A Farmer's Journey To Immortality

Chapter 598: Student-teacher Reunion P2

Lin’s gaze flicked between Zinnia and Aksai, and a faint bitterness crossed her face.

Zinnia’s radiant, youthful appearance, clearly the result of her Aurous Body Realm metamorphosis, only deepened Lin Lan’s sense of loss. Her fingers clenched slightly as she remembered how her own youth had faded long ago.

Still, she couldn’t help but sigh when her eyes fell back on Aksai. The sight of him brought back memories of the young man she had once trained—a curious, disciplined learner who never revealed his true background, yet absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

Aksai, for his part, simply looked at them with a steady, unreadable gaze. His eyes flicked from Jin Jolan to Wen Wei, and then to Lin Lan.

He remembered them all.

Each of them came from a different martial school, each proud of their art and heritage. But that was before the Grand Martial Hall’s conquest—before the smaller schools were forced to bend or be destroyed. Now they stood together under one banner, not as teachers, but as soldiers of the same cause.

Aksai raised his chin slightly as his voice broke the silence between them.

“So,” he said quietly, his voice carrying clearly across the distance, “the Grand Martial Hall finally decided to send my old teachers to deal with me.”

Jin Jolan’s face tightened. Wen Wei’s eyes narrowed slightly, and Lin Lan’s lips parted as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t find the words.

Aksai’s gaze hardened, his tone colder now.

“I wonder,” he continued, “are you here because you chose to be… or because you had no choice left?”

Aksai smiled and spoke further, each word measured. “Anyway. As a gesture of goodwill because of our past, I’ll give you one last chance to step away from this. Take it now — there won’t be another one, even if you beg me later.”

Jin Jolan moved forward a single step. He wore a smirk that did not reach his eyes. “Young master Aksai,” he said lightly, “how have you been? Long time no see, huh?” He let the words hang in the air, then his legs glowed with silvery Qi. His smile dropped. His voice cut colder, threaded with killing intent.

“Still as arrogant as ever, I take it.” He laughed once, short and sharp. “We know you walk a path like those fuc*king Tree Devils. So we were not told to underestimate you. Our master ordered us to strike hard right from the beginning.”

Jin’s eyes flicked to Zinnia with open contempt. “Hehehe. Consider yourself lucky you drew this much attention. Most wouldn’t be spared this long.”

He raised a palm, the silvery Qi coiling around his calves like wind.

“Since you mentioned chances, here’s one from us. Drop everything. Abandon Zinnia and her school. Come with us quietly to meet our master.

If you do, you and your maid will not be harmed tonight. Refuse, and even if it costs us lives to catch you, we will burn your school to the ground and kill Zinnia in the process.”

Jin let the threat sink in, then added, his voice low and venomous as he looked at Zinnia.

“Old friend, don’t flatter yourself just because you became an Aurous artist. Hahahaha. Grand Master Reymon is truly a visionary. He guessed that the little devil Aksai might return — and that he might help you make a breakthrough.”

At Jin’s words, a ripple ran through the ranks behind him. Seven distant points of light brightened, then flared into full golden auras. Seven figures stepped forward from the rear of the siege, each wrapped in the deep, warm glow of the Aurous Body Realm. They took their places in formation like statues of light, backs straight and faces unreadable.

Jin’s smirk widened as he nodded toward them. “Seven Aurous elders are with us as backup.” His tone was almost casual, as if stating a fact about the weather. “They won’t let you leave, no matter what tricks you have.”

Zinnia’s chest tightened at the sight of the Aurous figures. Her fingers curled into fists. Rage and fear warred in her eyes. She had never seen an actual Aurous artist before. In fact, before Aksai’s reappearance, she had always doubted such a realm even existed, despite the rumors coming from the Grand Martial Hall.

After all, the Grand Martial Hall had also not officially revealed the existence of its Aurous artists to the world before tonight. It had kept the information regarding them under tight wraps, turning facts into mere rumours. It was done to catch the tree devils off guard when they decided to revisit Sharang.

Although Zinnia had managed to achieve a breakthrough herself, she was still an inexperienced Aurous artist. It was hard to say if she could even hold her own against a single enemy Aurous artist, let alone seven.

A cold shiver ran down her spine as the reality of their situation sank in.

Zinnia knew Aksai was powerful because of his multi-path powers. She trusted him to face any Aurous artist even though he was still, in name, an Argent artist because he was someone who could use Second Order Spirit spells. But seeing the overwhelming lineup before them, she found it difficult to imagine victory.

Wen Wei and Lin Lan stayed silent through the entire exchange. Neither of them dared to speak, their faces stiff with tension. They both knew they wouldn’t even be alive tonight if not for Aksai.

Decades ago, deep in Serenity Peak, the two of them had been trapped inside the Devil’s Den along with the others. They would have died there if Aksai hadn’t stepped up and destroyed that monstrously demonic being.

It was because of him that they had survived. It was because of him that they later joined the Grand Martial Hall. But now, things were different.

Gratitude didn’t matter anymore. Aksai had become the Hall’s greatest threat, and Grand Master Reymon had made it clear — Aksai had to be captured at any cost.

If they failed, their own futures in the Grand Martial Hall would be ruined.

Source: .com, updated by novlove.com