Chapter 1014: You Look How Much Like the Past

Since the advent of the Black-tier Holy Land, the war in the southern, western, and northern realms of Wanggu has escalated, with both sides experiencing wins and losses, and the battles have been exceptionally brutal! It's fair to say that at almost every moment, lives are lost, and conflicts erupt! Wanggu is in turmoil!

In the Eastern Realm, the Blazing Moon Profound Heavens and the Human Race have spearheaded an alliance of various factions and races, forming a peerless formation that divides heaven and earth! Outside the formation lie the vast sky and four Black-tier Holy Lands! Inside the formation are the inhabitants of Wanggu's Eastern Realm! Although the Great Emperors from these four Holy Lands have not reappeared since their battle with the Human Emperor and the Blazing Moon Three Gods, the Blazing Moon Three Gods have also remained absent! Outsiders do not know who emerged victorious from that initial peak battle between the two sides; they only know that the Human Emperor continues to preside over this war as usual!

The war in the Eastern Realm continues! During this period, no large-scale engagements have occurred; both the Eastern Realm and the Holy Land faction are attempting to control the tempo, but small-scale clashes happen almost daily! Both the Blazing Moon Profound Heaven Race and the Human Race are engaged in constant skirmishes.

At this very moment, such a small-scale battle is raging above the peerless formation, with countless combatants from both sides forming a dense mass of black specks, fighting fiercely outside the formation! It was at this time that Xu Qing and Er Niu, after multiple teleportations from Fenghai County, arrived at Taiyu, the Human Race Imperial Capital! Their journey was relatively smooth! No time was wasted, except when Er Niu once again plucked a few teleportation feathers outside that activated ancient formation.

Now, the moment their figures appeared within the formation, roars and shrill cries descended from the sky, immediately reaching their ears! As these countless sounds echoed like muffled thunder in all directions, the dazzling lights of various spells created a brilliant glow, painting the night sky in vibrant, flickering hues! Looking up, they could see beneath the formation, contingents of cultivators from various races of Wanggu's Eastern Realm systematically sallying forth to battle and returning in an orderly fashion to recuperate! However, judging by the condition of those returning, the casualties were clearly significant! But the Holy Land side suffered similarly, with corpses falling and being pulverized by the formation!

“War…”

Xu Qing's expression was solemn as he observed the battle raging outside the celestial formation. Due to the teleportation array being located within a heavily guarded military camp, spiritual senses immediately swept over them from all directions! Moreover, waves of murderous intent instantly locked onto them! Only after recognizing Xu Qing's identity did these spiritual senses and murderous auras dissipate! Following this, figures flew in from all directions, bowing respectfully to Xu Qing! Leading them was an old man! Xu Qing had met this person before; he was a Human Race Heavenly Marquis named Chen!

“Greetings, Grand Tutor.”

“Several Heavenly Kings are currently on the battlefield outside the formation and cannot return. Your humble subordinate has been ordered to preside here! Additionally, His Majesty has instructed that upon your return, Grand Tutor, you are to proceed to the main hall immediately!” Heavenly Marquis Chen bowed immediately upon approaching and spoke solemnly!

Xu Qing nodded, gazing at the battle in the sky. Then, his divine sense spread out, covering the military camp and revealing countless wounded soldiers from various races undergoing treatment! His heart sank! Compared to the brutality here, what he had seen in other parts of Wanggu's eastern region during his journey was relatively benign! Because this place bore almost the entire brunt of the war! This location served as both the core of Wanggu's Eastern Realm and its frontline!

“How is the situation?” Xu Qing asked slowly!

“Still manageable!” Heavenly Marquis Chen forced a smile, though the aura emanating from him was clearly unstable, indicating an injury. He was about to speak further when, the next moment, a roar echoed from outside the celestial formation! Within the countless dense black specks formed by the warring parties, a dazzling light erupted! It was a burly middle-aged man from the Holy Land faction, with massive wings on his back, exuding a blood-fiend aura. His cultivation had reached the fifth realm of Soul Incarnation! Such cultivation surpassed that of most Human Race Heavenly Kings!

Especially within this small-scale battle, while the Soul Incarnation cultivators from various races had also engaged, they were all tied down. Thus, the sudden arrival of this individual immediately initiated a massacre, as if he intended to tear a path through the battlefield! Behind him followed over a thousand Demon Feather cultivators, acting as his personal guards, charging alongside him! Their target was precisely the peerless formation!

Seeing this, Heavenly Marquis Chen's pupils constricted, but he did not panic. For sudden situations, there were naturally methods of handling them! Soon, the peerless formation began to glow, ready to intercept! But the next moment, Xu Qing vanished from his spot! When he reappeared, he was remarkably outside the peerless formation! Sounds even more intense than before instantly and clearly reverberated from all directions. Amidst the deafening multitude of noises, Xu Qing looked towards the rushing Demon Feather brute! The brute also noticed Xu Qing, snorted coldly, and strode forward without decreasing his speed in the slightest!

All of this takes a long time to describe, but in reality, it happened in the blink of an eye! Inside the formation, Heavenly Marquis Chen was startled. He knew Xu Qing's status was extremely high, but his combat power seemed to barely meet the initial standard of a Heavenly King. Now facing a powerful cultivator from the fifth realm of Soul Incarnation… He immediately grew nervous!

Er Niu coughed beside him! “Why the tension? No need to worry!” Although he said so, how could Heavenly Marquis Chen listen? Not only was he nervous, but on the battlefield, the entangled Heavenly Kings of various races also immediately noticed this scene, recognized Xu Qing, and were all inwardly shaken, with some even cursing! Evidently, in their judgment, they did not believe Xu Qing could contend with that Demon Feather cultivator of the fifth Soul Incarnation realm! They wanted to help, but couldn't disengage immediately! They could only watch helplessly as the Demon Feather brute charged towards Xu Qing!

“Nonsense, why did Xu Qing appear so recklessly?”“Activate the formation, extend it to cover Xu Qing.”“Quick!”

The formation roared, shining brightly like scattered solar flares, about to envelop Xu Qing for protection! However, the Demon Feather brute, at this moment, also indirectly discerned Xu Qing's unusual identity through the formation. After a careful gaze, his eyes lit up as he recognized Xu Qing! Their Demon Feather Holy Land naturally kept track of important figures within the Human Race, especially Xu Qing, who had previously caused such a major stir! Because of him, a Holy Land had fallen! Because of him, the Eastern Yellow-tier Holy Land had been expelled! However, what they knew was only that Xu Qing had been captured alive by Fu Xie and eventually rescued! They were unaware of the details, did not know that Fu Xie ultimately died by Xu Qing's hand, nor did they know Xu Qing's true combat power! Thus, the brute's eyes lit up, and with a sinister grin, he accelerated, charging directly at Xu Qing!

But… the moment his figure approached, Xu Qing expressionlessly raised his hand and pinched the air towards the approaching Demon Feather brute! With this pinch, within the vast battlefield, all sound instantly vanished in the ten-thousand-mile radius centered around Xu Qing. Sound was stolen. And the silence lasted only for a breath! The next breath, these sounds were manipulated, converging around the Demon Feather brute with unprecedented vastness, forming a colossal sphere! Enveloping both the Demon Feather brute and the thousand guards behind him! Inside, ripples continuously emanated, revealing terrifying lethality, vibrating wildly! Screams of agony immediately emanated from the Demon Feather brute and his guards within the sphere! Transforming into even more sound-based power attacks!

Immediately, thirty percent of the guards' bodies disintegrated, torn to pieces. As for the Demon Feather brute, his expression had completely changed; he heard a muffled whisper! This whisper grew increasingly intense, repeating relentlessly, as an ancient power accompanied it, spreading wildly and greedily throughout his body, permeating his mind, and replacing his very perception! It even stripped him of the concept of his own voice! His body, his soul, even his very self were stripped away! Until… he, along with all his guards, exploded into a mist of blood.

Subsequently, the sphere disintegrated, transforming back into countless sounds that boomed outwards from Xu Qing as their center, spreading in all directions! Wherever they passed, all sounds on the battlefield instantly became lethal attacks! Although this scene occurred in just one corner of the battlefield, it affected the entire battleground in the blink of an eye, causing the expressions of the Heavenly Kings from various races and the Soul Incarnation cultivators from the Holy Land to change dramatically. Indeed… Xu Qing's attack was too swift and lethal, and now it affected the entire situation! The cultivators of the Eastern Realm were deeply shaken! The cultivators of the Holy Land were utterly terrified!

“Divine Authority.”

“This Human Race cultivator is unusual.”

On the Holy Land side, waves of alarm surged in everyone's hearts. However… war is difficult to change due to one individual, unless that person possesses supreme power capable of suppressing everything! Therefore, the next moment, a terrifying divine sense emanated directly from the distant suspended Holy Land, indicating a master's imminent descent. And within the Human Race's grand domain, a divine aura also suddenly erupted, confronting it from afar. That was the Profound Battle Corpse God.

Under the restraint of these two powers, Xu Qing's figure vanished, returning inside the formation. As he returned, he detonated all the scattered sound-based power on the battlefield, and even added a curse of misfortune! A roaring sound surged outside the formation, forming a storm of sound! The cultivators from various races fighting for the Eastern Realm were all greatly stirred. Under the decisive orders of those Heavenly Kings, they seized this opportunity and immediately charged forth! The tide of this small-scale battle immediately shifted! Facing such a situation, a low, resonant bell toll echoed from the Holy Land side, signaling a retreat.

An hour later, the battle concluded. The moment the various races returned, they were all discussing Xu Qing's appearance! Meanwhile, Xu Qing and Er Niu had already departed together! Entering the Human Race Imperial Capital, they arrived before the Imperial Grand Hall! Standing there, Xu Qing had already changed into his Grand Tutor's official robes, while Er Niu was wearing the imitation Profound Heaven Armor custom-made for him by the Human Race! This battle armor, named Great Heavenly Star, was personally overseen by Er Niu during its manufacturing process according to his own specifications. He rarely wore it on normal days, appearing quite fond of it! Now, in front of the Grand Hall, he stood proudly, wearing the Great Heavenly Star Armor, which shimmered all over in the sunlight, making him appear like a being of light! From afar, he indeed cut a rather formidable figure!

The two had not stood solemnly outside the Grand Hall for long when a low voice emerged from within the Imperial Palace's Grand Hall! “Summon the Grand Tutor and the Great Heavenly Star for an audience.” Xu Qing and Er Niu looked up and simultaneously stepped towards the Grand Hall. After a few paces, they entered the hall, seeing the assembled officials, the Empress seated directly above, and Ning Yan beside her, his expression agitated!

“Greetings, Your Majesty.” Xu Qing bowed! Er Niu did the same, speaking loudly!

The Empress nodded slightly and responded faintly! “It's good to have you back. Take a seat!”

Xu Qing rose and took a step, arriving before the second chair among the thirty-three Heavenly King seats, beneath the Empress! He sat upon it, looking down at the assembled officials! This position was second only to the Human Emperor and the Blazing Flame King, who was not present. As for the assembled officials, under Xu Qing's gaze, they all respectfully lowered their heads! Even Ning Yan bowed towards Xu Qing! Whether due to his past reliance on Xu Qing or Xu Qing's current status as Grand Tutor, Ning Yan was completely convinced and deeply stirred! In his heart, Xu Qing felt even closer than his own mother!

Seeing this, Er Niu felt a pang of envy, but soon his attention shifted to an old acquaintance standing in the distance. First surprised, then amused, he even took out the Holy Sky Divine Vine and began to toy with it in his hand. It wasn't until Xu Qing's gaze, after sweeping over the officials below, also landed on this cultivator… This Demon Feather cultivator, gazed upon by both Er Niu and Xu Qing, felt a mix of emotions. He took a deep breath and bowed slightly!

“Feng Lintao greets the Grand Tutor!”