Tang Bing was extremely angry about Liu Bai pushing his own people outward.
Just as the Nine Nether Guards were finally showing improvement and even faintly displaying the momentum of becoming the strongest army under the Kings, he now wanted to send away the person responsible for training the troops. What exactly was he trying to do?
Faced with Tang Bing's questioning, Liu Bai could only promise that he would personally take action. Only then was this chief steward barely appeased.
There was no helping it. He still needed her to help manage affairs, so when it was time to soften his stance, he softened it. When it was time to lower his head, he lowered it. It cost nothing and made the workers willing to work wholeheartedly. Why not do so?
Watching Tang Bing leave with mixed expressions of suspicion and doubt, Liu Bai went to find Zhan Taiyun and explained his arrangements.
"The Great Heavenlaw Army is a true elite personally cultivated by the Domain Lord. With them, you should be able to condense a battle intent spirit in the shortest possible time. After you succeed, I will teach you the true path of a Battle Formation Master."
Liu Bai's promise caused Zhan Taiyun's battle intent to surge instantly.
A Battle Formation Master.
The Zhan Tai family had always pursued the goal of producing a true Battle Formation Master. Yet despite a century of effort, not a single clan member had succeeded.
It was not due to lack of talent but because they lacked a genuine Battle Formation Master inheritance.
Everyone knew that whether an army was truly strong depended on whether it could condense a battle intent spirit. This was the key standard distinguishing an elite army from a truly powerful one.
Battle intent spirits themselves had no inherent hierarchy. Their strength was determined by the number of battle patterns attached to them.
From the Sky Formation Emperor's storyline in the original work, it was known that without a Battle Formation Master cultivation method focused on mental power, it was nearly impossible to break through the ten thousand pattern limit through talent alone. Only by surpassing ten thousand patterns could one truly enter the ranks of a Battle Formation Master. Thus inheritance was essential.
Taking a deep breath, Zhan Taiyun suppressed his excitement and solemnly said to Liu Bai, "My lord, rest assured. I will not fail your expectations. I will help the Great Heavenlaw Army condense a battle intent spirit in the shortest time possible."
The refinement of battle patterns depended on two factors. One was the size and quality of the army. The other was the strength of one's mental power.
Zhan Taiyun's talent was excellent, but Liu Bai could not determine whether he would truly become a Battle Formation Master. Sending him to an even stronger army would better support his future growth.
After hearing Zhan Taiyun's words, Liu Bai nodded and then brought him to see Mandala.
At present, Liu Bai possessed five mental cultivation methods. Only one was complete, but the remaining four were far from ordinary. One of them was the Nine Tribulations Thunder Prison Visualization Method passed down from the Nine Tribulations Battle Emperor.
Although more than half was missing, the remaining four tribulations alone were stronger than common mental methods. Otherwise, they would not have been preserved by the Sky Formation Emperor.
For now, Liu Bai did not know which method suited Zhan Taiyun. Perhaps none of them did. However, Liu Bai himself did not worry about such matters since he relied on external advantages and was unaffected by such limitations.
As for which method to choose, Liu Bai had not decided yet. Most likely, he would select the complete Sky Formation Emperor inheritance so that he would not need to worry about cultivation compatibility and could simply improve it directly.
After handling these matters, Liu Bai had no time to rest. Dragon Phoenix Heaven was about to open, and since he intended to obtain the Dragon Phoenix Scripture, he naturally had to participate.
"Heh. For a kid like Liu Bai with such strength to still challenge Dragon Phoenix Heaven. If those old fellows find out, they might accuse our Great Heavenlaw Domain of bullying others."
On the day of departure, many came to see Liu Bai off. The Sky Vulture Emperor, who had a closer relationship with the Nine Nether Palace, laughed.
"That only means they are incompetent themselves," Mandala replied bluntly, as usual.
"However, if you cause too much trouble this time, those old fellows may not be able to hold back. You should restrain yourself. As for the so called geniuses on the Dragon Phoenix Record, as long as they are not foolish, they will not provoke you."
The strongest individual on the Dragon Phoenix Record was only a Fourth-Grade Sovereign. Aside from Liu Bai firmly occupying first place, Fang Yi of the Divine Pavilion was still presumed not to have broken through to Fifth-Grade.
Once they saw Liu Bai, who was already a Sixth-Grade Sovereign, only a fool would challenge him.
"After this, the Northern Region will probably experience new upheavals because of Commander Liu Bai," the Spiritual Pupil Emperor sighed.
Unknowingly, the youth he once would not even glance at had grown to a height he now had to look up to.
And it had only been less than two years.
"That life saving item I gave you is still with you, right? If any shameless old fellow dares to attack you after this, do not hesitate. Crush it directly and I will appear to resolve it."
After giving one last reminder, Mandala waved his hand, signaling Liu Bai to depart.
Leaving the Great Heavenlaw Domain, Liu Bai traveled swiftly. There were no encounters in deep mountains and no accidental sights of bathing beauties.
Without anyone accompanying her, the young miss of the Flame Emperor's family likely would not participate in this Dragon Phoenix Heaven either. This left Liu Bai slightly regretful, as he had hoped to see the legendary girl said to be even more beautiful than her mother.
Back when watching the Battle Through the Heavens animation, Liu Bai had been a devoted admirer of Queen Medusa's appearance. He wondered whether reality would surpass animation.
Soon, Liu Bai entered the Myraid Beast Plain once again.
His wanted portrait was still circulating in the surrounding regions. Traveling so openly, he could not avoid being noticed by those with ulterior motives.
Before long, news of Liu Bai's appearance spread to all major forces.
Others reacted calmly, but the three Beast Emperors and Ice Cloud Valley fell silent.
After all, Liu Bai's identity was significant. Killing him would mean offending the Great Heavenlaw Domain. No one knew whether its experts would seek revenge.
However, not everyone agreed.
"This kid is clearly here to participate in Dragon Phoenix Heaven. According to the rules, he can only come alone. Any danger he encounters must be resolved by himself. As long as we act cleanly, there may still be a chance."
Within Ice Cloud Valley's Ice Cloud Grand Hall, the upper echelons were in discussion.
Many proposed secretly finding an opportunity to kill Liu Bai. After all, he had nearly killed one of their four Great Elders and had still taken down four Fifth-Grade Sovereigns. The loss was immense, and worse, Ice Cloud Valley had become a stepping stone for Liu Bai's fame.
Others opposed the idea. Liu Bai was powerful and a Spiritual Array Master. Killing him silently was nearly impossible. If he possessed hidden trump cards, the situation would become even more dangerous, potentially offending a top tier power.
As the debate continued, Ice Cloud Emperor finally spoke from the throne.
"Let this matter end here."
Compared to Icecloud Valley, the Three Great Beast Emperors were the ones who truly wished for Liu Bai's death. The Icecloud Emperor had no intention of acting as someone else's vanguard.
Liu Bai naturally knew that many people were watching him closely at present, but he did not care at all. Or rather, this was precisely his intention.
With his current strength, dealing with the Three Great Beast Emperors was not difficult at all, and he would not even need to expose much of his true power.
This trip to Dragon Phoenix Heaven was mainly for the Dragon Phoenix Scripture. Other gains would likely be limited. After all, those so called prodigies were far too weak. Even serving as experience fodder for him would not be sufficient. Therefore, before that, Liu Bai planned to harvest some experience from the Three Great Beast Emperors in preparation for any unexpected needs.
Although the Icecloud Emperor did not know Liu Bai's true intentions, he could infer some things from Liu Bai's usual conduct, which was why he chose to remain still.
However, the Three Great Beast Emperors had suffered heavy losses at Liu Bai's hands before. Now that Liu Bai had delivered himself to their doorstep, if they made no response at all, they would have no standing left in the Northern Region.
Thus, once news of Liu Bai's appearance spread, they quickly took action.
The fastest among them was naturally the Thunder Roc Emperor.
This Thunder Roc Emperor had always harbored strong hostility toward humans, and since his subordinates were all avian spiritual beasts, he was the first to appear before Liu Bai.
"Tsk tsk, this aura. It seems this Thunder Roc's cultivation really has broken through to Ninth-Grade Sovereign, just as the rumors claim."
In the sky, several figures stood high above, looking down at Liu Bai on the ground.
"Has no one ever told you that standing too high makes you more likely to get struck by lightning?" Liu Bai raised his head to look at them and even lifted a hand to block the dazzling sunlight.
"Oh? Is that so? Then tell me what kind of lightning could possibly strike me," the Thunder Roc Emperor said. His voice carried a sharp edge unique to rocs, making it unpleasant to hear at first listen.
Thunder Rocs were top tier lightning attribute spiritual beasts to begin with. Naturally, he was utterly disdainful of Liu Bai's words about being struck by lightning.
A smile curved at the corner of Liu Bai's lips. He then raised his hand toward the Thunder Roc Emperor and the others and clenched it fiercely.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Without any warning, several bolts of lightning descended at lightning speed and struck them directly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of heavy impact sounds rang out, followed by a violent tremor of the ground beneath.
It turned out that everyone in the sky had been blasted straight into the ground by Liu Bai's lightning. Although they were not injured, their faces had been thoroughly slapped.
In the sky, the Thunder Roc Emperor's expression turned ugly.
The lightning just now had done almost no damage to him, and that level of impact could not possibly knock a Ninth-Grade Sovereign down to the ground.
However, the same could not be said for those beside him. Moreover, the lightning had arrived without the slightest sign, making it impossible to guard against.
"Very good. It seems you are quite confident. Do you really think this Emperor would not dare to kill you?" Killing intent nearly solidified in the Thunder Roc Emperor's eyes.
He truly had not expected this human to be so arrogant, even daring to strike first.
"No, I think you definitely dare to kill me. But whether you actually have the ability to do so, that I am not sure about."
"You are courting death!"
The Thunder Roc Emperor flew into a rage. His entire body transformed into a streak of lightning, and at an inconceivable speed, he smashed a punch directly toward Liu Bai.
Bang!
There was no chance to dodge at all. Liu Bai felt himself struck squarely by the punch.
Even the Five Spirit Divine Canopy outside his body shattered instantly. The terrifying force of the punch sent Liu Bai flying tens of thousands of meters away, and a mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
"Oh? You survived one strike from me?"
The Thunder Roc Emperor glanced at Liu Bai in surprise. At that moment, he stood at the very spot where Liu Bai had been earlier.
What he failed to notice was that Liu Bai's previously pale face rapidly returned to normal, and his hands had already formed a seal.
The next instant
Rumble!
Surging spiritual energy gathered from all directions. The Thunder Roc Emperor felt as if some terrifying ferocious entity was about to emerge beneath his feet. The ground shattered violently.
"Not good. This brat did it on purpose!"
In an instant, the Thunder Roc Emperor understood everything. But although he was fast, it was already too late.
A terrifying grand array had enveloped an area of ten thousand meters. Four massive illusory figures suppressed the four directions of the sky. The entire space was frozen solid. Even as a Ninth-Grade Sovereign, it was impossible for him to tear open space and escape, let alone charge out through sheer speed.
"The Four Saint Sky Sealing Array!"
Since his target was the Three Great Beast Emperors, how could Liu Bai not have prepared in advance?
Because the Thunder Roc Emperor's speed was astonishing, Liu Bai had no choice but to use himself as bait, luring the Thunder Roc Emperor to enter the array range on his own. Otherwise, if the Thunder Roc Emperor truly wanted to flee, Liu Bai would not have been able to catch him.
Of course, the most important reason was that Liu Bai could not expose his true strength, especially his identity as a Spiritual Array Scholar. If others discovered it, then he would no longer be able to act as a surprise force in the upcoming Great Hunting War.
As for possessing the ability to kill a Ninth Grade Sovereign, it might cause some waves among top tier forces, but in the eyes of Earth Sovereigns, Liu Bai would still not be regarded as a threat.
Below Earth Sovereign level, all are ants. This was not merely empty talk.
Using the Four Saint Sky Sealing Array to temporarily trap the Thunder Roc Emperor, Liu Bai then raised his hand and deployed a Heaven Net Demon Suppression Array, suppressing the several Fifth-Grade and Sixth-Grade Sovereign level experts under the Thunder Roc Emperor.
After eliminating all potential threats, Liu Bai waved his hand and released a river of spiritual energy containing ten thousand drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid, swallowing it all in one gulp to replenish the somewhat depleted energy in his Sovereign Sea.
Only after doing this did he begin condensing spiritual seals once more and setting up a new array.
As more and more spiritual seals flew from Liu Bai's hands, the Thunder Roc Emperor's expression grew increasingly grave. In the end, he could not help but begin violently attacking the four spirit projections, desperately trying to break free from the array.
Because the array Liu Bai was now constructing gave him an extreme sense of impending death.
This was a genuine threat of annihilation.