Chapter 0 103. Ten Thousand Feathers in the Sky
The next morning, Xuan Hui, as usual, went to the clan academy.
The bell that signaled the official start of his teachings rang, but Yan Ming’s figure had yet to appear among the students. This couldn’t help but flash a deep sense of disappointment in his eyes.
The reason he cared so much about Yan Ming was mainly because of Yan Qihao. As one of the meritorious officials in the battle back then, Yan Qihao held considerable status in the clan. Otherwise, any junior discovered to be afflicted with the Calamity Heavenly Feather should have been immediately abandoned by the academy.
“Today, this seat intends to…”
As he spoke, Xuan Hui habitually scanned the entire venue with his divine sense. To his surprise, he detected an extremely strange aura, and he immediately strode down from the stage.
The Bi Fang clan members of his generation had long been educated to be sensitive and extremely disgusted by such auras.
“Yan Jue, stand up.”
“Teacher?”
Xuan Hui suddenly reached out and, with a swift palm strike, lifted the young man’s robe in front of him.
Right at his chest, a feather as black as ink appeared. The genuine Night Phoenix aura on it… was actually the result of Xie Yu’s empowered efforts under Qin Gou’s instructions.
Xuan Hui was stunned for a moment, then sighed, “Such an obvious Night Phoenix aura. It’s likely that you’ve only recently been afflicted with the Calamity Heavenly Feather. Yan Jue, does your father know about this?”
“This, this is impossible!”
Yan Jue exclaimed, his face turning pale. “Disciple clearly didn’t have it yesterday!”
“The so-called Calamity Heavenly Feather is this insidious and venomous! Those persistent, lingering Mi Tian Ye Huang!” Xuan Hui shook his head helplessly.
Yan Jue involuntarily took a few steps back, his eyes bloodshot, and he cried out hysterically, “I don’t believe it! How could such misfortune befall me? Could it be… that scoundrel Yan Ming caused it? Originally, among our classmates, he was the only one afflicted with the Calamity Heavenly Feather!”
“Do not speak nonsense!” Xuan Hui frowned slightly and waved his sleeve. “The Calamity Heavenly Feather does not have the ability to transfer to another person’s body. Sit down. I will personally inform your father of this matter!”
“I…”
For a moment, Yan Jue seemed completely drained and slumped back into his seat, his eyes filled with deep fear.
Immediately after, Xuan Hui’s expression drastically changed, and he hurried to another youngster.
Another ‘Calamity Heavenly Feather,’ representing despair, came into view.
This time, he didn’t even have time to ask before the third feather, the fourth feather… It was like the eruption of some kind of chain trap. At this moment, more than ten juniors in the academy had been infected with the terrifying curse of the Calamity Heavenly Feather today. The entire hall erupted in screams and shouts, descending into chaos in an instant.
“Silence!”
Xuan Hui roared, his face ashen. “This is likely another curse outbreak. Yan Jue, you few, come with me immediately!”
With that said, Xuan Hui immediately led several juniors afflicted with the ‘Calamity Heavenly Feather’ curse, intending to leave the academy and head towards the Bi Fang Main Hall.
Similar incidents had happened before, and all he could do was report it immediately.
“This…”
However, as soon as they stepped out of the academy, everyone, including Xuan Hui, stood frozen in disbelief.
In sight.
The sky was filled with endless, pitch-black calamity feathers dancing wildly. The terrifying scene of an impending cataclysm instantly filled their vision, making their bones chill and their spirits despair.
At the same time, more and more Bi Fang clan members discovered the so-called ‘Calamity Heavenly Feather’ appearing on their own Dao bodies. Panicked screams echoed through almost every inch of West Qin Mountain.
Outside the Bi Fang Main Hall, countless clan members had already gathered.
Qin Gou was among them. Unlike the confusion and anxiety of the others, Old Qin was in an unusually good mood. This was because, since just now, the prompt sounds from his old pal in his mind had been ringing non-stop, as if on eight times speed.
“Ding. Congratulations to the host for powerfully suppressing the cultivation Dao heart of the ‘bloodthirsty monstrous beast’ Yan Che, rewarding 500 Merit points.”
“Ding. Congratulations to the host for utterly collapsing the Dao heart of the ‘cannibal’ Yan Ke, rewarding 1000 Merit points.”
“Ding…”
“It’s Elder San!”
“Elder, the curse power of the calamity feathers has erupted again!”
Suddenly, Yan Cang Zhou appeared before the crowd with a stern expression. With a cold shout, an invisible force scattered the black feathers in the sky and blocked them outside.
“Curse outbreak? I think there’s something else going on!”
Yan Cang Zhou’s voice was domineering, like a great bell, clearly resounding in everyone’s ears.
“Never has a curse outbreak been this severe and terrifying. If those Mi Tian Ye Huang, who have long since turned to dust, truly had such terrifying reliance, why would we have hunted them down so thoroughly?”
A clan member said uneasily, “Elder, this Calamity Heavenly Feather is a poisonous curse that the Lord of the Night Phoenix planted on our clan when he was on his deathbed, sacrificing his own soul and flesh, and exhausting all costs. Perhaps its original rule was that each outbreak must be more terrifying than the last!”
But this only earned Yan Cang Zhou a sneer. “I have reviewed all your reports. I have accurately discovered something strange! The biggest difference from the last curse outbreak is that at this moment, all those suspected of being affected by the curse have a maximum cultivation realm of peak Li Jiu Realm. It’s as if they are deliberately targeting our clan’s juniors!”
“Why has no one among the high-level cultivators present, including myself, been affected? Is this a coincidence? I am not deliberately cursing you all. After reading all the reports, I can faintly see a trace of human manipulation!”
As he spoke, a sharp glint flashed in Yan Cang Zhou’s eyes. “In other words, there is a high probability that someone is acting mysteriously in the dark, intending to cause chaos in our clan, but only has a little bit of power to toy with the juniors with lower cultivation!”
While Yan Cang Zhou’s words sounded very certain, if one thought about it carefully, his reasoning was not particularly sound.
This was because even he himself was merely speculating… However, regardless of whether it was a true curse outbreak or someone causing trouble, the most important thing now was to keep the Bi Fang clan members in front of him as emotionally stable as possible.
“Therefore, everyone need not panic. Someone likely does not have the ability or courage to deal with truly high-level cultivators like myself, Yan Cang Zhou! As long as we are here, the clan will not fall into chaos! Please try to appease those juniors, and then, like me, quietly watch how long this joke will continue. As for… cough!”
Before Yan Cang Zhou could finish speaking, a sudden change occurred.
“Pfft”
For a moment, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, Yan Cang Zhou suddenly felt a sharp pain in his throat. He coughed violently, spitting out several blood-stained black feathers, and his face instantly filled with terror.
