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"Do it!"
It was the hour of the Ox. The instant the luminous pearls dimmed, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was plunged into darkness.
In truth, the pearls hadn't lost their light—someone had covered them with a special black cloth.
"What… what's going on?"
"Do it? Do what? Don't tell me someone is invading the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"
"This place is guarded by several Titled Douluo. Who would dare make a move here at this hour?"
Though many were panicked and unsettled, they did not scatter like headless flies.
But this calm was the last thing the Upper Three Sects wanted. They needed chaos—the more chaotic, the better. Only then could they fish in troubled waters and strike at Lan Minghua's disciples.
Gu Rong's eyes were icy, his lips curling into a bloodthirsty grin as he gave his command to the disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"Loose! Kill everyone except those of the Upper Three Sects and the Heaven Dou Empire!"
At the very instant the pearls went dark, the sect's disciples hidden in the shadows had already raised massive Zhuge Divine Crossbows, aiming them at the crowd.
Anyone with night vision would have been shocked at the sight.
For there weren't just a handful—but several thousand crossbows, all fully drawn and ready.
With Gu Rong's order, hundreds of these colossal crossbows unleashed a storm of bolts, raining down upon anyone not affiliated with the Upper Three Sects or the Heaven Dou Empire.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The sound of bolts cutting through the air filled the night. The arrow storm descended like a black cloud upon the gathered factions.
Those who moments before believed they only needed to wait calmly for the lights to return now felt a creeping dread claw at their hearts.
Even in the darkness, Lan Minghua saw everything with perfect clarity.
Yet, faced with the downpour of bolts, his expression remained utterly calm.
"This attack? It's nothing worth mentioning. Do they even know what they're trying to achieve with this?"
He chuckled and shook his head, then casually waved his hand toward the positions of the Divine Wind Academy and Tianshui Academy.
After all, both academies now housed his newly accepted disciples, and he had promised to protect them. He was not one to go back on his word.
As for Oscar and the others, they required no intervention. Their Dark Armor and Triple Treasures automatically activated upon sensing the attack.
As for the others, those unrelated to him—Lan Minghua couldn't be bothered.
Above the students of the Divine Wind and Tianshui Academies, the falling rain of arrows was suddenly swept aside, as if by an invisible hand.
The strange sound startled the crowd.
Only now did they realize that what they had heard earlier—the whistling of arrows—was real, and their situation was dire.
But their realization came too late.
Puchi! Puchi!
The sound of bolts piercing flesh echoed through the dark, accompanied by screams of agony.
A middle-aged man in fiery red robes was the first to react, attempting to raise his soul power in defense.
But in the very next instant, three bolts pierced clean through his chest, pinning him upright against the floorboards beneath his feet.
The three bolts still quivered violently in his body, a testament to their sheer power.
His body trembled violently. A mouthful of blood sprayed forth as his eyes widened with disbelief.
Lowering his head with effort, he saw the blood gushing from the three holes in his chest.
In seconds, his crimson robes were drenched an even deeper red.
A few more bolts struck—this time piercing through his head. The impact pinned his skull into the floor.
"Teacher Ye!"
Huojin roared in grief. That man had been his mentor, second only to himself in strength within the Blazing Academy.
He had brought his teacher to the sect's banquet to broaden his horizons—never expecting this massacre.
But there was no time to grieve. If he didn't act, the entire Blazing Academy would be wiped out.
"Seventh Soul Skill—Radiant Sun True Body!"
Huojin, a Soul Douluo with the Sun Martial Spirit, instantly released his true body.
A massive blazing sphere, like a miniature sun, rose from the Blazing Academy's position, enveloping Huowu and the other students in its protective glow.
"Wonderful, it's the Headmaster's Radiant Sun True Body!"
But before the excited student could even finish celebrating, a bolt streaked through the darkness and embedded itself in his skull, dropping him lifelessly to the ground.
Huojin's heart bled. He hadn't expected the bolts to hold such immense power. Desperate, he bellowed,
"Hurry! Use your soul skills to defend yourselves!"
His roar snapped the others into action. Huowu and Huo Wushuang were the first to respond, unleashing their skills to intercept the deadly rain.
The others followed their lead, releasing soul skills frantically in defense.
Yet, ordinary Zhuge Crossbows were already capable of killing Soul Kings. These larger variants carried enough force to slay Soul Emperors with ease.
Blazing Academy's strongest students were Huowu and Huo Wushuang—barely Soul Sects—and even they survived only thanks to Huojin's protection.
The rest weren't so fortunate. Their bodies were riddled with bolts, turned into human sieves.
Blood poured across the ground like a spring, soaking the feet of Huojin, Huowu, and Huo Wushuang.
Aside from the Divine Wind and Tianshui Academies, the other factions suffered even worse.
Lan Minghua wrinkled his brows at the overpowering stench of blood.
"Have they fallen to such madness? Or do they truly believe they can slaughter every last person here?"
For in the end, only the victors write history.
If the Upper Three Sects killed all bystanders, their reputation—whether praised or cursed—would be theirs to dictate.
Lan Minghua knew full well that should the Upper Three Sects prevail, this massacre would be pinned entirely on the Heavenly Dragon Gang.
But so what? Against the Heavenly Dragon Gang, the Upper Three Sects had no chance of victory.
Lan Minghua chuckled softly, his gaze drifting toward a patch of darkness as he spoke in a faint voice.
"Night was never their battlefield. You've held back long enough—it's time to stretch your limbs."
The moment his words fell, five pairs of crimson eyes lit up in the shadows.
The stench of blood rolling off them surpassed even that of the dead slain by the bolts.
With a sharp swish, the five figures vanished into the darkness, launching their hunt upon the disciples of the Upper Three Sects.
The screams gradually faded, and with them, the intensity of the assault lessened.
High above, Gu Rong watched coldly, his face devoid of emotion.
On the spectator stands, apart from those of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Divine Wind Academy, and the Tianshui Academy, no one else had survived.
Among the Elemental Academies, Elephant Armored Academy was completely annihilated.
Even their Diamond Mammoth Martial Spirits couldn't withstand the arrow rain.
From Blazing Academy, only Huojin, Huowu, and Huo Wushuang remained alive. The rest had been wiped out.
The Spirit Hall, protected by Ghost Douluo, escaped unscathed.
But Gu Rong felt no burden from this slaughter.
In his eyes, only one target mattered: Lan Minghua.
When the timing felt right, he waved his hand and ordered the attack to cease.
"That will do. Remove the black cloth from the luminous pearls! And send in the 'executioners'—capture Lan Minghua's disciples alive, at all costs!"
In the next instant, the cloth was pulled away, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was once again bathed in light as bright as day.
Gu Rong roared, "Do it! Take them down!"
Yet the executioners, who should have rushed at Oscar and the others, did not move.
The scene fell into a deathly silence.
(End of Chapter)