Inside the main chamber of the Council Hall on Cloud Summit Peak.
Shi Xiaoming, the duty elder from the Azure Cloud Sect, trembled all over as he stared at the confidential dispatch detailing the situation in his hands, cold sweat streaming down his body.
Only after being summoned and rushing to the summit hall for deliberations had he learned what had happened in recent days. Before that, not only had no news emerged from the sect, but even here on Cloud Summit Peak, where the Great Sects of the World and the great houses gathered, there had been not the slightest stir.
Everyone's keen senses, their schemes of divination and deduction, their informants and scouts spread throughout the world-all seemed to have failed. Every faction had become deaf and blind.
At the head of the hall, the central seat and the seat at the far left of the enormous throne dais stood empty. They belonged to Fang Qianyuan and to the Alliance senior whose position had once belonged to Yin Zheluo and still remained undecided.
But the occupants of the other seats-the five powerhouses Tian Heng, King Mu, Night King, Luo Muyun, and Yin Yuanzheng-had all arrived.
"Elder Shi, could you explain what exactly is going on?"
King Mu's expression was calm, but his tone carried a weight that made it sound as though he were interrogating Shi Xiaoming.
The others also knew how grave the situation was. They stood to one side as still as statues. Even the titans of the various factions with Heaven Tier cultivation, seated below, wore dark expressions and said nothing.
The air seemed to congeal at that moment.
"I... we knew nothing of this either!" After standing stiffly for a long time, Shi Xiaoming finally spoke with bitterness and helplessness.
"You knew nothing?" King