After breaking up with my girlfriend, I became a Great Sage of the Demon Clan.

The instructor shrugged and spread his hands.

3. "We're not strong enough, so we can only watch from afar. But I think it's strange that this palace appeared at this exact moment, of all times..."

The three instructors looked at Zhou Yan.

He felt that all these changes were caused by this true god, but the instructor didn't want to know what Zhou Yan was doing; he only wanted favors or benefits.

At his age, Wu understands very well that some things are better left unknown than known.

"I understand. I'll go check out that barracks now."

Zhou Yan turned to look at Lin Anru.

"Okay, seniors, you can wait here. If there are no problems, I'll be back soon."

Everyone at Suzaku Academy smiled, and Zhou Yan turned and left. While the other students didn't notice anything unusual, the instructor keenly observed that Zhou Yan had taken Xiao Yanjun with him.

Zhou Yan did not ask for the help of the two demigods and the three demon-level awakened beings. Instead, he took the child who looked no older than his instructor's daughter with him.

That child...

Is something wrong?

The supervising teacher muttered to himself, but wisely didn't say anything more.

Ten kilometers away.

Zhou Yan and Xiao Yanjun stood a hundred meters in the air. From this height, they could see a huge military camp in the distance. It was more like a large complex of buildings than a military camp. However, this complex was surrounded by killing intent and evil energy, and there were also places like a racecourse and a horse archery training ground. It looked more like a military camp than other places full of fairy-like atmosphere.

However, in this place filled with murderous intent and malevolent energy, there wasn't a single living person to be seen. Knives, spears, and clubs could be seen everywhere on the ground, inside building doors, and in some corners, as if someone had engaged in a deadly battle in the barracks, after which their physical bodies disappeared, leaving only their weapons.

Zhou Yan and Xiao Yanjun flew to the edge of the military camp. As soon as they arrived, a sharp killing intent surged out from inside the camp, cutting into Zhou Yan and causing Xiao Yanjun to feel a sharp pain on their faces.

The power of Suo's killing intent was enough to easily cut a tank into powder, but it was still slightly weaker than that of demigods like Zhou Yan and Xiao Yanjun.

The two carefully entered the barracks.

2. There is no such thing as gradually increasing the killing intent and malevolent aura according to the distance. The killing intent and malevolent aura outside the barracks are completely incomparable to those inside the barracks. If it is one outside, it is at least ten inside the barracks, even in the peripheral areas.

However, the force was still too weak.

Si Zhouyan and Xiao Yanjun withstood the interference of murderous aura and evil energy with their physical bodies alone, and walked in step by step.

The military camp in Ling seemed to have truly lost its vitality. Zhou Yan walked halfway through and, even with his omniscient observation, he couldn't see a single corpse, not even that of a heavenly soldier or general. However, the ground was littered with the swords of various divine generals and heavenly soldiers.

Zhou Yan remembered what Lingguang Xian had said: several celestial maidens had disappeared at the South Heavenly Gate.

Is it possible that because the Heavenly Soldiers System is not under the jurisdiction of Lingguang Immortal, there are actually many more cases of Heavenly Soldiers and Generals disappearing that Lingguang Immortal is unaware of?

5. Back then, the South Heavenly Gate did indeed suffer a terrible accident. Not only did the goddesses and immortals disappear one by one, but the entire military camp was emptied of heavenly soldiers and generals, and then the South Heavenly Gate collapsed.

Liu has committed a terrible sin...

4. Zhou Yan and Little Yama arrived at the largest palace without any major incident.

Zhou Yan said to Little Yama.

"Brother Yan, you stay outside and hold the fort, shall I go in and check?"

No matter when, those who go on adventures always leave someone outside to keep watch, otherwise if something happens outside, they'll be surrounded and killed inside.

"Hmm, be careful."

Little Yama replied.

Zhou Yan held his breath and changed all the keywords on his persona to "reduced presence" and "suppressed Bai Ze aura".

Heaven knows if there are any gods inside who hate you so much they wish they could tear you apart.

After completing all the preparations, Zhou Yan climbed over the outer wall and went inside.

Inside the outer wall is a bluestone floor, with bluestone bricks extending outwards to a plaza large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people, and three enormous three-story palaces with overhanging eaves.

Zhou Yan went to the rightmost house and, after confirming there was no danger, pushed open the door and went inside.

A minute later, Zhou Yan came out of the wooden house and sneaked off to the main hall located directly behind the square.

This main hall is the largest in the entire palace, and its roof is decorated with statues of twelve mythical beasts. Compared to the other two halls, which only have nine statues, this hall is far superior in both form and quantity.

Normally speaking, a house like this would probably have serious problems inside.

Zhou Yan walked to the palace gate and then stealthily reached the window. The window was made of paper, but this paper was not ordinary paper. It was a paper magic artifact that was opaque, soundproof, and protected by various restrictions.

However, these things were still a bit too little for Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan used Gou Qi Chen's sword energy to pierce through the paper coverings of the windows, and one of his eyes, Lu, shoved the hole through it.

Inside the window was a large hall, with a row of seats on each side. At the very front of the hall was a main seat, indicating that before the incident at this military camp, there were probably generals sitting in the left and right rows of this hall, with the leader of the generals naturally at the front.

However, now, the divine generals on the left and right are gone, leaving only a three-meter-tall, burly mummy with a beard reaching his chest sitting on the main seat.

Zhou Yan opened the attribute panel of the mummified corpse.

Name: Li Jing.

Zhou Yan: "??!!"

Li Jing!?

Nezha's father!?

Zhou Yan remembered that when he first came to the South Heavenly Gate, he was besieged by the Four Demon Generals. At that time, the Heavenly King Duowen, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, used the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda to capture him. This Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda was really a good thing. If he hadn't opened his eyes wide at that time, the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda probably would have captured him.

At the time, Zhou Yan didn't notice it, but now that he thinks about it, isn't the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda Li Jing's standard equipment?

Why didn't Li Jing keep his treasure, but instead let the Heavenly King Duowen take it away?

Looking at Li Jing now, who looks like a dried corpse, could it be that Li Jing cooperated with Bai Ze back then and participated in Bai Ze's plan for a glimmer of hope?

But judging from Li Jing's appearance...

It seems it didn't work?

Zhou Yan gently patted his thigh.

Zhou Yan suddenly remembered that Li Jing had never seemed to have a very good impression of Nezha. When Zhou Yan watched TV series and movies before, he always thought that Li Jing was too heartless as a father, but now that he put himself in Li Jing's shoes, what was Nezha?

When Nezha was born, he was a ball of flesh and looked very evil. After his birth, he caused trouble everywhere. After going to sea, he even went and destroyed the Dragon King's lair. When the Dragon Prince came out and said, "Stop making trouble," Nezha immediately skinned and dismembered the Dragon Prince.

The Dragon King was furious and came over to demand an explanation. Li Jing asked his son to apologize and admit his mistake, and he would accept some compensation, since he was in the wrong. As a result, Nezha cut off his bones to return to his father and his flesh to return to his mother.

What good would it do you to return your bones to your father and your flesh to your mother?!

What I want is your apology. If you apologize, everything will be fine. But you go and return your bones to your father and your flesh to your mother and enjoy yourself. What am I supposed to do then?

Even the Dragon King had to grovel and beg for mercy!

It's no exaggeration to say that Li Jing's dislike for Nezha wasn't due to Li Jing's incompetence as a father; it was simply because Nezha was too self-centered and too violent.

So, Li Jing actually enjoyed Bai Ze manipulating Nezha?

Did Li Jing actually have a good relationship with Bai Ze?

The logic makes sense now.

Bai Ze came to the South Heavenly Gate seeking a glimmer of hope, probably because he had a good relationship with Li Jing, who would participate in his plan and work together.

Li Jing is, after all, the nominal ruler of the Southern Heavenly Gate, and the Four Heavenly Kings are merely his subordinates. As long as Li Jing can cooperate with Bai Ze, many things will be simple.

But this simple task did not achieve the desired result.

Zhou Yan walked to the palace gate, reached out and pushed it open. The palace gate had no bolt; Zhou Yan simply reached out and the gate slowly opened.

Fermented for who knows how many years, but with no smell, air rushed out from behind the door. Zhou Yan walked in, enduring the stench, and stepped up to Li Tianwang's burly, mummified corpse.

Chapter Eleven: Seduction

Li Tianwang's mummified body did not smell bad, and even his eyes were bright enough, unlike the cloudy and shriveled eyes of a normal corpse.

But the Heavenly Marshal didn't move.

Zhou Yan tried to speak.

"Li Jing, I am Bai Ze."

Li Jing remained completely still.

Previously, when Zhou Yan went to the residence of the Four Heavenly Kings and revealed that he was Bai Ze, the group of corpses stood up abruptly. This showed that although the gods were dead, they were not completely dead and still had a breath left.

But this Li Jing...

It seems he is truly dead.

Bai Ze's attempt to find a way out failed. Li Jing and Bai Ze, who were involved, both died, and died completely. They should have been reincarnated as Wu Zetian.

But Su Zhaojun survived.

Zhou Yan clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Jing and bowed.

"King Li, I apologize for my rudeness."

Zhou Yan walked up to Li Jing and searched him.

……

Outside the palace.

Sitting on the ground, Little Yama sensed something and looked in a certain direction.

"Is it starting again?"

New history began to unfold around them, but because Little Yama was not a true god of the Heavenly Court, he couldn't sense where this change was occurring within the Western Heavenly Gate.

"Boom..."

There was a thud behind Little Yama, and without turning his head, he asked...

"Is the search complete?"

Zhou Yan walked up behind Little Yama, and the young man smiled bitterly.

"Yes, the search is complete. Inside is the body of Li Jing, the Heavenly King."

It's not surprising, after all, he is the Grand Marshal of the Heavenly Army. Apart from Li Tianwang, no one else could be chosen to be in the center of the military camp at the South Heavenly Gate.

Little Yama sighed.

"I didn't expect that Li Tianwang and Lao Bai Ze had cooperated and that he was dead. Oh right."

Little Yama looked at Zhou Yan.

"Did Li Tianwang leave any information on how to proceed with the search?"

Ba Zhouyan spread his hand out to Little Yama, and in his palm was a key, which he had taken from Li Tianwang's pants.

Wu Quanzhi's explanation is the key to Changchun Courtyard.

"This is the key to Changchun Courtyard."

If Zhou Yan had previously harbored some doubts about the cooperation between Li Tianwang and Lao Bai Ze—after all, someone like Lao Bai Ze could very well use scheming to lure the unsuspecting Li Tianwang into his plan—with this key, Zhou Yan felt that the possibility of Li Tianwang participating in the plan for a glimmer of hope had increased infinitely.

Little Yama took the key and asked curiously.

"The Changchun Courtyard is out now?"

Now that Si has the key to open the door, Changchun Courtyard should naturally provide that key to open the door as well.

Zhou Yan sighed.

"Yes, it's out."

Zhou Yan reached out his hand to Little Yama, who placed the key in Zhou Yan's palm.

"And then, Xiao Yan, do you see where Changchun Courtyard is?"

Zhou Yan gripped the key in his hand, gritting his teeth as he spoke.

"This key also has another name."

Name: The Key to Changchun Courtyard.

Origin: One of the items belonging to the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda, used to open the restrictions on the ninth floor of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda.

Note: Do you know why Vaishravana hates us so much? The deeper the love, the more desperate the hatred.

Zhou Yan looked up at the sky, his gritted teeth turning into a sorrowful expression.

"This key can be used to unlock the restrictions on the highest level of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda."