The seats of the Decimo Dao Palace had stood strong for years. And today, they directly collapsed under the Ancient Theocrats. How furious were they? For the Theocrats, their arrogance was simply too ingrained in them.
That was why, eyes burning with fury, they all began attacking the Decimo Dao Barrier!
Countless attacks landed on the barrier. If it fell, Tianming would likely be instantly reduced to mush.
“Big Brother, were the words ‘Nineshades Clan’ really such a taboo?” Feiling asked.
“Yes.” Tianming nodded.
“And you still went and did it….”
“Hah! How could someone as manly as me be scared of something minor like this?” Tianming said confidently.
“You sure?” Feiling could see the Decimo Dao Barrier was shaking, and on the verge of collapse.
“Well, that was a joke. Actually, it was the Hall Kings that wanted me to provoke the Theocrats. Jiang Yu made me so angry just now that I forgot, but the words ‘Nineshades Clan’ really are super effective.”
Feiling relaxed. “I see, so what are they intending?”
“They might not care if the Theocrats fight for power outside. However, there’s a good opportunity now, so the palace lord wants to remove certain people from the dao palace!” Tianming’s eyes narrowed. Among the targets were, at a minimum, six hall kings and their lackeys.
“What does your provocation have to do with that?” Feiling asked.
“I’m lighting a spark.” When this spark bursts into a raging inferno, chances would pop up one after another. They had to make Jiang An and the rest unable to hold themselves back. Like right now, the Hall Kings who were part of the Ancient Theocrats all had ugly expressions.
Dongyang Fen had already joined in with the rest in their attack on the Decimo Dao Barrier. After all, the one being stepped on right now was his son! The East Hall King, Jiang Xiao, would probably have joined in too, if the Death Hall King, Jiang An, wasn’t blocking him.
It looked clear that the barrier was about to break.
“Who’re the ones daring to act so unbridled in my Decimo Dao Palace! Outsiders have invaded. Dark Hall’s Decimo Army, take up arms!” an awe-imposing voice suddenly rang out. In the next instant, a dense throng of warriors suddenly poured out of the depths of the dao palace.
A man in black armor was leading them. He was wearing a helmet, and a black cloak billowed behind him. He was the man who had just spoken.
“Enemies have invaded! Kill them!” the man roared as he mobilized the soldiers to attack. Their sudden appearance frightened the disciples in their path, who all tried to make themselves as small as possible, not daring to move a muscle.
Most of the spectators had already moved away, except for the Theocrats attacking the barrier. Those Theocrats were suddenly surrounded by Dark Hall beastmasters several times their number, giving them a big fright.
“Stop!” At that critical moment, Dongyang Fen, together with the five hall kings Jiang An, Jiang Xiao, Jiang Jianying, Zhao Shenhong, and Wei Ji, all hurriedly blocked the soldiers’ path.
“It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!”
“Ye Yi, stop!”
Finally, the army ground to a halt. However, their killing intent didn’t disappear.
“Jiang An. Jiang Xiao. Jiang Jianying! You three Theocrats, explain why your clan is attacking the Decimo Dao Palace for no reason!” Ye Yi, the man dressed in black armor, barked.
“It’s really a misunderstanding! All we did was attack the barrier…” Jiang An said.
“The Decimo Dao Barrier is the protective barrier of the palace! Are you declaring war here? Are you a hall king of our palace, or of the Ancient Theocrats!” Ye Yi pressed.
“So what if we’re declaring war?” Dongyang Fen stepped forward, exploding with fury.
“The dao palace is a land of cultivation, and has tens of thousands of years of legacy. We’ve done everything in our power to help the Theocracy nurture talents. If you attack us for no reason, we, the warriors of the Dark Hall, will stake our lives on defending the palace. At least, none of you will leave here alive!” Ye Yi’s voice thundered.
“Kill!” the warriors roared in unison, making Dongyang Fen subconsciously take a step back. How was this some school? This was a well-trained army!
If conflict broke out and it spread that the Theocrats had suffered a loss, people would definitely believe they had done something retarded. Dongyang Fen wouldn’t be able to bear the responsibility for that, and neither could Jiang An.
The Evil Suppression Pillar suddenly shook at that moment, and black heavenly pattern power began to gush from it and spread out. It instantly filled the sky and settled into a hemisphere that covered the entire dao palace within, plunging the dao palace into darkness.
“The Evil Suppression Barrier!” Many of the Theocrats were even more stunned now. By now, all of their previous anger had been washed away by fear. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of history would know what that barrier represented.
“Are they trapping them here to beat them up?” Tianming was startled as well. He hadn’t expected such an aggressive reaction either. It seemed that they were playing things by ear, based on his performance.
“I remember the Future Hall King mentioning to me before that this barrier was the exact reason why the dao palace could exist in the Divine Capital for tens of thousands of years without being exterminated,” Tianming continued.
“That’s incredible. You think they’ll end up fighting today?” Feiling asked.
“Probably not. The Dark Hall is just showing their strength as a warning to the Theocrats. The palace lord did say to watch how the situation develops. We’ll just use this situation to do some house cleaning.”
Now that the Ancient Theocrats had lost their Primeval Autarch, it seemed the sun was setting for them. However, the dao palace still didn’t want to rush into things. The other side didn’t have the Cyclic Mirror anyway.
For now, removing the rot inside the dao palace was good enough!
While Tianming might appear impulsive at times, he actually did make judgements and plans. Now, the only path forward for him was to get stronger. That was the only way for him to protect his family, as well as find out the truth behind Li Muyang and Princess Skyfate.
What followed was just as Tianming predicted. Ye Yi levied the charge of invading the Decimo Dao Palace on the Theocrats, causing them to be terrified.
“These people are too used to being tyrants. They think the whole Theocracy is their playground,” Tianming said mockingly. Just because they had been a little triggered, they wanted to destroy the Decimo Dao Battlefield.
Now, the Theocrats had no choice but to suppress their anger, while their five Hall Kings tried to give the Dark Hall an explanation.
“Is that true? You weren’t invading?” Ye Yi asked seriously.
“Yes, definitely not!” Jiang An insisted.
“Then it’s fine. Jiang An, you need to explain some things properly to your clan members. Our dao palace is loyal to the Theocracy, but don’t take us for cowards!”
“Of course, of course.” Jiang An nodded along.
“So you’re saying this was all caused by a disciple? What did he say?” Ye Yi asked.
Jiang An wasn’t able to answer that.
“For this, our palace lord will bring him to Autarch Yun to apologize. There’s no need to be so excitable, it’s just a kid’s words. Seriously, tens of thousands of seniors actually wanted to break down the barrier and bicker with him? That’s embarrassing,” Ye Yi chuckled.
What could Jiang An and the rest say? They all knew Tianming was just the spark, and the real issue was that the dao palace wanted to clean house! As members of the dao palace, that identity should have been the priority. However, now that they had stood on the Theocrats’ side, the dao palace had an excuse to remove them.
“And that’s it?” Dongyang Fen’s eyes were still lit up with fury.
“Go and ask your father, what can he do? He’s busy hunting down Dongyang Ling. Is he so bored he wants to add the dao palace to his list?” Jiang An glared at him angrily.
“Now that my grandfather has passed, all these rats are coming out of the woodwork to make trouble. One day, we’ll exterminate them!” Dongyang Fen’s veins were bulging.
“Nonsense. If it could be done, they would’ve been exterminated when the Theocracy was founded. You think they’ll be wiped out here today?” Jiang An was dumbfounded.
“Dongyang Fen, bring your people away!” Ye Yi barked.
“Watch out,” Dongyang Fen sneered coldly at Tianming.
“Leave!”
“Wait!” Tianming shouted. He used the Grand-Orient Sword to flick Dongyang Zhuo’s head toward his father, Dongyang Fen. “Keep it as a memento. A good sized bucket should be good for storing it.”
However, Tianming had forgotten about the barrier. The head simply bounced off, then randomly rolled on the floor for a bit.
And as everyone fell into deep silence, Tianming said, “Well, that was awkward.”