Chapter 816 The Death of the Dean
Kael poured half of his remaining Origin Power into Astral Mountain.
“What are you doing?” the Dean of Sunlance Academy managed to force out.
Astral Mountain came crashing down.
Rumble!
Then silence fell.
Absolute silence.
Every creature on the ground and every high-level cultivator in the sky stared in disbelief.
Kael raised a hand, and Astral Mountain flew back into his grasp. A sheet of dragon hide clung to its underside, while fragments of shattered dragon scales lay scattered across the divine mountain.
Kael removed a spatial ring from what remained of the Dean.
“The Dean...”
“Is he really dead?”
One of the Vice Deans stepped forward. His name was Cassian Yu, and he was regarded as one of the most capable and versatile of Sunlance Academy’s eight Vice Deans.
“What does it look like?” Kael replied calmly.
“That’s impossible! The Dean... Is he truly dead?”
The surrounding cultivators released their Spiritual Sense and searched the space around Kael in a frenzy, but the Dean’s aura had vanished entirely.
“Does anyone else in Sunlance Academy wish to challenge me?”
“Kael! You killed my great-grandfather! I’ll kill you!”
A golden blur streaked across the distance as a Golden Dragon charged toward Kael with a furious roar.
He was also one of the academy’s Vice Deans, but he had only reached the first tier of the Eternal Realm.
Kael’s features hardened. He opened his right hand.
The Grand Celestial Manifestation rose behind him, its colossal hand closing around the Golden Dragon as easily as a giant catching a small snake by the neck.
The Golden Dragon coiled around one of the Manifestation’s fingers and tried to crush it.
Kael shook his head.
“I had no intention of killing you, but since you’re so eager to join your great-grandfather, I’ll grant your wish.”
The Manifestation brought two fingers together.
Crack!
The Golden Dragon’s body snapped in half.
The two severed halves tried to flee in opposite directions, but a violent gust struck them from the side. The Grand Celestial Manifestation’s other hand had already swept through the void.
Smack!
Its enormous palms slammed together, sending layer upon layer of luminous shock waves rolling outward.
The high-level cultivators in the sky shielded their eyes from the glare, while the creatures on the ground covered their faces.
Only after a long moment did the Grand Celestial Manifestation pull its hands apart.
A flattened Golden Dragon hung limply in the void, every trace of life extinguished.
“Senior Lin... Did he really kill the Dean of Sunlance Academy?”
“I don’t think we imagined it.”
“Does that mean we won?”
The humans on the ground did not cheer. Years of torment had left them too exhausted even for that.
“Anyone else?”
Kael swept his gaze across the leaders of the myriad races.
Some held his stare, while others looked away, unwilling to risk a confrontation.
“Lord of the Heavenly Dragons, what about you?” Kael asked, turning to one of the men who had maintained eye contact. “Would you like to test my strength?”
The Lord of the Heavenly Dragons was also one of Sunlance Academy’s Vice Deans and had benefited greatly from the academy’s rule.
“I...”
Under Kael’s unyielding stare, he finally bowed his proud head.
Kael turned to the Lord of the Giant Serpents, another Vice Dean.
“Oh? Do you intend to challenge me as well?”
The Giant Serpent lord scoffed. “Kael, do not mistake restraint for weakness. My race is not powerless against you. But now that matters have reached this point, there is no reason for us to continue killing one another, so—”
Before he could finish, Kael reached through the void.
The Grand Celestial Manifestation seized the Giant Serpent lord in one hand.
“You...” The Giant Serpent lord glared at Kael. “I never said I intended to oppose you. Are you truly going to kill me without cause?”
“You talk too much. Your death will serve as a warning to the others.”
The Manifestation closed its fingers.
Crack!
The Giant Serpent lord immediately followed the Dean of Sunlance Academy into death.
A faint smile touched Kael’s lips as he turned toward the others. The Lord of the Great Wyrms was still staring at him.
When their eyes met, the self-important Great Wyrm lord held Kael’s gaze for another moment before lowering his head in submission.
“You dared stare me down for that long. You don’t need to live either.”
Kael despised these races to his very core. This was the perfect opportunity to eliminate their leaders, especially when it was obvious that they still resented him.
Verbal submission meant nothing. The moment he left the Sunlance Galaxy, these people would resume persecuting humans, whether openly or from the shadows.
“Me?”
The Great Wyrm lord recoiled, then turned and fled into the distance.
Unfortunately for him, there was no escaping the current Kael.
Flames ignited within Kael’s right eye.
The Myriad Spirit Light tore across the void with a piercing shriek, like a welding arc raking across metal.
The Great Wyrm lord’s body split in half.
He tried to continue fleeing, but Astral Mountain came crashing after him and crushed him into pulp.
Fewer than three seconds passed between his attempted escape and his death.
The racial leaders who had continued watching Kael finally lowered their heads or turned away. None dared meet his gaze again.
Yet among these ancient monsters who had lived for countless years, a few still possessed some defiance.
Kael flickered through the void and appeared directly in front of Caedran.
Caedran blinked several times but refused to look away.
Uneasy murmurs spread among the cultivators of the myriad races. They admired Caedran’s courage even as they mourned his impending fate.
The Great Wyrm lord had submitted, yet Kael had killed him anyway. Caedran had no chance of surviving this.
“If you want to die, I’ll oblige you.”
Kael moved.
“I’ll fight you!”
A pair of enormous wings burst from Caedran’s back.
Before he could attack, Kael’s five fingers closed around his head.
Kael unleashed more than a dozen variations of his divine abilities at once, driving them directly into Caedran.
Blood rushed to Caedran’s face, and his eyes strained against Kael’s grip. The wings on his back rapidly shifted from one color to another as he cycled through his own divine abilities, but nothing he tried could free him from Kael’s hand.
After struggling for more than ten seconds, the light in Caedran’s eyes dimmed. He slowly closed them and waited for death.
“If you hadn’t devoted so much effort to raising Seraphyne, I might never have met her or taken her as my wife. I haven’t forgotten who made that possible, so I’ll spare your life today.”
Kael gave him a forceful shove.
Caedran hurtled backward nearly a thousand yards before spreading his wings and regaining his balance in the void.
“What?”
The sudden reversal left every cultivator speechless.
Caedran looked Kael over from head to toe, then studied him once more. At last, he released a long sigh.
“Enough. If Seraphyne found a man like you, I can understand why she gave you her heart. Kael, I concede.”
Caedran vanished into the void.
“Wait. Don’t leave just yet.”
Kael thrust out a hand and dragged Caedran back from the void.
“You!”
Fury burned in Caedran’s eyes.
The Heavenly Phoenix Race took immense pride in its spatial abilities, yet those abilities were completely useless against Kael.
“You are Seraphyne’s foster father, after all. This invitation is for you. When you have time, come share a belated wedding toast with us. I’ll give you the coordinates of my homeworld.”
Kael took out an unused wedding invitation and forced it into Caedran’s hand.
“Fine. I understand.”
Caedran suppressed his anger and vanished into the void once more.
Kael had his reasons for doing this.
Seraphyne was the only member of the Heavenly Phoenix Race on his homeworld, and he did not want her to remain so isolated. At the very least, she deserved someone from her own race she could remain close to.
That was why Kael wanted to improve relations with the Heavenly Phoenix Race.
His methods had simply been a little too forceful, leaving Caedran thoroughly displeased.