He was the current alliance leader. According to the rules, the entire army was under his command. The Black Tyrant's ferocious reputation was known to all. Adding to this, he had fully opened the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building without any payment some time ago, further increasing his grace.
Combining kindness with authority, Hei Lou Lan's influence reached its peak.
Therefore, as soon as the command was issued, an uproar arose. Almost everyone who was summoned showed up.
Wolf King Chang Shan Yin, Water Demon Hao Ji Liu, Demonic Path Duo Gao Yang & Zhu Zai, Little Horse Zun Ma Ying Jie, Fox Marshal Tang Miao Ming, White Fairy Xi Xue, Shadow Swordswoman Bian Si Xuan, Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Lyu Shuang, Tao You, Gu Guo Long, Duo E, Nie Ya Qing, Ye Lv Sang…
On the day of the assembly, the main hall was filled with shining stars, all heroes and elites, stirring up a storm.
"Old sir, with you here, it's like having a pillar holding up the sky! I no longer have to worry about low morale, hahaha!" Hei Lou Lan sat boldly in the main seat, looking around with soaring ambition, bursting into laughter.
Among those present, Tai Bai Yun Sheng had the highest reputation for saving lives and helping the world. Even Hei Lou Lan and Chang Shan Yin could not compare to him in this regard.
But the first seat to Hei Lou Lan's right was not Tai Bai Yun Sheng, but Wolf King Chang Shan Yin.
Fame is one thing, fighting strength is another.
After the decisive battle of the Imperial Court, regardless of who it was, everyone unanimously acknowledged Fang Yuan as the top combatant. The halos of dual cultivation, flight master, and enslavement path master were all stacked on one person's head, making him exceptionally glorious. Thus, Fang Yuan being ranked first was without any dispute.
Therefore, after greeting Tai Bai Yun Sheng, Hei Lou Lan immediately spoke to Fang Yuan: "Brother Shan Yin, for this upcoming great battle, we must rely on your prowess! If we succeed in clearing the stage, I will reward you with a full fifty percent alone."
He understood Fang Yuan's nature—he wouldn't get up early without profit—so he lured him with generous rewards.
The rewards for the final stage were no small matter. As soon as Hei Lou Lan opened his mouth, he allocated half of them to Fang Yuan. This meant that he and everyone else could only divide the other half among themselves.
Regarding their personal interests, low murmurs arose in the hall.
Many were indignant about this division, but no one had the guts to openly question the Black Tyrant's allocation or blatantly offend the mighty Wolf King.
"Fine, let it be divided this way." Fang Yuan nodded, his cold and arrogant gaze sweeping slightly across the hall, instantly silencing the buzzing noise.
"How come Elder Pan Ping has not arrived yet?" Hei Lou Lan asked his attendants.
Pan Ping was from the demonic path. He had defected to the Hei family and become an outer clan elder. As the current clan leader of the Hei family, Hei Lou Lan's command had failed to summon Pan Ping, which made Hei Lou Lan somewhat displeased.
In fact, it wasn't just Pan Ping; First Elder Chang Biao, who was from the Chang family, also had not arrived.
However, Chang Biao's surname was Chang. He was a member of the Chang clan. Hei Lou Lan, constrained by Fang Yuan, turned a blind eye to this.
Fang Yuan remained expressionless.
The news of Pan and Chang's deaths had not yet spread.
This was because exploring the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building normally took several days, or even half a month. The more difficult the stage, the longer the time might be. Especially for people like Pan and Chang, who lacked the bloodline of Giant Sun, they needed visitor tokens for every entry and exit, which was a huge expenditure. Because of this, these outsiders cherished every opportunity to enter and exit. If possible, they would often live and eat inside the True Yang Building.
No sooner had Hei Lou Lan finished speaking than his trusted aide Hei Shu stepped forward and reported: "My lord, Elder Pan Ping and Lord Chang Biao both went to the seventh floor not too long ago. I sent men to inform them, but it was discovered that the current stage terrain on the seventh floor was complex, a vast maze. Information Gu was disabled in the maze, and roaming wild wolf packs were deep inside. The men searched for many days, finding only some battle traces, but they did not find the two lords."
Hei Lou Lan gave a cold snort and waved his hand: "Let it be. We won't wait for them. The visitor tokens are all prepared. We set out tomorrow morning!"
The next day, the crowd marched in full force into the fifth floor.
This was the grandest scale of Gu Masters cooperating to pass a stage since the creation of the Eighty-Eight True Yang Building, attracting the gaze of countless people within the Holy Court.
The final stage of the fifth floor was a stretch of desolate mountains.
The brown mountain soil was as hard as iron and stone, devoid of any plant life.
The moment the crowd descended, the Flying Bear Phantom Image sensed the danger, raised its head, and let out a roar that blasted through the air, rumbling like thunder right in their ears.
Whoosh!
A white whirlwind cut through the dusky sky and bore down on them.
The gathered experts scattered in retreat.
The Flying Bear Phantom Image heavily crashed into the ground. Boom! A deafening sound echoed, the earth shook and mountains swayed. A fierce gale suddenly kicked up, causing many to lose their footing.
"Truly ferocious and violent!" Pei Yan Fei's expression was grave. If she had tried to withstand it head-on, she would have been severely injured even if she survived.
"We must thank Lord Hei Lou Lan for the reminder. Otherwise, when we first entered, a single moment of carelessness would have led to being ambushed by this bear." Gu Guo Long looked at the Flying Bear in the deep pit, wildly roaring, and spoke with lingering fear.
"A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Last time we entered, we were ambushed by the Flying Bear, and five of our best men died on the spot!" Hei Xiu Yi said through gritted teeth, responding with resentment.
"Shan Yin, my brother, we'll leave the first wave to you." Hei Lou Lan urged.
According to the previously arranged battle plan, the first wave of offense would be initiated by the enslavement path Gu Masters to deplete the Flying Bear Phantom Image's strength.
Without needing to be told, a massive pack of wolves attacked the Flying Bear Phantom Image from all sides, from the sky and from the ground.
In the sky were the Azure Wolf packs. On the ground were the White-Eyed Wolves, Mad Wolves, Blood Forest Wolves, and so on.
Fang Yuan had also brought a full 400,000 ordinary wild wolves.
In an instant, the wolves covered the sky and the earth, like a huge wave raised by the sea, surging towards the island-like Flying Bear Phantom Image.
Roar!
The Flying Bear roared, shaking heaven and earth.