Chapter 2325: Return
The home star of the Undying Blood Clan, Jingtian Continent.
Yue Tinghai was the only Hundred Shackles Great Perfection Great Saint of the Jingtian Tribe. Having cultivated for eight hundred and thirty years to achieve such a feat was naturally a matter of pride, with a divine position within reach.
He had always concealed his cultivation, intending to stun everyone in the Heaven Hunting Battle and make the entire Hell Realm know the name "Yue Tinghai."
However, this Heaven Hunting Battle brought him an unprecedented blow.
Before the battle even began, he had been defeated by the Yu Emperor, his arm severed, suffering the greatest humiliation of his life. Now that the battle had commenced, the Blood Heaven Tribe had stolen all the limelight.
The billions of Undying Blood Clan members in the Hell Realm only saw Zhang Ruochen sweeping across all directions with brilliant military achievements. Did anyone ever know of him, Yue Tinghai?
Would the Jingtian Tribe clansmen who had placed high hopes on him be disappointed?
"The Blood Heaven Tribe's points have reached twelve million, with Zhang Ruochen alone accounting for ten million, eight hundred and forty thousand. Even that nobody Yi Xuan has accumulated one million points. And me? Only fifty-nine thousand points."
Yue Tinghai held a rhomboid mirror, staring at the point rankings displayed on it. His five fingers clenched fiercely, wishing he could crush the mirror.
From the start of the battlefield until now, the total points earned by the entire Undying Blood Clan from hunting Heavenly Slaves had reached twenty million, four hundred thousand, temporarily ranking second among the ten clans, only two million points behind the first-place Yama Clan.
The reason the Yama Clan was so strong was their overall power; they had a large number of Hundred Shackles Great Perfection and Great Saints who had broken over ninety shackles.
In previous Heaven Hunting Battles, the Yama Clan's points would often exceed the second-place by more than double, leading far ahead.
This time, for the Undying Blood Clan to keep pace with the Yama Clan's points was already an extraordinary achievement, a glory for the entire Undying Blood Clan.
One could imagine that at this moment, in the Hell Realm, all Undying Blood Clan cultivators must be focused on the point rankings of the Heaven Hunting Battle, their blood boiling, shouting the names "Blood Heaven Tribe" and "Zhang Ruochen."
For a tribe, the Heaven Hunting Battle was a struggle for interests and rankings.
But for the cultivators participating in the battle, it was even more important, representing their future prospects.
Those who performed excellently in the Heaven Hunting Battle would naturally be groomed as the future leaders of their clan, winning the hearts of the people.
"Whoosh—"
Suddenly, before Yue Tinghai, ripples appeared on the ground.
Blade Prison Emperor, with his long golden hair flowing, emerged from the center of the ripples amidst a blood mist, exuding a majestic aura.
"Blade Prison Emperor, what are you doing on Jingtian Continent?" Yue Tinghai asked, puzzled.
Blade Prison Emperor said, "The Blood Heaven Tribe's momentum is already established. Don't you want to do something about it?"
Yue Tinghai naturally caught the implication in Blade Prison Emperor's words and snorted, "I've received news that Zhang Ruochen destroyed the Ghost Clan's home star, and even Xu died at his hands. Yanhong Great Saint also fled in defeat. This shows he must have been hiding his strength before; his combat power is probably not inferior to Lei Di. Add to that the Yu Emperor and Yi Xuan Great Saint, and the Blood Heaven Tribe has become the number one force among the Undying Blood Clan. What can we do? Just watch him continue to dominate the battlefield."
Blade Prison Emperor said, "In this Heaven Hunting Battle, even if the Blood Heaven Tribe's points become the first among the ten major tribes, it won't affect the Qitian Tribe at all. But your Jingtian Tribe's ranking might drop by one place."
"So what?" Yue Tinghai said.
Blade Prison Emperor said, "It means the resources the Jingtian Tribe can obtain will be much less, and it also means you will disappoint the gods of the Jingtian Tribe."
Yue Tinghai remained silent, his ten fingers tightly clenched together.
No matter the reason, if the Jingtian Tribe's ranking slipped, he, Yue Tinghai, would be hard-pressed to escape blame.
The greater the strength, the greater the responsibility.
Blade Prison Emperor continued, "Zhang Ruochen fighting so hard is actually a good thing. The higher the Undying Blood Clan ranks among the ten clans, the more benefits we gain. But there is a way for us to gain even more benefits."
"What way?" Yue Tinghai asked.
Blade Prison Emperor said, "Do you remember the decision the leaders of our ten major tribes made at the very beginning? Each tribe was to guard the clansmen on one continent. If the clansmen on that continent were completely wiped out, that tribe's points would be halved. The halved points would then be distributed among the other nine tribes. This is an internal rule of our Undying Blood Clan!"
Yue Tinghai showed a look of realization and said, "You want me to act and wipe out the Undying Blood Clan on the Blood Heaven Continent? But doing so would also deduct a portion of the Undying Blood Clan's total points."
Blade Prison Emperor laughed, "There are only thirty million Undying Blood Clan members on the Blood Heaven Continent. Even if all are killed, it would only deduct three million points from the Undying Blood Clan."
"The Heaven Hunting Battle has just begun. With Zhang Ruochen and the Blood Heaven Tribe's abilities, they can still collect many more points later. But those points will all have to be shared with us. Don't you think that's an interesting prospect?"
Yue Tinghai naturally knew this was a surefire way to profit, turning Zhang Ruochen and the Blood Heaven Tribe into tools for earning points, allowing him to reap rich rewards without even hunting Heavenly Slaves himself.
Yue Tinghai smiled and said, "Why don't you do it yourself?"
Blade Prison Emperor shrugged and said, "I am busy hunting Heavenly Slaves. By the time I return to the home star, it will be too late. If you want to act, you'd better hurry. Right now, the Blood Heaven Continent has no strong cultivators guarding it—it's the perfect time to strike. Once Zhang Ruochen returns, you will never have another chance."
The lingering sound echoed in the room as Blade Prison Emperor's spiritual power clone dissipated into nothingness.
"Zhang Ruochen, Yu Emperor, Blood Heaven Tribe..."
Yue Tinghai muttered these three names, his gaze growing colder and colder.
Although he knew Blade Prison Emperor was using him, he had to admit that this move was indeed a ruthless one, cutting off the foundation. If done discreetly, who would know it was he who wiped out the thirty million clansmen on the Blood Heaven Continent?
The Heaven Hunting Battle was, after all, a fight where all means were justified; those who followed the rules would only end up mediocre.
...
All the Undying Blood Clan cultivators on the Blood Heaven Continent had been taken into three major cities.
Among them, the largest city was called Yun City.
The Space Teleportation Array Zhang Ruochen had set up was located in the city lord's mansion of Yun City, guarded by Xue Ningxiao.
Xue Ningxiao's cultivation had already broken through to the Great Saint realm. In recent days, news had been coming from the starry sky—some bad, some good.
If not for the inability to determine the spatial coordinates of the Ghost Clan's home star, she would have led the Blood Heaven Tribe cultivators there long ago.
Through the rhomboid mirror, Xue Ningxiao could see Zhang Ruochen's points, which would suddenly surge by a large margin every so often. While secretly relieved that he was still alive, she could also guess that fierce battles were erupting in some distant place.
As the Blood Heaven Tribe's points grew higher and higher, even pushing the Undying Blood Clan to second place in total points, the Great Saints in the tribe who had once opposed Zhang Ruochen all changed their stance.
Zhang Ruochen had won them dignity and seized hard-earned glory for the entire Blood Heaven Tribe.
Countless cultivators hoped Zhang Ruochen would return victorious soon and not encounter any accidents.
"Whoosh!"
The formation suddenly activated, emitting a dazzling light.
Xue Ningxiao had been sitting cross-legged in cultivation, her body sometimes clear, sometimes ethereal. At this moment, she suddenly opened her bright and enchanting eyes, her delicate form becoming solid. She stood up joyfully and walked toward the formation.
In the formation, Zhang Ruochen and the Yu Emperor revealed their figures.
Xue Ningxiao's hanging heart finally fell, and she said, "Cousin, Yu Emperor, you two are the heroes of the Blood Heaven Tribe. This Heaven Hunting Battle will surely make your names known throughout the world. After the battle, you will definitely have the opportunity to enter the Undying Divine Temple for cultivation."
The Yu Emperor remained aloof and unsmiling, saying, "He is the hero. I dare not take the credit."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Has anything major happened on the Blood Heaven Continent while I was away?"
"Last night, a tsunami erupted on the home star, with waves rising a thousand meters, nearly submerging the Blood Heaven Tribe. Fortunately, Gu Chenzi was stationed there and repelled the tsunami, causing no damage to the three major cities," Xue Ningxiao said meaningfully.
The Yu Emperor's gaze turned cold, and she said, "A thousand-meter-high tsunami wave must be man-made. I set up a defensive formation around the home star, and since it hasn't been broken, the attack must not have come from outside."
"Hmph! It seems someone among the ten major tribes is jealous of the Blood Heaven Tribe's points and wants to take shortcuts by stabbing us in the back."
"Have you found out who it is?"
Xue Ningxiao said, "I was guarding the teleportation array all night and don't know the specifics. Gu Chenzi should know more."
A fierce chill spread across Zhang Ruochen's face, but his tone remained calm, saying, "For the Undying Blood Clan to compete with the Yama Clan for first place, we must unite. Anyone who wants to slaughter our own clansmen and stir up internal trouble must be made an example of."
Then, Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky and said, "Xiao Xiao, send a message to all the Great Saints stationed on the home star, ordering them to come to Yun City immediately to pay respects to me. Anyone who doesn't arrive within an hour, I will personally go and invite."
With that, Zhang Ruochen's figure vanished from the spot.
Xue Ningxiao was startled by Zhang Ruochen's assertiveness and swift action. Her beautiful eyes showed a hint of worry as she looked at the Yu Emperor and said, "Issuing such an order is like declaring himself the common master of the Undying Blood Clan. Won't it anger Blade Prison Emperor and Wind Empress? And the cultivators from the other tribes will surely be dissatisfied."
The Yu Emperor gently touched her pointed chin with her jade finger, gazing at the blood-red sky, and said, "Xu is dead, Yanhong Great Saint has been defeated, and even Wujiang was severely injured by Zhang Ruochen. What are mere Blade Prison Emperor and Wind Empress? Zhang Ruochen wants to lead the Undying Blood Clan to seize first place among the ten clans. At this moment, anyone who holds him back will meet a terrible fate."
"Wujiang... was also defeated by my cousin..."
Xue Ningxiao had not yet received news of Wujiang's defeat and was shocked. She immediately understood that her cousin Zhang Ruochen was likely about to purge those in the Undying Blood Clan who refused to submit to him, consolidating all forces to lead everyone in challenging the Yama Clan for the top spot.
The Undying Blood Clan was about to undergo a major upheaval.