Chapter 80

Jia Yuntian kicked Tang Yuan's corpse off Kaiyuan Peak, thoroughly enraging the crowd from Tongyou Academy.

Yuan Zhen was so enraged that if Yuan Zilu hadn't pulled him back at the last moment, the irrational Yuan Zhen might have really rushed across the iron chain bridge.

"What do you want?"

Yuan Zilu, ignoring his internal injuries, tried to vibrate his internal yuan qi to project his voice far across to the other side.

"Haha, Brother Yuan is calm and composed, truly a great general! No wonder there have always been people within the academy who have recommended you to replace Tang Yuan as the head of the patrol riders!"

Jia Yuntian's voice echoed from Kaiyuan Peak: "Now that I have dealt with Tang Yuan, I have also opened the path for your promotion. Brother Yuan should be grateful!"

Yuan Zilu frowned and said, "There's no need to show such lowly tactics. Regardless of whether you are Jia Yuntian or someone else, and regardless of whether the person in our hands is Jin Guanchao or someone else, you still want this person. Since that's the case, state your terms. How can we ensure the safety of Brother Sang?"

"Simple!"

Jia Yuntian shouted from the other side: "We both release our captives and let them cross the bridge!"

Yuan Zilu raised an eyebrow and said, "Is it really that simple?"

Jia Yuntian added, "Of course! However, their cultivation must be temporarily sealed, otherwise I won't feel safe releasing a fully intact Martial Realm expert back into the wild!"

Yuan Zilu said, "Do you think we can trust you?"

"Haha, Brother Yuan, you have no choice!"

Jia Yuntian held Sang Youqi in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, making a "click-clack" sound: "If you don't exchange, I will cut the iron chain bridge between Kaiyuan Peak and Tongyou Peak. You understand better than I do that even if the iron chain bridges between the six secondary peaks are cut, and the protective array is exposed, as long as the main peak and secondary peaks remain connected, Tongyou Peak won't fall. But if the iron chain bridge between any secondary peak and the main peak is cut..."

"You dare!"

Yuan Zhen, ignoring Yuan Zilu's attempts to stop him, shouted loudly, but his voice betrayed his inner fear.

"Hahahaha, I have already cut two of the three iron chain bridges on Kaiyuan Peak. Do you think I dare or not? The reason I haven't cut this one is just to make the battle between Siling Mountain and Tongyou Peak more intense!"

Jia Yuntian no longer hid his intentions.

"Are you really a remnant of the Rose Society? So you expect us to be grateful for leaving this iron chain bridge intact?"

Yuan Zilu laughed in anger.

"Don't be so polite! Brother Yuan, time is running out. The iron chain connecting Qiling Peak has already been cut. Siling Mountain will soon discover that the protective array there is unstable. If you don't want to quickly regain control of Kaiyuan Peak, we can continue to drag this out. Perhaps Dean Kou still has a Fourth Heaven expert hidden, and in that case, it might be Jia Yuntian who ends up surrendering!"

Jia Yuntian's words were both a push and a threat.

The woman, who had not spoken until now, said in a deep voice, "How can we trust that you won't cut the iron chain after the exchange?"

Jia Yuntian laughed loudly: "Sister Yun, have you forgotten? I just said I want to see both sides weakened. How could I let you lose so quickly?"

This woman was Yun Yifei, a member of the Yun family, one of the four major families in Tongyou City, and a Third Heaven expert who had condensed a martial will.

Yuan Zhen shouted angrily, "The Rose Society is also a part of the Cangyu martial cultivators. What is your purpose in doing this?"

Jia Yuntian ignored Yuan Zhen and said, "Alright, I know Brother Yuan isn't easily convinced. The reason you are waiting on the other side is just to protect Sang Youqi's life. In fact, both of us know that even with my Gold Devouring Scissors, you have enough time to reach Kaiyuan Peak before I cut the third chain. I value my life too, so my top priority is to retreat safely. What do you think of this explanation?"

Jia Yuntian made it clear that the three iron chains of the bridge weren't so easy to cut, and Yuan Zilu and the others were confident they could reach Kaiyuan Peak before he cut the second chain.

The stalemate was due to concern for Sang Youqi's life and fear of Jia Yuntian's desperate actions.

If two chains were cut, the array would still function, but its strength would be greatly weakened, making it vulnerable to Siling Mountain's attacks.

Of course, this was also the last resort for Yuan Zilu and the others.

Jia Yuntian, seeing through this, did not continue to hold out.

Otherwise, in the final moment, for the sake of Tongyou Peak, Yuan Zilu and the others would have to sacrifice Sang Youqi and quickly reach Kaiyuan Peak.

Now that Jia Yuntian was asking for an exchange of Jin Guanchao's life, it meant he didn't have a death wish and had a way to retreat safely, so he wouldn't provoke Yuan Zilu and the others in the final moment.

"Fine, I'll agree to your terms!"

Yuan Zilu said in a deep voice: "You had better not play any tricks, or the Fourth Heaven deputy dean or even Dean Kou himself might come after you!"

Jia Yuntian's face, which had been smiling with confidence, changed when he heard "Dean Kou."

The threat from these three was not just aimed at the Cangyu martial cultivators in the Two Realms War Zone...

Both sides were no longer willing to delay. Yuan Zilu signaled Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei to jointly apply a seal on Jin Guanchao, while on the other end of the iron chain bridge, Jia Yuntian also poked and prodded Sang Youqi.

Jin Guanchao, pale from blood loss, and Sang Youqi, who had been silent the entire time, began to walk towards each other from the two ends of the iron chain bridge.

Watching this, Yuan Zilu, Yuan Zhen, and the others were still anxious, wishing the two could walk faster, but they were relieved that their initial worries had been alleviated.

As long as the iron chain bridge connecting Tongyou Peak and Kaiyuan Peak remained intact, they were confident they could continue to protect Tongyou Peak.

On the other end of the iron chain bridge, Jia Yuntian's face also showed a suppressed joy, as he was about to achieve his goal.

The task of disrupting the protective array of Tongyou Peak, assigned by the Rose Society, had almost failed.

Even Jia Yuntian, the most important pawn of the Rose Society in Tongyou Academy, had almost been caught.

Jia Yuntian had not anticipated that the high-level officials of Tongyou Academy had not only already seen through the Rose Society's plan but had also kept it a secret to the extreme.

Each person's task was given separately and executed immediately. Even when Jia Yuntian realized it was a trap, he couldn't notify the other Rose Society agents in time.

In the end, the Rose Society's twenty years of infiltration in Tongyou Academy and the Two Realms War Zone were exposed one by one, and the agents were captured and killed by Tongyou Academy.

Fortunately, he still had a backup plan!

However, just as both sides were waiting for the two on the bridge to reach each other, Shang Xia, who had been silent by Yuan Zilu's side, suddenly darted out.

Yuan Zilu instinctively tried to stop him, but Shang Xia seemed to have anticipated this. His uneven steps made it look like he had tripped, but he skillfully avoided Yuan Zilu's interception and quickly rushed onto the iron chain bridge, chasing after Jin Guanchao.

"What are you doing?"

Yuan Zhen's angry roar came from behind.

"This is a misunderstanding!"

Yun Yifei quickly followed onto the iron chain bridge, trying to prevent any misunderstanding. As she reached out to grab Shang Xia, she also explained to Jia Yuntian.

Just as her hand was about to touch Shang Xia, a martial talisman suddenly rose from his hand.

A powerful force, condensed with a thread of martial will, suddenly enhanced Shang Xia's speed, doubling it. Yun Yifei's sure grab missed completely.

"Jin Guanchao must die!"

As Shang Xia rushed towards the center of the bridge, he left these words behind, his tone resolute.

"Nonsense!"

Yuan Zilu, who had just scolded Shang Xia, felt his yuan qi surge in his chest and abdomen, making him want to cough.

But he saw that Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei, who had just stepped onto the bridge, were at a loss, which made him even angrier: "What are you waiting for? Rush over, rush over, quickly! Quickly! Quickly... cough, cough, cough..."

Yuan Zilu coughed so hard that he bent over, unable to lift his head, and blood spurted from his mouth and nose.

Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei, who had just stepped onto the bridge, finally came to their senses. At this point, it was futile to be angry at the Shang family child for ruining the plan, and hesitation would only make things worse!

Rush over, only by rushing over as quickly as possible could they gain the upper hand!

When Shang Xia suddenly rushed onto the iron chain bridge, Jia Yuntian was also surprised. He instinctively raised his Gold Devouring Scissors to threaten.

However, he soon realized that this martial realm child seemed to be acting on his own, and even Yuan Zilu and the others behind him looked shocked and angry. Yun Yifei even tried to explain and capture the Shang family child.

Jia Yuntian raised his Gold Devouring Scissors but then put them down again.

However, the next scene made Jia Yuntian's heart, which had just calmed down, race again.

Shang Xia, using a martial talisman, had enhanced his speed to match that of a Martial Realm expert, and in an instant, he had crossed a quarter of the iron chain bridge, less than thirty yards from Jin Guanchao.

When Jia Yuntian realized the situation was dire, not only Shang Xia, but also Yun Yifei and Yuan Zhen, without hesitation, rushed over.

"Trouble!"

Jia Yuntian, though still unclear about where he had gone wrong, saw that this scene had disrupted his carefully planned escape plan!

At the same time, Yun Yifei and Yuan Zhen, who had been forced to take a risk and rush onto the bridge due to Shang Xia's actions, saw something that left them in disbelief.

Sang Youqi, who should have been sealed and could only walk slowly