"Pitiful mortals."
Ye Ling murmured as he watched the cultivators, who forewent their firearms and charged at him bare-handed.
It was clear these were mere cannon fodder, released by the sixth-rank cultivator, meant to be sacrificed and test his strength.
The so-called "three-level promotion" was nothing more than an empty promise, devoid of any real meaning.
The low-ranking cultivators of the Hongchen Pavilion were mostly rogue cultivators without any backing, mere laborers who were ruthlessly discarded after their last ounce of value was squeezed out by the Hongchen Pavilion.
Ye Ling shook his head, having no intention of killing them.
With a gentle wave of his hand, Ye Ling conjured a fierce gust of wind that blew all the cannon fodder away, sending them crashing heavily against the server room walls, where they lay unconscious.
"Seventh rank or above?"
Witnessing Ye Ling's display, the sixth-rank cultivator of the Hongchen Pavilion instantly realized this intruder was far superior to him. He immediately attempted to flee, seeking reinforcements for the Hongchen Pavilion.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Just as the sixth-rank cultivator was about to escape the server room, Ye Ling's voice suddenly echoed behind him, causing his pupils to constrict and his face to drain of all color.
"Wait!"
The sixth-rank cultivator cried out, but before he could make any move, a straight bloodline appeared down his center.
The next moment, the sixth-rank cultivator was bisected by demonic energy.
Blood splattered onto the surrounding equipment, igniting a shower of sparks.
A thick, nauseating smell of blood permeated the air.
"Gulp!"
Pan Yichun, having finished copying the data, gulped down a mouthful of saliva, utterly stunned.
He stared at the people sprawled across the server room floor, his mind a complete blank. Da Feng Novel Network.
He was shocked by the strength Ye Ling displayed...
However, after the initial shock, he felt an overwhelming sense of relief!
He had chosen the winning side!
"How's the data copying coming along?"
After dealing with the sixth-rank cultivator of the Hongchen Pavilion, Ye Ling turned to ask Pan Yichun, casually swatting the researchers away.
*Bang!*
Hearing the sound of bodies slamming into the wall, Pan Yichun shuddered and snapped back to reality.
Trembling, he handed the USB drive to Ye Ling as he approached, "It's... it's all copied."
"Mm."
Ye Ling took the USB drive and casually tossed it into a distorted space beside him, sending it to Xue Sha. He intended for the hackers at An Ye to help decipher it.
Space traversal?
Seeing Ye Ling's god-like abilities, Pan Yichun's face turned even paler, daring not to imagine how powerful Ye Ling truly was!
This was beyond what any human could achieve!
After receiving confirmation from Xue Sha that the data was indeed retrieved, Ye Ling scanned the unfinished Hongchen Pavilion base below with his divine sense and placed a hand on the floor.
Demonic energy seeped into the earth like liquid, spreading throughout the underground space excavated by the Hongchen Pavilion.
All structures were enveloped by the demonic energy.
The buildings began to corrode at a visible rate. The new Huaguo branch, which the Hongchen Pavilion had invested a significant amount of funds and effort in planning, was utterly destroyed by Ye Ling in mere seconds.
Not satisfied with this, Ye Ling extended his divine sense towards Longdao Mountain. He found a secluded spot on the mountain, carved away a section of space, and forcefully extracted a massive boulder, teleporting it to his current location.
*Rumble!!!*
The colossal boulder filled the space beneath Daocheng University, causing the entire city to shake violently!
Countless people, mistaking it for an earthquake, were jolted awake from their sleep!
Even Pan Yichun, standing beside Ye Ling, was startled by the thunderous noise, falling to his bottom and nearly losing his soul.
"That should be enough. There will be another batch of Hongchen Pavilion cultivators arriving soon, and I need to deal with them."
"Find a place to hide yourself."
Having thoroughly buried the Hongchen Pavilion's new branch, Ye Ling calmly told Pan Yichun. He then instantly appeared on the rooftop of the computer building.
By this time, quite a few Hongchen Pavilion cultivators had already rushed back to Daocheng University. They had surrounded the computer building, continuously dispatching teams to infiltrate the building and investigate the situation inside.
Ye Ling scanned the cultivators below and then looked towards the school's sports field, his brow furrowing slightly. "Why are there so many students over there?"
On the sports field, nearly a hundred students were being held captive by the Hongchen Pavilion cultivators. A majority of them were still in their pajamas, clearly having rushed out of their dormitories.
Seeing the students, Ye Ling's gaze lowered, his thoughts racing.
Those students were ordinary people, entirely different from cultivators.
Skirmishes within the cultivator circles were commonplace.
But ordinary people were different.
The death of even a single university student on campus would cause an extremely strong backlash in society!
If all those hundred students were to perish here, Ye Ling couldn't fathom the societal upheaval that would ensue!
Just as Ye Ling was contemplating how to handle the students, barriers began to rise throughout Daocheng University.
A large number of Hongchen Pavilion cultivators activated the formations they had buried within the school, enveloping the entire campus within a barrier.
Various dormitory buildings, teaching buildings, and even the cafeteria were enclosed by robust barriers, each occupied by several groups of Hongchen Pavilion cultivators.
The special gas, previously encountered in Longdao Town, once again permeated Daocheng University, plunging the entire school into slumber.
"Are they trying to use the entire school as a hostage?"
Witnessing the Hongchen Pavilion's actions, Ye Ling couldn't help but let out a laugh.
It was evident that the Hongchen Pavilion's move was clearly aimed at him!
After Ye Ling had single-handedly cleared out the Hongchen Pavilion's Donghai branch, the Hongchen Pavilion could infer that Ye Ling was a cultivator whose strength approached or was even that of a ninth-rank Hongchen Immortal.
With a powerhouse like Ye Ling observing them, no matter how much they invested in defensive measures, the various branches of the Hongchen Pavilion could not possibly withstand his assault.
Therefore, the Hongchen Pavilion adopted a different strategy, using hostages to force Ye Ling to stand down.
From the Hongchen Pavilion's perspective, whether it was the Donghai branch or the events at Tianhui Pharmaceuticals, Ye Ling had made every effort to prevent ordinary people from being caught in the cultivators' conflicts. Furthermore, Ye Ling had collaborated with the Dragon Department. Based on this, they could deduce that Ye Ling valued ordinary people and societal impact.
Thus, threatening Ye Ling with ordinary people was a logical course of action.
If it were the Dragon Department, they would never allow innocent students in a school to perish along with a Hongchen Pavilion branch!
Seeing through the Hongchen Pavilion's intentions, Ye Ling was not in a hurry. He stood brazenly on the rooftop of the computer building, exposing himself to the sight of the numerous Hongchen Pavilion cultivators.
The moment Ye Ling stepped onto the rooftop and was spotted by the Hongchen Pavilion cultivators, three Hongchen Pavilion snipers, positioned in three different directions, aimed at Ye Ling.
Ye Ling paid them no mind. In front of a large number of Hongchen Pavilion cultivators, he took out his phone and sent Wang Liren a message regarding Daocheng University, along with a list of traitors within the Dragon Department.
As soon as Ye Ling sent the message, five powerful figures arrived behind him.
Two eighth-rank cultivators and three seventh-rank cultivators.
It was likely that all of the Hongchen Pavilion's high-tier combat power within Huaguo was concentrated here!
A cold wind blew, making Ye Ling's hair dance.
"Everyone..."
Ye Ling put his phone in his pocket, turned to face the five cultivators, and narrowed his eyes with a smile, "Are you all here?"