As the Southern Heavenly King arrived, every time he named another force coveting the Sunflower Ice Spirit Object, Long Zhantian's expression in the stone pavilion grew a shade heavier.
After all, as someone from the Sky Luo Continent, Long Zhantian naturally knew that every force named by the Southern Heavenly King was a colossal power renowned across the continent. Any one of them, taken alone, was enough to make the entire Sky Luo Continent tremble.
When Lin Ming saw Long Zhantian's expression change so drastically, he knew that the weight of those forces was likely even greater than he had initially imagined.
Lin Ming set down his teacup and asked Long Zhantian, "Could you tell me more about these forces?"
Long Zhantian drew a deep breath. After pondering for a moment, he slowly began to speak.
"Mr. Lin, you may not know this, but any one of these forces could crush the powers of our Northern Domain."
Long Zhantian's voice was heavy and slow, each word like a stone falling into a deep well, carrying a dull echo.
"Although our Northern Domain has several Earth Sovereigns, across the entire Sky Luo Continent, our strength can only be considered below average at best. Places such as the Southern Region, Eastern Region, and Western Region are where true dragons and crouching tigers lie hidden. The leaders of those forces all possess the formidable strength of Upper-Rank Earth Sovereigns. Compared to Lower-Rank Earth Sovereigns like us, they are as far apart as clouds and mud."
At this point, Long Zhantian's gaze dimmed slightly, and a rare trace of bitterness entered his voice. "Even the Sacred Demon Palace, the weakest among them in terms of foundation, has Lu Heng as its palace master. Back when I was still a Tier 9 Supreme, he had