Boom!


    The golden bell exploded into bits.


    Golden fragments shot outward, embedding themselves in the walls of the Cloudy Pce of the Golden Arches.


    Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Prity stood with a wanton grin, then stared coldly at the Golden Cicada, who was coughing up mouthful after mouthful of fresh blood.


    “If Shakyamuni hade I might have some reservations. Now even you think you can suppress me?”


    Whoosh.


    The thrust his right arm forward. An illusory fist of spiritual energy instantly formed and grabbed the Golden Cicada by the neck.


    “Urk.....”


    The Golden Cicada clenched his neck. The veins in his neck bulged outward, his facepletely red.


    “I wanted to take the throne without shedding blood but you.... You’ve been disobedient. Since that’s the case, you can just go ahead and die.”


    “Stay your hand!”


    Boom!


    In the blink of an eye, the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Prity’s illusory fist shattered into pieces. The North Pole Emperor stood and walked down the stairs, stopping only to pour some of his spiritual energy into the Golden Cicada’s body before taking a few steps forward.


    Five meters.


    When there were only about five meters between him and the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Prity, he stopped.


    “Supreme Prity, you’ve gone too far.”


    The North Pole Emperor looked so angry he was liable to burst. He glowered at his brother, his clothes fluttering as his spiritual energy whirled around him.


    The atmosphere throughout the hall grew heavy beneath the weight of the North Pole Emperor’s fury.


    “You’re angry?”


    The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Prityughed, utterly unconcerned. He simply smiled at the North Pole Emperor and said, “do you really want to fight me, your older brother? Little brother, don’t forget just who it was who taught you how to fight.”


    “I don’t wish to see us brothers fight either, but..... Supreme Prity, you really have gone too far,” said the North Pole Emperor. He glowered at his brother coldly, then brushed past him and made his way out of the hall.


    “I’ll wait for you outside. Win and the throne is yours. Lose and go the hell back where you came from.”


    Then, without any excess words, he walked out of the hall.


    The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Prity hesitated for a while, then cocked his head to the side andughed, a sharp glint in his eyes.


    “You’re truly a disobedient little brother.”


    .....


    “What do you mean by that?” Lei Hu stared, eyes bulging, and shouted furiously at Gu Li, “they’re in dire straits? You’re not trying to tell me that you demons have surrounded all three sacrednds? You’re boasting; there’s no way that’s possible. This already your entire military might. You want to surround all three sacrednds? That’s nothing but a pipe dream.”


    Even when their grand formation still protected the Beast Region, they didn’t dare refer to themselves as a sacrednd. The three sacrednds, since they dared refer to themselves in such a way, naturally knew everything that went on in their respective realms.


    There was absolutely no way to force your way into a sacrednd from the outside.


    The only possibility was attacking from the inside, from the inside.....


    From the inside!


    The Flying Serpent n’s betrayal shed through Lei Hu’s mind. Had people within the three sacrednds allied with the demons as well?


    But the structure of the sacrednds was dramatically different from the Beast Region’s. Convincing their people to rebel....


    That wasn’t quite possible, was it?”


    “n head Lei Hu, it seems you’ve thought of something?” asked Gu Li yfully. “Is it that you think no one could possibly betray the sacrednds? You seem to have overlooked humanity’s innate greed and desires.”


    As he spoke, Ye Zichen’s expression darkened dramatically.


    Gu Li saw this andughed, “it seems Emperor Ye has already heard about the situation?”


    The Four Sacred Beast n heads nced at Ye Zichen, only to see him nod back ambiguously.


    “Gu Li, I’m sure I’ve already said this more than once, but not killing you back then was a huge mistake on my part.”


    Ye Zichen stared at him darkly, seemingly liable to burst with fury. Just now, he’d nced at his phone.


    The discussion group was frantically sharing information. Quite a few messages included pictures. Although he’d only looked briefly, he still roughly understood....


    The three sacrednds were in a very tight spot.


    “Emperor Ye, saying such things! You’ve really disappointed me. Don’t forget that we’re both from the Gu Family. We’re brothers of the same n!” Gu Li shook his head in distress. “If we brothers join forces, what couldn’t we achieve? Yet you always insist on standing against me, even if it means a fight! Can you even imagine how disappointed our family’s senior generation would be if they heard about this?”


    ‘We walk different paths; we can’t possibly work together,” snorted Ye Zichen.


    “What a pity. In truth, I’ve always wished we could work together,” said Gu Li. He let out a mncholy sigh, then started picking his ears. “There’s nothing we can do about it. Brother Ye, you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders while I’m just a petty, small-minded person. We’re different, you and I. That said, that insufferable devotion to righteousness of yours is exactly why I hate you!”


    By the time he’d finished speaking, Gu Li’s demeanor was iparably sinister. “What even are you? You want to protect every living thing in this world? If that’s what you want, you must have read too many Wuxia novels. It’s truly a pity, though; history is always written by the victors. Once I’ve exterminated the lot of you, who knows? Future generations might very well curse your names for all eternity!”


    “Go ahead and try it,” said Ye Zichen evenly. He looked at Gu Li coldly, without even a hint of fire in his eyes.


    “Why are you wasting all that time talking to him?” Lei Hu chimed in. “Little demon, you really think you can defy the heavens and reign supreme, don’t you?”


    “n Head Lei Hu, your words are awfully overbearing. Just as a friendly warning, though, the head of the Flying Serpent n is.....”


    “Let hime,” snorted Lei Hu contemptuously. “I dared kill his son right in front of him all those years ago and he didn’t even dare let out a fart. If he dares act against me, I’ll just let him reunite with his son.”


    “n Head Lei Hu, you’ve got quite a temper!” Sensing Lei Hu’s fury, Gu Li took a few steps backward, thenughed, “I was only warning you out of the goodness of my heart!”


    “I actually only said all that in a bid for peace but it seems that won’t be possible, will it?”


    No one spoke, but the look in their eyes was enough to answer Gu Li’s question.


    Peace?


    Given the depths of the grudge between them, was there any chance at all for peace?


    Either you die, or I die!


    “Fine then, I’ve done what I could and said all I had to say. Since you refuse to ept my offer, I’ve got no other choice.”


    “Stop with that nonsense. Quit the chatter and fight!” grunted Lei Hu.


    “I hope you’ll still be able to say such things after this.”


    In truth, Su Yiyun was the main reason Gu Li had said all that. He had no idea what exactly Su Yiyun had up his sleeve. Even so, it scared him.


    Despite his confidence, he couldn’t quite see through Su Yiyun.


    He sighed helplessly then returned to the ranks. Ye Zichen and the others returned to their armies as well.


    Negotiations had failed. All they could do was fight.


    “Kill!”


    With a mighty roar, the two armies charged at each other.


    New hatred!


    Old grievances!


    They’d settle them all now!