The world was silent. Only the bellows of grief from Bodo’s Yuan Spirit before it perished echoed.
Wang Hou, Lin Tianzheng, Dong Haichuan, as well as the martial elites of the various Holy Grounds all turned toward Jiang He, their looks of astonishment hardly concealed… Even the old Shaolin monk was perfectly aware of his feats since the Holy Grounds had their own channels for information as well, which was why everyone knew that Jiang He was very strong—they just did not imagine he would be this strong.
Not only had everyone failed to bring down the Sky Demon champion, but it even wounded Elder Ji. And from the way Bodo was getting bolder the more he fought, someone could end up killed if the battle continued.
And yet, how long has it been since Jiang He made his move?
One minute?
Either way, it did not take him two minutes to kill the Sky Demon champion, destroying even his Yuan Spirit.
Meanwhile, at Lingzhou City…
Long Mountain Lin, Pei Donglai, and the other divine-tier martial artists were staring blankly at each other. Behind him, the rank-seven, eight and nine martial artists who rushed to the city from various corners of the country were unable to react to what was happening.
Was it over?
Just like that?
The Hua Nation was ready for all-out war in the face of the Sky Demon legion’s arrival, and every martial artist present was ready to meet their end.
So how the hell was it over even before they catch a glimpse of the Sky Demon legion?
***
Up in the skies, with a wave of his hand, Jiang He put away his six flying swords and the Nine Dragons God Fire Shroud before picking up the Sky Demon champion’s Spatial Ring and war axe.
That was when Wang Hou and the other elites all flew toward him.
Jiang He appeared rather pale then, even a little waning in spirit.
“Are you alright, Jiang He?” Wang Hou asked concernedly.
“I’m fine.”
Jiang He said, yawning, “The main problem here is that using my secret Yuan Spirit technique has taken a considerable toll on me, so I’m a little faint and drowsy, but I’ll be alright once I return home to sleep later… By the way, Minister Wang, send some people to look inside the Stargate—I’m not sure if my homecooked bombs have blown the Sky Demon legion to death yet.”
Wang Hou was dumbstruck.
What the hell are those homecooked bombs!
You are still saying that the stuff you were cooking are homecooked bombs even now?
The bombs made in your house have such power?
Even hydrogen bombs could only do that much! In fact, Wang Hou was suspicious if Jiang He had inherited some heritage site holding advanced technology. Word had it that there was a heritage site called Atlantis over seas and it was a heritage site of technology, which the nations in the European Union had worked together to unlock. With that, they secured a technological legacy far surpassing current technological standard on Earth, even developing a new martial discipline.
Of course, that stuff depended entirely on individual fate. Since Jiang He was not saying anything, Wang Hou would not ask.
The other martial elites were studying Jiang He curiously too.
They had seen Jiang He’s condition before as well. His body had suffered a considerable part of the explosion’s shockwave, leaving almost all his bones broken, his tendons torn, his organs dislocated, and his veins snapped off… a state where he should have been confined to bed for the rest of his life even if he did not end up dying.
But how long did that ask?
Not only had he recovered, but he even handily slayed a full-fledged Yuan Spirit champion?
Even so, these people were not familiar with Jiang He, so they shied away from asking.
Jiang He then turned towards Lin Tianzheng.
After seeing Lin Tianzheng this time, Jiang He suddenly remembered that Long Mountain Lin’s eldest son was named Lin Tianzheng as well. As such, his previous assumption that the Lin clan of Sichuan might have a connection with the Lin clan of Jingdu City…
…proved to be overthinking on his part.
If they really were connected, would Long Mountain Lin dared to name his son like the Three Blades Lin’s gramps?
“Old Lin…”
Jiang He could not help frowning as he looked then, and exclaimed in surprise, “Your cultivation?”
During his first meeting with Lin Tianzheng, Jiang He had noticed that he cultivated immortal arts along with martial arts. Though the mystic powers in his body was faint, it had at least reached the ninth fold of the Qi Refinist tier… But was there even an ounce of mystic power in Lin Tianzheng’s body?
“Why should I cultivated the immortal path if it is that heartless?” Lin Tianzheng replied. “I’ve cut all ties with the Penglai Immortal Sect in my last visit, crippling my own mystic power and removed any memory about their cultivation techniques.”
Everyone present turned toward him at that.
On the other hand, Wang Hou understood the actual situation and did not mention it ahead of the battle against the Sky Demon legion. Still, he laughed coolly now before declaring, “Let’s make time to set up a press conference. There is no need to hide the news about the Sky Demons, and I feel that we should at least have our own people be aware of the lurking threat to feel some pressure.”
“In addition…”
After pausing, he breathed a long sigh. “Today, Mister Jiang stepped forward and repelled the Sky Demon legion with his own strength, even slaying their champion. Our nation should at least have the people know that there is a group of people fighting for him when the Sky Demons come again!”
“We’ll also mention about the immortal sects and expose their attitudes so those b*stards don’t get to trick anyone after they leave seclusion and fool our people.”
Some of them answered in affirmative and promptly went off to prepare.
Everyone understood Jiang He’s intention.
It was true that the immortal sects had great strength, but since they would not contribute, they should not hope to leave their own door to recruit disciples.
Of course, it was not actually that pleasant a matter. While everyone would be aware of the immortal sect’s behavior, there would certainly be those who would want to join even if they got their skulls cracked… but pinning a badge of disgust on them was nice too.
Meanwhile, Jiang He appeared thoughtful.
How could those cultivators be so heartless?
After all, the Sky Demon legion and their champions were not something the Hua Nation could have fended off with their strength right now… if it was not for him, there would probably not be that many martial elites surviving at the present. When the Sky Demon legion truly engulfed the entire nation at that, there was no telling how many casualties there would be.
As for the secluded immortal sects, Jiang He good opinion of them had faded entirely, and he actually found them despicable to some extent.
***
Afterwards, Wang Hou personally led a group to inspect the inside of the Stargate while Lin Tianzheng went off to prepare the press conference. At the same time, the elites of the five Holy Grounds had a few words with Jiang He, extending him invitations to be their guest, which Jiang He accepted.
“I shall intrude when I have the time,” he said with a smile.
The many martial elites only left at that.
Elder Guo laughed out loud at that, saying, “Brother Jiang He, do come by to visit the Guo clan if you ever drop by Xiangyang.”
Having guessed the identity of the elite before him, Jiang He saw that his qi and blood was withering, while an aura of death was circling around him—a sign that his lifespan was expiring soon. As an idea occurred to Jiang He, he smiled and replied, “Brother Guo, if you have nothing urgent to attend to, you should stay a few days at Lingzhou City. I’ll treat you to a meal soon.”
Though hesitant, Elder Guo accepted.
The white-clothed guru seemed to know what Jiang He was thinking, and promptly chuckled while dragging Elder Guo along, “Little Guo, let’s go—off to Lingzhou City.”
Elder Guo was dumbstruck.
He was older than the founding master of Mount Wudang and had once gained a great providence, extending his lifespan by 300 years. He was almost 800 years old now, after adding that to his 500-year lifespan.
That being said, the guru of the Tantra Sect had lived three lives, making him much older with the age of his three lifetimes added together.
Therefore, only the guru would dare to call Elder Guo ‘Little Guo’ in this whole wide world.
And now that he was younger and had freed himself from his shackles, the guru was immeasurably easygoing, even clapping a hand on Elder Guo’s shoulder and smiling. “By the way, Little Guo, I heard that you picked up a thousand-year Lingzhi from overseas back then, extending your lifespan by 300 years… how awesome is that stuff that you’re still looking like a middle-aged man so long after you passed your own lifespan?”
“Eh…”
Being more straightforward, Elder Guo answered earnestly, “To tell the truth, I once obtained a youth pellet…”
***
Jiang He could not help chuckling as he watched the pair who left looking like bosom buddies.
Both of them with their ages combined were over sixteen hundred years old, having lived through several dynasties.
“The finest of heroes, serving the country and its people…”
That though suddenly appeared in Jiang He’s mind for some reason, and he found that it was only too appropriate to use it for describing the guru of the Tantra Sect and Elder Guo.
Both of them were full-fledged Void-tiers on the verge of reaching their natural lifespans, having only a year or two left to live.
Reasonably speaking, the Revival of Qi granted them the chance of ascension. Should they remain in seclusion and cultivate, they would have reached the next level in a year or two, and get a shot at living another five hundred years.
Even so, they came risking death to stand against the Sky Demon legion, a fact that invoked respect.
“Well, I’ll have them hang around in Lingzhou City for a while. For now, I’m going home to sleep and make the arrangements when I wake up…”
Yawning, Jiang He turned and return to Jinyintan Village.
***
Meanwhile, beyond this world, the demon lord sat cross-legged upon the starry skies of a dried-up planet, with several Sky Demon champions surrounding him.
Given how long the Stargate was and how it involved energies that affected spatiality, the demon lord was unable to sense the tremendous explosions within the Stargate. Moreover, the blast was mostly fading by the time it wiped out the Sky Demon legion of 500,000, and did not spill out of the other end of the Stargate and into the dried-up planet.
One day passed…
And then another…
Then, three days passed in no time at all.
A little restless, the demon lord who sat cross-legged through all three days opened his eyes and asked uncertainly, “What’s going on? Why is there no word from Bodo?”
Beside him, the other Sky Demons exchanged glances but remained silent.
After staying quiet for a while as the foreboding feeling he was sensing grew stronger, the demon lord then demanded somberly, “Contact the military at once. Check on the condition of Bodo and the other general’s soul cards!”
