The anguished cries for help from Xuanyuan Cang echoed between heaven and earth, carrying a chilling penetrative force.
Lin Chen and Gu Ning's eyes turned even sharper in that instant.
They were both astute individuals, fully aware of the saying that villains die from talking too much, and even more so the iron rule that delays lead to changes.
"No one can save you!" Lin Chen shouted furiously.
Xiaobai immediately understood, without any fancy embellishments, transforming into a pure black lightning bolt, piercing straight toward Xuanyuan Cang's brow.
Gu Ning also did not hesitate in the slightest, as the massive mouth of the Ancestor Dragon opened, spewing a golden dragon breath capable of extinguishing all things at close range.
One black, one gold.
This was the fatal strike of the two young supremes.
Even Xuanyuan Cang at his peak might not withstand it, let alone now, when he was seriously injured and on the brink of death.
Yet just as that black lightning was less than three inches away from Xuanyuan Cang's brow, just as the dragon breath was about to engulf him in a critical momentโ
"Sigh."
A light sigh abruptly resounded in everyone's ears.
The sound was not loud, even seemed old and weary, but it eerily overshadowed all the battle cries and roars on the battlefield.
Immediately after, the entire world seemed to have been pressed on pause.
The previously wildly surging spiritual qi solidified, the blood rain suspended in the air froze, even Xiaobai's lethal strike, stopped an inch from its target, unable to advance any further!
"This..."
Lin Chen's pupils contracted to needlepoint size.
Xiaobai's horns paused stiffly in midair as if stabbed into an indestructible invisible wall.
No matter how Xiaobai roared, no matter how it mobilized divine and demonic power, it couldn't move an inch.
Gu Ning's Ancestor Dragon experienced the same, its dragon breath strangely dissipating in midair.
"Ridiculous things."
The old voice sounded again, not with anger, but a detached loftiness, as if scolding an unruly household dog.
Ssโโ
The void above Xuanyuan Cang's head was torn open like a piece of broken cloth.
A figure dressed in a purple-gold long robe, wearing a flat heaven crown, slowly stepped out from the void.
He didn't appear tall, even a bit gaunt.
Yet the moment he appeared, the sky that had been shattered by the great battle instantly healed and calmed.
The aura originally belonging to the Ancestor Dragon and divine demonic beings was instantly crushed by a more vast and terrifying pressure!
That wasn't the suppression of spiritual power.
That was... the Law!
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Lin Chen and Gu Ning felt as if their chests had been struck by a heavy hammer, they and their spirit beasts were violently shaken, retreating several hundred meters by the shockwaves emitted by that person!
"Puโโ"
Lin Chen forcibly swallowed the metallic taste at his throat, staring intently at the suddenly appearing elder.
At this moment, Xuanyuan Cang, who was originally kneeling, saw this person and immediately displayed an expression of ecstatic reverence.
Regardless of the pain from his broken arm, he prostrated himself and trembled as he spoke:
"Welcome... Clan Leader!"
Upon hearing this, the remaining troops of the Divine Race on the battlefield seemingly found their backbone, collectively kneeling and calling out:
"Welcome Divine Lord!!!"
...
Divine Lord.
The clan leader of the Xuanyuan clan, also the supreme leader of the Xuanyuan RaceโXuanyuan Hong.
Xuanyuan Hong ignored Xuanyuan Cang, who was kneeling. His eyes, seemingly holding the cycle of stars, swept over the battlefield impassively.
Where his gaze passed, whether it was Qin Shaoshao's World Tree or Bai Ling's Calamity-Devouring Beast, they all couldn't help but tremble, emitting low growls of instinctive fear.
Finally, his gaze landed on Lin Chen and Gu Ning.
"Not bad."
Xuanyuan Hong nodded, his tone flat as if evaluating two passable pieces of porcelain:
"This generation of the Human Race indeed exceeded my expectations."
"To actually push these few useless elders to such a state."
"But, this is... as far as it goes."
Gu Ning's face looked grim, the Ancestor Dragon emitted faint tremors, not of battle intent, but... fear.
"Level 100..." Gu Ning squeezed out through gritted teeth, "Immortal Venerable."
The difference between level 99 and level 100, seemingly just one level, was the difference between the mortal and the immortal.
Why was it that Bai Ling absolutely had to die that day, the fundamental reason being the terrifying power of the Immortal Venerable Realm.
Yet why did the Immortal Venerable Realm still exist in this world?
Xuanyuan Hong slowly raised his hand, towards Thunder City below, towards the fighting Human Race army, gently making a downward pressing motion.
No dazzling light effects, no thunderous sounds.
"Kneel."
Boom!!!!
An indescribable gravitational law instantaneously descended!
"Crunch! Crunch!"
Thunder City's defensive array shattered instantly.
Countless charging human Beastmasters and Spirit Beasts, not even having time to scream, found their legs uncontrollably bending, heavily kneeling on the ground!
Even formidable beings like Xu Pingzhi, Du Shanhai, at this moment, faces flushed and bones creaking, had to kneel on one knee to resist this heavenly might.
The entire battlefield, except for Lin Chen and others in midair, forcibly holding out, everyone else... was completely suppressed!
Just a motion and a sentence.
The glorious situation seemingly on the verge of victory just moments ago, instantly vanished.
This is the true foundation of the Divine Race.
This is what drives despair... the Immortal Venerable!
Xuanyuan Hong looked at Lin Chen and Gu Ning still straining to hold on, their backs bent yet unwilling to kneel, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, then turned into deeper indifference.
"An ant trying to shake a tree, admirable, but this doesn't mean... you are qualified to speak with me standing."
Having said that, he flicked his fingers lightly.
Buzzโ
Two barely visible ripples shot out.
"Roar!"
Xiaobai and the Ancestor Dragon roared in agony simultaneously, their massive bodies forced back to their original form, powerlessly falling from the sky.
Lin Chen and Gu Ning also fell, crashing heavily onto the devastated ground.
As the dust settled, Lin Chen struggled to stand, but the terrifying oppression was like a mountain weighing down on his back.
Xuanyuan Hong, hands behind his back, descended step by step from the void, each step increasing the pressure on the world.
He stopped ten meters in front of Lin Chen, looking down condescendingly at this young man who brought hope to the Human Race:
"Lin Chen, war indeed allows for progress."
"But some chasms cannot be bridged by mere progress."
Lin Chen raised his head, breathing became rapid.
Just then, Qin Shaoshao and Bai Ling descended from the sides.
Qin Shaoshao was the closest to an Immortal Venerable, coupled with a Celestial Spirit Body, allowing him to barely resist this pressure.
As for Bai Ling, she had once stepped into the Immortal Venerable Realm herself, and now, even if fallen, still retained some immunity.
But, what could they possibly do, the three of them plus the spirit beasts?
In the face of a true Immortal Venerable, they were mere ants.
"Die!"
Xuanyuan Hong pointed lightly, intending to annihilate Lin Chen and his companions without summoning a spirit beast.
As the attack drew closer and closer, almost hitting Lin Chen and the others, a giant tree burst from the ground, accompanying a voice that resounded across the sky:
"Are my Spirit Academy's people ones you can kill?!"
Xuanyuan Hong was startled, quickly raising his head.
At this moment, the Great Elder and Lin Chen, upon hearing this voice, already had faces wet and flushed with emotion.
