Chapter 1347: The Collapsing White Deer Institute Disciples

Chapter 1347: Chapter 1347: The Collapsing White Deer Institute Disciples

Xu Yuan Jie felt on the verge of collapsing. As a member of the White Deer Institute’s Inner Courtyard, his status was neither high nor low. He could show a little bravado in front of the Outer Courtyard disciples, but in front of the Direct Disciples, he could only nod and bow carefully. He knew that his aptitude was just as middling as his status. The realm of the Heavenly Dao was but a fantasy for him; his only hope was to one day break through the Human Dao Realm into the Asura Dao and be stationed at some inconspicuous Outer Courtyard as a Vegetarian Leader, lecturing. If he could become a Supervisor, that would be ideal, but that was something only people with connections and strength could achieve. For someone like him, not born into a scholastic family, such benefits seemed unlikely to come his way.

However, even his modest wish shattered today. The Daoist Plane had been unsettled lately, and the rumors from the Immortal Palace Villa spoke of that Pei Yan, who won the Sword Discussion Conference, stirring trouble, seeming to be investigating the background of the sects. To Xu Yuan Jie, it was laughable. He thought Pei Yan was courting death. How could you expect to investigate the sects simply because you wish to? The waters run deep, and Pei Yan, seen by Xu as an outsider, was indeed overestimating his capabilities. To Xu, Pei Yan was bound to fall like a comet soon after his rise, becoming the laughingstock over dinner conversations.

But disappointment struck Xu Yuan Jie when this day didn’t come, and the situation within the sect grew increasingly strange. First, the Inner Courtyard was sealed, and even disciples like Xu were not allowed to wander freely. Following this, he noticed the stern urgency in the Direct Disciples’ comings and goings, and simultaneously, the sect’s Teleportation Array was being activated more frequently. It was so frequent that he occasionally spotted individuals he had never seen before and was warned by his teacher not to speak of these encounters with anyone.

Amidst this creeping tension, the sect was suddenly sealed from the outside. The reason was unknown to Xu Yuan Jie, but he saw squads entering and exiting the Inner Courtyard, inspecting and interrogating. By their attire, he knew this was the newly established Embroidered Robe Envoy of the Immortal Palace, and any association with them could only spell trouble.

Events unfolded just as he predicted, except he hadn’t anticipated such rapid and abrupt changes. Just over a day after the inspections began, he was awoken from his evening meditation by the sounds of fighting within the sect. Before he could comprehend the situation, he was urged by his senior brothers to assemble in the courtyard. There, he witnessed a shocking scene. The Embroidered Robe Envoys who had been overseeing the sect with overwhelming power were being secretly dealt with by the Direct Disciples, their bodies left lying on the ground. What shocked him more were the commands that followed from his teacher.

His orders were for those Inner Sect Disciples not selected to lead some Outer Courtyard disciples in annihilating the Right Weiwei soldiers stationed outside the mountain gate, making sure none were left alive.

At this moment, Xu Yuan Jie was completely bewildered. Annihilate the Right Weiwei soldiers? Although the Right Weiwei’s status wasn’t as high as the Luocheng Six Guards, they were still one of the Sixteen Guards! A force under the Spirit Lord’s command, annihilating the Sixteen Guards would be akin to rebelling against the Immortal Palace! Why? Why do this?

With countless questions in his heart, Xu Yuan Jie dared not voice them. Under the predatory gaze of the teachers and Direct Disciples, he believed that not only questioning but even showing hesitation would mean being mercilessly killed by these former comrades and mentors. He didn’t want to die; the ones meant to die were the Right Weiwei soldiers.

What happened next felt like a dream. Under the supervision of the sect elders, Xu led along with the figures from the Outer Courtyard to slaughter the Right Weiwei soldiers. Hands stained with blood, listening to his teacher’s accounts of their sect being persecuted and having no choice but to fight back, which now felt irrelevant to him.

Now, shrinking on the city wall, Xu looked at the dead junior brothers in the mountain below and the chaotic battle involving evil dragons in the sky. His sect didn’t seem as innocent as his teacher depicted, but he no longer cared. All he wanted now was to end this swiftly and escape into that mysterious space Teleportation channel.

"Get up! Quickly, get up! You idiot! Cowering here won’t save you when those Six Guards brats come charging up!" A Direct Disciple approached and kicked Xu Yuan Jie, reprimanding those like him who were afraid of battle.

The immense pressure, accumulated to this point, finally shattered Xu Yuan Jie’s last mental barrier. Facing the reproach, he could no longer hold back. Thrust inexplicably into rebellion, near death, and yet still bullied. As he stood up, poised to curse, he saw a crowd slowly surging from deep within the Inner Courtyard towards the wall. His intended vitriol changed to an exclamation: "What... what is that?"

The Direct Disciple glanced back, then looked at Xu Yuan Jie with disdain: "It’s something to buy time for you cowardly fools afraid of death. Listen, it’s not time to despair yet. When the Six Guards charge, they’ll face them! If you want to live, don’t play dead. Muster the will to fight for survival, release your spells, and make sure to hold off the Six Guards’ attack! The space Teleportation channel is about ready, and soon we’ll have a chance to escape."

With these words, a glimmer of hope for survival returned to Xu Yuan Jie’s eyes. He no longer retorted, and those grotesque beings, once terrifying, were now seen as the world’s most wondrous creatures. He made way for them to ascend the walls while following the Direct Disciple’s instructions, using his spells from a higher vantage to suppress the Six Guards soldiers below.

"What are those monstrous things?" The Six Guards soldiers below shouted the same exclamation as Xu Yuan Jie did. Human figures, their bodies gray-white and lifeless, appeared on the city walls. This bizarre group, clad in various tattered garments, showed up above without fear to the flood-like advancing Six Guards Army. When Six Guards soldiers leaped upwards, these beings jumped down, colliding mid-air with the soldiers, entangling and falling together.

Watching these eerie figures abandon the fortifications of the walls and leap down like dumplings into boiling water, the Six Guards soldiers were caught off guard. Although these beings didn’t seem to use spells for attack, their strength and defense were astonishingly high. Not only were their movements agile and strong, but they also had high immunity to the spells cast by the Six Guards. Even after being knocked down by a rain of arrows, they stood up to continue battling the approaching Six Guards.

"If I remember correctly, the one overseeing this place was your brother, right? Is this the ’detailed supervision of White Deer Institute without finding a single issue’ you mentioned?" Watching the battle unfold below the Inner Courtyard’s wall, Pei Yan turned to Xiang Zixiong, who arrived hastily with Xia Yu and Hu Jiu, and mocked.