Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

The night passed quietly, with no sign of movement from the Qing Zhu Association members inside or outside Wind City. When the first rays of morning sun fell upon the city, many of its citizens noticed the atmosphere was exceptionally grim.

The four city gates were shut tight, with Martial Artists stationed on the walls. The vendors and shops along Wind City’s major streets were closed for business, and the entire city fell silent.

The citizens of Wind City were told to remain in their homes. Soon, news of the great war between the Flawless Palace and the Qing Zhu Association spread like wildfire among the city’s billions of inhabitants.

Of Wind City’s billions of people, over eighty percent were ordinary folk with no cultivation. In the face of a war of this magnitude, they were completely defenseless.

The streets were deserted. Everyone had returned to their homes, quietly awaiting the outcome of the battle.

Meanwhile, as per the previous day’s arrangements, Lin Yun and Luo Feng had arrived at Wind City’s North Gate. Standing atop the high city wall, their expressions were grim. They could clearly see that a few miles from the city, over a thousand members of the Qing Zhu Association had already gathered.

The two forces faced each other from a distance. At the North Gate alone, the Qing Zhu Association had amassed over a thousand people, all of them at the Primordial Ocean Realm. Not a single Celestial Spirit Realm expert had yet appeared.

"It seems their experts haven’t arrived yet," Luo Feng remarked coolly, gazing at the Qing Zhu Association’s forces.

The North Gate had originally been assigned only two Spirit Realm experts, so that morning, another Flawless Palace Supreme Elder had volunteered to reinforce them. Now, the North Gate was defended by three supreme experts of the Spirit Realm, ten experts of the Celestial Spirit Realm, and five hundred Primordial Ocean Realm Martial Artists.

The total number of experts sent by the Qing Zhu Association was unknown, but just in terms of Primordial Ocean Realm combatants, they already outnumbered the defenders two to one.

"I never imagined the Qing Zhu Association could gather thousands of Primordial Ocean Realm cultivators in just a few days. It seems their strength truly cannot be underestimated," one of the Supreme Elders said.

"Supreme Elder, I fear this isn’t even the Qing Zhu Association’s true strength," Lin Yun replied upon hearing this, almost as if speaking to himself.

The Supreme Elder looked over at Lin Yun, who then continued, "This is the first time the Qing Zhu Association has revealed itself to the Eastern Domain. In this initial battle, both they and the Flawless Palace are likely just probing each other’s strength. We haven’t reached the point of a decisive, life-or-death struggle."

Lin Yun was correct. Neither the Qing Zhu Association nor the Flawless Palace had committed their full strength. Otherwise, with the Flawless Palace’s famed one hundred thousand disciples, how could only a little over a thousand of them be participating?

"Yun’Er is right. This battle is indeed a probe from both sides," Luo Feng said with conviction. "But even so, we must win. We cannot afford to lose. If we fail, the billions of citizens in Wind City will be the ones to suffer."

Hearing this, Lin Yun turned to gaze at the sprawling expanse of Wind City behind him. They were its last line of defense. ’If we lose this battle, who will protect the people of Wind City?’

Since their top experts had not yet arrived, the Qing Zhu Association didn’t launch a rash attack. As for the Flawless Palace, taking the offensive was out of the question. Outnumbered two to one, their only hope was to rely on Wind City’s sturdy walls and defensive emplacements to stand a chance.

Dozens of Giant Crossbows had been set up on the section of wall where Lin Yun and his allies stood. These were not to be underestimated; even a Celestial Spirit Realm expert could be killed by one.

These Giant Crossbows, designed and built by the Artifact Refiners of the Pharmaceutical Instrument Master’s Guild, were called Thunder Shock Crossbows. The Crossbow Arrows they fired were ten meters long and weighed hundreds of pounds.

Each bolt was accompanied by a sound like a clap of thunder, which was how the Thunder Shock Crossbow earned its name.

The Thunder Shock Crossbow was the perfect siege-defense weapon, and it was precisely the presence of these dozens of machines that gave Lin Yun and the others the confidence to face the Qing Zhu Association.

As time went on, the once bustling Wind City seemed to have fallen into a deathly slumber. Aside from the opposing forces positioned at the four city gates, not another soul could be seen anywhere within its walls.

Of course, Lin Yun had stationed some personnel within Wind City itself. After all, not all of the Qing Zhu Association’s members in the city had been rooted out; many were still in hiding.

When the battle began, these hidden agents would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to wreak havoc within the city walls.

However, the Qing Zhu Association members inside the city were not the primary concern. The real threat—the main battlefield where this conflict would be decided—was the army waiting outside the four gates.

One of the Flawless Palace’s Supreme Elders was holding the fort within Wind City, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. Aided by the various great families, they should be able to handle any Qing Zhu Association members still inside.

Time trickled by. Finally, at high noon, the Qing Zhu Association members outside the four city gates began to move.

Before each of the four city gates, a thousand Primordial Ocean Realm Martial Artists simultaneously took to the sky, hovering in mid-air.

After these thousands of warriors took their positions in the air, more than a dozen figures appeared one by one before their ranks.

"Here they come..." At the North Gate, as the first figure appeared before the Qing Zhu Association’s formation, Lin Yun spoke softly.

It wasn’t just Lin Yun; the gazes of the Flawless Palace disciples and Main Seat Elders on the North City Gate hardened as well. Everyone knew the battle was about to begin.

Figure after figure appeared at the forefront of the Qing Zhu Association’s formation. All of them were Celestial Spirit Realm experts.

After ten Celestial Spirit Realm experts had taken their place, the Qing Zhu Association’s Spirit Realm experts also appeared—three in all.

Three supreme experts of the Spirit Realm and ten experts of the Celestial Spirit Realm—the reinforcements from the Qing Zhu Association’s headquarters had finally arrived. And it wasn’t just at the North Gate; the same scene was unfolding at the south, east, and west gates of Wind City.

As soon as their experts appeared, the Qing Zhu Association members gathered outside the four city gates simultaneously erupted with four terrifying surges of Elemental Power.

At each gate, a thousand Primordial Ocean Realm Martial Artists, ten Celestial Spirit Realm experts, and three supreme experts of the Spirit Realm unleashed their Elemental Power in unison.

The Elemental Power was so dense it was almost tangible, shooting toward the heavens like four great pillars of light outside Wind City’s gates. The pillars roiled the clouds, and a terrifying pressure swept over the entire city.

Hiding in their homes, the people of Wind City were not Martial Artists, but the sheer force of the Elemental Power erupting from thousands of Qing Zhu Association members still struck terror into their hearts. Some of the elderly and infirm spat up blood, crushed to death on the spot by the horrifying pressure.

"Disciples of the Flawless Palace, hear my command!" Luo Feng roared, unleashing his own Elemental Power. "Defend Wind City to the death! Do not let a single member of the Qing Zhu Association set one foot inside this city!"

Following Luo Feng’s lead, the other two Supreme Elders erupted with their power. They were followed immediately by the ten Main Seat Elders and the five hundred Flawless Palace disciples, all of whom unleashed their own Elemental Power.

Meeting the challenge head-on, the experts from the Flawless Palace and Taiqing Academy at all four of Wind City’s gates unleashed their own power at nearly the same instant. A total of eight pillars of Elemental Power—four from the attackers, four from the defenders—rose into the sky like eight furious dragons, filling the very space with a palpable, murderous aura.

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