Ye Zhongming adjusted his stance and fired a Tranquil Finger, piercing through a Level 8 creature’s body and creating an opening. He dashed through it.
On the surface, it looked like he was trying to break out.
Soon, Ye Zhongming reached the mysterious barrier that had trapped him earlier.
Behind him, a horde of mutants followed.
And behind them—now only 200 meters away—were the two leaders.
From his spatial storage, Ye Zhongming released over a hundred crystal grenades.
These were Cloud Peak’s latest models, which he always kept on hand.
Their explosive power was immense. Concentrated in such numbers, they could threaten even level eight mutated lifeforms.
Within the small blast radius, magic energy ran rampant.
The God Hall Director’s eyes flashed with cold amusement.
The King of Cloud Peak was running out of tricks.
And he wasn’t wrong to think so. After all, he knew better than anyone what Ye Zhongming had endured in such a short time.
From Tong Lu to Vice Chairman Yang, then Wen Yan, followed by the assault from the five-man team and the plant, and now this siege—anyone subjected to such relentless, high-intensity attacks would have exhausted nearly all their means. Whatever remained would be a last-ditch survival measure.
The thought that they might actually kill Ye Zhongming today sent a thrill through the God Hall Director.
It had been too long since anything had excited him like this.
The Chairman felt the same. In his hands appeared two strange weapons, resembling the cranks of a manual juicer.
He deliberately lagged slightly, intending to let God Hall’s monsters continue wearing Ye Zhongming down.
Then, at a certain moment—
Both leaders’ expressions changed.
They dodged violently to either side as a thick beam of light nearly grazed them.
In that instant, they remembered a weapon rumored to be in Ye Zhongming’s possession—one whose existence had never been confirmed: A powerful bone staff.
They also realized why Ye Zhongming had tried to break through here despite knowing the Mountain and Water Eternal World trapped him.
The King of Cloud Peak had been herding his pursuers into a straight line, waiting for the two leaders to enter that trajectory before unleashing his full-power strike.
As for the crystal grenades that had made them think he was desperate?
They were just a smokescreen, masking the charging aura of the Bone Staff to catch them off guard.
But to threaten two top-tier eight-star evolved, the Bone Staff needed to charge at least seven runes’ worth of energy—a level of power whose fluctuations couldn’t be hidden from the Chairman and Director.
So, despite Ye Zhongming’s best efforts, he failed to hit them.
This was the flaw of the Bone Staff: devastating power, but easily detected and dodged by high-level opponents.
Though the two leaders escaped, over half of the God Hall’s mutated lifeforms behind them were annihilated in that single strike. The loss made Dr. Ziche and the Director sick with grief.
Half of their assets, deployed to kill Ye Zhongming, had just been wiped out.
Now, facing Ye Zhongming—who stood with his back to the Mountain and Water Eternal World—both leaders felt a sense of historic inevitability, as if this moment would be remembered for ages.
The spliced mutants withdrew. For the coming battle, they were no longer useful.
If they lost any more, God Hall would be left with nothing.
“Our first meeting, under such circumstances… I find it quite dramatic.”
As the Chairman spoke, his body began to glow.
First, his wide robe rippled with golden light. Then the crank-like weapons in his hands shone the same hue, followed by his shoes, belt, necklace—even his ear studs.
The ten rings on his fingers were most striking, each of different shapes and colors, yet together forming an oddly harmonious whole.
When not glowing, they made him look like a nouveau riche. But now, lit up, they radiated terrifying menace.
Even the God Hall Director couldn’t help glancing at them.
Accompanying this display was a three-headed white tiger, its central head bearing an orange level-eight magic crystal.
The Chairman of Soul Merchant—decked in golden gear, accompanied by a Level 8 battle beast—was revealing his full strength against Ye Zhongming.
Ye Zhongming tilted his head, sensing the mounting pressure from this opponent.
“Aren’t you bringing out your Demon Vine?”
He turned his sightless eyes toward the God Hall Director.
The Chairman’s three-headed tiger was undoubtedly formidable—previously unknown, making it unpredictable—but Ye Zhongming still regarded the Demon Vine, ranked among the nation’s top battle beasts, as the greater threat.
He had already witnessed the terrifying capabilities of that bizarre plant-beast.
“It will appear when the time comes.”
The Director’s reply was icy. Unlike the Chairman, he didn’t showcase all his equipment. He deemed it unnecessary.
Ye Zhongming nodded and said no more. At their level, threats, taunts, or expressions of excitement would only demean them.
If they had anything to say, they could say it after victory.
Almost simultaneously, all three raised their weapons.
The God Hall Director wielded a ruler-like weapon no one had seen before—plain-looking, about 50 centimeters long, dull in sheen, adorned only with star patterns.
Seeing this, the Chairman smirked. The day’s losses had provoked the Director. He was going all out from the start.
He began rotating the cranks in his hands, his previously amiable expression replaced by murderous intent.
A battle that would reshape the nation’s power structure was about to begin.