"Let’s retreat and see if they come after us. If they do leave the cave, we stand a chance of defeating them,” said the gray-robed Yama.
"Alright.”
They put their plan into motion at once. Like a beaten army in total collapse, they could only retreat and flee, even feigning weakness and enervation. In fact, there was no need to pretend—they were a sorry sight indeed.
Every single one of them looked ashen, as if they had received a huge blow to their egos, which formed a sharp contrast with their previous arrogance.
How wretched indeed! In fact, they had yet to recover their senses. Never mind the fact that they had failed to break through the entrances; what they could never have imagined was losing so terribly. They had paid a heavy price for underestimating their enemy.
"Here’s a question: are we easy targets trapped in one place, or have we blocked your attack and destroyed you?” Zhao Tianxing erupted in laughter as the Nonahall disciples flushed in embarrassment.
The only comeback they could muster was to threaten them with punishment by their divine realm once the Number One Summit ended.
In the heart of the mountain, Zhao Tianxing asked, "Should we go after them and finish the job?”
His eyes were fiery; clearly, the thought had crossed his mind.
"I don't think it will work. They’re pretty strong, and those remaining are their top disciples, not to mention how difficult the three minor ghoul kings will be to stop. They can certainly cause a lot of casualties. We mustn’t be conceited. This time we won purely by relying on the terrain and our unity, as well as Tianming’s ability to turn the tide. Once we leave, we will be giving up our advantage. If we fall into their trap, we lose everything,” said Lin Xixi. She was a thoughtful, pragmatic girl.
"I agree with Xixi's statement. We won, so why pursue a cornered enemy? They should be the anxious ones, not us.” Xuanyuan Yucheng was pale, his voice weak.
"You’re right, we won!”
"Yes, there’s only about fifty of them left. We’ve avenged our fallen brothers and sisters!” said Zhao Tianxing.
"Tianming, what do you think?” Xuanyuan Yucheng asked.
"I’ll go after them and see how many I can kill. You stay here and help the wounded first,” said Tianming.
"Can you fight alone?” Xuanyuan Yusheng asked with concern.
"It's alright, I’m quick. It’ll be like taking a walk in the park. I’ll make sure they suffer over the next few days,” said Tianming.
Only four days had passed since the start of the Nether Battle; they had six days to go.
"Yes, there’s only a few days left. We can stay here,” Xuanyuan Yucheng replied.
"If anything comes up, I’ll return and notify you. I’m going after them first. I’ll look for an opportunity to destroy Nonahall’s hell tree after that,” said Tianming.
With that, Tianming left and the others looked at each other in dismay.
"The goddess’ disciple is a god himself,” Zhao Tianxing sighed.
"Yes, our elders said he has the potential to become a god in the future! He’s only twenty years old, while Yama and the others are almost thirty. How can they compare? Tianming is now the number one genius in the Flameyellow Continent. He’s unparalleled!” Beigong Qianyu proudly said.
"He’s amazing,” admired Lin Xixi.
"In this situation, one man alone turned the tide. What else can I say? The entire world can only look up to him,” said Dongfang Zichong.
"Everyone.” Xuanyuan Yucheng looked at them, his eyes fiery. "No matter what the future of our divine realms are, I won’t forget about fighting with all of you here today. Thank you.”
"Unforgettable indeed!”
"I hope our elders will be like us. However, Nonahall is really too strong. Biritual and Hexapath are no worse than the Archaion Sect either,” Lin Xixi sighed.
"What’s there to be afraid of? We have Her Eminence!” said Beigong Qingyu.
"If Her Eminence becomes a god, will she destroy us?” Zhao Tianxing asked.
"I wouldn’t. Even if we’re fighting for unity, why should we kill those who aren’t our enemies? A god would be even more concerned about the common people and the world,” Xuanyuan Yucheng replied.
"I hope so.”
In fact, as their sects were caught between both sides, they were equally uncomfortable. Knowing when to advance and when to retreat was proving to be a dilemma.
...
In the Dimensional Battlefield, there was dead silence in the Yinyang Demon Sect’s area the moment Chu Xiaoqi died.
"Unfortunately, she was weak,” Sect Master Qin Fengyang sighed, shaking his head.
"Yes.” Li Caiwei blinked, her eyelashes lightly trembling.
"Lunar Master, I’m sorry for your loss,” said Qin Fengyang.
"It’s saddening indeed. When the time comes, you must help me kill more of them to avenge Qi’er,” said Li Caiwei.
"Of course.”
Having heard their conversation, the other powerhouses didn’t dare chime in. However, they could only imagine the uproar in the Biritual Divine Realm.
As the goddess in the hearts of their young disciples, Chu Xiaoqi's death had caused a sensation. Within a day, there were hundreds of millions of people who wanted to kill Tianming.
...
Because the Human Branch Dimensional Battlefield was located in the Human Branch, it had the most seats and the largest battlefield. Almost all of the Archaion Sect disciples were gathered there, including the Earth and Heaven Branch disciples.
Tianming had defeated both Jiang Wuxin and Chu Xiaoqi, turning their situation around, and killed almost all the disciples of the five divine realms. In that instant, loud cheers erupted from the crowd. Countless disciples burst into tears as they shouted his name.
In fact, Tianming was grateful to them. It was their Omnisentient Will that allowed his successful progress into the second life phase.
Many of his acquaintances were among the crowd—for example, Jian Xueyi and her brothers and sisters of the Swordking Faction. The moment Chu Xiaoqi perished, they embraced each other. Xuanyuan Muxue stood in the corner, watching for a long, long time. After watching her elder brother, Xuanyuan Yucheng, almost dying in battle and witnessing the disciples of the Archaion Sect desperately fighting, tears pooled in her eyes.
"You’ve done it, for me and my brother both.”
There were many others who shed tears as well. Today, Tianming had led the disciples of the four major sects, with his sword in hand, mercilessly killing their enemies and teaching those arrogant, self-righteous bastards the will of the Monorigin Divine Realm. This was a deeply moving moment that would be recorded in the annals.
“Your Eminence, did you see? Brother Yuheng, can you see all of this from the netherworld? We won!”
...
Joy and excitement swept through the entire Archaion Divine Realm. This battle was a reminder that the future held even more terrifying dangers, but this group of youths had used their wisdom, bravery, and talent to prove to the entire world that they would never admit defeat!
...
Back in the Nether Battlefield, Tianming rode on Meow Meow’s back, chasing after the disciples of the Nonahall Ghost Sect. The remaining Nonahall disciples were clearly disappointed that the others had stayed in the cave.
That meant they had no chance of turning defeat into victory. Aside from that, they had a relentless tail behind him, eyeing them like a tiger watching its prey.
Just as their attention was focused elsewhere, a chain shot toward them. There were several disciples without hell barrier formations who, if they were hit, would most likely die.
"What the hell do you want?” asked Yama, his gaze vacant.
"To kill,” said Tianming.
"You’re courting death!” Both Hei An and Bai Rao went after Tianming.
Noticing the situation, Meow Meow sped off. Once Meow Meow had reached the second-level life phase, it was impossible for anyone to catch up to it.
Tianming’s scoundrel-like behavior made them very uncomfortable. He fled the moment they chased after him, but returned if they left him alone. If they allowed their attention to wander, they might lose another disciple as he only targeted the wounded.
"Why bother? You’ve won, so stop being so annoying. The final battle will be one of life and death.” Yama narrowed his eyes.
"That's all in the future. I’ll kill as many as I can now. There’s still six days left for all of you to slowly enjoy,” Tianming said with a fake smile plastered on his face.
They were furious, but they couldn't do anything about Tianming.
"Jiang Wuxin, you deal with him!” Hei An shouted.
Although Jiang Wuxin's lifebound beast was dead, he still retained his cultivation. Jiang Wuxin ignored Hei An, his eyes dull.
The nuisance continued. Tianming didn’t attack often, but every time he did, he killed with one blow! It was either death, or the destruction of their hell barrier formation.
Forced to form a formation, they watched Tianming at all times. But nothing worked, not even chasing after him. For the remaining days of the battle, their spirits were tense, their lives were miserable, and their dignity was gone.
The three minor ghoul kings were furious and filled with killing intent. However, there was nothing they could do to stop such a shameless opponent. Tianming’s whip became their nightmare.
The ordeal finally ended on the sixth day. For the past six days, Tianming had used this irksome approach to keep a close watch over them and kill whenever the opportunity arose. He killed two or three each day for six days, a total of more than a dozen people! There were only five Heptastar disciples left. Nonahall had lost thirty people in the battle, leaving only fifty behind. What catastrophic damage! The days were full, but the Nonahall disciples were seething with anger.
Finally, the ten-day battle was over. it was clear who the winners and losers were.
Tianming sat on Meow Meow, studying his opponents. There weren’t many of them left. The most important ones were Yama, Bai Rao, and Hei An.
"Hey, Minor Tortoise Kings, I’ll see you in the Dimensional Battlefield.” Tianming smiled.
"Yes, make sure to prepare two coffins, one for you and one for your goddess,” Yama laughed.
Before Tianming’s meteoric rise, Yama was recognized as the number one disciple on the Flameyellow Continent.
It was rumored that he had all kinds of ruthless means, some of which Tianming had personally witnessed. They were frightening indeed. Bai Rao and Hei An were just as impressive, and both were stronger than Chu Xiaoqi.
Tianming couldn't wait to fight them and find out who lived and who died.