The Skeletal Divine General scrutinized Dongbo Xueying with a hint of mockery curling at the corners of his lips. “A cultivator from the Heart Realm Continent, yet you dare meddle in the affairs of our indigenous tribes in the Broken Tooth Mountain Range instead of focusing on your own cultivation. Your audacity is truly remarkable. Throughout the long ages, cultivators who ventured into the mountain range have always treaded carefully—only you have the gall to act so brazenly! Though we Divine Generals cannot breach the barrier to enter the Heart Realm Continent, dispatching newly ascended Emperor-level warriors there is child’s play!”
“Oh? Then I shall wait and see,” Dongbo Xueying replied with a calm smile.
The Skeletal Divine General frowned at his nonchalance, then sneered. “What, are you relying on the formidable formations of your Flying Snow City?”
Dongbo Xueying remained silent.
Newly ascended Emperor-level?
That was merely the level of the Grand Elder from the first floating island he had challenged. Based on his observations, while the indigenous tribes possessed far greater collective intelligence than the Deathblade Clan, their progress in ‘mental cultivation’ paled in comparison to true cultivators. Against such foes, Dongbo Xueying harbored no fear whatsoever.
“Arrogant, hiding behind countless clones and the defenses of Flying Snow City—yet your true strength is negligible,” the Skeletal Divine General scoffed, unwilling to waste further words. The elite among the indigenous tribes held little regard for cultivators from the Heart Realm Continent.
Their bloodline, inherited from the Primordial Chaos beings, set them apart from birth, granting them unparalleled might.
His gaze shifted to the Starlight Sovereign and the assembled elders. “Starlight, the Divine Emperor has not left you without options. Now, you have two paths to choose from.”
The Starlight Sovereign and his kin tensed with anticipation.
Two paths?
It seemed the Northriver Divine Emperor still held some concern for the lives of the captives.
“The first path: continue your futile resistance. I will personally annihilate the Starlight Clan. Hmph, the indigenous tribes possess far too many bloodlines—weak ones like yours should fade away, making room for stronger lineages to thrive in this world,” the Skeletal Divine General stated coldly. “I eagerly await your choice of this path.”
The Starlight Clan’s leaders seethed with silent fury, their expressions darkening.
Dongbo Xueying sighed inwardly at the sight.
“The second path: submit to the Divine Emperor! The Starlight Sovereign and nine elders must journey to the Northriver World and pledge allegiance. Additionally, you will release the captives. In return, the Divine Emperor guarantees your clan’s continued existence in this world, with no more than ten warriors conscripted in the future,” the Skeletal Divine General declared.
“Impossible!”
“Dream on!”
“Then let us fight! We are prepared—if we fall, the thirty captives die first!”
The Starlight Clan erupted in defiance.
This was intolerable! What was the purpose of cultivation if not for ultimate freedom and transcendence? Who would willingly submit to eternal servitude under the Northriver Divine Emperor? Acceptance would doom their clan to perpetual subjugation.
“Fools! You court annihilation—do you truly wish for the extinction of your bloodline?” The leaders of the five allied clans grew frantic. Thirty of their elite warriors were held captive, and they dreaded a mutually destructive outcome. Yet they dared not defy the Northriver Divine Emperor, hence their desperate pleas for the Starlight Clan’s surrender.
“Resistance will only bring ruin upon your city and clan!”
“Starlight Sovereign, are you afraid to die? Sacrifice ten, and your entire lineage shall remain free!”
The five clan leaders roared in unison.
“Ridiculous! Annihilate us? With what strength?” the Starlight Sovereign retorted.
“Had we wished to flee, we would have long abandoned the Starlight World. It is only our love for our homeland that keeps us here,” an elder added bitterly.
“Brother Flying Snow, as we discussed earlier—if we are overwhelmed, I entrust two branches of our clan to your Great Void Transference Technique, to be taken safely to the Heart Realm Continent,” the Starlight Sovereign declared openly, disdainful of secrecy.
“Rest assured, I will fulfill my promise,” Dongbo Xueying affirmed.
Should the worst come to pass, the weaker clansmen would scatter in groups to escape. The Starlight Sovereign had already sought Dongbo Xueying’s aid during their earlier feast.
Historically, many indigenous tribesmen had fled to the Heart Realm Continent, though most concealed their origins. Cultivators remained largely unaware—even the Northriver Divine Emperor himself had once sought refuge there in his youth.
However—
Both the indigenous tribes and the Deathblade Clan thrived only under specific conditions.
The Deathblade Clan dwelled almost exclusively on the floating islands, where their power grew most readily. Indeed, reproduction was possible only there.
Similarly, the indigenous tribes could only flourish within worlds born of the Broken Tooth Mountain Range. In the Heart Realm Continent, they could not reproduce—their diluted Primordial Chaos bloodline rendered them infertile. Without their native world, their cultivation would slow to a crawl, requiring treasures of unimaginable rarity to progress.
Take Prince Bloodflame Ji, for instance—his surviving kin had exhausted everything to obtain a single Netherspirit Fruit, yet such treasures were nigh impossible to acquire.
Barren and crippled in cultivation, clansmen would eventually disperse, assimilating into the Heart Realm Continent’s cultivator society or infiltrating other indigenous worlds. This was why the loss of a homeland spelled doom for an entire lineage.
“Utter fools, overestimating themselves,” the Skeletal Divine General sneered, while the Windsmoke and Gluttonous Cloud Divine Generals shook their heads.
“Proceed,” the Skeletal Divine General commanded the five clan leaders. “Kill without restraint. Let us witness the Starlight Clan’s true mettle—and how long it lasts.”
“As you command.”
The five leaders burned with frustration.
“Starlight, it’s not too late to beg for mercy!” the crimson-skinned, grotesque man bellowed.
“Mercy? Hah!” the Starlight Sovereign scoffed.
“Enough delay—attack!” the Skeletal Divine General snapped.
The five leaders exchanged glances.
“Kill!”
“Slaughter them!”
Their fury was palpable. Though confident in crushing the Starlight Clan with the three Divine Generals’ backing, they foresaw the grim cost—their thirty elite warriors would perish in the ensuing bloodshed.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The five leaders were formidable. In their home worlds, each rivaled the Starlight Sovereign in power. Here, bereft of their world’s augmentation, their combined might remained terrifying.
“Fall!” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes flashed with cold light.
A terrifying Illusory Realm of Void descended, a dazzling world of infinite allure that stirred the deepest desires of the soul. The five leaders felt their greatest aspirations within reach—their very souls dragged inexorably into the illusion. Only the three-eyed man’s forehead eye glowed, his intoxicated expression twisting into struggle as he barely managed to scream, “Save me! SAVE ME!”
The others—the eight-armed giant, the serpent-tailed woman—their auras faltered mid-strike, their bodies slackening into euphoric stupor as they drifted aimlessly.
First Killing Move of the Illusory Realm of Void Path—**Resplendent Illusion**!
A world of blinding splendor and temptation!
In an instant, four of the five leaders collapsed, defenseless. Only the three-eyed man clung to a shred of consciousness.
Before striking, Dongbo Xueying had already sent a mental message to the Starlight Sovereign: *”Brother Starlight, I will target their souls. Even if they resist, their strength will be crippled. You must strike immediately to seize them!”*
The Starlight Sovereign had doubted initially.
Could soul techniques affect Emperor-level beings? For both indigenous tribes and the Deathblade Clan, ascending to Emperor-level marked a qualitative leap in soul strength—the pinnacle of their kind.
“W-what?! They… they actually fell?!” The Starlight Sovereign gaped. Never in history had an Emperor-level warrior succumbed to soul attacks—this was unprecedented! Had Dongbo Xueying not warned him, he might have frozen in shock. As it was, he reacted instantly, summoning a colossal starlight hand that swept toward the five leaders.
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