The Human Race, the tribes of the Miao Lands.
Rumble! An immense flood swept in, turning the land with its riot of purples and reds into a vast ocean in an instant.
"Quick, activate the restrictive formations! Stop the flood and save everyone!" A shout rang through the heavens. Then, with a hum, countless brilliant flashes of magic power appeared, forming enormous curtains of light that held back the flood. At the same time, many Witch-Humans soared into the air, rescuing their clanspeople everywhere who had failed to escape in time and were already in danger.
Above the Nine Li Tribe, Li Ren, its current chief, gazed out at the disaster, his brows tightly furrowed and his expression exceedingly grave.
He could tell that this was no ordinary disaster. This water had not appeared out of thin air. It... had erupted from fissures in the ground. Had something gone wrong with the earth?
"Hah!" Unable to understand the cause or spare the time to investigate for now, he tightened his grip on the Wooden Staff, raised it high, and roared.
Boom! The next instant, tremendous magic power erupted, striking fiercely at the flood before him. A pillar of fire shot out and slammed into the waters, evaporating a great volume of floodwater with a hiss.
Unfortunately, there was simply too much water, its end nowhere in sight. Li Ren's efforts could not change anything at all.
Inside Crouching Bear Hall in the Netherworld.
After sending Nine Li's divided soul into the Reincarnation Tunnel to be reborn as a human, Gungun had chosen to retire with its work accomplished and sleep soundly here, utterly unaware of the momentous events unfolding outside while it slumbered.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside the hall. Xiong Yuan, whom Gungun had appointed the Drum-Bearing Heavenly King,