Chapter 31: When the Sky Falls, He...
Chen Changsheng wasn't entirely sure what he meant, so he shifted closer to the girl, trying his best to shield her behind him.
The demon clansman's face was filled with sorrow as he continued, "Because of your appearance, I cannot kill her, so I have no choice but to activate the sacred artifact. That means I must die along with her. This is the will of the Strategist, and no one can resist it."
A vague unease stirred in Chen Changsheng. His grip on the sword hilt tightened.
The demon clansman rose to his feet, gazing at Chen Changsheng with a sigh. "Young man, I don't know who you are, but I think you'll become someone truly remarkable in the future. It's a pity you'll have to accompany me to death tonight."
With those words, he raised the iron artifact in his hand. As he moved, an incredibly terrifying aura descended from the heavens. Countless tiny iron fragments flew back from the darkness. The invisible barrier that had sealed off the world vanished without a trace.
A colossal black net, like a mountain, descended toward the ground of the National Academy.
"Yan Luo?" Luoluo's face paled slightly as she murmured.
Ranked nineteenth on the Hundred Artifacts List: Yan Luo.
A demon sacred artifact.
Legend said it was the hunting net used by the first Demon Lord.
Once it fell, heaven and earth were trapped.
Nothing could break it.
Even the famous divine weapons and demonic swords could not pierce it.
Logically, such a powerful demon artifact should have ranked higher on the Hundred Artifacts List, at least above the Falling Rain Whip. But because the list was compiled by the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion of the human world, it inevitably faced some suppression. More importantly, Yan Luo had once been severely damaged.
According to ancient tales, in the distant past, Yan Luo's true name was Yan Luo, but it was crippled by an unimaginably powerful supreme expert. It never regained the strength it held in the hands of the first Demon Lord, so it was renamed Yan Luo.
If it were still in its pristine state, Yan Luo could effortlessly reduce anyone beneath its net to nothingness. Even in its current damaged form, it could still seal off heaven and earth. But to use it for attack, the wielder had to sacrifice their own life essence and blood!
That was why the demon clansman had been reluctant to use this artifact for attack from the very beginning. It wasn't until Chen Changsheng's words stirred the wind and rain, and he was gravely wounded, knowing he could no longer kill Luoluo unscathed, that he was forced to activate it.
Forced to march toward death, there was naturally some sorrow.
Watching the black net descend toward the ground, Luoluo was shocked, her face pale. She recognized what the net was and knew that even if Yan Luo no longer possessed the terrifying power of the distant past, it was still not something ordinary people could withstand.
Her Falling Rain Whip certainly couldn't block it.
The legendary Frost Remnant Divine Spear might be able to break it, but the spear was in the imperial palace. Who could come to their aid?
She looked up at the black net in the night sky. Her Falling Rain Whip shot out like lightning, carrying the roar of wind and rain.
A dull thud echoed.
The Falling Rain Whip, like a serpent struck by lightning, shattered into countless pieces and fell back limply.
An unimaginably terrifying force traveled along the whip's handle into her delicate body.
With a cry, she spat blood and collapsed backward.
This night's bitter battle had been too much for a fourteen-year-old girl. She could no longer hold on. Her vision blurred, and she was on the verge of unconsciousness. The last image she saw was—the young man drawing his short sword and thrusting it toward the black night sky.
The sword was dim, ordinary, and somewhat short.
The young man raised his hand high, meeting the black net that seemed to cover the entire sky.
His movements were clumsy, carrying a sense of sorrow.
Because the gap was too vast, it felt utterly futile, utterly despairing.
Like a mantis trying to stop a galloping carriage, like a bird's egg falling from the Sweet Dew Terrace, smashing against the solid ground.
Luoluo felt sad and sorry. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have to die either.
Then, she fainted.
...
...
A tearing sound rang out.
The seemingly indestructible black net was suddenly ripped open with a massive tear from the middle. The night wind from the outside world, long sealed off, rushed violently into the center of the net. Following it came the real starlight, pouring down like a waterfall.
Amid the dense starlight, a blazing red cloud suddenly appeared. That red cloud materialized out of nowhere and in an instant landed in the center of the National Academy. The grass on the lawn was slightly scorched, the tender leaves of the locust tree curled and withered, and the temperature in the area kept rising.
It was a Red Cloud Qilin!
The Red Cloud Qilin's front hooves slammed heavily onto the chest of the demon strongman. With a crisp crack, the demon's chest bones shattered completely. Blood sprayed wildly, and his body was driven deep into the grass. Yet his right hand still clung desperately to the artifact.
Another sharp, piercing sound rang out!
A fiercely blazing blade light illuminated the night sky of the National Academy.
The demon strongman's right arm, trailing blood, flew high into the air and landed far away in the lake.
The rider of the Red Cloud Qilin was a middle-aged man, clad in armor that was also blood-red. His expression was stern and murderous as he looked down at this man.
A look of utter despair flashed in the demon strongman's eyes as he murmured, "So it's you. No wonder you could break Yan Luo..."
Xue Xingchuan, the Imperial Heavenly General of the Great Zhou, riding the Red Cloud Qilin and wielding the Blood Light Divine Blade!
He enjoyed the deep trust of the Saint Empress and had commanded the Great Zhou Imperial Guard for many years.
Ranked second among the thirty-eight divine generals of the continent!
"Ye Shi Tan Lü, so you were indeed hiding in the capital."
Xue Xingchuan looked down at the blood-soaked man beneath his mount's hooves, his expression flat. "Of course, you're not worthy of having me search for you this long. But I'm very curious whether, once you're sent to the Qingli Department, you'll still be able to keep the Black Robe's whereabouts secret."
The demon man was named Ye Shi Tan Lü. He had already been in despair, but hearing this, he realized the humans had been planning to extract information about the Strategist from him all along. This made him even more desperate. When he found he couldn't even kill himself, his despair reached its peak.
What is a true expert? Xue Xingchuan was a true expert!
In his presence, you couldn't die even if you wanted to!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The National Academy was filled with the sound of breaking air. In the night sky, several flying palanquins could be seen rapidly approaching.
The location of this battle was extremely close to the imperial palace. Once Yan Luo was broken, it naturally alarmed countless people.
Experts like Xue Xingchuan arrived first, followed by other Imperial Guard and palace masters rushing in.
In the darkness, countless figures leaped over the courtyard walls and appeared. Seeing the scene before them, they were shocked. They paid no attention to the demon man subdued by Xue Xingchuan and instead rushed straight to Luoluo, quickly carrying her away.
Xue Xingchuan knew who these people were and didn't stop them. Being able to find the Ye Shi clan, the most skilled at hiding among demons in the capital, and capture them alive, which might bring him closer to the mysterious demon Strategist, was quite satisfying to him.
But Ye Shi Tan Lü's words before he passed out...
Xue Xingchuan frowned slightly. He was well aware that by the time he arrived, Yan Luo had already been broken.
An Imperial Guard placed restraints on the demon man and dragged him into the darkness. A very grim fate awaited this man.
The Red Cloud Qilin slowly turned. Xue Xingchuan looked at the young man not far away and asked expressionlessly, "And who are you?"
Chen Changsheng was still tightly gripping the short sword, not entirely understanding what had just happened. Hearing this, he snapped back to reality, sheathed the short sword, and said, "I'm a student here."
Xue Xingchuan was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected this unremarkable young man to be the rumored new student of the National Academy.
With one glance, he could tell this young man was just an ordinary person, and his sword was extremely common. He knew the young man had likely been caught in the crossfire tonight. He felt some admiration for the fact that the young man had dared to draw his short sword and stand before the demon.
But it was only admiration.
No one wanted to bother with the National Academy. It was a cursed place.
He didn't want to bother with it either.
Someone stepped forward to verify Chen Changsheng's identity.
The Red Cloud Qilin stamped the ground and soared into the sky, riding the clouds away, disappearing into the imperial palace in no time.
Chen Changsheng watched this scene, utterly awestruck.
...
...
The next morning, very early, Luoluo woke up. Her body was naturally different from ordinary people's. Last night, her main issue was exhaustion; she hadn't actually been seriously injured, and her spirit had fully recovered.
But she didn't get up immediately. She lay there, her big eyes open, staring at the intricate embroidery on the bed curtains, thinking about what had happened last night, especially the last image she saw before fainting. She was a bit dazed.
That black net had fallen, like the sky collapsing.
Just when she thought she was about to die, she saw that young man standing in front of her, raising his short sword to meet it.
Her father always said that when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up for you. That saying used to make her unhappy because she thought he was mocking her for being too short. But now, she suddenly felt very glad she was petite.
That young man wasn't actually very tall, but he was taller than her.
So when the sky fell, he blocked it for her.
Luoluo didn't know why, but she felt very happy and giggled softly.
Then, remembering something, she sat up with a start and called out, "Where is he?"
A dozen clansmen rushed in, their momentum like a blazing fire.
She asked anxiously, "Is he alright?"
The clansmen who could serve her closely, whether male or female, were all exceptionally sharp. Hearing this, they knew who she was asking about. Someone reported, "General Xue Xingchuan arrived in time last night. That young man wasn't injured."
Luoluo patted her chest, feeling a lingering fear.
"That's good."
She turned over and got out of bed, saying, "I'm going to see him."
The clansmen exchanged glances and knelt down as one, some even red-eyed.
Luoluo came to her senses and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I won't let something like last night happen again."
The clansmen felt comforted. Was the princess finally growing up?
"But I really need to go see him."
Luoluo looked at the clansmen very seriously and said, "He's a very important person to me."
After hearing this, the room fell into dead silence.
Connecting this to the fact that the princess had secretly left the Hundred Herbs Garden last night, only to be targeted by the demons, all because she wanted to meet that young man in the middle of the night...
The clansmen felt a surge of panic. Was the princess finally growing up?