The arrival of these seven powerhouses immediately put Dong Qinghan and the others at ease.
Facing Shenyou-level opponents on their own, these young people had been terrified. Now that seven powerful allies had appeared, they finally felt they had someone to lean on, a guiding presence.
Tang Yuxian also drifted lightly through the air, hovering beside Tu Feng.
Apart from Ying Jiu, who was nowhere to be seen, the remaining eight had all gathered here! Eight Blood Guards facing eight Shenyou-level experts — not a shred of fear among them.
Eight against eight!
The numbers were equal, but the disparity in strength was staggering.
The eight on the other side were all Shenyou-level experts — the Supreme Elders of the Eight Great Families.
The eight Blood Guards, however, consisted of only four at the ninth layer of the Shenyou Realm and four at the eighth layer. The gap in power was vast.
"Dominant Blood Berserker Art!" Without a moment's hesitation, Tu Feng and the others unleashed the Yang Family Blood Guards' forbidden technique the instant they arrived. Violent waves of energy erupted outward, a flush of crimson appearing on every face as their vital blood force surged upward.
Yang Zhao's mansion and the idle martial artists who had come to watch were stunned.
Seven Blood Guards activating the Dominant Blood Berserker Art simultaneously — what a spectacular sight!
Blood Guards were already synonymous with power, virtually unbeatable within their tier. In combat, they would only resort to this forbidden technique under extraordinary circumstances; normally, they never needed it.
One could say that seeing a single Blood Guard use the Dominant Blood Berserker Art was already a feast for the eyes. And now, seven of them were activating it at once.
The combined aura and shockwaves of energy thrown off by their gathered momentum nearly threw the entire Battle City's spiritual energy into complete chaos.
Even the eight Shenyou-level experts betrayed a flicker of surprise. They hadn't expected these Blood Guards to push themselves to such a degree.
"Insolent!" Yang Liting roared. "Do you even remember what you are?"
"Elder, forgive us!" Tu Feng's face was flushed crimson, his blood force blazing to an extreme. He spoke in a clear, ringing voice: "Though you are a Supreme Elder of the Yang Family, we too are Blood Guards of the Yang Family. But since the Elder Hall has ordered us to follow the Young Master, then we belong to the Young Master. At a time like this, it is only natural that we protect him."
"His safety — you consider that more important than the Family's honor?" Yang Liting's expression turned cold as he stared ahead.
All eight Blood Guards nodded in unison. Tang Yuxian spoke: "Elder, according to the Elder Hall's decree, we now serve the Young Master alone. His safety is naturally more important than the Family's honor. Should anything happen to him, we would deserve death ten thousand times over. If we have given offense today, please forgive us, Elder!"
"You've all gone mad!" Yang Liting laughed from the depths of his fury, the muscles on his face twitching faintly. With his status, standing, and strength, no one had ever dared defy him. The Yang Family Blood Guards were the Family's golden hallmark, a byword for absolute loyalty — and yet today, these very Blood Guards, hailed as the Yang Family's left and right arms, were willing to stop at nothing to stand against him!
Particularly with so many witnesses, Yang Liting felt his authority had been gravely violated.
"Blind loyalty!" The Shenyou-level expert who had urged Yang Liting earlier let out a cold snort, clearly disdainful of the Blood Guards' foolish behavior. In his view, the Blood Guard Hall's fighters were powerful enough and loyal enough, but in certain situations they were nothing short of stubborn and inflexible — like the one before them now.
"We harbor no intent of rebellion. But if you Elders wish to harm the Young Master, we will... not allow it!" Tu Feng fixed his gaze on the eight figures before him and slowly shook his head.
"Even with you lot added, you still have no right to stop this Elder!" Yang Liting bellowed. It was clear he had made up his mind to purge the Family's ranks right here and now.
"What if this old man joins in too?"
A voice that seemed to drift from nowhere drifted in from the distance.
The moment they heard it, the eight Shenyou-level experts stiffened, their eyes snapping toward the source of the voice.
From within the darkness, a figure appeared — drifting forward like an immortal, his steps unhurried, his expression composed and elegant.
He didn't seem to move quickly, yet in just two or three steps he had arrived before the assembled crowd. Whether by intention or not, he hovered in midair at a position noticeably higher than the eight Shenyou-level experts.
He came to a stop, gazing down at the eight figures before him from above, perfectly at ease.
Yang Liting and the others' expressions grew solemn, their eyes locked tightly on Meng Wuya as their brows gradually furrowed.
Although this man possessed only the peak of the Shenyou Realm in cultivation, they all had the sense that there was something far more to him. The steps he had taken while approaching appeared casual, yet in some ineffable way they aligned with the Heavenly Dao — leaving no trace, no pattern to grasp.
This subtle, profound feeling was something even these Supreme Elders of the Eight Great Families found difficult to penetrate.
How could a martial artist at the peak of the Shenyou Realm possess such deep insight into the Martial Dao? Every one of them was secretly alarmed.
They had all been aware of Meng Wuya's existence — he had been in Battle City for quite some time after all — but their knowledge of him had been limited to his cultivation level. They had assumed he was merely an ordinary peak Shenyou Realm martial artist.
But now, seeing him in person, the eight realized that this peak Shenyou cultivator was anything but ordinary.
Facing him, even someone as formidable as Yang Liting felt a stirring of crisis and pressure rise from the depths of his heart — as though in a one-on-one fight, he would not be his opponent at all.
"And this old man as well!"
Another voice rang out, and this time, the eight Shenyou-level experts of the Great Families felt a genuine chill crawl down their spines.
Meng Wuya's appearance had been somewhat expected. With their formidable Divine Sense permeating every corner of Battle City, all eight had been able to detect his aura.
But this speaker had materialized as if out of thin air — not a trace of his aura leaking out. Had he not chosen to reveal himself, the eight would never have noticed him at all.
If someone could conceal themselves so thoroughly that even the eight of them couldn't detect them, there was no need to guess at their cultivation level.