Chapter 165 - 162: Am I Already Dead?

At the exact moment his palm struck the armored middle-aged man, the Supreme Elder of Tai Xuan Academy was instantly overwhelmed by an intense, fatal sense of crisis. The next moment, a loud BOOM echoed.

The body of the Tai Xuan Academy’s Supreme Elder instantly exploded into a mist of blood. He died on the spot, not leaving even a speck of dust behind.

"What?!" The crowd’s eyes widened instantly, their faces etched with absolute disbelief.

An armored middle-aged man with an arrow pierced through his heart had appeared out of nowhere. Without even lifting a finger to defend against the attack from an expert at the Void Spirit Realm Fourth Level, he caused that attacker to explode into a bloody pulp? Exactly how strong was this armored man?

"Terrifying! Who is he? Did Mo Qianqian call in reinforcements?"

"This might be some ancient existence. The last time the ancient formation in the Southern Wilderness opened, he appeared. But just as he was about to snatch the treasure from Mo Qianqian, he vanished out of thin air."

"Good heavens, this is an absolute nightmare! If that’s the case, he’s neither on Mo Qianqian’s side nor allied with the Ling Family and Tai Xuan Academy?"

The crowd was shaken to the core. The headmaster of Tai Xuan Academy, Patriarch Ling, and the others were completely stupefied. They had played all their trump cards—even bringing out the Tai Xuan Academy’s Supreme Elder. Yet, he was obliterated by a single passive blow from this armored man?

Even the old man from the Realm of Chaos and the two elders from the Great Zhou Dynasty wore expressions of sheer horror. Just looking at the armored figure sent shivers down their spines and made their hearts race. It felt as though a single glance from him would spell their doom. It was terrifying—absolutely terrifying. They had never encountered such a fearsome figure.

At that moment, the armored man turned and looked toward Mo Qianqian.

"You’ve learned to forcibly pull me out. I cannot let you live anymore." With that, the armored man reached out a hand to grab him.

Mo Qianqian’s expression changed drastically as an overwhelming premonition of death engulfed him.

"Gun God, you are already dead. Don’t you want to see if anyone will take this artifact and cause trouble for those people?" Right then, a mysterious woman’s voice echoed from the shadows.

Of course, this voice could only be heard by Mo Qianqian and the armored man.

The armored man froze. The hand that was about to unleash a devastating attack stopped mid-air. Dazed, he muttered to himself, "Am I already dead?"

"Dead. This is nothing but a lingering wisp of your obsession. What use is there in killing him? You can no longer possess the Ninefold Coffin," the mysterious woman continued.

"Yes, I’m already dead. I’m dead, so taking this Ninefold Coffin is useless now. Useless."

As the armored man mumbled to himself, his body began to break apart. He dissolved into wisps of gas that quickly faded into the air. Only the arrow that had been lodged in his heart clattered to the ground. Mo Qianqian heaved a massive sigh of relief. This time, the armored man was truly dead and would not emerge again.

If it were anyone else, he might have found a way to cope, but against this armored man, he had absolutely no countermeasures.

"Kill Mo Qianqian!" the headmaster of Tai Xuan Academy roared in fury.

This time, it was the headmaster’s turn to suffer a mental breakdown. Their Supreme Elder, the ultimate guardian of Tai Xuan Academy, had just died in such an inexplicable manner.

SWISH!

Just then, another figure rushed over at lightning speed. It was a masked man draped in a black and gold patterned robe. In the blink of an eye, he dashed right in front of Mo Qianqian.

"I’m getting you out of here!"

The masked man spoke with an elderly voice. Mo Qianqian did not resist—he lacked the strength to do so anyway—allowing the stranger to seize him with one hand.

SWISH!

In the next heartbeat, the man grabbed Mo Qianqian and rocketed diagonally into the sky, bolting outward.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

A few people lunged forward to block their path, but the masked man in the black and gold robe swatted them away effortlessly.

Mo Qianqian knew instantly that this person was also an expert in the Void Spirit Realm! Since the opposition had no more top-tier fighters to step in, no one could stop them. The masked man spirited him out of the Ling Family estate.

"Ling Family! Tai Xuan Academy! Within a year, I swear to exterminate every last one of you!" Mo Qianqian let out a thunderous roar. His voice rolled like thunder, resounding through the heavens and echoing across the entire Ling Family grounds.

"After him! You must not let him escape!" Patriarch Ling hastily yelled, his energy erupting in full force. However, he was completely pinned down by his current opponent.

At that moment, everyone’s hearts violently shuddered. Had Mo Qianqian really managed to escape just like that? The one who rescued him wore a black and gold patterned robe. Could that person belong to the royal forces of the Great Xia Dynasty?

No one present doubted Mo Qianqian’s parting words. He definitely had the potential to return and wipe out the entire Ling Family within a year. It had only been about half a year since the Ling Family crippled his Spirit Vein and banished him. Yet, in that short time, Mo Qianqian had inflicted devastating losses upon them, even slaughtering a genius like Ling Qingxue.

Now, Mo Qianqian already possessed the strength to slay experts at the Seventh Level of Tongyou Realm. Once he stepped from the ninth level of the second realm into the Third Realm, his power would surge dramatically. Furthermore, his current Second-Grade Spirit Master Realm could advance to the third grade at any moment. Once he became a Third-Grade Spirit Master, his strength would skyrocket to unfathomable heights.

Currently at the absolute peak of the second grade, and utilizing the Bone-Eroding Spiritual Source, he could fight against those at the Seventh Level of Tongyou Realm. If he were to break through to become a Third-Grade Spirit Master, let alone matching the Battle Sky Spirit Realm Seventh Level, would the current strongest fighters of the Ling Family and Tai Xuan Academy—who were only at the Void Spirit Realm Fourth Level—even be able to stop him?

Even if he didn’t reach the peak of the third grade, the Ling Family and Tai Xuan Academy would likely be unable to fend him off. Given his current talent and breakthrough speed, a single year was more than enough for him to gain that power!

The battle still hadn’t completely ceased. Those supporting Mo Qianqian fought tooth and nail to hold back their enemies, buying him more distance to escape. Conversely, the Ling Family’s forces went all out, desperate to break free and hunt him down.

Several hours later.

The masked man in the black and gold robe carried Mo Qianqian over a vast distance, eventually venturing deep into a forested mountain range. At that point, the man finally halted and descended to the ground.

"Thank you for the rescue, Senior. However, may I ask why you saved me?" Mo Qianqian eyed the elderly man cautiously.

"Why do you think?" The old man let out a faint chuckle. His voice was ordinary, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of authority. As he spoke, he reached up and slowly pulled the cloth from his face, revealing his weathered features.

Seeing the old man’s face, Mo Qianqian was instantly struck with profound shock.