An eerie silence filled the ruined banquet hall as the threat posed by Shen Han and the Mysterious Senior had finally passed.
Ye Zong, Chen Zhenlong, and the rest of the Legend-rank experts all let out sighs of relief, now that they were free from the grip of that oppressive aura.
"City Lord!"
"Patriarch!"
The voices from above drew everyone's attention. Looking up, they saw the approaching duo of Ye Shuo and Chen Fe descending from the sky.
Both of their faces turned ashen as they took in the sight before them.
Everything had been destroyed. Every trace that had once made the City Lord's Great Banquet Hall recognizable had been swept away by the battle.
"City Lord! What happened? Was this the Sacred Family's doing? We rushed here to provide assistance as soon as we finished dealing with the rest of the Sacred Family, but those bastards exploded into a cloud of blood, and it flew in this direction. Brother Fe and I chased after it, but we were held in place by a powerful aura," Ye Shuo explained, breathing heavily. It was evident that he and Chen Fe had barely regained their bearings after being freed from the spiritual pressure before rushing to the City Lord's Mansion.
"I'll tell you everything later. Let's focus on more important matters first," Ye Zong replied. He sounded exhausted as he shifted his gaze to Xue Hui, who was still hovering in the air. What he and the others had heard from the earlier exchange would permanently change the course of Glory City's future.
The threats hanging over their heads were no longer limited to the demon beasts and the Dark Guild alone. Now, even the Demon Beast Clan and the Demon God Sect wanted Glory City destroyed.
Ye Zong hoped that Xue Hui had a plan to protect at least the citizens of Glory City. With so many dangers surrounding them, he was no longer certain the city would continue to exist.
"Xue Hui!"
"Hui-Hui!"
Xue Hui, who had been examining the Divine Sacred Ark, shifted his gaze toward the voices.
He saw the worried-looking Xiao Ning'er and Chen Linlin rushing toward him.
Seeing them, a warm feeling washed over Xue Hui's heart, causing the frown on his face to melt away, replaced by a gentle, longing smile.
Storing the Divine Sacred Ark, Xue Hui descended to the ground and spread his arms to receive the two of them.
Chen Linlin saw this and kicked off the ground, closing the distance before throwing herself into Xue Hui's embrace.
The appearance of the Mysterious Senior had left Chen Linlin fearing for Xue Hui's safety.
Seeing him safe and uninjured brought immense relief to her.
"You scared me to death, dummy," she whispered as she clung even tighter to him.
Xiao Ning'er, on the other hand, came to an abrupt halt. Her eyes blinked in confusion as she got a closer look at Xue Hui.
He looks different.
"U-Um... Xue Hui, is that you?" Xiao Ning'er asked uncertainly. Her mouth opened and closed, unable to find the right words to say, while her curious eyes lingered on him, taking in every detail of his current appearance.
"Yup, this is me, Ning'er. I just used one of my Origin Powers and ended up like this," Xue Hui explained with a reassuring smile.
"Like the silver one? The one that made you younger?" Xiao Ning'er asked, her eyes widening in realization.
Xue Hui nodded and extended an arm, beckoning her to come closer.
Xiao Ning'er did. She wrapped her arms around him, and her shoulders relaxed as all the tension left her body, comforted by his familiar aura.
"Xue Hui, I'm happy you're safe," Xiao Ning'er murmured, her voice muffled against his broad chest.
Xue Hui ignored the dampness spreading across his chest as he let the two of them pour out their emotions. The fear they felt for him was something unique to Chen Linlin and Xiao Ning'er, as they each regarded Xue Hui as the most precious person in their lives.
The experts in the ruined banquet hall saw this and quietly stood to the side, watching the intimate reunion.
None of them had the heart to interrupt the touching moment, so they patiently waited before approaching Xue Hui.
Nie Li stood beside Ye Ziyun, observing the way her eyes lingered on the three of them. He could discern the myriad emotions flickering within them, and one of those emotions made his chest ache.
He sighed and chose to ignore it, mentally resolving to stay by Ye Ziyun's side more often from now on.
His gaze then shifted back to Xue Hui as a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. If there was one thing this encounter had made Nie Li realize, it was that Xue Hui was far more mysterious than he had originally imagined.
Every technique Xue Hui had displayed, especially the one that manipulated time, was unlike anything Nie Li had ever seen before, despite having once fought in the war against the Sage Emperor and his armies, who possessed countless powerful techniques.
And yet, Xue Hui's abilities still made no sense to him.
Nie Li let out a shaky breath at the thought. At the moment, Xue Hui was only a Gold-rank Demon Spiritualist. Just imagining what Xue Hui would become once he began cultivating Heavenly Energy filled Nie Li with an inexplicable sense of urgency.
Time passed, and the three finally noticed the gazes directed at them. Xiao Ning'er quickly pulled away from Xue Hui, her face flushing crimson with embarrassment.
Chen Linlin did the same, though she remained far more composed than Xiao Ning'er.
Taking this as a cue, the others finally approached Xue Hui.
Ye Zong, Chen Zhenlong, and the rest of the Legend-rank experts gathered around Xue Hui, their expressions filled with concern.
Xue Hui raised a hand, stopping everyone from asking questions before addressing the matter.
"I know what's on all of your minds, and yes, we're still in grave danger," Xue Hui said in a serious tone, his gaze sweeping across the crowd as he noticed the fear and uncertainty in many of their eyes.
"As you all heard, we're facing more enemies than we anticipated. There's the incoming demon beast horde, the Demon Beast Clan behind the attack, and, more importantly, the Demon God Sect targeting us for some unknown reason. Things might look pretty hopeless for Glory City."
Xue Hui's words echoed exactly what everyone had been thinking. How could they possibly stand against forces like the Demon Beast Clan and the Demon God Sect? The more they thought about it, the bleaker the situation became.
"But what you all don't know is that the solution to this crisis is actually far simpler than you imagine," Xue Hui said confidently.
Everyone looked at him in shock as a confident grin spread across his face.
"What do you mean by that, Xue Hui? Do you have a way to protect everyone?" Chen Zhenlong stepped forward and asked hopefully. He knew Xue Hui's true origins better than anyone else, as well as just how mysterious he truly was. At this moment, Chen Zhenlong was placing all of their hopes for survival on him.
Xue Hui nodded.
"There's a reason the Demon God Sect is borrowing the hands of the Demon Beast Clan, instead of attacking us themselves."
Confused expressions appeared on Chen Zhenlong, Ye Zong, and the others, but they remained silent as they listened.
Xue Hui stated, the corners of his lips curling upward.
"That's because the Demon God Sect cannot enter our world. A long time ago, a supreme expert placed a mysterious inscription barrier around our tiny world that prevents anyone who wasn't born here from entering," Xue Hui said, shocking everyone. "It doesn't matter how powerful the Demon God Sect is. They are helpless against this inscription barrier. That means our only concern is the Demon Beast Clan. Once we destroy them, the Demon God Sect will be completely powerless to do anything to us."
Xue Hui's words are like a bomb exploding in everyone's minds. If that were truly the case, then perhaps the situation wasn't as hopeless as it had seemed.
While it was true that the Demon Beast Clan was a powerful force with formidable experts like the Mysterious Senior, they weren't completely invincible, especially with Xue Hui on their side. His and his companions' growth was nothing short of astonishing. Given enough time, they might one day become strong enough to stand against the Demon Beast Clan.
And for the first time since their encounter with Chen Han and the mysterious senior, Ye Zong, Chen Zhenlong, and the others felt a sliver of hope emerge within their hearts.
"But first, let's deal with this demon beast horde before we think about destroying the Demon Beast Clan. Fortunately for us, we obtained the perfect treasure to help defend against it. My only concern is that we don't know the horde's overall strength."
"Screech!"
As Xue Hui spoke, a metallic screech rang through the air, reaching everyone's ears. They immediately turned toward the source of the sound and saw a metallic bird circling high above them. A moment later, it swooped down toward where they were standing.
Ye Zong recognized the metallic bird and quickly raised his arm, allowing it to land gracefully on his wrist. It flapped its wings a few times before folding them neatly against its body, its sharp eyes fixed on Xue Hui.
"Boy, who are you?" the bird asked in a trembling voice, making Xue Hui raise an eyebrow.
What everyone didn't know was that Ancestral Founder Ye Yan had expended nearly all of his Spiritual Energy and pushed his Soul Force to the brink of exhaustion just to return to Glory City as quickly as possible.
As a result, he shortened what should have been a journey of several days into mere hours, allowing him to arrive in time to witness the latter half of the confrontation between Xue Hui and Shen Han. However, having exhausted nearly all of his strength, Ye Yan chose to remain hidden.
That was the reason behind his question. Everything Xue Hui had done had shaken Ye Yan to his very core. His techniques, battle prowess, and brilliant mind all made Ye Yan see Xue Hui as a freak of nature.
"Ancestral Founder Ye Yan, you've returned. Did you discover any important information about the Dark Guild headquarters?"
This time, everyone's gaze shifted to the approaching Nie Li. Walking beside him was Ye Ziyun.
Ye Zong's eyes widened as he remembered what his daughter had gone through not long ago.
Ye Yan leaped onto Ye Xiu's shoulder as Ye Zong hurried over to Ye Ziyun. An apologetic expression washed over his face as he pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Oh, Yun'er... I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. Back then, I shouldn't have let you experience something like that," Ye Zong said guiltily, causing Ye Ziyun to shake her head and comfort her father.
"You have nothing to be sorry about. It wasn't your fault, Father. We were in the middle of a battle, and I'm the one who got careless and ended up being captured. I should be the one apologizing for making the situation even more dire. I'm sorry," Ye Ziyun said apologetically.
As the father and daughter shared an emotional moment, Ye Xiu cleared his throat, drawing everyone's attention. However, instead of Ye Xiu, it was Ye Yan who began to speak.
"Nie Li, boy, I did indeed find the Dark Guild's hideout, but we have a far more pressing matter at hand. A demon beast horde is on its way," Ye Yan said.
He then turned to Xue Hui and continued, "You want to know the exact strength of the upcoming attack, don't you?"
Xue Hui nodded. Based on Shen Han's words from earlier, the demon beast horde numbered in the tens of millions. They knew its size, but not its overall strength.
That information was crucial, as it would allow Xue Hui to devise a proper plan to defend against them.
"Their numbers are around twelve to fifteen million, with tens of thousands of Black Gold-rank demon beasts and a single Legend-rank demon beast leading them."
Chen Zhenlong, Ye Zong, and the rest of the Legend-rank experts all sucked in a cold breath. Tens of thousands of Black Gold-rank demon beasts were already far more than they could handle, even with their current strength. To make matters worse, there was even a Legend-rank demon beast leading the horde.
Xue Hui listened intently to Ye Yan's report, his mind already devising ways to combat the impending threat. But the moment he heard that a Legend-rank demon beast was among the attackers, a sense of dread washed over him.
"That Legend-rank demon beast is no ordinary creature. It's a gigantic monster capable of destroying the entire city in seconds. We need to escape before it reaches us," Ye Yan said urgently. Everyone could practically hear the fear in his voice.
Xue Hui's stomach churned. Based on Ye Yan's description, there were few demon beasts that fit it. And each one of them was a huge threat.
"The Silao Grande is going to destroy Glory City," Ye Yan exclaimed in alarm.
"Fuck!"
"Fuck!"
Xue Hui and Nie Li cursed at the same time. This attack had just become a hundred times more complicated to deal with.
End of Chapter 119
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