On the other side of the clearing, the pink-haired woman was fighting like a god of slaughter. She spun, ducked, and struck without mercy. Her sword pierced one man's eye, then slashed upward, cutting another from groin to chest.
The dagger man screamed in rage and stabbed toward her heart.
She leaned back by a hair's breadth, the blade grazing her clothes, then headbutted him hard enough to break his nose. As he staggered, she kicked his knee sideways.
Crack.
He dropped to one knee.
She raised her sword.
But before she could finish him—
BOOM.
The stone exploded.
A violent shockwave tore through the clearing. Trees were uprooted, disciples sent flying like leaves, and the remaining black-cloaked men were hurled backward, smashing into rocks and trunks.
Dark energy dissipated into the air, screaming as it vanished.
When the dust settled, the clearing was a scene of carnage.
Dead bodies lay everywhere.
The white-haired woman stood near the shattered remains of the stone, golden qi still flickering around her blade. The pink-haired woman planted her sword into the ground beside the kneeling dagger man, her eyes cold and merciless.
Only a four black-cloaked figures were still alive, broken and crawling, terror written across their faces.
The dagger man coughed blood and laughed weakly. "Heh… Heaven Academy dogs… you think this ends anything?" But inside he was scared. Damn it—I don't want to die.
He couldn't even summon his life-bound beast. The entire Hundred Beasts Mountains was covered by a grand formation that completely suppressed dark-source beasts.
They had come without any real preparation, convinced that no one would dare challenge them.
Now, that confidence was turning into a death sentence.
The pink-haired woman placed her sword against his neck. "No," she said calmly. "But it ends you."
The man with the dagger swallowed hard, fear flooding his eyes as he felt the cold edge of a sword press against his neck.
Slash.
His head rolled across the ground.
The forest fell silent once more.
But it was for a bit.
The ugly-faced man, staggered up from the shattered rock. Dust and blood clung to his body as the remaining two black-cloaked men struggled to their feet beside him.
A twisted grin spread across his face.
"This is not the end… hehe."
From within his robes, he produced a black token.
The token was carved in the shape of a demonic head, two curved horns protruding outward. Its surface was pitch-black, yet faint crimson runes pulsed across it like a living heartbeat.
The moment the token appeared, the two black-cloaked men beside him stiffened. Their faces drained of color as they stared at it in naked horror.
"Is… is he really going to use that?" one of them muttered, his voice trembling.
Across the battlefield, both the white-haired woman and the pink-haired woman sensed the sudden, oppressive aura. Their expressions changed instantly as their gazes locked onto the object in his hand.
They recognized it.
A Soul Summoning Token.
Such a token could only be forged by a Fusion Stage cultivator or higher. Within it was sealed a fragment of the creator's soul, allowing the bearer to summon the creator's soul manifestation in a moment of crisis.
However, the price was severe.
Once the token was created, the cultivator's soul would suffer heavy damage, requiring at least five months of deep recovery before it could fully heal.
The pink-haired woman's heart tightened. Without hesitation, she reached into her storage ring and took out a token of her own.
Unlike the demonic black one, hers radiated a calm yet profound aura.
It was her master's token—entrusted to her solely for survival.
The battlefield fell into a suffocating silence, as two soul tokens faced each other, heralding a clash that far exceeded the current realm of combat.
Darkness and light collided the moment both tokens were crushed.
The ugly-faced man didn't even get a chance to scream.
The black token shattered in his palm, and a torrent of filthy, corrosive dark qi erupted from his body. His flesh shriveled at a terrifying speed, skin clinging to bone as if something unseen was sucking his life essence dry. His eyes bulged, mouth frozen open in a silent howl, before his body collapsed into a dried corpse, lifeless and hollow.
Behind him, the remaining two black-cloaked men stumbled backward, terror flooding their faces.
"He… he really used it…"
Before they could process anything further, the ground shook.
A massive shadow rose from the corpse, dark qi spiraling upward like a storm. The air grew heavy, suffocating. Trees bent under the pressure, leaves trembling as if facing a natural calamity.
A gigantic dark figure manifested.
It was an old man's silhouette, tall and imposing, draped in roiling black qi that writhed like living shadows. His face was hidden beneath layers of darkness, but the oppressive aura alone made everyone's soul feel like it was being crushed.
At the same time, golden light erupted beside the pink-haired woman.
Her token dissolved into pure radiance, and unlike the black token, no backlash touched her body. Instead, golden qi surged upward, forming a colossal figure of an elderly woman. Her presence was calm yet overwhelming, like a mountain bathed in sunlight.
Her white hair flowed freely, eyes sharp and profound, as if she could see through heaven and earth itself.
The two giant figures stood facing each other, dark and light splitting the forest in half.
The surviving black-cloaked men fell to their knees instantly.
One of them started shaking uncontrollably. "It's elder… elder Yin…"
The dark giant spoke first, his voice echoing like thunder rolling through a deep abyss.
"Long time no see, Old Lan."
Though polite in tone, his words dripped with smug amusement.
The golden giant narrowed her eyes. Her gaze alone made the surrounding space tremble.
"So it's you, Old Ghost Yin," she replied coldly. "You're still crawling around, ruining the world like a fucking cockroach."
A low chuckle rolled out from the dark figure.
"Heh… harsh as ever. I only sent a fragment of my soul. And yet, you still felt the need to respond personally. Seems Heaven Academy hasn't grown much braver over the years."
Old Lan snorted, golden qi surging around her like a rising tide.
"Coming from an Evil Sanctum dog, that's rich. Using Fusion Stage soul tokens just to bully juniors? You people really have no shame."
The dark figure spread his arms slightly, dark qi billowing outward.
"Shame?" he laughed. "That thing died the moment cultivators started killing each other for power. You should know that better than anyone."