Published: August 10, 2026
Far in the distant sky, a clear sound of air cracking rang out. Immediately after, a blue escape light appeared in everyone's view.
The figure within the escape light had bronze-colored skin, a tall and masculine bearing, and wore a black robe with a long, ancient sword hanging at his waist.
It was Liu Yu!
Seeing him appear, the true lords waiting in the gale layer all perked up and looked over.
Whether they were upright gentlemen who considered themselves righteous, unrestrained demons, or great cultivators renowned far and wide, at this moment they all slightly bent their waists and cupped their hands in greeting.
"Greetings, Friend Qingyang!"
Among these true lords, there might well be people who were actually hiding their strength and appeared ordinary on the surface.
But no matter how much strength they concealed, it was irrelevant to Liu Yu.
He knew very well that these true lords were no match for him, still far from the level of pinnacle true lords.
Just as when he had severely injured Old Demon Chiqung, with only a casual move, he could easily deal with any true lord present one-on-one.
"Fellow daoists, you've kept me waiting."
"There's no need for such formalities."
With a smile as warm as spring breeze, Liu Yu nodded lightly and raised a hand in greeting.
The higher one's strength and status, the later one could appear. This was also a rule universally recognized in the cultivation world.
"Fellow daoists, come with Liu."
After speaking, he channeled his magical power, his body flashing as he plunged toward the ground.
About a thousand zhang above the ground, Liu Yu flicked out a trace of magical power with his finger, transforming it into a blue light sphere that struck a certain spot on the ground and produced a loud rumble.
Soon after, a passage about three zhang wide appeared in everyone's sight.
"Please come in, fellow daoists."
Liu Yu said calmly, then led the way into the passage.
His spiritual consciousness spread silently, and among the more than twenty true lords, he could see quite a few familiar figures.
For example, Ink Plum, Yellow Brow, Master Kongzhao, Purple Rainbow, Xiahou Ying, Zhou Yunlong, and the others.
And also fellow disciples like Yan Kai and Zhuo Mengzhen.
These more than twenty true lords all shared a similar trait: they had suffered losses of interest in the war between humans and demons.
Either they had been assigned dangerous missions, or sent to dangerous locations.
Or they had secret dealings with Heavenly Thunder Palace cultivators and were very likely to be "arranged" during the war.
There were also those who were too closely tied to Liu Yu, sharing glory and ruin together, with no room for choice at all.
For example, his team members Ink Plum and Yellow Brow, fellow disciple Yan Kai, concubine Zhuo Mengzhen, and his direct disciple Zhou Yunlong.
Heavenly Thunder Palace had suddenly announced that the Seven Nations Alliance had entered an "emergency war" state, allowing it to directly command the masses without going through the "great cultivator council."
Under emergency war conditions, all cultivators had to obey orders, naturally causing dissatisfaction among many cultivators.
Taking advantage of this, they used their power to eliminate dissenters. The ones who received emergency orders were by no means only Liu Yu—these were all true lords who were not close to Heavenly Thunder Palace.
Such arrangements were obviously extremely unfair. Although no one dared resist openly, many were already resentful in private.
Gathering here today was also to discuss a countermeasure, a way to keep each other warm by sticking together.
After all, even if they went to curry favor now, there would already be no place for them at Heavenly Thunder Palace.
With the sound of footsteps, everyone descended the stairs, and soon a great hall appeared before them.
Inside the hall were rows of Grand Scholar Chairs.
These chairs were divided into three areas, corresponding respectively to the Seven Nations Alliance, the Orthodox Alliance, and the Demonic Alliance.