"So I don't care how you fight over resources in ordinary times, or what grudges and rifts lie between you. This time, I want you to set all that aside, help one another, and weather this storm together."
The Southern Heavenly King's voice echoed through the silent hall, each word striking the listeners like a hammer blow.
"Otherwise, none of your forces can carry enough Fallen Origin Pills to our agreed meeting place on its own. Without enough of them, we cannot break the formation guarding the Earth Sovereign Secret Treasury. At that point, we will have all but lost. And you should know what that will cost us."
"You must obtain the Fallen Origin Pills through your own strength. At that stage, we will already be at a disadvantage and cannot offer you any help."
"I must keep watch over the other factions' strongest fighters and the leaders of the other top powers. If I leave, they will strike at you, and it will be a one-sided massacre. Until you join us, you can rely only on yourselves."
Everyone looked into the Southern Heavenly King's imposing eyes. Thunder seemed to flicker deep within them, and the pressure left them struggling to breathe.
No one dared question him. They all nodded solemnly and respectfully.
Then Long Qingyue rose from her seat.
She wore a close-fitting suit of golden armor. Dragon patterns seemed to flow across it, lending her tall, slender figure a striking martial air.
Compared with the bedraggled woman who had been hunted through Dragon-Phoenix Haven, she now carried a steadiness and resolve born of brushes with death. Even her slightest movements held something of a leader's bearing.
Long Qingyue swept her pale golden gaze over the people on both sides of the hall. With a wave of her