Great Yan Empire, Capital.
Currently, the capital was undoubtedly much grander compared to before. However, the capital’s surroundings were pervaded with the flames of war, and it was no longer as prosperous or safe compared to its prior state.
A huge light array, which resembled a flipped bowl, covered the entire capital. Meanwhile, the city walls were densely packed with soldiers armed with spears. Currently, their eyes were all filled with anxiety as they stared into the distance. At that area, there were countless individuals scattered across the mountain range, while battle cries sounded continuously. Meanwhile, there were numerous individuals standing in the sky above that area, and the powerful auras radiating from their bodies, created a pressure that exceeded that brought by the tens of thousands of soldiers below.
Countless people clenched their teeth while they held tightly onto their weapons. Meanwhile, hatred and anger filled their eyes. The capital was the last line of defence for the Great Yan Empire. Hence, if it was broken, their Great Yan Empire would be history. At that time, they would become individuals with no country, and would be forced to leave their homes to roam aimlessly. Moreover, this miserable fate was something that they, citizens of the Great Yan Empire, had witnessed far too many times over the past year.
Right now, the entire capital was covered by the fog of war and the atmosphere was extremely tense.
At the same time, the atmosphere within a large hall in the capital was so tense that it had almost solidified.
There were many people in that large hall and a tall burly middle-aged man was seated in front. Upon closer inspection, one realized that he was the current ruler of the Great Yan Empire, Mo Jingtian.
Currently, his eyes looked even sterner compared to a couple of years ago, and there were more white hairs on his head. Meanwhile, there was great anxiety between his brows.
A handsome green clothed young man stood beside Mo Jingtian and this young man looked fairly familiar. He was Mo Ling, the person who joined the Hundred Empire War together with Lin Dong, and subsequently accompanied him to join Dao Sect.
Evidently, Mo Ling’s strength had surged after three years of training. In fact, his aura was even more formidable than Mo Jingtian. It was likely that he had already advanced to the Profound Life stage.
Other than the royal family, there was another group of people seated right next to them. They were wearing robes of a similar colour, and many people in the hall had envious expressions when they looked at them.
They were the Lin Clan from the Great Yan Empire.
However, the current Lin Clan was completely different compared to before. In fact, their strength had far exceeded the other three Great Clans and even the royal family. Furthermore, even the royal family did not dare to express the slightest bit of displeasure towards the growing Lin Clan. Of course, there was only one simple reason behind this. It was because of that one person from the Lin Clan.
A clansman called Lin Dong.
It was because of him, that the Dao Sect repeatedly bestowed gifts upon the Lin Clan. In fact, even the Great Yan Empire benefited as its strength had grown and it even managed to shake off its status as a low rank empire.
Therefore, everyone knew that even though the royal family was supposedly in charge of the Great Yan Empire, the words spoken by the Lin Clan were even more powerful than the royal family.
“Brother Lin Fan, the enemy’s troops are currently pressing in on our border walls. What should we do?” Mo Jingtian looked towards the Lin Clan. At that spot, there were two figures seated side by side at the front. One of them was the head of the Lin Clan, Lin Fan, while the other was a white haired elderly man. Though the latter remained silent, no one dared to be disrespectful towards him.
Meanwhile, there was a middle-aged man behind the latter. He had a stern looking face, and his looks bore some resemblance to that of Lin Dong.
That old man was Lin Zhentian, Lin Dong’s grandfather. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man seated behind him was Lin Xiao, Lin Dong’s father. At the same time, there was also a pretty woman beside him. She was Lin Dong’s mother, Liu Yan.
Thanks to their relationship with Lin Dong, their status within the Lin Clan was such that even the clan head Lin Fan, did not dare to offend them.
Lin Fan sighed softly upon hearing Mo Jingtian’s inquiry. Then, he shook his head bitterly. The Eastern Xuan Region was currently in chaos and even Dao Sect was barely able to protect themselves. Therefore, what could they possibly do?
“It is rumoured that some experts from the Yuan Gate are coming over. Once they arrive, I’m afraid…” Mo Jingtian laughed bitterly and said, “I wonder if the elders from Dao Sect…”
His eyes shifted towards another spot as he spoke. There were over a dozen figures quietly seated there. One of them was a gray robed blind old man. This was also a familiar figure. In fact, he was the Dao Sect elder who was managing the Martial Arts Hall while Lin Dong was in Dao Sect. Back then, Lin Dong had received quite a lot of pointers from him.
However, this Dao Sect elder merely shook his head quietly at this moment. Meanwhile, he had a slightly gloomy expression.
Everyone in the hall could only sigh softly upon seeing this. After which, their expressions became somewhat pale.
“Elder, isn’t martial senior Lin Dong still alive? It is rumoured that he is completely different from before. If he returned, we might stand a chance.” Just as the crowd descended into silence, a delicate looking young lady behind the blind elder suddenly interrupted.
This young lady joined Dao Sect after Lin Dong left. However, even though she had never met him before, this did not stop her from becoming a loyal fan of martial senior Lin Dong. After all, it was precisely because of him that she chose to join the Desolate Hall, even though she was qualified to join the Sky Hall.
Lin Dong.
This name, which seemingly had a magical ring to it, resounded through the hall, lifting the spirits of many individuals present. After which, their eyes involuntarily turned towards Lin Zhentian, Lin Xiao and Liu Yan from the Lin Clan, whom had not spoken throughout.
“Ugh.”
Lin Zhentian, who remained silent for a long time, sighed softly at this moment. At the moment, there was a tinge of pride on his elderly face. However, there was also a deeper yearning on it.
How many years has it been since I last saw that little brat? That stubborn little fellow from Qingyang Town, had actually became the pride of their entire Lin Family.
Behind him, the stern expression on Lin Xiao’s face slowly became a gentle one. Meanwhile, Liu Yan’s eyes began to turn red. After which, she leaned on Lin Xiao before a soft sobbing sound appeared. Over all these years, after those two little fellows left their home, as their mother, she was undoubtedly stricken with grief and worry to the point whereby she was about to go crazy.
Wu!
A low and deep signal suddenly sounded from afar, while the entire hall was filled with sadness. Everyone’s expressions quickly changed as they suddenly stood up.
“They are about to attack.”
The countless individuals standing on the city walls braced themselves. Meanwhile, Mo Jingtian, Lin Zhentian and the others in the hall also hurried over to the city walls. Then, with a grave expression, they stared at the scene in front of them.
There was a black sea of troops that extended to the limits of one’s vision. Meanwhile, the army was pressing towards their borders with a formidable aura.
“Haha, Mo Jingtian, if you do not surrender today, a river of blood shall flow in your Great Yan Empire after the light array is broken!” Many figures were standing in the sky above that army. The person in front seemed to be the general in command. He laughed out loud towards the sky as he said.
“Moreover, hand over all the members of the Lin Clan. Initially, this matter has nothing to do with them. However, it’s too bad that their clan has produced an arrogant brat called Lin Dong, who actually dared to challenge the might of the Yuan Gate. Truly asking for it!”
Mo Jingtian’s expression became gloomy. He had never expected that Yuan Gate already knew that Lin Dong was from the Lin Clan of the Great Yan Empire...
“There are no cowards in my Great Yan Empire. If you are going to attack, my Great Yan Empire will fight with you until the bitter end!” Mo Jingtian cried out coldly.
“Fight until the bitter end? Haha, I’m afraid that you guys aren’t qualified to do so.”
The commanding general chuckled. Then, he waved his sleeve and said, “Do you guys really believe that you are safe because you have an array from Dao Sect? The experts from Yuan Gate have arrived. Therefore, all of you should prepare to die today!”
As he said, the commanding general bowed towards his back and said, “Elder, please break the array!”
Buzz buzz.
Powerful Yuan Power suddenly exploded in the sky after his voice sounded. After which, hundreds of figures appeared in a flash. All of them had powerful auras and a black and white insignia in front of their chest. That insignia seemed to resemble Yin Yang, and it was the symbol of Yuan Gate.
In front of those hundreds of men, stood a black robed elderly man. He had an indifferent expression as he looked at the crowd on the city walls. It appeared as though he was looking at mere ants.
“It’s Zhao Kui!”
The blind old man standing on the city wall, had a drastic change in his expression when this black robed elderly man appeared. Meanwhile, a trace of fear flashed across the eyes of the Dao Sect disciples behind him. This was because Zhao Kui was an expert from Yuan Gate which had recently joined the rank of its elites. In fact, it was rumoured that he had reached the Samsara stage. However, he was wounded by senior sister Ying Huanhuan when he attacked Dao Sect back then.
Nonetheless, they did not expect Yuan Gate to actually dispatch an ultimate Samsara stage expert in order to deal with a mere Great Yan Empire.
“A mere bunch of ants. Being able to witness my attack is a blessing for you guys.”
Zhao Kui smiled indifferently. Then, as he was too lazy to say anything more to what he perceived as mere ants, he waved his sleeve. Immediately, the surrounding Yuan Power churned and it looked as though the sky itself had darkened.
“Watch how I destroy your array with one finger!”
A cold glint flashed across Zhao Kui’s eyes. Then, he pressed his finger forward before vast and mighty Yuan Power gathered. After which, they transformed into a ten thousand feet large Yuan Power finger that looked just like a pillar supporting the sky. Then, that finger tore through the empty space before it heavily slammed onto that large light array, in front of many shocked pair of eyes.
Bang!
The entire city began to tremble violently at this moment.
That blind elder released a low cry. Then, a thought passed through his mind before powerful Mental Energy swept forward. However, he spat out a mouthful of blood the moment his Mental Energy made contact with that large finger. After which, his aura became feeble. After all, it was simply too much of a stretch for him to fight a Samsara stage expert, when he was only at the Profound Death stage.
“Elder!”
Those Dao Sect disciples hurriedly supported him after they saw that he was injured.
Buzz buzz.
The light array continuously trembled. Despair rose in everyone’s eyes when they saw this scene. Standing on the city wall, Liu Yan turned around and hugged Lin Xiao tightly. The latter also held her tightly in his arms.
Bang!
That light array was ultimately unable to block the attack from a Samsara stage expert. Therefore, with a final tremble, it finally exploded and turned into countless speckles of light that permeated the sky. The capital’s final line of defence was officially broken at this moment.
However, after shattering that light array, that large finger did not slow down at all. Instead, it ruthlessly flew towards everyone on the city wall. Judging by its momentum, no one would be able to survive if they were struck by it.
When everyone stared at that large finger, which was being rapidly magnified in their eyes, despair rose onto their faces. After a bitter fight, were they still unable to escape death?
Liu Yan clung firmly to Lin Xiao. Meanwhile, the latter also sighed softly before he tightened his embrace. Then, lifting his head, he stared at that giant finger, which was growing closer, before he thought to himself, Is this how it ends…
“My boy Lin Dong, I wonder how you are doing. Your father is about to die, but you didn’t even come to send me off. What an unfilial little brat.”
Lin Xiao looked at the sky and smiled. Suddenly, he saw the sky becoming distorted before an extremely familiar figure appeared below that huge finger.
That figure looked like his unfilial son…
“Is this a hallucination before death?” Lin Xiao shook his head before he shut his eyes. However, a moment later, he opened his eyes once again. That frightening attack did not land on them?
On the city wall, countless shocked individuals lifted their heads to look at the sky. After which, the expressions on their faces slowly stiffened.
“Is that…”
A skinny figure was standing in the sky with his hands behind his back. Meanwhile, that huge finger, which was approximately ten feet away from his head, was no longer able to move. After which, they saw that skinny figure lifting his finger, before he flicked it gently.
Bang.
With a flick of his finger, that giant finger, which could cause half of the city to collapse, exploded with a loud ‘bang’ and turned into speckles of light that covered the sky...
That powerful attack, which originated from an ultimate Samsara stage expert, was actually … broken in this manner?
The entire place was silent. In fact, even the distant battle cries suddenly died down.
Everyone on the city wall stared in bewilderment at that skinny figure, and did not come to their senses for a long time. It seemed like they were rescued?
“Elder.”
Mo Jingtian was filled with gratitude as he hurriedly bowed down. Immediately, the countless individuals on the city walls also hurriedly knelt down. Lin Xiao and Liu Yan also quickly attempted to bow when they saw this sight. However, just as they were about to do so, they suddenly realized that their bodies refused to budge.
“Father, mother, I cannot accept this gift from the both of you.”
A soft laughter was transmitted from the sky. Immediately, Lin Xiao’s and Liu Yan’s bodies stiffened. Their bodies were trembling as they looked at the figure in the sky. After which, great disbelief and excitement surged from within their eyes.
“Dong… Dong'er…”
A hoarse voice was slowly emitted from their lips.
The figure in the sky finally turned around. His youthful face looked exactly the same as when he first left home back then. However, there was an additional tinge of determination and maturity on his face now.
That young man back then had grown up. Now, he was just like a hawk that had soared to the sky, and was standing at the top of the world.
Lin Dong’s body moved slightly. The next time he appeared, he was already standing in front of Lin Xiao and Liu Yan. When he looked at the two of them, who had the same blood flowing through their veins, the yearning that he buried deep within his heart for many years finally surged forth.
Even with Lin Dong’s great mental fortitude, his eyes involuntarily reddened at this moment. It was as though he had gone back to become that tender young man, who still required their protection back then.
“Father, mother… Dong'er has came back.”
That young man looked at his mother, who was full of tears, before he softly said.