Lord of the Earth

"Huh? What's going on? The aura of calamity around us... is rapidly intensifying?!"

Just as all forces were gearing up to compete for merit on the "battlefield" designated by the spirit,

Some perceptive individuals were the first to notice the anomaly, and some cried out in alarm, breaking the previously noisy atmosphere.

This is because of the mysterious inns that have gathered under the control of various powerful forces.

At this moment, we are not still in some empty space.

Instead, it was undergoing some kind of unimaginable spacetime leap. The surrounding scenery was rapidly changing, no longer the familiar battlefield of calamity, but instead a thicker and more viscous, almost tangible, pitch-black calamity aura, churning and surging like ink.

What's even more chilling is that, within this extremely dense aura of calamity, new, more twisted and ferocious "calamity creatures" are constantly emerging out of thin air, roaring as they rush towards the aura barrier of the inn.

Their strength, from the Transcendent Realm to the Extraordinary Realm, and even the Saint Realm, visibly increased with each wave!
"Perhaps it's because the aura of the living beings we've gathered here is too numerous and too mixed, triggering a chain reaction from the source of the calamity!"

Some people speculated with surprise and uncertainty.

The Mysterious Inn possesses the ability to conceal and isolate "perception," which is why its internal meetings have rarely attracted large-scale attacks.

However, the selection of the "chief manager" this time, with the gathering of a large number of high-energy individuals, was like a beacon in the night, instantly attracting countless terrifying predators.

Fortunately, the "Mysterious Inn" itself was no pushover, and this time it had gathered the "top experts" from various branch inns... Even though these calamity-bringing creatures appeared one after another, they were still intercepted outside the inn.

In particular, the Chinese camp and the Temple camp.

These two major forces, with their large armies in command, easily withstood the endless stream of catastrophic creatures!

"Something's wrong! The catastrophic creatures that have emerged this time are strange! Their numbers and strength are still skyrocketing! The Mysterious Inn is moving! It's actively heading towards the source of the catastrophic energy!"

At this moment, the old man, who was an expert in spatial formations, revealed the truth in shock.

"What exactly does the Spirit Master intend to do?!"

Everyone was filled with surprise and doubt.

However, before everyone could think about it, the mysterious inn slowly stopped moving.

Ultimately, it resembled a massive fortress, brazenly storming into a terrifying realm beyond description.

This place seemed to be the mother nest of catastrophe, with countless dark veins pulsating across the earth, and a dark sun condensed from pure "catastrophe energy" hanging in the sky. The nauseatingly thick evil aura almost crushed everyone's nerves.

As if sensing the arrival of the "Mysterious Inn," the "Day of Catastrophe" in the sky suddenly emitted a powerful light.

Rumble——!
A terrifying and evil aura suddenly erupted, sweeping across the entire area like a tangible shockwave. From the four directions of east, west, south, and north, thick, inky clouds of calamity churned violently, and from each direction emerged a large number of calamity creatures, their numbers overwhelming!
"The strength of these catastrophic creatures? Wow, they're incredibly powerful!"

When the catastrophic creatures that surged like a black tide in the sky truly approached a certain distance, the various factions, who had previously been aggressive and full of confidence, instantly changed their expressions, and cries of alarm rose and fell.

Many people even subconsciously took a half step back, their faces filled with horror.

"Extraordinary! I'm not seeing things, am I? Even the most ordinary soldier is emanating energy fluctuations at the extraordinary level!"

"Not only that! The leaders of those hundred-man squads were surrounded by... a Saint-level force field! Saint-level beings are only fit to be squad leaders?!"

"This...how is this possible? What exactly happened deep within the cataclysm? How could such a terrifying legion have been born?"

Just sensing that overwhelming aura was enough to chill the hearts of many representatives of smaller forces.

Even the weakest of the calamity-stricken beings that appeared this time have firmly stepped into the realm of the extraordinary!

And about one percent of them are surrounded by condensed spiritual energy fields in various forms such as flames, ice, and lightning—a distinctive mark of the Holy Realm!

What's even more chilling is that among these catastrophic creatures...

There were also some beings whose bodies were enormous, exceeding a thousand feet in height, radiating boundless divine power, like a black hole that constantly devoured light, exuding a pressure that made one's soul tremble.

"That's... a demigod?"

"Hiss, there are over a hundred demigods? What kind of battle is this...?"

Even more terrifying was the sheer number of catastrophic beings surging from all four directions; the number from each direction seemed endless. The extraordinary served as soldiers, the saints as elite troops, and the demigods as generals…

Such a terrifying faction configuration is far stronger than that of ordinary dynasties, and even some quasi-imperial dynasties cannot match it!
"It's over... This kind of force is simply no match for ordinary powers. Even the Temple's angelic legion will likely be overwhelmed..."

"It seems that the Chinese side is truly out of options this time... Even with their mechanical creations and a constant supply of elixirs, what can they do against such overwhelming power?"

"Unless... a deity personally intervenes?"

The terrifying reality, like ice water, extinguished the nascent greed of many powerful individuals.

However, the Cataclysm did not give them more time to think, launching a devastating attack from four directions!
The war broke out in an instant!
The first to be hit was an exceptionally tall, Saint-level, black-armored giant ape monster from the northern faction.

It roared to the sky, its sound waves like tangible shockwaves. Its enormous fist, wrapped in thick black light that annihilated all energy, crashed down like a falling black meteor into the densest part of the Western Templar Knights' formation!
The destructive energy contained in this strike distorted the space itself; if it were to hit, it would instantly cause hundreds or thousands of casualties!

"In the name of the Holy Light, protect my people!"

At the critical moment, a Templar Knight clad in heavy armor stepped forward from the crowd.

The cross emblem on his chest burst forth with unprecedented brilliance, and endless holy light converged from all directions, rapidly condensing in his hand into an enormous, dazzling "Holy Light War Bow".

He exhaled and strained to pull the light string, which was made of pure light energy, to its fullest extent. Instantly, a light arrow, which was condensed with a massive amount of faith power, appeared and shot out with a soul-tearing shriek!

boom--! ! !
The light arrow collided violently with the black light giant fist, and the energies of holiness and annihilation intertwined, eroded, and exploded wildly.

The next moment, the light arrow suddenly exploded, turning into countless fine, hair-like yet incredibly sharp rain of light, which pierced through the massive body of the Saint-level giant ape with absolute precision!
The powerful being of the Holy Realm let out a wail filled with resentment and pain. Its massive body rapidly deflated and disintegrated like a punctured air sac, eventually transforming into countless dazzling golden beads of fortune flying across the sky.

The pure willpower contained within was instantly purified and refined by the holy light, transforming into an even purer power of faith. Like rivers flowing into the sea, it returned to the demigod-level "angels" behind them, making their radiance even more dazzling.

"Wow...that's amazing! One strike! A single strike was enough to instantly kill a calamity-brought creature that had just entered the Saint Realm!"

"Is this the true power of the Templar Knights? The key is that there are over a thousand such Templar Knights in the Temple! The Temple's foundation is terrifying!" Exclamations rose like waves.

The morale of the Western camp was greatly boosted, and hymns resounded.

However, the knight commander who made the move paled slightly beneath his heavy helmet.

Although he instantly suppressed it with his powerful cultivation, his breathing became noticeably more rapid. Clearly, the earth-shattering attack had taken a heavy toll on him, leaving him almost completely exhausted!

"Hmm, these so-called 'temple' people do have some strength..."

The eyes of the powerful figures in the Eastern camp instantly sharpened, and their overwhelming fighting spirit soared into the sky.

The soldiers of the Qianxia Shenji Battalion, who were in charge of the eastern section of the city wall, and the cultivators from the Xiayi Hall, in particular, showed an undisguised fierce fighting spirit on their faces.

The Qianxia Kingdom is growing stronger every day and is only one step away from becoming an imperial dynasty. Its generals and soldiers have their own unyielding spirit and will not allow others to take the lead.

At this moment, on the eastern side of the battlefield, a Saint Realm Chiwen Dragon descendant roared and charged over. As a being with dragon blood, it was an outstanding being even among Saint Realm beings. The dragon might it exuded caused many weak cultivators to collapse to the ground!

A clear, cool voice, even carrying a hint of youthful stubbornness, rang out clearly, not loudly, yet penetrating all the noise, within the Chinese camp!
"Hmph, I'll kill him!"

Everyone looked on in astonishment and saw a boy dressed in black, about fourteen or fifteen years old, who had silently stood on the crenellations of the city wall, his figure slender but upright.

His face was still somewhat youthful, but his features were distinct, especially his eyes, which were clear yet cold and without a trace of impurity. Between his brows and eyes, there was a faint shadow of the aloof "Peerless Sword God" Ximen Chuixue, who was only one step away from the Divine Realm in the inn.

He held a seemingly ordinary white longsword with an ancient-looking scabbard tightly in his hand. Although it was not drawn, it naturally emitted a sharp sword light that made people's skin feel cold.

"What's going on? Just a kid who's barely a teenager?"

"Those are catastrophic beings from the Holy Realm! And they're among a million soldiers! This is no child's play!"

"Is the East so lacking in talent? They actually sent out a callow youth to his death?"

Surprise and laughter erupted.

However, the next moment, all sound stopped abruptly.

The boy moved. There was no roar, no gathering of strength, no earth-shattering burst of power.

He simply took a step forward, his figure like a weightless black feather, drifting down from the towering crenellations of the city wall, heading straight towards the roaring, charging Holy Realm Chiwen Dragon Descendant from the east!

The dragon descendant of the dragon spewed out a black breath powerful enough to corrode metal and stone, instantly engulfing the boy's figure.

But when the black water dispersed, the boy was completely unharmed, protected by a layer of extremely condensed transparent sword energy.

The white longsword in his hand was already drawn. The blade was an almost transparent, condensed color of "nothingness." The moment the sword was drawn, there was no sharp sword aura, no piercing sword sound, only an ultimate "stillness" and "silence."

"kill."

He uttered only one word, as cold as ancient ice.

The next moment, he and the sword became one, transforming into an extremely fine, almost invisible "line".

This "line" disregarded spatial distance, ignored the Saint-level domain and hard scales, and only flashed by.

The roaring, charging Saint-level Chiwen Dragon Descendant suddenly stiffened, and a thin crack appeared in the center of its forehead, instantly piercing through its entire body!
Without an explosion or a sound, the massive Saint-level being was silently split in two along the crack under the gaze of millions of eyes. The cut was as smooth as a mirror, and its soul and will were also instantly annihilated!
Before the corpse even fell, it disintegrated into dazzling golden beads of fortune, which scattered like golden rain.

The young man landed lightly, his white longsword already sheathed.

He slightly raised his head, his cold gaze sweeping across the battlefield.

The entire battlefield fell into dead silence.

The silence was even more complete than when the Templars annihilated the giant ape!

Because the boy's sword strike was too fast, too clean, and too... effortless!

It was as if he hadn't slain a terrifying Saint-level Cataclysmic Lord, but rather casually brushed away a speck of dust.

Sit down!

The cheers and smugness of the Western camp froze on their faces, replaced by an incredulous astonishment.

After a brief moment of shock, the Eastern camp erupted in uncontrollable cheers and excitement!
In this atmosphere that was completely turned around by the boy's sword.

In the Western camp, Cardinal Kevin, who was wearing a robe with angelic crests, looked rather grim.

He clearly hadn't expected that the East would harbor such a brilliant young swordsman who overshadowed his own Templar Knights in a single move.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward, attempting to regain control.

"Hmph! He does have some skill! It seems the competition for the 'Head Manager' title today is even fiercer than I expected!"

As he spoke, he suddenly took out an item from his storage treasure and raised it high—it was a slender ancient sword. The blade looked simple and unadorned, but the light around it was slightly distorted, its presence was elusive, and it exuded an elegant yet sharp aura!

"Since the spirit of the artifact is using merit as the basis, how about we add another prize to liven things up? This sword was obtained by our Holy Temple Expeditionary Force during their exploration of ancient Eastern ruins!"

He spoke loudly, deliberately emphasizing the boastful and provocative tone in his voice.

"According to research, it is one of the ten most famous ancient swords of China, the sword Cheng Ying, which was once kept by the Confucian sage Kong Zhou and has a shadow but no form!"

The moment the words "Cheng Ying Sword" were uttered, it was like a boulder being thrown into a lake, causing an uproar among the Eastern camp, especially among the Chinese!
Countless gazes sharpened like knives, burning with fury.

Kevin's intention in taking out this item at this moment is obvious.

Seeing that they seemed to be at a disadvantage in the contest of force, they immediately resorted to using the sacred artifacts of the opposing civilization to humiliate China, attempting to suppress China in terms of both momentum and morality. Such behavior is truly despicable, deserving of contempt yet infuriating! (End of Chapter)