power as his qi surged inward.
Lan Yunlai narrowed his eyes. "What is he doing...?"
His expression darkened. Demonic energy gathered violently in his palm, condensing into a dense, destructive mass before he lashed it forward without restraint.
The attack struck and vanished. It was completely absorbed.
The barrier didn’t even tremble.
Lan Yunlai’s jaw tightened.
The dark, viscous energy coiling around his body as his killing intent spiked sharply.
He raised his hand again, this time with far more force, ready to shatter the defense entirely but something moved.
A glowing emerald chain shot forward without warning, wrapping tightly around Lan Yunlai’s body, forcing the surging demonic energy back into him.
Lan Yunlai froze and smiled.
He tested the restraint but the chain only coiled tighter, slithering across his body with suffocating precision.
Then, an emerald portal tore open and Lan Meishan stepped through.
Without warning, his fist collided with Lan Yunlai’s face in a brutal, decisive strike landing before a single word could be spoken.
Lan Yunlai was sent stumbling back again, his head snapping to the side but the chain did not loosen. It followed him, dragging against his movements.
Meishan didn’t speak. His emerald eyes burned with something far colder than anger.
Suddenly, Lan Tianlong, still in his massive serpent form, came crashing forward, his body tearing through rubble, jaws wide as he lunged straight for Meishan.
Meishan moved effortlessly like he had already predicted it.
His hand lifted and a colossal translucent emerald serpent burst from his body.
It roared as it formed, divine energy rippling through its massive frame before it slammed directly into Lan Tianlong.
The impact was devastating.
Stone shattered. The ground caved.
Lan Tianlong was crushed beneath the force, his body driven hard into the ruins as a sharp, pained hiss tore from him.
^
"Brother!" Lan Tianheng’s voice broke through the chaos.
He turned... Just for a second. Just enough to the direction of his brother.
A flash of lightning split the sky and struck him clean and precise from head to body.
There was a pause.
Then.... blood.
His form split in two and he fell dead before he hit the ground.
Jun Haoxuan stood where he had struck breathing hard, his eyes cold.
His twin blades still hummed faintly with residual lightning as he flicked them to the side, scattering the blood that clung to them.
His gaze shifted immediately to the battlefield ahead. To his father.
Jun Yongrui and Lan Yunlai had stopped fighting. Just like that.
The realization hit instantly.
Their earlier battle was a farce. A performance.
Jun Haoxuan’s grip tightened around his swords.
"I really don’t know," he said quietly, voice edged with rage, "why I still have expectations for that beast."
Across the battlefield, Shen Taiyu met his gaze. And for a brief moment, he smiled. A silent reassurance.
Go.
Jun Haoxuan didn’t hesitate. Lightning erupted around him. His body shifted mid-motion, scales spreading, dark blue and gleaming, horns forming as his true dragon form tore free. His massive body surged into the air, golden reptilian eyes locking onto one point.
Ningyan who was still within the barrier cultivating. Completely vulnerable.
Jun Haoxuan reached him in seconds. His enormous form coiled around the dark violet sphere, encasing it completely, his body forming a living shield.
The blue glow of his qi spread outward, pressing against Ningyan’s purple energy, stabilizing him.
The flickering glow began to steady under his influence.
Jun Haoxuan lowered his head slightly, his massive form tightening protectively around the barrier.
No one was touching Ningyan. Not while he was here.