He gripped his palm tight, and before anyone could react, wave after wave of energy hit Headmaster Yao’s crackling body. Due to his identity as a pride devil, his body simply dissociated and tried to move away, but Cha Ming altered the formation and surrounded the devil with five-element energy that he supplemented with white creation energy. It clashed with the lightning, and Headmaster Yao’s body trembled.
Simultaneously, many members of the Obsidian Syndicate acted. They charged toward Cha Ming, but an unexpected person intercepted them. It was Jin Huang.
“My friends!” Jin Huang said excitedly.
The attackers seemed confused, but Cha Ming soon saw what he meant. He wasn’t speaking to these people, but the several living poisons that were now escaping their bodies. The men shrivelled up as the poisons left them, completely draining away their vitality and cultivation.
Meanwhile, he heard shrieks from everywhere in Haijing Academy. Many were shrieks of pain from minor members of the Obsidian Syndicate, but many others were screams of joy. Thousands of tiny blobs of poison were pouring out from every room, every building, and most people in the academy. They were all converging on their creator. Jin Huang laughed as they jumped into his body of their own accord, and his cultivation began to rise. It leaped up to late core formation and proceeded straight to peak core formation. It was an effortless double breakthrough!
After merging with the poisons, Jin Huang grinned devilishly at the remaining members of the Obsidian Syndicate. “No need to bother with these, Master. I’ll take care of them.”
Cha Ming nodded and harnessed the power of the formation once more. He clasped his hand into a fist, and a similar fist appeared above the headmaster. Power from all around Haijing Academy hammered down atop the poor man, who could only shriek in despair as he was destroyed, body and soul.
“You dare?” a voice yelled above them.
Cha Ming looked up and saw a figure descend from the clouds. Through his Eyes of Pure Jade, he could see the devilish apparition with ochre wings that floated behind him. Cha Ming snorted and slashed with his hand. This time, he struck at the Obsidian Syndicate’s remaining members. Over half of them were decapitated. He only left those with mild sin glows.
Seeing that he was being ignored, the transcendent who had just appeared roared in indignation. The sky rumbled as he struck down at Cha Ming with a mighty blade of flame. Cha Ming raised his Clear Sky Staff to resist the strike and moved the formation to protect those around him. His bones creaked as the transcendent struck down, and much of the flesh was seared off his body. It grew back almost instantly, leaving the surprised transcendent wrestling with heavenly lightning from above.
“Do you think I’m afraid of you?” Cha Ming asked. “The plane loathes you and wants nothing more than your death.” Cha Ming clenched his fist, and the formation mobilized against the transcendent. As he tried to fight back, the heavens rumbled again and struck him with lightning, forcing him to retreat far above the formation’s limits.
A chuckling man with angel wings appeared beside him. “By all means,” the man said, “continue to fight with him. Many transcendents will die attempting it. I might just swoop in and finish off any survivors.”
The devil’s eyes narrowed. “We should have smothered you in your cradle,” he spat at Cha Ming, who shrugged.
“But you didn’t,” Cha Ming said. “Whose fault is that? Now, are you going to stick around for me to keep attacking you, or will you get lost?”
The transcendent glared at him murderously. “This isn’t over. We’ll see you dead.” He disappeared in a burst of flame. After confirming the transcendent had gone, the angel also vanished, presumably to follow him. All was quiet once more.
“I suggest you quit now while you’re ahead,” Cha Ming said to the Obsidian Syndicate’s remaining members. “Leave the city. You’re not welcome at Haijing Academy anymore.”
The sulking men and women immediately fled without picking up their belongings. Cha Ming turned to the other elders once they’d cleared out. “You might be interested to know that the Sea God Emperor is on his way to witness a military demonstration by the Southern Alliance near Beihai City.”
“Have they gone mad?” Elder Dai exclaimed. “That’s just asking to get sucked into a war. Haijing City is neutral. It always has been.”
“Therefore, I was hoping to take a large contingent of elders to try and convince the Sea God Emperor otherwise,” Cha Ming said. “Are you willing?”
Many hesitated. The Sea God Emperor was a very intimidating individual. Moreover, most of them only wanted to pursue scientific truths. They didn’t want to get embroiled in a war if they didn’t have to.
“I’ll go,” Elder Dai said almost immediately.
“As will I,” another said. Soon, a few dozen elder-level figures separated themselves from the main group and stood before Cha Ming. Many full members followed them. “When are we leaving?”
“We have no time to waste,” Cha Ming said. “The demonstration is in a day.”
Elder Dai nodded. “As a transcendent elder, you are our representative until the Haijing royal family says otherwise. We’ll come and support you, but be warned—we won’t fight against the Emperor.”
“That’s fine,” Cha Ming said. He hoped he could stop any fighting before it came to that. They flew outside Haijing Academy, and after collecting members of the Alabaster Group, they flew out of Haijing City. As they stepped out, they were joined by thousands of Haijing citizens in golden armor. They were City Guardsmen, and each one of them was accompanied by a powerful demonic beast. Beside them stood a group
