“Ugh…” Sword Demon let out a painful cry, his body swaying dangerously as he almost collapsed to the ground, clutching his head in agony.
“Parasitic worm!” He could feel his soul being gnawed on by excruciating pain. He glared fiercely at Thunderstrike, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.
“Haha, so you’re finally realizing it? Too late.” Thunderstrike laughed menacingly, staring at him with cold eyes. “Submit to me, or die!”
“Is that so? Die then!” Sword Demon suddenly went into a frenzy, enduring the searing pain deep within his soul. Ignoring everything else, he raised his long sword and swung it violently toward Thunderstrike.
“Seeking death!” A trace of fear flashed in Thunderstrike’s eyes, but his rage quickly overtook him. He manipulated the parasitic worm, forcing it to devour Sword Demon’s soul with fury.
Cough!
Sword Demon couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood, his body staggering as he half-knelt on the ground, his face pale, life draining rapidly from him.
“Thunderstrike, you have a lot of nerve!” A furious roar erupted, a terrifying aura surged, and Thunderstrike was directly blasted away.
Forest King Great Bear appeared on the arena, raising a hand to press against Sword Demon’s forehead. A powerful surge of Spiritual power flowed into him, suppressing the parasitic worm.
“Heh, Great Bear, it’s useless.” Thunderstrike wiped the blood from his lips, rising from the ground with a disdainful expression. “Without any special means, you won’t be able to remove the parasitic worm I’ve implanted. Now Sword Demon only has two options: death or submission to me.”
“No, there’s a third option. You die!” Great Bear’s eyes blazed with fury, his scarred face becoming even more terrifying as he clenched his fist and sent it flying through the air.
Boom!
The space trembled, and Thunderstrike had no chance to defend himself, being sent flying by the force.
Cough! He coughed up another mouthful of blood, struggling to rise again, his cold gaze fixed on Great Bear.
Wiping the blood from his lips, he grinned viciously and sneered, “Forest King, you are powerful, but if you didn’t have full confidence, do you think I would dare to attack Forest City?”
“Mm?” Great Bear furrowed his brow, a vague sense of foreboding creeping into his heart.
“Explode!” Thunderstrike roared, and terrifying forces surged around him.
Boom, boom…
The sound of explosions echoed through the arena as scorching waves of heat and violent winds swept the area.
Most notably, in the direction of Forest City, large portions of the city collapsed as destructive energy rampaged, tearing through the Void and destroying Great Bear’s World-in-Hand.
“Black Demon Bombs! You’ve colluded with the Celestial Vault!” Great Bear exclaimed in shock, his expression changing slightly. His heart trembled as blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Forest City was being destroyed, and his World-in-Hand was on the verge of collapsing.
Thankfully, he had altered the second phase of the assessment.
Otherwise, those Black Demon Bombs, planted at the core of his World-in-Hand, would have been impossible to withstand.
Even so, his soul was heavily damaged.
“Why aren’t you making a move yet?” Thunderstrike roared, and hundreds of figures rushed out from around him, the powerful The power of laws surging toward Great Bear.
Among these figures, there were more than twenty Lords of Advanced Cities.
No wonder Thunderstrike had been so confident—he had control over these city lords as well.
“Hmph, do you think with this little strength you can oppose me?” Great Bear’s fury erupted, his fur standing on end as his aura surged. The pressure of a nine-star expert spread, and even John found it hard to breathe.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a storm of black crystal balls surged forward, completely engulfing Great Bear’s figure.
It was the Black Demon Bombs that were used to destroy Forest City.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out, and the massive shockwaves sent Great Bear crashing to the ground.
John and the others, standing at the edge of the arena, were also sent flying by the force.
“This is bad! Tracy and Spoorate are still in Forest City!” Sini cried out in alarm, his face changing as he looked at the ruins of Forest City.
Not only that, Xayah was in the city as well.
Thunderstrike truly was ruthless!
John’s expression darkened slightly. Even a tiger wouldn’t eat its own cubs, yet Thunderstrike showed no care for Xayah’s fate.
“We need to go!” he shouted, leading the group toward the now-ruined Forest City.
“John, help me deal with Forest King. If you kill him, I won’t treat you unfairly!” Thunderstrike’s voice rang out, his gaze fixed threateningly on John.
John’s strength had made him wary.
If they dared defy him, he would directly control the parasitic worm and have them killed.
“Get lost!” John shouted, unleashing a terrifying aura from his body. The Purple Flame Hellfire surged from the depths of his soul, immediately obliterating the parasitic worm.
At the same time, he destroyed the parasitic worms in Sini’s and Cand-Dragon’s souls.
“Hmm? Hellfire! You… you actually have Hellfire!” Thunderstrike exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes wide with shock.
But John paid him no mind. The group quickly made their way toward the ruins of Forest City.
“Damn it!” Thunderstrike cursed under his breath, unable to deal with them. He focused all his energy on attacking Great Bear.
Forest City was a wasteland. Space cracks were everywhere, and endless spatial turbulence surged through the city, turning it into a graveyard of wreckage. There were limbs and severed bodies scattered everywhere.
The sound of painful cries echoed through the air. Even the survivors were all seven-star or higher cultivators.
John’s face grew grim as he felt a sense of impending doom in his heart.
Tracy and the others were not very strong—there was no way they could resist.
He should have placed them inside World-in-Hand for safekeeping. This was all his fault.
Spreading out his spiritual energy, he nearly covered the entire Forest City, desperately searching for the women.
“Huh?” John exclaimed, staring into the distance, disbelief written all over his face.
“John, have you found them?” Sini asked, his voice trembling slightly as he quickly inquired.
“They’re all fine,” John replied, swiftly flying toward a patch of ruins.
The others followed closely behind.
Beneath the rubble, a faint red glow flickered. The women were trapped here.
Sini also sensed their presence and sighed in relief. “Phew, you scared me.”
“I’ll handle it.” Cand-Dragon descended and, with a wave of his hand, sent the rubble flying, revealing a red glowing shield.
Tracy, Spoorate, Debbie, and Xayah were all inside the shield, completely unharmed.
“What kind of treasure is this? It blocked the explosion just now?” Cand-Dragon stared at the red shield in disbelief.
The explosion’s force had nearly destroyed Great Bear’s World-in-Hand, yet the women were perfectly safe.
“Big Brother!” Spoorate’s face went pale, and upon seeing John, she immediately threw herself into his arms, softly sobbing.
At that moment, the red shield vanished and transformed into a bracelet that was now fastened around Spoorate’s wrist.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s over now.” John comforted her, gently patting her head, his curiosity piqued as he looked at the bracelet on her wrist.
He was sure that this bracelet hadn’t been there before.
Ice Talker also noticed the bracelet, particularly the golden flame imprint, and felt it looked somewhat familiar.
“Xayah, do you want to leave with us?” John asked, looking at Xayah.
The destruction of Forest City was inevitable; all of this was the work of her father, Thunderstrike.
He respected Xayah’s choice.
“Xayah, come with us. He doesn’t deserve to be called your father,” Sini spoke up.
Over the course of their time together, they had all come to accept Xayah.
Her expression was a bit complicated as she looked at John. After a long pause, she nodded. “Master, I want to follow you.”
“Good.” John felt a shift in his heart and summoned his World-in-Hand, releasing Avis.
The group climbed onto Avis’s back, preparing to leave.
But Spoorate remained frozen in place, staring at Great Bear in the distance, her eyes bloodshot.
“Spoorate, let’s go,” John urged.
Spoorate snapped out of it and looked at him, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. Her voice was pleading. “Big Brother, can you help me save that big guy?”
The others looked at each other, confused, before glancing at the heavily injured Great Bear, who had been attacked by Thunderstrike and others.
Spoorate’s voice trembled. “That’s my father…”
“What?!” The others gasped in shock, looking from Spoorate to the distant Great Bear, unable to believe what they were hearing.
“I just remembered,” Ice Talker exclaimed, pointing at the bracelet on Spoorate’s wrist. “That’s Forest King’s weapon, the Sacred Fire Bracelet!”
“Forest King is really Spoorate’s father?” John realized, understanding now that Great Bear had recognized Spoorate and had been the one to save the women.
Moreover, the kindness shown by Sword Demon in the forest—it all made sense now. This was probably all part of Great Bear’s plan.
He took a step forward, holding Spoorate’s small hand, and said, “Little girl, on my own, I’m no match for those guys. I need your help.”
Spoorate’s eyes lit up, a smile spreading across her face as she nodded firmly.
“I’ve never liked that Thunderstrike, and now I can help Spoorate take care of that bastard!” Cand-Dragon said, his expression full of excitement as he began to curse.
Meanwhile, Xayah’s face darkened. She looked at Spoorate, feeling a mixture of envy and sorrow.
They both had fathers, yet their fates were worlds apart.
Thunderstrike didn’t care whether she lived or died.
On the other hand, Forest King Great Bear had risked his own life to protect Spoorate.
“Xayah, Debbie, get into my World-in-Hand,” John said, noticing Xayah’s strange expression. Without saying anything more, he swiftly moved to bring both women into his World-in-Hand.
“Spoorate, let’s go!” He immediately activated the divine skill Heaven and Earth Transformation, raising his hand to lift Spoorate.
The little girl jumped onto his shoulder, grabbing a strand of his hair with great confidence.
Roar!
A dragon’s roar echoed through the air as Cand-Dragon transformed into a massive black dragon. He, too, used Heaven and Earth Transformation, his enormous form blocking out the sky as he charged toward Thunderstrike and the others.
Sini, Tracy, and Ice Talker also didn’t hold back anymore. They stopped hiding their power.
Their overwhelming auras spread out, drawing the attention of Thunderstrike and his group.
Continue your journey on empire
Seeing John return, Thunderstrike smiled, his excitement evident. “Kid, I knew you’d come back.”
Although the situation was already decided, and John’s arrival might not have much of an effect, just seeing him show up still made Thunderstrike happy.
“Human, I don’t want to fight you. Stay out of this, and leave now!” Great Bear, bloodied and fierce, noticed Spoorate on John’s shoulder and coldly spoke.
“Human, your opponent is me!” A low growl came from Sword Demon as he limped forward, positioning himself between John and Great Bear. He fixed his cold gaze on John.
His face was pale, his soul gravely wounded, and he was barely managing to suppress the parasitic worm inside him. His life hung by a thread.
John couldn’t help but feel some respect for this guy. Raising his hand, a surge of purple flames erupted, instantly merging with Sword Demon’s body.
“Soul attack!” Sword Demon’s expression changed, but to his surprise, he wasn’t harmed. Instead, the parasitic worm deep within his soul was directly obliterated.