Ye Zhongming’s heart suddenly tightened, and he even felt a trace of nervousness he hadn’t experienced in a long time.
The appearance of the God Hall’s Heaven Speech Demon Vine meant the mysterious Director of the God Hall was nearby!
At this moment, if the Director had simply revealed himself, it might have been better. But lurking in the shadows like this forced Ye Zhongming to remain constantly vigilant against this hidden, formidable opponent.
He didn’t know who this God Hall Director was or what his true strength was, but one thing he was certain of—both the Director and the equally enigmatic Great Leader of Soul Merchant were undoubtedly stronger than Wen Yan.
“Pinhall. Twin Demons.”
The two men wielding paired blades spoke in eerie unison, though their faces bore no resemblance to twins.
“Saint Green Serpent. Soul Merchant.”
The old man with a level-eight venomous snake coiled around his arm spoke next.
The man whose hands had vanished, replaced by two small black holes, grinned unnervingly.
“I’m Sister Bo, Vice-Leader of Soul Merchant. Remember that before you die, bastard.”
The massive woman swung her spiked mace in the air, unable to contain herself any longer. The enormous weapon detached from her grip and hovered midair as she did. Simultaneously, two massive round-headed warhammers appeared in her hands—each larger than her own body.
This woman actually wielded a dual-weapon system.
Typically, such evolved possessed terrifying combat prowess.
Somehow, these people had arrived here and formed a perfect encirclement.
Though Ye Zhongming’s ultimate destination might have been guessed, the path there wasn’t fixed—he had even changed directions multiple times. Yet they had still found him. This meant one thing: his movements were completely exposed to the enemy.
Ye Zhongming had been careful—no surveillance sources were in the sky. That left only one possibility: the enemy had another method to track him.
And indeed, the Great Leader of the Soul Merchant and the God Hall Director had reunited not far from this location. With them were two others—one was Divine Court’s Ah Xiu, the other an unremarkable-looking woman.
At this moment, the woman’s eyes glowed an eerie blue, flickering with rapidly shifting images and silhouettes. Though unclear, the Great Leader and the Director waited patiently beside her.
“Sister Bo and the others have intercepted Ye Zhongming. This King of Cloud Peak runs quite fast. Made us chase him like fools, but he couldn’t escape Mei Rang’s eyes. Well? My Saint isn’t bad, eh?”
The Great Leader chuckled, brimming with smug satisfaction.
The Director nodded. “The Earth Eye job is decent. Just a bit low-level. If it were advanced, she could’ve cast a Decay Membrane on Ye Zhongming—killing him would’ve been much easier.”
The Great Leader’s smile remained, but displeasure flashed in his eyes.
Were skill-upgrade scrolls or unsealing fluids easy to obtain? Even at their level, were all their skills maxed out? Pinpointing Ye Zhongming’s location alone was already impressive. How many of them could’ve kept up with this monkey-like fugitive without it?
“Let’s see what your Heaven Speech Demon Vine can do.”
Though inwardly annoyed, the Great Leader didn’t hold back verbally. He knew this level-eight mutated plant was formidable, but claiming it alone could defeat Ye Zhongming was absurd. His words were merely a reminder—besides the vine, five other eight-star evolved had Ye Zhongming surrounded.
But while the two leaders exchanged barbs, neither suggested heading to the battlefield immediately. At their strength, reaching it would take mere minutes.
In this regard, they were cut from the same cloth. Even knowing that joining the encirclement now might ensure Ye Zhongming’s death, they feared one thing above all—the leader of the nation’s top faction dragging one of them down with him.
And who better than themselves as targets?
When it came to self-preservation, men like them were experts.
Subordinates could die. They could not be harmed.
This was their unspoken creed.
“Sister Bo has attacked.”
The female Saint with Earth Eye suddenly spoke, informing the two leaders that what might be the final assault on the King of Cloud Peak had begun.
“Ah Xiu, you go too.”
The Director abruptly ordered. The woman beside him vanished in a flash.
The Great Leader’s eyes narrowed slightly, surprised by her speed.
While the two leaders watched from afar, Ye Zhongming found himself in the fiercest battle of the day.
Above him, Sister Bo’s hovering spiked mace periodically descended—each strike carried crushing force. Though not fast, its power was immense. Under normal circumstances, Ye Zhongming could evade easily, but now, while fending off other attackers, it was a relentless nuisance.
Another headache was Silver from God Hall.
Unlike the others, this man—with black holes for hands—didn’t join the melee. Instead, he lurked at the periphery, continuously releasing electric currents from those voids, weaving a crackling net roughly the size of two basketball courts around the battlefield.
Its purpose was obvious—to block Ye Zhongming’s escape.
Sister Bo led the assault. Ye Zhongming wasn’t familiar with her job, but white fur sprouted across her body once activated. Though no other visible changes occurred, her strength skyrocketed to monstrous levels.
In raw power, the only person Ye Zhongming had ever met who could rival him was his sworn brother Sheng Yuan. Now, this obese woman had joined that short list.
In their several direct clashes, she hadn’t been at a disadvantage. Her colossal hammers showed no signs of inferiority against the Undead Sand Moon Blade—likely at least golden-grade equipment, and exceptionally durable at that.
Beyond strength, her defense was equally terrifying. Though her armor was only blue-grade, its white fur had deflected one of Ye Zhongming’s sharpest strikes.