"WHOOSH—"

An Elephant God Walker suddenly took a step forward. Belonging to the peak of the Walker Level, its Evil Energy Power Field and colossal, Demon Mountain-like body surged forward. The terrifying aura it exuded caused the pupils of Guardian Lei, who was standing close by, to constrict.

Then, as if in response to a threat, his entire body instantly erupted with a large amount of faint purple electrical currents. These currents rapidly converged in his palm, and a deep purple sphere of electricity quickly formed at a visible speed...

However, before Guardian Lei could unleash this strike, which contained immense thunderous power, the nearby Elephant God Walker sensed the danger. The single eye on its forehead snapped open, flashing with a brutal light. Its trunk lifted, and the mouth hidden beneath it let out an enraged roar.

"ROAR—"

Visible sound waves blasted out from the Elephantman's mouth.

Guardian Lei bore the brunt of the attack. The flat cap on his head was instantly blown off, revealing short, bicolored white and purple hair plastered to his scalp. The wrinkles on his aged face were smoothed out by the terrifying sound wave. His entire body trembled, and electrical currents arced uncontrollably...

His face contorted in a grimace as he prepared to raise his hand and unleash the sphere of plasma. But an elephant's hoof, as thick as a water barrel, tore through the air and abruptly appeared before his chest...

"BOOM!"

A dazzling electric light burst forth within the hall, and Guardian Lei, who had been standing in the center, instantly "disappeared." A simultaneous loud crash echoed from a nearby side wall of the hall.

The wall, constructed from a super-alloy mixed with Rainbow Steel, didn't collapse. However, large chunks of its stone veneer rained down, revealing a clear, human-shaped indentation.

Guardian Lei, his heart stopped and pupils dilated, was now deeply embedded in that massive crater.

One blow. Just a single blow, and Guardian Lei, one of the top members of the Eight Great Protectors, was sent flying by a single kick from the terrifying Elephantman, his condition unknown.

In an instant, the Protector-level figures in the hall who had been preparing to act froze, a chilling dread that made their scalps tingle instantly washing over them.

Two Elephant God Walkers, each over six meters tall, stood within the hall, their heads brushing against the ceiling. They were like two massive dark clouds hanging over everyone's heads and hearts.

The Protector-level figures turned deathly pale and retreated step by rigid step. The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive to the extreme.

This was an utter disaster, a catastrophe falling from the heavens!

One wrong move today, and their Evil Martial Association would be annihilated here.

"CRACK—"

The sound of something being crushed suddenly rang out. In the deathly silent hall, it was exceptionally clear. Everyone's gaze, including that of the two over six-meter-tall Elephantmen, snapped towards the source of the sound.

Under the collective, unnerving gaze, Guardian Rou, who had accidentally "crushed" a stone underfoot while retreating, trembled all over. Layer after layer of fine sweat beaded on his fleshy bulk. His pasty, white skin even began to flush slightly red. The two Elephantmen stared down at him, their faces impassive.

Guardian Rou's body remained rigid, frozen in place for several long seconds.

Finally...

His nerves, stretched to their breaking point, finally snapped. Guardian Rou shrieked and then, as if suffering a mental collapse, he charged the nearest Elephantman. His fan-sized, fleshy white palms rained down furiously on the Elephantman's body, producing a series of dull thuds like a pestle striking the earth.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!—"

Guardian Rou felt he had never unleashed such power in his entire life. In the span of a single breath, he had lost count of how many palm strikes he'd delivered. Each palm contained his terrifying strength and the essence of his lifelong martial arts cultivation. The high-frequency palm strikes set his entire bulk rippling, creating waves of glistening white flesh that undulated across the hall...

Guardian Rou's potential had been pushed to its limits. This was undoubtedly the peak of his combat prowess, a level he had never reached before.

The terrifying onslaught caused the pupils of the other Protector-level figures to contract, their expressions filled with awe. They imagined that if they were to face Guardian Rou's storm-like offensive, they would be beaten into a pile of mincemeat within a few breaths.

And then...

"BOOM!"

A dull thud, similar to the one when Guardian Lei was sent flying, echoed out. The spectacle of the rippling flesh waves vanished, and the rapid succession of impacts ceased.

All they saw was a large section of the snow-white flesh cave inward violently, the impact rippling outwards like waves, and then... BOOM! He was sent flying, splattering against another nearby wall like a heap of mangled meat.

Just one blow, and Guardian Rou too...

The Protector-level figures stared wide-eyed, stunned motionless for several seconds. Then, it was unclear who, but someone shrieked in utter terror, "Run!"

Instantly, the remaining Protector-level figures in the hall prepared to scatter like startled birds.

Just then, however, a young, languid voice, as if its owner were stifling a yawn, came from behind them.

"Where are you all off to in such a hurry?"

Before the words had even fully faded...

"THUMP—"

Everyone in the hall felt their hearts plummet. An inexplicable sense of dread and a chilling tremor swiftly rose within them.

The light in the hall seemed to be completely swallowed in an instant. Everyone clearly perceived a terrifying aura, impossible to describe with words, silently blossoming behind them.

But no one dared to turn around. Their blood and marrow seemed to freeze solid. They stood rooted to the spot, bodies stiff.

All they could see was that—the moment this aura appeared, the two over six-meter-tall Elephant God Walkers, as if suddenly provoked by something, flew into a simultaneous rage.

Both Elephantmen roared in unison, then strode over the Protectors' heads, bellowing as they charged towards the source of the aura.

"BOOM! RUMBLE!"

It sounded like the impact of an airplane crashing into a mountainside. The entire hall shook and vibrated violently. Debris rained down from the ceiling, and it felt as if the entire hall would collapse at any moment.

However, this terrifying commotion arrived as swiftly as it departed. Within just a few breaths, all sounds ceased. The hall returned to complete silence.

In the deathly silence, all anyone could hear was the frantic "THUMP-THUMP" of their own hearts.

What just happened? What was going on behind them? A torrent of questions flooded the minds of the Protector-level figures. Their faces were pale, sweat beaded on their foreheads, their veins bulged, and their mouths were dry.

An overwhelming curiosity urged them to turn and look. Yet, a bone-deep fear paralyzed them, and they dared not move a muscle.

"SCRAPE..."

A scraping sound came from the side and from ahead. The Protectors looked towards the sounds and saw that Guardian Lei and Guardian Rou, who had been slammed into the walls by the Elephantmen, had managed to free themselves.

However, both wore extremely peculiar expressions. Their eyes were dazed and unfocused, as if they had witnessed something utterly unbelievable and incomprehensible. They seemed lost in a profound state of self-doubt.

"WHOOSH..."

Everyone took a deep, shuddering breath. Finally unable to suppress their curiosity, they turned around, inch by inch. The scene behind them was fully revealed.

And as they took in the sight, every one of them trembled violently. Their minds felt as if they had been struck by a heavy blow.

"WHIIINE—"

All that remained was a stunned blankness and a persistent ringing in their ears.

At the far end of the hall, beneath the "War God" mural depicting a black solar ring, upon the Evil Emperor's throne, a figure over three meters tall was seated casually.

His physique was flawless, adorned with sprawling, blood-red patterns. Obsidian hair, like a cascading waterfall, floated on either side of his head. Air and light themselves seemed to warp and distort as they neared his form. A demonic aura, as if he had stepped straight out of forbidden legends, washed over them.

At the feet of this demonic figure knelt two headless Elephantmen, gaping holes torn through their chests where their hearts should have been. They were utterly still.

The man on the throne, exuding an aura both demonic and enchanting, was casually toying with two enormous hearts in his hands. The hearts pulsed with a faint, dark luminescence.

Noticing their gazes, a smile touched his bewitchingly handsome face. He leaned forward slightly, one foot resting on the headless corpse of an Elephantman, and looked down upon them with a smile. "Why the hurry to leave? That was merely a small interlude just now. You Protectors were having such a pleasant chat earlier. I'd like to hear you continue..."

"'Oh, that's right,'" the man said, as if suddenly recalling something.

He slowly straightened up. His towering, perfect form seemed to melt into the flickering firelight, as if an immense shadow rose from him, swiftly engulfing the entire hall.

In the next moment, everyone in the hall heard the man's calm voice.

"'I forgot to mention one thing.'"

"'From this day forward, I shall assume the position of this association's Evil Emperor.'"

"'Who agrees?'"

"'And who... objects?'"

At that moment, the only sound in the hall was the crackling of flames in the braziers along the walls.

「A crystal-clear blue sky.」

Beneath it, the boundless azure ocean stretched to the horizon. A salty sea breeze blew gently, and seagulls carved graceful arcs between sea and sky.

"'It's so beautiful...'"

A group of men and women in uniform white Martial Arts robes stood on the pier, seemingly waiting for something. Among them, a short-haired girl with large eyes and an oval face gazed out at the sea, a heartfelt sigh of admiration escaping her lips.

"'Even if this trip was just for sightseeing, it would have been worth it,'" she murmured.

The girl murmured to herself, then turned to a thin, silver-haired old man standing beside her with his eyes lightly closed. "Grandpa, are Penglai and Martial Saint Island located in this sea?"

The old man opened his eyes and replied with a soft, "Mm."

"Then how do we get there?" the girl asked again. "Do you know the way, Grandpa?"

"We wait for the ship," the old man replied calmly.

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