When Chu Yuan requested an audience with the principal, he found that the principal was in seclusion. When he left the meeting hall, he saw Xiao Wei rushing over.

"Master, the principal is in seclusion," said Chu Yuan.

"Got it. Immediately command the enforcers to look for Xiang Shaoyun. I'll go look for the fifth elder," said Xiao Wei before heading off in a different direction.

Each of the ranked elders was a high-level elder. These were powerful individuals qualified to enter the academy's meeting hall. The so-called fifth elder was the highest-ranked elder of the faction he was in. Only an elder like this could suppress Mo Luo. After all, Mo Luo was from the previous principal's faction. Although the previous principal was dead, the Mo Clan had remained relatively powerful. If they really wanted to kill Xiang Shaoyun, Xiao Wei alone wouldn't be able to stop them.

Xiao Wei moved quickly and soon arrived before a villa. He shouted, "Xiao Wei requests a meeting with the fifth elder."

"Come in," an ancient voice replied.

Xiao Wei strode inside. At the same time, an old man with white hair and copper eyes walked out. He asked, "Xiao Wei, why are you in such a rush?"

"Fifth elder, a major incident is happening. Xiang Shaoyun, one of the top three disciples on the Dragon Phoenix List, has been taken away by Elder Mo Luo's men. When I went to see Elder Mo Luo, he avoided seeing me. I suspect he is abusing his power to make a move against Xiang Shaoyun," said Xiao Wei, giving a simplified explanation of what was happening.

"Xiang Shaoyun, one of the top three disciples? What did Mo Luo want with him?" asked the fifth elder whose name was Zhang Wujing.

"I'm not sure myself. A short while ago, people were spreading rumors that Xiang Shaoyun is a devil. I don't know if that's the reason Elder Mo Luo is capturing him, but even prior to that, Elder Shadowflash tried to do the same but was stopped in time by the enforcers. I don't understand why these two elders are making trouble for a junior. All of us are clear that Xiang Shaoyun is a human. They are obviously trying to kill a genius before he can grow," said Xiao Wei.

"Calm down, Xiao Wei. Maybe Mo Luo is just trying to clarify the rumors. He won't do anything. You don't have to be too worried," said Zhang Wujing calmly.

Although Zhang Wujing and Xiao Wei were from the same faction, he was clearly unwilling to offend two elders for Xiao Wei's sake.

Xiao Wei saw Zhang Wujing's hesitation and went straight to the point, "Fifth elder, you don't know this, but I am actually Xiang Shaoyun's guardian elder. This is personally appointed by the principal and the grand elders. That kid's identity is extremely important. If something happens to him, nobody can bear the consequences."

His words alarmed Zhang Wujing. He was unaware of Xiang Shaoyun’s circumstances and only knew that Xiang Shaoyun was a kid with a great physique, a kid that once rejected the kind intentions of the grand elders.

It was rumored that the issue had been resolved, but he didn't think that Xiang Shaoyun would enjoy the academy's care since then. After listening to Xiao Wei, he realized how wrong he was.

"Go! Let's go see Mo Luo," said Zhang Wujing. He did not dare to delay even one second and immediately headed toward Mo Luo's villa.

...

In the secret room, Xiang Shaoyun had unleashed his Nether Soul Domain. Nobody could avoid being pulled into the domain, including the Sovereigns.

"Die!" commanded Xiang Shaoyun murderously as chains shot out from everywhere.

On top of that, he also released the ghostrunes. The ghostrunes had reached peak Devil Emperor realm, while Gui Qi had reached the Devil Sovereign Realm.

After all, the ghostrunes had declined from over 100,000 to only about 8,000. Eventually, only five were left. After devouring so many of their kind, the bloodline power of the final five became extremely powerful. Xiang Shaoyun was personally nurturing them, and with the growth of his Nether Soul Domain, the ghostrunes became stronger as well.

The ghostrunes were known as soul assassins. With their current strength, they were more than capable of assisting Xiang Shaoyun. He had not intended to reveal this trump card, but Situ Yan was too ruthless and he was left with no choice.

He was set to drag a few of them down with him, even if he had to die today. And he was confident he could do so. The Nether Soul Domain had a suppressive effect. Along with Xiang Shaoyun's growth in strength, the suppressive effect was also growing stronger. Even the Sovereigns were feeling greatly weakened, losing about 60 percent of their strength.

"This is the Nether Soul Domain! We can now confirm that this kid is an imperial nether devil! Everyone, work together and break this space!" shouted one of the overseers.

They joined hands and broke the chains, not giving Xiang Shaoyun any chance to capture them. They also started releasing numerous soul foundations of different levels before slamming their soul foundations into the border of the space, trying to break out by force.

It was at this time that the ghostrunes showed their might. Waves of soul attacks surged out, transforming into a black torrent that pounced on the soul foundations, weakening and nibbling on them.

"Damn it. These are the ghostrunes, the devils with the ability to swallow soul foundations! Everyone, withdraw your soul foundations!" shouted one of them in panic.

"Ahhhh!"

Even if they knew that, they were unable to stop the ghostrunes from gnawing on their soul foundations. The soul attacks were damaging their soul foundations ceaselessly. If they had kept the soul foundations outside longer, all the soul foundations would be destroyed.

At this time, Xiang Shaoyun poured more power into his chains, sending hundreds of chains shooting out, forcing them to deal with the onslaught in a disorderly manner. With their strength suppressed, their soul foundations kept in their bodies, and the ghostrunes' endless interruptions, they were much less effective in combat than usual. They were only barely staying alive, and they couldn't even protect Situ Yan anymore.

A few of the chains found their way around her. She paled in fear and shrieked, "Help me! Help me!"

"Nobody can save you today!" declared Xiang Shaoyun in a cold voice. One of the chains transformed into a whip and flogged Situ Yan's face.

Pa! Pa!

"Ahhhh!"

Soon, her face was bloodied, and even her bones were showing. She now looked as bad as Xiang Shaoyun.

"Disfiguring me? I'll let you enjoy the same experience," said Xiang Shaoyun.

Situ Yan almost went mad. When she sensed that her face was ruined, she cried, "I don't want to be disfigured! You can't do this to me! My grandfather is a previous generation elder! He will kill you!"

"Is that so? I'll kill you first!" said Xiang Shaoyun murderously.

One of the overseers shouted in panic, "Xiang Shaoyun, don't mess around! You won't be able to bear the consequences!"