Urban Wolf King

Chapter 1197 1208: Half-Venerable

The freak's Desolate Destruction Hammer kept smashing down, striking the Chaos Bell with ringing "clang-clang" sounds that echoed through the sky.

But just as the Chaos Bell was about to crash down on Wang Yan's head, it suddenly stopped descending, as if it were stuck in midair.

The freak couldn't help getting a bit anxious. Once the Seven Great Elders broke through the barrier, all his efforts would be wasted.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly raised the Chaos Bell again and kept hammering it down.

However, no matter how he struck the Chaos Bell, it still floated in midair, only slowly rotating, refusing to fall any further.

The freak quickly lowered his head to look at Wang Yan beneath the Chaos Bell, and with just that one glance, he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.

Because he saw that although Wang Yan was sitting under the Chaos Bell, suffering the backlash force, there was actually a hint of enlightenment on his face, as if he were enjoying it.

"Don't tell me he's about to comprehend and break through?" The freak was shocked.

No one knew Wang Yan's current realm better than he did. After reaching Demon Saint Great Perfection, Wang Yan would use enlightenment to break through to Half-Venerable, then rely on enlightenment again to break through to Demon Venerable.

The reason he was confident he could snatch the Chaos Bell from Wang Yan was precisely because Wang Yan's cultivation was insufficient and he couldn't fully unleash the Chaos Bell's power.

If Wang Yan broke through to Half-Venerable now, he would fully control the Chaos Bell, and it would become much harder for him to seize it.

He absolutely could not let Wang Yan succeed in breaking through.

Thinking this, the freak let out a loud roar, shouting, "Under my devastating blows, you only have one road—death! Hand over the Chaos Bell, now!"

As he shouted, he frantically hammered the Chaos Bell. The continuous "clang-clang" sounds rang out, as he tried to disturb Wang Yan.

But just then, a calm voice drifted out from under the Chaos Bell. It was Wang Yan: "You think I'll believe you? On you, I see all the sins in this world."

"Bullshit! You can't see anything—you're about to die!" The freak knew this was exactly Wang Yan's moment of enlightenment. If Wang Yan figured it out, his cultivation would definitely rise; he had to interrupt him.

Yet Wang Yan continued speaking slowly, "In the Ink Pool you comprehended your Lifebound Skill, yet you felt no gratitude, that is heartless; you crave the Chaos Bell so much you'd turn against your master and friends, that is selfish; you dream of obtaining the Chaos Bell and don't hesitate to kill me, that is greed; all of this, in the end, is to satisfy the desires in your heart."

Agitated and unsettled by Wang Yan's words, the freak hurriedly shouted, "You're talking nonsense! Don't you have desires? Don't you have greed?"

Wang Yan said, "I have desires, but I'm not greedy. A gentleman loves wealth, but acquires it by proper means. I have my own wishes, but I intend to achieve them through my own efforts, through rightful means—not like you, heartless and unrighteous, ungrateful and untrustworthy."

Wang Yan's voice was gentle and drawn-out, but gradually, it actually seemed to merge with the ringing of the Chaos Bell.

Wang Yan's voice became the bell's toll, and the Chaos Bell's toll became Wang Yan's speaking voice.

"Nonsense, you're spouting nonsense!" The Desolate Destruction Hammer kept pounding on the Chaos Bell, as if to break the rhythm of Wang Yan's words merging with the bell's sound.

But no matter how the Desolate Destruction Hammer struck, the Chaos Bell continued ringing at the same frequency—that frequency was exactly the cadence of Wang Yan's speech.

With every word Wang Yan spoke, the Chaos Bell rang once.

"I finally understand—everything evil in this world arises for four reasons."

"Greed!"

"Desire!"

"Selfishness!"

"Heartlessness!"

…

As these eight characters left his mouth, the Chaos Bell suddenly let out a long peal. Its toll shook heaven and earth, and the entire valley trembled along with it.

The freak was closest to the Chaos Bell. His heart felt numb and chaotic, as if he might vomit on the spot.

At this moment, Wang Yan slowly stood up beneath the Chaos Bell. Then, from his body, a powerful surge of cultivation shot straight into the sky and crashed into the Chaos Bell above.

The Chaos Bell emitted the same resonant hum in response.

"Half-Venerable!" The freak gnashed his teeth, glaring hatefully at Wang Yan.

He had almost succeeded just now, but who would have thought Wang Yan would suddenly achieve enlightenment at the final moment and directly break through to Half-Venerable.

Just then, with a loud "crash," the surrounding protective barrier shattered as well, and Elder Si Qin and the other Six Great Elders rushed in.

Seeing his plan ruined, the freak swung the Desolate Destruction Hammer toward the seven Elders including Elder Si Qin, forcing them to halt for a brief moment.

Taking advantage of that instant, the freak's figure blurred as he shot off the arena and flashed away into the distance.

"Don't let him escape!"

Fang Hong shouted and was about to give chase, but saw the freak flick his finger. Immediately, one Array after another sprang up behind him, blocking Fang Hong's path.

From beyond the Arrays came the freak's shout: "Wang Yan, next time we meet, you won't be this lucky."

By the time Fang Hong broke through those Arrays and rushed out again, the freak and Zhao Fen had already vanished without a trace. Only at a hidden spot at the foot of the mountain did they find a one-use Teleportation Array.

Seeing that a Teleportation Array had actually been set up inside Mozi Academy, Fang Hong ground his teeth in rage and destroyed the Array.

But the freak had already escaped, and everyone could only feel helpless.

At this moment, Beiming Xue, Ma Jun, and the others all rushed onto the arena and surrounded Wang Yan.

They saw that although Wang Yan was injured, luckily it was only superficial. More importantly, he had turned misfortune into blessing and broken through to the cultivation of Half-Venerable.

At this point, Wang Yan could already be considered the number one expert beneath Demon Venerable.

In this single day, Wang Yan had hovered between life and death several times. Beiming Xue could no longer hold herself back and collapsed into Wang Yan's arms, sobbing her heart out.

Wang Yan patted Beiming Xue, who was in his arms, while comforting Ma Jun, Hu Wei, and the others around them. He also turned to thank Elder Si Qin and the others, all while resisting the fiery gazes of the surrounding female disciples.

Many of the female disciples looked at Beiming Xue with eyes full of envy and jealousy, but when they looked at Wang Yan, their gazes were filled with multicolored light.

Especially when their eyes roamed up and down Wang Yan's body, lingering for a long time on a certain spot.

Following the direction of their gazes, Wang Yan looked down and couldn't help his face flushing red. He quickly said a few words to everyone, then grabbed Beiming Xue and soared into the air, flying straight toward the Golden Palace on Flame Peak.

At first, everyone was puzzled as to why Wang Yan left in such a hurry. But when Wang Yan flew into midair and they saw that his back was bare, without a single scrap of clothing, they all burst into helpless laughter.

For a while, joyful laughter echoed through the skies above Mozi Academy.