Immortal of the Nine Realms

Fang Chen sent a voice transmission, "Stop keeping me in suspense. You know a lot, so get speaking!"

Seeing that, Wang Chongsong excitedly began recounting the story to Fang Chen.

Meanwhile, the arrival of Half Saint Zhangxue prompted Yun Qi, Old Ghost Xu, Shentu, and several other Limit Breaking Realm experts to reveal themselves, cupping their hands respectfully.

Compared to their incredibly arrogant demeanor when facing Fang Qianxue and Wang Zhenlong earlier, their attitude was visibly much more humble and deferential in front of Half Saint Zhangxue.

Half Saint Zhangxue then turned around to chat with the group. Fang Qianxue closed her mouth and stopped speaking, her face calm.

Meanwhile, Fang Chen finished listening to Wang Chongsong's account.

So that's how it is...

Fang Qianxue and Half Saint Zhangxue were indeed biological sisters. Their biological father was a clan brother of the same generation as Ancestor Lie. During a past battle to guard a specific warzone, that clan brother had been captured by the Flame Race. Among those captured alongside him were Fang Qianxue, Half Saint Zhangxue, and their biological mother.

When Ancestor Lie, who was not yet a Half Saint at the time, learned of this, he infiltrated the Flame Race's territory while only at the first transformation realm. After enduring countless hardships, he finally located the place where his clan brother was imprisoned.

Regrettably, by the time he found them, his clan brother was already breathing his last, and his wife had been humiliated to death. Only Fang Qianxue and Half Saint Zhangxue were still alive.

With Ancestor Lie's cultivation at the time, he could only choose one child to save and escape with. As for the other, he could only endure the agony of leaving her behind. In the end, it was Fang Qianxue who was taken away, and Half Saint Zhangxue was the one abandoned.

Later, by a coincidence of fate, Saint Luoxue unintentionally entered Flame Clan territory and discovered the imprisoned Zhangxue. Thus, he brought her back to the Luoxue Alliance.

From that moment forward, Half Saint Zhangxue began to display her transcendent, extraordinary talent. First, she completed the Foundation Realm in a hundred days. She then advanced through the second and third realms and finally climbed steadily all the way to the ninth transformation realm.

Ultimately, it followed a natural progression. She cultivated all the way to the Half Saint Realm. She became a Half Saint less than two hundred years after Half Saint Fang.

From the very moment she returned to the Luoxue Alliance, she displayed an unvarnished, open loathing for the Fang Clan. Over the years, whenever powerful experts of the Fang Clan were targeted by bounties and hunted down, Half Saint Zhangxue had personally acted on several of those occasions.

Fang Chen let out a soft, silent sigh in his heart.

Forced to choose one between the two... who can truly be blamed for this?

Over the next hour, quite a few more Half Saint Clans arrived on the scene. Some stood within the shifting mist, signaling their alignment against the Fang Clan, while others directly climbed the Chaoxian Tower, chatting and laughing freely with Fang Qianxue and the rest of the allied experts.

Wang Chongsong glanced at the sky. "Looking at the current state of affairs, the remaining six great Saint Alliances probably won't show themselves directly..."

Fang Chen also noticed that the expressions of many Limit Breaking experts from the allied Half Saint Clans were becoming exceptionally grave. Currently, the Luoxue Alliance and the Jinyang Alliance represented the two true Saints backing them, standing tall within the clouds and explicitly projecting their open hostility toward the Fang Clan.

On Fang Clan's side, only the Wandao Alliance had dispatched Limit Breaking experts to support them. In terms of explicit backing from true Saints, they were outnumbered by one.

Right at that moment, a massive Xie Zhi Gate suddenly tore open in the middle of the empty void. Fang Cangyou rolled himself out of the portal, pushing his own wheelchair forward.

Whether it was the allied Limit Breakers atop the Immortal-Facing Tower or the malicious experts hidden within the mist, every single eye registered a deep look of gravity upon seeing Fang Cangyou appear.

Fang Qianxue immediately stepped forward, cupping her hands. "Brother."

Fang Cangyou smiled and nodded. After exchanging a brief round of pleasantries with the Limit Breakings of the various allied families, he laughed and said, "Our friends from the Wangqing Alliance should be arriving shortly."

Wangqing Alliance!?

Fang Chen could clearly sense the astonishment spreading across everyone's faces. Even Wang Chongsong beside him wore a face of complete, absolute disbelief.

Fang Chen had heard of Wangqing Alliance before, but back then, Fang Ding and the others had avoided elaborating, merely mentioning that this specific alliance was highly unconventional. As for where its eccentricity lay, they had remained completely tight-lipped. Seeing everyone's profound reaction today, he dimly realized that the background of Wangqing Alliance was likely incredibly extraordinary.

The moment Fang Cangyou finished speaking, a massive wave of illusory silhouettes mysteriously materialized across the sprawling streets of Zanglong City. These figures seemed to emerge out of thin air, shifting rapidly from transparent illusions into physical reality.

"Soul Race! It's the Soul Race!?"

Sharp gasps of shock rippled across every corner of Zanglong City. Within a mere few breaths, it felt as though an army of a hundred thousand members of the Soul Race had occupied every street and square of the city.

Up in the mist, Old Ghost Xu, Shentu, and Yun Qi all registered looks of pure astonishment, their eyes instinctively darting toward Half Saint Zhangxue.

"No wonder Half Saint Fang possessed such absolute confidence. It turns out he actually managed to secure the explicit backing of Wangqing Saint," remarked Half Saint Zhangxue.

Though a smile played on her face, a deep trace of gravity colored the depths of her eyes.

At that exact moment, a leading woman accompanied by a dozen individuals mysteriously materialized at the very peak of the Chaoxian Tower. Their figures shifted from ethereal projections into solid flesh, causing the gathered Limit Breakings experts to display looks of intense wariness and deep apprehension.

Fang Chen's expression turned slightly strange. The Soul Race... meaning Ghost Immortals? Underworld Gods?

No wonder Wangqing Alliance was deemed so highly unconventional that even Fang Ding and the others actively avoided discussing it. To think that among the nine current true Saints of the Human Race... one was actually a Ghost Saint!

Based on his understanding of the Soul Race during the historical era, their overall racial standing was unquestionably superior to that of the Human Race. That was because they were one of the most ancient primordial lineages in existence. However, because every cosmic race possessed an inherent path to discard their mortal flesh and become a Saint through a Soul Race vessel, it caused the Soul Race to become an incredibly unique, multi-ethnic comprehensive entity.

The Wangqing Saint served a dual purpose: she stood as one of the nine true arbiter Saints representing the Human Race, while simultaneously commanding immense authority over the underlying Soul Race. Consequently, her identity was easily the most unique among all her peers!

The moment this Limit Breaking of the Soul Race manifested, the shock on the faces of Wang Zhenlong and the other allied experts gave way to pure relief. Their tense postures visibly relaxed.

So this was the hidden card the Fang Clan used to sway them. The Fang Clan had quietly secured the backing of Saint Wangqing...

Not only Fang Chen but Wang Chongsong and the rest also came to the same realization. Before the sudden arrival of the Soul Race today, they had not intercepted even a whisper of this development. After all, the Wangqing Alliance occupied a highly insulated position within the Nine Great Saint Alliances. They fundamentally abstained from the internal geopolitical struggles, nor did they ever participate in the bloody skirmishes against the Flame Race.

Who could have predicted that the Wangqing Alliance would choose to break their historical neutrality, stepping out to explicitly back Half Saint Fang on the day of his ascension?

Fang Chen's thoughts raced. The board is officially balanced at two against two. The Fang Clan commands the backing of the Wandao Alliance and the Wangqing Alliance, while their opposition holds the Luoxue Alliance and the Jinyang Alliance. In terms of raw combat prowess, the Fang Clan's camp clearly holds a distinct advantage. Could it be that Half Saint Fang intentionally manufactured this exact standoff simply to brutally crush their momentum?

He felt that under the current alignment of forces, the Luoxue Alliance and the Jinyang Alliance would likely be completely unable to mount any effective disruption. The hostile Half Saint Clans hiding within the mist would be even less inclined to act rashly. The only path left open to them was to quietly witness the progression of Half Saint Fang's ascension. Whether he succeeded or failed would have nothing to do with them.

Yet, a lingering intuition told him that things were absolutely not this straightforward. There had to be deeper layers of tactical intelligence that he had yet to uncover, leaving him temporarily unable to deduce the true, ultimate objective of the Fang Clan's ancestor.

"Little Sis! It's been far too long!" called out Fang Cangyou excitedly, pushing his wheelchair toward the leading Soul Race woman.

Little Sis!?

Fang Chen's heart skipped a beat. He immediately changed his position so that he could clearly see the woman's face.

Seeing her, Fang Chen's mind reeled. So it's... Third Aunt...

The facial features of this leading Soul Race expert were a spitting image of Fang Cangyue.

No wonder an army of a hundred thousand Soul Race members had materialized throughout Zanglong City... no wonder the Soul Race had chosen this exact moment to take the stand for the Fang Clan... Third Aunt's true cultivation base... is far from only a Three Limit Breaking Steps. She is a genuine Half Saint of the Soul Race... It appears she has carved out an incredibly immense level of achievement and status within their ranks, operating in all likelihood as a direct, trusted confidant of Saint Wangqing herself...

"How could it possibly be her..."

Half Saint Zhangxue, who had maintained an entirely detached, unbothered composure even when the broader Soul Race army manifested, finally registered a look of pure shock and bewilderment the exact moment her eyes locked onto Fang Cangyue's face.