His gaze swept around the giant cauldron, but to Li Wuyi's disappointment, he could not find a new honored title among them.
Had they… failed? Even Li Wuyi, whose composure was so steady that he could face the Demon Saints without batting an eye, couldn't help but stagger at that moment, his face going pale.
The many legion commanders beside him were murmuring amongst themselves, anxiety and uncertainty flowing through the crowd…
Hum…
A soft sound rang out as a jade slip materialized out of thin air before Li Wuyi. His expression sharpened and he snatched it up, his consciousness diving within. He froze for a moment, then a smile began to spread across his face.
At first the smile was faint, but it quickly grew wider, until his booming laughter shook the heavens.
Pairs of eyes turned toward him, fixed on Li Wuyi and the jade slip in his hand. From that slip, they could sense Yang Yan's aura.
In other words, the jade slip had been sent by Yang Yan—and Yang Yan had been one of the participants in the Dao Contest. The fact that she was sending a message now was a clear sign that the Dao Contest had indeed concluded. And judging by the joy on Li Wuyi's face and that hearty laughter…
Everyone's spirits soared, their anxiety replaced by tremendous excitement. Though they had already guessed as much, until Li Wuyi confirmed it, no one dared believe it too firmly—for the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment if it proved false.
"Supreme Commander, could it be that the fortune of the Great Dao has finally fallen into our Star Realm's hands?" An elderly man's beard trembled uncontrollably, unable to suppress his excitement, an unnatural flush of red appearing on his withered, aged face.
"Supreme Commander, what exactly happened? Surely you can tell us before laughing yourself hoarse."
But Li Wuyi simply couldn't stop laughing, laughing until tears streamed from his eyes. The group watched in helpless silence—none of them had ever seen him lose his composure like this in all the years they'd known him.
The truth was, the pressure he had been under recently was immense. As the Star Realm's Supreme Commander, he dared not claim that the fate of the realm rested solely on his shoulders, but every decision he made affected the future of billions of living beings and the survival of an entire race. All he could do was buy as much time as possible, preserving the Star Realm's strength for whatever slim chance the future might bring.
For that reason, he had not hesitated to give up his own chance to enter the Profound Heaven Temple and participate in the Dao Contest—abandoning his lifelong pursuit.
And now, that sliver of hope had finally appeared. The tension that had been gripping his mind finally eased, if only a little.
After a good while, Li Wuyi finally reined in his laughter. His gaze swept across the faces of the many Quasi-Emperors one by one, and then he spoke in a deep voice: "The fortune of the Great Dao has been claimed by our Star Realm!"
At those words, everyone's breathing quickened. Though they had already suspected as much, it was only now—with Li Wuyi's own confirmation—that they truly dared to believe it.
"Who!" the elderly man asked in a trembling voice. After all, this was the key to ascending to Great Emperor—whoever had claimed the fortune of the Great Dao was very likely the future Great Emperor of the Star Realm. How could they not ask?
"Yang Kai!" Li Wuyi answered with a smile.
A wave of exclamations erupted. Everyone exchanged stunned glances. Though Yang Kai's performance upon returning from the Demon Domain this time had been nothing short of astonishing, no one had expected him to be the one.
After all, his cultivation level was what it was.
When Li Wuyi had given his own spot to Yang Kai, many of them had not been happy about it. The martial path was not necessarily about seniority, but Yang Kai was both low in cultivation and short on experience—even if Li Wuyi were to yield his spot, there were plenty of others who should have gone before him.
Before this, everyone had thought Yang Kai entering the Profound Heaven Temple was a pure waste of a spot. His cultivation hadn't even reached Quasi-Emperor—what could he possibly do in there? Show up, do nothing, and come right back out?
So when the name Yang Kai came out of Li Wuyi's mouth, no one had expected that the final outcome of the Dao Contest would turn out like this—an opponent who hadn't even reached Quasi-Emperor standing at the very top! In that moment, everyone felt a sense of unreality, and recalling Li Wuyi's decision at the time, they couldn't help but feel he had shown remarkable foresight.
A glow of shared pride shone on Li Wuyi's face as well. Pushing through everyone's objections to grant Yang Kai a precious spot in the Profound Heaven Temple had subjected him to considerable pressure. Had he not been the Supreme Commander, whose orders had been followed without question for years, he would have been challenged long ago. Fortunately, Yang Kai had ultimately lived up to expectations.
"It was really Yang Kai?" someone asked, still unable to believe it.
"What exactly happened?"
"What were our Star Realm's casualties?"
Questions tumbled out one after another, each person gazing eagerly at Li Wuyi.
Before Li Wuyi could answer, a series of whooshing sounds rang out as figures materialized one after another beside him. Everyone's eyes narrowed as they looked—for these sudden arrivals were all the participants who had entered the Profound Heaven Temple this time. Yet every single one of them was wounded; not a one was unscathed. The more seriously injured had unstable auras and were drenched in blood.
And there were only about ten who had appeared!
Yang Yan was the first to materialize. She felt pairs of intense, burning gazes fixed upon her. Quickly understanding what was happening, she smiled faintly and cupped her fists toward Li Wuyi: "We did not fail your trust!"
The moment she had exited the Profound Heaven Temple, she had immediately sent a message to Li Wuyi to report the results of the Dao Contest, and only then activated the Ethereal Pearl to come here. The whole sequence had taken no more than the span of a few breaths.
Li Wuyi nodded. "Well done!" He then looked at the others behind her, a flicker of somberness crossing his face, and cupped his fists: "Well done, everyone!"
Everyone returned the gesture!