Xiao Yuan didn't have enough points? Xiahou Aotian's heart jolted, instantly inundated with anxiety. At such a critical juncture, were they really going to fail over a reason as ridiculous as not having enough points?
Sure enough, most supporting characters were unreliable. The only golden supporting actors in his life were Yuanshi Tianzun and Fu Qingyang.
Tianxia Guihuo counted as half of one, while the rest were not quite up to par.
Though panicking like mad on the inside, as a resourceful Scholar, Xiahou Aotian remained steady as an old dog on the outside. He even let out a deep growl:
"Damn Spirit Medium, you scavenging minnow! Die!"
With that, the tricolored flames flared, smelting the surrounding materials to forge an ink-black throwing dagger on the spot, which shot whistling toward Xiao Yuan.
The throwing dagger came with armor penetration, homing lock-on, bleed, and poison effects.
A casual flick of his hand had produced a mid-grade item.
The three enemy combatants had already grown suspicious. He had to take the initiative and feign intent to kill Xiao Yuan to dispel their doubts—or at least prevent them from thinking it through.
Xiao Yuan vibrated her gossamer wings, dodging the lightning-fast dagger, then darted left and right, forced to tangle with the homing blade.
Sleeping Dragon Lord, Bloody Fluid, and Human-Beast Hybrid looked on with cold detachment, making no move to rescue her.
Well, this is awkward... Xiahou Aotian froze, at a loss for whether he should pull back or actually finish off this damn Spirit Medium.
The voluptuous woman curled her lips and chuckled. "To us, three gods against one is a guaranteed victory. Whether she lives or dies makes no difference. If you want to kill her, go right ahead."
Bloody Fluid said coldly, "There was indeed something off about her. This woman is colluding with the orthodox classes. What a disgrace to freedom."
Sleeping Dragon Lord looked exhausted, half-asleep. "Destroy the Witch Doctor dharmakaya. Nip any potential variable in the bud."
Behind the voluptuous woman, Human-Beast Hybrid, the god flapped its membranous wings and charged toward the Witch Doctor dharmakaya.
Against peak Saints, petty tricks really are useless! Seeing this, Xiahou Aotian immediately reached out a palm and remotely redirected the throwing dagger, sending it to strike the Aberrant, Human-Beast Hybrid.
The dagger was fast as an afterimage, attacking from behind. But just before hitting its target, it suddenly altered its trajectory and plunged itself into the ground.
Before an Alcoholic, all attacks were rendered futile; hitting the mark was simply out of the question.
Dazzling starlight rose beside Xiao Yuan, and Zhang Yuanqing appeared clad in the Thunder God set. Raising his right arm enveloped in bright blue arcs of electricity, he aimed his palm at the demon Chromy.
"A Stargazer?" In the distance, Bloody Fluid instantly activated his Sense of Direction Distortion ability, attempting to alter Zhang Yuanqing's firing angle and make the blast miss.
Yet, despite being cast with the status of a god, the distortion power failed to affect this unfamiliar Stargazer in the slightest.
At the critical moment, a jet-black beam of light shot forth, striking Zhang Yuanqing squarely in the chest.
The beam dealt no damage, rippling outward like black smoke.
In the next second, the arcs of lightning surrounding Zhang Yuanqing dissipated, his primed electromagnetic cannon vanished, and the two pieces of the Thunder God set lost their bright blue radiance, peeling off his body and reverting into two dim thunder orbs.
The items' spirituality had fallen into slumber; they were sealed.
It was Sleeping Dragon Lord who had made the move.
Fuck! Zhang Yuanqing cursed inwardly. Bending down, he snatched the two set pieces and dissolved into starlight before the demon Chromy pounced.
Boom!
The goat-hoofed, horned demon crashed down, shaking the entire temple as a deep crater was gouged into where Zhang Yuanqing had stood.
Xiao Yuan had no choice but to flap her wings, taking to the air to escape the impact zone.
Driven by Human-Beast Hybrid, the demon Chromy pursued neither Zhang Yuanqing nor Xiao Yuan, instead slamming a fist toward the statue.
Seeing this, Xiahou Aotian stomped heavily. A golden circular formation spread rapidly, enveloping both the demon Chromy and the statue, cloaking the Witch Doctor's divine dharmakaya in golden radiance.
Immediately after, another Taiji Bagua formation expanded from beneath his feet to blanket the entire temple. The Yin-Yang and Eight Trigrams spun simultaneously, evolving into the Sixty-Four Hexagrams.
One moment standing before the statue, the next second the demon Chromy was teleported over ten meters away, positioned upon the Lake hexagram.
Human-Beast Hybrid felt her body sink into a quagmire while an immense mountain seemed to bear down on her shoulders, subjecting her to a powerful binding effect.
Sleeping Dragon Lord and Bloody Fluid likewise felt their bodies grow heavy, as if trapped in a mire, struggling with every step.
"Maintaining the formations consumes too much spiritual power; I can't hold out for long!" Xiahou Aotian shouted. "Hurry up and figure out what to do about the points! When this protagonist entered the killing trial, I emptied the company account to buy materials and items! If I die, I won't repay you a single cent!"
These words were directed at Yuanshi Tianzun.
He hadn't told anyone about secretly embezzling company funds—not because he feared taking responsibility, but because admitting it was unseemly and undermined his grand standing.
Xiahou Aotian disdainfully rejecting Yuanshi Tianzun's aid, entering the killing trial alone, and becoming a great artificer—that was the proper protagonist's script.
Starlight rose beside Jiang Ju and the other two as Xiao Yuan landed beside them at the same time. Looking at her lover, she asked urgently, "What do we do?"
Zhang Yuanqing knit his brows tightly. Scanning his surroundings, he opened the leaderboard.
In the entire trial, only fourteen people remained. Excluding Xiao Yuan herself, only three evil classes were left—yet each steered a divine dharmakaya.
Trying to kill them to plunder points was utterly impossible. If they could do that, they wouldn't need the Witch Doctor dharmakaya in the first place.
Right now, the only way was to kill orthodox classes!
Apart from the unconscious Yin Ji and Xiahou Aotian standing on the front line, the orthodox walkers present looked at one another, avoiding each other's eyes and falling silent.
In the stifling, frozen atmosphere, Chazo, the sole Knight, suddenly spoke up:
"Kill me!"
The orthodox walkers looked toward him, and Xiahou Aotian also tilted his head.
Meeting their gazes, a bitter smile surfaced on Chazo's stern face. "My injuries are too severe. I won't last three hours. Kill me for points, and the orthodox faction still has a chance at victory. Hurry up; I can barely hold on."
Huang Taiji stayed silent for a few seconds before saying, "I still have Life Source Fluid. It can save your life."
Yuanshi's Life Source Fluid was depleted, Alicia's had been used to save Osmond, and Jiang Ju and Yin Ji's wretched state made it clear that their supplies were long gone.
The same went for Chazo himself.
Yet Huang Taiji hadn't used any Life Source Fluid from start to finish; he still had several vials in his inventory.
Chazo shook his head, looking toward Xiahou Aotian ahead. "He won't last three hours. Sleeping Dragon Lord and the others have been constantly draining the Fangshi's spiritual power. He is already at his wit's end. Saving me is pointless. You are all experienced Saints; be decisive when the time calls for it."
"It's Xiahou Aotian! You may also respectfully address me as Protagonist!" Xiahou Aotian corrected him displeasedly, then paused, his tone softening slightly: "Whatever, do as you please..."
As they spoke, the god behind Bloody Fluid raised its staff and struck the ground. With a dull thud, the spinning of the Sixty-Four Hexagrams ground sluggishly to a near-halt, like a jammed machine.
Sleeping Dragon Lord remained drowsy, utterly placid, his expression unchanged by the battlefield's shifting tide.
From the darkness floating behind him, plumes of smoke drifted out. As these wisps of smoke settled upon the formation, the already stalled array collapsed rapidly, disintegrating into specks of light.
Xiahou Aotian stomped to steady the formation. Grabbing behind him with his left hand, he drew the tricolored flames from the palm of the divine dharmakaya and hurled them fiercely. "Hold!!"
Blood gushed from his facial orifices.
Landing on the floor, the tricolored fire spread rapidly across the diagram, refining the power of distortion and power of sealing to re-shackle the three.
"Hurry! I can't hold on!" Xiahou Aotian roared.
He was like a torch burning himself madly, only managing to barely restrain the three adversaries.
Zhang Yuanqing looked at Chazo and asked softly, "What compensation do you want?"
"My father died during the 2008 financial crisis, and my mother passed away from illness. My younger sister has a family of her own now and lives a very happy, peaceful life; I don't want you to disturb her," Chazo murmured. "If you must give compensation, then continue guarding order in my stead. I hope my death today will trade for six Dominators for the orthodox faction!
"I once met a senior from the Knight class named Zhai Cai. He wanted to take me as a student once, but I failed the assessment. He said something that I remember to this day."
Struggling to push himself up, Chazo's pale face was solemn and resolute.
"Guardianship is the duty of a Knight; sacrifice is the destiny of a Knight. As long as Knights endure, Order shall never perish!"
Xiao Yuan took a step forward, and her hand pierced through his chest like a blade, destroying his heart.
***
New York County.
As the largest port in the world, the waters around the Port of New York were perpetually crowded with cargo ships, fishing boats, and cruise liners.
Just as a cargo ship sailed away from the harbor, its hull shuddered violently. Drawing on experience, the crew immediately judged that the vessel had run aground on a reef.
Yet the Port of New York was a deepwater port—how could it hit a reef?
The seasoned crew donned life jackets to prepare for the worst, while rushing from the cabins onto the deck to inspect the situation.
Leaning over the railing, a sailor suddenly caught sight of a colossal shadow moving beneath the water.
The next second, an enormous tentacle broke the surface, wrapping around the hull. More tentacles surged from the sea, coiling tightly around the ship.
In the distance, with a tremendous splash, a dark red squid breached the waves, its body even larger than the cargo freighter.
In a gut-wrenching cacophony of groaning metal, the cargo ship was snapped in two by the tentacles and sank into the depths.
Across the waters of New York County, colossal sea monsters of various species burst from the ocean, devouring every cargo ship, cruise liner, and fishing vessel adrift on the sea.
A massive island appeared on the distant horizon, drifting toward New York County.
Thick, smoky purple clouds rolled off the island in churning layers, blotting out the sun and sky. It swiftly swallowed half the firmament, continuing to expand at a terrifying pace until the entire county was shrouded in purple haze.
Amid the roiling purple clouds, a pair of cold, profound eyes suddenly snapped open.
***
"According to information sent back by various branches, terrorist attacks have occurred in seven provinces and more than twenty cities across the country. This is a preliminary report compiled by the secretariat based on urgent emails."
Inside a conference room, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit picked up a remote control and turned on the projector.
The Nine Elders gathered around the conference table, along with the young, white-clad figure in power, turned their gazes toward the screen in unison.
The report was nothing short of horrifying. Illusionists were slaughtering indiscriminately in bustling downtown areas, extracting the souls of ordinary mortals to refine materials, nourish items, and nurture wraiths.
Witch Doctors were using living humans to refine Gu; swarms of poisonous bugs engulfed schools and residential neighborhoods, turning mortals into monsters that butchered one another to breed Gu Kings.
Bewitching Demons were slaughtering ordinary people at random, giving free rein to their innermost killing desires.
Things they had dreamed of doing but never dared to, they now performed without the slightest restraint.
Yet those were merely chaotic massacres. The evil classes belonging to the three major organizations acted with greater discipline. They sabotaged surveillance networks and power grids, raided banks, wealthy estates, and state enterprises controlling scarce resources, plundering on a massive scale.
Military regions in the south and northwest were attacked as well, suffering immense casualties while armories were ransacked.
Videos of evil classes abusing their supernatural powers to murder, burn, and pillage were uploaded to the internet, exposing the existence of superhumans to the world and igniting tremendous social turmoil and public outrage.
And only half a day had elapsed since Morality Points had vanished.
It was not only the evil classes; even some civilian orthodox walkers took advantage of the chaos to loot, plunder wealth, or take revenge on their enemies, releasing the demons in their hearts and reveling in the thrill of lawlessness.
Elders from branches across provinces and cities deployed en masse, run ragged by the crisis.
Yet the clashes among Spirit Realm walkers only brought greater casualties and destruction.
The suited middle-aged man said in a deep voice:
"We have already mobilized the Dominators from headquarters to patrol the entire Capital City, ensuring the safety of its citizens—and especially the safety of those individuals. However, the government is furious about this sudden crisis and demands that we quell the unrest as soon as possible and give them an explanation!"
Before the Nine Elders could speak, the young, white-clad authority said coldly:
"Three days to the total collapse of order, seven days before the whole country falls into chaos. That is our answer!"
Fu Qingyang scanned the Nine Elders around the conference table.
"At a time like this, there is no need to consider the government's thoughts or recommendations. Have them cooperate unconditionally. Everyone, I do not know what transpired within the Spirit Realm, nor have the five alliance leaders responded. The only certainty is that the final war between the orthodox and the evil has begun."
At that moment, the conference room doors were shoved open. A senior civilian officer burst in, her face stricken with terror and her lips trembling:
"The Sea God Church has sent a distress call! The evil faction... demi... demigods have gathered in New York County to hunt down the Sea Emperor!"
Chapter 796