Chapter 11696 — Once Any Cultivator Falls Into Demonic Deviation, Though Their Mind Will Spin Out of Control and Their Nature Will Change Drastically, Their Strength Will Surge Greatly—and Precisely for That Reason, They Become Utterly Dangerous.

Still, experience told them that at the very moment one fell into demonic deviation, however much the strength might rise, the extent would not be too great.

Ordinarily, any single member of their security squad was capable of taking Wei Zhao down one-on-one.

After all, when all was said and done, he was nothing but a rookie candidate—even if he was a monstrous one, how strong could he possibly be?

Yet they still moved as a squad, not the slightest bit careless.

That was the rule, and it was also experience.

"Move!"

At the command, the burly giant who had closed in first burst into motion the instant he came within five meters, and in the next breath he was already behind Wei Zhao, his arms locking around the man's waist!

This was no simple grapple—it was a genuine control paradigm.

For any living being—human cultivator or outlander evil demon alike—the instant they were brought into close range, every life function would freeze.

Though it lasted less than a second, once the locking posture was fully completed, the freeze could be extended to five seconds.

Within those five seconds, the target would be as good as dead—no reaction, no perception, and no resistance whatsoever.

Five seconds was more than enough for an entire security squad to deal with the vast majority of targets.

The ten layers of true essence on Wei Zhao's body were, before their firepower, no different from paper.

But in the very next instant, every eyelid in the room twitched in unison.

Empty.

What the burly giant had seized was not Wei Zhao himself, but merely a dark crimson afterimage.

"Thunder Flash! Faster than before! Target locked—control, fill the gap!"

The support expert in the rear supplied the information at once.

At the same time, another lean specialist in the front row, responsible for control, spun sharply, aimed at the direction where Wei Zhao flickered, and slammed both palms onto the ground.

A vibration of extremely complex frequency raced instantly to the ground beneath Wei Zhao's feet.

The moment it touched Wei Zhao, the frequency adjusted to match his own, and his entire body was seized by an involuntary, violent shudder.

Resonance!

Control achieved—the two security experts responsible for output immediately unleashed their full firepower.

With their formidable power, the instantaneous output of such point-blank target practice far surpassed ten layers of true essence.

In other words, a target like Wei Zhao, once controlled for even an instant, was already dead beyond any doubt.

The higher-ups gathered in the Academic Affairs Headquarters building had already begun to offer Wei Zhao a silent moment of mourning.

But the scene that followed left them all collectively stunned once more.

Under the combined output of the two security experts, Wei Zhao vanished from the face of the earth on the spot.

That in itself was hardly strange—under such formidable firepower, it would have been strange had he not vanished on the spot.

The problem was that the dark crimson figure representing Wei Zhao flickered into being again somewhere else—what they had just vaporized was nothing but another afterimage.

"Is Thunder Flash really that fierce?"

The security experts could not help but feel a little numb.

Both control attempts had come to nothing. They had experienced the like before, but in the past, once things reached this rhythm, it meant a hard fight was sure to follow.

Wei Zhao was a rookie candidate—even if falling into demonic deviation had sent his strength soaring, surely it could not have soared to such a degree?

It was no exaggeration to say that, both using Thunder Flash, the Wei Zhao of this moment and the Wei Zhao who had faced Lord Song earlier differed in speed alone by more than fivefold—they were no longer on the same order of magnitude.

In the eyes of everyone present, Wei Zhao was now undoubtedly in a berserk state!

The key point was that, as the stripes on the mask on his face increased, it meant Wei Zhao's demonic state was still deepening.

It also meant that Wei Zhao's strength was still surging rapidly!

The situation soon devolved into a bizarre spectacle.

Within a black cell less than half a football field in size, the six members of the security squad chased Wei Zhao all over the ground, yet never once managed to grab even the hem of his clothes.

"A pack of trash! Can't even handle one rookie candidate—what's the point of keeping them?"

Di Xuanwang ground his teeth in fury.

He had already been preparing to pop the champagne, and this was what he got?

The other security squad left on the scene heard him and turned on him with furious glares.

Di Xuanwang caught himself and hastily put on an apologetic smile.

Though the Security Division was not the Heavenly Dao Academy's showcase fighting force, in name it was, after all, the Academy's last line of defense—and above all, the head of the Security Division was a big shot who could sit in the front row even among the Academy's higher-ups. He could not afford to provoke him.

But that remark still earned him a solid black mark in the books of everyone in the Security Division.

At this point Xiao Tiao spoke up: "We're short a speed-assault specialist."

Not just the security squad—every properly organized squad had its own emphasis, and the composition of this security squad clearly leaned toward steady control and output. Against a suddenly berserk Thunder Flash monster like Wei Zhao, the situation had turned awkward in an instant.

With a speed-assault specialist, even if one could not take Wei Zhao down one-on-one, at least one could tie down his rhythm and create an opening for the two controllers.

Once control was achieved, everything that followed would naturally fall into place.

The supervising higher-up made the call on the spot: "Swap them out."

For the moment, Wei Zhao was only fleeing; but if his demonic state deepened further and he turned to counterattack everyone present, that would be real trouble.

Do not forget—he could use Thunder Blink.

If Thunder Flash's effect had already multiplied more than fivefold, who could guarantee Thunder Blink's power would not multiply fivefold, or even tenfold?

The consequences did not bear imagining.

At the command, the other security squad, poised and ready, made to enter at once—they were equipped with a speed-assault specialist.

Just then, a majestic voice rang out.

"Hold."

All eyes turned toward the sound, and the figure of Vice Chancellor Chu Yunfan came into view; at once everyone rose in unison to pay their respects.

Shi Wushuang, following behind, let out a quiet sigh of relief.

At least they had made it in time.

Had the security squad managed to kill Wei Zhao in a flash while she was still contacting Chu Yunfan, it would have been too late for anything.

Chu Yunfan came to the center of the hall, sat down without hesitation in the middle seat, and said to the assembly: "Wei Zhao may show symptoms of demonic deviation, but up to now, none of his actions have shown the slightest sign of losing control. My suggestion is that we observe a while longer."

The others exchanged glances.

Di Xuanwang curled his lip inwardly: 'You say he has not lost control, so he has not? The demonic face has already appeared—and you still say he has not lost control?'

Of course, this was only muttered in the privacy of his heart.

To say it to Chu Yunfan's face—that he would never dare. The man was Vice Chancellor of the Heavenly Dao Academy, a true master of the highest echelon of power; he was not someone Di Xuanwang could afford to provoke.

Yet Chu Yunfan seemed to sense what he was thinking.

To be precise, it was not Di Xuanwang's thought alone, but the thought of many present.

Demonic deviation was a matter of principle—once discovered, it must be killed without quarter. That was an iron rule of the Heavenly Dao Academy, one no one could overstep.