….
Fang Zhengzhi was struck with grief. Although he didn't die, that didn't mean that he wanted others to know that he was alive, especially when King Xieluo was still alive.
In fact, when he noticed Yan Xiu rushing over, he had already figured out Yan Xiu's intentions, but he couldn't possibly let Yan Xiu sacrifice himself just to save him. And in that moment, stopping Yan Xiu was virtually impossible.
Hence, the only solution was to strike at the same time as Yan Xiu. This way, they would still sustain grievous injuries after being thrown into the air, but it would still be better than dying.
The result was clear - they survived. Then, the next step would be to play dead, right?
That was what Fang Zhengzhi thought, but he never imagined that Yan Xiu would suddenly stand up after seeing Yan Qianli crash to the ground, yet that wasn't even the worst part …
Why is Shan Yu standing up?
Fang Zhengzhi was still utterly speechless. He couldn't possibly continue his perfect plan to fake his death, he couldn't even stay in Shan Yu's arms any longer because he could already sense King Xieluo's overpowering might.
Without any hesitation, Fang Zhengzhi opened his eyes, glancing at the rising and falling chest in front of him. It was so gentle, so soft, and so warm.
Alright, that's not the point.
The point was that Fang Zhengzhi no longer had any time to relax. With a single somersault, he grabbed Shan Yu forcefully and pinned her down onto the ground.
"Bang!"
The thunderous collision sounded from behind. The sturdy palace walls could not withstand the force of King Xieluo's gargantuan body, and instantly crumbled to the ground. And Fang Zhengzhi was hugging onto Shan Yu in desperation, rolling forward continuously.
However, the enormous rocks rained down on his back mercilessly, and in the blink of an eye, both he and Shan Yu were completely buried under a pile of gravel and dust.
"Cough cough, you're killing me!" Fang Zhengzhi spat out a few mouthfuls of mud without any time to care about the debris pinning him down or the pain in his back. He knew that King Xieluo's second attack could come very soon.
One of his hands reached out around Shan Yu's thin waist while his other hand slammed forcefully onto the ground, charging out of the rubble with Shan Yu.
"So you didn't die!" Shan Yu didn't seem to have heard Fang Zhengzhi's words, staring at him as he broke free from the piles of debris with her, her face beaming with joy.
"Boom!"
A hoof covered in black hair stomped onto where Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu were originally at, crushing all the broken rocks in powder, kicking up dust all around it.
Fang Zhengzhi landed not far away from where the giant hoof stomped down. Being already injured, Shan Yu's face turned paler than before.
"Wait, I still have one last thing to say!" Fang Zhengzhi ignored Shan Yu and placed her down as he yelled at King Xieluo who was preparing to stomp his hoof down a second time.
"Hm? What other last words do you have?" King Xieluo stopped his hoof in midair as he glared at Fang Zhengzhi and Shan Yu.
"I want to say that, you are a dumb- .... ass!" After noticing that King Xieluo stopped his advance, Fang Zhengzhi immediately raised his hand and flicked out his middle finger towards King Xieluo, then fired a kick at Shan Yu's butt.
Without any time to react, Shan Yu was sent flying, slamming face-down onto the ground in the next instant.
The Mountain Breaking Army, the Northern Barbarians and Yan Yunqi were completely astonished by this sight.
"This scoundrel actually called the Demon King a dumb- …. ass?"
"Seemed to be the case!"
"But why did he kick the King of the Southern Region?"
Everyone stared at the stationary Fang Zhengzhi in bewilderment. And Fang Zhengzhi simply scanned the surrounding troops without any remorse.
Audacious? Why would he reserve his comments since King Xieluo was about to kill him?
If there was enough time, he would have gladly sent his pleasantries to every generation of King Xieluo's ancestors. But at this range, another escape wouldn't be too possible. He could only distance himself from Shan Yu as much as possible.
King Xieluo gazed at Fang Zhengzhi and then glanced over at Shan Yu sprawled on the ground. After a short moment of daze, he finally reacted, his dark green eyes flickering with a sinister glow.
"Roar!" A furious roar thundered through the Flame Capital.
Having just prepared to squash Fang Zhengzhi to death in one stomp, a figure cloaked in crimson light blocked him from behind, taking aim at King Xieluo with his hellishly sinister bloodlust.
"Little Demon King, I shall be your opponent!" Yan Qianli's mouth was stained with a little touch of blood, but he glared menacingly at King Xieluo.
"Grandfather, are you hurt?" Yan Xiu was evidently worried after noticing the bloodstains on Yan Qianli's lips. His body was now illuminated by rays of swirling blood-red light.
"Relax, his injuries are worse than mine." Yan Qianli pointed at King Xieluo in front of him then looked back at Fang Zhengzhi. "Little brat, why couldn't you just play dead? Did you really have to stand up?"
"Did you think I wanted to stand up?!" Fang Zhengzhi yelled indignantly.
"Yan Xiu, protect Princess Ping Yang and the King of the Southern Region!" ordered Yan Qianli after cutting his conversation with Fang Zhengzhi short.
"Yes!" Yan Xiu nodded with haste.
Although he was still worried for Yan Qianli, he knew all too well that after all these years, Yan Qianli's decisions never needed anyone else's inputs.
King Xieluo's eyes averted Yan Qianli, instead glaring at Fang Zhengzhi standing behind Yan Qianli. Concentrated gases pumped out continuously from his nostrils.
"Yan Qianli, it must have been hard for you to attain the Sagely State. If you move aside now, I'll spare your life. After I kill this brat, I'll leave at once and I'll never go back on my word. But if you choose to remain like this, I'll demolish the entire Flame Capital City!"
"Haha, how dare an insignificant Demon King like you bargain with me? Do you have the right to do so?" Yan Qianli was completely unmoved, brimming with arrogance.
"Yan Qianli, you're courting death!" King Xieluo did not say anything else after noticing Yan Qianli's expression, stomping his hoof down mercilessly.
"Boom!"
Another palace wall came crumbling down.
Fang Zhengzhi naturally avoided imminent destruction swiftly while Yan Qianli took a few casual steps backwards. But after taking a few steps back, he charged forward again, conjuring a blood-red spear in his hand.
A sinister bloodlust surged around the spear. However, King Xieluo had no intentions of allowing Yan Qianli near him. His body burst with a golden radiance like a flash of lightning.
"Boom!"
"Boom boom boom!"
A series of deafening collisions rumbled through the air, creating countless terrifying blasts of air which churned up the rubble on the ground, sending dust flying through the air. No one could see what was going on.
And soon after, a figure shot out from the dust storm, plummeting to the ground with a thud.
"Yan Qianli lost?!"
"Indeed, even though he is a sage, he cannot possibly defeat a Demon King by himself!"
"A demon's physical body was naturally far stronger than a human's, especially that of a Demon King. As long as he still possesses the Demon Pearl, he would be virtually immortal!"
"What do you do? If King Xieluo really levels the entire Flame Capital City, everyone will be massacred!"
The Mountain Breaking Army looked up at the gargantuan body, almost picturing the annihilation of the Flame Capital City if King Xieluo defeats Yan Qianli.
And as the Northern Barbarian Army looked at Yan Qianli sprawled on the ground, their faces glistened with a tinge of hope. The retreating army began forming up once again.
Yan Xiu was incredibly worried, but he still clenched his teeth and charged in front of Shan Yu with Ping Yang in tow, not moving an inch even with Yan Qianli lying on the ground.
Fang Zhengzhi was now closer than before, hence enduring a greater bulk of the damage. But surprisingly, he didn't take the chance to flee and instead, he stood where he was and observed King Xieluo silently.
"Old Yan, are you alright?" Prince Li of the First Rank arrived in front of Yan Qianli, supporting Yan Qianli up with one hand.
"Just wait at one side, I can handle this alone!" Yan Qianli shoved Prince Li of the First Rank's hand away and jerked his body, chucking his battered coat of armor aside.
"Old Yan, can you promise me one thing?" Prince Li of the First Rank's eyes shifted towards King Xieluo as the former gently bit his lips.
"What is it?"
"Help me guard my palace!"
"No way! Why would I have the time to linger around a crumbling palace. Give it up!" Yan Qianli rejected him without any hesitation.
"Remember what you promised me!" Prince Li of the First Rank nodded, seemingly deaf to Yan Qianli's words. He stood up abruptly and glared at King Xieluo. "Old Yan, you have as long as ten breaths!"
"Ten breaths? Hey, don't do anything rash!" Upon hearing this, Yan Qianli's expression froze but it was too late. Prince Li of the First Rank had already charged out.
In this moment, Prince Li of the First Rank's gaze became incredibly resolute as he charged towards King Xieluo with his hands radiating with a rainbow-colored light.
"Old Lin, you really are a difficult one. I never promised you anything!" Yan Qianli gazed at Prince Li of the First Rank, a tinge of anxiety finally sparking in his eyes. And Prince Li of the First Rank ignored Yan Qianli's words, rushing out at breakneck speed as the rainbow glow on his hands grew even brighter.
"Eh?" King Xieluo's gaze shot towards Prince Li of the First Rank. As he watched Prince Li of the First Rank approach him, he actually felt an unfathomable sense of danger.
Someone who hasn't attained the Sagely State actually made a Demon King feel fear?
This was as unbelievable as it got.
King Xieluo wanted to take a step back, but his pride as a Demon King still stopped him in his tracks. At the same time, the golden glow radiating from his body instantly boosted to twice the luminosity.
"Open the heavens!" Then, Prince Li of the First Rank bellowed as he propelled the seven-colored light in his right hand up towards the skies.
"Vroom!" The light surged towards the overcast sky.
Another riveting scene unfolded before their eyes. The clouds were illuminated and then, seven light pillars of different colors cascaded down from the heavens.
"Do you think you can bind me with the same technique?" King Xieluo sneered arrogantly, looking up at the seven pillars of light. The golden antlers on his head was as blinding as the sun.
"Split the earth!" As King Xieluo focused all his attention towards the seven pillars of light crashing down from the skies, Prince Li of the First Rank yelled another incantation. At the same time, he pummeled his head straight into the ground with brute force.
"Boom!"
The ground shook. Lines of cracks snaked in all directions like ripples on the water surface.
King Xieluo's eyes froze.
He subconsciously looked down and in the next instant, his eyes were bulging wide open. His enormous body backed up without second thoughts.
This time, he had no concern about his dignity as a Demon King, because the sense of danger overwhelmed him like a freezing wave.
But … it was already too late. The seven giant characters already lit up in seven different colors, presenting the formation of the Big Dipper Constellation. And with that, the seven pillars of light shooting down from the heavens seemed to have located their respective landing pads, and charged down at several times their original speed.
"Crash!"
A pillar of light punctured through King Xieluo's body, "nailing" him to the ground. And after that, the second pillar, then the third pillar …
After the seventh pillar crashed down, King Xieluo's body was lying on the ground. The seven pillars of light and the seven characters had melded together.
"Old Yan, you persistent duff. What the f*ck are you waiting for?!" A figure emerged from the ground, his loose robes stained with blood, and his face was completely pale.
Prince Li of the First Rank.
The usually courteous and mild-mannered Old Lord looked as menacing as ever, and more importantly, he unleashed his rage at Yan Qianli in such an uncivilized manner.
No one knew why, but none of them could find fault with what he said, despite the vulgarities.
"Old Lin, you lunatic!" Yan Qianli moved.
His body morphed into a blood-red ray of flowing light and charged straight for King Xieluo. The crimson spear in his hand instantly transformed into two spears, and both were twice the length of the previous one.
Lunatic?
This was the nickname that outsiders had coined for Yan Qianli. But now, the supposed lunatic Yan Qianli was imposing this title on Prince Li of the First Rank.
No one knew why either, but again, it was so strange that no one could rebutt him.
Perhaps, at this moment, Prince Li of the First Rank was indeed a lunatic, one far crazier than Yan Qianli.