At the Kuanglang Sect, the Sect Master fled desperately, with dozens of streams of light pursuing him closely. These streams of light were none other than the Huaxia Empire's elite warriors.
Suddenly, a mighty general appeared before the fleeing sect master. He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, an imposing figure, and wielded a massive halberd. With a swift, powerful strike, he aimed to cut down the Kuanglang Sect Master.
Already heavily injured, the Kuanglang Sect Master was in no condition to withstand such a powerful blow. He hastily dodged, but by then, the pursuing warriors had already caught up, surrounding him completely.
"Well done, Hong Weiyang!" Ye Zihan, wielding a three-edged halberd, joined the encirclement and praised the warrior who had blocked the sect master's path.
Hong Weiyang, looking at the trapped sect master, sneered, "Run, go ahead, I'd love to see how far you can run now."
Ye Zihan casually rested his halberd on his shoulder and shifted his stance, tightening the encirclement with his fellow warriors around the Kuanglang Sect Master.
The Kuanglang Sect Master looked at his captors, utterly perplexed. These seventy-two warriors were only at the sixth stage of the Awakened Realm, far inferior in cultivation to his own. He, after all, was a formidable eighth-stage Awakened Realm cultivator with hero-class battle prowess. Yet, against these seventy-two, he had been thoroughly outmatched, unable to find even a glimmer of victory.
These seventy-two warriors acted as one, their coordination so seamless that even when engaged with just one of them, it felt as if he were battling all seventy-two simultaneously.
Their flawless teamwork, as if they were linked by a single mind, allowed them to press him to his limits, leaving the Kuanglang Sect Master utterly bewildered. He couldn't fathom how these warriors, with their seemingly lesser power, had managed to force him into such a desperate position.
"Hey, he looks quite dissatisfied, maybe even confused," Ye Zihan chuckled, noticing the sect master's expression.
"He's probably wondering how his hero-class battle power could fail against us," Hong Weiyang smirked. "But no matter how much he thinks about it, he'll never figure it out."
"Let's finish this. Once he's dead, the Kuanglang Sect will be completely finished. After all, this sect was one of the more formidable opponents in the Southern Region," Ye Zihan said, channeling his Huaxia energy and locking his gaze on the Kuanglang Sect Master.
At the same time, Hong Weiyang and the other warriors unleashed their Huaxia energy, their collective aura merging into a single, unbreakable force.
"That feeling again!" The Kuanglang Sect Master, now surrounded, felt the familiar, overwhelming pressure from the seventy-two warriors. The sight of their identical yellow energy forming around them, tinged with a murderous intent, made him feel as though they were going to tear his mind apart.
This intense killing aura, combined with their attacks, had thrown his spirit into disarray during their previous encounters, making it impossible for him to stabilize his energy.
No matter how much he fought, their strength never seemed to falter.
"Ahhhh!" he roared in fury, his voice echoing through the sky.
Seven days later, the Kuanglang Sect was utterly defeated. The body of its sect master was hung at the gates of their mountain stronghold as a grim reminder of their downfall.
At the Guiyuan Valley, the Valley Master knelt with disheveled hair at the valley's entrance, staring blankly at the devastation around him.
From the distant horizon, a terrifying surge of soul energy rose, a river of power descending from the heavens.
Even the Guiyuan Valley's defensive array, the Yuhui Formation, was quickly overwhelmed by this torrent of energy, shattering completely.
The destructive power of the Obliteration Impact Cannons was something the incomplete Yuhui Formation couldn't possibly reflect. Even the fully complete Yuhui Formation of Yuheng Dominion wouldn't have been able to withstand such a blast.
The continuous explosions and the cries of pain and terror filled the Valley Master's ears, echoing through the remains of his domain.
Seven days earlier, this relentless assault had begun, with soul energy bombardments striking the Guiyuan Valley from all directions, relentlessly pounding the surrounding mountains into dust.
The Guiyuan Valley, once a place of great power within the Southern Region, was now reduced to rubble.
The Valley Master, drained of energy, collapsed to the ground, overwhelmed by regret. Why had he ever provoked the Huaxia Empire?
It wasn't just the Guiyuan Valley's leader who regretted their actions—every power in the Southern Region now shared the same bitter sentiment. They all cursed their greed, questioning why they had ever sent envoys to the Huaxia Empire in the first place.
Those who had goaded Lin Qian, urging him to challenge the entire Southern Region, had already been torn apart by their own people. Before their deaths, the question they heard the most was: why did you provoke Lin Qian?
Why challenge him and tell him to take on the entire Southern Region? Now, the consequences were clear. The Kuanglang Sect Master's body hung as a warning, and the Guiyuan Valley had been blasted into a flat plain!
Meanwhile, Yuheng Dominion had already lost fifty of its provinces to the Huaxia Empire.
In their desperation, the leaders of many smaller powers, fearing for their lives, had dismantled their organizations and handed their territories over to the Huaxia Empire, swearing oaths of eternal loyalty and pledging never to rebel.
In the grand palace of Yuheng Dominion, Emperor Yuheng was in a furious rage, smashing everything within reach. He turned to his advisors, his voice seething with anger: "I listened to your advice and tested him, and now look at what you've done! You've doomed my dominion! He's not some lucky brat—he's a monstrous beast that devours everything and leaves nothing behind!"