Chapter 44: Purgatory-Level — The Arrival of an SSS-Class Boundary-Breaker!

A thunderous explosion echoed, causing the massive body of the wraith to tremble slightly—yet it suffered no real damage.

In stark contrast, Yang Ningbing found herself face-to-face with its gaping maw, close enough to feel the foul, chilling breath rushing from the creature’s mouth.

Her eyes narrowed sharply.

At the critical moment, she stabbed her longsword into the ground, dropped low, and kicked off with her legs, sliding along the floor and narrowly slipping past the wraith’s massive jaws.

Meanwhile, the third echelon, led by Shi Shanyu and others, rained down a fierce barrage of attacks like a violent storm on the wraith’s body.

The wraith shuddered violently, seemingly enraged.

With a furious, piercing howl, it raised its front claw and swiped toward the five-person formation beside it.

The teachers immediately dispersed their formation to dodge the attack.

“Close combat won’t work—retreat now!”

Having narrowly avoided the strike, Yang Ningbing shouted the command.

All teachers retreated several meters, quickly pulling away from the monster.

The wraith threw back its head and unleashed another chilling breath from its gaping mouth.

This time, because the formation had already dispersed, the freezing attack hit no one.

“SS-class in close combat, S-class at range—switch to ranged attacks!”

Yang Ningbing swiftly analyzed the situation and issued a decisive command.

She was one of Tianlan Academy’s rare battlefield geniuses, known especially for her tactical command.

That’s why she was quickly recruited as a special instructor after graduation—tasked with training elite students.

Everyone at the academy respected her razor-sharp battlefield awareness, and because she rarely made mistakes in crisis, she naturally assumed the role of command during this rescue mission.

Following her orders, all the teachers unleashed their skills—energy surged from within, and countless fist imprints, sword beams, and other ranged attacks burst forth.

In an instant, the plaza was ablaze with radiant energy.

The wraith howled in agony, its screech shaking the skies.

But because its body had only just manifested and wasn’t fully stable, and due to its sheer size, it was slow to move—making it vulnerable to the teachers’ coordinated ranged suppression.

Still, despite being suppressed, the multitude of attacks couldn’t truly injure it.

They could only gradually chip away at its strength.

The battle reached a stalemate.

Yang Ningbing swung her sword repeatedly, unleashing brilliant arcs of sword light that slashed through the air, striking the massive wraith.

Even though these teachers were all around the 10th rank of martial power, they couldn’t take down this SS-class wraith even working together—clearly showing the terrifying power of this creature.

The ferocity of the battle left all the students stunned.

They had never witnessed such an intense confrontation.

Just the size of that wraith alone made most of them lose the will to fight.

The six teachers moved rapidly, dodging the freezing blasts while unleashing nonstop suppressive attacks.

Yang Ningbing, while attacking, was simultaneously calculating strategies for a kill shot.

But there was too little information—she needed to get in close to discover any potential weaknesses.

With a flash in her eyes, she turned to the teacher nearby.

“Teacher Si Wenle, cover me!”

Startled, Si Wenle asked…

“What are you planning?!”

But Yang Ningbing didn’t respond.

Her body flickered and shot forward.

Seeing this, Si Wenle grew anxious, but could only continue to increase the intensity of his own attacks to draw the wraith’s attention and protect her movement.

Just as Yang Ningbing was rushing forward, before she could reach the wraith—

A sudden, ominous change occurred in the sky.

That gigantic and eerie Bronze Gate appeared once again.

Suddenly, a bizarre azure-blue halo radiated from its surface, condensing into a single glowing point.

The surrounding atmosphere shifted immediately, thick ghost mist billowing everywhere.

Yang Ningbing halted and quickly retreated.

At that moment, the concentrated light on the Bronze Gate exploded downward in a brilliant beam.

BOOM!

A massive impact rang out as the blue beam slammed into the center of the plaza—right beside the SS-class wraith.

Without hesitation, all the teachers retreated again.

A shockwave of devastating force swept across the area.

The entire grave-laden plaza was leveled—tombs flattened, earth and stone hurled into the air.

The teachers pulled back dozens of meters and ordered the students to retreat even further.

When the dust finally cleared, the wraith still stood—towering and unshaken.

But every tomb around it had vanished.

The eerie blue light that had once floated through the air now dissipated entirely.

And atop the SS-class wraith’s head—a human figure appeared.

That figure looked frail and slender, blurred within the thick ghost mist.

“Hahahahaha…”

“So this is the human world? Hahahaha!”

The person’s form was slim, with a pale, bloodless complexion and a handsome face.

His narrow phoenix-like eyes shimmered with a strange, dark glow.

The moment he appeared, the temperature dropped even further.

The already cold air became bone-chilling.

Teachers standing dozens of meters away felt the freezing aura seep into their very souls.

Ghost mist engulfed the space—darkness spread across everything.

“Purgatory-level…”

Yang Ningbing’s brows knit tightly.

As she stared at the figure atop the SS-class wraith, she felt a cold dread creeping into her heart.

“Everyone, be on guard!”

“An SSS-class demonic entity has descended!”

“Its power exceeds that of a Twelfth-Rank martial artist!”

“The secret realm’s difficulty has increased again—this is now officially: Purgatory-Level!”

Her calm yet cold voice echoed through the mist, reaching everyone’s ears.

But even without her words, the teachers already knew—they were in deep trouble.

This sudden, frail-looking figure carried a terrifying aura far beyond any normal SS-class wraith.

“The human world is quite nice… so much yang energy to feast on.”

The pale young man stood atop the wraith, a devilish smile on his face as he looked toward the group of teachers nearby.

“What’s this? Are you planning to fight me?”

He smiled faintly, and in a flash, appeared in front of the SS-class wraith.

The wraith immediately prostrated itself, showing absolute submission.

This scene sent a chill through every teacher’s heart.