The strength of the newly reinforced Class Seven, while not exceptionally powerful, had reached a level close to that of evolved beings. Such a level of strength was common in the post-apocalyptic world, but in other worlds, it would undoubtedly mark them as top-tier contenders.
The students of Class Seven, shouting loudly, charged towards the outer sect disciples below the city walls. Soon, both sides were locked in a chaotic melee. Various exotic abilities danced through the air, explosions mingled with the screams of the outer sect disciples, creating an incessant cacophony.
The strength of those outer sect disciples was only slightly superior to that of ordinary soldiers, and they had not grasped any so-called formations, essentially fighting as individuals. Although they held an absolute numerical advantage, it did not change the fact that they were a disorganised mob. In front of the ability users, their organised defence lines were almost effortlessly torn asunder.
"How is this possible? How can these demons be so strong?!"
"How have so many masters been hidden for so many years?"
"The strength of any one of these young people is comparable to any exceptionally talented genius!"
"Given time, establishing their own sects would not be difficult."
"Why are they all gathered around the Demon Lord?!"
Elder Black Beard's expression changed slightly as he spoke in astonishment.
"I told you they came from the Divine Realm, and you didn't believe me. The legends before were true!"
"The Divine Realm truly exists, and the first Empress didn't lie..."
Elder Xuan Tian's words were cut short as he suddenly floated into mid-air, his legs struggling feebly. His hands clutched his throat tightly.
"You talk too much, disrupting morale. You deserve to die!"
Grand Elder Gu Feng, his eyes still closed, made a gesture of grasping with his right hand and suddenly clenched it. With a snap, Elder Xuan Tian's neck was instantly broken, his limbs hanging limply. His body then floated to the side of the city wall and fell freely to the ground.
"Now, we should unite and jointly defend against the enemy!"
"If anyone dares to speak nonsense and disrupt morale again, this will be his fate!"
Elder Gu Feng stood up, slowly descended to the ground, and declared sternly. Witnessing Elder Gu Feng's formidable power, dispatching Elder Xuan Tian as easily as killing a chicken or a dog, everyone was filled with dread. They all lowered their heads in silence, awaiting Elder Gu Feng's commands.
"When dealing with these demons now, we cannot use ordinary tactics, nor can we adhere to traditional rules."
"To combat evil, we must go all out, using any means necessary. This is what we righteous individuals should do!"
"All inner sect disciples will engage, and all elders will accompany me to kill the ringleader!"
After speaking, Elder Gu Feng took the lead, slowly walking through the air, rapidly crossing the battlefield and charging towards Zhang Chen's position. The elders behind him quickly took out various magical artifacts and followed suit.
"This is bad! They're going to ambush the Demon Lord! Protect the Demon Lord!" Zi Yan shouted loudly.
However, none of the surrounding classmates listened to her.
"Protect Teacher Zhang? Are you kidding me? Someone that powerful, does he need protecting?!"
"Compared to Teacher Zhang, the elders are the ones who are terrifying. Those elders should be protected!"
"We'll focus on our own tasks. Let's quickly clear out this trash and strive for a good grade in the preliminary exam!"
Zi Yan wished to turn back and assist, but the inner sect disciples had already joined the battle. Their strength was a notch above the outer sect disciples, and they understood formation synergies. Three to five people forming a small formation often produced a power several times greater than their combined individual efforts! Coupled with the large number of disciples, Zi Yan and the surrounding classmates were basically fighting one against ten. Even so, there were still thousands of disciples waiting on the periphery to charge into battle. For every one they killed, another immediately took their place, an almost unending stream.
Meanwhile, Elder Gu Feng led the other elders to the front of Zhang Chen. However, at the very moment they were about to attack, Gu Feng hesitated. It wasn't that he sensed Zhang Chen's fierce killing intent, but rather that he found Zhang Chen's effortless vaporization of tens of thousands of elites somewhat peculiar. For the sake of caution, he chose to let others go first. In this brief moment of hesitation, the other elders charged forward. Some sect elders lacked Gu Feng's deep foresight. Since they had already charged, they decided to go all out. Thus, they were the first to attack!
*Tap!*
Zhang Chen snapped his fingers again.
*Swish...*
More than half of the bodies of the dozen or so elders who had charged forward instantly vaporized, evaporating and disappearing into nothingness. This was Zhang Chen suppressing his own strength; otherwise, in his normal state, with his power, a single snap of his fingers would not only annihilate these elders but also the sect masters in the imperial palace, along with the three student hostages, likely turning them all to dust.
"What... what kind of sorcery is this?!" Elder Black Beard exclaimed in shock.
"If you have the guts, don't use that sorcery! Let's have a fair fight!" shouted an elder with a red nose from the side.
"The fact that you are still alive means that my snapping my fingers is now ineffective against you. Don't be nervous!"
"If you continue to fight me like this... you will soon discover that disappearing as you did earlier would have been more fortunate!"
Zhang Chen waved his hand, and the tables, chairs, and pavilion behind him instantly turned into a scattering of sand and fell.
"Arrogant fool, die, demon!"
The red-nosed elder suddenly charged forward, swinging the Vajra pestle in his hand towards Zhang Chen's head. He was a body-constitution expert, known as a Body Cultivator in this world. His physical strength was exceptionally robust, and the Vajra pestle in his hand weighed over a ton. Yet, he swung it with the ease of wielding an ordinary wooden stick.
*Whoosh!*
The Vajra pestle descended towards Zhang Chen's head.
*Clang!*
Zhang Chen raised his left pinky finger and lightly blocked it.
"I believe that blocking such a weak attack with my hand would prevent you from understanding the gap in our strength. Therefore... I won't hold back!"
*Ding! Buzz!*
Zhang Chen lightly flicked his finger against the Vajra pestle. The pestle immediately began to vibrate violently, the amplitude of the vibration far exceeding the limit the red-nosed elder could control. The ton-weighted Vajra pestle flew far away, embedding itself directly into the city wall of the imperial capital.
"This strength..."
The red-nosed elder was stunned and, without a second thought, turned to flee. What was the point of fighting anymore? At this moment, there was no mention of sect reputation or personal status. Facing an enemy like this, it was uncertain if the sect would even exist in the future!
"Originally, if you had surrendered, I might have considered sparing you. However, considering your untrustworthiness, your duplicity, and how adept you are at deceiving, it's almost second nature."
"If I'm not around one day, and you betray me again... therefore, for a permanent solution, you will all remain here!"
Zhang Chen said this and took a step forward. Instantly, the wind and clouds changed, and a powerful pressure was unleashed.