National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Upon hearing this, Lu Yinxing’s eyes widened, her face a mask of utter disbelief.

She knew Xia Chengli well. While she had always been aware of the girl’s talent,

she had never expected her strength to have grown to this degree.

To dare to conjure such a stunning celestial phenomenon over the Royal Palace and openly challenge Chu He—it was truly shocking.

This young woman, Xia Chengli, possessed a talent so extraordinary it was shocking.

She remembered how audacious the girl had been,

appearing right at the grand inauguration ceremony for the new head of the National Road Academy

to fearlessly and publicly challenge Mr. Chu.

Her courage and self-confidence alone were a testament to her remarkable innate talent.

More importantly, Xia Chengli was young.

And youth meant she possessed terrifying, boundless potential,

like a nascent star whose future brilliance was impossible to estimate.

Later, after she was enrolled in the National Road Academy,

she had thrown herself into the academy’s vast collection of Martial Arts Secret Technique manuals.

In the short span of less than a month,

Xia Chengli had mastered every single Martial Arts Secret Technique in the National Road Academy to perfection.

No matter which Secret Technique was mentioned, she could demonstrate it flawlessly and without a moment’s thought.

Her speed of learning and comprehension was simply dumbfounding.

It was as if she were born for the sole purpose of practicing Martial Arts—

a peerless genius, meticulously sculpted by the heavens themselves;

a dazzling pearl in the world of Martial Arts,

destined to shine with extraordinary brilliance in this world.

As Liu Yuzhu spoke of this,

she couldn’t hide the amazement in her heart, her words full of praise and admiration for Xia Chengli.

After mastering all the Secret Techniques at the National Road Academy,

Xia Chengli had remained unsatisfied.

What she truly yearned to learn was the Pathless Secret Technique that only Mr. Chu possessed.

Mr. Chu, recognizing her peerless talent and wanting to nurture it,

had taught her a number of precious Martial Arts Secret Techniques over time.

And the thunder that now raged across the sky, as if to tear the very heavens apart,

was one of those incomparably powerful Secret Techniques, called the Five Thunders Righteous Method.

It was rumored that Xia Chengli had once bluntly declared

that all the Secret Technique manuals in the National Road Academy’s collection were trash, unworthy of her notice.

Only the Martial Arts Secret Techniques taught personally by Mr. Chu were barely worthy of her consideration.

’Come to think of it, what Xia Chengli said wasn’t entirely without reason.’

Even an observer like Liu Yuzhu could clearly perceive that

for any of the Pathless Secret Techniques Mr. Chu taught her,

Xia Chengli needed to spend a great deal of time and energy to study and practice them.

That was why, upon hearing Mr. Chu say today’s challenger was no enemy,

and seeing the sky filled with this thunderous phenomenon,

Liu Yuzhu had immediately thought of Xia Chengli, who was supposed to still be at the National Road Academy.

And there was a good reason for it.

Thunder often rumbled from the open grounds on the back mountain of the National Road Academy.

The academy administration had noticed the anomaly and reported it to her,

so she had personally led a team to investigate.

When they arrived, they discovered it was Xia Chengli, deep in practice of the Five Thunders Righteous Method taught to her by Mr. Chu.

However, that was a long time ago.

Back then, Xia Chengli had only just begun to show her true potential

and couldn’t wield the Five Thunders Righteous Method with anywhere near this level of shocking power.

Who could have predicted that in the short span of less than half a year,

Xia Chengli’s strength would skyrocket to the point where

she could cast the Five Thunders Righteous Method on a terrifying scale, covering the entire sky?

The speed of her progress was utterly astonishing.

Gao Liceng was inherently proud and arrogant,

but after hearing Liu Yuzhu’s description,

she had no choice but to put aside her contempt

and begin to take seriously this Xia Chengli, whom she had yet to meet but whose name she had heard many times.

From within the roiling thunder,

Gao Liceng keenly sensed a distinct fluctuation of power—one that naturally suppressed her own.

Gao Liceng practiced the inherited arts of the Paper Makers,

and her being was suffused with a heavy yin energy. Though it was fundamentally different from the bizarre Evil Spirit Power invading their world,

it was still naturally suppressed when confronted with a power of purest yang, like the Five Thunders Array.

Even if they were at the same cultivation realm, should Gao Liceng ever fight Xia Chengli,

she would find herself in an incredibly disadvantageous position, unable to unleash her full power.

It would be like having her hands and feet bound by invisible ropes, leaving her completely at her opponent’s mercy.

As Chu He’s calm and confident figure slowly emerged from the palace,

the Royal Palace guards, long on high alert as if facing a formidable enemy, noticed him instantly.

All eyes locked onto Chu He, and in that moment, the tension and anxiety in their gazes seemed to be replaced by a strange sense of calm.

Next, the Elders who had already appeared exchanged glances,

a silent understanding passing between them. Then, their figures flickered and they quietly departed.

After all, Chu He’s strength and reputation were legendary.

They knew that since Chu He himself had appeared, this seemingly thorny situation

would surely be resolved by him with ease.

If even a being as powerful as Chu He couldn’t resolve it,

then even if everyone else joined forces, they would likely only be throwing their lives away in vain.