Chapter 334 - 258: Shadow in the Dark (Part 2)

Upon arriving at Beichuan County Town, personnel arranged by the Martial Arts Association immediately received them and took care of all their logistical needs.

These days, the World Martial Arts Conference, in alliance with the civilian Martial Arts Realm forces of the Divine Land, was growing in influence, and its reach had begun to spread throughout the entire country.

WHOOSH!!

Several black sedans drove along the county town’s roads. Zhao Xuanqi and Wang Sea were inside one of them.

"What’s the current situation in Beichuan County Town?"

Zhao Xuanqi asked the driver.

This man was an expert from the Sanmei Sect and also the temporary head of the Martial Arts Association’s Beichuan County Town branch.

"Right now, the one in charge in Beichuan County Town is Chi Zhenyun, the Shenxiao Army Commander and one of the Eight Kings. He came from the Jinmen garrison back in the day and is close to Yuan Tianhao. His strength is ranked among the best of the Eight Kings and is not to be underestimated. In addition, two other members of the Eight Kings—Celestial Army Commander Li Wanhong and Yunling Army Commander Xie Yunhe—are also here in Beichuan County Town."

"The Shenxiao, Celestial, and Yunling Armies all have deep ties to the Beidou Army, so they can be mobilized by Yuan Tianhao. As for the other armies, although their Military Commanders haven’t arrived, they’ve all sent experts at the Sixteen Generals level. Right now, there are eight experts at the Sixteen Generals level and over twenty at the Harmony level. More will continue to arrive."

"According to our intelligence, Beidou Army Commander Yuan Tianhao will be arriving in Beichuan County Town in the coming days. At that time, he will summon experts from all sides to discuss how to counter Neon."

The temporary head said.

To deal with the Neon invasion, it could be said that nearly half of the Divine Land’s top experts had been mobilized.

"The Eight Kings?"

Interest flickered in Zhao Xuanqi’s eyes. Aside from Yuan Tianhao, he had never met any of the other experts at the Eight Kings Level.

"If you’re interested, I can help arrange a meeting. I believe that for someone like you, the Eight Kings would be more than willing to meet."

The temporary head said.

"No need. Since Yuan Tianhao will be arriving soon, I’ll just wait for the conference to begin and meet them then."

Zhao Xuanqi said, shaking his head.

AHH!!

Suddenly, a scream came from the street.

BANG BANG BANG!!

A car suddenly shot out, drifted, and then abruptly stopped in the middle of the street, blocking the path of Zhao Xuanqi’s motorcade.

SKREEE!!

Startled, the temporary head slammed on the brakes and stopped the car.

CLANG!!

Five or six experts from the Martial Arts Association poured out of the sedans, their gazes wary as they looked at the car blocking the street.

It was a green off-road vehicle, military-style in appearance.

The civilians on the surrounding streets looked nervous, unsure of what was happening, and quickly made way.

"Pardon the intrusion! Is this the vehicle of Mr. Zhao, President of the World Martial Arts Conference? I am under orders from the acting commander with an urgent matter to report. This is of the utmost urgency. I implore you to see me, sir!"

Soon, a military officer stepped out of the military-style off-road vehicle and spoke to the group with a grave expression, cupping his fists.

’An urgent matter?’

Hearing this, Zhao Xuanqi frowned slightly.

"Let him approach."

He then said aloud.

The crowd immediately cleared a path. The officer jogged all the way to the car and spoke to Zhao Xuanqi through the window: "We’ve just received an urgent message. The train Marshal Yuan was taking to Beichuan lost contact en route. It’s a suspected ambush. We have a report from an informant within the Neon Army that many of their top experts are unaccounted for. The situation is critical, and we need your help, sir."

Upon hearing this news, Zhao Xuanqi’s pupils contracted sharply.

’He knew Yuan Tianhao’s strength very well. Who would dare ambush such a figure without absolute confidence?’

’And since the enemy dared to make a move, it meant they were certain of victory.’

’Given the current situation in the Divine Land, Yuan Tianhao couldn’t die now.’

"Lead the way."

Zhao Xuanqi said.

"After receiving the news, the acting commander immediately organized a group of experts to provide reinforcements. They’re already on their way. The specific location is..."

The officer spoke very quickly as he handed over a rolled-up map.

"Wang Sea, let’s go."

Zhao Xuanqi said.

In the next moment, the two of them flickered and appeared outside the car. Then, with a tap of their feet, they unleashed their Physical Ability and leaped away, disappearing like phantoms, leaving the civilians on the street looking as if they had seen a Ghost God.

...

...

「Fulong Valley.」

The ground cracked, the mountains crumbled!!

The ground was covered in shattered rock. The entire landscape was a ruin. The mountainsides had collapsed from the terrifying impacts, reshaping their very form.

The great battle and slaughter had been raging for more than a Quarter Hour.

Everyone present was bathed in blood. The clashing lights of their auras were so entangled that they could be seen from dozens of kilometers away.

Among the three from the Beidou Army, the Harmony expert was gone, having been killed by his opponents in the earlier fighting. Now, even his corpse was buried under rubble from the battle’s aftershocks.

One of the Sixteen Generals, Azure Dragon Star Meng Dongtai, had lost his entire right arm. The mangled flesh at his shoulder blade proved the arm hadn’t been severed by a sharp blade, but rather crushed by immense force. His face was pale as he leaned against the mountainside, gasping for breath. If not for Yuan Tianhao intentionally protecting him, he would have died in the siege like the Harmony expert.

Before him stood the tall figure of Yuan Tianhao, his back ramrod straight. His clothes were completely shredded, and his body was dyed red with blood.

His body was covered in countless wounds, large and small, yet none could make his spine bend in the slightest.

Across from Yuan Tianhao, the four restricted-level experts were all injured. Behind them, the number of the dozen-or-so Twenty-Eight Celestial Emperors still standing had been reduced by a full third.

None of the Neon members had expected Yuan Tianhao to be able to hold out to this extent.

But this was his limit.

Forced back step by step to the edge of the cliff, he had reached a dead end!

In the sky, the Beidou Starlight flickered erratically, as if about to disappear.

"Yuan Tianhao, your time has come!"

Mitsuro bellowed.

"HAHAHAHAHA!!"

"So that’s how it is!! So that’s how it is!!"

But just then, the battered Yuan Tianhao threw his head back and laughed, as if he’d had some kind of epiphany at this critical moment between life and death.

BOOM!!

In the next moment, heaven and earth trembled. His laughter seemed different from before.

In the unseen world, a mysterious power seemed to be born.

This was a power born from the fusion of Spirit and body, from subjugating nature and seizing its power for one’s own use.

VMMMM!!

In the sky, the Beidou Starlight suddenly blazed with intensity. As the starlight fell, not a single trace of it touched the ground. Instead, it all twisted and converged, landing on Yuan Tianhao’s skin and transforming into a peculiar power that sank into his body.

His flesh writhed. The mottled bloodstains on his body began to fall away as his wounds scabbed over and healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. And at that moment, Yuan Tianhao’s suppressed aura broke completely free.

BOOM!!

In the sky, the various colored lights instantly shattered, overwhelmed by a tall, divine effigy.

A single figure descended upon the world, suppressing all other heroes!

Under the pressure of powerful enemies, Yuan Tianhao, with the momentum of being the number one person in the Divine Land, seemed to have finally touched the threshold that no one had reached in a thousand years.

The world is changing. A great era is dawning, and it will surely give birth to great heroes.

The heroes of this era cannot be compared to any who came before!

"Drawing ’Qi’ into the body, feeding on Qi to become Undying... we can’t let him continue!!"

At this moment, the faces of the Neon group turned deathly pale. They all launched desperate, life-or-death attacks, unleashing their ultimate Techniques.

If Yuan Tianhao truly broke through, they would likely all be doomed.

Nearly a hundred kilometers away, Zhao Xuanqi, who was rushing through the forest with the other experts to provide support, felt something. His expression shifted slightly as he looked in the direction of Fulong Valley.

Across the world, many Martial Artists in the Divine Land also seemed to share a peculiar intuition, as if from the unseen.

Something major was about to happen in the world.

"Today, in Fulong Valley, I shall overcome the tribulation of the Crossing Divine General!!"

Yuan Tianhao laughed heartily, as if he no longer saw the threat before him as any concern at all.

However, in the next moment, his laughter stopped short.

A strange gravitational pull drew his Spirit, making him look toward a certain spot on the opposite side of the valley’s peak.

At some unknown time, a figure had appeared at the top of the valley. Shrouded in shadow, it stood silently, looking down at Yuan Tianhao.

The two were separated by nearly a kilometer. Yuan Tianhao’s Spirit was incredibly powerful, yet at this moment, an illusion appeared in his eyes.

Heaven and earth changed, and everything began to distort. Burning Black Flame erupted from the figure, blotting out the sky and sun as it condensed into a giant Black Flame Strange Bird.

At that instant, his body froze in place for a brief moment, as if he had been struck by an Immobilization Technique.