Blood splashed onto Xiang Shaoyun's face, making him look even more murderous. The sight of him caused the hearts of the bandits to jump. Never had they expected their deputy commander to be killed so suddenly.

He was a first-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator, not some first-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. This young man was only a third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. How had he killed their deputy commander? That was something they couldn't understand.

Yu Rongxin trembled as he exclaimed, "Deputy Commander Tao was killed? H-How is that possible?"

He had believed that so long as the leaders and deputies were here, they would have no issue taking down all these Dragon Phoenix Academy disciples. But now, he found that they had completely underestimated these disciples.

Xiang Shaoyun had used the Nether Soul Domain so he could plant fear in the hearts of the bandits in the shortest time possible and increase the morale of his fellow disciples. Now, the bandits were fearful, while the disciples' battle intent was raging. They started fighting the bandits with all their strength.

They were geniuses from all around the dominion. They had also gone through three years of tempering at the Dragon Phoenix Academy. Their combat prowess was not to be underestimated. Although they only had cultivation levels between second-stage and fourth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm, they actually possessed combat prowess matching late-stage, or even peak, Emperors.

Thus, there was a large gap between them and the bandits. It was lucky for the bandits that they had several experts among them. Otherwise, they would have suffered immediate defeat.

Sima Tian, who was fighting Ouyang Chuanqi, learned of Tao Zhiyu's death, and he grew apprehensive. With his cultivation level of second-stage Soul Foundation Realm, he was supposed to be able to suppress Ouyang Chuanqi completely. But after the fight started, he found that he had been too naive.

The young man before him was incredibly scary. Even after using both layers of his soul foundation, he could only fight him to a draw. As for Zhang Baolu, she was busy dealing with Zhuge Zhantian's battle formations. She had originally thought that she would be able to break the formations alone, but she also learned the hard way that she couldn't.

The strength of hundreds of Emperors combined together was more than enough to handle a first-stage Soul Foundation Realm cultivator like her. If she couldn't break the formations, they would probably return empty handed this time.

"I can't hold back anymore," said Zhang Baolu as a dazzling sovereign weapon appeared in her hand. Using all her strength, she attacked Zhuge Zhantian's formation with the weapon.

Rumble! Rumble!

Zhang Baolu dealt terrifying damage with her sovereign weapon, breaking Zhuge Zhantian's formation with brute force. Many disciples collapsed on the ground, coughing up blood. If it wasn't for the fact that the formation was powerful enough, the attack would have killed them.

With a cold look in her eyes, Zhang Baolu pressed on. Suddenly, Xiang Shaoyun appeared like the wind and stamped his foot at her head.

Overlord's Nine Nether Steps!

He had already pushed himself to his peak state. He wanted to seriously face an actual Sovereign. In any case, he had already released Money and a few ghostrunes to assist the disciples. Now, he could finally focus on testing the limits of his combat prowess as a third-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator.

When fighting Tao Zhiyu earlier, he had rushed the fight using the Nether Soul Domain to lessen his opponent's offensive capability. That way, he could greatly reduce the losses his side might suffer.

Now that Ouyang Chuanqi could match Sima Tian, he could focus on Zhang Baolu while the others dealt with the regular bandits. Although there were a few peak Emperors among the bandits, he still believed the disciples would be able to achieve victory.

Without anything to worry about, he could finally focus on enjoying the fight. Not only was the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps a footwork technique, but it was also capable of extremely damaging attacks.

However, he needed to combine the strength of his cultivation and his soul power to fully release its offensive power. With his filthless soul and the cleansing by the power of light, his soul power was now comparable to a third-stage Sovereign's. Thus, his soul suppression was incredibly dreadful, and as he stomped at Zhang Baolu's head, she couldn't even breathe.

Even so, Xiang Shaoyun was still not an actual Sovereign. Although he exerted considerable pressure on Zhang Baolu, he still couldn't make her stay still and take his attack.

"You're courting death!" Zhang Baolu roared as she slashed her sickle at Xiang Shaoyun.

Zhang Baolu's sickle was not just any sovereign weapon. Rather, it was a mid-grade sovereign weapon, and it could greatly amplify her attacks. She wouldn't have been able to break through Zhuge Zhantian's formation with one slash otherwise.

Xiang Shaoyun understood that, and without any hesitation, he stamped his foot the second time. As he took his second step, projections of a dragon and a tiger appeared behind him. Both of them roared domineeringly as if they disdained all life.

Once again, Zhang Baolu was suppressed. Her body turned stiff, and her discomfort intensified. She had not imagined that this young man would actually give her such great pressure. Even so, she still followed through with the slash of her sickle, albeit with a greatly weakened might.

Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun took the chance to take his third step. The moment he completed the third step, dark clouds covered the sky as over 200 silver lightning bolts rained down toward Zhang Baolu.

The third step was incredibly mighty, and it was even more fatal with the sovereign-level pressure Xiang Shaoyun was applying. Finally, Zhang Baolu was forced to take Xiang Shaoyun seriously. Inwardly, she thought, No wonder Old Tao got himself killed. This kid is really quite capable, but this is not enough to deal with me!

She swung her sickle repeatedly, destroying the incoming lighting bolts and preventing them from harming her. However, the lightning bolts contained the power of the profundity of lightning. They were scarily destructive and could cause her great pain.

She did not dare to wait and immediately pushed herself to her limits, breaking through Xiang Shaoyun's attacks before launching an attack. Xiang Shaoyun was planning to take the fourth step, but he decisively stopped himself. A bright sword appeared in his hand, and the energy around his body changed abruptly.

Dazzling Sky Sword Technique, first stance: Dazzling and Eyecatching!

Instantly, a blinding radiance erupted, forcing Zhang Baolu to shut her eyes. The next instant, Xiang Shaoyun's sword arrived and slashed at Zhang Baolu. Just as the attack was about to hit, she quickly pulled her sickle back and swung it the other way to block the sword.

Clank!

Along with a crisp sound, one of the two weapons broke.

“NO!”