The battlefields of the four great clans were sheer tragedies.

  For them whose private army was not only the reliance but also the foundation, this battle had uprooted it all, leaving no one with a complete victory…


  “Is this what you wanted to see?” His spear inserted in the ground, Yun Lan looked around his horrifying surroundings and asked Clan Master Hai with a painful smile.

  “Everyone serves their own master. There is nothing to regret.” Despite his tough words, Clan Master Hai’s heart was dripping blood, or else, he wouldn’t have replied instead of rushing forward for another fight.

  Whether it was morale or stamina, none of them had enough to prolong this battle.

  “You aren’t so naive enough to think that the princes will fight each other to bloodshed, are you? Why do you think there is such a rule that one must withdraw after suffering a serious injury?” Lan Mingtang asked, rendering Clan Master Hai speechless.

  Anywhere else might have been different, but the relationship between the princes of Ethereal wasn’t bad at all.

  “If the royal family can be so peaceful, why can’t our four clans? Don’t you think we have been a little too stubborn?” said Yun Lan with a bitter expression.

  “Why say all that fart? There’s no point crying over spilled milk. Can you bring the dead back to life?! If you can, I, Hai Heqing, will never stand in your way again! I’ll even come to your door and apologize!” Hai Heqing retorted.

  His pouty remark was quickly supported by the clan master of the He clan.

  Right at that moment, the shape of Yun Lan and Lan Mingtang became distorted and a strong breeze blew around them. By the time Clan Master Hai and Clan Master He realized what had happened, they saw their Hai clan members walking around in one spot as if trapped by something.

  Similarly, Yun Lan and Lan Mingtang were gawking in absolute confusion at the situation around them as their troops had also fallen into that strange state.

  “An illusion?!!” Hai Heqing finally figured it out after a while.

  Yun Lan added, “If what you just went through is the same as mine, then it was no simple illusion.”


  Hai Heqing was stunned, but he quickly understood. What they just saw and felt were too real to just be some normal illusions. Gulping, he uttered with difficulty, “Was that… virtual reality?”


  Yun Lan smiled wryly in reply to his question, then said out of nowhere, “Clan Master Hai, we haven’t had a meal together in a long time, have we?”


  Stunned, Hai Heqing fell silent before also revealing a weak smile. “It has been a long time. If I remember correctly, that meal was quite pleasant, and it was rare for all four of us to be there.” He recalled that memory when the four clan masters were still young, sitting at a table together and watching the beautiful girls at the Moon Beck Pavilion…


  “I want to go to the Moon Beck Pavilion again.” Yun Lan smiled in nostalgia and looked up into the sky, pretending that it wasn’t him who said it.

  “Then it better not be on the 5th of next month, because I want to go there that day,” said Hai Heqing cooly.

  Just like that, an appointment was set. Lan Mingtang and Clan Master He helplessly shook their heads and sighed.

  In fact, they all knew that there was no irreconcilable vendetta among the four great clans, it was only an uneven distribution of interests. When it concerned interests, the parties involved could always sit down and calmly discuss it…


  Winding time back to when the five princes exited the virtual reality.

  In the Sacrificial Square within the imperial grounds, in an illusory palace hall, Ling Huang was fighting with the ‘five princes.’


  “You shall all die! No one in this world can be stronger than my Demonize Godly Technique!”


  Along with his crazed roar, Ling Huang’s speed soared to a new level. In just a brief instant, the ‘five princes’ were sent flying. However, they stood up again right after falling to the ground like nothing had happened and launched a new round of attacks at Ling Huang…


  As this repeated, Ling Huang got stronger and stronger as he fought, while the routine of the ‘five princes’ remained completely the same.

  “You lot will not survive this time!” Ling Huang, who was nearing insanity, let out a thunderous roar and his body enlarged into a bloody giant. At the same time, a huge shadow appeared behind him and smashed its fists down into the whole hall!

  With a loud noise, the ‘hall’ was utterly destroyed and turned into rubble. However, the ‘emperor’ was still sitting on his throne, unharmed.

  Changing back into human form, Ling Huang, panted heavily as he looked at his ‘father’ with a vicious expression. “Old thing, I didn’t know that you could still put up a struggle, but it’s alright. After all, I still need to torture you!”


  He slowly walked toward the ‘emperor,’ but suddenly at that moment, the latter spoke.

  “You haven’t returned to Ethereal in quite a long time, have you?”


  There was no emotion in his tone, which triggered Ling Huang who was seething full of hatred.

  “As if you don’t know how long I was banished! It was you who…”


  “Wait, wait, stop. You misunderstood my words.”


  The emperor’s voice suddenly became unfamiliar and his figure distorted, turning into a young man who Ling Huang had no impression of.

  “Take a good look around you. I mean, how long has it been since you came back? You can’t even find the palace hall. I bet you can’t even tell north from south and east from west,” Bai Xiaofei chortled.

  Dumbstruck, Ling Huang looked around.

  “This… is the Sacrificial Square?!” Ling Huang gawked in disbelief. The blow to his reality was too heavy.

  “Congratulations, you are right, but unfortunately there is no reward.” Bai Xiaofei shrugged.

  “You want to stall me?! Impossible! No one can stop me today!!” Ling Huang exploded.

  Unfortunately, it didn’t have any effect on Bai Xiaofei, who shook his head like he just heard something funny. “Stall you? Your people have been annihilated by the Imperial Guard. As for you, you are running out of strength, while I’m still in a good state despite using quite a lot of energy earlier.”


  Pausing, Bai Xiaofei’s eyes glinted sharply.

  “So, I don’t want to stall you, I want to kill you!”


  Hearing this, Ling Huang naturally didn’t believe him. “You think I’m some three-year-old child that you can bluff? How can my human puppet army be destroyed by that group of small fries?!”


  “Now you’re just a frog at the bottom of a well. Looks like I need to convince you.” Bai Xiaofei sighed and snapped his fingers.

  A fiery light shot into the air. Before long, one imperial guard after another descended from the sky and stood straight behind Bai Xiaofei, their hands holding countless human puppet cores.

  “The Imperial Guard alone is really no match for those human puppets. However, handling trapped human puppets is quite simple, and I happen to be good at trapping them. I don’t care if you’re a three-year-old, I can fool you just fine, let alone a group of puppets with incomplete consciousness.”


  Finishing his explanation, Bai Xiaofei stretched his body.

  “That’s all. Now, it’s time to send you on your way. People like you shouldn’t be in a place like Ethereal!”


  Saying this, he suddenly charged towards Ling Huang while activating Spiritualization and fused with Mind Sunder!

  “Seeking death!!!” Ling Huang shouted furiously and once again launched his ability.

  However, his energy had just formed into a huge shadow when Bai Xiaofei waved his hand and turned it into a wisp of smoke. By the time Ling Huang returned to his senses again, a hand had pierced his chest.

  Clean and neat, no suspense, no unnecessary action. Insta-kill!

  “I’ve seen all your abilities while you know nothing about mine. If I can’t kill you, I might as well find a hole and bury myself in it.” With a cold snort, Bai Xiaofei squeezed Ling Huang’s heart.

  Pulling out his hand and letting Ling Huang fall feebly to the ground, he turned to Tian Hai.

  “Remember, this man never appeared. You know what I mean. This is the last order I give you as the overseer!”


  Tian Hai immediately got down on one knee, followed by the entire Imperial Guard.

  “I obey your command! Thank you for guarding Ethereal!”


  “We obey your command! Thank you for guarding Ethereal!”


  The Imperial Guard chanted in unison after Tian Hai, which was the only way they could express their gratitude and respect.

  “Ethereal old man, I have done all the things you asked of me. If your soul is really up there somewhere, don’t forget to repay me!”


  Looking at the light of dawn in the east, Bai Xiaofei smiled…