When they learned that Xiao Hu had been to the outside, the top experts’ gazes softened a little.
What kind of people were they?
They each stood at the tops of their respective domains. They had countless rulers under their jurisdiction. Xiao Hu had only just stepped into the ruler level. He was a pitiful figure, utterly unqualified to join their inner circles.
But if he’d been to the Outside, that was different. None of them had truly been Outside before.
Also, based on Xiao Ting’s tone, Xiao Hu hadn’t just visited the Outside and lived to tell the tale’ he’d even learned something important out there. For Xiao Ting to bring him here to speak meant that, whatever it was, it was beneficial to them.
“My Lord,” said Xiao Hu after some hesitation.
He’d received Xiao Ting’s summons not long ago and had rushed here as fast as possible.
At the time, he’d thought it strange. Why would his emperor call him to such a remote place? But an order was an order, so he’d dared not delay. Although his wounds had yet to fully heal, he still rushed here with all his might.
But who did he see when he got here?
Yao and demons!
They’d fought yao and demons for so many years that there was no way Xiao Hu would mistake their presences.
He looked at Xiao Ting in astonishment. He couldn’t understand why his emperor would get involved with such people.
The yao and demon experts noted Xiao Hu’s movements and their faces contorted with displeasure. Xiao Ting growled at him, “Hurry up and speak!
Despite his lord’s rebuke, Xiao Hu lowered his head and said nothing.
He didn’t understand. Why was his emperor, who’d always loathed yao and demons to the core of his being, cooperating with these people? The emperor’s behavior had been strange for the past hundred years, and there was always that black-robed woman by his side.
He no longer cared about the family’s affairs, and whenever anyone asked who that woman was, all they got in exchange was a thunderous rebuke.
After Xiao Yan sent people to investigate in secret, they learned that the woman was a Holy Maiden of the demon race.
Only the family’s direct descendants knew of this, and even then, only the higher-ups. At the time, Xiao Hu hadn’t believed it. He was among the first group to fight alongside the elderly emperor. He couldn’t possibly believe that the Lightning Emperor of all people would consort with demons.
But now…
Standing before him weren’t just demons. There were also yao and a few top experts from other Divine Mountains. All of them held absolute authority in their home territories.
Why were all these people gathered together at a time like this?
Did this mean that the former leader of the Xiao Family was in on the plot to attack the God Realm? He didn’t believe it!
He absolutely refused to believe it!
“Hurry up and speak!” Xiao Hu’s silence made Xiao Ting red-faced with anger.
Lightning crackled faintly around him, like countless little serpents. His aura was terrifying enough to put pressure even on the surrounding peak experts.
Although the Lightning Emperor had left his throne, his cultivation was still terrifying to behold.
“Ol’ Xiao, is there any need to be so angry?” Kui Lin patted Xiao Ting on the shoulder, calming him down. Seeing this, Xiao Hu’s pupils constricted even more. “If your clansmen refuses to speak, you can tell us. It’s all the same to us. We’re all on the same boat, after all. There’s no way you’ll deceive us.”
“Emperor, we can’t tell them!” Xiao Hu recovered from his stunned silence just long enough to speak.
All he got in response was silence. “Shut your mouth!”
A burst of lightning slammed into Xiao Hu. He’d yet to recover from his heavy injuries, so this attack made him hack up blood and collapse, his face as white as paper.
He clutched his chest, blood gushing out of his throat as he gazed in frantic horror at Xiao Ting.
He’d risked his life to bring this information to the Xiao Family, all for the sake of the God Race. He couldn’t just tell outsiders!
But….
Xiao Ting could.
“Fine, then, I’ll just have you tell you all myself. I wanted Xiao Hu to tell you as he witnessed it himself and can speak in more detail. I hadn’t expected my dog to be so disobedient. I apologize for this humiliating display.” Xiao Ting smiled apologetically and nodded at the gathered experts. Their gazes seemed to say “it’s nothing.” They had no interest in the Xiao Family’s internal affairs. All they wanted to know was what Xiao Hu had learned in the Outside.
“A little before the turn of the year, the Xuan-Yuan Sword appeared. You all know this already, I’m sure.”
The group nodded. Their Realms had all dispatched young elites to fight for it, although all had failed in the end.
“That’s when he went Outside, almost dying in the process. But his luck was rather good. He found a black hole, passed through it, and came back. That’s when he told Xiao Yan news of the Outside.”
“What news?”
“He saw primordial giant beasts attacking the Outside. You might not know what those are. They’re the enders, the race responsible for the end of each era. This is recorded in our Xiao Family’s records. That means that the Outside’s Master of the Stars is likely already dead.”
….
“The Master of the Stars died,” said Han Nan, his gaze wrought with grief. His eyes reddened with emotion. “You can see it too, right? Without the Master of the Star’s support, we can’t continue supplying the barrier with energy. Every time the primordial giant beasts attack, new cracks appear on the barrier. Even though we always send people to stop them, they’re so strong that we struggle to defend ourselves.”
“Our fighters capable of contending with the beast are becoming fewer and fewer, but it’s like there’s no end to the beasts. Sooner or lighter, they’ll break through the barrier. That day will mean the end of our world.” Han Nan’s grief was too much for mere words to express.
In order for the Outside to survive this long, they’d sent people to fight off each wave of the primordial giant beasts’ invasion.
His son had died in the last skirmish without leaving so much as a corpse behind.
That’s right. Although Outsiders were born supremes, the enders were primordial giant beasts. Each was a ruler or higher. Even in the Outside, they only had a limited supply of rulers.
They didn’t know how much longer they could hold off the enders’ invasion!
“A few days ago, the Master of Stars’ heir received the Master of Stars’ prophecy. If we want to carry on, we’ll need to borrow your power. Little Friend Ye, please help us escape calamity. If you do, I, Han Nan, will never forget this kindness.”
….
Xiao Ting kept nothing back. Xiao Hu knelt helplessly on the floor, slamming his head into the dirt like he’d had a mental breakdown.
“Brother Xiao, are you saying….” The Demon Emperor’s eyes lit up.
Xiao Ting chuckled as well. “The Outside is having trouble defending themselves right now; they have no spare energy to intervene with our era’s affairs. If we really want to transcend and escape destruction, all we need to do is find the Master of the Emperor Star. So long as he’s on our side, we can all live forever!”
