361: Chapter 361 The impenetrable barrier has been breached!

The ancient tree's branches and leaves stretched out, emitting an indestructible, heavy aura and vast vitality.

"Dawnlight Ancient Tree: Unbreakable Barrier!"

Star Dew barked.

The phantom of the emerald ancient tree shone brilliantly as countless green runes lit up on the trunk, forming a solid barrier that looked as if it were carved from actual emerald, standing between the pitch-black sword light and the group!

However, the attacker's strength far exceeded expectations!

Facing this seemingly indestructible emerald barrier, the pitch-black sword light didn't stall or change in the slightest.

It maintained its trajectory of severing all things, silently slashing against the barrier.

"Screech—!"

The seemingly indestructible "Unbreakable Barrier" was easily sliced through by that pitch-black sword light, which was condensed to the extreme!

The green barrier's light dimmed instantly, covered in cracks before it violently shattered, dissipating into a sky full of light specks!

"Pfft—!"

Star Dew felt as if she had been struck by a heavy blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood as her delicate body was sent flying back by the massive counter-shock force.

She crashed heavily into an ancient tree, temporarily losing her combat effectiveness.

As for the pitch-black sword light, after slicing through the barrier, its glow only dimmed slightly.

Without slowing down, it continued to sweep towards Qin Yan, Liu Ruyan, and the others!

Before the sharp sword qi even reached them, the group already felt a bone-chilling cold on their skin, and their blood flow almost stagnated!

Danger! A fatal danger was right before them!

Qin Yan's pupils shrank suddenly, his muscles tensing throughout his body.

In this moment, he didn't even have time to think about who the enemy was or where they came from.

His survival instinct made him reach to crush the crystal ball in his hand without hesitation!

This was the only life-saving straw that might be in time!

However, just as his fingers were about to exert force—

Beside him, a clear and melodious female voice, somewhat lazy yet filled with an unquestionable sense of power, abruptly rang out, clearly drowning out all the noise of the battlefield:

"Tsk, rats hiding their heads and tails. I'd like to see which blind race dares to stretch its claws toward the Human Prodigies of my Modu University of Martial Arts?"

The moment the voice sounded, Qin Yan felt a slight fluctuation in the space beside him.

Qin Yan snapped his head around, startled to find that a figure had appeared beside him at some unknown time!

She wore a somewhat casual moon-blue wide-sleeved robe, her clothes fluttering, untainted by dust.

Around her waist was a loosely tied silk cord of the same color, from which hung a Vermilion Wine Gourd with a warm luster and a surface that seemed to have cloud patterns flowing over it.

She had a tall figure, her black hair partially tied up with a simple wooden hairpin, while the rest cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall.

Her face was peerless, her features clear and open, carrying a natural free-spiritedness and unrestraint like a landscape painting.

Facing the deadly pitch-black sword light that had already reached her eyes, the woman didn't even draw her longsword.

She simply raised her right hand casually, pressing her fingers together like a sword and lightly slashing downward at the sword light.

"Screech—!"

A hazy green sword qi, seemingly ordinary, erupted from her fingertips.

This green sword qi lacked the eerie gloom of the black sword light and the overbearing majesty of Su Zhiming's fist seal, but the moment it appeared, the restless energy of the surrounding world seemed to quiet down for an instant.

The green sword qi arrived later but struck first, accurately meeting the black sword light.

"Ding!"

A crisp, clear ring.

The green sword qi and the pitch-black sword light collided head-on.

There was no explosion, no stalemate.

That pitch-black sword light, which had previously easily sliced through Star Dew of Dawnlight's strongest defense, began to crumble and vanish inch by inch from the tip the moment it touched the green sword qi!

In the blink of an eye, it completely dissipated into the air.

Effortlessly, it was broken with a single sword!

"A... a peak Great Grandmaster?! No... this aura...!"

From deep within the shadows of the trees on the left came a low roar filled with shock and disbelief, his voice full of fear.

"Humph, trying to run after a sneak attack? It's not that easy!"

The blue-robed woman snorted coldly, a cold light flashing in her eyes.

Before her voice finished, her figure had already blurred, as if merging into the breeze, and she vanished from her original spot instantly!

Immediately after, from deeper within the dense forest in the distance, came energy fluctuations even more intense and violent than when Su Zhiming had fought earlier!

Angry roars, the sound of trees shattering, and the clear shouts of the mysterious woman intertwined; clearly, the battle was extremely fierce.

"That senior just now... who was she?"

Qin Yan looked in the direction where the woman had disappeared, his heart filled with inexplicable shock.

The other party claimed to be from "Modu University of Martial Arts" and possessed such formidable strength; she was clearly a hidden protector of the human race.

He quickly searched his mind for information on the high-level officials of Modu University of Martial Arts.

The principal was male, so he could be ruled out.

Three vice-principals, two males and one female... could it be her?

"Could it be... that one among the three vice-principals?"

Qin Yan looked at the equally shaken Li Mu beside him, asking with his eyes.

Li Mu was also bewildered and shook his head.

Clearly, he had never seen or heard of this female powerhouse with such a unique style and terrifying strength.

The crisis was temporarily resolved, but the team didn't dare to stay for a moment.

Lord Star Dew barely stood up with the help of the Elven Warriors, took some pills, her face still pale.

Su Zhiming's battle in the sky had also ended.

The mysterious attacker had disappeared for some reason.

Under Su Zhiming's signal and the protection of the remaining Elven Warriors, the team continued to accelerate toward the Spatial Passage.

However, the dangers of the return journey far exceeded their imagination.

Along the remaining path, various sneak attacks and assassinations emerged one after another!

Blade lights, sword shadows, poison mists, curses, spirit impacts...

They came from various unpredictable angles, with the attackers having different auras, clearly coming from different races.

But without exception, even the weakest was at the Master level!

This was entirely a hunt targeting the Human Prodigies!

Fortunately, the human side had clearly prepared long ago.

Besides Su Zhiming and that mysterious blue-robed woman, other protectors were actually lurking in the shadows.

Whenever an attack was about to land, a corresponding force would always appear in time to neutralize it.

Sometimes it was a brilliant blade aura sweeping across the sky, shattering a sneak-attacking flying sword;

Sometimes it was an earthy yellow shield appearing out of thin air, blocking corrosive poison mist;

Sometimes it was the clear ring of a bell, dispersing invisible spirit impacts...

Most of these protectors never showed their faces, hiding in the shadows and engaging in silent and dangerous gambits with the attackers.

But their existence undoubtedly built up solid lines of defense for this small team.

Among them, one protector followed the team closely—to be precise, closely by Liu Ruyan's side.

That was a middle-aged man dressed in black martial arts attire, with a steady and restrained aura.

He had been walking silently about three steps behind Liu Ruyan.

It seemed casual, but every step he took matched a certain rhythm, faintly connecting with Liu Ruyan's aura.