Many things in this world simply go with the flow.
The Wu Clan, situated next to the Three Regions of Azure Cloud Region, had also undergone great changes a long time ago.
They had warred with Azure Cloud Region for many years; in that time, some divisions had been annihilated, while others had risen to prominence. Gradually, they had formed a great tribal confederation outside the borders of the Three Regions of Azure Cloud Region.
Yet, they no longer launched attacks against the Three Regions as they had in the old days; instead, they had begun to focus on defense.
The Divine Bird Tribe had suffered heavy losses, and its Ancestral Venerables were all in seclusion, recovering from their injuries.
The two elders, the Soul Duke and Luo Xing, were naturally assigned to the border of the Three Regions of Azure Cloud Regions to stand guard against any Divinity Transformation cultivators from the Human Race.
And this Wu Clan alliance, led by the Soul Duke and Luo Xing and formed from the convergence of over twenty different divisions, had also established a Wu Clan city: Soulstar City.
However, the cities of the Wu Clan were different from those of the Human Race.
They preferred a more natural state; the city walls themselves were formed by Wu Clan priests communicating with Heaven and Earth, causing the forest trees to gather and form walls of vines.
The Wu Clan people were like a swarm of ants, living within these vine walls, where one could see totem after totem floating in the air or standing upon the earth everywhere.
At this moment, in the very central region of Soulstar City, figure after figure snapped open their eyes. Without exception, they were all Wu Clan Apostles or High Priests!
"Brother Dalong," a voice mused, "you've finally caught up to my footsteps, after all."
Within a pool of lightning, Lei Dong, his eyes now open and crackling with arcs of electricity, smiled.
His own primordial spirit had long ago traveled to the ancient battlefield, and watching the figure there amidst the roiling thunderclouds above, a grin spread across his face.
In these one hundred years, it wasn't as if he himself hadn't changed. His strength had grown, and because he had broken through to the Divinity Transformation realm, he had also attained the status of an Elder.
As for the Li family? He no longer feared them being his enemy.
He had known a long time ago that a clan like the Li family, having encountered the situation they did in Azure Cloud Region, would sooner or later have a falling out with the Azure Dynasty. And events had proven this to be true. The enemy of his enemy had, in time, become his friend, which was the very reason he had been helping Li Dalong all these years.
As for You Baiyin... Lei Dong knew that this rare genius had, quite simply, been beaten into submission by the Li family.
"It is time for Brother Dalong to take back what is his," Lei Dong mused.
Lei Dong slowly rose to his feet.
The moment he moved, his eyebrows shot up. Outside the pool of lightning, he sensed two powerful presences. In the space of a single finger-snap, the Soul Duke and Luo Xing had appeared!
Luo Xing was still wearing that same oversized black robe, his wizened face visible beneath the hood, one sleeve still hanging empty. Trying to guess Luo Xing's thoughts was an exceedingly difficult task; at the very least, Lei Dong could not fathom what was on Luo Xing's mind.
And then there was the Soul Duke, that short, shrewish old man with the face of a rat, who was now glaring furiously at Lei Dong.
"Lei Dong!" he raged, "Why did Li Dalong appear on the ancient battlefield? And in the central region, no less! Don't you dare tell me you didn't know! Only those with a rank of Apostle or higher can grant someone access to the center of the ancient battlefield!"
He had every right to be furious!
He felt that he had been completely made a fool of.
Back then, he had been all set to hand Li Dalong over, but to his surprise, Lei Dong and You Baiyin had instead hidden Li Dalong away.
This not only caused him to lose credibility with the Divinity Transformation cultivator from Eternal Sun Prefecture, but also cost him a handsome reward. Yet, because it was a sordid, back-alley deal made with the Human Race, he had no choice but to swallow his anger and suffer in silence.
And now... only now did he realize that Lei Dong had been hiding Li Dalong on the ancient battlefield all this time!
"I did it," Lei Dong admitted, tightening the clothes on his body and giving the Soul Duke a brief, dismissive glance before turning to Luo Xing.
"Lord Luo Xing," he said, "a very long time ago, with your express permission, Li Dalong came to live among our tribe. He even took nine wives and can be considered half a tribesman. I gave him the right to cultivate on the ancient battlefield. Is there a problem?"
"There is no problem."
Luo Xing answered without a moment's hesitation.
"You..." This reply made the Soul Duke's face flush with even greater fury, yet he did not dare to rebuke Luo Xing.
Instead, he turned and barked coldly at Lei Dong, "You've got some nerve, Lei Dong! Back then, you were nothing but a lowborn commoner! Do you really think that just because you've become a Divinity Transformation expert, you can ruin my affairs time and time again?! You should know that even among elders, there are ranks and hierarchies! Do you dare to show me such disrespect?!!"
As his voice fell, the Soul Duke's oppressive might surged towards Lei Dong.
But Lei Dong was a Divinity Transformation expert now himself, and one who had spent a century stabilizing his realm.
Although he was still far from being a match for an old master like the Soul Duke, who had been immersed in the Divinity Transformation realm for many years, he was nonetheless unafraid of a mere show of pressure.
His short black hair whipped back as he offered a cold sneer in return. "You had best worry about yourself," he said. "Li Dalong is coming to settle his account with you."
He then turned to Luoxing. "Lord Luo Xing," he asked, "Li Dalong can be considered half a member of our Wu Clan. If his possessions were taken from him, according to the rules of our Wu Clan, when one goes to take them back, what is the custom?"
"The victor is king."
Luo Xing was as straightforward and decisive as ever. As the Soul Duke's face grew increasingly foul, Luo Xing simply shook his head at him.
"Half of that coffin was mine," he stated, "but after all these years of studying it, I've come up with nothing. I have given up my claim. Soul Duke, what happens next has nothing to do with me."
"Luo Xing?!!"
Before the Soul Duke could finish speaking, Luo Xing had already turned to Lei Dong.
"The half of his possessions that Li Dalong entrusted to my care," he said, "I have already returned them to him. That should not be considered forming an enmity with him, should it?"
"It should not."
Lei Dong nodded hastily, also letting out a sigh of relief.
It was just as the Soul Duke had said: even Divinity Transformation experts were divided into various ranks and echelons. As one of the most ancient among the elders, Luo Xing was an opponent he truly did not want Li Dalong to make.
"I believe Brother Dalong," he added quickly, "will also be grateful to Lord Luo Xing for safeguarding his Treasure for him all this time."
"You..."
The Soul Duke was utterly aghast. He had never imagined that Luo Xing would relinquish his claim to the Heaven-Piercing Coffin so easily!
It seemed that now, in Luo Xing's eyes, Li Dalong's value was even greater than his own!
Just as he was about to say something more, a detached, indifferent voice descended from the skies above Soulstar City, falling deep and resonant into the ears of all present.
"Soul Duke," the voice declared, "I told you, all those years ago, that one day I would come for your life!"
As these words faded, the Soul Duke's expression underwent a drastic change.
He could not suppress the sheer terror welling up in his heart!
Because... Li Dalong, who had been on the ancient battlefield, had instantly vanished from sight. It was clear he had departed to have his breakthrough.
And that was not all.
Thump, thump, thump!
He stared in horror at his own cultivation ground in Soulstar City at the very place where the totems of his own cultivation were being used for suppression.
A silver coffin was trembling frantically, as if it had sensed its master's call.
Immediately after, the coffin broke free of its restraints and shot towards the sky!
The Soul Duke couldn't help but be terrified. The Li Dalong of those bygone years had already been a fearsome opponent; if he were to now break through to the Divinity Transformation realm, and with this coffin back in his possession...
Moreover, what he feared even more was the Li family, the very clan they had once driven from Azure Cloud Region. So many of them were still alive!
The Soul Duke gritted his teeth, about to give chase.
However, Lei Dong blocked his path and scoffed, "Soul Duke, and where might you be going?"
From high in the vast sky, Li Dalong's voice rang out once more.
"Please wait but a moment," the voice said. "I will not keep you waiting long."
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