Yang Ding's words only served to anger Chen Yuan further. It seemed as though an entire night sky was contained within his eyes. With an outstretched palm, the meteorite storm in the sky howled wildly.
"Let this incident come to an end?" Chen Yuan's voice was icy cold. "Then why did you not consider the consequences before making a move?"
"You've really gone mad." Yang Ding let out a shout, and he leaped into the sky, his body emanating an endless fiery glow. His body was like a giant sun, incinerating everything that came into contact with his light. He rushed towards the attacking meteorites, intending to reduce the resulting damage and casualties as much as possible.
The sages of the Blazing Sun School stood facing all directions, covering all sides of the school. They released their own energies in a bid to deflect College Chief Chen's destructive attack.
Chen Yuan took a step forward. Starlight dazzled endlessly around him, and he brought Ye Futian with him as he walked towards the sage who had attacked him.
Around Chen Yuan, the sages cast protective spells all around. The pressure was so immense it was shocking. The expression of the sage Chen Yuan was approaching changed. He thought that Chen Yuan had gone stark mad.
The earth shattered with a rumble as Chen Yuan walked, and the sky itself seemed to be brought down by the pressure. He shot out like a streak of starlight, and at the same time, a Divine Sun Furnace appeared behind Yang Ding, its flames headed straight for Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan was undeterred, and he continued advancing forward. The flames of the Divine Sun Furnace rained upon his body and clung to it, making the starlight even more dazzling.
Flaming golden runes appeared from within the Divine Sun Furnace and shot towards Chen Yuan, as though to destroy him. But Chen Yuan did not stop. With a loud crash, the two collided into each other, and Yang Ding was sent flying.
Chen Yuan specialized in the Divine Starry Path and possessed immense power. On the other hand, Yang Ding specialized in the flames of the sun. In close combat, it was natural that Yang Ding would lose out.
But the flames had begun to seep into Chen Yuan's body. His expression unchanging, Chen Yuan swung his palm at the sages below him from the sky. It was as though a large heavenly hand that could cover the skies bore down upon them. The sages were pressed down by the gravity of the stars. The ground caved in below them and swallowed them into the earth with a frightening rumble. Chen Yuan had the ability to directly control the power of the earth.
With a loud bang, the large hand began to slam down. The sage that had attacked Ye Futian's expression changed from shock to despair. Though he was a sage like the college chief of the Starry School, there was a disparity in their individual planes. He was far from a match for Chen Yuan. The sage was unable to handle the immense pressure that Chen Yuan was sending out, and his movements were restricted.
"Chen Yuan!" Yang Ding shouted, but he was too late. The large hand slammed down with a loud crash and killed the sage immediately upon impact. A handprint hundreds of meters wide appeared on the ground, leaving a deep crater where it had landed. It was a magnificent sight. A figure lay within the handprint. He had been crushed flat.
Yang Ding stopped to look at the dead body. His expression was ugly. People of the Sage plane were incredibly precious to the school. As such, Yang Ding was going to defend the errant sage even if he had disobeyed orders and attacked Ye Futian. Furthermore, that had been no ordinary sage. He was an outstanding sage of the Blazing Sun School. He could have grown even more powerful in the future and was in the running to be a protégé of Yang Ding's as a very young sage.
The Blazing Sun School would not have let someone like him die. But Chen Yuan had ignored all consequences and crushed him to death in a fit of savage rage.
Chen Yuan looked at Ye Futian. His injuries were incredibly severe and could invalidate him for life.
"Let's go," Chen Yuan ordered. He moved towards the sky, and his followers from the Starry School followed him as well, soaring into the sky in preparation to leave.
Yang Ding glared at him in rage. How badly he wanted to battle right here right now. But this was his Blazing Sun School, and any battle he started now would only be a disaster upon his disciples. Even the short skirmish just now had been incredibly costly.
Looking at the leaving figures, someone walked to Yang Ding and asked, "Chen Yuan has gone too far with his bullying. College chief, do we attack?"
Yang Ding looked at the person, then glanced at the body of the fallen sage. They may have lost a sage, but they were indeed in the wrong here. Ye Futian had been gravely injured, and Chen Yuan was in a wild rage. Yang Ding was aware of the consequences of attacking the Starry School now. The resulting destruction would be indiscriminate, and two of the schools in Divine Sky City would probably become history.
The disciples of the Blazing Sun School rose into the sky, quivering slightly. Below them, their once vast and magnificent school grounds had been reduced into a pile of rubble. The wreckage was painful to see. They had never thought that a battle of this level would break out within the Top Three Schools of Divine Sky City. This was definitely a disaster.
Ye Futian was only a junior of the Arcana plane, but he was the reason behind the death of a sage and the destruction of the Blazing Sun School. An incident like this would have been completely unimaginable in the past.
When Chen Yuan and his party arrived back in the Starry School, many powerful individuals gathered at the Son's Palace. Ye Futian's injuries were stabilized with the help of the best doctor available.
At this moment, Yu Sheng, Ye Wuchen and Loulan Xue were outside the room. They were beside themselves with rage. The Blazing Sun School was one of the Top Three Schools and considered divine grounds for training in the eastern region of the Barren State. For them to have attacked a junior of the Arcana plane was unthinkable.
"College Chief, how is he?" the group rushed to ask Chen Yuan upon seeing him exit the room.
Chen Yuan's expression was grim, and he did not speak. Madame Long, who was next to him, spoke up instead, "The attack was incredibly vicious, and Ye Futian's powers were destroyed. It'll be hard for him to recover."
With a crack, something broke. Yu Sheng's eyes turned red, as though blood would begin dripping from it. "I don't believe it," he said. He then rushed into the room before Chen Yuan or anyone else could stop him.
"This may not have been part of Yang Ding's original plan. I don't think he'll be this audacious," Gu Hanshan speculated.
"Perhaps," Chen Yuan replied, "but it doesn't matter whether or not this was his original intention. He's the college chief of the Blazing Sun School, and Ye Futian was captured under his command. He should take responsibility for this incident."
"Yeah." Gu Hanshan nodded in agreement.
"There seems to have been someone orchestrating things from behind the scenes ever since Jin Yunxiao was exposed, trying to create conflict." A thoughtful gleam appeared in Madame Long's eyes as she spoke.
"I know someone is trying to sow discord in secret. But it is true that Jin Yunxiao tried to assassinate Ye Futian. I've asked Futian, and he agreed that Jin Yunxiao has to die, so I considered the consequences. But I never thought that Yang Ding would be such an *sshole." Chen Yuan's voice was shaking with rage. Without an order from Yang Ding, no one would have dared to make a move like this.
Just then, an immense pressure came from the faraway skies. It seemed that the Starry School were to face yet another mighty foe. Chen Yuan looked up to see a group of people heading towards the school.
"Looks like another bunch of *ssholes are here," Gu Hanshan commented. In no time, the group of people arrived at the Starry School. They were from the Bright Moon School, and leading the group was the school's college chief Gong Kui.
"Chen Yuan, I've heard that the Son of the Starry School has had his powers destroyed by the Blazing Sun School. How is he now?" Gong Kui asked.
"Don't beat about the bush." Chen Yuan shot him a cold glare. There was no way Gong Kui had come all the way just to show concern for Ye Futian.
Gong Kui laughed. "I've heard that the divine teachings that Ye Futian obtained were three streaks of divine light. Since his powers have been destroyed, the divine light should naturally be returned to the Top Three Schools. Yang Ding had already gotten one streak of divine light. You can have one streak for yourself. Now, shouldn't the divine light that rightfully belongs to the Bright Moon School be returned to me?"
"Get out," Chen Yuan spat at him.
Everyone was staring at Gong Kui coldly. Trust him to take advantage of someone else's misfortune to come here and ask for the divine light.
Gong Kui laughed, paying no heed to the glares he was receiving. The Blazing Sun School had taken back their share of the three streaks of divine light. How could the Bright Moon School miss out on this opportunity? He wanted to get a taste of the saint's divine teachings as well.
"The Top Three Schools share the same origins," Gong Kui replied. "That was originally an heirloom of our ancestors. Now that the heir to the Divine Path has had his powers destroyed, he has lost his right to the inheritance. I say that the divine light should be returned to its rightful owners. I want to bring it back to the Bright Moon School."
"Attack us if you will," Chen Yuan responded coldly.
"I'm not going to risk mass destruction unlike you. It's not as if you don't understand the current situation. The Starry School is at odds with the Jin Clan and at war with the Blazing Sun School too. Are you going to turn the Bright Moon School into your enemies as well? Have you truly thought this through?" Gong Kui's tone was equally frosty.
"I told you to get out, did you not hear me?" Chen Yuan shot the other man a cold glare.
However, a dazzling streak of light exited the room where Ye Futian was and floated towards Gong Kui. Gong Kui was taken aback at first. Then he attached his will to the light and claimed it for himself. Chen Yuan and everyone else in the room was shocked as well, and they turned to look into the room.
"Chen Yuan, you've been outdone by your own disciple. At least he knows what's best for the Starry School in this situation. I'll take my leave now." Gong Kui knew what he had just received upon sensing it, and he left smiling.
In the room, Ye Wuchen and everyone else was enraged.
"Why did you give it to him?" Yu Sheng was grabbing onto Ye Futian's hand.
A forlorn smile came over Ye Futian's pale face. "I have my own plans," he replied softly. "Please leave, all of you. Tell the college chief and the rest to leave too. I would like to be undisturbed."
Yu Sheng looked at Ye Futian. He was concerned for the other man.
"Let the college chief and the rest come up with a plan," Ye Wuchen advised.
"I want to try something out myself," Ye Futian replied. Give me some time, and help me guard the door."
Yu Sheng nodded, and the group left the room.
After they had left, Ye Futian's fists clenched. Desolation crept into his heart. A group of mighty sages had come for him. He had tried to talk his way out of danger, but they had still attacked him. Now, the Bright Moon school had come to demand their share of the divine light too. Since things had come to this, he had obliged as well.
A green light danced around Ye Futian's body. Then, branches of green leaves began to appear, slowly snaking their way upwards. Soon, an ancient tree with emerald green leaves appeared above Ye Futian's head. This was his Life Spirit.
His eyes closed, and the branches of the ancient tree continued to grow. Eventually, the entire room was covered by the gigantic tree, which entwined itself around his body in a way that allowed him to sit on it. An emerald green glow surrounded him and covered him completely, bit by bit.