Slam.
Following the sound of the door shutting, the dimly lit room returned to its former silence.
Ye Zichen sat in the same chair as before, facing away from the door and staring at the s.p.a.ce Su Yiyun had occupied.
After a long while, a light sigh echoed through the room.
“Do you regret it?” he muttered, seemingly talking to himself, but also not talking to himself. He reached out and brushed his fingers against the gla.s.s Su Yiyun had used. As he withdrew his hands, it disappeared.
So did the chair Su Yiyun had sat on.
With that, a heavy curtain appeared in front of him.
“Just like you said, let’s… meet again on the battlefield.”
With that, mountain ranges and rivers appeared on the curtain, forming a map of the Immortal Region.
……
The Immortal Region’s Maple City.
After extensive deliberations, Ye Zichen determined that when the demons invaded, this was the best place to meet them head-on.
Of course, he couldn’t be absolutely certain they’d start here. No one could say definitively that they wouldn’t appear at some other city or start by ravaging the Beast Region, killing them all in a surprise attack.
To avoid this possibility, Ye Zichen hadn’t a.s.sembled everyone in this one place. Instead, he left them to protect their clans and organizations. If any of them discovered the demon’s entry point, all they had to do was send out a signal and the others would rush to their aid.
As for Maple City, where the demons were most likely to strike, Ye Zichen naturally wanted to defend the place personally.
He was dressed in black robes and swirling flash plate armor. Don’t be fooled into thinking it looked like it couldn’t protect him properly. In truth, its defenses were shockingly powerful.
A blood-red cloak draped over his shoulders and he carried a blade formed of blood essence.
The Xuan-Yuan sword had shattered in order to save him. Even though Ye Zichen had fused it back together during his Divine Bestowal, the artifact spirit Xuan-yuan Xiang had nonetheless suffered a grievous injury and was still in a deep slumber.
Without the artifact spirit, the Xuan-yuan sword was a divine artifact in name only; it couldn"t even access a tenth of its true power
Because of this, he had to resort to his second-choice. He decided to use this sword of qi and blood.
He sat majestically atop a scarlet battle-horse, his blood-red cape fluttering in the wind, looking just like a general defending his territory in ancient times.
His own organization, the Leisure House, and all of the soldiers and n.o.ble warriors of Maple CIty came out to help too.
This was to be a battle of elites. Those chosen to meet the enemy head-on were all at least sky immortal experts.
With the support of the Leyline, the power of the Immortal Region had risen qualitatively.
Looking at it now, there were four lines of troops standing outside the city, each containing a hundred people. Each and every one of them stared intently at the distant sky.
They were prepared to meet the enemy at any time!
The atmosphere outside the city was tense and alert. No one dared let their guard down, no matter who they were. They still remembered half a year ago, when the demons last invaded, as if it were yesterday. Even though they’d won in the end, to this day, none of them dared take the demons lightly.
Despite this sort of atmosphere, someone called out an angry rebuke. “Ye Zichen, I’ve already warned you more than once that I’m now this realm"s Master of the Laws, not your servant or hired thug."
Lin Ru stood by Ye Zichen"s side. She wore her hair up and frowned deeply as she prattled on.
To tell the truth, she was deeply irritated. Given her status, she was supposed to have transcended these worldly struggles and she was naturally inclined to protect the rules.
But this guy kept on bringing up their friends.h.i.+p back in the Modern Realm and had shockingly managed to sway even her, the Master of the Laws, and convince her to come help out.
“Must you be so heartless?” Ye Zichen pursed his lips. ”Anyway, we had a pretty friendly relations.h.i.+p back in the Modern Realm, and I healed your grandfather’s injuries for you, didn’t I? Also, weren’t you good friends with Su Yan? And that boyfriend of yours is my good brother! Given all that, are you really just going to disregard me?”
Lin Ru’s pretty face darkened. She was here since she’d let this twisted logic of his move her.
“I don’t need you to keep repeating yourself," she said. "I"m telling you now, I’m the Master of the Laws here. I obey Heaven"s Will and can’t get involved in your worldly disputes. To tell the truth, we have to be quite careful. If we violate the Heavenly Laws, we have to resign.”
"Hm?” said Ye Zichen, tilting his head as if he hadn"t understood.
“Don’t pretend, I know you understand what I’m saying,” said Lin Ru. “I really can’t keep helping you deal with the demons. Even though you have a relations.h.i.+p with Susu and even though I hate the demons too, I can’t get involved.
“Hm?” he said, still playing dumb.
“Ye Zichen!” she called out his full name.
When women did that, it meant the problem was really serious. Ye Zichen knew this full well, so he quit playing dumb and laughed, "don’t be so irritable. Aren"t you worried you"ll pop a blood vessel?"
She frowned again, and he hurriedly waved his hands placatingly. "Okay, okay, okay, Your Majesty, please calm down. In truth, I understand that, as the Master of the Laws, you’re in a difficult position here."
“Then you still….”
“But difficulties can be overcome!” he said flippantly.
Then, sensing she was about to explode again, he spoke again hurriedly, “don’t get angry, I haven"t finished yet. I know you’re in a difficult position and I absolutely won’t force you to cross your bottom line. Put simply, the Master of Laws is like a civil servant. I definitely won’t let you lose such a steady job. I"m only asking you to stay here so that if someone appears with strength beyond the immortal king level, you can send them flying. What do you think? Quite reasonable, right?”
“That’s indeed reasonable enough,” she nodded lightly. Their mission as Masters of the Law was to ensure that natural laws ran smoothly and dispatch those who violated the rules.
As long as she was really just there to fight off those whose strength surpa.s.sed the immortal king realm, she could help out.
“See? We have mutual understanding,” he smiled frivolously. Lin Ru couldn’t help but frown again. She always felt that this guy was secretly plotting something. He definitely had some trap lined up for her.
But she couldn’t figure out exactly where or what it was
“In any event, if no one over the immortal king level shows up, I’ll just watch. I won"t intervene even if you die," she thought inwardly, but then.....
A thick and heavy aura spread outward as a faint purple gas diffused into the air. Even the sunlight coming in through those purple clouds was tinted purple.
Everyone grew tense as the incoming army blotted out the sun.
A line of demon soldiers had appeared in the sky, their ranks extending as far as the eye could see. Demon warriors flowed out of the teleportation formation in the sky in a non-stop stream.
It was truly just like Ye Zichen predicted. Their invasion started....
In Maple City, as expected!