Four Strikes of the Soaring Dragon Drum

Zhu Tiandao set off to lodge his complaint. The others began collecting the corpses and clearing the battlefield. At Su Yu's side, Sun Moon experts maintained a constant vigil to prevent any further sneak attacks. Nearby, Hu Xiansheng stared at Su Yu with longing eyes. He was more anxious about Su Yu's safety than anyone else! Where was the one million merit points promised as compensation?! If anything happened to Su Yu, it would take years off the old man's life. Su Yu held back a smile, choosing not to join in the cleanup, and asked, "Director, do you think the Manor Lord's complaint at the Twin Sages Prefecture will yield results?" "He'll definitely come away with something." Hu Xiansheng suppressed the urge to ask for his million merit points and chuckled. "Our Manor Lord might not be the strongest among all the manor lords, but when it comes to being unreasonable... ahem, standing his ground and fighting tooth and nail, he's got quite a few tricks up his sleeve. "The Twin Sages Prefecture and the two Sacred Lands haven't accomplished much lately and have blundered repeatedly. It was one thing when nobody kicked up a fuss, but now that the Manor Lord is going over to raise hell, King Dahan and King Miecan, who are stationed there right now, will almost certainly have to show themselves. As for how it gets handled... that depends on how the Manor Lord negotiates." Su Yu felt a touch of regret. "I really wanted to go along and see it for myself." "Don't!" Hu Xiansheng laughed. "It's better that you didn't go. Things would get awkward if you were there! People will definitely bring up your Zhoutian apertures. If King Dahan or King Miecan asks you about them, will you tell them or not? If you don't, an Invincible might not hold it against you, but... it's still a slap in the face. If you do, you won't be happy about it. That's why the Manor Lord didn't take you. Do you think two Invincibles would come all the way to Great Ming Prefecture just to question you?" Hu Xiansheng gave an easy smile. "The Manor Lord has his own reasons for how he conducts business. Without you there, everything is far easier to handle." Su Yu nodded. That was true. Especially regarding King Miecan, since Su Yu had inherited his Time Combat Art. If King Miecan asked about the Zhoutian apertures, should he reveal them? Refusing was awkward, but complying left a bitter taste. In any case, he had no intention of revealing them anytime soon. The three hundred and sixty Zhoutian apertures were not something that could be widely popularized. It required monstrous talent and a massive amount of resources. The descendants of Invincibles might have a chance, but ordinary families had virtually none. Since it couldn't be popularized, why say so much? It would only diminish his own advantage and potentially create competitors for himself. Seeing Su Yu's lingering regret, Hu Xiansheng glanced around and sent a voice transmission: "Kid, do you still have money? If you do, I can find a few old friends to set up a cross-prefecture visual transmission for you. As long as you pay, there's very little in Great Ming Prefecture that can't be done!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. Why had Great Ming Prefecture suddenly become just like Great Xia Prefecture—obsessed with money! Had this director of his set his sights on his wallet? He had earned quite a lot, but the bulk of it hadn't gone elsewhere; it had all been spent on Hu Xiansheng. Of course, it was an equivalent exchange. In truth, Su Yu was deeply interested in his teleportation gate. Rather than addressing the transmission, he smiled and asked, "Director, did that teleportation gate really cost one million merit points to build?" "Ahem..." Hu Xiansheng coughed dryly. "Well, not quite that much, but not far off! Besides, it embodies hundreds of years of my intellectual crystallization! Saying one million isn't an exaggeration. You saw it yourself—a third-stage Sun Moon was trapped and severely injured by it; otherwise, he wouldn't have died so easily." Su Yu nodded slightly. "That's true. Director, when that teleportation gate blew up, I noticed a small half of it remained. Since I paid for it, that remaining half belongs to me. You can hand it over later." "..." Hu Xiansheng stared at him mournfully! You saw that? Fine, you saw it, but you still want to take what's left of my gate? All I have left are scraps! Su Yu avoided his gaze. He genuinely was intrigued—it was a devastating weapon! If an unsuspecting Shanhai wandered in, they would be dead meat! A third-stage Sun Moon had actually been trapped by a single gate! Come to think of it, the entrance of the research institute possessed a similar effect, but that gate was built on the foundation of the entire facility and tied to the spatial severance chamber. It was impossible to carry around. Hu Xiansheng's version, however, could be transported and deployed anywhere. That was extraordinary! Hu Xiansheng said wistfully, "You don't have a spatial divine character, so you can't control it. It's a complete waste on you..." Su Yu grinned. "Director, I don't mind." "I..." Did I ask if you minded? Hu Xiansheng looked thoroughly helpless. After a pause, he muttered, "Well... if I repair it, I can still squeeze some use out of it. How about... how about I find someone to set up a long-distance visual transmission array for you free of charge? What do you say?" Grief filled his heart! He was going to lose money on this! If he had known, he wouldn't have brought it up. Now he was stuck doing work on his own dime. Su Yu beamed. "That works too. Sorry for troubling you, Director!" Hu Xiansheng sighed in defeat. "No rush. The Manor Lord and the others won't arrive until tonight at the earliest. There's plenty of time." The Twin Sages Prefecture was quite far from Great Ming Prefecture, but a group of powerful experts traveled swiftly. The Iron Cavalry Guards were all mounted on demon beasts, moving at high speeds. Equipped with One-Horned Golden Oxen, the Iron Cavalry Guards were first-rate whether charging battle lines or covering vast distances. Su Yu wasn't curious about the oxen, but rather about the golden dragon. He couldn't resist asking, "What's the deal with that golden dragon pulling the Manor Lord's carriage?" "You mean that one?" Hu Xiansheng chuckled. "Back in the day, it was just a little dragon. The Manor Lord tamed it and brought it back from the All-Heavens Battlefield. It has decent strength, though it hasn't reached the Sun Moon Realm; it's at the peak of Shanhai. Normally it has nothing to do, just pulling the carriage once every few decades. "The Manor Lord only deploys that ceremonial procession when he inspects the All-Heavens Battlefield or attends to major official affairs." Su Yu nodded again. It certainly made for an imposing display, far more impressive than the Suanni. The Suanni happened to be nearby, having carried Su Yu over. Hearing his words, it turned its head and glanced at Su Yu, roughly guessing that he was looking down on it. It felt thoroughly aggrieved. What was so great about a golden dragon?! Just a dragon, hardly stronger than itself! The Suanni race was among the top hundred races as well—who was he looking down on? Su Yu ignored it. While chatting with Hu Xiansheng, he absorbed the lingering resonance of the divine characters to nourish and strengthen his own. Meanwhile, the onlookers in the area gradually dispersed. ... A short while later, the battlefield was mostly cleared. Niu Baidao walked over and smiled. "We netted a big catch this time. The higher-ups of the Divine Dragon Cult, Demonic Scorpion Cult, Blood Fire Cult, Heavenly Eye Cult, Flying Tiger Cult, and the like operating near our territory were practically wiped out in one fell swoop! The cult experts across three or four surrounding major prefectures were almost entirely exterminated!" Su Yu asked in a heavy voice, "Head, did anyone from the Six-Winged Divine Cult show up?" "No." Understanding what was on his mind, Niu Baidao consoled him, "It's actually better that they didn't come. That means their strength is depleted and they couldn't spare anyone! If they had sufficient power, who wouldn't want to come and take a share? The fact that they didn't shows they currently lack the strength to dispatch experts here." With that, Niu Baidao switched to voice transmission: "Setting that aside, do you still have Heaven Yuan Qi? Lend a batch to me. We need to hurry and forge a fake phenomenon. This breakthrough of yours will cause trouble once word spreads. Even if we can't fool everyone, fooling one is better than none. Sowing doubt among them is a good thing..." Su Yu transmitted back, "Head, you want to fake the phenomenon?" "That's right!" Niu Baidao replied via voice transmission, "There wasn't time earlier. Otherwise, we should have fabricated it on the spot so those Sun Moon experts could see it. But it's not too late. Lend me some Heaven Yuan Qi so I can speed up the imitation and see if we can deliver it to the Manor Lord. It would be best to display it live at the Twin Sages Prefecture. After all, the people there didn't witness it with their own eyes. They think highly of themselves and might not truly believe you could trigger a rule of the Ancient Human Sovereign... We'll whip up a fake to hoodwink them!" Su Yu's eyes flickered. That was indeed a good idea! Without having seen it firsthand, they might not take it seriously. Earlier, he had roughly one hundred and fifty portions of Heaven Yuan Fruit essence. He had consumed around thirty portions himself, and roughly ten had been wasted during the first phenomenon, leaving him with about one hundred and ten portions. The heavenly phenomenon hadn't actually bestowed that much Heaven Yuan Qi. It merely looked spectacular! It was only about twenty portions! The Ancient Human Sovereign seemed rather stingy. Of course, it was also possible that much of it had depleted over the endless ages. After all, with the passage of time, no one knew where those rule rewards were stored, and some might have dissipated naturally. Around twenty portions wasn't an immense sum. Without further ado, Su Yu quickly retrieved a small orb containing roughly thirty portions. He handed it to Niu Baidao, who passed it without a word to an elderly Sun Moon cultivator. The elder took the item and departed swiftly, evidently heading off to rush the fabrication. Following Niu Baidao, Su Yu continued via voice transmission, "Head, are there still people who haven't been cleared out?" "A few. The Shanhai cultivators have all been eliminated, but some Lingyun and Tengkong individuals remain untouched. We can't be sure whether they are scouts from other prefectures or All-Races Cultists. Even among the fifteen slain Shanhai cultivators, not all were necessarily cultists. Of course, under these circumstances, dead is dead. Even if other prefectures lost people by mistake, they won't speak up right now." With five Sun Moon cultists lying in wait, why were your people lurking there too? What were you planning? Even if certain prefectures had their Shanhai operatives wrongly killed, they wouldn't dare make a peep. "In that case, when you capture the rest later, leave a few for me." "Sure!" Niu Baidao didn't mind and smiled. "Are you really planning to infiltrate them?" "Not necessarily. Keeping a few Lingyun around will be good for broadening my horizons..." Su Yu smiled faintly. "I still lack real-combat experience. Head, don't execute them all later. When I have time, I'd like to use them for practice and see what Lingyun combat strength is like!" Lacking combat experience was no problem. Killing a few people would fix that! Having stepped into the Tengkong Realm, Su Yu wanted to test how formidable he truly was now. At that thought, he asked, "Head, did those Sun Moon experts leave behind any divine characters?" This incident had actually been quite costly. The main loss lay in the one million merit points. Even if Su Yu hadn't spoken up back then, Hu Xiansheng would probably have detonated the gate anyway. Still... money was just an external possession, and having Hu Xiansheng detonate it willingly was for the best. The encirclement of the Sun Moon experts had ultimately been for Su Yu's sake. Inflicting severe losses on someone else without compensation wasn't Su Yu's style. From the merit points Marquis Xia had given him last time, Su Yu had 1,060,000 left. Even after paying Hu Xiansheng, he still had 60,000 merit points. That was enough to get by! Besides, if he truly needed to spend money, he still had plenty of revenue to collect. The advanced version of the Aperture Fusion Art, the Primordial Spirit Cultural Art, and the upcoming Primordial Spirit Aperture Art were all geese laying golden eggs. As long as Su Yu didn't burn through resources recklessly, he would never lack funds. "There are some, but we can't extract them right now. We'll have to wait for the Manor Lord to return," Niu Baidao said with a smile. "Of the five Sun Moons, the first to die—the new sect master of the Blood Fire Cult—and the fellow that old buddy Hu Qi refined were both Civilization Masters. The other three were warriors. Those two should have left behind some divine characters." Sun Moon divine characters could be repurposed as secret realms. However, those two might not have outlined many characters, and even if they had, only their primary characters were likely to have reached the Sun Moon tier. Su Yu said nothing more on that front, but suddenly transmitted, "Head, since these people were traitors to the human race, could I extract a few drops of their blood essence to inspect their memory fragments and see if they held any secrets...?" "You can extract memories?" Niu Baidao was somewhat taken aback. That technique was certainly not something just anyone could master. "I can!" Niu Baidao pondered for a moment and nodded. "Very well. I'll extract some later and send it over. But... Su Yu, remember this: research is fine, and extracting memories is fine, but you must never use human blood essence for cultivation. Never. Cultivating with human blood essence makes one a human demon! A monster! Furthermore, this applies strictly to the All-Races Cult; doing this to anyone else is completely forbidden. If I ever find out... no matter how brilliant a genius you are, if you lose your humanity, Great Ming Prefecture will have no place for you!" Su Yu nodded. On his very first day in the laboratory, Bai Feng had told him the exact same thing with utmost gravity. "I won't!" "Good. I don't want to see a day when you stand on the opposite side of humanity. There may be parasites among the human race today, but that doesn't mean everyone is wicked. Be it Great Qin Prefecture, Great Xia Prefecture, or even Great Zhou Prefecture, which you might view with hostility, countless people are out there fighting and sacrificing for humanity..." Niu Baidao said through transmission, "People may hold different stances, and some may act excessively or stubbornly, but that doesn't necessarily make them bad people! You may already know that a faction believes an all-out war cannot break out right now because it would disadvantage humanity. Such appeasers and delayers aren't necessarily evil... In fact... our Great Ming Prefecture counts among them. The Manor Lord's external stance has always been to stall... Su Yu, do you think our Manor Lord is a bad person?" Niu Baidao sighed. "Sometimes, there are far too many factors to consider. You can't just seek temporary vengeance and rush into a fight to the death against all races! Even if you put your life on the line, the cause must be worth the sacrifice. You cannot tar everyone with the same brush!" Su Yu nodded and smiled. "I understand what you mean, Head. I'm not that extreme." Many people had cautioned him: Hong Tan, Wan Tiansheng, Niu Baidao... Even Chen Yong and Liu Wenyan had told him similar things. Do not tar everyone with the same brush. Those who aren't your friends aren't necessarily your enemies, so don't push them into becoming adversaries. As for why they all felt the need to warn him, it was likely because they saw him as too young. Su Yu refrained from arguing. What they said was sensible: not everyone who opposed you was your enemy. You weren't a merit point that everyone had to love. Having differing stances and philosophies was completely normal. He wasn't that radical. However, there were certain individuals he was determined to deal with. For instance, that Invincible who had just made a move! As for Zhu Tiandao... it would probably be very difficult to unmask the culprit through this incident alone. If it were that simple, the problem would have been solved long ago. *Seven divine characters...* Su Yu pondered inwardly. Seven was quite a few, all at the Sun Moon tier. Even for an Invincible, outlining Sun Moon divine characters was no small feat. Those seven characters had likely never been exposed before. Otherwise, someone would have recognized them. Furthermore, was the person from last time the same one as this time? Within his sea of will, Su Yu conversed with the little fur ball. "You ate some divine character fragments. Can you identify that person's scent?" "Sure... but I'd have to enter their sea of will and take a bite first..." Su Yu's gaze flickered. "If you enter their sea of will, you can tell?" "Mm-hmm!" the little fur ball replied lazily. Since it tasted so good, it should be able to recognize it, right? Su Yu reconsidered and sighed helplessly. It was useless. If it were that easy to inspect someone's sea of will, there wouldn't be so many problems. What Invincible would ever allow another to inspect their sea of will? It was out of the question. Never mind an Invincible—even if someone demanded to inspect Su Yu's own sea of will right now, he would never agree. ... While Su Yu and the others were returning to the academy... On the road connecting Great Ming Prefecture to the Twin Sages Prefecture, the Iron Cavalry Guards cleared the way! Inside the carriage sat seven Sun Moon cultivators, including Zhu Tiandao. A golden dragon pulled the carriage! Passing through each prefecture, it drew countless heads upward in awe. A great figure was on the move! A towering figure of Great Ming Prefecture! Inside the spacious carriage, Zhu Tiandao reclined comfortably, sipping tea. Taking a mouthful, he chuckled. "Everyone, wipe those grim expressions off your faces. I'm not dragging you to your deaths—we're just lodging a complaint. What's with those faces?" "Manor Lord Zhu..." One of them said helplessly, "We're all sensible people here, so I'll be blunt. This isn't the first time everyone has realized such an Invincible exists. Everyone is feigning ignorance. The key problem is the lack of evidence. If things blow up, no one will look good. Blaming the All-Races Cult is fine, but bringing up that culprit right now... is truly awkward!" Zhu Tiandao chuckled. "That's entirely true! No one knows who this person actually is. The human race has dozens of Invincibles, every one of whom has rendered great service to humanity. Whom do we investigate? Who would agree to be investigated? Since nobody was caught red-handed, making an ugly scene does no one any good." Everyone let out a sigh of relief. As long as he understood. Zhu Tiandao smiled, but then his tone shifted. "However... this fellow is undeniably a massive threat. None of you can deny that, can you? Today he ambushes Ye Batian, tomorrow he ambushes Su Yu, the day after might be Huang Teng, the day after that probably Qin Fang, or perhaps geniuses with a shot at attaining the Dao, like Xia Longwu or Zhou Polong." Zhu Tiandao's smile deepened. "Are we just going to let him run wild like this forever?" As he spoke, his smile faded into a sigh. "Nobody wants the human Invincibles to harbor suspicions against one another until everyone feels insecure. If a massive rift opens and the Invincibles descend into infighting, who will bear that responsibility? But... playing blind is useless! After setting up Ye Batian back then, if he had kept his head down and made it a one-time affair... people would have forgotten over time. Yet recently, he has struck repeatedly!" Zhu Tiandao said coldly, "Now that it has come to this, do you still intend to play blind?" Chief Hu sighed. "That person made a move within Great Xia Prefecture not long ago—less than half a year has passed..." It was too frequent! This was not a good sign! The Sun Moon expert from Great Song Prefecture hesitated before asking, "He targeted Liu Wenyan last time, and Su Yu this time. Is it for the Fifth Generation's divine character and the Zhoutian apertures? Or is it purely to extinguish geniuses of the Multiple Divine Characters Faction? "If the Fifth Generation was truly framed back then, this person has consistently targeted the Multiple Divine Characters Faction..." Zhu Tiandao said coolly, "Do you think everyone else will be safe just because he targets the Multiple Divine Characters Faction?" "That wasn't my meaning!" The Sun Moon from the Song family shook his head. "What I mean is, this person repeatedly strikes against the Multiple Divine Characters Faction, sparing no expense, even acting with a certain recklessness and hysteria of late... If we truly wish to draw him out, our best bet might lie with the Multiple Divine Characters Faction." Zhu Tiandao remained silent. That was indeed true. The others said nothing either. Angling for an Invincible was no simple matter. Besides, even if they baited him out... who would kill him? A headache gripped them all. This was beyond their station. Sun Moon cultivators lacked both the strength and the standing to participate in such affairs. Ultimately, it had to be handled by the Invincibles. The carriage pressed on. Soon, the ambient origin qi grew significantly denser as they approached the borders of the Twin Sages Prefecture! The Twin Sages Prefecture was populated, boasting a considerable number of residents. Many families of Invincibles resided here. Inside the carriage, Zhu Tiandao adjusted his robes. After a moment of thought, he suddenly jolted his clothing, tearing it in several places. Under the stunned gazes of the Sun Moon cultivators, he winced slightly as he deliberately inflicted several small cuts upon his own body... Then he smeared blood onto his robes. Next, he wiped a bit of blood across the corner of his mouth. "Manor Lord Zhu..." While they stared dumbfounded, Zhu Tiandao said placidly, "Five... no, nine Sun Moon cultivators launched a surprise attack on Great Ming Prefecture, and Great Ming nearly fell. That is a fact, isn't it? Gentlemen, you'll be testifying shortly! It was nine Sun Moon cultivators, correct?" "You... you..." They stammered, at a loss for words. You are a Manor Lord! The master of an entire prefecture! Strictly speaking, you stand on equal footing with the Invincibles. Do you care nothing for your dignity? Even if you weren't injured—even if you truly were—you ought to maintain your dignity and status right now! Zhu Tiandao couldn't be bothered with them. With a wave of his sleeve, dusty, ash-gray streaks appeared across the body of the golden dragon ahead, making it look as though it had just crawled out of a mud pit. As for the Iron Cavalry Guards out front, a moment later, a shower of blood rained down, coating their armor in crimson. Zhu Tiandao thought it over, tampered with the carriage a bit more, and left it looking battered and broken. The Sun Moon experts inside could now see outside—the carriage was leaking air! Even Great Ming Prefecture's grand banner had been set ablaze, half-charred by fire... What a picture of a shattered, defeated army! They looked entirely like a routed force fleeing for their lives. The Sun Moon experts grimaced. This man was... going all out to play the victim and screw people over! He truly cast all face aside! "Manor Lord Zhu... this..." Zhu Tiandao chuckled faintly. "Pay no mind, gentlemen. A fierce battle just took place, and our Great Ming Prefecture suffered grievous losses. As Manor Lord, there's no need for me to cling to pride. Let it be humiliating; the Human Realm is in such chaos anyway, why should I care about face?" He looked at the group with a smile. "Gentlemen, speak what needs to be said. As for what shouldn't be said... saying it won't help anyway, right? Just report the facts as you witnessed them!" With that, Zhu Tiandao rose and stepped out of the carriage. A moment later, a plump, middle-aged man flew over from the distance and called out hurriedly, "Father!" He glanced at the convoy and was left utterly speechless. What was his father doing? Hadn't he said everything was fine? This spectacle... looked as though they had just been routed on the All-Heavens Battlefield and fled back to the Human Realm in disgrace! "Did you bring the Soaring Dragon Drum?" "I brought it!" The chubby man promptly produced an enormous drum from his storage ring. The Sun Moon experts were dumbfounded once more! Wasn't that drum supposed to stand at the entrance of the Quest Realm? How did it end up in your hands? You actually hauled that over too?! There was going to be hell to pay! Just as the thought crossed their minds, Zhu Tiandao reached out and took the great drum! The very next instant, a thunderous boom shook the entire Twin Sages Prefecture! *Dong!* The first strike! *Dong!* The second strike! One strike: seeking audience with an Invincible expert. Two strikes: voicing a grievous injustice. Three strikes: reporting a crisis that only an Invincible could handle. Four strikes: a major prefecture facing an existential threat affecting hundreds of millions. Five strikes: a crisis on the All-Heavens Battlefield requiring all secluded Invincibles to march to war. Six strikes: a crisis threatening the entire Human Realm; martial readiness. Seven strikes: the fall of an Invincible! Eight strikes: the Human Realm prepares for total war—the final confrontation! Nine strikes: the Human Realm is breached; survival, struggle, preserving the sparks of heritage. *Dong!* The third strike! At that moment, from two grand halls suspended in the distant sky, Invincible auras surged. Three strikes meant an Invincible had to intervene. He didn't stop! *Dong!* The fourth strike! A crisis of a major prefecture! In the next instant, two overwhelming Invincible auras swept across the domain! Covered in blood, Zhu Tiandao struck the drum four times in succession. Across the Twin Sages Prefecture, countless people looked up, their hearts trembling in shock! Four strikes! Which prefecture had suffered a fatal crisis? Someone spotted the battered convoy in midair! Great Ming Prefecture! That was the ceremonial procession of the Manor Lord of Great Ming! Zhu Tiandao's expression was calm, yet his voice boomed forth with immense grief and sorrow: "Great Ming Prefecture is in peril! Nine Sun Moons and fifteen Shanhais launched a coordinated assault upon Great Ming! Tiandu Prefecture is in danger! Great Ming Prefecture is in danger! "The All-Races Cult runs rampant! My father has marched to the All-Heavens Battlefield and cannot return, so I have come to seek aid! "For over three hundred years since its founding, Great Ming Prefecture has never once sought aid from the Twin Sages Prefecture! Today... Zhu Tiandao has failed King Daming, failed the hundreds of millions of people of Great Ming Prefecture! I beg the Twin Sacred Halls to uphold justice for Great Ming! "The Human Realm is in peril! The All-Races Cult has overrun our lands, and great chaos is at hand!" "..." One mournful cry after another, amplified by the Soaring Dragon Drum and a ninth-stage Sun Moon cultivation, reverberated through the Twin Sages Prefecture, echoing to every corner! Countless people were shaken to their core! Great Ming Prefecture was in peril? Manor Lord Zhu Tiandao had come to seek reinforcements! In over three hundred years, the only Manor Lord who had ever come seeking aid was from Great Qi Prefecture back when King Daqi fell in battle. But King Daming was still alive! Even if he wasn't within the prefecture, had Great Ming truly encountered such a calamity? An assault by nine Sun Moons! The world was shaken! Up in the void, Zhu Tiandao's voice was drenched in grief, yet his face remained completely placid. In the distance, the grand gates of the two Sacred Lands swung wide. "Open the halls!" A calm voice rang out, and the two halls perched atop the Human Realm opened simultaneously. Sun Moon and Shanhai experts stepped out from their residences, secluded cultivation chambers, and various quarters, heading toward the grand halls. The Sacred Lands were convening! To deliberate on major affairs of the Human Realm! Atop War God Mountain, King Miecan frowned as he stepped out, walking toward the War God Hall. Deep within the Quest Realm, King Dahan sighed, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode toward the Quest Hall. A Manor Lord was seeking reinforcements! Great Ming Prefecture faced the threat of annihilation! Bullshit! Zhu Tiandao, could you stop talking complete nonsense?! Even if nine Sun Moons attacked Great Ming Prefecture, it wouldn't be destroyed so easily. And you still had the leisure to come here seeking aid? If you want to complain, just complain. If you want to make trouble, just make trouble. Why did you have to strike the Soaring Dragon Drum four times? Word of this had probably already reached the All-Heavens Battlefield! Before long, other Invincibles might come rushing back. If Great Ming Prefecture, which was far from low-ranking among the thirty-six prefectures, suffered a catastrophic disaster, how could the front lines remain at peace? The two Invincibles stationed here were going to lose immense face! And the families of Invincibles tasked with governing the realm wouldn't get off lightly either. Because... the nine Sun Moons were real! Zhu Tiandao wouldn't dare lie about that. In the Human Realm, nine Sun Moons coordinating an assault on a major prefecture was unpardonable. The two Sacred Lands would undeniably have to take responsibility. ... Zhu Tiandao grinned and tossed the Soaring Dragon Drum to his son. "Take it back. Don't lose it—if you do, you can't afford to replace it!" His eldest son gave a simple, honest chuckle, caught the drum, and swiftly flew toward the Quest Realm. Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Quest Realm, several injured Shanhai experts stood feeling utterly helpless. Madness! He had actually snatched the Soaring Dragon Drum! Yet there was no time to pursue the matter now. The Invincibles had emerged from seclusion—both of them—and opened the Twin Sacred Halls! If this went poorly today, heads would roll! The Sun Moon and Shanhai experts hurrying toward the two halls were filled with dread and irritation. Were they insane? Who the hell provoked those people from Great Ming Prefecture?! That bastard from the Zhu family had already raised hell in the Twin Sages Prefecture before!