Realm-Hopping Martial Master

Chapter 1160: Chapter 622: Faction Visits! Covert Clashes!

"The envoys claim they have brought congratulatory gifts and have come specifically to pay a visit to the War Alliance!"

"But judging from that Star Shuttle’s posture and its energy fluctuations, their guard is tight. They are definitely not here with good intentions!"

The words of the War Alliance’s captain of guards instantly shattered the atmosphere in the hall.

Zhan Jiuxiao whipped around, his voice suddenly sinking, like metal plunging into a Cold Pond; his gaze turned abruptly cold and hard, like shards of starlight.

"They come under the name of a visit, but in truth they are here to probe our reality!"

"The Ancestral Land has been sealed, the core area of the War Alliance is under martial law—an upheaval this great cannot possibly be hidden from those bastards’ senses."

"They’ve caught a whiff of something and want to confirm what exactly has happened within the War Alliance. If some major change truly has occurred, they will immediately unite to carve up the War Alliance."

His brows knitted tightly; beneath the calm surface, a killing aura surged almost uncontrollably.

"The nine Overlord-level Influences joining hands to come in person—quite the grand spectacle."

The space around Zhan Jiuxiao quivered subtly, his pressure like an invisible hand closing around the surrounding breath.

He suddenly turned, his gaze like a blade’s edge sweeping across everyone present.

"Uncle Zhan."

At this moment, Jiang Shu was the first to discern what was in Zhan Jiuxiao’s heart; the War Alliance’s attitude toward him had completely exceeded his expectations.

At a time like this, he naturally had to step forward as well.

He took a step out; his voice was not loud, yet it cut in with ironclad finality, interrupting the increasingly congealed atmosphere.

His gaze swept past Yu Sha and the others, who had only just awakened and whose complexions remained wan and withered, finally settling on Zhan Feng and Zhan Yun as he continued,

"The Ancestral Land’s beginning and end must be handled personally by you. If even a trace of that foul aura leaks out, the consequences will be unpredictable."

"The guests here can be ’entertained’ by Zhan Feng and Zhan Yun."

He deliberately put weight on the word "entertained"; beneath the level tone lay a decision as cold as solid ice.

Hearing this, Zhan Feng clenched the Daylight in his hand, stomping forward with a sudden step; the ashen pallor on his face from his yet-unhealed grievous wounds was swiftly replaced by boiling battle intent. He grinned and said, "Exactly, Father!"

"They’re nothing but a flock of vultures that smelled blood; there’s no need for you to personally step onto the field!"

"Let me and little sis accompany Brother Jiang to go meet them—I’d very much like to see just how sharp their teeth actually are!"

The freshly bestowed Star Artifact Daylight seethed in his palm with a restless, Primordial battle will.

Though his injuries were severe, practically harming his very foundation, they had now been healed. Besides, this was the War Alliance’s main stronghold; these Overlord-level Influences naturally would not start a fight within the War Alliance.

Their arrival was merely to scout things out.

Zhan Yun’s aura was somewhat weaker; the pain from the corrosive energy that had gnawed at her ribs still lingered in thin, drawn-out threads, yet her cool countenance was as tranquil as still water. Meeting Zhan Jiuxiao’s gaze, she slowly nodded; the Star Short Blade before her knees hummed once, as if in response.

"Rest assured, Father. We know our limits."

She had already seen the worry and faint unwillingness in Yu Sha and the others’ eyes after being sealed off by the Supreme Elder’s restriction. For the three of them, as future core figures, to step forward at this moment carried enough weight and would also avert chaos.

Zhan Jiuxiao’s gaze, sharp as a hunting hawk’s, swept one by one across the three young, resolute faces.

In Jiang Shu’s eyes he saw calm, penetrating insight; in Zhan Feng’s, blazing battle intent; in Zhan Yun’s, a steadfastness like bedrock.

They had all already guessed his intention.

Only then did he forcefully press down that killing aura almost breaking out of his body, turning it into a low, metallic-sounding grunt in his throat.

After all, he and the Supreme Elder had already made themselves very clear today.

The War Alliance had staked its future on these three.

Letting them come into contact with the other great powers a bit early would be a good thing.

"Very well."

Zhan Jiuxiao hesitated no longer; his sleeve flared with a fierce sweep, and space abruptly twisted.

As his figure faded, only one final, indisputable command thundered through the hall, its majesty greater than rolling thunder.

"Remember, the threshold of the War Alliance is not a place for running wild!"

"Any probing claws you detect—do not show the slightest hesitation or mercy. Break them directly!"

Before his voice had fully fallen, that Dark Gold figure had completely blended into the Space Ripple, leaving behind only strands of frigid turbulence seeping from the forcibly torn and rapidly mending cracks in the air.

War Alliance central hub, the main reception Great Hall.

This Great Hall was not ostentatious, yet its grand, vigorous aura and archaic, imposing design possessed far more depth than those glittering, ostentatious palaces.

Forty-nine bronze pillars were engraved head to toe with epic totems of primordial wars, supporting a deep dome through which billions of points of starlight flowed.

The gentle radiance condensed by the Star Array spilled down, yet could not dispel the invisible heaviness permeating the air.

This pressure originated from the floor tiles beneath their feet.

Each slab was cast from fragments of Silent Star Core, tempered through eons of blood and fire, sedimented with a suffocating, killing stillness.

Upon stepping into this hall, those with slightly weaker Cultivation would feel as if bearing a colossal mountain upon their backs, their qi and spirit involuntarily sinking and tightening.

At this moment, within this hall that symbolized the War Alliance’s dignified nerve center, the atmosphere carried a strange sense of confrontation.

Seventeen figures were scattered about in staggered positions; some sat on guest seats carved from Star Stone, their postures seemingly casual yet brimming with a poised, hard-edged momentum. These were representatives of several Overlord Powers; the others were even more peculiar in appearance.

On one side stood Mechanical Divine Envoys clad from head to toe in cold, streamlined Platinum Armor, with joints coursing with a dim blue energy sheen. Their bodies could be said to be the purest form of art, born solely for battle, every curve reflecting light optimized by precise calculations.

On the other side, beyond a few roughly humanoid outlines, stood several beings of bizarre form.

Their bodies were covered in hard, iridescent carapaces that shimmered in seven colors, compound eyes arrayed like stellar orbits—Insect Emperor’s Guards. They stood in silence, yet exuded the quiet oppression of Abyssal predators that chose their prey to devour.