Capital City, at a suburban manor.
Clad in a wine-red suit, the President stood on the second-floor balcony, a cigar held between his fingers.
Puffing one drag after another, his voice carried a touch of anxiety. "Can't the demigods of the Musician and Scholar clans be trotted out for a spin? They didn't show their faces during the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods incident, and now with the evil faction raiding our home, they're still in closed-door cultivation?"
In the courtyard, a sapling glowing with green light swayed gently. A burly, red-haired man silently smoked a cigar, and a cold sneer drifted from the dark mist hovering over the artificial lake.
No one paid him any mind.
Only the clay figure in the living room, shaped like an honest, genial elder, spoke in a mild voice. "They are not part of an official organization and have no obligation to appear on the front lines. The only thing they need to consider is whether they can preserve themselves if the orthodox faction falls."
This was an agreement established by the factions when they had carved up their territories back then.
When the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect became official organizations and took the reins of power, they assumed the duty of maintaining order. The Spirit Realm clans retreated to the second line, acting like regional governors under official oversight who assisted in official work.
Risking life and limb had nothing to do with the Spirit Realm clans.
Of course, if it truly came down to a decisive final battle, they certainly would not sit by idly.
The President exhaled a plume of white smoke. "Fine, let them stay behind to guard home then. The Spirit Society still has another demigod in the Second District, as well as Ling Tuo."
At this moment, Fu Qingxuan ended her call with her younger brother and said, "The evil faction has rebelled. After today, the world order will be upended; everyone, prepare yourselves mentally. The urgent priority now is to rescue the Sea Emperor and preserve the orthodox faction's demigod numbers."
Compared to the grim mood of the other demigods, Fu Qingxuan was actually somewhat excited.
The White Tiger governed war. Deep down, she yearned for a conflict that would sweep the entire globe; only then could a Grand Marshal's true strength be unleashed. In single combat, Scouts ranked in the top five; in team battles, top three; but in a large-scale war, no one could rival a Grand Marshal.
The President had long grown impatient and said, "Assemble, assemble! I'll take you all there."
Just then, an indescribable sense of dread surged forth. The hearts of the demigods present skipped two violent beats in unison, and they turned their gazes toward the west at the same time.
***
In the conference room.
Having learned that the five Alliance Leaders had returned to reality, the Nine Elders felt a wave of relief.
The combat power displayed by the five Alliance Leaders during the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods incident had left the Nine Elders in a cold sweat on top of their astonishment, for even they had not known the secret of Five Elements fusion.
Back when the official organization and the Spirit Realm clans joined forces to conduct research, the advocate had been the Lord of the Central Court. The core objective was to study ancient secret arts, including but not limited to mechanist arts and five-element spiritual power.
Looking back now, the five Alliance Leaders had secretly been communicating long ago, merely using the Scholar and Musician clans—who excelled in creation and life—to break through their bottlenecks. After mastering the art of Five Elements fusion, the Alliance Leaders had kept it entirely secret. Even the Ten Elders had been kept in the dark, which showed that the Alliance Leaders did not trust them completely either.
Still, at the end of the day, it was good news.
Combining the five elements into one allowed them to contend with the Wind and Thunder Twin Gods, which meant they could stand against Asura.
The title of "Invincible" above Asura's head could finally be stripped away.
The Sword Pavilion Elder's expression relaxed slightly, and he said, "Do not lower your guard. Notify the demigods of the Liu, Xie, Zhu, Zhao, and Xiahou clans. Have them help maintain order while restraining their clansmen. Now that Morality Points have disappeared, the world order hangs by a thread. The demigods won't refuse."
Though the evil classes were stronger than the orthodox ones, the orthodox faction had more demigods than the evil faction.
At times, quality mattered, but at other times, numbers were just as crucial.
Just as Fu Qingyang was about to speak, he saw the faces of the Nine Elders around the conference table change drastically. Every single one of them looked toward the west.
The two peak Dominators from the Red Fire Sect directly burst into flames, instinctively shifting into a combat stance.
"What happened?" Fu Qingyang's heart sank with a terrible premonition.
Elder Miao closed his eyes, focusing his senses. After five or six seconds, he snapped his eyes open and cried out, "Asura has entered the Capital!!"
A bolt from the blue!
At this moment, every Spirit Realm walker in the Capital City trembled in terror, as if confronting their natural predator.
***
On the outer ring of the Capital City.
Traffic flowed ceaselessly. On the rooftop of an old building, a three-headed, six-armed man cast like a black iron tower stood motionless at the edge.
He looked even more like a sculpture now.
With trembling legs, Demon Eye Heavenly King sat nearby and asked with anticipation, "Asura, I want to pull Yuanshi Tianzun into the Soldier Master sect. Could you grant him the title of Heavenly King?"
Asura's deep voice rumbled, "Fine!"
"After we bathe the orthodox faction in blood, can our Soldier Master sect wipe out the other evil classes in one fell swoop?"
"Fine!"
"Asura, I've got to slip away. The orthodox demigods are here."
Demon Eye Heavenly King looked toward the horizon. At some point, thick layers of dark clouds had rolled in. Beneath the dark clouds, a breathtaking beauty clad in a dazzling opera costume with flags bristling behind her back stood in midair.
In the other three directions, a towering emerald-green ancient tree, roaring flames, and iron swords frozen in midair appeared one after another. On the very rooftop where they stood, the concrete melted away, and a clay figure rose from it.
The Alliance Leaders of the Five Elements Alliance had surrounded the two of them.
The traffic flowed as usual below. The mortals remained completely oblivious to the anomalies in the sky, just as crawling ants could never notice the humans watching them from above.
"No need," Asura said, uncharacteristically not answering with 'fine.' "I am not here to fight!"
Before Demon Eye Heavenly King could reply, a furious voice cut in on his behalf. "Not here to fight? Then what the hell did you come for? You sneaky bastard!"
Looking toward the source of the voice, a man in a wine-red suit holding a cigar and wearing a silver mask appeared, looking thoroughly exasperated.
Asura's appearance in the Capital City at this critical juncture had utterly broken the President's composure.
From the belly of the iron-tower-like Asura came a voice that combined a subwoofer rumble with vocal fry. "If you five leave the Capital City, I will slaughter it."
The five Alliance Leaders did not speak, but the sudden surging of dark clouds and the buzzing drone of sword intent revealed their fury.
It was glaringly obvious that Asura was here to tie them down.
For the evil faction to summon this sleeping god proved that their plan was not just a half-hearted probe, but an all-out assault prepared through a century of forbearance.
At this moment, a long-forgotten sense of helplessness surged within the orthodox demigods.
***
New York County.
A tsunami hundreds of meters high slammed violently into the harbor, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier, churning into foam like roaring snow lions and ferocious dragons accompanied by thunderous roars.
Wave after wave battered the barrier with ever-increasing frequency, rising higher and higher.
Every surge conveyed a desperate urgency and profound powerlessness.
***
In the killing instance, on the third floor of the museum.
Huang Taiji caught Jiang Ju's mangled body, opened his inventory, produced a vial of Life Source Fluid, and injected it into the Son of the Flame Emperor's jugular vein.
At the stumps of his severed limbs, flesh squirmed and cells rapidly regenerated. Although fully regrowing the limbs would require another two vials of Life Source Fluid, the bleeding was stemmed, and the cells destroyed by the explosion and scorched by fire were restored.
Huang Taiji did not administer another dose. Right now, a single vial of Life Source Fluid could save a life; wasting it on regrowing Jiang Ju's limbs was too much of an extravagance.
Xiao Yuan "put away" the ethereal ritual altar and flapped her wings to return to their side, taking up a position at the front beside Xiahou Aotian.
With the Sixty-Four Hexagrams formation shattered, Xiahou Aotian panted heavily. Sweat mingled with the blood trickling from his eyes and nose, smearing his handsome face.
The divine avatar behind him dimmed, hovering on the verge of dispersing.
Zhang Yuanqing brought out the Mountain God Scepter and made the gemstone at its tip radiate green light, tending to his injuries.
Xiahou Aotian had plenty of pills in reserve himself. Scholars excelled at alchemy and medicine, so he did not truly need Yuanshi Tianzun's redundant assistance when it came to endurance. Even so, he did not refuse, as his physical condition was simply too dreadful at the moment.
Bloody Liquid, in the guise of a middle-aged man, glanced at Bestial Hybrid's corpse and sneered repeatedly. "Too impatient. You should have waited until she used an item before striking. That way, you would have gotten more spoils—or rather, we would have gotten more spoils. What was the point? Burning through all your spiritual power to kill Bestial Hybrid only turns a three-on-one into a two-on-one."
Zhang Yuanqing looked at him and smiled. "You're wrong. A three-on-one gave us no chance of winning, but a two-on-one is another story. Together, we peak Saints are enough to confront a Dominator-level powerhouse."
Yin Ji, Huang Taiji, Qingzhu, Alicia... The orthodox class members rose one after another, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.
Though a divine avatar was stronger than an early level-seven Dominator, it was still a far cry from level eight. Except for Qingzhu, everyone present was a peak Saint. What was more, Yin Ji and he were both Night Wanderers who had practiced the Pure Yang Body Cleansing Record.
They possessed a degree of immunity and resistance against an Alcoholic's hard crowd control.
Coupled with the level-six yin corpses and spirit servants belonging to him and Yin Ji, having so many level-six Saints together was enough to trigger a qualitative transformation through sheer quantity.
As long as Xiao Yuan and Xiahou Aotian could pin down Sleeping Dragon Lord, Zhang Yuanqing was confident he could slay Bloody Liquid and turn the tide completely.
Granted, casualties among the orthodox classes would be inevitable, but this was no time to cling to life. If Chazo could gamble with his life, so could they.
Just then, the drowsy Sleeping Dragon Lord suddenly spoke. "So, the person I'm truly meant to kill is actually you, Daode Tianzun?"
His eyes snapped open, blazing with an intense stare fixed on Zhang Yuanqing.
Sleeping Dragon Lord's words stunned everyone present, including Bloody Liquid.
Zhang Yuanqing narrowed his eyes.
Sleeping Dragon Lord continued, "Before entering the killing instance, someone gave me guidance. He told me that once inside, I had to keep two things in mind: first, obtain as much from the instance as possible; second, be faster than everyone else.
"At first, I didn't quite understand. Only after entering did I realize why he chose me. The Night God Scripture I cultivate counters all items, so those cultural relics were practically handed to me on a silver platter. I barely had to pay any price at all; so long as I broke the display cases and seals, I could subdue them.
"And the price I had to pay was to help him wipe out the entire orthodox faction in the killing instance. If circumstances didn't allow for that, then I was to help him kill one specific person.
"When I asked him who to kill, he didn't tell me. He only said: once inside the instance, kill whoever poses the greatest threat to you."
Sleeping Dragon Lord's gaze drifted toward Xiahou Aotian. "It's not this Scholar. He's too ordinary—so ordinary that I didn't even care to pay attention to him."
Xiahou Aotian flew into a rage. "Dost thou seek death, son of thy mother!"
This was an archaic curse he had picked up from the old man in his ring.
Sleeping Dragon Lord did not respond. His gaze swept over the others, and he shook his head slightly. "They are very ordinary too, not worth that person seeking me out personally. That's why I didn't fight seriously earlier. I chose to wait, wanting to see who it was I was truly meant to kill. Now, I am certain.
"It's you!" His eyes finally locked onto Zhang Yuanqing. At this moment, all traces of drowsiness vanished from his gaze, replaced by a sharp, piercing brilliance. "Who on earth are you? The Taiyi Sect has no Stargazer like you, and I have never heard the name Daode Tianzun. A Saint this powerful could not possibly be an unknown."
Beside him, Yin Ji also scrutinized Zhang Yuanqing with a suspicious look.
As a core member of the Taiyi Sect, she had never heard of Daode Tianzun, nor had she known of any such Stargazer. It was impossible for her not to know of a Stargazer who had reached the peak Saint level; she knew every genius Stargazer who had emerged over the past thirty years like the back of her hand.
Yet the name "Daode Tianzun" on the leaderboard left her deeply conflicted. A fake name could fool people, but it could never fool the Spirit Realm.
Zhang Yuanqing's expression grew exceedingly solemn. It was not because of the person Sleeping Dragon Lord had mentioned—that was something to worry about only after surviving. What truly weighed heavily on his mind was the enemy's attitude.
As an Illusionist, he could clearly tell that Sleeping Dragon Lord was not lying.
Both the cheating methods and the claim of "not fighting seriously" were the absolute truth.
Not fighting seriously meant that Sleeping Dragon Lord had yet to play his trump card.
He had rejoiced too early.
Seeing that Daode Tianzun remained silent, Sleeping Dragon Lord said indifferently, "It doesn't matter. No matter who you are, you will die here today. It's time for me to leave this instance, return to reality, and embrace the glory that belongs to me."
He opened his inventory and released the cultural relics he had subdued earlier.
Blades, spears, swords, shields, sculptures, bronzeware, textiles, furniture, jade artifacts... Relic after relic orbited around him, plunging one by one into the darkness behind him.
As if fed a potent tonic, the divine being within the viscous darkness saw its aura swell explosively.
The dark domain expanded with terrifying speed, first swallowing Bloody Liquid beside him. A dull thud echoed through the darkness as someone collapsed.
Though a fellow peak Saint wielding a divine avatar, Bloody Liquid fell into a deep slumber before he even had a chance to react.
The dark domain rapidly widened, driving away all light and plunging the hall into night.
Thud, thud, thud...
Xiahou Aotian, Qingzhu, Alicia, and Huang Taiji collapsed to the floor one after another, sinking into deep dreams.
Zhang Yuanqing staggered like a drunkard, swaying stubbornly, refusing to go down.
*This power of slumber... It's im-impossible to resist... We're really done for this time... The person who commissioned Sleeping Dragon Lord to get rid of me must be Ling Tuo... But how could he have calculated things to this point...*
Unable to fight off the drowsiness any longer, Zhang Yuanqing crashed heavily to the ground, losing consciousness entirely.
"Hey, wake up. If you don't wake up now, your teammates are going to die."
Amidst the boundless darkness, Zhang Yuanqing heard someone calling to him.
Chapter 799