Hearing the Void President's words, the orthodox demigods turned their eyes toward the Goddess of Beauty, hoping for an affirmative answer from her lips. The Goddess of Beauty sighed.
"There are only three evil demigods in the First District. The Night Emperor has been asleep for decades, Gunther Raine is holed up on his private island playing with aberration beasts, and Old Mai is a drunkard who is exceptionally guarded against me."
The anticipation in the orthodox demigods' eyes turned into disappointment.
The President beat his chest and stomped his feet in exasperation, lamenting, "What good are you! Aside from sleeping with the Demon Lord, you can't accomplish a single proper thing!"
He turned to sweep his gaze across the orthodox demigods, his expression turning solemn.
"You are all well aware of the Alcoholic class's traits, so I won't belabor them. That fellow is an old rival of mine. He wields a rule-based item derived from the authority of Dionysus, known as the 'Twisted Realm.'
"Within the Twisted Realm, everything is inverted, and even spells are distorted. In that world, Old Mai is invincible. If a demigod-level combatant gets trapped in it for more than half an hour, their spirit will gradually twist and warp. Once things reach that stage, breaking free becomes impossible.
"And when the Twisted Realm folds into one, a demigod is certain to perish. To shatter the Twisted Realm, one must have sufficient offensive output—like the Grand Marshal's sword, for instance.
"However, I advise against sending her into battle. High damage output is merely the prerequisite for breaking the Twisted Realm, not the condition for defeating Old Mai. Fragile glass cannons with high damage, high-HP tanks, recovery casters, and burst warriors are all ill-advised choices.
"To triumph over Old Mai, one must possess exceptionally high offensive output, superhuman resistance against debuffs, and immense vitality or healing capabilities.
"Don't think about using items to patch up your weaknesses. At our level, unless you pull out a Grade 9 rule-based item, it barely even qualifies to be brought onto the stage."
His words plunged the orthodox demigods into silence.
The Liu Family Demigod scrutinized the Void demigod. "Why not send you into the arena? With your current foundation, you could overpower Dionysus. Since everyone has only one chance to take the field, the best allocation would be for you and Asura to each win a round, canceling each other out."
Pitting the Void against Asura was actually unsafe, as the former had no guarantee of winning against Asura. If he lost to Asura, the orthodox faction would fall a round behind.
Fu Qingxuan suddenly spoke up: "No. Send the Lord of the Stars."
Looking at the frowning orthodox demigods, she said in a composed tone, "An Alcoholic's chaos, inversion, disorder, and numbing abilities can all be suppressed by solar divine power. When it comes to close combat, a Day Wanderer is more than sufficient. When it comes to recovery, a Day Wanderer is also sufficient.
"The Lord of the Stars can counter Dionysus. His deployment offers the greatest certainty of victory. Most importantly, even if he loses, we can still be exempted from death once."
The demigods' furrowed brows gradually relaxed as they looked toward the Taiyi Sect Master, who was draped in a starlight robe with brilliant, gleaming eyes.
The Taiyi Sect Master pondered for a few seconds. Starlight flickered in his eyes as if he were deducing the outcome. After a brief pause, he nodded.
"Feasible!"
...
Shushan, the plaza outside the main hall.
*Relying solely on Sunrise and Blazing Sun God of War will get me killed by them. I must make clever use of my items...* Zhang Yuanqing, the Item Heavenly Lord, dispersed the golden sun behind his head, maintaining only the Blazing Sun God of War form.
—The golden light cast by the Blazing Sun God of War could also suppress enemies and counter yin creatures, but its effectiveness was vastly diminished.
Deprived of Sunrise's suppression, the auras of the three Shushan powerhouses surged explosively. Yin qi burst from their bodies, coalescing into twisting plumes of black smoke, while sharp hisses of sword qi drifted out, splintering the surrounding flagstones.
"Form the array!" The Shushan Sect Master transmitted a psychic pulse to the two elders.
Like phantoms, the two elders flickered and vanished in an instant, reappearing on Zhang Yuanqing's left and right. Together with the Shushan Sect Master, they formed an equilateral triangle, entrapping Zhang Yuanqing within.
Inside the triangle, sword qi crisscrossed violently, reeking of murderous intent.
Zhang Yuanqing, his skin dark gold and a golden solar emblem marking the center of his forehead, collapsed into starlight amid the intersecting sword qi.
Starlight rose more than a dozen meters away. Zhang Yuanqing reached into Little Red Riding Hood, gave it a gentle shake, and shook out over a dozen Saint-stage yin corpses.
The yin corpses scattered in pairs, darting into buildings, under eaves, and into side halls, quickly concealing themselves.
One striking, red-eyed woman did not disperse, remaining positioned at the edge of the plaza.
In the process, Zhang Yuanqing condensed a bow and arrows out of solar divine power. Loosing three arrows simultaneously, he forced back the three pursuing Shushan powerhouses.
Once the summoned yin corpses were safely hidden, Zhang Yuanqing spat out three breaths of Lunar Qi in succession, which coalesced into three Dominator-stage spirit servants.
Upon appearing, the three elders of the Southern Sect looked around, their hearts clenching. The sheer density of yin qi in this place was staggering.
Their master, maintaining his Blazing Sun God of War form, resembled a golden candle flame amid the gloom—bright and dazzling, yet powerless to alter the vast, surging sea of yin qi that surrounded them.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory, tossed the double-barreled shotgun to the charming Sixth Elder, and commanded, "Possess my yin corpses."
Catching the double-barreled shotgun and reviewing its properties, the Sixth Elder instantly grasped her master's intent and drifted swiftly into the distance.
"You two go as well!" Zhang Yuanqing ordered.
The Seventh and Eleventh Elders asked no questions, following after the Ninth Elder.
Amid this brief exchange between master and servants, the Shushan Sect Master hurled the rust-pocked iron sword from his hand. With a sharp whistle, the iron sword turned into a streak of frigid light, accompanied by the roaring howl of wind and thunder.
Sword Flying Technique!
From the void beside Zhang Yuanqing, three streams of purple-gold liquid burst forth, quickly enveloping his body to form a suit of heavy armor.
Facing the ferocious onslaught of the iron sword, he made no attempt to dodge. Bringing his hands together, he caught the freezing beam between his palms. With a sharp crack, he snapped the iron sword in two. Deprived of its vessel, the sword qi within blasted violently in every direction.
The Shushan Sect Master stepped through the Seven Stars, his fingers joined like a blade as his psychic wave surged: "Rise!"
From the main hall behind him came a deafening crash as a bronze sword a full three meters long smashed through the hall doors and hung poised in midair.
The Shushan Sect Master thrust his sword fingers forward. "Cleave!"
The three-meter-long bronze sword slashed out a terrifying arc of sword qi that seemed capable of obliterating everything.
Zhang Yuanqing did not dare take it head-on. Snapping his fingers with a sound like clashing metal, he dissolved into starlight before the sword qi could land.
*Boom!*
Where he had just stood, an unfathomably deep chasm over a dozen meters long split open.
Starlight rose right in front of the Shushan Sect Master. Amid the dazzling glow, a fist studded with spikes across the knuckles punched out with a resounding crack, like a spear tip striking empty air to produce an explosive pop.
The Shushan Sect Master thrust a palm forward to meet it.
*Bang!*
As fist and palm collided, the Shushan Sect Master's palm instantly shattered.
Zhang Yuanqing staggered backward as the metal gauntlet encasing his right fist burst into individual droplets of purple-gold liquid.
Even with the Blazing Sun God of War skill active, and even with the amplification of the purple-gold suit, his strength was still far inferior to that of the late-stage Level 8 Shushan Sect Master.
Sword qi swept in from behind as two Shushan elders silently closed the distance, one aiming for his heart from behind and the other slashing toward his neck.
Zhang Yuanqing threw his head back and unleashed a piercing shriek.
The three Shushan powerhouses merely shuddered for a fraction of a second before instantly recovering, largely unaffected.
They retained most of the skills they had possessed in life, including a swordsman's Iron Will. An Illusionist's Mental Strike struggled to inflict severe damage upon their souls.
Furthermore, after being converted into yin corpses, their souls had been sublimated, growing even more resilient.
However, taking advantage of the fleeting pause, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon let out a low roar, puffed out its cheeks, and spewed a torrent of golden molten magma at one of the elders.
Commandery Princess Yinyao used Star Escape to cut off the other elder's path. With yin qi churning around her, she thrust both hands forward, launching dozens of Spirit-Sealing Talismans.
Faced with talismans specifically designed to counter yin creatures, the elder did not dare take them head-on, dodging and weaving through the flurry of talismans while fully demonstrating the keen insight of a Scout.
His hand shattered, the Shushan Sect Master gestured with his sword fingers from afar, and the bronze sword suspended high above slashed down once more.
This time, its target was not Zhang Yuanqing, but Commandery Princess Yinyao.
Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand and snapped his fingers sharply. The destructive edge of the sword qi was instantly sapped of seventy to eighty percent of its force, and when bathed in the Blazing Sun God of War's golden radiance, it weakened further.
By the time it struck Yinyao, barely a tenth of its original power remained, allowing her to easily shatter it with a clenched fist.
With his severed hand, the Shushan Sect Master closed in on Zhang Yuanqing like a ghost. Zhang Yuanqing took a step back to open up a hundred-meter distance, but the Shushan Sect Master arrived in the blink of an eye. His sword fingers struck like blurred afterimages, tapping repeatedly against Zhang Yuanqing's chest, forehead, and joints throughout his body.
The Shushan Sect Master clenched his right fist.
*Bang!*
The armor on Zhang Yuanqing's body shattered into countless droplets of purple-gold liquid, and his dark-gold skin split with fine cracks.
Having realized that this young Buliangren was also proficient in mind-magic techniques, the Shushan Sect Master had opted for pure close combat, keeping his sword qi restrained within his strikes so it could not be neutralized.
Striking while the iron was hot, the Shushan Sect Master jabbed a finger straight toward the center of Zhang Yuanqing's forehead.
Right then, at the edge of the plaza not far away, a yin corpse stood up, leveled the double-barreled shotgun, and pulled the trigger on the Shushan Sect Master.
*Bang!*
Flames erupted from the muzzle.
Zhang Yuanqing thrust his index and middle fingers forward, turning the ballistic path immaterial and causing the pellets to strike the Shushan Sect Master directly.
With a booming blast, two blackened craters burst open on the Shushan Sect Master's chest, erupting into roaring flames.
Simultaneously, the yin corpse that pulled the trigger shattered to pieces, torn apart by the tremendous recoil of the double-barreled shotgun.
The Southern Sect's Ninth Elder drifted out and possessed another nearby yin corpse, which picked up the double-barreled shotgun and reloaded it.
The Shushan Sect Master gestured with his sword fingers, and the distant bronze sword swept down, its majestic sword qi tearing the yin corpse's body apart.
Zhang Yuanqing made no move to help the Ninth Elder deflect the attack; she had merely been the bait. With the Shushan Sect Master's attention drawn by the double-barreled shotgun and the Ninth Elder, Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory, grabbed a gleaming Thunder Spear, and hurled it with all his might.
*Sizzle—*
A flash of lightning cracked through the air as the Thunder Spear pierced clean through the Shushan Sect Master's skull.
Fortunately, he had triggered the "Penetration" effect.
The Shushan Sect Master's Origin Soul detached from his physical vessel, fleeing rapidly toward the grand hall.
Zhang Yuanqing conjured a bow and arrows, drew the bowstring taut, and loosed a succession of arrows forged from solar divine power that ignored distance, striking the Shushan Sect Master again and again.
Amid an indignant and furious roar, he dispersed into smoke, delivered to his final rest.
Next, with the assistance of Commandery Princess Yinyao and the three spirit servants, Zhang Yuanqing delivered the other two elders to their rest as well, ensuring that all members of the Shushan Sect departed together in an orderly, complete family reunion.
Finally, he looked toward the dead-silent main hall and took out the Tortoise Shell Diagram.
Once he dispatched the boss inside the coffin, he could assemble the full Heaven-Worship Set, clear the dungeon, and step into Level 9.
The closer he came to the end, the more cautious he grew.
Next, he might very well have to face an enemy at the early, or even mid, Level 9 stage entirely on his own.
He had to be thoroughly prepared before pulling the boss.
Chapter 963