Thirty Seconds to Clear the Sky, Xiao Chen Flips the Bird and Gets Performance Deducted

When Void-soaring Realm experts made their move, the world changed color.

For ordinary martial artists, Forging Skin, Forging Muscle, and Forging Bone were merely tempering the physical body.

Only upon reaching Forging Organs and Opening Orifices could one be considered to have truly stepped into the martial path.

Those in the True Intent Realm could establish a sect.

Those in the Astral Qi Realm could suppress a region.

As for the Void-soaring Realm, they were already Land Immortals in the eyes of mortals.

They could walk through the air, release their True Essence to form a domain, and trigger the worldly spiritual energy with a single thought.

The simultaneous descent of thirty Void-soaring Realm experts was no longer a battle.

It was a natural disaster.

Boom!

Patriarch Ren was the first to strike.

Tapping his purple-gold dragon-head walking stick in the air, a hundred-zhang golden dragon condensed in the void.

The golden dragon roared and charged into the demonic army formation.

Any demon swept by the golden light had their bodies explode on the spot, turning into a mist of blood.

The Vice Palace Master of the Ice and Snow Divine Palace raised a hand and pressed down.

Freezing air blanketed the heavens and the earth.

The mountain walls on both sides of Blood Centipede Gorge instantly froze.

Over a hundred demonic cultivators were frozen into ice sculptures, the terrified expressions on their faces frozen in place.

In the next breath, the ice sculptures shattered.

Flesh and blood mixed with ice shards, scattering all over the gorge.

The First Elder of the Illusionary Sea Immortal Sect was the most sinister.

He did not make any grand or sweeping moves.

He merely chuckled lightly and waved his sleeve.

An invisible dream mist spread out.

Hundreds of demons suddenly stopped in their tracks and began to slaughter one another.

Some strangled their own necks.

Some slashed their companions with their sabers.

There was also a human-faced blood centipede frantically gnawing on its own tail, emitting cries like a human infant as it chewed.

The scene was both bizarre and disgusting.

Wanyan Gu felt his scalp go numb watching this.

"This old man is usually all smiles, who knew he played so dirty?"

Ye Guyun panted and said, "Among those who can live to the Void-soaring Realm, very few are clean."

Xiao Chen looked at the patriarchs in the sky with a complex mood.

They had been used as bait and almost died here.

Yet the moment these Void-soaring Realm experts struck, three thousand demons were instantly sliced apart, crushed, and butchered.

This kind of disparity made one feel despair.

Heaven's chosen?

In front of true powerhouses, they were still just youngsters.

Or even just bait.

The New Emperor Sword, however, was going crazy with excitement.

"Don't steal them!"

"None of you steal them!"

"These are all mine!"

He transformed into a streak of black light and darted wildly across the battlefield.

Wherever an eldritch creature was about to be beaten to death, he would rush over to deal the finishing blow and devour it.

A seventh-tier eldritch creature had just been heavily injured by Patriarch Ren when the New Emperor Sword appeared with a swoosh, pressing both hands on the monster's head.

"Thanks for the feeding, old geezer!"

Patriarch Ren's face darkened.

"What did you just call this old man?"

After finishing his meal, the New Emperor Sword turned his head and said seriously:

"Respected old geezer."

Patriarch Ren: "..."

If this wasn't Wang Hao's sword, he really would have wanted to smash this thing to pieces with his walking stick.

On the other side, the demon leader retreated in terror.

He never expected that the Great Zhou would deploy thirty Void-soaring Realm experts all at once.

This was unreasonable.

This was merely a probing battle at the border!

Who would show their entire hand during a probing battle?

But he did not understand Wang Hao.

When Wang Hao fought a war, he never had the habit of holding back to probe.

The principle he believed in was very simple—

If he could gang up on them, he would absolutely never fight one-on-one.

If he could crush them, he would absolutely never drag things out.

If he could finish them off in one wave, he would absolutely never give the enemy a chance to deliver their last words.

The demon leader turned and tried to flee.

However, a streak of lightning suddenly descended from the sky.

Boom!

The lightning transformed into a snake, instantly wrapping around his limbs.

The demon leader screamed miserably.

He looked up and saw Wang Hao on a distant war chariot, toying with an ancient black tower.

The door of the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower was slightly open.

Deep blue lightning rolled within the tower.

Wang Hao said flatly:

"Take him alive."

The lightning snake tightened.

The bones all over the demon leader's body cracked and popped, his protective astral qi being torn apart bit by bit by the lightning.

He gritted his teeth and roared:

"Emperor of the Eastern Wasteland! Do you think you have won?"

"The Heavenly Secret Pavilion long calculated that you would march west!"

"All of you are nothing but sacrifices!"

Wang Hao raised an eyebrow.

"Villains always love to say these kinds of things right before they die."

He looked at the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower.

"Give him a little more electricity, just don't electrocute him to death."

The tower shook.

Three more lightning snakes flew out.

The demon leader instantly began to convulse, his miserable screams echoing throughout the gorge.

Xiao Chen and the others twitched their mouths as they listened.

Wanyan Gu whispered, "I suddenly feel that falling into the hands of demons might be more comfortable than falling into his hands."

Qin Hongye said coldly, "You can go and try."

Wanyan Gu shut his mouth.

The Leyline Evil Eye sensed that things were going badly and began to close.

It wanted to sink back underground.

Seeing this, Wang Hao's eyes turned cold.

"Did I say you could leave?"

He raised a hand and patted the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower.

"Open the eighth floor."

Boom—!

The eighth floor of the tower lit up.

Thunderclouds gathered out of thin air between heaven and earth.

The cry of a phoenix tore through the sky.

Deep blue lightning condensed into a hundred-zhang lightning phoenix, spreading its wings and flying out from the tower door.

That oppressive might was astonishingly comparable to a full-force strike from a Void-soaring Realm expert!

The lightning phoenix swept across the sky, its wings unfurled, the lightning illuminating the entire Blood Centipede Gorge.

Everyone felt their scalps tingle.

Even the thirty Void-soaring Realm patriarchs could not help but cast sidelong glances.

"Ranked fifty-sixth among Cursed Artifacts, it truly is terrifying."

"To think this tower can store attacks at the Void-soaring Realm level."

"Just how many trump cards does Wang Hao still have in his hands?"

The lightning phoenix dove down.

Its target was precisely the Leyline Evil Eye.

Terror surfaced in the pupil of the Evil Eye, and blood light wildly spewed out in an attempt to resist.

But lightning inherently countered evil entities.

Not to mention this was a full-force strike of the eighth realm.

Boom!

The lightning phoenix crashed into the Evil Eye.

The entire gorge shook violently.

The ground collapsed, the blood sand evaporated, and the black vines turned to ash.

That massive Evil Eye let out an ear-piercing wail, its pupil cracking apart inch by inch.

Finally, it exploded with a bang.

Billowing evil qi shot into the sky, but it was actively absorbed by the Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower, turning into wisps of black-blue lightning patterns that sank into the tower's body.

Wang Hao narrowed his eyes.

"It can even absorb corrupted lightning?"

"Not bad."

"I'll leave the garbage recycling business to you from now on."

Thunder Abyss Demon-Suppressing Tower: "..."

If it had an artifact spirit, it probably would have started cursing by now.

With the Leyline Evil Eye destroyed, the demonic army formation completely collapsed.

The thirty Void-soaring Realm patriarchs cleared the field at an astonishing speed.

An incense stick's time later.

Within Blood Centipede Gorge, there was not a single demon left standing.

The three thousand ambushing troops were entirely wiped out.

Out of twenty-four seventh-tier eldritch creatures, aside from one that was smashed into fragments before it could be devoured, the vast majority ended up in the belly of the New Emperor Sword.

After the battle, the New Emperor Sword stood atop a mountain of corpses and let out a burp.

The black and gold patterns on his body became increasingly clear, and his aura grew even sharper.

Wang Hao gave him a glance.

[New Emperor Sword]

[Cursed Artifact Ranking: 345]

[Ability 1: Devour and Evolve]

[Ability 2: Cursed Artifact Transformation]

[Currently able to exert combat power of the Seventh Realm of Martial Arts]

[Artifact Spirit Status: Extremely excited, it is recommended that the host conduct ideological education]

Wang Hao sneered.

"Ideological education?"

He looked at the New Emperor Sword.

"Come back."

The New Emperor Sword curled his lips: "I haven't finished eating yet."

Wang Hao said flatly: "Any more nonsense, and I'll deduct your next chance to make an appearance."

Swoosh!

A flash of black light.

The New Emperor Sword instantly flew back to Wang Hao's waist, transforming back into the shape of a sword.

The blade vibrated gently, transmitting a dissatisfied mutter:

"Tyrant."

Wang Hao patted the hilt of the sword.

"You are my sword. Cursing me is the same as cursing yourself."

The New Emperor Sword fell silent.

It felt there was a problem with this logic.

But for the time being, it could not defeat Wang Hao.

So it chose to shut its mouth.

The war chariot slowly drove into Blood Centipede Gorge.

The people of the Vanguard Battalion were covered in blood, barely able to stand steady.

The survivors looked at Wang Hao with extremely complicated eyes.

Anger.

Fear.

Awe.

There was also a grudging respect they wouldn't even admit to themselves.

Because Wang Hao had indeed won.

Using them as bait, he had lured out the ambushers, destroyed the Leyline Evil Eye, and even captured the demonic leader alive.

Strategically, it was a total victory.

Morally, it was utterly wicked.

Wang Hao stood on the war chariot, picked up an amplifying artifact, and his voice echoed out slowly:

"My beloved subjects of the Vanguard Camp, nice acting."

Everyone's faces instantly darkened.

Acting?

We almost died, and you say we were acting?

Wang Hao continued:

"For annihilating the main force of the Western Region's demonic ambushers in this battle, the Vanguard Camp shall be credited with the greatest contribution."

"For those who died in battle, compensation will be issued at three times the normal rate, with an additional subsidy of sect contribution points."

"The severely wounded are to be sent to the rear army's alchemy room for treatment, and the medical expenses will be deducted from the alliance's public account."

Everyone's expressions softened slightly.

At least this dog emperor wasn't completely devoid of humanity.

However, his next sentence was—

"In addition, all survivors must each submit a three-thousand-word combat summary after the battle. Focus on analyzing your psychological changes when surrounded, flaws in your formations, and your understanding and reflections on His Majesty's brilliant strategy of luring the enemy."

"Submit them to Grand Companion Wei for filing before noon tomorrow."

The entire field fell dead silent.

Xiao Chen raised his head, his face covered in dirt and blood, his eyes numb.

"I'm almost dead, and I still have to write?"

Wang Hao smiled. "Only the living are qualified to write."

Ye Guyun muttered, "This is truly hell."

Wanyan Gu said with grief and indignation, "I'd rather fight another battle."

Qin Hongye remained silent for a moment. "Three thousand words... can I carve them into the enemies' bones with my spear?"

Wang Hao thought about it seriously. "Good creativity, but it would affect the grading efficiency. Request denied."

At this moment, Xiao Chen could finally bear it no longer.

Dragging his injured body, he stood in a pool of blood and slowly raised a middle finger in the direction of Wang Hao's chariot.

The movement wasn't fast.

But it was very firm.

Everyone gasped.

A warrior.

A true warrior.

Wang Hao, of course, saw it.

Not only did he see it, but he also magnified it through a recording crystal to get a better look.

From the amplifying artifact came his laughter:

"Walker Xiao is making indecent gestures on the battlefield, damaging the image of the Demon Suppression Youth Division."

"Deduct thirty percent of his performance bonus for this month."

Xiao Chen's vision went dark, and he almost fainted on the spot.

Wanyan Gu clutched his wound, laughing so hard he aggravated his injuries, grimacing in pain.

Ye Guyun couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth rise.

On the bloody battlefield, because of this sentence, a trace of absurd vitality unexpectedly emerged.

Wang Hao put down the amplifying artifact, but his eyes gradually turned cold.

The demonic leader, bound by lightning snakes, had already been dragged in front of the chariot.

Wei Zhongxian interrogated him personally.

The methods of the Eastern Depot never needed to wait for nightfall.

A cup of tea's time later, the demonic leader finally broke down and screamed hoarsely:

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

"Blood Centipede Gorge was just a sacrificed pawn!"

"The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion made us guard this place not to kill you, but to test your anomalous weapons and the number of your Sky Realm experts!"

"The real trap is at the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult!"

"The Martial God Body... the Martial God Body has already begun to awaken!"

Wang Hao's eyes narrowed.

[Ding!]

[Detected that the host has come into contact with key intelligence regarding the Western Region main questline.]

[Intelligence system updated.]

[Current Intelligence: Deep within the main altar of the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult, the revival progress of the Flawless Martial God Body has reached 3%. Xie Wujiu of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is suspected of using the deathly blood qi of the Western Region battlefield to accelerate the awakening of the Martial God Body.]

[Prompt: Every large-scale war initiated by the host may become fuel for the enemy to refine and sacrifice to the Martial God Body.]

Wang Hao looked at the system prompt and remained silent for a moment.

Wei Zhongxian asked cautiously, "Your Majesty?"

Wang Hao suddenly smiled.

It was a very cold smile.

And a very excited one.

"Using my wars to nourish his Martial God Body?"

"That old geezer Xie Wujiu sure knows how to scheme."

Wei Zhongxian lowered his head and said nothing.

Wang Hao looked up toward the dim yellow sky deep in the Western Region.

"Pass down the order."

"The entire army will rest and reorganize for two hours."

"In two hours, we continue our advance."

Wei Zhongxian was stunned. "Your Majesty, shouldn't we avoid their sharp edge?"

Wang Hao turned to look at him, his gaze as sharp as a blade.

"Avoid?"

"Why should I avoid them?"

"He wants to feed the Martial God Body with war, so I will make this war faster, more ruthless, and absolutely absolute."

"Before it truly awakens, I'll smash the Crimson Moon Demonic Cult's pot first."

He raised his hand and pressed it on the Thunder Abyss Demon Suppression Tower, while his other hand rested on the hilt of the New Emperor Sword.

"Tell the three armies."

"From this moment on, the first phase of the Western Expedition is over."

"The second phase—Peeling the Onion—officially begins."

In the distance, the wind howled across the Blood Sand Wasteland.

The six-hundred-thousand-strong army regrouped.

The survivors of the Vanguard Camp were carried off for treatment, cursing all the way.

The thirty Sky Realm patriarchs looked solemn.

And atop the Nine Dragons Chariot, Wang Hao, clad in blood-stained black armor, had a gaze as deep as an abyss.

He knew that the real chessboard had already been laid out.

Xie Wujiu was scheming against him.

The Crimson Moon Demonic Cult was waiting for him.

The Martial God Body was awakening.

But so what?

A grim, cold smile hooked the corners of Wang Hao's mouth.

"A god's corpse, huh?"

"A peak level-nine anomalous Nightfiend, huh?"

"It better be durable."

"I haven't squeezed the surplus value out of a Martial God level entity yet."