As soon as the two forces met, there was not even a hint of a stalemate; the Slaanesh Cultists were cut down by the students of Star Sea Academy.
Their prideful seductive power proved of little use; at equal cultivation levels, the Slaanesh Cultists' abilities scarcely affect the Star Sea Academy students.
Knowing the Slaanesh Cultists' capabilities, few students chose to fight above their rank.
Except for a handful of outstanding top students, most opted to face opponents of comparable cultivation.
"Don't lose your formation; everyone, converge on me and combine the power of the seductive field."
The leader on this side shouted loudly, fully aware that a frontal charge would never match the Star Sea Academy students.
To block these Academy students, one must merge the divine‑granted power and unleash a stronger seductive field.
However, after being scattered by the Academy, the Slaanesh Cultist troops were already terrified, and few obeyed his orders.
Seeing his chaotic troops, the leader turned to look for the Leather‑Clad Woman.
After searching around, he found no trace of her; instead, the sight of a distant warship sinking dealt another heavy blow to his heart.
As for the Leather‑Clad Woman, she had already been slain by Wu Lei.
General Rank Slaanesh Cultists are simply beyond what our students can repel.
As for Colonel Rank Slaanesh Cultists, other instructors are already hunting them.
"Bzz."
Just as the leader was still reeling, the spatial energy beside his neck quivered, and a formation blade materialized, its edge crackling with golden arcs as it slashed toward the cultist leader.
"Looking for death!"
The leader's pupils narrowed at first, and upon realizing the attacker was merely a Captain Rank student, he erupted in fury.
He feared the Academy's instructors, but a Captain Rank student daring to kill him was truly courting death.
Raising his battle sword while leaning back, he aimed to dodge Jing Yuan's blade and sever Jing Yuan's head in one strike.
What he didn't expect was a cyan figure appearing behind him at that moment.
Gu Xiao sheathed two gun blades, swung his hand, and a great axe materialized in his grasp.
[Axe Pierce]
The leader's retreat halted as a chill swept his back.
Their coordination was flawless, pinning him right in the middle.
Originally, facing a Captain Rank Cultivator, the leader could have withstood the attack even without dodging.
But now a sense of death enveloped him, making the leader realize that these two Captain Rank guys could truly kill him.
Sensing the rear attack as more threatening, the leader lifted half his sword, stepped back to block Gu Xiao's strike, and twisted his body to minimize incoming damage.
"Block!"
His sword clashed with the incoming great axe, a massive force surging from the hilt, causing his body to shudder.
On the other side, he formed a protective aura with his left hand, shielding his entire body; even if struck by Jing Yuan, at most he would lose his left arm.
Yet what he didn't anticipate was that just before the formation blade struck his arm, an even more ferocious thunder burst forth.
Not only the formation blade, Jing Yuan's entire body unleashed a wilder power, rolling thunder surging toward the leader.
[Purple Sky Thunder radiance]
Jing Yuan surged forward, his right hand gripping the formation blade like a whip and flinging it with full force.
Golden lightning radiated in all directions; the cultist leader's defense, held up by his own power, crumbled under Jing Yuan's blade like paper.
After the golden flash passed, the cultist leader was split in two.
"You should die with me."
Once a Cultivator's dantian awakens, their vitality skyrockets, but a midsection cut won't kill them outright.
Before his hand could rise, Gu Xiao had already gripped his great axe and slashed upward.
"Buzz!"
A cyan streak flashed by, and this time the leader was split into four.
"Not bad, you really managed to butcher a mid‑term Colonel Rank guy," Wu Lei said as he appeared beside them. "Since it was a joint effort, let's split the credits evenly."
Earlier, when Jing Yuan and Gu Xiao engaged that cultist leader, Wu Lei had been keeping an eye on this side.
Wu Lei has high expectations for his students, but he isn't blindly arrogant.
Though he hopes a prodigy capable of cutting above rank will emerge under his guidance, he doesn't want his students to suffer losses from such over‑level killings.
After double‑checking that no one was left behind, Wu Lei led his students back to the radiance.
"I thought we'd run into some trouble, but this is just a low‑level skirmish. Looks like the cultists from Guyue Star sent these cannon fodders to probe our strength."
Not only him, even his students hadn't finished their killing spree when the opposition disappeared.
"Hey, Xiao Yuan, does a cross‑rank challenge feel exciting?"
After Jing Yuan and Gu Xiao returned, Yan Lin stepped forward to ask.
"Why don't you try it yourself and find out?"
Jing Yuan shrugged, admitting that before the fight his mood fluctuated a bit, but once he started, it felt no different from fighting peers.
"Uh, maybe not. I'll look for other cultists later."
Yan Lin quickly shook his head, noting that other cultists, even if defeated, might be killed, and followers of the Slaanesh Demoness could be turned into dogs.
Just thinking of that scene makes one want to die.
"Xiao Xiao, Jing Yuan, hold on."
The star map on his body glowed, Lu Li transformed into the Pisces form, and his armor turned into a splendid dress.
With a delicate hand, he raised it lightly; a palm‑sized Pisces appeared on Lu Li's hand, which he gently tossed.
The Pisces swam around Gu Xiao once, then around Jing Yuan.
Immediately, Jing Yuan felt his spirit cleansed, not once but twice.
Lu Li: "Let's purify, to prevent any aftereffects."
"Thank you."
Jing Yuan and Gu Xiao said in unison.
Of course, with the protection of the Might Spirit within, the Slaanesh Demoness's seductive power has no effect on them.
Whenever the seductive force attempts to infiltrate, it is pierced through by the autonomous power of the Might Spirit before it can get close.
"Xiao Li, give me one too."
Seeing Lu Li's ability, Yan Lin immediately said.
Not only Yan Lin, but also Xiao Bai, Pei Muyun and others turned their gaze to Lu Li.
Unlike Jing Yuan and Gu Xiao, they have the Might Spirit shielding them, so the Slaanesh Demoness's power can still infiltrate their bodies to some degree.
Although this amount is insufficient to threaten them and will dissipate over time, when they soon face the army of the Demoness's followers, it's better to purify now.
As Wu Lei said before, regardless of the opponent's strength, one must approach with full commitment.