The phantom moved rapidly, arriving before the five jade cases in a flash. Just as he was about to grab the five cases, the dragon phantom swept its tail at him, causing the approaching person to quickly move away in panic.

The phantom was none other than the person who had kidnapped Lady Shura earlier. Not many knew his identity, but his fame was comparable to An Lulu's and Ye Linshan's when he first joined the academy. He was none other than Young Master Ghost, Gui Mochou.

During the past few years, Gui Mochou had fully concentrated on his cultivation while in the academy. He had not gotten involved in any factional conflicts and had generally maintained a low profile. However, everyone knew that he had been accepted as the personal disciple of an elder. From that, it was obvious how talented he was.

His strength had been growing rapidly, and he was now an eighth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator. He was strong enough to stand against any of the 10 freaks. His strength coupled with his Traceless Ghost Phantom Steps allowed him to easily approach the five jade cases.

Unfortunately for him, snatching the five jade cases wasn't an easy feat. He did not give up, however. A steel claw suddenly shot out of his hand and flew toward the jade cases. But when the steel claw was about to reach the jade cases, an incorporeal power rippled before the cases and stopped the claw.

"A sneaky thief dreams of getting the jade cases? Get lost!" Ouyang Chuanqi's voice rang out as he launched a fiery attack toward Gui Mochou with his flaming spear.

After half a year, Ouyang Chuanqi had reached ninth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm. He had a valiant combat prowess, and few disciples were his match.

With his advantage in speed, Gui Mochou moved away from the attack, leaving a series of afterimages. He shouted with his hoarse voice, "Ouyang Chuanqi, I will remember you!"

Ouyang Chuanqi ignored Gui Mochou as he headed toward the jade cases. Right at that moment, Xiao Xie, Ye Linshan, and a few others joined the battlefield as well, stopping anyone from grabbing the jade cases easily.

The Devil Sovereign puppets were still madly attacking as usual, not allowing the disciples to touch the jade cases. The dragon and phoenix phantoms were the greatest combatants among the defenders, but as Yu Caidie and her phoenix appeared, a subtle change seemed to have occurred.

Her mount was an actual living phoenix whose aura was similar to the phoenix phantom's aura. Thus, the phoenix phantom had a sense of closeness toward the phoenix and therefore did not attack Yu Caidie.

When Yu Caidie arrived, she jumped off her phoenix while her phoenix started swallowing the phoenix phantom. Surprisingly, the phantom put up no resistance. Something similar seemed to be happening to the dragon phantom as well. The miniature version of Money had the aura of dragons on him, and it allowed him to form a resonance with the dragon phantom. If he could swallow the dragon phantom, or to be specific, the dragon-shaped battle aura, his strength would grow by leaps and bounds.

The disciples were completely dumbstruck, but they recovered quickly and resumed their charge toward the five jade cases.

Once again, an intense battle erupted between the disciples. Baili Yixiao's sword, Zhan Wushuang's fists, Lei Bao's hammers, Yu Ziyang's sword, and Huang Tianji's spear all clashed with each other, creating numerous shock waves that rippled outward and filled the cave. The entire gorge seemed to shake. If it wasn't protected by formations, it would have collapsed entirely.

Some disciples who had arrived late knew very well that the treasures at the middle weren't something they could fight for. They smartly decided to focus on the other treasures instead. However, the Devil Sovereign puppets weren't decorations. They stubbornly carried out their mission and attacked the disciples madly. The battlefield grew increasingly intense.

Xiang Shaoyun did not wish to give up on the five jade cases either, but he was forced to focus on protecting Money. He had to make sure nobody disturbed Money while he was swallowing the dragon-shaped battle aura.

Although Money had the aura of dragons, it wasn't pure. As he started devouring the dragon-shaped battle aura, it resisted. The dragon phantom was much stronger than Money, and it sent Money flying away before proceeding to devour Money.

"Help me, boss!" Money had no choice but to call for help.

Xiang Shaoyun knew that the dragon phantom was a thorny opponent. If he did not try something different, he wouldn't be able to do anything to it.

"Let me try absorbing this dragon-shaped battle aura." Xiang Shaoyun reached a brave decision after using his Light of Wisdom. He circulated his cultivation method and used the profundity of powers as he forcefully absorbed the dragon phantom into his body.

He was trying to do the same thing as Money. Perhaps by absorbing the dragon-shaped battle aura, his own draconic aura would grow, leading to an increase in his strength. And it actually worked. After being pulled into his body, the dragon phantom's energy started fusing with his draconic aura.

However, a terrifying vicious energy was also contained within the dragon phantom. A regular person would suffer from a backlash absorbing it, but Xiang Shaoyun was someone who had once soaked in the Sin Dragon Pond and the Blood Dragon Pool. He was an old hand at this. He quickly separated the vicious energy, allowing the pure draconic aura to enter his stars.

A comfortable sensation spread through his body, as if he had just taken some high-quality tonic. But as he absorbed the dragon phantom, it started attacking him. Instead of retreating, Xiang Shaoyun pounced on the dragon phantom. The sight was like a starving ghost pouncing on a feast, an extremely unnatural scene to witness.

One ought to know that the dragon phantom's energy was comparable to a peak Sovereign's energy. It was strong enough to kill Xiang Shaoyun with a single charge, but instead of running, he was actually rushing toward it. Had he gone mad?

That was not the case. Xiang Shaoyun knew very well what he was doing. He was protected by the saint armor he was wearing. Any strength below the level of the Saint Realm would not be able to harm him. He wouldn't have charged ahead so bravely otherwise.

As the dragon phantom and Xiang Shaoyun clashed, he took the opportunity to increase his absorption speed to the maximum, pulling a large amount of draconic aura into his body. At this time, Money joined in as well and started absorbing the draconic aura from the dragon phantom's tail.

Some newly arrived disciples were completely stunned when they saw what Xiang Shaoyun and Money were doing.

The eyes of one of them lit up as he muttered, "So we can actually directly absorb the dragon-shaped battle aura?"

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

The newcomer believed his conclusion and pounced at the dragon-shaped battle aura. But as the dragon phantom flailed about, the disciple was sent tumbling down into the midst of the Devil Sovereign puppets while spewing blood. He was ultimately slaughtered by the puppets.

When the others saw, they all erased any thought of stealing the dragon-shaped battle aura from their minds.