In particular, Fang Qiwen and Zhou Hongyong’s faces were filled with bitterness.

Fang Qiwen always thought he was top among this group of disciples, aside from Sha Sha. When Zhao Jiuge was ranked above him today, he felt very unhappy, but he still didn’t consider Zhao Jiuge worthy of being a threat. However, when he saw the grade-8 spirit core, not only was he shocked, but he slowly understood that Zhao Jiuge had the strength.

Zhou Hongyong’s expression was extremely ugly. He originally thought Zhao Jiuge had defeated him because he was careless and he specialized in spirit formations. However, when he saw the grade-8 spirit core, he realized how ridiculous his thoughts were.

Even though Zhao Jiuge had a grade-8 spirit core, all it did was anger the five of them even more. Right now, they would not be intimidated by Zhao Jiuge.

Wang Yong’s expression was gloomy and his body was tense. He was prepared to attack or defend at any moment.

Guo Liangliang and Chen Hailong looked at each other and swallowed. Both saw the shock in each other’s eyes. In particular, Guo Liangliang’s hand had turned white from clenching his sword.

The blue and white grade-8 spirit core floated quietly above Zhao Jiuge’s head. Powerful waves of spirit force radiated out, making Zhao Jiuge’s aura even stronger.

In comparison, the auras of the other five became weaker and weaker! And this was in a five-on-one situation! Zhao Jiuge didn’t do anything after releasing the grade-8 spirit core, and no one knew what he was planning.

“Quickly, release your spirit cores. If this drags on, his aura will become even stronger and it will become troublesome later on.”

Fang Qiwen saw this situation and let out an anxious roar. He had the most experience and naturally knew that the reason Zhao Jiuge hadn’t done anything was because the longer this dragged on, the more favorable it would be for him.

“After releasing your spirit cores, let’s all attack at once. Don’t be afraid—even though it's a grade-8 spirit core, there are five of us. If we lose, we won’t be able to face anyone.” The short Wang Yong let out a roar. At this moment, they had to go all out.

After he spoke, everyone beside Zhou Hongyong, who was focused on creating a spirit formation, released their spirit cores.

In a flash, four dazzling rays of light appeared. Two green, one blue and white, and one fiery red.

Cheng Hailong and Guo Liangliang’s two green spirit cores were only the size of the eye of a dragon fruit. The auras they give off weren't bad—grade-5 spirit cores. This was already considered a mid-quality spirit core. After the initial light disappeared, there was only dim light around the surface of their spirit cores. They were the same as Zhao Jiuge, mid stage of the Spirit Core Realm.

The spirit cores floating before Fang Qiwen and Wang Yong were slightly larger, but their spirit cores didn’t even have that layer of light on the surface. One could only occasionally see some light from the spirit cores. Both of them were at the late stage of the Spirit Core Realm.

The Spirit Core Realm was different from the Foundation Realm. In the Foundation Realm, the higher one’s cultivation became, the brighter the spirit force was. In the Spirit Core Realm, the higher one’s cultivation, the dimmer the core. At the late stage of the Spirit Core Realm, there would be almost no light from the spirit core. When all traces of spirit force seemed to have disappeared, the core would break open to form the nascent soul, allowing one to reach the early stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

When the four spirit cores started releasing their spirit force, Zhao Jiuge was already prepared. He had begun to move when Fan Qiwen shouted, and now that they were releasing their spirit cores, Zhao Jiuge quickly moved.

Because Guo Liangliang had the lowest cultivation, he was the first to not be able to withstand the pressure and was the first to release his spirit core. At this moment, he saw Zhao Jiuge charge straight at him, which shocked him. He quickly moved the sword in his hand.

Seeing the coldness in Zhao Jiuge’s eyes, he felt slightly frightened. He was the one yelling the most, and now it seemed like Zhao Jiuge was going to make the first move on him.

Shortly after, Chen Hailong had released his spirit core and quickly moved to help Guo Liangliang. The two of them were ready to join forces to force the fierce Zhao Jiuge back.

After a brief pause, everyone’s actions were different. Although they were all shocked that Zhao Jiuge had taken the lead, Wang Yong was only secretly on guard and watched with a cold gaze.

However, Zhao Jiuge suddenly turned and changed directions. This confused and startled all four of them!

Soon, Fang Qiwen’s pupils suddenly widened because he guessed Zhao Jiuge’s target! It was Zhou Hongyong, who was still setting up a spirit formation.

Who would’ve guessed that not only would Zhao Jiuge have the courage to take the lead, but also grasp such a good moment. First, he released his grade-8 spirit core to suppress the others, and when they all released their spirit cores, he directly went for the weakest link.

Fang Qiwen let out a cold snort and his gaze became gloomy. A powerful aura spread out, causing his clothes to flutter. A sharp, blue spirit force surged out, and Fang Qiwen readied his sword for an attack. He had to stop Zhao Jiuge because Zhou Hongyong was very vulnerable at the moment.

However, he was too late! Although he was fast, Zhao Jiuge was even faster!

A ray of seven-colored spirit light appeared in the void, and accompanying this light, a crisp and pleasant phoenix cry echoed. The silhouette of an ice phoenix a few meters wide appeared in the sky. It opened its wings and was very life-like.

Zhao Jiuge had drawn the Cold Underworld Sword on his back, and the sword emitted a blue glow. The cold energy it released had dropped the surrounding temperature.

Three rays of sword energy were already flying toward Zhou Hongyong. He hadn’t made any grand movements, but those three rays of sword energy looked very powerful. This was the first time Zhao Jiuge had used his life flying sword.

“Damn, what is that bird silhouette?”

“Idiot, it's a Chilling Ice Luan Phoenix. It's a spirit beast, not a bird.”

“Could Zhao Jiuge be holding an immortal treasure? Only immortal treasures have treasure spirits.”

“I don’t think so. It should be the essence soul of a spirit beast. Its aura is not as powerful as a treasure spirit’s. However, it should at least be a top-quality spirit treasure.”

“Comparing yourself to others will only make you anger yourself to death. Just the grade-8 spirit core and this flying sword are enough for him to be arrogant.”

“Now I believe Zhao Jiuge has the strength to fight the five of them. If my guess is correct, he still has a hidden ace.”

When the Chilling Ice Luan Phoenix silhouette appeared, all the disciples stared at it dumbfoundedly. Even though it was not a real body, they could still feel its pressure.

The disciples that were causing a clamor all shut their mouths. They looked at Zhao Jiuge’s flying sword with a mix of admiration and envy.

That crisp and pleasant cry was still lingering in their ears. The phoenix cry that echoed through the heavens shook everyone’s hearts.

“Quickly, make a move and stop him!”

At this moment, even Wang Yong reacted to what Zhao Jiuge wanted to do. He quickly shouted and the sword in his hand moved.

Normally, he wouldn’t care if Zhou Hongyong died or not, but now it was different. They were working together to crush Zhao Jiuge. If they still though Zhao Jiuge was still a mediocre young man, they would be too stupid.

His wrist moved and rays of sword energy flew toward Zhao Jiuge. Wang Yong wanted to force Zhao Jiuge to guard and give up on attacking Zhou Hongyong.

Guo Liangliang and Chen Hailong both released sword energy as well. At this instant, rays of sword energy filled this area.

However, Zhao Jiuge ignored all of this and focused on attacking Zhou Hongyong.

The best defense was a good offense. Facing their joint attack, he decided not to use the Purple Ji Chaotic Thunder Armor and the Star Shield. He clenched the Cold Underworld Sword and pointed it at Zhao Hongyong, whose eyes were closed.

They were about two meters apart, and Zhao Jiuge’s three rays of sword energy closed in. Zhou Hongyong felt the incoming danger and opened his eyes.

Violent hums echoed while a yellow light shrouded Zhou Hongyong. It was his Eternal Bell.

He immediately used his spirit treasure to protect himself because he was completely focused setting up the spirit formation. He was very confident that Zhao Jiuge couldn't break the Eternal Bell in a short period of time.

Moreover, Fang Qiwen’s attack would soon arrive and protect him. This was all within Zhou Hongyong’s plans; otherwise, he wouldn't have directly begun placing a spirit formation. Once he laid down the spirit formation, with the help of the other four, Zhao Jiuge would be seriously injured even with a grade-8 spirit core. Thinking about this, Zhou Hongyong sneered.

While Zhou Hongyong sneered, Zhao Jiuge also sneered. Different from Zhou Hongyong’s sneer, there was more playfulness in Zhao Jiuge’s sneer.

The rays of sword energy struck, and the yellow light around Zhou Hongyong only rippled three times before becoming calm once more.

Sure enough, the Eternal Bell was enough to block the rays of sword energy. However, instead of retreating, Zhao Jiuge continued to rush forward. There were still the attacks of four people behind him. If he didn’t move away now, he wouldn’t have time to dodge.