Heavenly God City was the capital of the God Realm, but it hadn’t been peaceful of late.
Overwhelmingly strong divine power collisions overhead sent out shockwaves that influenced the whole city. The citizens had contacted the city’s defenses countless times, but the troops made no effort to prevent the problem.
As such, the ordinary people lived in fear day and night. Fortunately, terrifying as it was, the battle overhead didn’t reach them.
Quite a few family clans investigated, and they quickly learned that the combatants were two of the Upheaval Alliance’s top experts, but that their private disagreements had intensified of late. The Alliance’s efforts to mediate proved useless; they could only settle this through violence.
Boom!
A resounding crash filled the air, like a comet slamming into the earth. It originated from the Upheaval Alliance, and when they heard it, all the non-Upheaval Alliance peddlers in the city shook their heads and sighed. They silently gathered up their goods; they knew full well that once the racket started, they could give up on doing any business that day.
“They’re at it again.” The city guards and members of other local factions couldn’t help but mutter amongst themselves. The people of Heavenly God City had, of late, already grown accustomed to this bizarre spectacle. Although the exact timing was unpredictable, it seemed to come once every couple of days.
This was especially notable since no one was capable of stopping them. The guards and others involved in the city’s protection weren’t strong enough to interfere with two such powerful experts. The only ones capable of contending with them were the higher-ups of the God Emperor’s Estate or other major factions. However, people like that wouldn’t take action lightly. Only the God Emperor could order them around.
The combat was so intense, there was no way the God Emperor didn’t know about it.
Yet he’d chosen to deliberately ignore it, and he hadn’t sent any of the experts under his command to stop them. As such, if these two Upheaval Alliance experts wanted to fight, the common folk could only wait until they’d had their fill. Then, the fights would die down on their own.
Countless people were thinking the same thing: “I really hope the head of the Upheaval Alliance gets back to Heavenly God City sooner rather than later.”
People complained to the Upheaval Alliance, but the result was rather unsatisfactory.
No one in the Upheaval Alliance had the authority to tell the two of them what to do with the sole exception of the alliance leader, but he was currently out of the city.
Little did they know, the Upheaval Alliance was rather put out and unsettled by all this too.
“What on earth is going on with them? They’re at it again!” Wei Jie squinted up at the sky. The alliance’s rulers had all been sent into the city. Although the Great Sage and Yang Jian wouldn’t directly harm bystanders when they fought, they were still imperial-level experts. The shockwaves alone were more than anyone beneath the diviner level could handle.
That’s why, every time the two of them fought, the alliance would send its rulers to prevent any unintended casualties. This was to assuage the people’s resentment and soothe their endless complaints, but it was also to reduce the alliance’s expenses.
If they hurt someone or damaged property, they had to pay compensation!
“They got back a little while ago, and ever since, I’ve felt something wasn’t quite right between them. Both in the open and in secret, they seem at each other’s throats. It’s as if they can’t live while the other remains. They weren’t like this before leaving for the Bai Family Estate and the Sea of Innocence. What the heck happened between them?” The former Lightning Emperor, Xiao Yan, stood by Wei Jie’s side and knit his brows.
Over time, due to proximity as well as Xiao Yumei’s encouragement, Xiao Yan had adjusted to the Upheaval Alliance, and it had won his approval.
Although he felt incredibly awkward about working under Ye Zichen, the head of the Upheaval Alliance, the alliance was still the Xiao Family’s biggest enemy.
“Xiao Hu, Xiao Yan, can any of you talk to them and get them to calm down?” asked Wei Jie.
When they heard that, both of their expressions froze in place.
“OI’ Wei, you really think highly of us. I’ve only just barely stepped into the ruler level. Not even Little Yan is necessarily a match for either one of them alone, much less both of them together. They’ve lost their tempers; if either of us goes up there, won’t it just end with us getting whacked too?”
Xiao Hu, a man who’d once struck terror into the hearts of any yao who heard his name, now looked slumped and dejected. The former Lightning Emperor nodded silently along with him.
Throughout the Upper Three Realms, rulers like them were, naturally, top experts, as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
However, even rulers were divided by strength. Even among rulers, experts capable of taking on Yang Jian and the Great Sage were few and far between.
There were a few around, but all of them were playing dead and ignoring the chaos!
“Didn’t you say Ye Zichen and my sister were already on their way back from the Sea of Innocence? Why aren’t they back yet?” asked Xiao Yan.
“Yes, he said they’re coming back.” Wei Jie nodded.
“Then can you ask where they are now? Hurry and tell him what’s going on with those two. If they don’t get back here, they’ll destroy the whole city,” shouted Xiao Yan.
“That….” Wei Jie hesitated. At the end of the day, he was a subordinate. Although the Alliance Head was easygoing and approachable, Wei Jie still had to know his place.
Rushing the Alliance Head, no matter how he looked at it, was unreasonable.
But at that moment, there was a mighty boom overhead, and countless illusory staves fell down to earth. They cut through the formations protecting the city as if they were made of tofu, leaving a gaping hole in a guest house that was many thousands of years old.
When he saw this, Wei Jie didn’t dare hesitate any longer. He pulled out his phone and typed a few urgent messages.
“I’ve got a message.” Ye Zichen’s cell phone buzzed. He was already outside the city, but he’d stalled there instead of going in. He grinned.
Even without looking, he knew who’d sent the message. At a time like this, the only person who’d contact him by phone….
It could only be Wei Jie!
Ye Zichen tapped Wei Jie’s message, only to be greeted by a screen full of anxiety.
Ye Zichen played it. He didn’t see Yang Jian or the Great Sage, but he could hear the deafening booms of their combat. In truth, even without seeing the video, Ye Zichen was well aware. The noise was so loud that even outside the city, he could hear it clearly.
“We’ve already set the stage nicely.” Ye Zichen silently slipped his phone back into his pocket. Then, still standing in the wastes, his expression turned solemn.
Pu Jingwan and Xiao Yumei stood at his sides. They saw Ye Zichen pull off his black cloak.
“Yumei, take out the thing Beibei gave you before our departure.” Xiao Yumei nodded and took it out. It was inside a little bundle of silk. When she unwrapped it, she revealed an arm formed of a ten-thousand-year lotus root.
She took it out, and Pu Jingwan rolled up the sleeves of Ye Zichen’s missing arm.
They placed the lotus arm to his stump, and the two fused, right down to the blood vessels. Pu Jingwan lowered his sleeve, and a smile flashed across Ye Zichen’s face. Then, he whipped back around, expression grave, at the distant skies over Heavenly God City. Without another word, he shot into the air.
