Published at 8th of August 2026 6:36 am

Chapter 7157 Coming Out of Seclusion

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Zi Yan and Miao Yin opened their eyes at the same time. Both of them were pale as paper, and large beads of sweat dripped down their foreheads.

“What was that?! How was that thing so terrifying?” exclaimed Miao Yin.

Zi Yan couldn’t bring the Heavenly Devil Zither into the Seven Treasure Space, but Miao Yin’s divine weapons and divine abilities could all be used inside. In other words, other than having the Two-Face Ghost Wolf fight together with her, she was able to fight just the same as she would outside the Seven Treasure Space. Yet even after joining forces with Zi Yan, they were killed in a short while; they couldn’t even last half an incense stick’s worth of time!

That person had to be many times stronger than Ying Luo. Even standing in front of him required immense bravery.

“That was the Nether Emperor.”

Zi Yan didn’t hide the truth from Miao Yin.

The Nether Emperor had once more grown stronger. Furthermore, the new throne was about to take an embryonic form. It seemed that after finishing up here, they would have to work with Long Chen to destroy it again. With just the two of them, then there was no way they could kill the Nether Emperor as he was now.

“Let’s rest and try again!” Miao Yin was still shaking from the shock of the battle, but upon hearing it was an overlord from the primal chaos era, she immediately wanted to challenge him again. That was the Nether Emperor, the master of the Netherworld. Just what kind of honor was it to be able to exchange blows with such an existence? Being killed by him didn’t make her feel the slightest bit bad.

As for why the Nether Emperor would appear in the Seven Treasure Space, Miao Yin did not ask. That was Long Chen’s secret. The fact that Zi Yan would tell her who he was was already a show of great trust.

Zi Yan shook her head. “I think it’s a bad idea. The difference is too great for us to have any chance.”

Although Miao Yin wanted to keep fighting that legendary existence, when she thought of the Nether Emperor’s unstoppable and unfathomable attacks, she also gave up. The two of them sat beneath the branches of the Seven Treasure Colored Glass Tree, observing the disciples still inside. Those disciples’ expressions were twisted with pain and anxiety. That was enough to tell them that Zhao Yue and the others had yet to gain complete control over the situation.

There was no way around it. There were simply too many powerful lifeforms inside the Seven Treasure Space. There was enough to practically fill the entire space. Furthermore, they always unleashed their strongest attacks right at the start. They were fearless and didn’t even care about their own lives.

It really wasn’t just the Nether Emperor; overall, the Seven Treasure Space was now far more difficult than before, to the point where it could be called hellish. Even the easiest first level was not something an average person could adapt to. As for the likes of Zhao Yue, getting used to this kind of environment was certainly not impossible if they were on their own, but right now, they were facing the added challenge of leading and protecting their less powerful comrades.

Thus, they needed to work together to defend, and that required them to trust each other.

The academy had strict rules, and Long Chen naturally did not permit disciples to kill each other. But with such a large number of people, it was still impossible to prevent them from forming groups and starting internal conflicts. Thus, it was now very difficult to have all these groups that opposed each other suddenly set aside their differences and establish a bond.

Fortunately, Zhao Yue and the others were smart enough to realize that this trial Long Chen had set for them was not just testing their individual improvement; more than that, he was testing their unity and adaptability. If only the peak experts could gain a footing in this battlefield and get stronger, even if they technically passed the trial, they would only be considered a decent disciple at best.

As the top heavenly geniuses of the academy, they had formed their own groups. If they couldn’t even look after their own group, what kind of leader would they be? And if they couldn’t even lead their own little group, how could they possibly think they could be the dean of the entire academy? Wouldn’t that just be a massive joke?

Long Chen had already said that they could take his position whenever they wanted to. The only prerequisite was having the ability. Yet this single condition stopped them dead in their tracks; at the moment, none of them even dared to think about the position of dean. For now, they needed the power to look after their own group first. Otherwise, they could certainly improve and pass the test themselves, but the rest of their people would be expelled. Long Chen would look down on them for that.

Thus, Zhao Yue, Du Xinhe, and the others were doing their best to protect the weaker disciples. They also stopped fighting with each other and worked together, making the other disciples also start working together. They were no longer fighting for themselves, but for the greater whole.

A full day passed before the groups finally managed to fully link up into a complete formation. They finally started the counterattack.

“Fairy Zhao Yue, we can’t go on like this! We’ve already wasted a day. We have only two days to increase our power!” shouted a red-robed woman. She was the same woman who had tried to console Long Chen before, only to end up embarrassed.

Her name was Ye Qiuhong, and she was a powerful flame cultivator. She was surprisingly quiet and level-headed; flame cultivators generally showed their emotions freely and were often wild and explosive. But no matter how cool-headed she was, she couldn’t help growing apprehensive over how little time they had left.

A whole day had passed, and all of them were completely exhausted. Worse still, their minds were on the brink of collapse. Not only had their power not improved during this time, the many deaths they had suffered caused their Dao-hearts to crack. If they continued this way, they really would be doomed. When the time came, they wouldn’t pass the trial, and Long Chen would kick them out of the academy. The idea that the standard might be lowered if they all failed did not once cross their minds. Long Chen was someone who really would have an empty academy over a useless one.

In truth, Zhao Yue was also panicking over this. They were barely surviving here. They had no chance to truly focus on increasing their combat skills.

“This isn’t a trial, this is clearly just getting us killed!” complained one disciple.

The minute he spoke, he felt countless gazes piercing him like a million knives. He shivered and instantly shut his mouth.

“A sword must be sharpened to be useful. Why do you think Long Chen is so strong? Although I don’t know what this place is, I am very sure that Long Chen also walked this path before. Now Long Chen is sharing his path with us. This is a heaven-defying opportunity! You really aren’t worthy!” shouted Zhao Yue.

That disciple shivered and couldn’t even muster the will to reply.

Zhao Yue continued, “Everyone, listen well! This battlefield requires us to face death head-on! We must walk the line between life and death in order to comprehend the essence of combat. This kind of opportunity will likely never come again. Even if it does, you’ll only have one chance to improve. Dean Long Chen is sharing an immense opportunity with us. He wants us to succeed. We are the first academy, and we must set the standard for all the branch academies! We must use our power to prove that we are worthy of being elite disciples! In the future, whether we are in the academy or outside in the nine heavens and ten lands, we can all proudly announce that we are from the first academy!”

Zhao Yue’s speech roused their morale, and everyone swallowed back down whatever grievances and complaints they had. In fact, they felt new gratitude and reverence for Long Chen giving them this chance.

“Everyone, work together! We will launch a counterattack here and now! Even if we die, as long as the formation doesn’t collapse, we can keep fighting. Cast aside your fear! Even if there’s only one chance at life among ten thousand chances of death, we must grasp that chance! There’s only two days left, so everyone must work hard. I hope to see all of you pass the final trial. The pride of the first academy’s disciples is at stake! We must work hard so that one day, we also bring pride to the first academy! Kill them all!” shouted Zhao Yue.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

With this, everyone launched a furious assault on the endless tide of enemies charging at them.

Three days passed by quickly.

When Long Chen came out of seclusion, Zhao Yue and the others stood in the plaza like a forest of sharp spears.

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