Above the O'Brien Empire.
*Boom!*
The sound of sonic booms rang out. Amid the turbulent airflow, four silhouettes could be vaguely seen flying eastward side by side at extreme speed. The four figures made no attempt to conceal themselves, their velocities pushed to terrifying levels, and they didn't bother hiding their presence — the sonic booms were deafening. At the same time, from all four of them, a violent and fearsome aura radiated outward.
Below, across the vast expanse of land where the populace was gathered, hidden strongmen lurked.
A middle-aged man who had been cheerfully guiding some youths in their cultivation looked up at the sky in shock, his face changing: "What is this? Four Mid-Level Gods? Could they be from Lord Adkins' side?"
"Teacher, teacher."
The youths around him called out in confusion.
"Carry on with your training for now." The middle-aged man gave a casual instruction and departed. As he walked, a thread of puzzling crept into his mind. "Four Mid-Level Gods heading out together, and not bothering to hide their tracks — it seems they're about to do something big." Curiosity gnawed at him.
His figure flickered, and he vanished from the road.
Bernas, Gatenby, Hamblit, and Augvin flew forward side by side in a straight line at tremendous speed, their long robes snapping in the wind, the sonic booms rolling like thunder. In Bernas's words: "When we strike, we must have presence. There's no need for sneaking around — that would bring shame upon Lord Adkins."
When Bernas spoke, how would Augvin and the others dare disobey?
And so the four flew openly and majestically toward Dragon Blood Castle. Everywhere they passed, hidden Saint Realm and god-level strongmen detected them. Those people would even use divine sense to transmit messages to their friends. This drew quite a few powerful figures to follow in secret.
It was fortunate that Bernas and his companions deliberately released that overbearing aura; otherwise, the god-level and Saint Realm strongmen would have had no way of tracking them.
Dragon Blood Castle.
In the open ground of the western garden, purple sword shadows danced like dreams and illusions. Lin Lei's figure moved in concert with the blade shadows, darting at extreme speed. Occasionally, a singing hum of steel rang out. Where the Purpleblood Flexible Sword passed, the fabric of space sometimes produced afterimages, and at other times it simply shattered. Sometimes it left behind only a thread-thin crack through the air.
As he trained, Lin Lei's comprehension of the "Speed Mysteries" grew ever deeper, and the might of the Purpleblood Flexible Sword was gradually being unlocked as well.
Lin Lei discovered that the singing hum of the Purpleblood Flexible Sword was secondary — what truly made it formidable was its intrinsic sharpness. As the synchronization between Lin Lei and the Purpleblood Flexible Sword increased, even without a leap in comprehension, the power of Dimensional Slash had grown considerably stronger.
"Hm?"
Lin Lei, immersed in his training, suddenly halted, looking north in astonishment. "What a terrifying aura — and they're not hiding it at all!" He could clearly sense several powerful auras racing toward Dragon Blood Castle from the north.
Not just Lin Lei.
Even the Martial God and High Priest, who were refining their divine sparks, along with Tarosha, Dilin, Hisai, Bei Bei — every god-level strongman had already sensed them.
"Mr. Bernas, Dragon Blood Castle is just ahead." Augvin's heart surged with excitement.
He finally had his chance at revenge.
"I've waited two years for this day." Augvin's face flushed slightly, and the look in his eyes cut toward the distant Dragon Blood Castle like a blade.
The silver-haired Bernas regarded Dragon Blood Castle with calm indifference. "Oh, so this is Dragon Blood Castle? The four of us flying all this way while deliberately radiating our auras — there's certainly a crowd trailing behind us by now." Bernas was well aware of this.
Augvin, Hamblit, and Gatenby listened obediently to Bernas's commands.
"We absolutely cannot bring disgrace to Lord Adkins. This time, we must handle it beautifully. Hamblit." Bernas spoke with cool detachment.
"Mr. Bernas." Hamblit awaited his orders respectfully.
"Take direct action. Erase this Dragon Blood Castle. Those ordinary people are not worthy of watching the battle." Bernas issued the command coldly. Hamblit's eyes gleamed as he flew forward, extending his right hand toward the void with a cold smile.
*Boom boom boom~~~* In an instant, heaven and earth trembled.
Violent wind-element magic surged from every direction toward the sky above Dragon Blood Castle, forming there an enormous, millstone-like teal vortex. From within the vortex, pale green wind blades periodically shot out, and even the sunlight was blotted out.
The entirety of Dragon Blood Castle was bathed in an icy teal glow.
*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* … Figures instantly appeared above the castle — Tarosha, Dilin, Lin Lei, the Martial God, the High Priest, Bei Bei, and a whole host of god-level strongmen. The enemy's display was simply too dramatic; its overwhelming presence had been felt by every single person in Dragon Blood Castle.
Lin Lei, the Martial God, and all the others looked up at the sky.
Above, the massive millstone-like teal vortex was clearly gathering power of terrifying magnitude — power never before seen. If that force came crashing down, even a peak Saint Realm warrior would perish. Only god-level beings could survive.
"They intend to destroy Dragon Blood Castle — to kill even the ordinary people." Lin Lei's face turned ashen.
Below, Dragon Blood Castle held too many of his loved ones. Lin Lei would never allow such a thing to happen.
"Augvin again — and this time, he's brought two extra people." Tarosha scoffed, looking at the four figures in the distance. Dilin sneered as well: "It seems Augvin learned nothing from his last loss, Tarosha. He's actually daring enough to come back."
"Then we simply destroy the only remaining body he has, and that will be that?" Tarosha said with a faint smile.
At this moment, only Tarosha and Dilin — the two Mid-Level Gods — could chat and laugh as if nothing were wrong.
Within Dragon Blood Castle, Wotton, Taylor, Gates, Dilia, and a great number of others gazed up at the four distant figures, their hearts trembling. In their eyes, the four Mid-Level Gods radiating that soul-chilling aura were like four invincible demon gods.
Mighty. Unmatched.
"Vanish into nothing," Hamblit chuckled softly, pressing his right hand downward through the void.
The colossal teal vortex that had been hovering high above Dragon Blood Castle suddenly plunged downward. At the same time, countless pale golden wind blades poured down like a swarm of locusts, filling the entire field of vision of Lin Lei and the others with an endless storm of pale gold.
*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* …
The sound of metal striking metal rang out. On the surface of Dragon Blood Castle, a semi-transparent shield of blue-white had materialized. The countless pale golden wind blades struck it, but the shield remained utterly unscathed.
"Heavens." Thousands within Dragon Blood Castle looked up at the enormous transparent dome covering the entire sky above them.
They could clearly see the endless pale golden wind blades raining down, each one slamming into the shield. Cold sweat beaded the foreheads of many guards and servants inside the castle. God-level strongmen could annihilate heaven and earth with a casual wave of their hand — it truly was no exaggeration.
"Ha ha ha! Lord Adkins is an exalted High-Level God after all — did you really think killing these ordinary people would bring him any glory?" Tarosha's booming laughter echoed through every corner of space for dozens of miles around.
The endless wind blades ceased.
Hamblit, his face ashen, retreated to Bernas's side. He had been蓄势for some time, yet Tarosha had managed to conjure that transparent ice dome in mere moments and blocked every attack. His strength was clearly inferior to Tarosha's.
Bernas looked down at Tarosha. "Tarosha? Impressive strength. I'll give you a chance — you may leave now, and I will spare your life."
Tarosha and Dilin both froze for a moment.
"You silver-haired old fool — have you lost your mind?" Tarosha laughed in fury.