Chapter 1530 - Scram!
There was no need for Ye Zichen to make any further arrangements. The forces of the Upheaval Alliance quickly split into several battalions.
Each was led by an Outsider ruler, with diviners as their experts. The ordinary rank and file were all ordinary members, earth supremes our higher. They charged ahead with unstoppable momentum, straight into the Southern Kingdom army.
Boom!
A pitch-black iron paG.o.da suddenly plummeted down from the skies, so tall, it reached the clouds. Several doors opened on its surface, and countless yao servants flew forth
Their entrance was even more orderly than that of the Upheaval Alliance forces. They were perfectly coordinated, without even the slightest of slip-ups.
In stark contrast, the yao of the Southern Kingdom had gotten mixed up and were all out of formation. They looked like a ragtag militia up against a trained army. Perhaps it was just because Ye Zichen’s forces had appeared too suddenly, but the army of the Southern Kingdom just couldn’t keep up. As such, it didn’t take long before their casualties reached terrifying heights.
“Ye-zi, I, Ol’ Sun, am going in too.” The Great Sage had been rubbing his hands together with antic.i.p.ation long before they’d even reached the River Styx.
He hadn’t enjoyed a proper battle since arriving in the G.o.d Realm. Well, no, the incident at the Bai Family was a great opportunity for a fight. It’s just, he b.u.mped into Bai Haoyu and got stuck in utterly unsatisfying combat with him.
Now, they were fighting on the banks of the River Styx. Better yet, he hadn’t heard anything about the Southern Kingdom’s ranks including apes or monkeys. That meant that he could rush in and bully these petty yao without inhibitions. Even if he did encounter apes or monkeys, at worst, he could just avoid them.
“I’m going too! That monkey doesn’t know how to hold back. Someone’s got to keep an eye on him.” Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan had already entered the fray. They were both imperial-level experts strong enough to contend with the likes of Jiao Hai. Against ordinary soldiers, they were indeed like tigers let loose in a flock of sheep.
As for the yao commanders? The Outsider rulers alone were enough to give them a real headache. When the Great Sage and the other imperial-level experts joined the fray, the commanders could only watch as they swept through their forces. The Southern Kingdom’s formation was completely in shambles.
“You can go on down too.” Compared to the Upheaval Alliance’s grand display of military force, the Profound Pavilion’s group was small. However, all of them were elites.
In the blink of an eye, the Southern Kingdom, which had once enjoyed an absolute advantage in numbers, lost its momentum, and were even giving ground.
“The Upheaval Alliance is actually rather organized.” Xuan Ji walked over, her arms crossed. She gazed at the scattered yao forces and shook her head. It was too early to say that they had this in the bag, but if the yao hoped to cross the river, their only hope was to retreat, reorganize, and try again.
“It’s all thanks to Yumei.”
Ye Zichen hadn’t stayed in the alliance long after establis.h.i.+ng it, so he’d left everything up to Xiao Yumei. Never mind the ordinary members, Ye Zichen didn’t even know the rulers and diviners who’d joined after he left.
When he brought up Xiao Yumei, Xuan Ji couldn’t help but smile and nod. Inwardly, she’d always held Xiao Yumei in high regard. Of the Fated Stars Xuan Ji was familiar with, she was the most satisfied with Xiao Yumei.
Xuan Ji looked up into the sky and, for some reason, she laughed. “They’re really fighting hard up there.”
As soon as they arrived, Ye Zichen sensed surging, clas.h.i.+ng auras overhead. There were four total, and he recognized two: Emperor Hades and the Ocean Emperor’s real body. As for the other two….
“Who’s up there?”
“The king of the Southern Kingdom, Jiao Hai. The Demon Emperor, too,” laughed Xuan Ji.
Ye Zichen’s heart clenched. He could overlook the king of the Southern Kingdom. Emperor Hades was the top expert beneath the three Realm Emperors, and better yet, Xue Yang was fighting beside him. Taking down the king of the Southern Kingdom wasn’t out of the question.
But the Demon Emperor was one of the three Realm Emperors!
If things had gone as expected, an expert on that level ought to have stayed behind to take care of business in the Demon Realm. For him to appear at the River Styx now….
“They don’t need help?”
“No need.” Xuan Ji glanced upward, a faint, calm smile at her lips. “From the looks of his aura, that isn’t Kui Lin’s real body. His avatar and Jiao Hai are no match for Xue Yang and Emperor Hades. But let me rea.s.sure you: even if the Demon Emperor’s real body were here, so long as Emperor Hades wasn’t in his cultivation technique’s low ebb, Kui Lin wouldn’t beat him so easily.”
“You’re saying…” Ye Zichen knit his brows. “Don’t they say that Emperor Hades is second to the three….”
“That’s just a load of nonsense people whose cultivations aren’t up to snuff came up with. They just a.s.sume that the three Realm Emperors are the strongest of all, which is why they place Emperor Hades beneath him on their mental scales. But if you go and ask Qingyan or the others t.i.tled ‘emperor’ who’s stronger, Emperor Hades or the three Realm Emperors, they’ll all tell you the same thing.”
Xuan Ji’s eyes were full of undisguised disdain for those who irresponsibly spread rumors. “Emperor Hades has been a constant figure since the primordial era, since before the current generation of great emperors received their t.i.tles. Whether the Eastern Emperor of the Yao Realm can beat him, I can’t say for sure, but Kui Lin… there’s absolutely no way he can win. After all, Emperor Hades taught him everything he knows.”
“Taught…” Ye Zichen was stunned.
“You didn’t know that, did you?” said Xuan Ji smugly. “This is a secret almost no one knows, but your aunt is Lady Providence, and I am privy to all sorts of heavenly mysteries. If I said that, when it comes to gossip, I was in second, no one would dare claim first place.”
“Is that really something to be proud of?” Seeing her smug pride, Ye Zichen was at a loss for words.
But at the same time, learning that Kui Lin was once Emperor Hades’ apprentice did indeed sense waves of shock coursing through his mind. He couldn’t help but look up into the sky, just like Xuan Ji, his mind still awash with astonishment.
Meanwhile, up in the clouds.
Then the four imperial-level experts clashed, the resulting force was difficult to even imagine.
Collisions rang out non-stop, so loud, they were almost deafening. In the area around their skyward battlefield, even the flow of s.p.a.ce was out of balance. With every breath of time that pa.s.sed, they clashed tens of thousands of times.
They moved so fast that, were anyone to observe them, they wouldn’t be able to see the emperors’ movements. It was clear, however, that they weren’t using any flashy moves. This was just a simple, even primitive, clash of raw physical power.
Boom!
A deafening boom reverberated throughout the horizon, sending all four combatants flying in separate directions.
Emperor Hades’ gaze was utterly calm. The Ocean Emperor stood there, trident in hand, its tips dripping with blood.
This blood belonged to Jiao Hai.
In the mid-stages of their clash, Jiao Hai had returned to his true form, that of a blood dragon.
Who knew how many scales he’d lost this far? Blood gushed from his wounds and flowed down his sides. After they were blasted in different directions, he returned to human form. His chest and abdomen were covered in wounds both big and small.
Demon Emperor Kui Lin’s state wasn’t anywhere near as pathetic. Even after the blast sent them flying, he imitated his former teacher, standing there with his hands behind his back.
However…
“Cough!” Kui Lin’s chest started heaving as he coughed violently. His right hand covered his mouth, and when he next looked at it, he saw a puddle of deep purple blood pooled in his palm.
He had to admit it: in his clash with Emperor Hades, he’d lost.
After leaving his master’s side and becoming the Demon Emperor, his history as Emperor Hades’ disciple was his secret shame, and he’d never once broadcasted or even hinted at their relations.h.i.+p.
He hadn’t even hesitated to silence all those who knew about it.
But even so, Emperor Hades was like a thorn in his side. That was part of why he’d chosen to come to the River Styx; he wanted to see which of them was stronger now.
But he’d already seen the result.
Although this was just an avatar, Kui Lin already understood the gap between them.
“Do you still want to fight?” In stark contrast with Kui Lin’s unwillingness, Emperor Hades was calm. He smiled at Jiao Hai and Kui Lin, then glanced down at the battlefield. “If we go on like this, the entire Southern Kingdom will be wiped out!”
Jiao Hai grunted furiously. He was naturally aware that the Upheaval Alliance and Profound Pavilion had joined the fray. It was just, he was locked in combat with Emperor Hades and the Ocean Emperor. There was no way they’d just let him go down and get involved.
“Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance,’ said Emperor Hades. “I can let you go this time.”
For Emperor Hades to say this was completely unexpected.
“I can give you one chance to go back and regroup, but when the time comes…. Kui Lin, I hope you’ll come looking for me with your real body. That way… I’ll be able to ‘clean up after myself’ for real!”
“Hah…” Kui Lin was just about to say something vicious.
However, before he got the chance, Emperor Hades turned away. “Enough. Go on and scram!”