A tranquil breeze rattled the trees, and the scattered maple leaves danced about on the gentle winds.
Xue Qi looked into the distance at Maple City, a place blessed by the leyline and glowing with silvery light. He propped himself up against a tree trunk and chuckled, “Actually, there’s nothing wrong with the city; it’s the leyline that’s the problem. Fortunately, you’ve returned. Without you, never mind Maple City; I’m afraid that the whole Three Realms would soon suffer a fatal blow.”
A smile surfaced on his face, and Xue Qi’s tension had relaxed by quite a bit. Not long ago, he’d been struggling to calm his nerves over the impending demon invasion. Last night, he tossed and turned until daybreak without sleeping a wink. Now that Ye Zichen was back, he could relax.
“The leyline?” Ye Zichen stretched out with his divine sense to investigate it. When his awareness touched it, it responded with its usual familiarity. “What’s wrong with it?”
Xue Qi laughed and said, “You ought to more or less know what’s happened over the past hundred years, right? Our Leisure House has continuously expanded, but in terms of peak-level experts we’re still a little weak. In the past, people of all three realms would look out for us out of respect for you, but then a few years ago, the Hundred Flowers Gate’s Li Jiayi ascended.”
“She ascended too?” Ye Zichen didn’t quite have words to describe his relationship for Li Jiayi. Their relationship status was unclear. They were more than friends, but they’d never become lovers.
Back in the modern realms, she even went so far as to intentionally mar her beautiful face and trick others into thinking her hideous. She was so timid, and yet, when the former head of the Hundred Flowers Gate passed on, she took on the heavy burden of leadership of the entire sect.
Images of the past appeared, one after to the other. To think that by the time he’d returned, she’d already ascended!
“That’s right. Although Li Jiayi was once the chief disciple of the Hundred Flowers Gate, she never stood out. However, after becoming sect head, her heaven-defying talent fully revealed itself. Her domineering strength led the Hundred Flowers Gate to increase to over ten times its former size in just a hundred short years.”
He sighed in amazement, but it wasn’t just him; perhaps the entire Immortal Region was in awe of how the sect had transformed under her leadership.
“In the past, the sect lacked anyone else capable of holding down the fort, so she repressed her strength and avoided undergoing tribulation. However, a girl genius appeared suddenly around fifteen years or so. About three years ago, she became an immortal king, so Li Jiayi passed on her position and ascended. Thing is, shortly after she left the lower realms, the Leisure House and the leyline ran into trouble.”
“What’s the source of the problem?” asked Ye Zichen.
“You should get it if I explain it to you; sometimes, a faction’s reputation determines its wealth and resources. Our Leisure House became a peak-level faction thanks to all three realms’ support, as well as backing from the Hundred Flowers Gate and the Treasure Tower,” said Xue Qi.
Ye Zichen nodded.
“However, in terms of top-level experts, we’re weaker than far too many factions. Just after Li Jiayi ascended, a new faction emerged. Their leader, Zheng Chong, is a peak immortal king. He’s always wanted to trample over us and take our position. However, most likely out of concern for our allies, he’s always held back.”
“I have no idea how he pulled it off, but not long ago, Zheng Chong made contact with the demons. He now has three thousand demon kings at his disposal, and a few days ago, he demanded that we offer him our leyline.”
Xue Qi shrugged helplessly. How could he possibly stand up to thousands of immortal-king-level experts?
If Zheng Chong coveted their position, he might be able to make concession, but he’d demanded the leyline! That was the root of the entire three realms; how could Xue Qi possibly give it away?
“Three thousand demon kings?” Ye Zichen’s eyes glinted with killing intent.
There was no need to even question it; someone had almost certainly brought those three thousand demon kings down from the Demon Realms. Then, rather than going directly for the Xuan-Yuan Sword, they were sent to target the Three Realm’s leyline.
But what about the emissaries of the gods?
They had to know what the demons were up to, but they hadn’t sent any reinforcements.
It seemed that in their eyes, humans who’d yet to become gods were really nothing but ants!
A full three thousand demon kings. If this were a few days ago, his odds of victory wouldn’t be particularly high, but now he was a supreme. In the lower realms, demon kings might be able to push others around without fear of recourse, but in the face of someone who’d already become a supreme….
He didn’t even need the Yao-Sealing Pagoda. Nevermind three thousand demon kings, even if it were thirty thousand, he could wipe them out with a wave of his hand.
After all, they were on two totally different levels.
“Interesting.” A smile tugged at his lips, then his expression darkened.
You ought to know that one hundred years ago, Ye Zichen already had to contend with Black Dragon. Black Dragon, Gu Li, the four Zombie Progenitors, and their combined form, Denglong, were all capable of killing an immortal king just by waving their hands.
It was unbelievable that in just a hundred years, demon kings had become awe-inspiring existences.
“Of course, although Zheng Chong threatened us with his three thousand demon kings, he dared not attack directly. After all, he’s still worried about our comrades avenging us after he ascends to the God Realm.”
“It doesn’t matter whether he really attacked or just threatened you; we still can’t leave him alive.”
His eyes flashed with murderous intent and his expression darkened. A fierce wind howled through the maple forest.
Ye Zichen absolutely wasn’t the type to procrastinate; he’d already said all that, so there was no need to let Zheng Chong live even a single day longer.
Big or small, it was best to nip threats in the bud.
He spread out his divine awareness and immediately located the Zheng Chong who Xue Qi told him about. More importantly, he found the three thousand demon kings.
In an instant, Ye Zichen faded from the maple grove and disappeared.
Pool City.
In the past hundred years, Pool City had changed hands. The new city lord was a stranger to Ye Zichen.
In the northern part of the city, Zheng Chong sat in a wicker chair enjoying a massage from a servant girl. Three thousand demon kings stood in around him in a vast courtyard. They were like a private army, keeping watch without the slightest negligence.
“Zheng Chong, right?” said a voice out of nowhere.
Zheng Zhong, who was happily dozing and enjoying the servant girl’s tender caresses, opened his eyes and saw a man standing right in front of him. The man’s body was distorted, like an image projected from afar. It was waved and contorted unpredictably.
“Who are you?” Zheng Chong’s expression changed dramatically in response.
“I heard that you’re working on behalf of demons now and that you’re after the leyline. Is that right?” said the new arrival.
Zheng Chong’s adam’s apple bobbed nervously. When he glanced at the serving girl beside him, he realized that she was staring ahead it terror, but she could neither move nor speak.
“You…. You remember how much the Three Realms paid for its survival, don’t you? In order to fight back the demon invasion, heroes of all three realms sacrificed themselves, but now you’ve made yourself the demons’ dog? We didn’t create a future just for you to squander it, understood?”
