Chapter 873: Final Line of Defense
The Sovereign Martial Emperors’ orchestrated chaos looked like a game to them. However, this cruelty was a ghastly sight. The brutal killing, the many lives vanishing forced everyone to face it solemnly.
This was not some experiential training with the terms agreed upon beforehand. Instead, this was a veritable scene of slaughter. One had to use their full power, or else one might die.
Only the strongest survivors would be able to face the incoming Demonic God Blood Sacrifice. If one was not ruthless to oneself now, the subsequent carnage would be even more unbearable.
Huangpu Feng pulled out a few small blue flags from the map and replaced them with black flags that represented the Corpse God Palace. He sighed and said, “The first line of defense and the second line of defense are down. Now, there is only the third, and final, line of defense.”
“Reporting in! Feng Xingsheng, under orders from the Martial God Palace, is here leading thirty Martial Sages of the Full Moon Pavilion to provide support!”
“Reporting in! Ximen Bao, under orders from the Martial God Palace, is here leading twenty Martial Sages of the Ximen Clan to provide support!”
“Reporting in! Niu Deng, under orders from the Martial God Palace, is here leading thirty Martial Sages of the ten great battle realms to provide support!”
“Reporting in! Hua Dao, under orders from the Martial God Palace, is here leading twenty Martial Sages of the Thousand Mystery Sect to provide support!”
“Reporting in! Bai Wuxue, under orders from the Martial God Palace, is here leading forty Martial Sages of the Extreme Yin Sect to provide support!”
Just when Huangpu Feng was scowling at the maps, cultivators outside the door forwarded some messages. When he heard these, he was overjoyed; reinforcements had finally arrived.
From the quality of the reinforcement, the various Rank 9 sects had indeed put in their best effort, sending pretty much most of their Martial Sages who had not gone to the Starry Heaven Silver Lake.
However, it seemed like one more sect had yet to arrive—the Supreme Sky Sect. After thinking about it, Huangpu Feng did not hold much hope for them.
The Supreme Sky Sect once had two people who soaked in the Heavenly Dew Divine Spring. Of the two, Xiao Chen had absorbed the most of the Heavenly Dew Divine Spring’s essence. The Heavenly Dew Divine Spring Pill refined from these two’s blood far surpassed those of the other sects, enabling an astronomical increase in the Supreme Sky Sect’s strength.
Now that great chaos had arisen, the elites of the Supreme Sky Sect were sent to the Starry Heaven Silver Lake. Compared to the other Rank 9 sects, they would not be able to dispatch that many Martial Sages to Dragon Wood Star. Furthermore, most of the people they could send would be Inferior Grade Martial Sages.
In the plaza outside the hall, Feng Xingsheng, Ximen Bao, Bai Wuxue, and the others chatted idly. Several older-generation Martial Sages with strong auras stood behind them. There were very few younger-generation Martial Sages.
However, there was no lack of Medial Grade Martial Sages among them. The five men leading the groups were even more incredible; all of them were as strong as Superior Grade Martial Sages.
In this great chaos, these absolute geniuses had progressed very fast—especially Bai Wuxue. Of the five, he was the only one who comprehended a will. He was also the only demonic genius present who had gone to the Starry Heaven Silver Lake.
“Speaking of which, Brother Bai, weren’t you at the Starry Heaven Silver Lake? Why are you free to come to this resource star to provide support? Isn’t this a waste of talent?” Ximen Bao asked Bai Wuxue somewhat respectfully. Of course, given Bai Wuxue’s current strength, he was worthy of such respect.
Feng Xingsheng and the others all looked over curiously. While the battles at the Starry Heaven Silver Lake were the most ferocious and intense, they were also the best for raising one’s strength.
Bai Wuxue did not hide anything. He smiled and said, “I feel embarrassed saying this. One month ago, a genius of the newly resurfaced ancient Treant Race severely injured me. I was lucky to escape with my life.
“After I healed up from my injuries and was preparing to head back to the Starry Heaven Silver Lake, I heard that a Starry Heaven Storm was approaching. Soon, the battles at the Starry Heaven Silver Lake will lull. Coincidentally, the call for help from the Martial God Palace came, so I received orders from the sect to go to this Dragon Wood Star.”
Bai Wuxue spoke humbly. However, when the others saw his strength, they did not dare to underestimate him. Even if he did not use his will, they would not be able to do anything to him. It looked like he received many benefits in the Starry Heaven Silver Lake.
Niu Deng asked with some disbelief, “Are the geniuses of the newly resurfaced ancient races truly that strong?”
Bai Wuxue’s expression turned grave, as he felt some lingering fear in his heart. He replied, “Very strong. They are not much weaker than Di Wuque. In fact, one or two of them would be able to compete with Di Wuque on equal footing. If not for the fact that their races have low numbers, the Kunlun Continent might not be dominated by just the five major races.”
Ximen Bao continued on the same topic. “No matter what, it seems like Brother Bai received many benefits in the Starry Heaven Silver Lake. In this call for reinforcement this time, Brother Bai will definitely stand out and attain the most military merits. Who knows, the Martial God Palace might bestow an aristocrat rank on you.”
This was also Bai Wuxue’s aspiration. However, he still replied humbly to that notion.
Feng Xingsheng was somewhat curious. He said, “I wonder, who will the Supreme Sky Sect send? I heard that all their elites went to the Starry Heaven Silver Lake.”
Bai Wuxue nodded and said, “This time, the Supreme Sky Sect really stood out in the Starry Heaven Silver Lake. Aside from Shui Lingling, who has always been very strong, there are two new talents. One is called Yue Chenxi, and the other is Gong Yangyu. Their growth is terrifyingly fast.”
“In that case, they are not going to be able to send out anyone decent. They will not be able to obtain many merits here. I wonder, who will be leading them this time?”
“Probably one of the older-generation Martial Sages of their sect.”
As they chatted, a group of Martial Sages wearing Supreme Sky Sect medallions slowly descended from the sky towards the vast plaza at the summit of the mountain.
“The Supreme Sky Sect’s people are here. Indeed, they only sent Inferior Grade Martial Sages.” Feeling the group’s aura, Bai Wuxue and the others all revealed unsurprised expressions.
However, when they saw the person leading the Supreme Sky Sect’s group, that familiar face, they were all shocked; they had not expected this at all.
“Xiao Chen! It actually is him!”
Xiao Chen carefully put away the Dragon’s Gate’s warship and landed on the mountain summit with the younger-generation disciples behind him. He had not expected that the leaders of the other sects’ groups would all be familiar to him.
Smiling gently, he stepped forward and sized up Bai Wuxue and the others. He said, “Everyone, it’s been a very long time.”
Of the five, three had a deep history with Xiao Chen. Niu Deng and Ximen Bao once worked together but still failed to defeat Xiao Chen, suffering complete and ruthless suppression.
Even less needed to be said about Bai Wuxue. He was once one of the seven giants of the Tianwu Domain. However, his very public defeat dealt a huge blow to his reputation.
As for the Thousand Mystery Sect’s Hua Dao, while Xiao Chen had not had any contact with him, Xiao Chen punched his fiancee’s nose crooked. Hua Dao had been feeling extremely frustrated about this all the while.
The only person that Xiao Chen did not have a grudge with was only the Full Moon Pavilion’s Feng Xingsheng. However, since Xiao Chen’s appearance, Feng Xingsheng no longer dared to call himself the top bladesman of the eighteen southern provinces.
Xiao Chen did not know how Feng Xingsheng felt about that. Strictly speaking, these five people could not be considered friendly to him.
Inferior Grade Martial Sage?
When the three—Bai Wuxue, Niu Deng, and Ximen Bao—picked up Xiao Chen’s aura, they all exchanged perplexed looks. They could not help thinking a lot. It looked like the rumor that Xiao Chen had been trapped for two years was true.
Otherwise, how could Xiao Chen’s cultivation not have any improvement at all? Everyone knew that if one did not have any improvement for one year at his age, one would be left far behind.
Of the three, the one with the weakest cultivation was Niu Deng. All the same, he was still a Medial Grade Martial Sage. Bai Wuxue was even more incredible; he was already a peak Medial Grade Martial Sage. His combat prowess surpassed that of an ordinary Superior Grade Martial Sage.
“Brother Xiao Chen, it has indeed been a long time.” The three discussed with each other for a while, using voice projection, and decided that Ximen Bao would go and test Xiao Chen out.
Ximen Bao stepped forward with long strides and a warm expression. He extended his hand, and strands of Heavenly Sage Laws gathered in his hand as it headed for Xiao Chen’s shoulder. Those who did not know would think that they were good friends who had not met for many years.
Xiao Chen’s expression seemed as usual, looking like nothing was happening. He likewise reached out towards Ximen Bao’s shoulder.
They were simply probing each other. However, the test was as intense as a mountain flash flood. It was like surging waves as both of them used their own tricks.
The five hundred Heavenly Sage Laws in Ximen Bao’s body turned into the image of a Heavenly Tiger. He used a secret technique to interweave them, generating the power of a true Heavenly Tiger.
Even a man made of iron would be crushed under this gentle pat.
However, Xiao Chen burned his one thousand five hundred tons of force’s worth of Vital Qi. Pure power rushed through his body like a dragon soaring into the sky. His Vital Qi instantly produced a force of two thousand five hundred tons.
The two of them placed their hands on each other’s shoulders at the same time. Xiao Chen’s strong Rank 3 Sage Body was as immovable as a majestic towering mountain. However, Ximen Bao immediately dropped to one knee, his face extremely pale.
“Brother Ximen, there is no need to be so polite after not meeting for two years.”
Xiao Chen smiled gently and raised his hand. Ximen Bao, who was doing his best to struggle free, felt the force on his shoulder disappear. Unable to control his own force, he ended up launching himself into the air.
Ximen Bao hurriedly landed. However, just as he was about to speak, his left leg—the one he had knelt on when Xiao Chen patted his shoulder—turned soft for no reason, and he fell to the ground in a sorry state.
When Niu Deng saw this, he could not help but feel relieved. Earlier, he had wanted to take the lead in testing Xiao Chen. However, Ximen Bao snatched the chance. Fortunately, Niu Deng did not oppose this decision. Otherwise, he would be the one embarrassed before everyone.
Ximen Bao checked himself and found that there was no problem. It was just that in that exchange with Xiao Chen, the flow of Qi and blood to his knee got blocked. So when he landed in a hurry, he lost his balance and naturally fell over.
Ximen Bao was about to explode in rage. However, Bai Wuxue stopped him. Bai Wuxue stepped forward with a calm expression on his handsome face. Smiling, he said, “Brother Xiao, after not seeing you for two years, you are as elegant as ever. Will you give me some guidance again?”
Boundless self-confidence gleamed in Bai Wuxue’s eyes as he looked at Xiao Chen, waiting quietly for Xiao Chen’s answer. After fighting in the Starry Heaven Silver Lake, his strength was no longer like before. Furthermore, Xiao Chen was currently only an Inferior Grade Martial Sage. Bai Wuxue was sure that he could suppress him.
Bai Wuxue still remembered that frustration from back then. If he did not vent it now, when would he?
“Stop! There is a great enemy ahead, yet you are fighting among yourselves? What a scandal! If you want to compete and you are capable, go and compete with military merits. How capable can you be if you are meek and civil in public but act all tyrannical when not?”
Shouting furiously, Huangpu Feng led a group of strong Martial Sages out the hall in a grand manner. He was only a Superior Grade Martial Sage but held a high rank in the Martial God Palace—a Marquis—so he outranked all of them.
Bai Wuxue did not want to offend Huangpu Feng. He snorted coldly and turned around.
Xiao Chen was rather relaxed, not caring about the matter. Two years ago, he already considered Bai Wuxue the same as air. How could he care about Bai Wuxue at this moment? It was like an ant mocking an elephant. The ant even felt very pleased. It was not self-aware. How funny!