Volume One: Young Master of the Demon Gods Chapter 44: Three Strikes!

Although Qi Yu felt thoroughly vindicated after obliterating Qin Qianren, the consequences of his actions were immensely severe.

To execute a gifted prodigy right within the estate of the Cliff Academy and directly in front of the Academy Master would undoubtedly invite severe accountability from the academy, possibly resulting in immediate disqualification from the upcoming tournament and covert suppression.

As for Qi Yu himself, his death would be all but certain!

At that moment, an elder who had accompanied them from the Floating Sky City stood up angrily, his expression grim as he said, "Qi Yu, you slaughtered a disciple of our sect right in front of Mister Chu of the Academy, showing such utter arrogance. I must teach you a lesson!"

As his voice fell, the elder already brought his palm crashing down toward Qi Yu. Instantly, the space right in front of Qi Yu began to twist and distort!

The might contained within that single palm strike was more than enough to crush Qi Yu to death!

Zhang Wandian and Liu Rouxue both wanted to step in and help, but they were blocked by Yang Ling'er.

Yang Ling'er blinked her large eyes and said, "Just watch. If Qi Yu's life is truly in danger, the Master will make a move!"

Zhang Wandian turned to look at Mister Chu, only to find that Mister Chu was turning the pages of a book, seemingly paying no attention to Qi Yu whatsoever. His heart instantly leapt into his throat.

Rumble!

The Floating Sky City elder's palm strike effortlessly tore through the void, piercing straight through Qi Yu's body!

The entire hall fell into a sudden, stunned silence!

A cold look appeared on the elder's face. Qi Yu had killed his disciple, so avenging him was entirely justified by heaven and earth!

Yet the next moment, his expression shifted slightly because the figure of Qi Yu before him actually began to distort and then gradually faded away.

It was merely an afterimage!

The Floating Sky City elder whirled around, only to see Qi Yu reappearing ten paces away.

"Ignorant brat, prepare to die!"

Consumed by fury and glaring at Qi Yu with venomous eyes, the elder let out a roar. Springing forward like a great roc spreading its wings, he gathered spiritual energy in his right palm and once again lashed out fiercely at Qi Yu!

This time, the elder's palm was wreathed in flames, and violent shockwaves radiated outward, instantly filling the grand hall with rolling waves of heat!

Everyone held their breath, fixing their dead-eyed gazes upon Qi Yu.

The eyes of Zhang Wandian and Liu Rouxue were filled with tension.

Frowning deeply, Qi Yu reached out with a guiding motion, and the Cicada Sword materialized in his hand.

Channeling his fighting spirit, he unleashed the stunning sword technique, Startled Hong!

Clang! Clang!

A golden radiance flashed at the tip of the sword, entwined with a crimson glow, as he met the elder's incoming palm strike head-on!

Bang!

A deafening explosion echoed instantly, and the sturdy stone floor cracked into a dense, spiderweb-like pattern of fissures!

Qi Yu staggered back several steps, his complexion turning somewhat pale.

He had blocked it!

The Floating Sky City elder stood motionless. He had used eighty percent of his power in that strike, fully expecting to annihilate Qi Yu on the spot, yet he never imagined it would be parried!

With an astonished expression, he raised his palm to find a deep, clean wound gouged right across it!

This brat actually managed to break through my defense!

There seemed to be a wisp of sword intent imbued in that sword strike just now!

How could someone so young have comprehended sword intent?!

Qi Yu stood holding his sword, reluctant to expose his ultimate trump cards in front of so many people.

"Stinking brat, don't you dare be so arrogant!"

The Floating Sky City elder roared, continuously gathering spiritual energy into his hand until golden light bloomed across his palm.

This time, he would use his full strength to completely obliterate Qi Yu on the spot!

Slowly raising his palm, the elder caused the spiritual energy throughout the entire grand hall to turn turbulent, warping the space around them continuously.

"Go to hell!"

Following that, the elder's palm whipped up a heaven-shattering gale as he brought it down toward Qi Yu!

The moment this palm strike descended, the very ground began to tremble, and howling hurricanes raged within the grand hall!

"Brother Qi Yu!" Liu Rouxue cried out in alarm and worry.

Zhang Wandian's expression turned grave, but Yang Ling'er blocked his path, rendering his entire body as though locked in place and unable to move.

"That palm strike is the full-out blow of a profound realm expert. I'm afraid even cultivators of the same realm would find it difficult to withstand!"

"Qi Yu is bound to die!"

"..."

"Fight!"

The fighting spirit within Qi Yu erupted. In an instant, the spiritual energy inside his Dantian surged violently into his meridians, funneling straight into the blade of the Cicada Sword!

Clang! Clang!

The Cicada Sword began to shriek, its blade vibrating with intense fury!

Meeting this head-on meant certain death!

He could only use movement techniques to evade and neutralize a portion of the force!

"Startled Hong Sword!"

Bang!

Sword qi collided with the palm wind, producing a thunderous explosion.

The ferocious shockwaves rippled outward in all directions, kicking up a billowing cloud of dust and debris!

The ground beneath Qi Yu's feet completely fractured into a massive crater, countless dense cracks spreading out all around it!

Combining the instantaneous teleportation of the Startled Hong Sword with his own footwork, Qi Yu managed to evade the vast majority of the force, while the remainder was parried by his sword technique.

A moment later, the dust cleared.

Qi Yu stood within the deep crater, his long hair disheveled and his complexion as pale as paper. Inside his body, his organs felt as though they were churning violently, wave after wave of intense pain washing over him as he opened his mouth and spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

The spiritual energy left inside Qi Yu's body was running critically low. If the grand elder of Floating Sky City were to strike one more time, he would undoubtedly perish!

Qi Yu circulated his spiritual energy to rapidly heal his injuries. Fortunately, he had previously consumed a significant number of medicinal herbs and pills meant for tempering his body and bones, rendering his physical resilience far superior to ordinary people.

"Why won't you die!"

The Floating Sky City elder's eyes bulged wide as he stared at Qi Yu as if looking at some sort of monster.

"Why won't a beast like you just drop dead!"

Glaring fixedly at Qi Yu, the elder's eyes turned bloodshot, making him look utterly deranged.

Having taken action personally, he had failed to kill a junior at the first tier of the Profound Martial Realm even after three consecutive strikes.

With his eyes splitting in rage, the elder raised his palm, gathered spiritual energy, and brought it directly down toward the heavily injured Qi Yu. Seeing that the blow was about to connect, a cold sneer curled the corner of the elder's lips.

"You're courting death!"

Suddenly, an overwhelming aura locked the Floating Sky City elder firmly in place. Immediately following that, Yang Ling'er slammed a fist directly into his chest.

Bang!

Blown backward by the punch, the elder crashed heavily onto the ground. When he struggled back to his feet, blood was streaming from his nose and mouth, his chest was caved in, and he looked utterly wretched.

"How insolent! Do you really take my Cliff Academy for pushovers?"

Yang Ling'er knitted her brows in anger, glaring down at the grand elder as she rebuked him.

The Floating Sky City disciples hurried forward to support their elder, their faces etched with confusion. Why hadn't the Cliff Academy intervened earlier, choosing instead to strike precisely at this moment?

With a cold huff, Yang Ling'er said, "Although Qi Yu killed your disciple, our Cliff Academy still afforded you the opportunity to exact revenge. Since you failed to kill Qi Yu within three strikes, did you really think our Cliff Academy was a place where you could run amok at will?"

Hearing this, the crowd finally understood. No wonder the Cliff Academy hadn't intervened when Qi Yu executed Qin Qianren—it turned out that act had been tacitly permitted by Mister Chu!

Moreover, to maintain fairness, Mister Chu had even granted the Floating Sky City elder three chances to exact vengeance. It was simply a pity that those three strikes had failed to kill Qi Yu.

Gasping for breath, the elder said in a deep voice, "Mister Chu, yet Qi Yu slaughtered my disciple right inside the ceremonial hall of your academy estate, in full view of everyone. This clearly flouts the academy's rules and shows contempt for Mister Chu. Do you not intend to punish him severely?!"

Mister Chu calmly turned a page of his book and replied with an indifferent tone, "Oh? You say Qi Yu committed murder in broad daylight, but how is it that I didn't see anything?"

"You..."

The elder choked on his words. The Cliff Academy was clearly intent on shielding Qi Yu; no matter how much he argued, it would be futile and might even provoke Mister Chu's wrath.

Yet Qin Qianren hailed from a prominent aristocratic family, and returning empty-handed without an explanation made it difficult for him to face the Qin clan.

With a long sigh, the elder cupped his fists and said, "Mister Chu, my Floating Sky City still has urgent matters to attend to, so we will take our leave without further accompaniment! Let's go!"

As his voice trailed off, the disciples of Floating Sky City collected Qin Qianren's corpse and departed the academy estate.

Mister Chu set his book down and said calmly, "The welcoming banquet for the prodigies shall continue!"

Supported by Zhang Wandian and Liu Rouxue, Qi Yu returned to his seat. Just as he began circulating his spiritual energy to heal himself, a medicine vial was suddenly extended toward him from the side.

Surprised, Qi Yu turned to look and saw Liu Qingzhi holding the medicinal vial with a cold expression, her voice detached as she spoke: "To treat your injuries."

Not far away, another slender figure stood quietly. That young maiden wore a frosty expression, holding a medicine vial in her own hand as well.

"Brother."

Ye Lan's gaze dimmed slightly before she turned and walked back to the seats belonging to the Azure Cloud Sect.

Liu Rouxue accepted the medicine vial, expressed her gratitude, and then helped Qi Yu consume the pill, asking with deep concern, "Brother Qi Yu, how are you feeling?"

Qi Yu smiled faintly and gently stroked the tip of Liu Rouxue's nose.

"I'm fine."

At that moment, Mister Chu smiled and announced, "Starting tomorrow, the cultivation chambers within the Cliff Academy estate will be opened. There are fifty chambers in total, and you may select a suitable one to cultivate in preparation for the sect grand tournament. Of course, they are not free!"

The news of the cultivation chambers opening caused everyone to flush with excitement.

Everyone knew that the spiritual energy within the Cliff Academy's cultivation chambers was exceptionally rich and equipped with various cultivation arrays. For them, this meant enjoying the maximum benefit at the minimal cost.

Having made his announcement, Mister Chu went back to turning his pages.

Stepping forward, Yang Ling'er declared, "Everyone may now proceed to the banquet hall. Let the banquet begin!"