Chapter 3298: A Halberd Breaks Through the Void
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "You were perfectly suited to be the future Hall Master of Truth Temple, yet you abandoned that to come to Sword Realm?"
"At most, he could only be the husband of the future Hall Master." Feng Yan's mood had lightened considerably.
The fact that Zhang Ruochen was willing to share such secrets showed that their brotherly bond remained intact, allowing him to speak his mind openly.
All previous estrangement had vanished.
The three of them had grown stronger in cultivation, wielded greater power, carried heavier burdens on their backs, and their hearts had changed, but their bond of brotherhood remained unchanged.
Xiang Chunan snorted, "The major powers of Heavenly Court are all scheming against each other. For a bit of profit, they'll rob openly and murder in secret—they'll do anything. Even when a great enemy is at the gates, it's hard for them to unite. It'd be better to join Sword Realm and follow Big Brother. Of course, the prerequisite is that Big Brother has complete authority in Sword Realm; otherwise, there'll definitely be plenty of trouble."
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then said, "Wherever there are three people, there will be conflict—it's unavoidable. But I will devote myself fully to managing Sword Realm, and I will never let it become a second Heavenly Court or a second Hell Realm. My goal is not to destroy Heavenly Court or Hell Realm, but to deal with the world-destroying Calamity of Quantities. To pursue equality for all living beings, we must first ensure they survive!"
"All of this is too far off. For now, the most important thing for us is to cultivate diligently and improve our cultivation."
Feng Yan raised his cup and said, "Big Brother is right—we must first seek to survive before pursuing our ideals. Whether it's facing the great tribulation of heaven and earth or ending this chaotic age to establish a new order in the universe, we need sufficiently powerful strength."
"Let us drink this cup today. No matter which camp we find ourselves in the future, at least our goals remain the same."
Xiang Chunan brought over a jar of wine and said, "I'll finish mine—you two do as you please."
After downing the cup, the wine became stronger and had more flavor.
Zhang Ruochen informed Feng Yan that the Great Elder of Space Divine Temple might be a member of the Quantity Organization. If Heavenly Court conducted its own investigation, there would be a greater chance of obtaining accurate information.
Feng Yan lowered his voice and shared detailed information about the divine battle outside Kunlun Realm with Zhang Ruochen.
...
Outside Xinghuantian.
The divine representatives of the major forces from Hell Realm did not return to Xiongguan Star. Instead, they gathered on a dwarf planet.
They were in council!
Kongcan Great God said, "Actually, we could just pretend to agree to Zhang Ruochen's terms. But returning the living beings of the Hundred Clans and gathering the Divine Stones for compensation will take a lot of time—we can drag it out slowly. Drag it out until the remnants of the Quantity Organization are completely cleansed. Then Hell Realm can free up its hands and wipe out Xinghuantian and Hundred Clans Royal City in one fell swoop."
"Do you think Zhang Ruochen is that easy to fool? From these few encounters, I can see that this kid is very shrewd and calculating." Yumang Lord said.
Yanyang Heavenly Lord showed a disdainful expression and said, "Zhang Ruochen absolutely does not dare to truly fall out with Hell Realm. His current posturing is nothing more than an attempt to gain greater benefits."
"If we agree to his terms, even if Hell Realm later returns to raze Xinghuantian and Hundred Clans Royal City to the ground, we will surely be mocked by Heavenly Court. Moreover, this will let Heavenly Court see our weakness, and they might launch a counterattack on the second Starry Sky Defense Line!"
Kongcan Great God said, "But Zhang Ruochen has already declared that for every day his conditions are not met, he will execute one god. With his current cultivation and status, he will certainly follow through on his words."
Yanyang Heavenly Lord sneered, "False gods are still gods—let him kill them. One false god buys us a day—worth it! As for true gods, I doubt Zhang Ruochen has the guts to kill them casually. He absolutely does not dare to offend Hell Realm to the death!"
Kongcan Great God thought of Xu Zhen, who had already fallen, and wanted to refute Yanyang Heavenly Lord.
But even Kongcan Great God himself believed that Zhang Ruochen did not dare to truly go to war with Hell Realm—he was just making exorbitant demands.
"Shua!"
A message divine talisman flew into Kongcan Great God's hand.
After reading the contents of the talisman, Kongcan Great God's expression changed slightly. "Elder Yang has sent word that he intercepted a message light talisman transmitted from Xinghuantian. Heavenly Court's envoys, Chi Chaluo and Qing Yusheng, arrived at Xinghuantian earlier and conspired with Zhang Ruochen for a long time."
Uproar erupted all around.
The gods of Hell Realm could no longer remain calm.
"No wonder Zhang Ruochen is so aggressive—it seems he has already formed an alliance with Heavenly Court and has a grand scheme."
"If Heavenly Court sends a divine army to join forces with Zhang Ruochen, the entire Hell Realm army in the Hundred Clans Royal City star region might be completely annihilated."
"Could Zhang Ruochen also be using a delaying tactic? In reality, he is holding us back, waiting for the gods of Heavenly Court to come and surround us."
...
Yumang Lord said coldly, "Everyone, don't panic so quickly. What benefit does Zhang Ruochen gain from this? If he wanted to defect to Heavenly Court, he would have done so back when the thirteen realms of Heavenly Court attacked Xinghuantian!"
"At such a sensitive time, Elder Yang was able to intercept the message light talisman—it's clearly a deliberate leak by Zhang Ruochen to force us to compromise."
"He obviously knows we are using a delaying tactic, waiting for reinforcements from Hell Realm. He won't give us that chance. When it truly comes to the worst, he will have no choice but to cooperate with Heavenly Court! At that point, it won't just be a crisis in the Hundred Clans Royal City star region—it will also affect the second Starry Sky Defense Line."
"So now, we can't even easily withdraw our troops."
Qianzu Great God of Fengdu Ghost City said, "Are we really going to agree to Zhang Ruochen's conditions? Hell Realm will suffer a devastating loss!"
Suddenly, Yanyang Heavenly Lord sensed something and abruptly looked up toward a certain direction in the starry sky. Shocked and furious, he said, "Zhang Ruochen..."
Yumang Lord, Kongcan Great God, Qianzu Great God, and the other gods of Hell Realm also looked over, then collectively held their breath, feeling their scalps go numb.
The divine throne planet that Shenwu had lit on Xiongguan Star had actually gone dark!
Zhang Ruochen had killed a Heart-Stop realm Great God.
"How did he do it? A Heart-Stop realm Great God is only one step away from the Infinite Realm—how could he be completely refined to death in such a short time?"
"Zhang Ruochen must have a god-killing weapon!"
"Could it be that a God King or God Venerable made a move?"
"Who said earlier that Zhang Ruochen wouldn't dare to fall out with Hell Realm? Now he's killed Shenwu—will it be Zhuque Huowu tomorrow?"
...
No one had expected Zhang Ruochen to dare to take Shenwu as his first target. The impact was too great, leaving the gods of Hell Realm momentarily stunned.
It seemed Zhang Ruochen truly might lean toward Heavenly Court.
Yanyang Heavenly Lord was enraged to the point of madness. He charged out of the planet, suspended himself in the dark, freezing void of space, and let out a long roar: "There is no possibility of negotiation anymore. Zhang Ruochen, the Blazing Sun Clan will fight you to the death!"
Zhang Ruochen's divine voice pierced through space and arrived: "Just you?"
Yumang Lord sensed something was wrong. His eyes turned crimson as he peered toward Xinghuantian.
There, on the wilderness outside First Divine Maiden City, Zhang Ruochen traced a circle with his right fingertip, forming a Taiji Diagram Seal. Then he grabbed the trident—Shenwu's war weapon—and hurled it with a swing of his arm.
"Boom!"
Beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet, a large area of ground collapsed.
"Bam! Bam! Bam..."
The trident tore through space and flew into the cosmos, burning like a fireball. Each flicker crossed the distance of one Divine Spirit Step, and the flickers came rapidly.
In an instant, it traversed the endless void.
If it were a close-quarters battle, Yanyang Heavenly Lord might have been somewhat wary. But an attack launched from tens of millions of miles away? He was not afraid at all.
Yanyang Heavenly Lord did not dodge or evade. He manifested a divine ability and struck at the trident.
The divine ability was pierced through, and his protective divine light was extinguished.
Yanyang Heavenly Lord was shocked. He immediately activated the power of the armor he wore, released his divine realm world, and manifested a second, stronger divine ability.
"Bam!"
Yanyang Heavenly Lord was sent flying by the impact of the trident. At the same time, the trident exploded, shattering into pieces of metal fragments.
One fragment grazed his neck, leaving a bloody gash.
On the dwarf planet, the gods of Hell Realm all rose into the air simultaneously and gathered around Yanyang Heavenly Lord. Their shock reached an indescribable level.
Crossing tens of millions of miles of void to injure a Taixu peak Great God—was this Zhang Ruochen's true strength? Even a God King might not be able to do this!
They had all overlooked a crucial point: it wasn't that Zhang Ruochen could cross space to injure Yanyang Heavenly Lord, but that Zhang Ruochen had been certain Yanyang Heavenly Lord would not dodge and would face the attack head-on.
But the fact was right before their eyes, and the shock was immense.
This was the deterrence Zhang Ruochen needed!
Earlier, he had chosen to keep a low profile because he was worried about provoking some old undying Infinite Realm beings. But now, he was about to leave in stealth, and Chi Yao, who would replace him on Xinghuantian, was actually quite safe.
The Thousand Star Huantian Formation was enough to withstand the attacks of God Venerables.
By the time he returned to Xinghuantian and made his next big move, Zhang Ruochen believed he would no longer fear ordinary God Kings and God Venerables.
Yanyang Heavenly Lord saw that Zhang Ruochen had not charged out of Xinghuantian and gradually calmed down. "Shenwu really did die at his hands. How can we still negotiate?"
"Zhang Ruochen's personal strength is already this terrifying, and with Xiuchen, Shenguchao, ghost-type strange beasts... I think we should still negotiate!" a god muttered in a low voice.
Another god seconded, "Let's negotiate. Stabilize him first. This Zhang Ruochen is truly ruthless—how many gods from Hell Realm have fallen by his hands?"
Yanyang Heavenly Lord looked at them in disbelief.
Inside Tianxia Divine Maiden Tower, Qing Yusheng, Mandala Flower God, Chi Chaluo, and others were also greatly shaken.
Qing Yusheng sighed softly, "That was just a casual strike. If he were to use the legendary Earth Cauldron, Zhang Ruochen's combat limit might even rank among the top ten in the world! What a pity that such a figure does not belong to Heavenly Court."
"He once belonged to Heavenly Court," Feng Yan said.