"Mama! Mama! Look! Our house is so small! Look over there, the one beside Grandpa's favorite tree!" The amazed cries of a little girl rang out across the spacious deck of the Divine Sacred Ark. She jumped repeatedly in excitement as the cold breeze swept across her childish face, making her ponytail dance in the air.
The Divine Sacred Ark let out a loud creaking noise as the mountain-sized ship ascended through the sky. The deafening roar of air rushing from the vents beneath the ark reached the ears of the passengers, causing some of them to cover their ears to dampen the noise.
"K-Ke'er, d-don't jump. You might slip and fall off the ship," her mother reprimanded in a trembling voice. She looked pale as she stood on her wobbly legs, holding onto the deck railing as if her life depended on it.
Unlike little Ke'er, she was not fond of the idea of leaving solid, stable ground.
But she, along with almost all the citizens of Glory City, had no other choice but to board the ancient floating ark.
News of a Demon Beast horde numbering in the tens of millions and heading straight toward Glory City had been announced by the City Lord's Mansion, prompting a large-scale evacuation of all the citizens throughout the city.
"Reaching the end of my time... Never did I imagine that I would live long enough to see myself leaving our home," murmured an old lady. A look of melancholy was etched across her face as she gave her house one last lingering glance.
Her words caused the people around her to fall into a somber mood. None of them wished to abandon their home, but staying behind meant dying in the claws of the Demon Beasts.
"Why are the City Lord and the rest still down there? If we're going to abandon the city, why do they still want to defend it against the approaching horde? I don't understand the point of it," asked a man, bewilderment etched on his face as he gazed upon the group of experts standing valiantly atop the city wall.
Just like him, many of the people observing the row of powerful Demon Spiritualists and fighters preparing to defend the city wore puzzled expressions. They couldn't understand the point of protecting the city if they were just going to abandon it anyway. It was simply incomprehensible to them.
"Of course, there's an important reason behind it. We just need to put our fate in the City Lord and the rest of our protectors. After all, everything they are doing is for the sake of all of us."
The gazes of the people turned toward the person who had just spoken. As soon as they did, looks of respect washed over their faces as they recognized who that person was.
Stepping out onto the deck with quiet grace and an air of elegance were two beautiful women, each wearing the robes of their respective alchemy businesses.
One was Chen Wenrou, the President of the Divine Medicine Pavilion and one of the newest Legend-rank Demon Spiritualist experts of Glory City.
Walking beside her was Yang Xin, the Director of the Alchemy Association.
The two women walked to the edge of the ark as they gazed down at the people below. Their hearts were filled with concern as they thought about everyone's safety.
The two of them knew how crucial the upcoming battle was going to be for the future survival of Glory City.
With the threat posed by the Demon Beast Clan, escaping alone wasn't enough to keep everyone safe.
So Xue Hui devised an ingenious plan to give the people of Glory City a greater fighting chance against the Demon Beast Clan.
And that was the Essence Blood Tempering Array.
What many didn't know was that among all the newly advanced Legend-rank Demon Spiritualists, there was one person with the greatest potential to reach the Demigod rank.
And that person was Chen Shenxin himself.
As one of the oldest Demon Spiritualist experts alongside Lord Ye Mo, Chen Shenxin possessed experience and insight that many cultivators could only dream of attaining.
And that was the power of Law.
Over the years, Chen Shenxin had managed to attain a slight comprehension of this power, allowing him to harness a trace of it.
But because he was unable to break through to the Legend rank, this power became dormant within him.
So it did not come as a surprise. After reaching the Legend rank, Chen Shenxin's understanding of the power of Law became more profound, allowing his cultivation to advance at an astonishing speed and bringing him to the threshold of the Demigod rank.
And it so happened that this power of Law was the Law of Slaughter.
A power that harnesses the very essence of chaos and bloodshed.
As soon as Xue Hui learned about this, the first thing that came to mind was that he had two perfect things at his disposal that could be used to create a powerful protector for Glory City.
Using the upcoming Demon Beast horde, he could erect an Essence Blood Tempering Array, a type of inscription array that refined the essence blood of fallen Demon Beasts and converted it into pure spiritual energy to accelerate one's cultivation.
Combined with Chen Shenxin's Law of Slaughter and the massive amount of blood, chaos, and death that would arise from the war against the Demon Beast horde, Xue Hui believed they could push Chen Shenxin to comprehend his Law of Slaughter further, allowing him to increase his cultivation rank beyond the Demigod rank.
And possibly turn him into a Heavenly Fate Realm expert.
In the Draconic Ruins Realm, the Legend-rank Demon Spiritualist realm was only considered the first step of real cultivation.
Beyond it lay five higher realms:
Heavenly Fate Realm
Heavenly Star Realm
Heavenly Axis Realm
Dao of the Dragon
And
Martial Ancestor
Each realm was further divided into nine minor stages: One Star, Two Star, Three Star, and so on.
And this was the sole reason why all the experts of Glory City chose to stay and face the Demon Beast horde head-on.
Only by having a Heavenly Fate Realm expert would Glory City have a deterrent against the Demon Beast Clan.
"President Chen Wenrou, Director Yang Xin, all of our alchemy masters are in position. We are ready to set sail; we're just waiting for the president's command," Shu Mao said respectfully as he approached the two women.
As the President of the Divine Medicine Pavilion and the strongest alchemist in Glory City, Chen Wenrou was left in charge of the operation of the Divine Sacred Ark. Under her leadership, she had gathered both the alchemy masters of the Divine Medicine Pavilion and the Alchemy Association onto her team to operate the entire vessel.
The Divine Sacred Ark consumed a tremendous amount of Demon Spirit Crystals, which had to be converted into spiritual flames to power the ark's engines.
This was why all the alchemy masters became its operators. Not only were they capable of maintaining and controlling the spiritual flames, but they also possessed the organizational discipline needed to keep everything running smoothly.
"Very well, let's set sail," Chen Wenrou said in a firm voice.
Her husband, sister-wife, son, and daughter were all down there, about to face great danger. She was afraid, and if she were being honest with herself, she would rather stay by their side and fight alongside them.
But in the end, she had to do her part and lead the citizens of Glory City to safety.
The Divine Sacred Ark's engines let out a deafening roar as a powerful blast of wind erupted beneath it, propelling the colossal vessel forward as it slowly departed the airspace above Glory City.
Ye Zong, Chen Zhenlong, along with all the fighters and Demon Spiritualists of Glory City, looked up and watched in silence as the Divine Sacred Ark flickered several times before completely vanishing from everyone's sight, using its concealing ability to hide itself from view.
"Xue Hui, they've left," Xiao Ning'er muttered under her breath. She looked toward the direction where the Divine Sacred Ark had once been, a trace of astonishment visible on her beautiful face.
Setting aside the dire circumstances, the Divine Sacred Ark was a truly magnificent sight to behold. She still couldn't believe that someone from the Demon Beast Clan had handed such a treasure to Xue Hui.
She then shifted her gaze to the highest point of the city wall, and her eyes glistened with wonder.
From where she stood, Xiao Ning'er could see a towering pillar of light shooting into the sky.
Within that pillar sat Chen Shenxin, cross-legged and quietly cultivating, as several Black Gold-rank experts stood on guard around him, while maintaining the Essence Blood Tempering Array.
Then Xiao Ning'er's gaze drifted beyond the city walls. She tilted her head in curiosity at the sight of several hundred fighters working together to dig a long trench stretching far on both sides. Once it was completed, they filled it with some kind of liquid.
This made Xiao Ning'er curious.
Her gaze wandered until it settled on Nie Li and his friends.
Standing beside Nie Li was Ye Ziyun. Just like everyone else, she was holding a pickaxe as she chipped away at the hardened earth, ignoring the dirt staining her beautiful clothes. The sight of her working was fascinating to watch.
Xiao Ning'er wasn't particularly familiar with Nie Li. Aside from his rather bold action at the beginning of the school year, she had more or less lost track of him after that. So she couldn't help but wonder how Ye Ziyun had become so familiar with him.
All Xiao Ning'er knew about the guy, based on Ye Ziyun's stories, was that Nie Li was a smart and reliable person, albeit a bit immature and annoying.
Xiao Ning'er felt a little bad that, the moment she heard those descriptions, the first thing she did was compare him to Xue Hui in her mind, only to conclude, in her rather biased opinion, that Xue Hui was far more impressive.
"Ning'er, Linlin, you two stay here. I need to go down there. It seems Nie Li wants to talk to me."
Xiao Ning'er was snapped out of her thoughts by his words.
Her eyes lingered on Xue Hui before shifting her gaze back to Nie Li, only to realize that he was walking away from the others.
Woosh.
Before Xiao Ning'er could open her mouth to say anything, Xue Hui leaped from the top of the city wall, his robe fluttering in the wind as he glided through the air toward Nie Li.
"What do you think they're going to talk about?" Chen Linlin asked curiously. Her gaze followed Xue Hui's back.
"I-I don't know. Maybe something about Ziyun. The two of them were friends with her." Xiao Ning'er cringed after saying those words. She realized how poorly she had phrased them.
Chen Linlin raised an eyebrow as she pondered her words. "If so, then I feel bad for Nie Li. He doesn't have a chance," she said with a knowing smile.
Xue Hui's feet touched the ground, sending dust and loose dirt billowing into the air.
He then lifted his head, his eyes meeting Nie Li's. The two shared a brief but meaningful silence before Nie Li finally broke it.
"I think it's time for the two of us to understand each other a little better."
End of Chapter 120
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