198: Leaving the Imperial Pass! Ramming the Ship!

A heavy stone of worry had been weighing on his heart all along.

Even the usually lively Lian Chuan fell into a prolonged silence upon entering such a luxurious Warship for the first time.

Lin Yan, about to make a call, suddenly thought of something.

Without looking up, he spoke in a low voice.

"This journey will take us beyond the Imperial Pass, to rescue my homeland."

"Will we all perish in the alien domain?"

"How many of us will actually make it there?"

"What scene will greet us when we arrive?"

"And will we ever be able to return?"

"I cannot answer any of these questions for you."

"So, if anyone does not wish to go, speak up now. I permit you to leave."

The Flame Guards, understanding perfectly well whom Lin Yan's words were directed at, all narrowed their eyes slightly.

As his personal guards, they had all heard snippets of information about His Highness's homeland from his own lips.

So that's what had happened.

Fu Ying did not hesitate in the slightest and was the first to speak.

"We pledge to follow Your Highness to the death!"

All the Flame Guards' expressions turned solemn, and they spoke in unison.

"We pledge to follow Your Highness to the death!"

Just as Lin Yan had said, this journey was filled with unknowns.

Having returned from the Imperial Pass themselves, they were even more acutely aware of its dangers.

It was no exaggeration to say that with their meager numbers and strength, venturing beyond the Imperial Pass was practically a one-way trip to certain death.

But they understood one thing even more clearly: His Highness's attitude towards them and his status within the race.

To have gone from being members of the Li Army under the Venerable King's command to becoming Flame Guards serving the Supreme One of the Human Race was the greatest fortune of their lives.

A warm current flowed through Lin Yan's heart.

He gave a slight nod and immediately opened a communication channel to Donggong Li.

Soon.

Against the backdrop of the endlessly dark starry sky, a tall, slender figure clad in white silently materialized.

"What is it?"

Lin Yan was direct and to the point, without any beating around the bush.

"My homeland is in peril!"

"I must leave the Imperial Pass!"

Hearing this, Donggong Li's gaze imperceptibly swept over Lian Chuan and Xue Cheng beside Lin Yan. He fell silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

Then, he slightly raised his eyes.

"Where are you now?"

Lin Yan answered without hesitation: "Just left the Chiyang Imperial Court's main star."

"Understood."

With Donggong Li's brief, forceful response, the projection instantly vanished as if it had never appeared. Yet, the tense atmosphere lingering in the air took a long time to dissipate... In the vast, boundless starry sky, the majestic, sprawling, and towering Imperial Pass stood silently like a slumbering dragon.

Xuanqing Pass.

A figure stepped into the void from the Imperial Pass and vanished from the spot in an instant.

It was Donggong Li, after ending the projection.

Deep within the endless Void Realm, dozens of figures exuding terrifying Auras sat cross-legged with their eyes closed.

These figures radiated immense pressure, as if capable of suppressing all things between heaven and earth.

At this moment of tranquility, as if sensing something, these figures opened their eyes almost simultaneously.

Their gazes were as sharp as lightning, piercing directly towards the same direction.

The gaunt old man at the forefront was none other than Ou Mo, the founder of the Martial Arts Company, whom Lin Yan had met before.

He looked towards the white-clad figure that had appeared to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"You little rascal."

"What is it?"

The figures behind him also revealed gentle smiles.

Donggong Li bowed slightly towards them and spoke in a low voice.

"The kid just contacted me."

"His homeland is in peril. He wants to leave the Imperial Pass immediately."

As his words fell.

Ou Mo sprang up as if stung, his entire body like an enraged lion, his eyes wide open.

"Nonsense!"

His voice thundered like an explosion, shaking the surrounding space violently.

"Does he know the current situation?!"

"He doesn't," Donggong Li shot back instantly.

Ou Mo's breath hitched, and he glared fiercely at him.

"He doesn't know, but you don't?!"

His chest heaved violently, as if a raging fire burned within.

Pacing back and forth, he continued to roar.

"With his current so-called Venerable King strength, forget about flying steadily through the starry skies."

"Even if he took a Warship out of the pass, he'd be riddled into a sieve in less than a second!"

"No! Absolutely not!"

"I'll accompany him," came Donggong Li's lightning-fast reply again.

Ou Mo suddenly froze as if hit by a paralysis spell, his steps halting abruptly.

He whipped his head around with lightning speed, glaring furiously at Donggong Li.

"This vast pass! The boundless Li Army! Their commander-in-chief absent!"

"Do you have any idea what you're saying?!"

"And another thing!"

"Who do you think you are, Donggong Li?"

"Just because you've slain a few Quasi-Emperors and killed some Saint Kings of the alien races, you think you're invincible?"

"You'll accompany him! With what will you accompany him?!"

"Stepping out of the pass, entering the alien domain alone!"

"Do you have any idea that even I wouldn't dare to do that?!!!"

Facing the reprimand, Donggong Li remained exceptionally calm.

"I know."

"I also know he is my only disciple, and your only grand-disciple."

This brief, calm reply only fueled Ou Mo's anger further.

His face flushed crimson with rage. He pointed a trembling finger directly at Donggong Li, his lips quivering with fury. It took him a long moment to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth: "You... you you you..."

"Little rascal! Little rascal!"

After that, he took several deep, heavy breaths, the fire in his heart still hard to quell.

"Pushing me!"

"Fine! Fine! Fine!"

"Little rascal!"

As if that wasn't enough to vent his anger, he added.

"That kid too, a little rascal! None of you give me any peace of mind!"

Right at that moment.

"He's waiting," came Donggong Li's voice again.

Ou Mo: "I...!"

It seemed he was about to be overwhelmed with rage and faint.

The dozens of figures who had remained silent until now immediately spoke up.

"Xiao Li, stop angering the Old Ancestor."

"Indeed."

"You know the current situation. The Yao Race is constantly assaulting the pass, demanding an explanation from our race."

"Letting that kid go out now is like sending him to his death."

"That kid doesn't understand the dangers of the Imperial Pass and the alien domain, but you do."

"Xiao Li, try to persuade him."

Facing these earnest voices, Donggong Li fell silent for a moment.

He slowly spoke.

"That kid has made up his mind."

"I cannot stop him."

Immediately after.

He said something that rendered everyone else silent as well.

"He is only nineteen."

"He values his roots more than anyone."

"If we forcibly stop him, I believe that even if stepping out of the Imperial Pass would mean being instantly annihilated by the Yao Race, he would still resolutely take that step."

Complex expressions appeared on everyone's faces. Even Ou Mo calmed down slightly.

Yes!

This kid is only nineteen.

He has only been in the starry skies for a few months. Compared to the star that nurtured him for over a decade, this time is too short.

And they, with their nearly endless lifespans and hearts devoted to the Human Race, had long since gradually lost the concept of 'homeland'.

At that moment.

The phantom of a silver-haired man materialized before them.

Everyone's expressions shook, and they immediately greeted him with respect.

"Ancient Ancestor!"

The venerable one had actually come!

The phantom nodded slightly and looked at Ou Mo.

"I already know of the matter."

"Have you forgotten my instructions?"

A look of helplessness flashed in Ou Mo's eyes.

"Ancient Ancestor."

"Of course not."

"But..."

The phantom gently interrupted.

"Let him go."

With that single statement.

He slowly raised his palm and spoke in a calm voice.

"Commander, Donggong Li."

"Here!" Donggong Li's expression turned solemn.

"Immediately mobilize the Xuanqing Pass troops and prepare to escort the Supreme One of our race out of the pass."

Donggong Li's heart shook. "Yes!"

He vanished instantly from the Land of Nothingness.

At the same time.

The silver-haired man's phantom hand also pierced through the Chaos he had gathered before him.

"Martial Arts Company."

"Prepare to engage the Yao Race's Most Powerful Forces."

Ou Mo sighed inwardly.

"Yes!"

...Far from the Imperial Pass, beyond the Chiyang Imperial Court's main star, a massive Warship, like a floating fortress of steel in the void, had been silently hovering for a full quarter of an hour.

Inside the Warship, a hundred Flame Guards, fully armored, stood in neat rows. Each wore a solemn, stern expression, brimming with a murderous Aura.

In front of the Flame Guards, upon the Commander's Seat at the Warship's bow.

A youth clad in pitch-black armor exuding an Aura of boundless authority sat upright.

Behind him, two other equally dashing youths stood, one to his left and one to his right.

At that moment.

The previously silent starry sky was suddenly shattered by a deafening roar.

Rumble—!

Lin Yan slowly raised his eyes and looked out through the massive transparent glass.

He saw a colossal, sky-shielding hand abruptly appear before him, grasping the entire Warship with an irresistible force.

In an instant, everyone felt the world spin, as if everything had turned upside down.

When their vision refocused.

A vast, ancient, and boundless Aura pressed against them through the Warship, coming directly from the starry sky.

Lin Yan's eyes trembled slightly, an indescribable shock surging in his heart.

Lian Chuan and Xue Cheng standing beside him also wore expressions of astonishment, their pupils contracting violently from extreme shock.

Looking again through the transparent glass ahead, what met their eyes was the towering Imperial Pass, standing in the starry sky, endless to the sight.

This Imperial Pass lay across the Universe like a slumbering dragon, exuding an ancient and mysterious Aura. Its walls soared into the clouds, with countless banners fluttering noisily in the wind.

Among them were the most numerous banners, which instantly stirred excitement in Fu Ying and the others' eyes.

"[Human Race · Li Army!]"

And right at that moment.

A deafening, earth-shattering roar was heard.

Boom—!

A sky-shielding, white-clad figure abruptly emerged from the towering Imperial Pass.

The figure was as majestic as a mountain, inspiring awe in all who beheld it.

"Venerable King!"

Seeing this, Fu Ying and the Flame Guards couldn't help but shout excitedly.

Lin Yan also stared intently at this suddenly manifested giant figure.

My cheap master... His white robes fluttered and danced in the wind, as if merging with the starry sky.

Donggong Li gently raised his hand, pointing his sword forward into the distance.

A thunderous shout, filled with a killing Aura, instantly resounded throughout the starry sky.

"Attack!"

In that instant.

Deafening roars erupted without warning, as if intending to tear the entire starry sky asunder.

Countless Warships, dense like a black torrent, surged upwards continuously from the Imperial Pass.

Their numbers were so vast, they resembled a locust swarm blotting out the sky, making one's scalp tingle.

Simultaneously, innumerable powerful figures also emerged from the Imperial Pass.

They stood firm upon the starry sky, their postures upright, like gods of war descending upon the world.

For a time, military banners of various colors fluttered fiercely in the violent wind, intertwining to form a dazzling, colorful spectacle in the starry sky, like a magnificent, epic painting.

And as this grand scene gradually took shape.

The Warship carrying Lin Yan and the others seemed to be guided by a mysterious, unfathomable force, coincidentally entering that vast, sea-like fleet of Warships and coming to a steady stop in the middle-rear position.

Once they had traversed the towering walls of the Imperial Pass.

What unfolded before their eyes, besides the endless Warships surrounding them, was a scene that greatly shook Lin Yan's heart and Soul.

A sudden, cold snort was heard.

"Hmph!"

A gigantic figure appeared within their field of vision.

He, too, held a giant sword, pointing it into the distance.

Behind him, powerful figures also materialized one after another, followed by a boundless expanse of Warships.

At this moment.

Two mountain-like colossal figures stood facing each other from afar, locked in a standoff, like two immovable peaks, radiating an awe-inspiring pressure.

Beneath the giant figures were countless powerful experts treading the void and the surging fleets of Warships.

As the distance between the two sides closed, countless powerful Auras intertwined, forming a cataclysmic energy storm. The entire starry sky began to tremble violently.

A deafening, unified roar thundered forth.

"Warship collision!!!"

The sound was like rolling thunder and booming bells. Wherever it reached, the void twisted, as if to completely tear this vast expanse of starry sky apart.

The youth's Soul was directly pierced. His blood boiled, and he couldn't help but throw his head back and roar along with them.

"Warship collision!!!"

(PS: Got myself all hyped up writing this, over 3500 words, which counts as three chapters, right?! (*^▽^*)!)