# Chapter 1138: Breach
Immediately after, the other several beams of light also pierced through the multicolored light mist and landed on that open ground outside the royal capital.
Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, White Li Princess, Huang Yanchen, Qing Mo, Sun Dadi, Xiao Hei, and Murong Yue all appeared, with more than half of them having stepped into the first-rate expert ranks.
Even Murong Yue, whose cultivation was somewhat weaker, was not far from becoming a first-rate expert.
With the arrival of Zhang Ruochen and the others, the power structure outside the royal capital city underwent new changes.
The number of first-rate experts following Zhang Ruochen had actually become comparable to those of the three major races: the Undying Blood Clan, the Human Race, and the Barbarian Beast Races.
The originally tripartite stalemate had transformed into a four-way struggle for supremacy.
The experts of the Undying Blood Clan and the Barbarian Beast Races all calmed down, not making a move immediately. In the air between them, strands of sound waves were shuttling back and forth, clearly indicating they were communicating and negotiating.
Zhang Ruochen and the group of experts from the Bright Sect had arrived, causing the Undying Blood Clan and Barbarian Beast Races to lose their original advantage. Continuing to fight would likely result in mutual losses for all four sides, which would be unfavorable for the upcoming competition.
In the end, the experts of the Undying Blood Clan and Barbarian Beast Races all put away their war artifacts and cautiously retreated.
"How infuriating! It's that Zhang Ruochen again."
The Yellow Emperor's Celestial Daughter was very unwilling, gritting her snow-white teeth tightly.
However, for the greater good, she ultimately withdrew as well.
"Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen arrived in time to intimidate the Undying Blood Clan and Barbarian Beast Races into retreating. Otherwise, this battle would have certainly resulted in heavy casualties for the Human Race."
The various Human Race cultivators felt as if they had received a pardon, all breathing sighs of relief, knowing the crisis had been temporarily resolved.
Of course, soon some Human Race cultivators felt shocked, saying, "Zhang Ruochen nowadays is too powerful! Can he alone contend with the three major races?"
Beside him, a Human Race cultivator expressed agreement, saying, "Empress Chi Yao spent a massive amount of resources to cultivate nine Realm Sons, allowing the Human Race's top experts to suppress the Barbarian Beast Races. But what gives Zhang Ruochen the ability to recruit so many heaven-defying figures, each with the strength to fight the Realm Sons?"
In truth, the aptitudes of Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, Sun Dadi, and the others still had some gap compared to the Realm Sons, but that gap was not large.
Moreover, they possessed some strange and extraordinary abilities that the Realm Sons lacked, which could narrow that gap.
For example, Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works, fighting alone at the same realm, were no match for the Realm Sons.
But when the two monks joined forces, they could unleash several times the combat power. Even if two Realm Sons combined, they might not be their match.
Another example: Sun Dadi, in his berserk state, could transform into a Flame Giant Spirit Monkey, his combat power skyrocketing, making him even more formidable than ordinary ancient descendants.
Of course, regardless, the fact that Zhang Ruochen had brought so many first-rate experts still gave the Human Race cultivators of various major powers a great shock.
A hundred years later, once they all grew up, they would surely become overlords who intimidated the world. How powerful would the forces under Zhang Ruochen's control become by then?
Only the few Realm Sons remained quite calm, because they knew that the first-rate experts of the Human Race, Barbarian Beasts, and Undying Blood Clan were not limited to just those few on the surface.
Those who had stepped forward were merely representative figures. Many were still hidden in the shadows, not revealing themselves.
The Human Race's foundation was extremely deep.
The forces under Zhang Ruochen's control were indeed quite powerful, causing all living beings to feel apprehensive, but they were not yet strong enough to contend with an entire race.
Qi Tian Crown Prince, carrying the God-Extinguishing Cross Shield, fully spread his six enormous fleshy wings, emitting suffocatingly powerful blood qi. Gazing at the nearby royal capital, he said, "This Crown Prince believes we have no need to start a war for now. We should join forces to first breach the city-protecting grand formation of the royal capital."
Devouring Demon Dragon said, "The Azure Dragon Ruins Realm has further withered. The power of the royal capital's city-protecting grand formation has greatly diminished, less than ten percent of its peak strength. Combining the strength of all living beings, we might be able to breach it before the Ninth Grade Sacred Source Spirit Spring emerges and divide the Sacred Source Spirit Liquid."
The several Realm Sons and Zhang Ruochen naturally had no objections and agreed.
Qi Tian Crown Prince's gaze turned toward the misty void, and he laughed, "A few friends standing in the shadows, shouldn't you also reveal yourselves and contribute some effort?"
"Chi chi."
A crimson torch manifested, standing atop a hill, dozens of zhang tall, emitting scorching flames.
That was a phantom of a parasol tree condensed from flames, quite thick, radiating astonishing heat that melted the earth beneath.
Autumn Rain stood atop the parasol tree, his demeanor aloof and cold, hands clasped behind his back, exuding the bearing of a peerless expert.
From another direction, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man walked out of the multicolored light mist. He was exceptionally handsome, with crystalline skin and pitch-black hair that dragged all the way to the ground.
Seeing this young man, the first-rate experts present all showed expressions of caution.
This person was none other than Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor, living his second life. He was not just a first-rate expert; even those who had stepped into the ranks of first-rate experts, like Qi Tian Crown Prince, Autumn Rain, and Zhang Ruochen, all showed solemn expressions.
Following that, several alien creatures ranked in the top ten of the "Half-Saint External List" walked out, all having stepped into the ranks of first-rate experts.
Han Qiu stood atop a dragon corpse, leading a ghost army composed of Wuchang and Corpse Kings, arriving outside the royal capital city, once again causing quite a stir.
Almost all the top experts still remaining in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm had revealed themselves.
"Make your move."
Qi Tian Crown Prince let out a great roar, took down the God-Extinguishing Cross Shield, continuously pouring sacred qi from within his body into it.
Immediately, the God-Extinguishing Cross Shield emitted a power even more terrifying than the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force, smashing downward, piercing through the clouds, and landing above the royal capital of the Azure Dragon Dynasty.
"Heavens! What is that... a cross larger than a mountain..."
"Is a god about to destroy the world?"
The native humans within the royal capital city, looking at the enormous cross descending from the sky, all collapsed weakly to the ground, feeling as if they were suffering divine punishment.
The royal capital's city-protecting grand formation emerged, like a huge light bowl inverted over the ground.
The God-Extinguishing Cross Shield struck the light bowl, producing a deafeningly loud sound, with white light flying in all directions.
"Boom."
At that moment, the city, stretching over two hundred li, actually shook.
The royal capital's city-protecting grand formation did not shatter, but everyone witnessed the might of Qi Tian Crown Prince.
Even the foreheads of those first-rate experts were covered in cold sweat. With their strength, if they were hit by that attack just now, they would likely be reduced to ashes.
Autumn Rain, however, appeared quite calm, slowly raising a palm. In the center of his palm, he condensed a phoenix-shaped flame.
"Phoenix Flame."
With a flick of his finger, the flame flew out.
A small clump of flame, like a phoenix soaring into the sky, grew increasingly massive.
In the end, that flame phoenix became dozens of li long, with its head, feathers, claws, and tail all clearly visible, as if a true phoenix had emerged into the world.
The flame phoenix collided with the royal capital's city-protecting grand formation, erupting with a destructive force that burned the light shield red.
The ground at the edge of the city-protecting grand formation all melted, turning into red-hot magma that rolled and flowed, very much like a moat composed of magma.
Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor's two eyes each had double pupils. From the four pupils, four azure light beams flew out, striking the city-protecting grand formation, causing it to cave inward.
Although the city-protecting grand formation did not shatter, the impact force formed by the azure light beams penetrated the grand formation and struck the city wall of the royal capital.
"Boom."
A large section of the towering and sturdy city wall collapsed.
Such a method was beyond belief. Without piercing the city-protecting grand formation, he could still damage the structures inside the grand formation.
For him, what use was the city-protecting grand formation?
If he wanted to kill someone, even if the other party hid inside a defensive formation, they would still be dead.
The strength of Qi Tian Crown Prince, Autumn Rain, and Heavenly Mandate Great Emperor was absurdly powerful. Many living beings present, including some first-rate experts, were having second thoughts, no longer daring to compete for the Sacred Source Spirit Spring and World Spirit.
Following that, Demon Heaven Crown Prince, Devouring Demon Dragon, Vermilion Bird Fairy, Li Di Monk, Xue Wuye... all successively displayed top-tier techniques, attacking the city-protecting grand formation.
The spatial structure around the royal capital was indeed quite stable, enduring such intensity of power without being damaged.
However, on the ground, many cracks appeared, and large amounts of magma surged up from underground, giving the feeling that the earth was about to collapse.
"Forget it, I'm not greedy anymore. This group of people is too abnormal. Competing with them for heavenly materials and earthly treasures will likely end in a miserable death."
"I don't want to be cannon fodder. I'm going back to the Kunlun Realm first."
Those weaker living beings were completely terrified. They were quite decisive, turning around and leaving the royal capital.
The alliance formed by the Blood God Sect, the Shangguan Family, and the Cai Family collectively withdrew, no longer daring to compete for the Ninth Grade Sacred Source Spirit Spring. With their strength, in the presence of experts at this level, they would only become cannon fodder. It was better to leave early, at least preserving some living forces.
Zhang Ruochen did not rush to make a move. Instead, together with Xiao Hei, he came to the edge of the city-protecting grand formation, searching for its weak points.
"No need to look. It's right here."
Xiao Hei's formation attainments were extremely high, and his eyes were very sharp. He quickly found a formation point of the city-protecting grand formation.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his spatial power and pointed a finger, striking the formation point.
Space was torn apart, and seven huge spatial cracks appeared, flying toward the formation point.
The city-protecting grand formation was quite sophisticated, causing space to undergo a certain degree of distortion. However, at the formation point, the spatial structure was quite normal.
The spatial cracks flew over, and with a tearing sound, they ripped seven medium-sized tears in the city-protecting grand formation. Combined with the external attacks from the other first-rate experts, the city-protecting grand formation, like a balloon with a hole, collapsed with a loud bang.
The royal capital of the Azure Dragon Dynasty had become an undefended city.