The Spider Empress's face twisted with disbelief. She had never imagined that she—a true powerhouse of the True Spirit Realm, a peerless genius of the Eternal Night—would find herself in such a situation. Her Thousand Tribulation Spider Web, a technique that had never once failed her, had not only failed to dominate the battlefield but had been torn open, allowing an arrow to pierce through and strike her directly.
It was simply unthinkable.
She was a True Spirit Realm cultivator. Yi Tianxing was only at the Yang God Realm—a whole major realm beneath hers. How could a genius possibly cross that divide? No, this wasn't just genius. Yi Tianxing was no longer within the category of 'genius.' He was a true monster, a supreme aberration.
If such a monstrous being were allowed to grow further, he would undoubtedly become every enemy's nightmare.
Even more terrifying was the fact that the arrow had pierced through the Thousand Tribulation Spider Web. That alone was beyond comprehension.
That web… was a Innate Spirit Treasure.
"Beware the Emperor of Great Yi! He is a monster!" the Spider Empress shouted.
But just as her voice rang out, flames suddenly erupted from every inch of her flesh. These weren't ordinary flames—they were the Vermilion Bird Divine Flames, surging straight from her blood and flesh, enveloping her body completely. Under the searing divine fire, her form disintegrated inch by inch into ash.
A supreme powerhouse was thus incinerated—at the very moment the Eternal Night army had just descended.
It was an incomprehensible scene—one that filled all onlookers with a deep and instinctual dread.
And the most terrifying part was that this hadn't come after a hard-fought battle. There had been no prolonged struggle. It had been pure domination. A one-sided massacre. One arrow. One death. Not even an Innate Spirit Treasure could block it. Not even a True Spirit Realm cultivation could resist it.
A clean instant kill.
A Yang God Realm cultivator had slain a True Spirit Realm powerhouse.
Every time such an event occurred, it shook the heavens and earth.
Only a monstrous prodigy could accomplish such a feat.
"Spider Empress… was actually slain in a single arrow…"
The Dark Demon Grand Knight stared, twin flames of spiritual fire in his eyes dancing wildly—as though ready to leap from his skull. His shock was palpable. He knew very well how powerful the Spider Empress had been. Facing her in combat, there was no certainty of survival. Her Thousand Tribulation Spider Web was famous across Eternal Night; countless powerful figures had been caught and toyed with inside it—wishing they could die.
Yet she had been slain in an instant. By Yi Tianxing.
The meaning was clear: if they faced Yi Tianxing in combat, they too might die with a single arrow. The idea of defending against such a force seemed absurd.
It wasn't just power—it was brutality beyond reason.
"So strong… No wonder he ranks so high on the Eternal Night's Hunt List," the Zerg Queen murmured, sucking in a cold breath. "After this, he'll undoubtedly rise to the very top. A greater bounty will follow. And with that, stronger monsters will be sent to hunt him."
She understood well: the more dazzling one's performance, the more attention one attracted—and from Eternal Night, that was never a good thing.
The Eternal World may not have had the same level of heritage and fortune, but it could still produce monstrous individuals like Yi Tianxing.
Even the Dark Demon Grand Knight didn't dare to step outside the pillar of starlight. He knew the moment he did, he could die. He had no confidence he could survive that same arrow.
"The Emperor is invincible! Long live the Emperor!!"
General Cheng Yaojin shouted loudly.
"The Emperor is invincible! Long live the Emperor!!"
The rallying cry echoed from a million voices within White Crow City.
There was no mistaking the awe and devotion in their voices—their faces filled with a fervor that could not be concealed.
Slaying a True Spirit Realm powerhouse of Eternal Night with a single arrow—such a feat sent morale soaring.
On the city walls, every soldier was now filled with overwhelming spirit and war fervor.
They launched wave after wave of attacks against the enemy below. The overwhelming rain of arrows ensured the Eternal Night army couldn't even get near White Crow City. They were mowed down before they could approach. The various elite legions of the Great Yi Dynasty held complete supremacy over the Eternal Night forces currently present.
Even without using the Demon Slaying Arrows or the Yin-Yang Annihilation Bomb, just the base power of the God-Slayer Crossbows and ordinary arrows were already having a crushing effect on the battlefield.
They were completely dominating.
Even the Nightmare Knights, raising fallen corpses into undead warriors, were swiftly exterminated. The crossbows reigned like divine wrath across the battlefield.
"This move of the Emperor has greatly boosted morale, and removed a major threat from Eternal Night. This merit will surely be recorded by the Heavenly Dao,"
said Zhuge Liang with a smile, gently waving his feather fan.
In this war, killing an Eternal Night powerhouse meant merit—divine military contributions—and there was a clear system for it.
Killing a Divine Sea Realm enemy: 1 merit point.
Life Aperture Realm: 10 points.
Life Map Realm: 100 points.
Dharma Phase Realm: 10,000 points.
Nascent Soul Realm: 1,000,000 points.
Yang God Realm: 10,000,000 points.
True Spirit Realm: 1 billion merit points.
So just now, by killing the Spider Empress, Yi Tianxing had earned a billion points—an immense sum. For reference, destroying a star gate—a strategic structure—only gave 10 billion. Killing ten True Spirit Realm enemies was equivalent to that.
Of course, their significance was different. A True Spirit Realm powerhouse was already a celestial being—one who could completely shift the tides of a battlefield. Killing one of them was like severing a general's head from the Eternal Night war machine.
Moreover, these merit points could be exchanged for all manner of heavenly treasures.
Even more crucial: battlefield merit came in three types—personal, faction, and racial.
Everyone had personal merit for their own kills, but the leader of a force—like Yi Tianxing—also earned 10% of all the merit gained by their subordinates. With a million soldiers fighting at his command, the numbers were snowballing by the second.
Right now, even as the war had just begun, Yi Tianxing's merit was skyrocketing.
"A mere Spider Empress. This is only the beginning," Yi Tianxing said solemnly. "Eternal Night's war potential far surpasses imagination. Based on our experience, by the end of this night, many war cities will face grave danger. Some may even fall. Even those that don't will likely suffer heavy casualties. This is not a situation we can take lightly."
As he spoke, he retrieved the loot left behind by the Spider Empress's death.
The most valuable item, naturally, was the Thousand Tribulation Spider Web—an Innate Spirit Treasure and her life-bound weapon. Although it was connected to her soul, the suddenness of her death had prevented it from sustaining major damage. Innate Spirit Treasures had self-repairing abilities. As long as their Innate Immortal Light and Dao Laws remained intact, they could slowly restore themselves.
Unless it was utterly shattered beyond recognition, it could recover.
Yi Tianxing held the spiderweb in his hands and nodded in appreciation.
"A fine treasure. This web can cast curses, form an absolute domain wherever it spreads, and unleash devastating might. Once ensnared, escape is nearly impossible. If not for the Meteor Bow and Seven-Kill Arrow, I doubt I could have broken it."
Fortunately, the Meteor Bow and Seven-Kill Arrow were both Innate Spirit Treasures as well. The Seven-Kill Arrow alone contained the Power of Seven Slaughters, allowing it to burst forth sevenfold. That alone had torn open the web.
Now, both the Dark Demon Grand Knight and the Zerg Queen were clearly cowed. Despite being True Spirit Realm cultivators, neither dared step out of the pillar of starlight. Their eyes never left Yi Tianxing. On a battlefield, a sharpshooter who could kill in a single arrow was a greater threat than any army.
Meanwhile, the pillar of starlight around the Spider Empress dimmed, and the star gate within appeared to close. The eight-armed demon spiders that had been pouring out ceased their advance.
Still, the Zerg army continued its endless assault—attacking not only White Crow City but spreading outward in all directions.
The entire Divine-Demon Battlefield had erupted into total war.
And the majority of enemies… were Zerg.
Zerg were the unyielding vanguard of Eternal Night.