“Oh?!” The bald-headed man looked content at the explanation. “So you’re saying we should attack and destroy the heart of the barrier?! Hmm…yes, that’ll do quite nicely! How should we go about it?”

“We wait until nightfall. The barrier requires the essence of the sun in order to work. We can at least weaken its effects if we can’t destroy it.”

“Ah? That barrier of the Crafting School can do something like that?!” Several men commented, “Hah! Then we can wait for the sun to set before we…”

“Bzzz….”

A wave of energy exploded outward at that moment, causing everyone to grow still. They watched as a crimson ball of light explode with an intensity equivalent to the sun appear in the world!

Stunned, they all watched as the faraway Mt. Crimson suddenly become enveloped by a giant dome of firey light!

“That’s…” The bald-headed man began to speak.

“The barrier!” Dongfang Ming gasped.

“What?!” The bald-headed man cried, “They’ve already activated it?! Did they know we were going to attack them?! Impossible!”

It was this time that Mo Ni finally spoke. “We say impossible, but…that is clearly not the case here.”

“Damn!!” The man cursed, “Then what do we do now? Wait until night time?”

Dongfang Ming shook his head. “As I said, the barrier will continue to absorb the essence of the sun. If we wait until night then the barrier will be impregnable.”

“Then…we are forced to attack now, are we not?” The shriveled elder asked.

“That appears to be the case, there’s no need to attack the northern peak anymore. Let’s go.”

……

“What’s going on? What’s happening?!”

“That’s…our barrier! Why…why would we suddenly activate it?!”

“Barrier? What barrier is that, senior? Don’t tell me…don’t tell me we’re being attacked?!”

“All students are to return to their dormitories at once! Any student of the Soul Exalt level or higher is to report to the main halls with me!”

“……”

Pandemonium erupted across the Crafting School as everyone began to scurry about. The activation of the barrier caused many to panic as they tried to do as they were told. Soul Kings flew across the skies toward the northern peaks while everyone else began to hide.

At the main peak of the Crafting School, Kou Changkong stood with Zhi Tian to watch as the sky above them began to shine with red light. Now that the barrier was activated, many Soul Kings from their school were beginning to fly over.

“What’s going on, Changkong? Why has the barrier activated?”

A Soul Emperor from the previous generation, Yang Yao appeared beside Kou Changkong at once.

“Teacher Yang.” Kou Changkong bowed, “There is a great danger about to befall us. Intruders have to invade our school and are lying in wait right now. Master went to activate the barrier while I am here to gather the men.”

“People are here to invade us?!” Yang Yao thundered, “Who said that?”

Zhi Tian spoke up then, “I am Zhi Tian from the Soulbeast Forest…”

“……”

Another two Soul Emperors appeared shortly afterward, Hu Yang and Yang Ying. Soon, over a dozen crafters were here and told the story.

“They’re here!”

It happened when several of the crafters were still in shock of what they had just heard. Yang Yao suddenly bellowed out to the others in warning!

Everyone turned to look up at once—a wave of dark clouds was rapidly approaching the school!

They weren’t wary of the dark clouds, but of the people that stood above the clouds!

They weren’t hidden at all in the clouds anymore. In a short second, they flew down from the clouds to stop right in front of the barrier.

“The Wind Lightning School!!”

Yang Yao declared the moment he felt the aura of the shriveled elder and bald-headed man.

“And the Soul Refining School!”

Kou Changkong was the next to speak once he saw the two men and multiple Soul Kings standing behind them.

The amount of killing intent raised by Kou Changkong was tremendous. “The Wind Lightning School and Soul Refining School…how audacious! To dare attack our school from the front!”

“Huo Zhenting! Our school has no quarrel with yours. What is the meaning of this?!” Yang Yao demanded from the shriveled elder standing on the other side of the barrier.

Huo Zhenting gave Yang Yao a cold smile. “Yang Yao…so you are already a Mid-stage Soul Emperor…pah. You dare say no quarrel? Your student, Bai Yunfei, has killed the avatar of our headmaster, then killed our Soul Kings and hundreds of our students. You dare say there is no quarrel?!”

“Our goal is very simple…” Huo Zhenting sneered, “Does it even need to be said? We only wish to trample your school to the ground!”

“You dare!” Hu Yang snarled, “You think you two Soul Emperors would be enough to trample our school? What a joke!”

He glared at the group behind the Wind Lightning School, “Where are your Soul Emperors? There is no way the Soul Refining School would only send their Soul Kings. Why don’t you show yourselves?”

The bald-headed man beside Huo Zhenting interrupted him. “The mighty Crafting School has only three Soul Emperors?! Haha! What a pitiful sight! You want to know why there aren’t any others? Then come out and fight! What good will happen from you hiding in your tortoiseshell?”

“Qi Ning,” Yang Yao gave the bald-headed man a close glare, “I didn’t think you’d have the ability to become a Soul Emperor. Had I known about this, I’d have killed you those years ago on Dragon’s Descent Mountain…If you came to trample our school, then come attack us yourself.”

“Hmph!! There’s plenty you don’t know!’ Qi Ning shouted. The events from the time Yang Yao mentioned must’ve been a sore spot for him.

“You think I can’t destroy that pitiful barrier of yours?! Attack!!”

Sensing as though there was no point ‘quarreling’, Qi Ning decided to end the conversation there to signal the start of their attack!

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh…”

Multiple Soul Kings flew out from behind Huo Zhenting and Qi Ning to position themselves like chess pieces near the barrier. There had to be at least forty of them!

No one hesitated to attack the moment they moved into position. Altogether, the Soul Kings activated their auras ad began to pelt the barrier with all sorts of different elemental attacks!

“Boom boom boom boom…”

Like fireballs, these attacks struck the barrier one after another, sending waves of energy across the earth like an earthquake!