The White Emperor said confidently, “What the Four Supremes of the Sacred Temple can do, the ten halls can do, the Templars can do, and many people can do. However, the Four Supremes have one thing the others don’t. Ming Xin wants everyone in the Great Void to know that he’s more capable than the Unholy One. He wants to show that the once unruly Four Supremes are obedient to him unlike the Unholy One.”
Jiang Aijian did not expect this. He chuckled and said, “After listening to Your Majesty, it seems like that’s really the case. They’re indeed very obedient, but it’s only on the surface.”
Bai Zhaoju scoffed slightly and said disapprovingly, “Ming Xin has a fatal weakness just like you.”
Jiang Aijian: “?”
“Too confident and conceited,” Bai Zhaoju said.
“I disagree,” Jiang Aijian said with a smile, “Confidence comes from strength. I have the right to be confident. Only those who don’t know me think I’m conceited. Some people are destined to be frogs living in wells. They can’t see the vastness of the sky, the stars, the sun, and the moon. They think the patch of sky they see from the mouth of the well is bigger than everything so they think I’m conceited.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhaoju chuckled and asked, “Are you scolding me?”
“I don’t dare. I believe Your Majesty agrees with me,” Jiang Aijian said.
Bai Zhaoju was not angry. Instead, he sighed and said, “You’re indeed capable. I don’t think you’re conceited.”
“Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty,” Jiang Aijian said.
“Since you insist on leaving, I won’t keep you. After returning to the Great Void, be careful of the Four Supremes, especially Hua Zhenghong,” Bai Zhaoju said. With that, he brought the Hourglass of Time out and passed it over to Jiang Aijian.
Jiang Aijian glanced at the Hourglass of Time before he put it away. Then, he looked at the green mountains, the blue skies, the white clouds, and the clear waters before he let out a long sigh and flew away, leaving the Lost Island.
…
After flying for 15 minutes, Jiang Aijian arrived at the reef where the runic passage was located. From here, the Lost Island looked like a vertical line.
Just as Jiang Aijian was about to leave, he heard a domineering voice say, “Commander Qi Sheng, please come with us.”
“Hm?”
Jiang Aijian raised his head and saw more than ten more cultivators dressed in green armor in the air. He did not sense any movements so the other party must have been lying in ambush for some time.
“Templars?” Jiang Aijian chuckled. “Did His Majesty send you here?”
These cultivators in green armor were the Sacred Temple’s Templars. They were created 100,000 years ago. They were originally under Ming Xin’s command, but later on, he allowed the Four Supremes to command them. Over the past ten years, their missions were limited to patrolling various places, and they rarely saw any action.
It was said that there were many experts among the Templars. They were personally groomed by Ming Xin and could almost be considered his disciples. Perhaps, Ming Xin was afraid of repeating the Unholy One’s mistakes, he did not formally accept disciples. Regardless, in the eyes of the ten halls, apart from the Four Supremes, the core strength of the Sacred Temple was the Templars.
The leader of the Templars was called Xi Zhong. He was one of the few leaders of the Sacred Temples and was also the rare few who could talk to Ming Xin.
“You don’t need to know the reason, Just come with us,” Xi Zhong said expressionlessly.
Jiang Aijian shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I’ve been ordered by His Majesty to help the new commanders. I have more important things to attend to so I can’t go with you.”
Xi Zhong frowned. “Commander Qi Sheng, my words are His Majesty’s words.”
“Oh?” Jiang Aijian looked at Xi Zhong and said, “But my intuition tells me the contrary…”
“Whether it is or not isn’t important,” Xi Zhong said. He seemed to have expected that the other party would not easily obey. He waved his hand.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
More than ten Templars surrounded Jiang Aijian immediately.
Jiang Aijian smiled. “If His Majesty finds out about this, how will he punish you?”
“There’s no need for you to worry about this, Commander Qi Sheng,” Xi Zhong said.
“You’ve broken two taboos,” Jiang Aijian said as he shook his head.
The Templars knew that Qi Sheng’s cultivation was very high so they did not dare to be careless, and they were very cautious.
“First, you’re an extension of His Majesty’s arms. No matter who bewitched you, he or she will be severely punished. Second, you don’t understand the importance of the commanders in His Majesty’s heart. To put it bluntly, all your lives put together aren’t enough to pay for your mistake,” Jiang Aijian said.
Xi Zhong knew Qi Sheng was very eloquent so he had mentally prepared himself to not let Qi Sheng’s words affect him. Alas, he was still affected by those words. He waved his hand, furious, and said, “Do it.”
The ten Templars looked like meteors as they rushed toward Jiang Aijian, determined to take him down in the shortest time possible.
Jiang Aijian: “?”
Jiang Aijian descended suddenly.
“You can’t escape!”
More than ten energy seals shot out.
Jiang Aijian was only a late-stage Dao Saint. Normally, he would be able to protect himself. However, he alone could not defeat Xi Zhong and the ten Templars. Thus, he could only escape.
With just one move, Jiang Aijian avoided the more than ten energy seals and quickly rushed toward the Lost Island. As long as he returned to Bai Zhaoju’s side, he would be safe.
“Hm? Strange…” Xi Zhong frowned slightly as he looked at Jiang Aijian in confusion.
The ten Templars were not to be trifled with, and they reacted quickly, chasing after Jiang Aijian.
Swoosh!
The space began to ripple and twist.
Each of the Templars held a formation flag in their hands and began to wave it in the air.
“Spatial formation flag?” Jiang Aijian was astonished. He knew he was in trouble now and wondered how he could escape.
With a flash, Xi Zhong appeared above Jiang Aijian. He looked down and said, “Commander Qi Sheng, you have nowhere to run.”
Jiang Aijian said with a smile, “It’s too early for you to say such words.”
Swoosh!
An energy sword flew out before splitting into countless energy swords, sweeping out in all directions.
“Sword technique?” Xi Zhong was even more confused.
After Xi Zhong quickly regained his senses and said, “I overestimated you.” Then, he said to the others, “Get into formation.”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The area within a radius of ten miles became the Templar’s territory in just an instant. They moved easily, occupying ten different directions respectively. Then, a crack appeared in the space in front of them like a door. The flag formation was completed.
In just a moment, the energy swords were devoured by the spatial cracks and disappeared.
Jiang Aijian: “…”
‘Damn! So powerful?!’
The Templars shot out beams of light immediately after.
The beams of light shot out in a straight line, tearing through space.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Jiang Aijian dodged to the left and right.
The more Xi Zhong watched, the stranger he felt. He said, “Commander Qi Sheng, your subordinate was able to defeat the beast tamer. I know your strength is far above his. Stop hiding your strength. The price of underestimating the Templars isn’t small…”
Jiang Aijian cursed inwardly, ‘F*ck! Why would I still hide my strength at this moment?! I would’ve shown it all a long time ago!’
Jiang Aijian kept dodging the attacks as fast as he could. He was so fast that ordinary people would have difficulty seeing him.
Suddenly, the beams of light shot out faster than before.
Boom!
One of the beams of light finally struck Jiang Aijian. His blood and qi surged immediately. He felt as though his heart was being ripped out of his chest due to the power of the law. The pain was excruciating and unlike anything he had felt before.
Xi Zhong shook his head. “I don’t understand. With your ability, what does His Majesty see in you? Just the Great Void Seed?”
Bang!
Another beam of light hit Jiang Aijian, causing him to grunt in pain. He knew he had to leave quickly. Just as another beam of light was about to strike him, he brought Dragonsong, which he was most proud of, out and held it in front of him. He was pushed back with a loud bang before he spun around using the force. The power of the Dao burst forth, and he spun around, sweeping the Dragonsong out and leaving cracks in the space.
Just as Jiang Aijian thought he found an opening, Xi Zhong said, “Too slow.”
Crack!
Xi Zhong’s waved his hand, shattering the space.
The shockwave stirred the seawater, and a wall of water rose into the sky.
Xi Zhong flashed again. “It’s a pity that I’m in a hurry, and I can’t play with you…”
Xi Zhong acted personally and easily passed through the beams of light before he arrived in front of Jiang Aijian. He unleashed a palm seal to grab Jiang Aijian.
At the critical moment, Jiang Aijian brought out an item and cried out, “Freeze!”
Bzzzt!
The object burst forth with blue electric arcs that spread in all directions.
Xi Zhong exclaimed in shock, “The Hourglass of Time?!”
The Hourglass of Time froze the Templars immediately.
Jiang Aijian seized the opportunity and flew toward the Lost Island. With his cultivation as a Dao Saint, it was already miraculous that he could activate the Hourglass of Time. The two seconds he managed to buy for himself allowed him to leave the range of the flag formation. He flew at top speed toward the Lost Island as soon as he left the range of the flag formation.
After recovering, Xi Zhong looked at the empty space and the light in the distance before he said, “Take him down no matter what!”
“Understood!”
The ten Templars looked like shooting stars as they chased after Jiang Aijian and attacked with all their might.
Xi Zhong was the fastest. He kept using the law of space to shorten the distance between them.
Jiang Aijian clenched the Hourglass of Time as he looked back. He cursed inwardly, ‘Damn! Why are these lackeys working so hard?’
If it were not for the Hourglass of Time, Jiang Aijian knew he would have been finished earlier. At the same time, he regretted his negligence. Bai Zhaoju had warned him to be careful of Hua Zhenghong, but he still ran into her trap when he left.
“Hua Zhenghong?” With this thought in mind, Jiang Aijian turned around and asked, “Did Hua Zhenghong put you up to this?”
“You better surrender.”
Xi Zhong’s speed was exceptionally fast. As soon as his voice fell, he already caught up to Jiang Aijian. He pushed his hand down, intending to take Jiang Aijian down with one move.
When the attack that contained the power of the Dao was about to land on Jiang Aijian, the seawater suddenly surged.
Splash!
“Hm?”
The seawater rose thousands of feet high at lightning speed.
Jiang Aijian was quickly swallowed by the water, andwhen the palm seal landed, it was miraculously swallowed by the seawater. Following that, the seawater shot out in all directions, ignoring the law of space and sending the Templars flying back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Templars manifested their avatars one after another, resisting the mysterious power of the sea. They were forced to retreat for a long time before the seawater finally fell.
“Who is it?” Xi Zhong asked solemnly after he glanced at the sea and looked into the distance.
A deep and powerful voice rang from the depths of the sea immediately. “You’re not welcome here. Get lost!”
Xi Zhong looked at the sea. He did not know who or what had spoken. He thought that it was likely a powerful sea beast so he said, “His Majesty, Great Emperor Ming Xin, has always been in contact with Kun. In the eastern Endless Ocean, everything belongs to Kun. Who are you?”
“I said, get lost,” the voice from the depths of the ocean said emotionlessly.
Xi Zhong’s expression turned grave as he wondered inwardly, ‘Who or what is it? Even Kun doesn’t dare to make an enemy out of His Majesty. Who’s so bold to do so?’
After thinking for a moment, Xi Zhong said threateningly, “Great Emperor Ming Xin has ordered for Commander Qi Sheng to be brought back.”
Bubbles began to appear on the surface of the sea. Xi Zhong’s words seemed to have angered the other party.
Xi Zhong raised his hand immediately and said to the others, “Retreat.”
The Templars retreated one after another and raised their altitude.
