The sky above North Dragon Hill darkened as ten black-clad ghouls streaked across the clouds like birds of prey.
Supreme Ancestor Sima Kun led the charge, his Black-Bone Scythe cutting through the golden mist like a poisoned cleaver. Behind him, nine desiccated Rank 7 Earth-Immortals howled with ancient, rancid bloodlust. Their rusted broadswords, barbed bone hooks, and soul-stealing flails trailed ribbons of acidic green fire that hissed against the upper atmosphere.
“Flatten the university!” Sima Kun shrieked, his skeletal jaws clattering in the gale. “Tear out the hearts of every scholar! Pulverize every desk and bookcase into firewood! Let the boy see what happens when commoners dare study immortal law!”
Beside him, Wang Clan Ancestor Wang Tianxiao brandished a rusted executioner’s blade that dripped foul black oil. “The boy thinks his money can buy respect! He gives free books to the sons of shoemakers and weavers! Knowledge is the private property of the bloodline houses! Burn the classrooms to cinders!”
In the courtyard of Taichu Immortal University below, thousands of young students in white scholar robes looked up into the descending darkness.
Some gripped their training brushes with white knuckles. Others braced their shoulders against the wooden library doors, determined to defend the ancient texts with their lives. Top Scholar Han Yu drew a bronze scholar’s sword, stepping to the front of the pavilion steps. His eyes were fixed on the descending demons without an ounce of fear.
