Chapter 51: The Mysterious Array, the Eerie Underground Stone Coffin

"Heh, do you really think we’d believe you killed Zhou Yin?" Wu Pang, gripping his massive iron hammer, clearly did not believe what Luffy said. The others, too, suspected there were more forces at play in the vicinity; it was impossible for a mere Second Tier youth to have slain someone as powerful as Zhou Yin.

Tang Wu, ever so cautious, shared their skepticism. She thought the boy’s strange agility had allowed him to evade Zhou Yin’s attack, and in the next instant, someone else had killed Zhou Yin in the dust and chaos. They had to kill this boy, then hunt down the real mastermind behind the scenes.

"Even if a Second Tier brat is incredible, the most he’d have is three hundred times normal strength." Tang Liang agreed; if this boy had truly beaten Zhou Yin, it would defy all sense.

Sun Li, meanwhile, stayed silent and observed the surroundings.

A thunderous crash echoed out. Wu Pang’s enormous hammer smashed down, but Luffy’s figure vanished once more.

"Damn it, this boy’s movement technique is bizarre—how does he disappear in an instant?" Wu Pang narrowed his eyes, anger flaring.

"He’s to the east," Tang Wu said, closing her eyes to sense Luffy’s position, then pointing swiftly in his direction.

"Die for me!" Wu Pang roared furiously. His strength was formidable, but his footwork could never compare—infuriating indeed.

The massive hammer swirled with black energy, as if an ancient evil spirit clung to it, and its power was overwhelming as it crashed toward where Luffy had appeared.

Luffy was somewhat astonished; the woman at the side could actually sense his position—an unexpected turn. He no longer wished to toy with them. Drawing out his Thousand Thunder Sword, he decided to test the might of his Divine Sword Commanding Thunder technique.

His figure flickered, and he appeared in midair, landing atop a treetop, sword raised high.

Wu Pang’s attack naturally struck empty air, blasting a huge crater in the ground and sending earth and stone flying.

He was furious beyond words, unable to even touch a single hair on the boy’s head.

He instantly unleashed his full power; the iron hammer swelled to immense size, and his body seemed to merge with the silhouette of a primordial giant, swinging the gigantic hammer at Luffy, who stood atop the tree.

The power was monstrous and unavoidable.

But then he saw the youth standing at the treetop, sword held aloft, arcs of lightning flickering around it.

Glancing at the sky, black clouds gathered overhead, and bolts of lightning tore through the darkness, the might of heaven descending in terrifying force. A bolt of lightning crashed down, striking the boy’s sword, making its radiance blaze even fiercer.

Wu Pang thought the boy would be struck dead, and laughed, "Ha! This brat is asking for death, actually drawing down lightning!"

"Ha… truly courting death. I thought it was some powerful sword technique—turns out it’s just suicide," Tang Liang sneered as well, convinced the youth was a fool.

Yet beside them, Tang Wu felt a sense of foreboding.

Suddenly, the sword in the youth’s hand burst forth with blinding arcs of electricity, yet the boy himself was completely unharmed.

Lightning radiated from the sword, lashing out in all directions.

Crackling and booming, dozens of bolts of lightning shot from Luffy’s sword, striking the ground in a wide radius.

The earth was blasted with blackened craters under the onslaught.

Wu Pang was struck, his giant form vanishing in an instant. His hair stood on end, smoke rose from his body and mouth, and he collapsed.

Tang Liang, Sun Li, and Tang Wu followed; all three were struck by the fierce power of the lightning, collapsing in smoking heaps, their bodies charred, smoke escaping from their mouths.

Luffy leapt down from the treetop, stunned by the sheer power of the Divine Sword Commanding Thunder—four people had been struck dead in a single instant, and the ground itself was scorched and uneven.

Yet the Thousand Thunder Sword in his hand was unscathed, though he himself felt a slight numbness, nearly shocked. This technique was not only powerful but dazzling, calling down lightning from the heavens to strike foes all around, or focus on a single enemy—it could be used for both group attacks and single targets.

Even Sun Li had not managed to loose an arrow before they were all killed.

Luffy smiled, sheathed his sword, and summoned forth his dragon energy, burning the five corpses to ash. If the Celestial Evil Sect dared send more, he would destroy them just as easily—they had no idea how powerful he had become.

A chorus of guttural howls signaled the approach of a horde of zombies, drawn by the flames.

Luffy swung his fist, sending dragon energy surging forth to engulf the zombies, incinerating them to ashes in an instant—such was the tyranny of fire-attribute dragon energy.

He noticed that the yin energy in the area had not dissipated—how strange.

Using the Samsara Heavenly Eye, he gazed at the school, seeing the souls of the Five Absolutes rise from their bones, cackling wickedly as they flew toward the mountain behind the school.

How bizarre.

Luffy was startled—souls? Ghosts? Damn! He unleashed his Smoky Dream Purple Star Steps and sped toward the back mountain, where the ground concealed a massive formation, invisible to the naked eye but revealed by his Samsara Heavenly Eye.

The formation oozed an evil, unsettling aura.

Beneath it, Luffy saw a vast underground chamber, its walls inscribed with sinister sigils. Four gigantic iron chains bound a stone coffin, which was also covered in runes. The five ghosts were sucked into the coffin and vanished.

All the surrounding yin energy was being drawn toward the array, absorbed into the coffin.

Luffy found himself unable to see what creature lay within—it was far too strange.

Suddenly, countless iron chains shot out from all directions, binding Luffy and dragging him into the formation, pulling him inside the coffin.

Within it lay a woman in ancient garb, her skin as pale as snow, eyes closed—she looked exactly like Qin Bailing.

Then, the woman’s eyes snapped open and she leaned in, pressing her lips to Luffy’s and locking him in a tight embrace.

Her tongue invaded his mouth, biting down so hard Luffy felt he was suffocating. Her hands roamed toward Luffy’s tented trousers.

No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free. He instantly circulated the Dragon Energy Tyrant’s Art, first layer, then second, unleashing six thousand times human strength in one burst.

A roar of power erupted—the woman was instantly incinerated to ashes by the dragon energy.

When Luffy opened his eyes again, he found himself standing before the formation—not inside the coffin. How bizarre! He had just been caught in an illusion. The woman within the coffin was terrifying; even someone as powerful as he had almost succumbed to her spell.

If not for the Dragon Energy Tyrant’s Art, he would have lost himself in the illusion.

Cold sweat poured from his body, his back chilling and slick with fear. He turned and left without a second thought, unwilling to linger another moment.

Leaving the school, he returned to his room, where he found his companions eating.

Dinner was already cooked; they’d found rice in some rooms and meat and vegetables in a refrigerator.

"Boss, time to eat! Look what we found," Zeng Hongsun said cheerfully to Luffy.

"Oh, not bad," Luffy nodded, sitting down to join them.

Today was the start of the new semester, and the crowds had thinned. If you like this story, please vote or tip if you have some spare change—much appreciated!

(End of chapter)