The dragon-lion was massive with thick hide and tough flesh, making it no easy target. Shi Yu gripped its horn and scimitar tightly to stabilize herself. At that moment, the beast roared frantically and thrashed its head in rage. The gusts of wind it whipped up caused the cultivators on the city wall to sway and nearly fall, prompting everyone to quickly back away even further.
Seeing that it couldn't shake Shi Yu off, the dragon-lion let out a long howl.
“Watch out!”
A whistling sound approached at high speed from behind. Shi Yu narrowed her eyes, yanked out the scimitar, and swiftly leaped to the side.
A somewhat muffled crack detonated beside her ear. Turning her head, she saw a giant python as thick as a grown man's embrace whipping forward like a lash. Because she had dodged in time, the whip missed her entirely, striking the dragon-lion square on its back instead.
Though the dragon-lion's name contained the word dragon, it had no real kinship with ancient divine dragons. It earned its title simply because its lion head and python tail were twinned as one, and the python possessed a strange appearance that somewhat resembled a dragon.
Having missed its target and struck itself instead, the dragon-lion howled toward the sky in agony. Seeing this, the corners of Shi Yu's mouth twitched slightly. “...”
The lion head seemed low in intelligence, knowing only how to charge blindly, but the eyes of the python tail flickered with deep malice and sinister coldness. Swinging its thick-scaled tail, a burst of surging flames erupted from its tip, gathering and scattering in the air. For a moment, the flames coalesced into the phantom image of a python before suddenly dispersing again, instantly bathing the surroundings in a vivid red glow.
Nearby cultivators hastily shouted in warning, “Watch out! The flames from the dragon-lion's python tail are immensely powerful and laden with potent fire poison! Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would have to—” avoid its brunt.
Before the words were finished, the flames that had scattered into a red cloud suddenly condensed, enveloping Shi Yu within them.
Yet, whether petrified by fear or otherwise, she didn't move an inch.
Seeing her completely swallowed by the flames, the onlookers couldn't bear to look.
The tall, thin cultivator whom Shi Yu had saved was struck dumb, his lips quivering silently.
Before anyone could voice a lament for her departed soul, someone gasped in the next instant, “She's not dead!”
Everyone rushed to look closely, only to see the python tail's flames abruptly thin out, revealing the figure inside.
Contrary to the imagined sight of a charred corpse, the young woman was standing completely fine amid the fire. Her hair fluttered backward in the heat waves, yet she was entirely unharmed—even her clothing showed not a single trace of damage.
Possessing two Heavenly Fires within her body, even a rare spirit beast like Little Seven—who carried the bloodline of the ancient divine phoenix—could not harm her with its Seven-Color Glazed Fire, let alone the flames of this dragon-lion.
Braving the flames, Shi Yu focused her gaze on an inconspicuous bead atop the python's tail. Through her divine sense perception, she could tell that this bead was the core of the python tail's power.
Before everyone's eyes, the young woman pushed forward through the roaring flames step by step until she finally grabbed the tip of the giant python's tail.
Between the person and the python, the difference in size was vast, yet her grip on the tail was so firm and forceful that the python stretched completely taut without being able to break free.
The sight was truly staggering to behold.
“Could she be a body cultivator?”
“She looks so slender and delicate, yet her moves are truly mind-boggling...”
The moment Shi Yu's hand touched the bead at the tip of the tail, a surge of blazing heat seeped through her fingertips directly into her meridians. It was an exceptionally pure and fiercely intense fire spiritual energy, bringing her an instant feeling of warmth and comfort, nourishing every corner of her body.
Conversely, with its bead firmly grasped, the giant python was thrashing and writhing frantically, its thick body slamming into the ground with heavy thuds.
Wasting no time, Shi Yu channeled her spiritual energy into the scimitar's hilt. As Yanyang Xuancang Flame wrapped around the blade, her eyes narrowed slightly, and with a backhand slice, she severed the bead.
The giant python's aura withered instantly.
Without the python's support, the dragon-lion—already missing an eye—was no longer a threat. After battling for a moment longer, she finished it off.
“...”
Finally, with a mournful wail, the giant beast collapsed with a heavy thud, kicking up a dense cloud of dust as it hit the ground.
...
Having dealt with the dragon-lion, Shi Yu casually tossed the bead into her Fate-Tapping Bell, sheathed her scimitar, and leaped back onto the city wall, casting a glance at the tall, thin cultivator who was still slumped on the ground.
“T-Thank you...” The tall, thin cultivator shuddered, not daring to meet her gaze directly.
Having been saved, gratitude filled his heart alongside a sense of shame. He had initially misunderstood her intentions, thinking she meant to harm him, yet she had held no grudge and saved his life in the nick of time.
The nearby Yellow Class students swallowed hard, practically rendered speechless by her brutal yet neat and decisive combat style, staring at Shi Yu in shock and awe.
“I-Is she really a prospective student of our Yellow Class?”
“Her strength doesn't lag behind the senior students of the Upper House at all, does it?”
Someone recognized Shi Yu and cried out, “She's the one! The one who reached Foundation Establishment at the bone age of twenty during the recruitment evaluation!”
The news that Shi Yu had reached Foundation Establishment to shed her mortality at just twenty years old during the recruitment evaluation had spread through the entire city in just a few days. Now reminded by this comment, the many cultivators on the city wall finally realized that the famous prodigy was the young woman standing right before them.
“So it's her.”
“To think she really got assigned to our Yellow Class. This is truly...”
Just then, Shen Yun hurried back. Seeing everyone staring at Shi Yu with various expressions, she squeezed through in confusion and whispered, “What happened?”
Shi Yu shook her head and glanced at her. “How did it go?”
“Senior Brother Li Xu from the Upper House is planning to step forward and lead,” Shen Yun replied. As soon as her voice fell, a loud shout echoed from not far away:
“Fellow disciples, the situation is dire! Fighting individually will be impossible to sustain for long. I, Li Xu, humbly step forward to take unified command of defending the array for now. What do you all think?”
Those who could pass the Shiyan Academy evaluation, even if only in the Yellow Class, were all standouts anywhere else. None of them were fools.
There were no objections. Everyone understood that while holding off the endless stream of demon beasts in the short term wasn't too difficult, sustaining defense in the long run required someone to take charge. Moreover, Senior Brother Li Xu held the highest cultivation in the Yellow Class, so his leadership naturally carried authority.
As the sea of blood poured downward, countless demon beasts rained down from the sun-blotting parasol onto the city-defending array. The vast majority perished under the array's radiant power, while a small portion slipped through fissures that opened periodically in the barrier before they could repair themselves.
“There are still many low-cultivation citizens inside the city who cannot protect themselves. We must guard this post well and never allow demon beasts to surge into the city!”
“Upper House students, using the city gate as the dividing line, stand ten zhang apart on the left side! The array is slightly weaker on the right, so stand eight zhang apart there...”
“Inner House... Outer House... Also, prospective students, stay in the rear! Do not force your way to the front.”
Utilizing a voice-transmitting magic item to direct troop movements, Li Xu was flustered at first, but gradually found his rhythm.
Everyone took turns fighting and meditating to restore their energy. No demon beast as powerful as the previous dragon-lion appeared afterward; though the numbers were vast, everyone was able to manage.
Unaware that Shi Yu had dealt with the dragon-lion earlier, Shen Yun remained particularly worried that she was too young and possessed high cultivation without actual experience, repeatedly telling her to stay close.
Still mindful of the anomaly within the array, Shi Yu quietly followed behind her, her eyes continually shifting toward the array runes and fissures flickering all around.
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