If Le Lingzhao had beheaded a Super Douluo-level Shadow Demon General back when she was a Soul Emperor, she would have broken through at least three levels in one go. Her holy attribute would have doubled, saving her a year of painstaking cultivation.
Unfortunately, that little boost was now negligible to her. Still... something was better than nothing.
Guided by the principle that even the smallest mosquito was still meat, Le Lingzhao raced toward the strongest demon, following its aura. At the same time, she raised a hand and conjured a holy sword. Without even looking back, she swung it, sending a golden sword beam dozens of yards long howling through the air.
The three Demon Commanders were horrified and tried to dodge, but it was too late.
The Shadow Demon General had been the fastest, so Le Lingzhao had already passed the three Demon Commanders.
Desperate to flee toward their Monarch, they ran straight into her sword beam and were reduced to dust.
At Level 98 Soul Power, Le Lingzhao was no weakling among the Limit Douluo once she donned her Four-Word Battle Armor.
Her sword beam swept through all opposition. After killing the three Demon Commanders, it went on to shear through eight mountain peaks before finally dissipating amid a thunderous roar.
Every demon in its path was slaughtered.
Just like that, with a palm strike and a single sword swing, Le Lingzhao had killed all four Demon Commanders who had surrounded the two young heirs of the Yuanen Family. She had also cleared out a sizable area along the way.
And none of it had delayed her on her way to hunt down the Demon Monarch, Wu Jie.
Her combat strength was close to that of a quasi-god.
Not far away, Leng Qingning was just as formidable.
Her natal spirit fire transformed into a hundred-yard Purple Phoenix. The instant its wings spread, purple flames rained down in a vast, overwhelming torrent.
Every demon caught in their path was reduced to ashes in an instant.
She and Le Lingzhao shared the same plan: to surround and kill the strongest otherworldly powerhouse, dozens of miles away, right there.
Back where he stood, Yuanen Tiandang, clad in tattered Three-Word Battle Armor, saw the two Four-Word Battle Armor Masters charge straight for the enemy leader. He, too, didn't hesitate for a moment.
He glanced at his younger brother, who was rushing toward his sister-in-law. Without bothering with any demons that might still be left, he channeled his Soul Power and charged off in another direction.
The battlefield between the Yuanen Family and the demons was too spread out. The demons here had been cleared away, but family members elsewhere were still fighting hard.
Leng Qingning and Le Lingzhao hadn't paused for a moment. Whether they encountered Demon Commanders or rank-and-file demons, they cleared them away as they went.
Even so, they were still a step too late.
In the valley where the Demon Gate stood, two streaks of light, one gold and one purple, arrived just as a gaunt figure rushed through the gate. Yuanen Zhentian stood to one side, making no attempt to stop it.
Leng Qingning landed in the valley. She looked at the vanished demonic passage, then at the tattered Three-Word Battle Armor on Yuanen Zhentian, and frowned. "Your Excellency Zhentian, why didn't you stop it?"
She knew that even without Four-Word Battle Armor, Yuanen Zhentian was a true demigod. He must have sensed that she and Le Lingzhao were on their way.
More importantly, though he looked battered, he wasn't injured. He could easily have held off that otherworldly powerhouse until they arrived.
Yet he had stood by and watched the great enemy who had slaughtered his people escape. It was truly baffling.
Yuanen Zhentian didn't answer. Instead, he looked at Yehui, unconscious on the ground not far away, and forced a bitter smile. "She's my daughter-in-law."
Le Lingzhao looked at Yehui and sensed the dense aura of evil within her. She frowned but said nothing.
Yuanen Zhentian took a deep breath and continued, "Her name is Yehui. Her Martial Soul... is the Fallen Angel! If nothing unexpected happened, she was the reason the passage to the Demon Plane opened..."
As he spoke, pain filled his heart. Countless scenes flashed through his mind: Yehui and his son falling in love; his own fierce opposition; Yehui's resolve to stop cultivating so she wouldn't lose control again; the joy of his little granddaughter's birth; and, most of all, the horrific sight of his people drenched in blood...
But he had no choice but to save Yehui.
Yuanen Zhentian knew his son well. He was a hopeless romantic. If Yehui were gone, he wouldn't want to go on living.
If they both died, what would become of his six-year-old granddaughter?
So many in the clan had died because of Yehui. A six-year-old girl, without her parents to protect her, would surely bear the clan's fury.
He was the head of the Yuanen Family. By rights, he should kill Yehui and give his people an answer. But he was also a father and a grandfather. He couldn't stand by and watch his son walk to his death, leaving his little granddaughter orphaned and blamed by the clan.
As long as Yehui was alive, Tiandang wouldn't go and throw his life away. There was still room to find a way forward.
At worst... he would have to expel the whole family of three from the clan.
Yuanen Zhentian laid everything bare. The pain and inner turmoil in his voice seemed ready to spill over.
Leng Qingning and Le Lingzhao had done the Yuanen Family a great service. In fairness, he owed them a satisfactory explanation, so he had nothing to hide.
The two were unhappy that he had let a dangerous enemy escape, but after hearing his reasons, they could understand his predicament.
Anyone would have struggled with such a situation.
The Demon Monarch, Wu Jie, had traded Yehui's life for his own escape. If Yuanen Zhentian had refused, he would have become the one who destroyed his son's family with his own hands.
And the Demon Monarch, Wu Jie, had acted with infuriating decisiveness.
Sensing the two women approaching, he hadn't even bothered to fight. He had simply threatened Yuanen Zhentian with Yehui's life, forcing him to clear the way and let him go.
To escape as quickly as possible, he had even compromised with Yuanen Zhentian, who was slightly weaker than him. He extracted the so-called Purple Gold Imperial Clan bloodline from Yehui's body, restoring her human form.
He hadn't given them the slightest chance. Whether that was knowing when to yield or just plain cowardice was hard to say.
After pouring out the helplessness in his heart, Yuanen Zhentian had explained himself to the two women, but he had also been venting.
He put away his badly damaged Three-Word Battle Armor and cupped his hands solemnly toward them. "Thank you both for saving the Yuanen Family from disaster. I haven't yet asked your names."
"Purple Phoenix!"
"Judgment!"
Leng Qingning and Le Lingzhao dismissed their Battle Armor together. Facing Yuanen Zhentian, a demigod-level powerhouse, they showed him the respect he deserved.
It was easy to guess who they were. Leng Qingning's title was Purple Phoenix, and Le Lingzhao's holy aura was impossible to conceal.
Yuanen Zhentian suppressed his shock and asked, "Might you be friends of the Phoenix Family and the Angel Family?"
The two had nothing to hide, so they both nodded.
At their confirmation, the shock on Yuanen Zhentian's face lingered for several seconds before slowly subsiding.
He gave a light cough and said apologetically, "I was rude just now."
Then he gave a self-deprecating smile and continued, "It seems I've been sitting at the bottom of a well, gazing at the sky. I never imagined that, besides the Qiangu Family, with three Limit Douluo in one family, the Federation had a Phoenix Family and an Angel Family, each with two Limit Douluo."
Leng Qingning didn't elaborate, and Le Lingzhao didn't correct him by saying that she hadn't yet broken through to Limit Douluo.
She would break through sooner or later, so there was no need to make a point of denying it. Doing so would only seem deliberate.
Yuanen Zhentian had no ulterior motive, either. If the Yuanen Family cared about fame, fortune, and power, it wouldn't have chosen to live in seclusion. And he, a demigod, wouldn't have been unable to find even a source of Heavenly Forged Metal for a set of Four-Word Battle Armor.
He just thought the Phoenix Family and the Angel Family had kept themselves far too well hidden. Two Four-Word Battle Armor Masters, and not even the slightest rumor had leaked out.
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