Jiang Qing’e took off like a blazing meteor, and heads tracked her movement across the entire battlefield.
They were in awe of her unusual burst of power, and that she was also facing the grinning demon head-on.
A Heavenly Disaster Class, as strong as a powerful Heavenly Dipper General!
Surely not even a ninth-grade light resonance was a match for this!
And if she didn’t succeed in one blow, the grinning demon would surely tear her to bits. One could only imagine what the loss of their champion would do for the defenders’ morale and firepower.
Still, there was no second thought in the mind of the heroine. She shot forth like an arrow leaving the bow, eyes locked on to her target.
No one knew how this would turn out. But the fact that she dared to try roused courage in all of them.
Li Luo’s heart was in his throat as well. A firework of hope, blazing into the darkness that loomed ahead. His firework.
Trailing the navy-blue shawl behind her like a piece of the night sky.
Shing!
An iridescent shimmer started to sparkle on her skin, and the black dust that hung over the battlefield slid off her.
Duze Honglian, Qiu Bai, and the others gasped.
“The glassy Fiend Body… Her Fiend Body’s complete…”
“Her cultivation speed’s incredible!”
The other students might not know what the glassy body meant, but to Earth Fiends like themselves, it held great meaning.
Her Earth Fiend qi was close to completion now.
She was but a step away from Heavenly Dipper General.
No wonder Jiang Qing’e was rumored to challenge the Seven Astral Pillars at the end of the year. She was already close to Heavenly Dipper General, whereas the rest of them were only at the early stage of Earth Fiend.
Even though they always assumed that Jiang Qing’e was stronger than them, still she was ahead of their guesses.
How would they ever catch up? Was her ninth-grade light resonance really that overpowered?
Weng!
Her sword blazed with the heat of the sun, burning a deep gouge in the ground as it trailed behind her, hissing with blue smoke.
She brought it up effortlessly, a quick twist to set the point forward. Golden light flickered against the crimson eyes of the demon, and its grin only grew wider.
“Ffft!”
A spluttering laugh burbled out from the demon.
It seemed completely unsurprised by Jiang Qing’e’s attack.
Jiang Qing’e noted its readiness with a flicker of uncertainty. Had it left this opening on purpose to bait her in?
It was entirely possible for it to be that cunning.
It could overcome the primal instinct that usually ruled the Others. It might even be a better thinker than some humans.
She did not panic. The light on her sword’s edge redoubled in intensity as she committed.
Whoosh!
The grinning demon opened its maw and took a deep, sucking breath.
Rumble!
The mud figurines vibrated and then released black smoke that the grinning demon inhaled back in.
The energy that it had previously dispersed was now being regathered.
At the same time, the corrupted students in the purified spot were weakening in strength.
Some were even returned to themselves fully.
“Quick! Suppress and tie up all the corrupted students!” Li Luo shouted. A hard-won window had been bought by Jiang Qing’e.
Morale lifted and the students rallied together, quickly subduing the corrupted students.
Outside, the grinning demon made a brief, keening sound as if testing its power. The ground reverberated in response.
It raised a giant, clawed hand that seemed to suck in what little light remained in the world.
A darkness that would destroy all.
The world under that palm was without light, save for one blazing sword of hope that slashed defiantly against it.
Claw against sword.
Boom!
The impact was colossal, the aftershock rippling outwards as it tore away at the topsoil.
The other Others were bowled away backwards back into the mist.
Within the purified spot, they despaired as they saw their champion of light gradually losing, wounds chipping away at her.
Jiang Qing’e was not strong enough to beat the grinning demon.
“Tsk tsk! Chi chi!”
The grinning demon garbled its strange laughter again as it brought its claw down again with a vengeance, smothering the light from the sword.
“Leader, get out of there!” Qiu Bai and Tian Tian screamed.
Li Luo watched with horrified fascination. His knuckles were white from his death grip on his hilts, but he stood his ground. He knew that he would only be a burden to Jiang Qing’e if he rushed in.
Panicked screams came from the students.
Jiang Qing’e did not retreat. She was calm, as though her attack being broken was also within her calculations.
That attack was not enough to harm a Heavenly Disaster Class.
She stepped forward.
As she did, she tenderly moved a palm over the edge of her sword, as if caressing it.
A small spray of blood landed on the broad blade.
The fragmented sword light started to knit itself back together, now radiating with a new divine power that brought a sudden halt to the grinning demon’s laughter.
It turned its palm back against its foe.
Evil energies gathered until it formed a large, swirling vortex, ready to swallow any attack.
Jiang Qing’e took a deep breath. Reaching into the glowing sword light, she pulled out a flaming sword.
“Sword of saintly fire, cleanser of all, burn all that is unholy.”
Light turned to fire now, and she seemed to become an angel, an avatar against evil.
The sword swept up even as she made a long dart sideways to dodge the black vortex attack.
Fire lanced towards the grinning face.
A savage thrust, as deadly for the demon as it was perilous for him.
Between protecting herself and killing the enemy, Jiang Qing’e had chosen the latter.
The grinning demon was not prepared for such a reckless move, but it was too late to defend itself. The flaming sword struck down, cleaving its face.
At that moment, time seemed to stop.