Of those dozen or so people, the one leading them had a ruddy complexion, a bulbous nose, crossed eyes, and a messy mop of hair — he looked rather comical. But the powerful aura radiating from his body was nothing to scoff at.
A third-level Return Void Realm powerhouse!
"That's Lu Feng, the Second Elder of the Battle Heaven Alliance!"
"Even he's been roused. Those beside him are all elites of the Battle Heaven Alliance — now this should be interesting."
"What kind of background does this Lingxiao Sect actually have? Making such grandiose threats."
"Who cares about their background. Lu Feng has a violent temper — he certainly won't let them off easy. Heh heh, just watch."
Bursts of excited chatter erupted from all around as everyone craned their necks skyward, waiting eagerly for the show to begin.
The Battle Heaven Alliance was teeming with strong cultivators. Among them, there were no fewer than ten at the third level of the Return Void Realm. But to rise to the rank of second-highest Elder among them — Lu Feng's fearsome reputation preceded him.
Grand Elder Mo Xiaosheng and Third Elder Liang Yong — Yang Kai had met both. Their strength was certainly formidable, but compared to Lu Feng, they lacked a certain ruthlessness. That was precisely why Lu Feng held the position of Enforcement Elder within the Battle Heaven Alliance, tasked specifically with punishing errant members.
Virtually no one who ended up in his hands came away in one piece.
He was the member the Battle Heaven Alliance's disciples feared most.
Just moments ago, Lu Feng had been leading his men through the outer city handling some mundane affairs, when he stumbled upon this spectacle. He had rushed over immediately.
One look was all it took — the other party had blasted a channel several hundred zhang long through Battle Heaven City with their Crystal Cannons. Houses along the corridor had been reduced to rubble, everything obliterated into nothingness. Rage surged to Lu Feng's head in an instant.
The Battle Heaven Alliance had reigned supreme for years upon years. Never once had something like this occurred.
His cold gaze locked onto the warship — over a dozen zhang long, pitch-black from bow to stern — and Lu Feng bellowed, "What petty scoundrels dare cause a ruckus in Battle Heaven City?! Get out here and face your deaths!"
His voice boomed like thunder, deafening, reverberating throughout the entirety of Battle Heaven City. Anyone who heard it could feel the fury rolling off him.
Inside the warship, silence. No answer, no retort, not even the faintest stirring. It simply hovered in midair, quiet and still — as if there were no living soul aboard.
Yet an inexplicable pressure weighed on everyone's hearts like a boulder of ten thousand jin.
"Fine, fine, fine! You dare ignore this Elder? You think hiding inside means I can't touch you? A mere warship — watch me reduce it to splinters!"
As he spoke, Lu Feng's Holy Energy surged wildly within him. His wrist flickered, and suddenly a massive battle-axe materialized in his hand. The thing was as tall as a man, entirely snow-white, its blade honed to a terrifying sharpness.
Holy Energy poured into it, and the Artifact blazed with blinding light. Lu Feng hoisted the axe overhead, and instantly a colossal axe-shaped silhouette composed of pure energy took form before him.
The phantom axe stretched over a dozen zhang long, as if the real weapon had been magnified a hundredfold. Terrifying waves of energy rippled outward from within it.
Every onlooker's expression changed.
Great fame was never built on empty boasts. As the Third Elder of the Battle Heaven Alliance, Lu Feng was far from an ordinary third-level Return Void Realm cultivator.
Seeing the Third Elder make his move, the others who had accompanied him had no intention of standing idle. One after another, they summoned their Artifacts and unleashed their secret techniques. In an instant, the sky bloomed with multicolored radiance.
The enormous axe silhouette, guided by Lu Feng, descended like a guillotine blade and cleaved downward toward the warship with overwhelming force.
The other attacks followed close behind.
Boom, boom, boom!
A cascade of violent detonations erupted. Terrifying waves of energy collided at the warship's position.
But the warship didn't budge an inch. A thin membrane — so faint it looked as though it might shatter at a breath — surfaced across its exterior.
Every single attack was deflected by this film, and not one managed to achieve anything.
Jaws dropped all around. Even Lu Feng, who was notoriously arrogant and proud, couldn't help but widen his eyes. He nearly thought he'd seen wrong, blurting out in disbelief, "Impossible!"
He knew his own strength. That strike just now, though it appeared casual, had already been his full-powered blow — the strongest attack he could muster. And yet it hadn't so much as budged the warship?
Even if it truly was a Void King-grade warship, it shouldn't be this sturdy!
That flimsy-looking film barrier actually possessed such extraordinary defensive power?
And just as he stood there stunned, a soft humming sound drifted from within the warship. Then, from one particular point on the vessel, one after another mysterious and intricate patterns shot out, visible to the naked eye, coalescing in the void.
In the blink of an eye, the patterns converged into an enormous Formation.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth flooded into the Formation in a frantic, torrential rush.
From within the Formation, something slowly revealed its true form — as though it were being summoned forth from the boundless void itself.
Moments later, the object materialized for all to see.
It was a spear composed entirely of pure energy, as thick as a child's arm, roughly seven or eight zhang long, and utterly savage in appearance.