85: Chapter 85: Hiding in the shadows hoping to snag a bargain, he ended up punching out a top-notch sixth brother.

The Tyrant crushed the Void Realm with a single punch.

The Extreme Gravity Field compressed that space into a dark golden singularity.

"Ouch, damn it! Easy, easy! My back is breaking!"

A withered, extremely punchable voice came from the shattered space.

Everyone looked toward the sound.

They saw a gaunt youth wearing a wide black robe with two dark, heavy circles under his eyes, being squeezed out by the gravity.

He scrambled and tumbled onto the ground, brushing the dust off his body while grimacing and rubbing his waist.

At the same time, a translucent, strange creature resembling a deep-sea glowing jellyfish peeled away from the shadow behind him.

The creature let out an extremely faint, shrill scream and quickly turned into a stream of light, floating back into the Divine Domain passage behind the youth like it was fleeing for its life.

"Void Realm Dream Spirit?" Su Yueying hovered in mid-air, raising an eyebrow as she recognized the translucent creature.

This was an extremely rare symbiotic companion.

It had no attack power, but it could assimilate the host and their dependents entirely into the cracks of the Void Realm.

As long as it didn't actively expose Killing Intent, it could even block the spiritual scanning of a True God.

"Bai Ye?" Murong Bai stood on the head of the Behemoth and looked at the black-robed youth on the ground, his expression turning completely cold.

"Well, well, it's that sneaky camper from the Bai Family in Tianhai Province." Zhan Kuang stepped forward, piloting his blood-red mecha.

His mechanical arm raised, and the six-barreled machine gun locked directly onto the youth's head.

The Prodigies present recognized the person immediately.

Bai Ye.

The heir to the Bai Family, a top Family in Tianhai Province, who awakened the S+ Divine Domain talent [Kingdom of the Dead].

This guy was famous in the provincial capital circle for being shameless.

Relying on the rapid troop production of the undead lineage and the hiding ability of the Void Realm Dream Spirit, his favorite thing to do was to follow behind others and pick up scraps.

Once others fought until both sides were exhausted, he would jump out to reap the fruits of victory.

When Xiao Ting and Chu Yunxuan saw Bai Ye, their faces darkened to the point of dripping ink.

After all that, the two of them had been standing in a tense standoff in front of this black canyon.

Arguing endlessly over who would trigger the trap first, looking just like two idiots on display for everyone to watch!

It was one thing for Su Yueying, Murong Bai, and Zhan Kuang to hide in the dark and watch the show.

But this Bai Ye was even more ruthless, actually hiding an army of millions of undead in the cracks of the Void Realm.

Just lurking right under their noses!

"Chu Yunxuan, is that blindness of yours incurable?" Xiao Ting laughed out of extreme anger, wind and lightning power raging around his body.

"Someone is already right in your face, is your mechanical radar just for show!"

Chu Yunxuan gritted his teeth, saying nothing.

Ordinary mechanical radars captured heat sources and energy fluctuations; naturally, they couldn't scan a conceptual-level concealment like the Void Realm Dream Spirit.

So it turned out they were the only two clowns in the front!

Lin Yuan stood on the Tyrant's shoulder, staring at Bai Ye with unfriendly eyes.

If it weren't for the fact that the Tyrant Demon under his command had long ago comprehended the Shadow Lurker Law, and fed back this part of the Law's insights to Lin Yuan.

Raising his lower limit of perception for spatial shadow fluctuations.

He really might not have been able to drag this sneaky camper out today.

"Misunderstanding! Everyone, it's purely a misunderstanding!" Bai Ye looked at the crowd's cannibalistic gazes.

He scrambled up from the ground, squeezing out a scummy, cheeky smile.

He rubbed his hands and argued at high speed: "I just got here! I really just arrived! I was just about to come out and greet you Prodigies."

"And look, before I could even make a sound, I was invited out by this brother's giant beast."

Bai Ye gave Lin Yuan a thumbs up, trying to get friendly: "Brother, your giant beast has quite a grip, my Void Realm Dream Spirit almost had its jaundice squeezed out."

Lin Yuan remained expressionless.

The Tyrant roared, and dark golden fluid surged on his right arm.

The Extreme Gravity Field activated once again, and the surrounding rubble floated into the air uncontrollably.

When Su Yueying proposed the Alliance, Murong Bai and Zhan Kuang appeared readily.

But this Bai Ye had intended to keep lurking.

Everyone was going to enter the core area to fight to the death.

Leaving an army of millions of undead hiding in the back, his intentions were self-evident.

"Do him." Zhan Kuang said concisely, his voice spreading across the wilderness.

150,000 heavy mechas raised their machine guns simultaneously, engines roaring and high-temperature steam erupting.

Murong Bai's hundreds of thousands of Behemoths let out earth-shaking roars, picking up totem pillars as weapons.

Su Yueying's six-winged angel army raised their cross longswords in unison, white-hot holy flames burning fiercely.

Purifying the undead was the angel clan's favorite job.

Even Xiao Ting and Chu Yunxuan turned their guns without hesitation.

The Lion Dragon group surged with wind and lightning, the mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex main gun charged, and ghost-blue particle light locked onto Bai Ye.

Six forces, six directions, millions of troops surrounded Bai Ye tightly.

There was a strong trend of blowing him and his Divine Domain to slag if things went south.

Seeing this earth-shattering formation, Bai Ye's legs went soft on the spot.

"Don't, don't, don't! Everyone! Let's talk it out! I admit defeat! I surrender!" Bai Ye raised his hands in a highly practiced motion.

He immediately hugged his head and squatted on the ground, his movements smooth and flowing, without any baggage of a Family Prodigy.

The speed of this surrender stunned the Prodigies who were ready to take action.

"I apologize for my offense!" Bai Ye squatted on the ground and shouted, "Doesn't this canyon need someone to scout the path? I'll do it!"

"My undead army is best suited for this! Three million undead soldiers, all as vanguard cannon fodder for everyone!"

"Triggering the traps in front! Absolutely no hesitation!"

Hearing this, everyone's movements paused.

Undead-type Divine Domains might have the lowest individual combat power among the same rank, but the most monstrous thing was their troop production and absolute obedience.

In this Demon God core area, high-level monsters were everywhere, and there might even be Diamond-rank existences.

Whoever went in first was the unluckiest.

Now that there was ready-made three million cannon fodder willing to trigger the traps in front, this deal was worth it.

Su Yueying lowered her cross longsword, and the holy flames extinguished.

"Bai Ye, this is what you said. Three million undead scouting the path, before they are all dead, your main force is not allowed to take a step back." Su Yueying said coldly.

"No problem! Absolutely no problem! If they die, I'll summon more on the spot!" Bai Ye patted his gaunt chest and guaranteed.

He stood up as if he had been granted amnesty and waved his hand.

Skeleton warriors holding bone knives, death knights riding skeleton warhorses, banshees floating in mid-air.

Dense and numerous, a full three million troops filled the open space in front of the canyon in the blink of an eye.

The cold aura of the Death Law spread, briefly suppressing the erupting Devilish Qi in the surrounding area.

Although Bai Ye was sleazy, his foundation was indeed impeccable.

Seeing these three million pieces of cannon fodder in position, everyone's expressions finally softened.

As long as someone was scouting the path, the next cooperation would be easier to discuss.

"Since there is cannon fodder, we should talk about other things." Murong Bai stood on the head of the Behemoth, crossing his arms and speaking.

Lin Yuan listened to their discussion, thinking this arrangement was quite good.

Someone was blocking knives and triggering traps in front, he could just follow behind and watch.

Just as the few of them initially set the framework for cooperation.

Energy fluctuations came one after another from the distant horizon.

A shocking Sword Qi tore through the lead-gray devilish mist.

A youth in white stepped on a sword and arrived, followed by 100,000 Sword Cultivators stepping on Flying Swords.

The Sword Qi crisscrossed, shredding the blocking monsters along the way into a rain of blood.

Tianhai Province immortal cultivation civilization Prodigy, Li Changfeng.

Immediately after, starlight fell.

A young girl shrouded in starlight descended.

Hundreds of thousands of star spirit creatures made of starlight energy hovered in mid-air.

Finally, the earth trembled, and a high-pitched dragon roar resounded through the sky.

A platinum Dragon over thirty meters long swooped down from the clouds.

Standing on the Dragon's back was a fat man wearing a flashy gold armor.

Behind him was a Dragon Clan army composed of 50,000 pure-blooded Dragons and sub-dragons.

Jiangcheng top chaebol, the young master of the Qian Family, Qian Duoduo.

At this point, the most top-tier batch of Prodigies in Tianhai Province were all gathered in front of the Black Canyon.

The three newcomers saw the formation in front of them and understood the current situation.

In this Demon God core area, fighting alone was suicide.

Without any extra nonsense, the three quickly agreed to Su Yueying's proposal and joined the Alliance.

...

Demon Suppression Fortress.

The big screen was divided into ten small screens, and then merged into a panoramic view.

The four Family heads and military commanders, who were originally mocking each other and secretly competing, all sat up straight.

This scene was too shocking.

Every year in the Tianhai Province Streaming Exam, Geniuses mostly fought on their own, fighting to the death to compete for points and resources.

Like today, the ten strongest Prodigies, forced by the pressure of the Demon God Plane, cast aside their prejudices and hugged together to advance, was a once-in-a-century sight.

"This lineup..." A head of a second-tier Family swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "It has smashed all the elite foundations of Tianhai Province together."

After a brief silence, enthusiastic discussions erupted in the hall.

The Family heads, who were originally depressed because their respective juniors had been eliminated, also regained their spirits.

The one-upmanship began.

"That child Changfeng has refined his Sword Intent even further." The Elder of the Immortal Cultivation Family, the Li Family, stroked his long beard, his face full of pride. "With one hundred thousand Sword Cultivators in formation, their killing power is second to none."

"The monsters in this Core Zone cannot withstand my Li Family's Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword."

"Old Man Li, you don't even draft your tall tales." A large, obese man sitting opposite him sneered.

He wore Divine Rings on all ten fingers and was none other than the Chairman of the Qian Corporation in Jiangcheng.

Chairman Qian pointed at the fifty-meter-long platinum Dragon on the screen. "Are your one hundred thousand Sword Cultivators enough for my fifty thousand pure-blooded Dragons to breathe on a few times?"

"Playing at Immortal Cultivation is too shabby; war is all about money!"

"The Dragon Clan legion I've poured thirty billion in resources into is the trump card for a direct, head-on confrontation!"

"Parvenu behavior. Vulgar." The head of the Li Family turned his head away in disdain.

"Who are you calling vulgar!" Chairman Qian slammed the table and stood up.

"Alright, you two." The head of the Astral Spirit Family held his teacup and interjected unhurriedly. "Sword Cultivators are too sharp and easily broken, and Dragons are too large and easily become live targets."

"If you really want to talk about sustained combat and overall control, you have to look at my Family's Astral Spirit Array."

"As long as the starlight remains, no monsters will arise."

The big shots chimed in one after another, trading sarcastic remarks as they vied to inflate the status of their own Prodigies.

Among this group, the head of the Bai Family sat in the corner, his face flushing red and turning pale in turns.

On the screen, Bai Ye's obsequious, groveling, and pleading appearance was broadcast with perfect clarity.

A dignified S+ Talent deity, a Genius of the Bai Family, was actually scared into hugging his head and crouching in defense on the spot by a few people.

Shameful!

Too shameful!

The head of the Bai Family wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

But hearing the discussions around him, he bit the bullet, coughed heavily twice, and tried to force a recovery of his dignity.

"What do you know! This is called looking at the big picture!" The head of the Bai Family said loudly, trying to drown out the voices of the others.

"The situation in this Core Zone is unclear; someone has to scout the path!"

"My Bai Family's son understands the greater good and has taken on the heavy responsibility of the vanguard."

"The Undead army is meant to be cannon fodder anyway! Once the truth is uncovered, you will all have to thank my Bai Ye!"

Hearing this, several generals' mouths twitched violently, and they struggled to keep from laughing out loud.

To describe cowardice in such a fresh and refined way—the Bai Family's thick skin must be hereditary.

At the head of the table, Patriarch Xiao Tiannan listened to the argument, his eyes cold.

He looked at Xiao Ting, who was standing on the back of the Lion Dragon King on the screen, and felt slightly relieved.

Although they had lost three hundred thousand troops, Xiao Ting's aura remained formidable, firmly occupying the core position of the allied forces.

"Everyone." Patriarch Xiao Tiannan spoke slowly, his voice suppressing the noise of the entire room.

The majesty of the head of the number one Family in Tianhai Province caused the hall to fall silent.

"Sword Cultivators or Dragons, it matters not. Each has their own strengths." Patriarch Xiao Tiannan raised his wine glass, surveyed the room, and finally let his gaze linger deliberately on Commander Xiao Lie.

"But when it comes to coordinating the battle and breaking formations to kill the enemy, my Xiao Family's Wind-Thunder Lion Dragon is the main force."

"Ting'er is arrogant by nature, but his foundation is there."

"On this trip to the Core Zone, he will surely suppress all the heroes and claim the greatest merit."

Patriarch Xiao Tiannan's words were not only to praise Xiao Ting but also to warn everyone present.

The subtext was clear: no matter how you group together, the hegemon of Tianhai Province remains the Xiao Family.

He was even implicitly threatening Commander Xiao Lie: that commoner Lin Yuan you are supporting, even if he has a bit of cleverness...

...in front of these true Family backgrounds, he can only stand aside!

Commander Xiao Lie sat on the sofa, turning a deaf ear to Patriarch Xiao Tiannan's provocation.

He didn't even glance at Xiao Ting on the screen.

Commander Xiao Lie's attention was locked on the edge of the screen, on the young man standing on the shoulder of the dark golden behemoth.

Lin Yuan was not participating in the core command of the formation.

He had the Tyrant Demon legion and the Zerg army spread out on both sides, maintaining a subtle distance.

He could advance to attack, or retreat and withdraw at any time.

"This kid is much smarter than these young masters raised in greenhouses." Commander Xiao Lie praised him inwardly.

Just as the big shots were belittling each other and competing secretly, a sudden change occurred.

On the central control console of the fortress, an alarm suddenly sounded.

"Alert! The Law readings in the Core Zone of the Demon God Plane are rising sharply!"

"The spatial barrier is showing irregular oscillations!"

"High-frequency Divine Soul fluctuations detected! It is suspected that the Demon God's subconscious defense mechanism has been triggered on a large scale!"

The communications officer, covered in sweat, reported the latest data loudly.

The image on the big screen began to distort.

The signal was subjected to strong magnetic field interference, and static flickered incessantly.

Through the intermittent footage, everyone could see.

The sky above the Core Zone of the Demon God Planet had completely turned into a sea of viscous blood.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became heavy.

The heads of families who had just been boasting about their own Prodigies saw their smiles fade, and their brows furrowed one after another.

They had previously reached a consensus that even if a defeated lower-tier Demon God showed signs of activity, it wouldn't be enough to throw them into disarray.

But now, with strange phenomena occurring frequently and their Family's Legacy at stake, as Elders, they could not help but be concerned.

"What is going on? The rebound intensity in the Core Zone is greater than expected." The Li Family Elder put down his teacup, his expression serious.

"Changfeng and the others have gone too deep; they must have touched the bottom-line Law of the Demon God's slumber."

Chairman Qian tapped his fingers on the table and said in a deep voice, "Looking at these energy readings, the Demon God hasn't truly awakened, but this subconscious tide of Laws is enough to give these little guys a real headache."

"General Chen, Commander Xiao."

Several Family heads looked toward the military camp; although they didn't lose their composure, there was still a sense of pressure in their tone.

"Although the children have formed an Alliance, the risks remain uncontrollable when facing the defense mechanism of the Demon God's Origin."

"Shouldn't the military's contingency plan be put on the agenda?"

"Yes, training is one thing, but these dozen or so people are the pillars of Tianhai Province's future; there must be absolutely no mistakes."

A sense of worry spread through the viewing room; no one dared to gamble recklessly with their Family's future.

Facing the gazes of the Family big shots, Lieutenant General Deputy Commander Chen Tie frowned slightly and turned to look at Commander Xiao Lie.

Commander Xiao Lie sat on the sofa, his posture upright, his expression as calm as an ancient well.

He slowly stood up.

Pressure far exceeding that of an ordinary True God radiated from his body.

Dark red killing Divine Power flowed slightly through the hall, easily suppressing the slightly restless aura of the others.

"Everyone, no need to be nervous."

Commander Xiao Lie's voice was steady, carrying a deep, reassuring power.

"I have already said, a half-dead lower-tier Demon God, even if it turns over in its sleep, cannot escape the Five-Finger Mountain of Tianhai Province."

"It has not truly awakened; the current situation is still within the fault tolerance of the Streaming Exam."

Commander Xiao Lie surveyed the room, his tone calm yet carrying unparalleled dominance.

"Since they have charged into the Core Zone, they should try to withstand this pressure themselves first."

"If they can't even withstand the instinctive defense of a slumbering Demon God, they need not go to any front lines in the future."

Although these words were harsh, because he had already laid the groundwork earlier.

The Family heads present did not overly object; they just sighed silently and stared intently at the big screen.

However, Commander Xiao Lie was not just cold-hearted.

Polishing is one thing, but as the military commander, he would never joke around with the sparks of humanity.

Geniuses can die in training, die because they are not skilled enough.

But they must never die due to force majeure.

He turned around, looked at Deputy Commander Chen Tie, and issued military orders in an orderly manner.

"Deputy Commander Chen Tie."

"Sir!" Deputy Commander Chen Tie stood at attention.

"Pass on my order." Commander Xiao Lie's eyes became extremely sharp. "Mobilize the first and second assault teams of the Spark Legion."

"Equip everyone with full Divine Rank gear and proceed to the space jump point immediately to stand by."

"Lock the fortress's main cannon onto the core coordinates of the Demon God Planet and maintain a pre-heating and charging state."

"Once the Law readings break through the final critical value and it is confirmed that the Demon God shows substantial signs of Awakening—"

Commander Xiao Lie paused, his Killing Intent overflowing, his gaze sweeping over all the True Gods present.

"The main cannon will fire and tear through the plane barrier."

"When that time comes, all of us here will rush in together to grab our people."

Hearing this deployment, the Family heads in the hall all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Patriarch Xiao Tiannan looked at Commander Xiao Lie's upright back, his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

He had to admit that when it came to the ability to coordinate the overall situation and use both kindness and severity...

...he was more than one step behind this illegitimate son.

The atmosphere in the hall returned to normal.

All eyes continued to focus on the screen with the unstable signal.