Chapter 397 - 396: The Emperors Take Notice

Bai Qingyue returned the Sun Shooting Bow to its proper position, her expression calm as she examined the surrounding battlefield. Four Demon Kings had attacked her simultaneously, attempting to exploit the weapon’s limitations and force her into a defensive position.

Instead, all four had been defeated.

The first had been killed by a single arrow.

The second had lost its arm and weapon.

The two mist-form demons had been incinerated before reaching their target, while the final attacker had discovered that the Sun Shooting Bow was dangerous even when Bai Qingyue could not afford to draw its string.

Ku Ming slowly lowered his hands.

For a moment, the monk simply stared at the Saintess, his expression caught between astonishment and relief. He had witnessed countless battles during his long cultivation journey, but few had demonstrated such a seamless combination of ranged attacks, close-combat awareness, and battlefield judgment.

"Your combat awareness has improved tremendously," he remarked.

Bai Qingyue glanced toward him.

"Fortunately, they underestimated the bow."

"Perhaps," Ku Ming replied. "But a weapon cannot make every decision for its wielder. You recognized the danger to the Golden Immortal Beast, adjusted your attacks accordingly, and still had enough awareness to intercept the final strike."

He looked toward the shattered blood-scythe lying among the ruins.

"Your opponent had selected an excellent moment to attack. If you had hesitated for even a fraction longer, I might have been forced to endure that strike directly."

Bai Qingyue smiled.

"I was not going to let him cut off your head."

Ku Ming gave a helpless laugh.

"I am grateful for your concern, Lady Bai."

Far below, the surviving orthodox cultivators had witnessed the entire exchange.

The demons’ strategy had been sound. A ranged attacker possessing overwhelming destructive power could still be overwhelmed if several opponents attacked simultaneously from different directions. By targeting Ku Ming and the Golden Immortal Beast, the Demon Kings had attempted to force Bai Qingyue to abandon her offensive advantage.

Yet the Saintess had responded without panic.

She had destroyed their weapons, incinerated their bodies, and used the physical frame of her divine artifact to parry a strike from a peak Demon King opponent.

The display left many cultivators speechless.

Emperor Nanheng watched from the ruined courtyard, her Vermilion Bird flames flickering around her shoulders as she tried to understand what she had witnessed.

"She is not simply relying on the artifact’s raw power," she murmured. "Her decisions are remarkably precise. She seems to recognize the most favorable outcome before her opponents have even completed their attacks."

Emperor Beiming stood beside her, his Black Tortoise aura struggling to stabilize the damaged protective formation behind him.

"It is the influence of her fortune," he replied. "She does not need to perceive every attack perfectly. Her control over probability subtly changes the battlefield, making it more likely that an enemy’s chosen movement will expose a weakness."

His gaze shifted toward Lin Yuan.

"And with Lin Yuan guarding her back, she can concentrate on attacking without constantly worrying about every threat around her. Together, they are far more dangerous than either would be alone."

Emperor Nanheng nodded slowly.

She had initially assumed that Bai Qingyue’s restored cultivation would allow her to recover some of her former status, but the Sun Shooting Bow had transformed her capabilities far beyond what anyone could have predicted.

The Saintess was no longer merely a talented Core Formation cultivator.

She had become a threat capable of killing powerful Demon Kings, and the implications of that transformation were difficult to overstate.

If the orthodox forces could acquire even a few more weapons of comparable power, their chances of resisting the invasion might improve considerably.

Unfortunately, such treasures were extraordinarily rare.

Moreover, the demons had already recognized the danger.

The remaining Demon Kings were no longer rushing forward without thought. They had begun adjusting their formations, searching for a way to overwhelm the Human Couple without suffering further losses.

?

Lin Yuan stood calmly behind Bai Qingyue, his crimson robes moving gently in the turbulent wind. His deep purple eyes swept across the horizon, observing the shifting positions of the demons and the destruction spreading through the Grand Court.

He had not intervened during the coordinated assault.

There had been no need.

He trusted his wife, and he understood the advantages provided by her Yunqi Realm fortune. Combined with the Sun Shooting Bow’s extraordinary power, her current combat ability was far beyond what her cultivation realm alone would suggest.

The weapon’s quality had also undergone an extraordinary transformation through the system’s return mechanism. Its current power was not something an ordinary Divine-grade artifact could easily match.

More importantly, Bai Qingyue was learning how to use it.

Every battle provided her with additional experience, allowing her to understand the weapon’s rhythm, its solar resonance, and the best ways to exploit her fortune. Lin Yuan had no intention of depriving her of those opportunities by interfering whenever an enemy appeared.

However, his attention was not limited to the battle directly before him.

The Dao Fruit of Three Rebirths continued circulating within his Primordial Spirit, allowing him to perceive changes in the surrounding laws. Golden-purple thunder and silver-blue rain flowed through its depths, while the principle of Three Rebirths connected their different properties into a unified whole.

Suddenly, the Dao Fruit trembled.

Lin Yuan’s expression changed.

A violent fluctuation passed through his Primordial Spirit, causing the three principles within the Dao Fruit to rotate at an accelerated pace. The silver-blue rain became turbulent, while the golden-purple thunder released several sharp flashes of light.

It was not a reaction to another spatial tear.

Nor was it a response to the appearance of another group of Demon Kings.

Something far more dangerous was approaching.

Lin Yuan lifted his head and examined the sky.

An overwhelming killing intent was spreading across the battlefield, so dense that the surrounding atmosphere seemed to bleed beneath its pressure. The demonic miasma trembled, and even the spatial distortions scattered across the horizon began to stabilize unnaturally, as though the approaching presence was forcing the surrounding world to submit.

Lin Yuan’s eyes narrowed.