Chapter 1937: Star Scar Empire's Provocation

The Elder Martial Gods of the Changyuntian Sect had never sought anything from Xu Yang. They were genuinely captivated by his charisma and formidable strength, willingly choosing to follow him. They wished to contribute their own power to the entire empire and, indeed, to the martial arts cultivation world of the Ancient Martial God Dao.

These martial artists were all individuals with their own beliefs, truly worthy of respect. In Xu Yang's view, they were the ideal candidates to become martial arts totems.

With his team assembled, Xu Yang no longer hesitated. He immediately led everyone on their journey towards the enemy nation's border battlefield.

Unbeknownst to them, as they traveled off-map towards the border battlefield, the region centered around Juexing Peak had already endured several waves of large-scale conflict.

Frustratingly, these major conflicts were all initiated by the imperial forces, led by the False Emperor.

Juexing Peak, a landmark of the empire and a crucial strategic area, had initially been visited several times by martial arts experts dispatched by the False Emperor. However, due to its unique nature and Xu Yang's previous personal instructions with the elder, it remained untouched.

The elder on the mountain and Qingya resolutely refused any faction's attempts to visit. They even set up mysterious maze formations along all the essential paths leading to Juexing Peak's summit. For a time, even the False Emperor and his dark forces' disciples were helpless against these strange formations.

After settling securely in this location, Qingya, following the advice Xu Yang had given her, also brought Xiaohua and Lingyao from the distant Xuanhuang Gate to Juexing Peak.

With these three women and the leading living fossil elder personally guarding the area, it had, ironically, become the safest region at the border.

Its presence also served as an invisible deterrent to the covetous martial artists from the neighboring countries. Currently, all martial artists from both major factions along the border regarded this peak as a true forbidden zone, yet also as a strategically vital location that must be contested.

Although the maze formations outside could slow down the invasion of the two major factions to some extent, Qingya, Xiaohua, and the others clearly understood that this approach only addressed the symptoms, not the root cause.

After all, the sheer number of martial arts experts deployed in this border battlefield was too immense; a mere handful of them could not possibly solve the problem completely.

To fully resolve the border crisis, they would have to wait for Xu Yang to personally arrive at the battlefield; only then could things turn in a positive direction.

At this moment, Qingya stood atop the peak, her face still etched with worry as she gazed at both sides of the border battlefield.

"Damn it, how long will it take for Leader Xu Yang and the others to arrive as reinforcements?" she muttered. "According to the military intelligence we seized earlier, there should be another large-scale martial arts conflict at the border within three days. If Leader and the others don't arrive in time, I'm afraid our mountain stronghold won't be able to hold out."

As Qingya spoke, Xiaohua and Lingyao, standing nearby, nodded with equally grave expressions.

"That's true," Xiaohua conceded. "But the only thing we can do now is grit our teeth, delay for as long as possible, and wait for Xu Yang and his team to arrive."

Just as Xiaohua finished speaking, an invisible, sudden surge of murderous aura enveloped the mountain peak.

It was precisely due to the appearance of this cold aura that the living fossil elder, who had been meditating in seclusion below the peak, suddenly materialized his true form and appeared beside the three girls.

"Who approaches?" he called out. "Show yourselves!"

No sooner had the elder spoken than three bronze-skinned experts, adorned with special painted patterns, emerged one after another. Xiaohua and the others squinted, realizing that the three sudden intruders were actually three true Martial God-level experts.

Moreover, the martial arts aura emanating from these three individuals was overwhelmingly dominant, and the brilliant "starry sky" in their eyes proved that they were ruthless fanatics, seasoned by years of combat and slaughter on the border battlefield. Their sudden, uninvited appearance on the peak's summit clearly wasn't for a friendly visit.

The living fossil elder stepped forward, calmly confronting the three men's formidable aura. Although in terms of raw power, the elder was no match for these three Martial God-level experts, he had to stand at the forefront of all the girls, true to his promise to Xu Yang.

"Three Martial Gods at once!" he exclaimed. "What exactly does your Starscar Empire want?"

The young man leading them, whose face was painted with golden oil, sneered.

"That's a question I should be asking you," he retorted. "After all, this large-scale confrontation between our two sides was initiated by your empire. At best, we are merely defending our own territory.

"We came today to tell you, who are guarding this military stronghold, to leave this place with everyone on the mountain within three days. Otherwise, the next time you see the three of us, it will be the end of your lives."

The young leader exuded a powerful presence, and he certainly had the confidence to speak as he did. However, he never dreamed that his timing today would be so unfortunate.

Just as he finished speaking, an incredibly powerful aura suddenly appeared behind him. When he turned around, he saw Xu Yang, radiant with brilliant golden light, who had, at some point, cut off the retreat of the three Martial God-level experts.

What was even more alarming was that shortly after Xu Yang materialized his true form, one Martial God-level expert after another appeared atop the peak. Such a terrifying display completely stunned Qingya, Xiaohua, the other girls, and even the living fossil elder.

"My goodness!" Qingya exclaimed. "So many Martial God-level experts! Could it be that Sir Xu Yang had a bountiful harvest this time?"

Such thoughts filled the minds of the girls before him, unaware that the truly shocked ones were the three bronze-skinned intruders with painted faces.

Although they were martial arts experts from the Starscar Empire, the intelligence they had gathered in recent days made it clear that there were hardly any Martial God-level experts stationed at the empire's border. This was why they dared to brazenly ascend to the peak of this mountain.

However, they never dreamed that they would, at this very moment, run into Xu Yang, a truly formidable opponent. Xu Yang's lips curved into a faint, icy smile. His gaze fixed on the three men as he spoke slowly.

"I didn't quite catch what you said just now," he stated. "Would you mind repeating it?"

Xu Yang's aura was incredibly powerful, especially as he uttered those words, causing the three men before him to tremble with fear.