On an endless plain, two extremely towering mountain ranges stand tall, piercing the sky. These soaring peaks are almost impossible for ordinary people to climb.
In the gap between the two mountain ranges, a colossal fortress stands guard, like a primeval beast, defending the main road from the Jia Ma Empire to the outside. This is the Black Mountain Fortress, the first and most important stronghold in the empire's northeast.
This fortress is the most important line of defense in the hearts of the people of the Jia Ma Empire, and it has now attracted the attention of many empires in this region.
The city walls of the Black Mountain Fortress are entirely built from jet-black volcanic obsidian, giving them an incredibly formidable sturdiness. Walls like these can withstand the attacks of even Dou Emperor powerhouses for a long time.
On the fortress walls, dense military forces can be seen everywhere. There are even countless huge crossbows, with steel arrows as thick as a person's thigh already loaded, waiting to unleash their astonishing power at any moment.
Today, the commander of the Black Mountain Fortress had already received a message from the royal family, preparing for a major battle. In fact, this wasn't strange. Although the Great Assembly of Powerhouses was said to be a battle between the empire's powerhouses, it was actually closely related to other imperial activities. A full-scale battle almost always erupts during every Great Assembly of Powerhouses.
Or rather, many of these assemblies broke out after a major battle had failed and a stalemate was reached. As the assembly neared its end, the losing side would charge with their army to turn the tide, while the side with the advantage would counter with their own army.
Therefore, the conclusion of every Great Assembly of Powerhouses was a charge between armies, covering for their own exhausted and weakened powerhouses as they retreated from the battlefield.
Compared to the army, which could be trained and selected repeatedly, powerhouses above the Dou King level were crucial to the nation's destiny in these great battles. Losing even one was a significant event.
So at these times, even if they knew that the charge would lead to heavy losses for the army, the commanders would still choose to end with an army charge to prevent their weakened powerhouses from being killed. They would also try to hunt down the enemy's weakened powerhouses at the cost of great army losses.
In the center of the Black Mountain Fortress's city walls, dozens of figures with immense prestige in the empire stood. Their gazes were fixed on the far-off distance outside the fortress, where three distinct armies, each from a different empire, had arrived with their respective powerhouses.
The powerhouses' gazes swept around, quickly locking onto the other powerhouses within the three armies. Their eyes met, and only the opponents existed in their sight.
In the eyes of a true powerhouse, a regular army was not much of a threat. A single Dou King powerhouse could easily withstand a ten-thousand-man army. And this was why powerhouses held a status on the continent that surpassed that of a king.
In the Dou Qi Continent, powerhouses reign supreme, and royal authority comes second.
On the city wall of the Black Mountain Fortress, a figure descended from the sky. With his white hair and robes fluttering in the wind, a powerful aura erupted. The entire Black Mountain Fortress, both inside and out, felt as if a giant dragon had arrived, and a strong, powerful presence swept down, suppressing the battle-hardened army formations below.
The old Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, the Dou Ancestor Yun Shan, had arrived at the Black Mountain Fortress.
"Master!"
The one presiding over this assembly on behalf of Yun Shan was the Sect Master of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun. Upon seeing Yun Shan's arrival, she quickly went to greet him.
The Misty Cloud Sect had sent out all of its elites this time. Not only had Yun Shan and Yun Yun come, but all the Dou Kings, led by First Elder Yun Leng, were also present.
Furthermore, countless elite disciples were also there, who could form the Misty Cloud Covering Sun Array to jointly fight a Dou Emperor.
Besides the Misty Cloud Sect, several Dou Kings from the royal family and the recovered sixth-rank magical beast, the Serene Sea Scaly Beast, were also in attendance. The royal family's guardian, Jia Xingtian, seemed to be absent. It was rumored that Yun Shan had paid a visit to the royal family after his breakthrough, and some suspected that the royal family's guardian had been 'persuaded' and was unwilling to show his face.
The powerhouses of the three great clans of the Jia Ma Empire were all present: the three Dou Kings from Mitel Tengshan, the Nalan Clan, and Mu Chen; as well as the older generation's Ice Emperor Hai Bodong and the Alchemist Association's President Fa Ma. The younger generation of top ten powerhouses, such as Gu He, Yan Shi, Feng Li, and Lei Na, were also there.
The Jia Ma Empire actually had quite a few powerhouses. After the news of the Great Assembly of Powerhouses spread, some powerhouses seemed to have emerged from nowhere. Among them were even two elderly Dou Emperors who were once believed to have perished.
Some strange individuals had also mingled among these powerhouses. Yan Qingshan, posing as a rogue cultivator, had blended in with the Yao brothers.
The appearance of their group, a Dou Emperor and three Dou Kings, caused quite a stir. One must know that besides the Misty Cloud Sect and the royal family, no other force in the empire possessed so many powerhouses.
"Yun Shan, I don't know what agreement you reached with that old fellow Jia, but Yan Luotian and Xie Biyan are not easy to deal with. And those three from the Mulan Valley were said to be able to fight a Dou Ancestor back then. Although they haven't broken through, they must be even more difficult now. Are you confident?"
Standing beside Yun Shan were the various Dou Emperor powerhouses of the Jia Ma Empire. The Alchemist Association's President Fa Ma was the strongest person present after Yun Shan. He gazed at the three armies in the distance, his aged voice carrying a hint of solemnity.
"That old fellow Xie Biyan is indeed troublesome, but since this old man made this decision, I am naturally not without confidence."
Yun Shan stared at the distant armies, his gaze meeting that of the five powerhouses opposite him. He didn't think much of the three Mulan elders and Yan Luotian. Only Xie Biyan, who had left a deep impression on him, seemed to be a bit more troublesome. His cultivation was even higher than his own.
Xie Biyan's strength was surprisingly powerful, but Yun Shan wasn't worried. As long as Xie Biyan hadn't broken through to an Advanced Dou Ancestor above the Six-star rank, with the strength of their side today, he would surely suffer a great loss in this battle.
A thunderous drumbeat echoed from the distance, reverberating throughout the entire fortress. Dozens of figures flew forward with sharp sounds of tearing air. The sonic booms in the sky echoed like thunder, creating a heavy psychological pressure.
"Everyone, you should all be clear about the rules of the Great Assembly of Powerhouses. Let them see how the powerhouses of our Jia Ma Empire fight!"
Yun Shan let out a deep shout. The powerhouses on the Jia Ma Empire's side responded in unison, and figures flashed out like lightning, confronting the three opposing groups of powerhouses in the air. A great battle of Dou King level and above was about to erupt.
"Yun Shan, I'd like to see what kind of courage you have today!"
Figures with dou qi wings on their backs emerged, their eyes sharp and filled with cold sneers as they looked at the heavily defended Black Mountain Fortress. A loud, arrogant laugh came from behind them, echoing throughout the entire fortress from mid-air.
"Yan Luotian!"
Yun Shan looked to the figures behind the group of Dou Kings and Dou Emperors. A man there held immense prestige in the Luo Yan Empire—the Sect Master of the Golden Geese Sect, Yan Luotian.
A brilliant golden light suddenly shot out from the army, piercing the sky and hovering in the air. A man in golden clothes was suspended in the sky. Behind him, there was a pair of unusually large golden goose wings that shimmered with golden light, like a divine being.
The Sect Master of the Golden Geese Sect, Yan Luotian, possessed the crafting method for a Tian-rank flying dou qi technique, the Nine Heaven Goose Wings. His speed was unrivaled, and an ordinary Dou Ancestor couldn't even track him.
"You have only barely broken through to Dou Ancestor. How dare you be so arrogant in front of this sect master?"
Yun Shan stared at Yan Luotian with narrowed eyes. He knew that even among those who had broken through to Dou Ancestor, there were differences in strength.
Not to mention Queen Medusa, after an ordinary peak Dou Emperor broke through to Dou Ancestor, many people's cultivation speed would slow down considerably. There were even many who didn't advance a single star in over a decade.
Yun Shan, Jia Xingtian, and this Yan Luotian were all One-star Dou Ancestors. But Yun Shan's strength was superior to Jia Xingtian's; he had already reached the peak of the One-star Dou Ancestor rank. In the great battle of the Misty Cloud Sect a few years later, he would have the cultivation of a Three-star Dou Ancestor.
Although Jia Xingtian had only broken through recently, the spatial understanding he got from Yao Lao was not simple, allowing him to avoid many detours. After stabilizing his cultivation, he was already an experienced One-star Dou Ancestor.
As for Yan Luotian, he must have barely broken through to Dou Ancestor with the help of the Hall of Souls. His cultivation was at the bottom of the Dou Ancestor rank, but because he possessed the Nine Heaven Goose Wings flying dou qi technique, his strength wasn't weak.
"Old Yun Shan, what does it matter that you broke through earlier? Can you keep up with this sect master's speed? I think you've raised your disciple quite well. If you lose today's battle, you can offer her as a plea for surrender, heh heh... this sect master wouldn't mind..."
A cold sneer appeared on the corner of Yan Luotian's mouth, and his words were full of vulgarity. Yun Shan's face darkened, Gu He's fists clenched, and Yan Qingshan's gaze became sharp. This Yan Luotian had already been sentenced to death by him long ago, and now he was considering whether or not to desecrate his corpse.
"Haha... Yun Shan, you've been holed up in the Jia Ma Empire for so many years. You finally broke through but your mind has gone cloudy. Do you really think we three Mulan elders are just here for show?"
Three streams of light of different colors shot out from another army, eventually transforming into three smiling old men who appeared in mid-air.
These three old men had dou qi wings on their backs and were all peak Dou Emperor powerhouses. They wore green robes, each embroidered with the patterns of a lion, a tiger, and a bear. These patterns didn't look like they were made with ordinary thread; they seemed to be condensed from some kind of profound energy.
When a person's gaze swept over them, the three exceptionally ferocious beasts would glare back with their blood-red eyes. If a person's willpower wasn't strong enough, their legs would turn to jelly just from this murderous, savage gaze.
The three Mulan elders were renowned powerhouses in the countries bordering the Black-Corner Region of the Northwest Continent. They cultivated an ancient technique called the Three Beasts Savage Desolation Art. When the three of them joined forces, they could fight a Dou Ancestoe. In an era where none of these four empires had a Dou Ancestor, the Mulan Empire's strength was undeniably number one.
"Yun Shan, I never expected you to have such guts."
An aged voice came from the midst of the Chu Yun Empire's Poison Masters, and an old man rose into the air. The old man wore simple clothes, and his aged face was expressionless. In his seemingly cloudy eyes, there was a chillingly sharp glint.
He leaned on a jet-black walking stick. On the stick's head was an exceptionally ferocious scorpion head, and on its forehead, a hint of hard-to-detect purple light flickered.
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