Chapter 1868: Action

"I... I don't know either..." Yuan Tao scratched his head, completely embarrassed.

Almost all his fellow disciples had broken through to Ancient Sage, but he was still at the bottom of the pack. When he thought about it, it filled him with bitterness.

Progressing too slowly... He had brought shame to his teacher.

"Now, I can only turn my grief into an appetite..." he muttered with a sigh, grabbing another pile of food and stuffing it into his mouth.

Ignoring the glutton, Zhao Ya looked at Lu Chong, her beautiful eyes filled with a hint of worry. "You've progressed too quickly over the past month. Is anything wrong?"

After their teacher left, Lu Chong had also remained silent, like ice, but his cultivation had surged as if he'd taken hormones. Zheng Yang, even with the help of the Spring and Autumn Hall, had only reached the peak of Ancient Sage 1-dan: Bloodline Continuance, while Lu Chong had already reached Ancient Sage 3-dan: Droplet Rebirth (early stage)!

In just over a month, such a rapid advance in cultivation would be unbelievable to anyone hearing about it.

"I'm fine!"

Lu Chong shook his head, equally sparing with his words.

"After reaching Ancient Sage, every step of advancement requires immense power. Progressing so quickly means that if your cultivation isn't properly consolidated, major problems can easily arise..."

Zheng Yang looked over.

This junior martial brother was good in every aspect, except that he refused to speak. He was a quiet, reserved person, which made others uncomfortable.

If something had happened, discussing it would help everyone brainstorm solutions, but he only knew how to bury himself in cultivation... Probably no one knew his current situation except for their teacher.

"Teacher gave me a Soul Imprint!" Lu Chong paused, seeing their expressions, and then said.

"Oh!" Everyone nodded simultaneously.

Before leaving, their teacher had distributed many treasures obtained from the Temple of Confucius among them.

The Soul Imprint was a symbol of the leader of the Wu Soul lineage. Their teacher had given it to him without concealment.

"This Soul Imprint contains the pure souls of 110,000 beings from Saint 3-dan and above. Over the past month, I've slowly absorbed them, which is why my soul energy has increased so rapidly..."

Lu Chong explained.

"Souls of 110,000 beings?"

"And all from Saint 3-dan and above?"

Everyone was shaken.

Such an immense amount of soul power combined was unimaginable. It was no wonder he could progress so quickly; with so much soul energy, it would be difficult for a Wu Soul Master *not* to advance.

"Before entering the Temple of Confucius, Teacher killed 110,000 Otherworldly Demonic Tribe soldiers, resolving humanity's greatest crisis... Could these souls be theirs?"

Zheng Yang suddenly spoke.

The Combat Master Hall had been fighting in the Ethereal Cave for years, and he was very familiar with their teacher's achievements. The souls of 110,000 experts from Saint 3-dan and above definitely couldn't have appeared out of thin air; this number perfectly corresponded to that battle.

"Yes, Teacher didn't absorb any of them; he left them all for me..." Lu Chong nodded, his fists clenched.

To leave such a massive amount of soul power completely untouched and give it all to him—this kindness was truly immense. Their teacher was truly their teacher, always so loving and fair to his students.

"Junior Brother Lu Chong, with your Droplet Rebirth (early stage) strength and your Wu Soul, you'll join Zheng Yang and me in the sneak attack. You'll be the main attacker, and we'll assist!"

Knowing that his strength was stable and that he hadn't rushed his progress or sought quick achievements, Zhao Ya finally breathed a sigh of relief and arranged the plan.

Lu Chong nodded, indicating his understanding.

"As for Wang Ying... Although you've just broken through to Ancient Sage, you've been in the imperial city for over twenty days. You must be completely familiar with your surroundings by now, right?"

Zhao Ya looked at Wang Ying.

"All the city walls, along with all the major buildings, have been awakened. They are currently lying dormant, waiting for orders! Once we succeed, the streets and city walls will rush forward, causing even greater chaos and throwing the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe into disarray!"

The girl smiled.

During her days infiltrating the imperial city, she hadn't been idle; she had continuously awakened the surrounding area. "Furthermore, I've buried tree roots underground. With a single thought, I can turn the entire imperial city into a desert. Unless one is at the Ancient Sage level, it will be impossible to escape!"

Their teacher had once given her a tree root artifact, a true mass-attack ultimate weapon.

"That's good. With everyone arranged, let's depart now. Once that Mediocre Emperor ascends, we'll strike immediately!"

Zhao Ya nodded.

"Alright!" Everyone stood up in unison, their expressions grave.

In this battle, they could die or be left behind, but they absolutely could not fail.

Donning various disguises again, they altered their physiques and returned to the streets. As expected, they saw countless members of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe surging towards the square in front of the Mediocre Emperor's Palace.

Following them, they soon arrived. They didn't have to wait long before they saw a tall member of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe floating above the crowd.

"From today forward, I inherit the position of the Mediocre Emperor, to rule over all under heaven..."

With a cold hmph, the new Mediocre Emperor flew up and turned towards the central elevated platform.

In a towering room far from the square, Zhang Xuan watched the figure ascending to the highest position step by step and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

His student, unable to bear the pressure from his many fellow disciples, had resolutely left. He hadn't expected him to ultimately achieve such a tremendous feat.

By becoming the Emperor of the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe and gaining control over them, the conflicts between them and humanity would no longer be a concern.

"With him there, the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe can rest easy..."

Ancient Sage Mo Ling also smiled.

Their Wu Soul lineage had endured humiliation and shouldered heavy burdens, lurking here for tens of thousands of years, all for this day. They hadn't expected him to live to see it.

"Indeed!"

Zhang Xuan nodded, and just as he was about to speak, his brows suddenly furrowed.

Whoosh!

Before his expression could fully settle, he saw a fierce aura erupt from underground, surging wildly towards the new Mediocre Emperor on the elevated platform.

Immediately after, a spear and a longsword darted in from two other directions, completely sealing off the surrounding space.

"Someone's ambushing him..."

Ancient Sage Mo Ling and Ancient Sage Huo Xu simultaneously narrowed their eyes, their killing intent boiling.

They had worked tirelessly for a month to achieve the current situation. They hadn't expected someone to openly defy and ambush the new emperor during the succession ceremony.

"Master, I'll go kill them right now..."

Ancient Sage Huo Xu swung his thick, hooved paw, about to rush forward.

"No need to be nervous. We'll just observe from here," Zhang Xuan said with a slight smile after a moment of surprise.

"Observe?" The two Ancient Sages were puzzled.

"It's nothing. This is a test for the new Mediocre Emperor. If he can overcome this, he will gain unshakeable prestige within the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe. If he fails... we can still act."

Zhang Xuan stood up.

With his discerning eye, he could naturally tell where the attacking Wu Soul and spear arts originated. Since that was the case, there was nothing to worry about.

While he remained calm, the new Mediocre Emperor, Liu Yang, couldn't help but be startled when he saw the three figures directly launching a sneak attack.

"These techniques and cultivation arts..."

His fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed.

The three attacking forces were far too familiar.

It was Junior Brother Lu Chong, Senior Sister Zhao Ya, and Junior Brother Zheng Yang!

They... how did they get here?