As everyone gazed at the couplet on the Demon Dragon Flying Carriage in the sky, they felt an imposing presence rush toward them. The couplet expressed an unrivaled dominance beneath the heavens to the fullest.
At Linhai City, everyone had returned to the walls. Zhao Li had also taken advantage of the demon tiger's distraction to flee back into the city, and he curled his lip at the flying carriage overhead.
Inside the ring, Uncle Fu was also struck speechless. "Holding the sun and moon, plucking the stars-none in this world are my equal. Who is this? Such arrogant words. Even the many Martial Gods a thousand years ago wouldn't have dared say such a thing."
The Demon Dragon Flying Carriage stopped above Linhai City. Its pressure bore down even more heavily on the city, making even the city's defensive formation tremble.
Holy Monk Wutian looked up at the demonic dragon, his expression somewhat terrified. "It's actually a Martial Emperor Realm demonic dragon. How is that possible? Who in this world could make a Martial Emperor Realm demonic dragon pull their carriage?"
Everyone on the walls was frightened as well and hurriedly sent word back to those in charge of their respective factions.
The carriage door opened, and heavy footsteps rang out, as though treading upon everyone's hearts. A tall, straight-backed figure appeared in the doorway, dressed in black demonic dragon robes, his brows radiating a domineering air of invincibility beneath the heavens. A vertical, silver-black lightning mark between his brows added a further touch of mystery.
"It's Zhou Qiong, the Demon Sect's sect master. He really came," Zhao Li said through gritted teeth on the city wall, his veins bulging.
Light flickered within the ring. "You're no match for him yet. You'll surpass him in the future. Whatever you do, don't act rashly."
"I know, Elder Fu. I'll keep myself under control."
A beam of blue light emerged from the ring and swept toward the flying carriage in the sky, yet no one could detect it. Zhou Qiong's gaze suddenly turned toward Zhao Li in Linhai City-or, more precisely, toward the ring on Zhao Li's right hand.
"How is that possible? This is bad, he's discovered me! Go!" The ring's light instantly enveloped Zhao Li, and he vanished from Linhai City in a flash.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhou Qiong's mouth. "Interesting. A ring-is it an old grandpa? Could he be this world's son of destiny? Judging by the way that fellow looked at me just now, he harbors quite a hatred for me."
He paid Zhao Li no further attention. With his cultivation restored to its peak, Zhou Qiong feared no son of destiny. If they dared provoke him, he would kill them all.
"Demon Emperor, I've arrived. Are you still not going to show yourself? Or do you intend to let me slaughter this beast tide?"
No answer came from the sky. Seated upright in the Demon Dragon Flying Carriage, Zhou Qiong waved his hand. In an instant, the Demon Sect members flew out of the carriage and charged toward the demonic beasts.
Only Liansheng remained standing beside Zhou Qiong.
"That's the Demon Monkey King! He's actually a mid Martial Emperor now! When did he break through to the Martial Emperor Realm?"
"That's Hall Master Wan! He's actually a peak Martial Emperor!"
"That's the second elder! How did he break through to peak Martial Emperor?"
"How is that possible? Those Demon Sect members are all Martial Emperor Realm experts, and not one is below mid Martial Emperor," Holy Monk Wutian said in disbelief. He told Liaofan beside him, "Hurry and send word to the abbot."
The sudden appearance of more than twenty Martial Emperors left everyone present stupefied with fright.
The Demon Sect members attacked the beast tide, sweeping through it like a storm through rotten wood. The disparity between the two sides was too great, and swathes of beasts were slaughtered. If no one stopped them, the beast tide would probably be wiped out in less than an hour.
A roar came from the distance, and the Demon Sect members immediately halted their attacks. A blood-red claw swept toward them from behind the beast tide at an unbelievable speed. Liansheng, who had remained standing beside Zhou Qiong on the carriage, likewise extended a hand to meet the blood-red claw.
As their palms clashed, a sonic boom rang out, and heaven and earth crackled beneath the might of the blow.
For several miles around, it was as though the world were ending. Boundless pressure descended, and the Demon Sect members retreated one after another. The beast tide, however, had no time to react. Apart from some members of the Demon Race at the Martial King Realm and above, all the rest were instantly crushed into clouds of bloody mist by that immense pressure!
The sight was truly astonishing. The many martial artists of Linhai City had fought fiercely for an hour without killing even a tenth of the beast tide, while suffering a great many casualties themselves. Now, a single exchange of palms between two people had wiped out nearly half of it.
And this was merely the aftermath of their attacks. It was hard to imagine whether, if the two directed their attacks at the beast tide, they could wipe out the entire tide in a single strike.
"You really did break through to the Martial Emperor Realm, and you're no ordinary Martial Sovereign, either. If you ask me, you'd be better off following me. How about I let you rule the Demon Race alongside me?"
A slender figure appeared above the beast tide, clad in white furs. His face was fair and delicate as a woman's, and his peach-blossom eyes seemed capable of stealing souls. This was Su Huang, the emperor of the Demon Race, said to be a nine-tailed fox who had attained his current form through cultivation.
"That depends on whether you have the ability." Liansheng bowed to Zhou Qiong, then turned and hurled silver needles at Su Huang.
Instantly, a skyful of silver light shot toward Su Huang, weaving into a great net overhead that sealed off every avenue of retreat. Even the primordial Qi in the air vibrated with a humming sound.
The martial artists atop Linhai City's walls were beside themselves with excitement. This was a clash at the Martial Emperor Realm, something rarely seen even once in a century, and few ever had the chance to witness it. One was the Demon Race's Demon Emperor, the other the Demon Sect's chief steward. They could boast about this to others.
Su Huang thrust a palm across the sky, and boundless fighting spirit erupted.
The surrounding space shattered, and space within a thousand feet began to twist. Before the silver needles could reach him, they were shattered by the rupturing space. The palm strike did not stop, continuing toward Liansheng, shattering every mountain, river, and stretch of earth along its path.
Zhou Qiong was somewhat surprised as well. He had not expected the frail-looking Su Huang to fight with such overwhelming force. He could shatter space with his physical body alone-truly worthy of being the longest-lived Martial Sovereign on the continent.
Su Huang was already over three hundred years old. Even upon reaching the Martial Emperor Realm, humans could only live for two hundred years unless they broke through to the Martial God Realm. Yet no one had broken through to the Martial God Realm in over a thousand years.
The longest-lived human Martial Sovereign at present was Daoist Chongxu, the head of Hanging Void Hall, one of the five great sects. He was already a hundred and eighty years old, and his cultivation was at mid-stage Martial Sovereign. It could be said that he no longer had any chance of breaking through to Martial God.
Liansheng drew a longsword and instantly slashed at the enormous palm. The strike was indescribably fast, as though it had crossed the long river of time, as though it could sever everything before it.
Clang! The sound of metal striking metal echoed for a hundred miles around. Mountains and rivers shattered in an instant, and nearby peaks were directly obliterated into dust. Cracks instantly appeared in Linhai City's defensive formation, and part of the city wall collapsed.
Liansheng still stood in midair, a trickle of blood slowly flowing from the corner of his mouth. "You won." His figure flickered, and he returned to Zhou Qiong's side.
"To withstand a full-strength palm strike from me, a mid-stage Martial Sovereign, is already remarkable. It's truly hard to imagine that you've only just broken through to Martial Sovereign."
Su Huang looked at Liansheng and spoke with a solemn expression. Beneath his fur coat, a sword cut had appeared across his left palm, but it vanished again in an instant.