“With His Majesty stepping in to stop him, we can rest easy. Lin Yun is but an ant before His Majesty. No matter how bold he is, he wouldn’t dare defy His Majesty’s decree,” the Shadowless Sect leader said.
“Indeed,” the Qingyuan Sect leader nodded in agreement.
They immediately felt much more at ease.
“He, Lin Yun, really thinks he can destroy our Zhutian Alliance at will? Laughable!” the ancient clan leader sneered.
Then, his tone shifted. “Now that we have no worries, we’ll plan a counterattack. I’ve already summoned Brother Huijue and others, along with the surviving Tribulation Realm elders from the prominent sects, to discuss!”
Just as the ancient clan leader finished speaking, an elder from the ancient clan rushed in from outside.
“Clan leader, terrible news! Terrible news!” the elder shouted as he ran, his face deathly pale.
“What’s all this shouting about? Speak,” the ancient clan leader said, looking at the elder.
“Clan leader, our ancient clan… our ancient clan has been wiped out by Lin Yun!” the elder said, trembling.
The ancient clan leader shot to his feet, roaring, “Nonsense! His Majesty personally intervened to stop Lin Yun. How could our clan be destroyed? Stop spreading rumours!”
“Clan leader, it’s… it’s true. Lin Yun recorded the destruction of our clan, and the footage has already been spread,” the elder said, collapsing to the ground in tears.
The elder then produced a pearl.
The ancient clan leader lunged forward, snatched the pearl, and infused it with inner energy.
The pearl emitted a glow, projecting an image into the air.
The ancient clan leader looked at the image—it was indeed his clan being attacked by Lin Yun’s group.
“This… this… this…”
Seeing the projected footage, the ancient clan leader staggered, clutching the table to avoid collapsing.
When he saw the scenes of his clan’s annihilation, it felt like the heavens had collapsed, like the end of the world.
His clan’s ancestral home had truly been razed by Lin Yun?
In that moment, he had no choice but to believe!
Even if he and some of the clan’s elites had survived, without the vast foundation of the ancient clan, their future was doomed to decline.
“Clan leader, I tried contacting the clan but got no response. The destruction of our clan… it’s likely certain,” the elder wept.
“Why! Why did this happen? His Majesty promised to stop Lin Yun!” the ancient clan leader roared ferociously, his face flushed, veins bulging on his forehead and neck.
The Qingyuan Sect leader and Shadowless Sect leader, present at the scene, also grew grim.
When the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold.
If the ancient clan had been destroyed, how far off was the destruction of their own sects?
“How could this happen? Did His Majesty break his word?” the Qingyuan Sect leader said.
“Impossible! His Majesty’s word is iron. If he didn’t intend to act, he wouldn’t have promised. Since he promised, he would surely follow through,” the Shadowless Sect leader said.
“In that case, Lin Yun defied His Majesty’s decree. His audacity is unbelievable!” the Qingyuan Sect leader gritted his teeth.
“He dared defy the decree? His Majesty will surely deal with him! He’s finished!” the ancient clan leader roared.
…
The news of Lin Yun’s return and the annihilation of the ancient clan spread at an astonishing speed through Xingwu City and across the entire Xingwu Empire.
This explosive news instantly ignited public opinion among the empire’s populace.
In the main hall of an inn.
“Have you heard? The ancient clan was wiped out by Lin Yun. That prodigy is back for revenge!”
“The prodigy who won the Ten Thousand Flowers Tournament? Wasn’t he dead? He’s back? Is this for real?”
“Absolutely real. The footage of the ancient clan’s destruction is circulating among the public!”
“To destroy even the ancient clan—how powerful must he be!”
Many guests in the inn were abuzz with discussion.
At that moment, one guest projected the footage of the ancient clan’s destruction.
“Look! That’s the footage of the ancient clan’s annihilation!”
“My heavens, it’s terrifying…”
“I heard he’s not just targeting the ancient clan but the entire Zhutian Alliance. The Xingwu Empire is about to be turned upside down!”
…
Such scenes were unfolding in many places across Xingwu City.
The explosive news spread at an astonishing rate.
The name ‘Lin Yun,’ dormant in the Xingwu Empire for over a decade and nearly forgotten, once again stunned the world.
…
As this news spread rapidly, Lin Yun’s pace never slowed. One prominent sect after another was erased from the Xingwu Empire!
Without a doubt, the Xingwu Empire’s cultivation world was undergoing a seismic shift!
And it was all because of Lin Yun!
The forces that once sought to destroy and eliminate Lin Yun would now face catastrophic retribution!
…
Meanwhile.
Fire Cloud Empire.
AsLin Yun was annihilating these prominent sects, the situation in East Yuan Prefecture suddenly took a drastic turn.
A large number of demon beasts suddenly emerged within East Yuan Prefecture, launching fierce attacks on numerous county cities under its jurisdiction.
This was unprecedented. In recent years, East Yuan Prefecture had faced unrest, but it was limited to attacks on villages or small towns—never had demon beasts attacked counties or cities en masse!
The Demon Suppression Army stationed at the border of the Demon Beast Mountain Range naturally received reports of this, but they dared not rashly send troops to suppress the attacks.
Their duty was to guard the Demon Beast Mountain Range border. If they left, the demon clan could seize the opportunity to descend, causing even greater trouble.
This situation relied on East Yuan Prefecture’s city guards and its own forces.
But this time, the demon clan’s attacks were far stronger than any before. With Lin Yun and Huo Zhen absent, even with the city guards deployed, one county city fell under the demon clan’s concentrated assault.
Many areas of East Yuan Prefecture descended into chaos.
Demon Beast Mountain Range, a certain peak.
Heavenly Demon Dijiang stood here, gazing out beyond the mountain range.
“Your Excellency, the offensive is going smoothly. We’ve captured a weakly defended county city, but the empire will surely send reinforcements soon,” the Crimson Viper Demon Tiger said.
“That’s enough. Lin Yun abandoned his post. This time, let the human race deal with him. Dongguo Dang, who has a deep grudge against him, will surely seize this chance to accuse him to death!” Dijiang smirked.
After returning from the Demon Marshal last time, Dijiang had been deeply disappointed, unable to personally deal with Lin Yun in human territory.
But soon, it learned that Lin Yun had left the Fire Cloud Empire with several Tribulation Realm cultivators.
It knew the opportunity to deal with Lin Yun had come again.
So it orchestrated this attack, aiming to exploit human infighting to eliminate Lin Yun!
Then, Dijiang turned and ordered, “Massacre the city, then withdraw from the county city!”
It knew it couldn’t hold the city. Achieving its goal and retreating was the wisest move.
“Yes!” The Crimson Viper Demon Tiger responded and withdrew.
