Chapter 867 — Death Note

"Young child, I will give you one last chance. If you join us, we will forget about this incident and make you the strongest cultivator in Spirit Heaven. However, if you refuse, then I— and the others here no longer have any reason to continue protecting you." The Sect Master of the Heavenly Academy said to Li Jinxi, offering her a final chance to join their sects.

"I refuse." Li Jinxi immediately rejected his offer, and it was done so in a manner that did not have even the slightest bit of hesitation.

The Sect Master trembled slightly from anger, but he quickly regained control over his emotions.

"Is that so… How regrettable. A talent of your level… We might never see it again." The Sect Master then sat down and closed his eyes.

"You may do as you please, Sect Master Sun."

"I have been waiting for this." Sun Hao immediately released his cultivation base again, instantly flattening the chair behind him.

However, this pressure was not as strong as before, so Li Jinxi was able to endure it without feeling helpless.

'He's going easy on me?' Li Jinxi wondered inwardly.

Sun Hao suddenly retrieved a beautiful zither and said, "Don't worry, I won't kill you so quickly. Disrespectful juniors like you need to be taught a proper lesson."

He then pulled a single string on the zither, creating a beautiful yet crisp noise that echoed in the room.

Hearing this music note, Li Jinxi subconsciously retrieved her greatsword and placed it in front of her, and she could feel something collide with her sword the very next instant, sending her flying backwards.

Li Jinxi proceeded to fly straight out of the building and into this empty and spacious area.

Sun Hao calmly walked outside and said, "If you can resist 3 of my strikes, I will let you live. How about it?"

"Does that last hit count?" Li Jinxi asked.

Sun Hao smiled and said, "You want to be a smartass as well? I too can play that game. And no, it doesn't count, since I only talked about it after releasing that strike, so you still need to block three more."

"Very well. I'll accept your challenge." Li Jinxi nodded.

Sun Hao didn't say anything else and took a sitting position, but he did not sit on the floor. Instead, he hovered in the air with the zither on his lap.

The other Sect Masters also came outside to spectate their challenge.

"Then here comes my first strike."

After taking a deep breath, Sun Hao began playing the zither.

Li Jinxi immediately prepared herself for the attack, but nothing happened even many moments later, and only music came from Sun Hao's zither. Furthermore, it was a very pleasant-sounding music.

'This music… What is this nauseating feeling?' Li Jinxi quickly realized that she could barely stand straight after listening to this music.

"First note— Note of Destruction."

Ting!

A very distinct and clear noise suddenly resounded, snapping Li Jinxi out of her daze.

BANG!

Li Jinxi suddenly felt something incredibly powerful struck her greatsword, which sent her flying back for another 50 meters before she finally touched the floor and began rolling like a metal can.

However, she quickly stood back up with minor injuries.

"Not bad." Sun Hao chuckled.

"Then I will now begin my second strike."

Sun Hao did not stop playing his zither this entire time, so music continued to fill the area.

'Shit… This music… It's making me lose consciousness…' Li Jinxi had to bite her lips until it bled just to keep herself conscious.

"Second note— Note of Annihilation."

TING!

Li Jinxi could feel an immense amount of spiritual energy flying towards her direction, and it was definitely enough to be fatal to even someone like her, but she couldn't avoid it.

"HAAAAA!" Li Jinxi suddenly roared, and her body became enveloped by a crimson aura that reeked with bloodlust.

Li Jinxi could feel all of the muscles in her body being strengthened past their limits, making her feel more confident blocking the incoming attack.

However, when the attack finally struck her greatsword, it not only knocked Li Jinxi a hundred meters away, but it also shattered her greatsword into hundreds of pieces.

Fortunately for Li Jinxi, the greatsword shattered after absorbing most of Sun Hao's attack, saving her life by a hair's width.

However, this also meant that Li Jinxi would not have a weapon to defend against the next strike.

"If you don't have another weapon, you can use your body." Sun Hao said with a cold grin on his face.

"..."

Li Jinxi looked down at her own body to see that it was covered in cuts from the previous attack, and her entire body was soaked in her own blood.

'I might die today…' She mumbled inwardly, yet she wasn't feeling afraid of death even in the slightest.

Meanwhile, outside the square with the seven elders.

"Do you think Sect Master Sun's really going to kill someone as talented as her?"

"If he's convinced that there's no chance to recruit her."

"Well… Do you think he's convinced?"

After a moment of silence, Elder Mon from the Universal Music Academy said, "Definitely."

"Haaa… What a pity."

Suddenly, the seven elders stopped talking and turned to face north when they sensed two unfathomable presence approaching their direction.

"Who's that?! What a powerful pressure!"

The elders were shocked.

"Hm? Isn't that…"

Once these two figures were close enough for the elders to see their faces, it shocked the elders even more.

"T-That's the kid from earlier today! Why is he coming back here?"

A few moments later, Yuan and Xiao Hua stopped in front of the seven elders.

"Take me to that place." Yuan pointed at the projection showing Li Jinxi and the Sect Masters.

"Huh?" The elders showed puzzled looks on their faces.

"That girl is my friend, and I would like to stop them before things get out of hand." Yuan gave them a brief explanation.

"Your friend? Unfortunately, your friend just offended the Seven Spirit Academies and of all people, their Sect Masters. She's going to die, and there's nothing you can do to stop it." Elder Mon sneered.

Yuan narrowed his eyes and said, "I don't recall asking for your commentary."

"Little bastard… I can see why you're that woman's friend… You both lack respect towards your seniors!" Elder Mon roared at him.

However, Yuan wasn't even paying attention to the elder. He was focused on the projection with Li Jinxi, as she'd just successfully blocked Sun Hao's 2nd attack, but it was clear that she would not be able to block the next one.

"Xiao Hua…" Yuan mumbled in a low voice.

Xiao Hua did not need to hear anything else from Yuan to understand his intentions, and she released her cultivation base.

"S-Spirit King!" The elders immediately recognized Xiao Hua's pressure that was even stronger than their Sect Masters' aura.

Yuan approached these elders and stared at them with immense killing intent in his gaze.

"If you do not let me help my friend, I will trample the Seven Spirit Academies until there is nothing left."

"..."

The elders trembled in fear before Yuan's killing intent. Although his killing intent is already plenty strong in the real world, it was on another level in Cultivation Online, and it was definitely more than enough to terrify the souls out of these Spirit Lord elders.

"I-I will open the portal to that place for you!"

The Heavenly Academy's elder was the first one to break, and he immediately created a portal for Yuan.

"Thanks." Yuan didn't say anything else and flew right into the portal with Xiao Hua following him from behind.

Meanwhile, Li Jinxi was prepared to block the final attack even if she had to use her own body.

"He's really going to kill her with his last strike… Are you sure this is the right choice?" Some of the Sect Masters there were still hesitant to let a genius like Li Jinxi perish under such a situation, especially the Healing Spirit Academy's Sect Master.

"If she is not our ally then she can only be our enemy. And I doubt she will change her mind after all of this is done. Might as well get rid of her before she could harm us." The Sect Master of the Heavenly Academy sighed.

The other Sect Masters didn't say anything else and watched as Sun Hao prepared to release his final strike.

"If you can survive this last strike, I will not only forgive you, I will even do anything you want."

A massive grin appeared on Sun Hao's face as he pulled the strings on the zither in a chaotic rhythm.

"Final note— Death Note!"

Sun Hao released the attack with the strength of a Spirit King behind it.

There was simply no way for Li Jinxi to survive this attack, and she instinctively knew this the moment she felt the spiritual energy of the attack.

'Damn it…' Li Jinxi sighed inwardly as the attack reached in front of her body.

[Heaven Severing Zither Arts!]

Suddenly, another zither note resounded in the area, and before anyone there could react, this zither note collided with Sun Hao's zither note, instantly destroying it.

"W-Who goes there?!" Sun Hao exclaimed in a shocked voice after witnessing what just happened.

Two figures appeared before Li Jinxi the very next moment, standing between Li Jinxi and the Sect Masters, and one of them was holding onto a beautiful black zither in his grasp.

"Y-Yuan…? What are you doing here?" Li Jinxi mumbled in a low voice.

She knew it was him even without seeing his face, as she could recognize him just from looking at his back.

"I'm here to save you, obviously," he said with a calm smile on his face.