43: Jizhou is in crisis and unable to provide assistance

Above the clouds, a streak of azure light tore through the gloom, leaving a thunderous trail as it swept across the sky.

In the biting wind, Xiao Zhuo’s brows were tightly furrowed, his nostrils still seemingly filled with the acrid scent of scorched earth and blood from Yuji City.

Images flashed repeatedly in his Sea of Consciousness: Luo Xing’s blood-stained hair fluttering in the wind, the scorching light that erupted from his cloudy pupils when he looked up at the golden ray piercing the black clouds, burning Xiao Zhuo’s heart.

Luo Xing’s final smile, stiff at the corners of his mouth, was like a wound that would never heal, deeply etched into Xiao Zhuo’s heart.

Luo Xing had waited for his ray of light.

But could he himself truly remain the Human Race’s dawn forever?

Xiao Zhuo’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, the mask of detachment he had deliberately maintained since his Transmigration was now crumbling.

For over a year, he had subconsciously viewed this world as a “fantasy game.”

However, when real flesh and blood cooled in his palm, even the System notification sound of rapidly increasing Attribute Points became grating.

Today, Luo Xing died before his eyes, genuinely shocking him.

As a Gui Zhen Realm (Return to Simplicity Realm - Cultivation Realm) expert, if Luo Xing had wanted to escape, even two Calamity-rank Demons couldn’t have stopped him.

Yet, he chose to defend to the end, until he fell in battle.

Had it not been for his arrival, his sacrifice might very well have been in vain.

But he still did it.

At this moment, an uncontrollable impulse surged within Xiao Zhuo’s chest.

A bone-deep hatred for the Demon grew wildly in his heart.

Another muffled roar, like distant thunder, echoed from afar—another small city was under siege by Demon.

The attackers were a group of goat-horned Demon.

The battle on the city walls was in full swing, with the strongest Demon being at the Peak of the Calamity-Grade.

Xiao Zhuo abruptly suppressed his Escape Light, and the moment his boot scraped against the charred city battlements, a raging inferno erupted in his Meridians!

In the smoke-filled small city, goat-horned Demon were laughing maniacally, impaling Infants/Babies with their scimitars.

A A foul wind, carrying cries, slammed into my eardrums., Xiao Zhuo’s eyes were bloodshot, and his Divine Sense instantly condensed into countless invisible sharp cones, shooting out like a torrential rain!

Thousands of goat Demon had their Souls Shattered Realm (Cultivation Class) in an instant, falling to the ground one after another.

Ignoring the Human Race defenders who had come to their senses and were cheering, the azure light instantly rose, returning to the sky, heading straight for Jing Prefecture City.

On his panel, his Attribute Points had accumulated to over fourteen thousand.

This terrifying number of points was enough for Xiao Zhuo to continuously Breakthrough.

But he simply had no time to stop and Breakthrough.

Jing Prefecture was vast, thousands of miles away; even at his escape speed, it would still take an hour to fly.

The sooner he arrived at Jing Prefecture City, the more time Yuyang Sect would have.

Finally, after annihilating the fourth wave of attacking Demon along the way and flying for another half an hour, the outline of Jing Prefecture City appeared at the edge of his vision.

Within a thousand miles around Jing Prefecture City, he encountered no more attacking Demon.

It seemed the Demon’ actions were under some unified command.

The moment the azure escape light swept over the hundred-foot city wall, countless Divine Sense projected towards him.

After confirming he was Human Race, the owners of these Divine Sense did not show themselves.

Xiao Zhuo did not stop, heading directly towards the magnificent princely manor in the city center, which was like a city within a city—the Jing Prefecture Princely Manor.

Jing Prefecture was the seat of a Great Chen imperial Prince, with three Myriad Manifestations Realm experts alone.

The strongest among them was, without a doubt, the “Great Chen God of War”—Prince Kang.

The Great Chen imperial family, with the surname Ji, had ruled the Human Race for thousands of years.

During the Demon rebellion a thousand years ago, Great Chen collapsed, losing eighty percent of its territory.

Had it not been for the formidable power of the Demon, which necessitated Human Race unity, and ultimately Prince Hong’s efforts to turn the tide, the Dynasty would likely have been completely overthrown long ago.

Xiao Zhuo had learned this thousand-year history from Yuyang Sect and was well aware of the current situation.

This world, named Yuan Realm, was divided into ten prefectures.

A thousand years ago, Demon appeared and swept across the Yuan Realm at terrifying speed.

Among them, three Demon Ancestors possessed immense power, and only Great Chen’s Prince Hong of the Human Race could contend with them.

But with the three Ancestors joining forces, Prince Hong could only retreat in defeat.

Had it not been for concerns about Prince Hong’s desperate counterattack, potentially dragging one of the Ancestors down with him, Great Chen and the Human Race might have already become blood food for the Demon.

Over the past thousand years, the Demon and the Human Race seemed to have reached some tacit understanding: Prince Hong remained in Jing Prefecture, no longer taking action; the three great Demon Ancestors also fell silent.

All disputes were limited to below the Myriad Manifestations Realm and Dominator Rank.

After blood-sacrificing cities, the Demon would also retreat, giving the Human Race a chance to breathe and multiply.

Even so, Jing Prefecture merely lingered under the oppression of the Demon.

Once the Demon got serious, annihilation would be instantaneous.

Xiao Zhuo’s figure swept past layers of intricately carved beams and painted rafters, landing before a mansion with ten-zhang high walls, like a city within a city—the residence of Ji Buji, Prince Kang of Great Chen.

Ji Buji, a Human Race expert at the Peak of the Myriad Manifestations Realm, had been stationed in Jing Prefecture for hundreds of years.

Without him, the Human Race’s plight in Jing Prefecture would be several times more miserable than it was today.

He also served concurrently as the Jing Prefecture Governor and the City Lord of Jing Prefecture City, responsible for coordinating the experts of the various cities in Jing Prefecture.

“Who goes there, and what is your purpose?”

Before the vermillion-lacquered, brass-studded main gate, two Demon Suppression Guards stood, their halberds blocking the way.

Their dark iron armor gleamed with a cold, blue light, and their True Essence Realm pressure made the door knocker hum.

Xiao Zhuo knew that the princely manor’s guards were all Demon Suppression Guards and was not surprised; he stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, “I am Xiao Zhuo of Yuyang Sect, and I have an urgent military report of utmost importance. I request an audience with Prince Kang!”

He then presented his Yuyang Sect Personal Disciple jade tablet.

“Yuyang Sect?” The two Demon Suppressing Guards’ gazes sharpened.

One of them took the jade tablet and examined it carefully.

Yuyang Sect was a major sect in western Jing Prefecture, renowned for its outstanding contributions in suppressing Demon, yet it rarely visited the provincial capital in person.

Now, with a Personal Disciple carrying an urgent report, coupled with the continuous requests for aid from various places, the two guards already had a guess.

After verifying the authenticity of the jade tablet, the two exchanged a glance, and the one who had checked the tablet nodded slightly: “Young Hero Xiao, please follow me!”

“Thank you!”

The clanging of armor pierced the silence of the corridor.

Passing through seven moon gates inscribed with profound runes, Xiao Zhuo’s boot heels crunched over un-swept fallen leaves beneath a spirit screen, stopping before a reception hall filled with the clear scent of sandalwood.

The Demon Suppression Guard led him here and then turned to announce his arrival.

Given Yuyang Sect’s status, he was certainly qualified to request a personal audience with Prince Kang.

Xiao Zhuo waited in the hall for nearly half an hour before an old man in a dark python robe slowly walked in.

The old man’s face was square, imposing without anger, his eyes contained a profound divine light, and his cultivation was unfathomable, yet at this moment, he did not leak a shred of his pressure.

Xiao Zhuo immediately stood up and saluted: “Disciple Xiao Zhuo of Yuyang Sect greets Prince Kang!”

“Dispense with the formalities.” Ji Buji’s gaze was gentle as he waved his hand, slowly settling into the main seat, his eyes sweeping over Xiao Zhuo. “Young friend from Yuyang Sect, what brings you here this time?”

“Reporting to Your Highness…” Xiao Zhuo’s expression was solemn as he immediately reported all the intelligence he had gathered from Blood Cloud, along with the tragic situation along the way—especially the secret Luo Xing had revealed before his demise in Yuji City, that “Demon are about to launch a large-scale attack on Jing Prefecture.”

After listening, Ji Buji’s face had turned ashen.

Recently, requests for aid from surrounding cities had poured in like snowflakes, and Jing Prefecture City had already dispatched nearly a third of its experts to reinforce them, even Myriad Manifestations Realm experts had been mobilized.

He hadn’t expected Hundred Demon Mountain in the west to also cause trouble at this moment!

It’s just… Ji Buji’s brows were deeply furrowed.

Currently, Jing Prefecture City only had him and the Sword Pavilion Old Ancestor, two Myriad Manifestations Realm experts, stationed there.

If he were to dispatch one more person, the provincial capital would be in peril.

But if that Silver Moon successfully advanced to Dominator Rank… Jing Prefecture might truly be lost!

He had been stationed in Jing Prefecture for hundreds of years and knew how many Dominator Rank combat powers the Demon had in this area.

Eight! A full eight!

The Human Race only had five. Once Silver Moon broke through, the Demon Dominators would increase to nine, and the Human Race in Jing Prefecture would never have peace.

Ji Buji was caught in a dilemma.

Silver Moon’s combat power was extraordinary, comparable to an Early Stage weak Dominator, and could only be contended with by a Myriad Manifestations Realm expert or a top Prodigy of the Divine Sea Realm.

Sending ordinary Divine Sea Realm cultivators was tantamount to suicide, but if such a level of combat power was drawn away, Jing Prefecture City would be in dire straits.

Presumably, the recent widespread unrest among the surrounding Demon was precisely to cover for Hundred Demon Mountain, leaving Jing Prefecture City stretched thin.

Of course, if Jing Prefecture truly sent people to eliminate Hundred Demon Mountain, other Demon forces would also be happy to see it happen—after all, there were numerous races within the Demon, and one less Dominator meant one less giant to share the spoils.

“Xiao Zhuo, it’s not that this King is unwilling to help.” Ji Buji pondered for a long time before finally speaking in a deep voice, “However, with the frequent Demon attacks on cities recently, Jing Prefecture has already dispatched one-third of its forces to reinforce all sides, so it is truly… beyond our capabilities.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhuo’s heart sank abruptly, his throat moved, but he was speechless.

He held no resentment towards this old man who had guarded Jing Prefecture for hundreds of years.

He knew that what the other party said was true—it was not that he wouldn’t do it, but that he truly couldn’t.

“How about this, you rest in the princely manor for a few days first. After this King discusses it with the Sword Pavilion Old Ancestor, I will give you a final answer.” Ji Buji looked deeply at Xiao Zhuo, his tone calm.

Xiao Zhuo could only agree.

After Ji Buji left, Xiao Zhuo was led to a side room next to the garden.

As soon as he entered, he sat cross-legged on the bed.

If Jing Prefecture truly couldn’t offer assistance, he would return himself to save Yuyang Sect!

His consciousness sank into his mind, looking at his Attribute Points balance—

26745 points!

Xiao Zhuo began to allocate his points.