"Godfather, you barely evaded death, didnât you?" Tianming said as he looked ahead coldly.
"Well, I was this close to dying. Thankfully, I was born with plot armor. I survived, didnât I? Isnât that badass?" Li Wudi said as he leaned on the wall. Even though he was weakened, he didnât forget to praise himself.
"Badass indeed. So, what do you think?"
"Iâve seen how sinister that old bastard can be, and Iâm going to give it my all to resist him. Given how I survived, despite how badly he thrashed me, Iâll definitely squash him under my foot one day!" Li Wudi said bloodthirstily. What he didnât mention was how he was this close from being obliterated if the Evil Suppression Formation hadnât been deployed in time.
"Iâll tag along, what do you say?"
"Hehe... weâll see if youâre truly a genius, or just a dumbass. I worry you wonât be able to catch up to my cultivation speed."
"Hahaha...." Even though they werenât truly father and son, they sure were bonded like a family. Li Muyang was a distant figure Tianming hadnât met before, so Li Wudi was the closest thing he had to a father. While his enemies would be endlessly annoyed with his personality, it was rather pleasant to be his son.
"Tianming, to be honest, Iâm quite stumped by your transformation here at the Divine Capital. I trust that youâll be able to make the Theocrats all kneel to you one day," Li Wudi said with a serious tone.
"Godfather."
"What is it?"
"Theyâre called the Nineshades Clan."
......
Outside the dao palace were two hundred and thirty thousand heads all stacked up to form a mountain. It wasnât just a gruesome sight, it was plain provocation. If Dongyang Lingâs army of six hundred thousand charged in before Autarch Qian arrived, even more of them would die. The heads belonged to the Dongyangs, Jiangs, Ancient Clans, Saint Martial Manor, and so on, and they all wore desolate expressions.
Not even a million-man-strong army would be able to bear the sickening atmosphere. They felt like they were going to vomit rivers of blood from the rage. To think that they were laughing with such abandon when Autarch Qian had heavily wounded the palace lord. But now, they were multiple times worse off than before.
In fact, the heads belonged to their siblings, family, and friends. Many of them kept on cursing ceaselessly, but the Decimo Dao Palace didnât seem to even care.
"Ninth Prince, Thirteenth Prince, the Ancient Greedwolf Clanâs leader, Wei Ji, has perished in battle. Itâs said he was killed by Li Tianming and Ye Lingfeng."
"Exalted Ones Jing Yue and Ling Xing of the Ancient Qilin Clan perished by Li Tianmingâs hand."
"Exalted One Chong Yang is missing in action."
"The Saint Martial Manorâs Onyx and Flaxen Marshalls were killed in the melee."
"Eighteenth Prince Dongyang Xiao and the Seventh Imperial Bloodlineâs Jiang Jianying were killed by Bai Mo and Ye Yi."
"Reportingâ"
"Shut up, all of you! Leave!" Dongyang Yun roared. He tightly clasped both his fists as his mood fell to the lowest of depths. He had despaired, then experienced rapture, only to once more fall to the depths of the abyss.
"To think that two hundred and thirty thousand troops perished in the short space of fifteen.... Is this the power of the Evil Suppression Formation?" Dongyang Ling shook his head, but he was just as distraught as his brother.
"If not for Father letting his guard down and letting Weisheng Yunxi go, she never wouldâve had a chance to reawaken. We also wouldnât be that daring," said the nineteenth prince.
"Are you saying that Father was mistaken?" Dongyang Yun snapped.
"I wouldnât dare."
The hundred plus sons of Autarch Qian were all there. Ever since the autarch himself had returned, their statuses as members of the Dongyang Clan had been restored. But now, they all looked grimmer than ever.
Dongyang Yun was in such distress that he felt like someone was choking him and pouring urine down his throat, causing his innards to shudder in pain. They were all waiting for the autarch.
At that moment, an old man descended from the sky before them. The million troops immediately turned silent and pale as they knelt.
"Your Majesty!"
Even now, they were filled with zealous fervor. However, as long as the autarch himself didnât make a move, they didnât dare to make a single sound. Such was the authority the autarch commanded.
Wham!
Autarch Qian unleashed a punch and turned the two hundred and thirty thousand thousand heads to ash in an instant.
"Hahahaha!" He turned around and smiled. Those who didnât know better would think he was in a good mood.
"The Evil Suppression Formation?" He widened his eyes and continued laughing, much to the othersâ confusion. "Come, Ninth, I have a question to ask you." He sat on a rock, unlike what would be expected for someone of his stature.
Dongyang Ling felt his heart skip a beat. Respectfully, he said, "Lord Father, please ask away."
"Tell me. To get rid of this formation, I faked my death and let you brothers duke it out, and even destroy the Divine Capital. Yet right as I was going to wipe out the Decimo Dao Palace, the damned formation popped up again. Isnât that proof Iâm a fool?" he asked.
"Lord Father, please donât say that."
"Well? How else would you describe me then? An idiot? An imbecile? The ultimate laughingstock?" he said, chuckling.
"Lord Father, the formation is a little fishyâ""I asked you to chastise me! I didnât ask for your opinion! Idiot, imbecile, laughingstock! Pick one!"
Dongyang Ling was so frightened that he knelt without daring to speak. All he did was prostrate himself.
"I feel that âultimate laughingstockâ is appropriate. What do you think, Thirteenth?"
Dongyang Yun began kowtowing without saying another word. They were all at a loss as to what to say to calm the autarch down. They knew him the best, and they knew what his lunatic antics implied. It meant he was so shaken that he was burning with infernal wrath. All the others began kowtowing, following the twoâs lead. If anything, it was a rather grand spectacle to witness.
"Leave! All of you!" The autarch kicked Dongyang Ling flying, then did the same to Dongyang Yun. He then stomped the ground so hard that crevices formed. "My fishing line broke and the fish are gone! Dammit, how could this even happen?!"
He slammed his chest so hard that his eyeballs almost burst.
"Lord Father, please still your rage. We didnât think Weisheng Yunxi would be able to awaken after being branded with the Cyclic Stigma," Dongyang Ling said after he crawled upright and mustered his courage.
Autarch Qian burst out in laughter. "Who was the one that told you Weisheng Yunxi deployed this formation?" The way his expression just changed like that was incredibly unsettling.
"Lord Father, you mean to say...."
"Thereâs someone else thatâs familiar with how the Evil Suppression Pillar works, if only a little bit. The Evil Suppression Formation is indeed powerful, but not as powerful as Iâd imagined. It seems possible to breach. The problem is, if we try to force our way into it, weâll definitely suffer huge losses and we only have so many troops to spare. I wanted to eliminate the Decimo Dao Palace without sacrificing countless lives, but then that damn battle happened. What a pain!"
When Dongyang Yun returned, his eyes glowed with hope. "Do we still have a chance?"
"There is one, but I canât stand being messed around with by mere fish. I feel so utterly pissed that my heart is breaking apart! Itâs all my fault for being too playful and careless. I knew I shouldâve finished this at the very start! Oh, the regret.... I let the fish get the better of me. From now on, playtime is over!" He rapidly stomped on the ground like he was standing on a hot surface.
"Then, what are we to do?"
"Observe the formation for now and see how powerful it is. If itâs just average, Iâll break it myself."
"Praise our Lord Father!"
It appeared the Evil Suppression Formation wasnât impenetrable after all. Dongyang Yun and Dongyang Ling regained some semblance of hope. Now, the palace lord was out cold, but they still had the autarch, the most powerful among them, standing with them.
While they all knew the autarch had suffered an embarrassing setback, they knew that he was even more threatening and sinister in his current state. There was no turning back, and the Divine Capital would never return to how it was. The war had only just begun, but this time, the Decimo Dao Palace actually stood no chance.
......
"Hall King Situ, whereâs the palace lord?" Tianming asked.
"Sheâs still unconscious in the Sacred Dao Palace. Let her rest a bit. Iâve already converted the Nebula Emperor Whale into a lifebound spirit. So if sheâs able to regain consciousness, sheâll still be a powerful empyrean saint."
"Alright."
"The palace lord and her whale supported each other their entire lives. This turn of events has definitely been a huge shock to her."
"I know."
As they spoke, they arrived back at Tianmingâs residence.
"Father!" Qingyu cried as she came running.
"Donât cry... ouch... Darn it. Tianming, my son, get your sister away from me!" he said anxiously. He winced in pain when Qingyu grabbed his hand. "Oh, daughter of mine, youâll get your clothes dirty!"
"Stop talking!"
"Alright, fine...." Rambunctious as he usually was, he still had a soft spot for Qingyu.
After that, Situ Qinghe started treating Li Wudi and his kunpeng. Tianming, Feiling, and Qingyu waited outside.
"Big Brother, Dad wonât die, will he?" Qingyu anxiously asked.
"No chance in hell. Heâs a tough bugger, Iâll give him that."
"What in the world happened? How did it come to this...."
Feiling briefed her about the battle. When she heard what truly happened, she was so shocked that she turned pale.
"Heâs always trying to grab the spotlight. You two always make others worry."
"Thatâs what manhood is all about. You wouldnât understand."
"So you do, eh?" Qingyu glared at him.
Not long after, Situ Qinghe came out.
"Hall King, how did it go?"
"Itâs a healthy boy. The motherâs fine too," Situ Qinghe joked with a stern expression, causing them to do a doubletake. "Alright, just kidding. I was just trying to lighten the mood."
The joke was so lame that they almost saw it coming a mile away. The three youths laughed monotonously.
"Donât worry. His constitution is almost terrifying. Most of the damage was mitigated by his Bloodfiend Transformation. The rest are merely surface injuries. With me around, heâll be able to skip about again in a few days."
They all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Son, Daughter-in-law, Daughter, come in for the prison visit...." Li Wudi said weakly.
"What prison visit? Itâs more like a hospital visit, you fool!" Qingyu snapped.
"Come on, was just trying to lighten the mood," Li Wudi gleefully said.
Another round of monotone laughter followed.
"Godfather, you might do well to tone down the dad jokes."