"Godfather, you barely evaded death, didn't you?" Tianming said as he looked ahead coldly.
"Well, I was this close to dying. Thankfully, I was born with plot armor. I survived, didn't I? Isn't that badass?" Li Wudi said as he leaned on the wall. Even though he was weakened, he didn't forget to praise himself.
"Badass indeed. So, what do you think?"
"I've seen how sinister that old bastard can be, and I'm going to give it my all to resist him. Given how I survived, despite how badly he thrashed me, I’ll definitely squash him under my foot one day!" Li Wudi said bloodthirstily. What he didn't mention was how he was this close from being obliterated if the Evil Suppression Formation hadn’t been deployed in time.
"I'll tag along, what do you say?"
"Hehe... we'll see if you're truly a genius, or just a dumbass. I worry you won't be able to catch up to my cultivation speed."
"Hahaha...." Even though they weren't truly father and son, they sure were bonded like a family. Li Muyang was a distant figure Tianming hadn't met before, so Li Wudi was the closest thing he had to a father. While his enemies would be endlessly annoyed with his personality, it was rather pleasant to be his son.
"Tianming, to be honest, I'm quite stumped by your transformation here at the Divine Capital. I trust that you'll be able to make the Theocrats all kneel to you one day," Li Wudi said with a serious tone.
"Godfather."
"What is it?"
"They're called the Nineshades Clan."
......
Outside the dao palace were two hundred and thirty thousand heads all stacked up to form a mountain. It wasn't just a gruesome sight, it was plain provocation. If Dongyang Ling's army of six hundred thousand charged in before Autarch Qian arrived, even more of them would die. The heads belonged to the Dongyangs, Jiangs, Ancient Clans, Saint Martial Manor, and so on, and they all wore desolate expressions.
Not even a million-man-strong army would be able to bear the sickening atmosphere. They felt like they were going to vomit rivers of blood from the rage. To think that they were laughing with such abandon when Autarch Qian had heavily wounded the palace lord. But now, they were multiple times worse off than before.
In fact, the heads belonged to their siblings, family, and friends. Many of them kept on cursing ceaselessly, but the Decimo Dao Palace didn't seem to even care.
"Ninth Prince, Thirteenth Prince, the Ancient Greedwolf Clan's leader, Wei Ji, has perished in battle. It's said he was killed by Li Tianming and Ye Lingfeng."
"Exalted Ones Jing Yue and Ling Xing of the Ancient Qilin Clan perished by Li Tianming's hand."
"Exalted One Chong Yang is missing in action."
"The Saint Martial Manor's Onyx and Flaxen Marshalls were killed in the melee."
"Eighteenth Prince Dongyang Xiao and the Seventh Imperial Bloodline's Jiang Jianying were killed by Bai Mo and Ye Yi."
"Reporting—"
"Shut up, all of you! Leave!" Dongyang Yun roared. He tightly clasped both his fists as his mood fell to the lowest of depths. He had despaired, then experienced rapture, only to once more fall to the depths of the abyss.
"To think that two hundred and thirty thousand troops perished in the short space of fifteen…. Is this the power of the Evil Suppression Formation?" Dongyang Ling shook his head, but he was just as distraught as his brother.
"If not for Father letting his guard down and letting Weisheng Yunxi go, she never would've had a chance to reawaken. We also wouldn't be that daring," said the nineteenth prince.
"Are you saying that Father was mistaken?" Dongyang Yun snapped.
"I wouldn't dare."
The hundred plus sons of Autarch Qian were all there. Ever since the autarch himself had returned, their statuses as members of the Dongyang Clan had been restored. But now, they all looked grimmer than ever.
Dongyang Yun was in such distress that he felt like someone was choking him and pouring urine down his throat, causing his innards to shudder in pain. They were all waiting for the autarch.
At that moment, an old man descended from the sky before them. The million troops immediately turned silent and pale as they knelt.
"Your Majesty!"
Even now, they were filled with zealous fervor. However, as long as the autarch himself didn't make a move, they didn't dare to make a single sound. Such was the authority the autarch commanded.
Wham!
Autarch Qian unleashed a punch and turned the two hundred and thirty thousand thousand heads to ash in an instant.
"Hahahaha!" He turned around and smiled. Those who didn't know better would think he was in a good mood.
"The Evil Suppression Formation?" He widened his eyes and continued laughing, much to the others' confusion. "Come, Ninth, I have a question to ask you." He sat on a rock, unlike what would be expected for someone of his stature.
Dongyang Ling felt his heart skip a beat. Respectfully, he said, "Lord Father, please ask away."
"Tell me. To get rid of this formation, I faked my death and let you brothers duke it out, and even destroy the Divine Capital. Yet right as I was going to wipe out the Decimo Dao Palace, the damned formation popped up again. Isn't that proof I'm a fool?" he asked.
"Lord Father, please don't say that."
"Well? How else would you describe me then? An idiot? An imbecile? The ultimate laughingstock?" he said, chuckling.
"Lord Father, the formation is a little fishy—""I asked you to chastise me! I didn't ask for your opinion! Idiot, imbecile, laughingstock! Pick one!"
Dongyang Ling was so frightened that he knelt without daring to speak. All he did was prostrate himself.
"I feel that 'ultimate laughingstock' is appropriate. What do you think, Thirteenth?"
Dongyang Yun began kowtowing without saying another word. They were all at a loss as to what to say to calm the autarch down. They knew him the best, and they knew what his lunatic antics implied. It meant he was so shaken that he was burning with infernal wrath. All the others began kowtowing, following the two's lead. If anything, it was a rather grand spectacle to witness.
"Leave! All of you!" The autarch kicked Dongyang Ling flying, then did the same to Dongyang Yun. He then stomped the ground so hard that crevices formed. "My fishing line broke and the fish are gone! Dammit, how could this even happen?!"
He slammed his chest so hard that his eyeballs almost burst.
"Lord Father, please still your rage. We didn't think Weisheng Yunxi would be able to awaken after being branded with the Cyclic Stigma," Dongyang Ling said after he crawled upright and mustered his courage.
Autarch Qian burst out in laughter. "Who was the one that told you Weisheng Yunxi deployed this formation?" The way his expression just changed like that was incredibly unsettling.
"Lord Father, you mean to say...."
"There's someone else that’s familiar with how the Evil Suppression Pillar works, if only a little bit. The Evil Suppression Formation is indeed powerful, but not as powerful as I’d imagined. It seems possible to breach. The problem is, if we try to force our way into it, we'll definitely suffer huge losses and we only have so many troops to spare. I wanted to eliminate the Decimo Dao Palace without sacrificing countless lives, but then that damn battle happened. What a pain!"
When Dongyang Yun returned, his eyes glowed with hope. "Do we still have a chance?"
"There is one, but I can't stand being messed around with by mere fish. I feel so utterly pissed that my heart is breaking apart! It's all my fault for being too playful and careless. I knew I should've finished this at the very start! Oh, the regret.... I let the fish get the better of me. From now on, playtime is over!" He rapidly stomped on the ground like he was standing on a hot surface.
"Then, what are we to do?"
"Observe the formation for now and see how powerful it is. If it's just average, I’ll break it myself."
"Praise our Lord Father!"
It appeared the Evil Suppression Formation wasn't impenetrable after all. Dongyang Yun and Dongyang Ling regained some semblance of hope. Now, the palace lord was out cold, but they still had the autarch, the most powerful among them, standing with them.
While they all knew the autarch had suffered an embarrassing setback, they knew that he was even more threatening and sinister in his current state. There was no turning back, and the Divine Capital would never return to how it was. The war had only just begun, but this time, the Decimo Dao Palace actually stood no chance.
......
"Hall King Situ, where’s the palace lord?" Tianming asked.
"She's still unconscious in the Sacred Dao Palace. Let her rest a bit. I've already converted the Nebula Emperor Whale into a lifebound spirit. So if she’s able to regain consciousness, she'll still be a powerful empyrean saint."
"Alright."
"The palace lord and her whale supported each other their entire lives. This turn of events has definitely been a huge shock to her."
"I know."
As they spoke, they arrived back at Tianming's residence.
"Father!" Qingyu cried as she came running.
"Don't cry... ouch... Darn it. Tianming, my son, get your sister away from me!" he said anxiously. He winced in pain when Qingyu grabbed his hand. "Oh, daughter of mine, you'll get your clothes dirty!"
"Stop talking!"
"Alright, fine...." Rambunctious as he usually was, he still had a soft spot for Qingyu.
After that, Situ Qinghe started treating Li Wudi and his kunpeng. Tianming, Feiling, and Qingyu waited outside.
"Big Brother, Dad won't die, will he?" Qingyu anxiously asked.
"No chance in hell. He's a tough bugger, I'll give him that."
"What in the world happened? How did it come to this...."
Feiling briefed her about the battle. When she heard what truly happened, she was so shocked that she turned pale.
"He's always trying to grab the spotlight. You two always make others worry."
"That's what manhood is all about. You wouldn't understand."
"So you do, eh?" Qingyu glared at him.
Not long after, Situ Qinghe came out.
"Hall King, how did it go?"
"It's a healthy boy. The mother's fine too," Situ Qinghe joked with a stern expression, causing them to do a doubletake. "Alright, just kidding. I was just trying to lighten the mood."
The joke was so lame that they almost saw it coming a mile away. The three youths laughed monotonously.
"Don't worry. His constitution is almost terrifying. Most of the damage was mitigated by his Bloodfiend Transformation. The rest are merely surface injuries. With me around, he'll be able to skip about again in a few days."
They all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Son, Daughter-in-law, Daughter, come in for the prison visit...." Li Wudi said weakly.
"What prison visit? It's more like a hospital visit, you fool!" Qingyu snapped.
"Come on, was just trying to lighten the mood," Li Wudi gleefully said.
Another round of monotone laughter followed.
"Godfather, you might do well to tone down the dad jokes."