"Consort Qin!"
Jian Shang stood silently inside the great crater. Dragon Consort Chong Shiqie swiftly shot forward and helped Consort Qin Li Yanyan back. Some of those from the Nether Realm glanced at Pandora, but when she acted as though she had seen nothing, no one stopped them.
In truth, Li Yanyan had suffered no real injury. She merely felt as though she were in a dream and had yet to come to her senses.
"Whew..."
Jian Shang took a deep breath, exhaling a stream of scarlet air. His bones crackled like beans roasting in a pan. Then he calmly dusted himself off and, without asking about Li Yanyan's condition, looked straight at Pandora. "Continue!"
"Hmm?"
Seeing nothing amiss with the Huan King, Pandora, the others from the Nether Realm, and the four Blood Clan princes darkened with shock and alarm. Finally, Pandora feigned "kindness" and asked with concern, "This is merely a friendly spar. The Huan King may recover before challenging the God of Sleep!"
Jian Shang curled his lip in a cold smile and replied disdainfully, "No need! I attend to countless affairs each day. I have no time to waste!"
You call this a friendly spar?! And you say it so solemnly, as though it were true...
The corners of many mouths twitched as they inwardly grumbled. Still, none present were weaklings. Pandora could call it whatever she liked; no one contradicted her. Their unspoken understanding was enough.
Hypnos, God of Sleep, stepped forward in silence, crossing several miles in a single stride to appear precisely where Thanatos, God of Death, had stood before. Not a fraction off, he was likewise in harmony with heaven and earth, utterly natural.
The immense wings of the God of Sleep stirred behind him, making heaven and earth tremble faintly with