God Emperor
chapter-259

When Han Qiu was setting the array, Zhang Ruochen took out all 172 swords from his Storage Ring.

"I can wield 172 swords at the same time if I use Sword Defending Technique. When fighting multiples savage beasts, at the very least, I can still use this technique to inflict serious damage on them. Of course, that would mean exposing my Heart Integrated into Sword Realm. Is Han Qiu really trustworthy?"

After pondering for a while, Zhang Ruochen put the 172 swords back into the Storage Ring and decided to keep his Heart Integrated into Sword Realm as a secret.

After meeting Chi Yao and Chen Xier, he had gained an even deeper understanding of not to judge a book its cover. Although he had nothing against Han Qiu, he still thought that he ought to keep some secrets to himself and not to show his hand to others.

It was never wrong to leave himself a way out.

Zhang Ruochen began to inspect the Defender Array in Yueji City. Upon closer inspection, he found that its Array Eye was located within the altar.

In Kunlun's Field, every city including the village had its own altar.

The altar of Yueji City was seven meters tall and covered a wide area.

Under the altar was a Sacred Pool carved with various lines.

Zhang Ruochen pushed open the stone gate of the alter and arrived at the Sacred Pool. To his surprise, the Sacred Pool was full of blood. Bubbles continuously emerged from the surface of the blood pool, emanating a reek of blood.

"How could there be so much blood here?" Han Qiu walked through the gate and stood next to Zhang Ruochen. Her face ashen as she stared at the blood pool that was boiling and churning in front of her.

She had done setting up the seven arrays by installing two Formation Flags of defense strategy and five Formation Flags of attacking array on the city wall.

Zhang Ruochen said, "If I'm not mistaken, the blood here belongs to those warriors in the Yueji City. The Blood Spirit sucked them dry and stored their blood in the Sacred Pool, waiting for the vampire to come here and consume the blood."

Han Xiu asked in astonishment, "You're saying that the vampire might come to Yueji City at any time for the blood in the Sacred Pool?"

"I suppose so," said Zhang Ruochen, nodding his head.

Feeling a headache coming on, she said, "It's already very difficult for us to deal with a Beast-training Master. But now, there is another vampire to worry about… "

Zhang Ruochen stared thoughtfully at the blood in the Sacred Pool for a moment before a smile crept onto his face. He said, "It's not necessarily a bad thing for us. Perhaps we can make use of these blood and perform a sacrifice to break through our realm."

"Breaking through the realm, with a sacrifice?" Han Qiu asked.

"That's right."

Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "But we still need some savage beasts to serve as oblation and more blood to open the Door of Heaven. This could be the only chance for us to defeat the Beast-training Master. Only by breaking through the realm will we be able to match up to him in the battle."

Staring quizzically at Zhang Ruochen, Han Qiu nodded her head and said, "Alright! I'll trust you once!"

With that, Zhang Ruochen handed a pack of resources to Han Qiu, including 20 Thunder Pearls, two bottles of healing pill, two bottles of Huiqi Pill, two bottles of Taiyu Pill and three War Maps.

He said solemnly," I have restored the Defender Array. Now, I'm giving this resource to you. I really hope that we can break through the realm with a sacrifice. Otherwise, Yueji City may become our burial ground."

Han Qiu gladly accepted the resources. She grinned and revealed a mouthful of white teeth as she said, "How can we not defeat a Beast-training Master based on our full preparation? As for whether we can make the breakthrough, it isn't our main concern."

Looking at Han Qiu's radiant smile, Zhang Ruochen felt a bit more at ease. He smiled and said, "You're right. Let's prepare to fight."

Just then, a rumbling sound could be heard from beyond the city wall. It was so loud that the ground began to shake.

"Here they come!"

Zhang Ruochen lifted the Abyss Ancient Sword and suddenly jumped 70 meters high up into the air, landing on top of the city wall. He stood there, looking off into the distance.

In the distance, the dust was blowing. A pitch-black group of savage beasts flocked toward Yueji City.

Thousands of savage beasts rushed in like a flood, in a completely overwhelming manner.

It was easily predictable that the Yueji City with low walls and buildings would be wiped out in an instant without the protection of the array.

"Awoo!"

A Fourth-level savage beast "Fire-cloud Wolf" was leading the way at the front.

It was seven meters tall, with crimson flames covering its body. Deafening howls continued to echo out as the beast sped forward. It looked like a crimson fire cloud from a distance.

The snow began to melt, and the ground was burned to scorched earth wherever it passed. Some rocks were even melted into crimson lava.

In another direction, there was a 50-meter-long Cyan Python leading a group of Ophidian savage beasts to the leg of Yueji City.

Cyan Python had fleshy wings on the back and a brawny body thicker than the bucket and a fiendish head raised as tall as the city wall. Its eyes, as big as lanterns, were staring coldly at the two fragile humans on the city wall.

Besides the ground, the sky was also full of savage birds hovering in the air above Yueji City. They seemed to be waiting for the Beast Trainer's commands.

"Howl!"

"Awoo!"

...

The roars of savage beasts rose and fell, spreading over hundreds of miles.

Warriors of weaker cultivation might have fainted from fright once they saw the scene.

Even Han Qiu and Zhang Ruochen, who were battle-seasoned, felt an unprecedented pressure. Their bodies tensed up in preparation to take action.

"The number of savage beasts has exceeded 10,000, and it is still increasing. It's equivalent to an endless tide of beasts. Without the Defender Array, even a city of an inferior commandery may not be able to resist the attacks from so many savage beasts. Is this the power of a Beast-training Master?"

Han Qiu rubbed his hands together and said solemnly, "You're right, Zhang Ruochen. If we were surrounded by these savage beasts in the woods, we wouldn't even survive one attack. We'll be dead before we know it."

Looking at the herd of savage beasts outside the city, Zhang Ruochen said, "There are five Fourth-level savage beasts including Fire-cloud Wolf, Cyan-winged Red Python, Four-armed Fierce Ape, Iron-armoured Black Bear and Lion-head Ox King. Also, there are two Fourth-level savage beasts, namely Dragon-eagle and Cloud-swallowing Sparrow. On top of that, there are some other savage beasts from Third-level and Second-level, as well as First-level. The Defender Array and the seven Formation Flags aren't expected to last long."

The battle prowess of a Fourth-level savage beast and a Fourth-level savage bird was comparable to a warrior in the Heaven Realm.

The Fourth-level savage beasts and birds added up to seven beasts in total. Judging from the number of beasts, anyone could tell that the Beast-training Master did not belittle Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu. Instead, he took them seriously, and thus, he had summoned almost all savage beasts within thousands of miles around.

An elderly man with a gold purple crown riding a three-head fire crow came from a distance. Hovering in the air, he fixed his gaze on Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu who was standing on top of the city wall. With a faint smile on his aging face, he said, "Zhang Ruochen, you'd better give me the account book! Don't tell me that you're still thinking to resist me under such circumstances?"

Looking as calm as usual, Zhang Ruochen gathered his Genuine Qi and said, "Are you Ling Xiansu, the Beast-training Master from Square Commandery?" His voice echoed out in all directions, loud and clear.

"Yes. It's me." The elderly man with a gold purple crown replied.

Zhang Ruochen said, "How about we make a deal?"

"What's the deal?" Ling Xiansu asked.

Zhang Ruochen said, "In your case, there is no room for you to improve your beast-training skill if you continue to stay in Square Commandery. But if you cooperate with me, I can promise you that you'll make great progress and reach a higher realm."

Ling Xiansu laughed out loud and said, "I've lived over 100 years old, and this is the first time I've heard such ridiculous speech. You, a kid no more than 20 years old, want to cooperate with me. What a joke! Do you think you qualify?"

Sighing, Zhang Ruochen said, "Rejecting my offer will be the most stupid decision you ever made in your life."

"In Square Commandery, I am treated as the minister, only second to the king. I have both the money and resources, and I've earned the respect of hundreds of thousands of people. What can you do for me? You are just a prince from an inferior commandery. Do you think that I'm willing to give up everything in a medium-level commandery and serve for an inferior commandery?" Ling Xiansu said, sneering.

At this point, Ling Xiansu had lost his patience with Zhang Ruochen. His expression turned somber, and he said, "I will give you a chance to live if you hand over the account book and abolish your cultivation within the time for burning an incense stick. Otherwise, you will be crushed to pieces under the onslaught of savage beasts."

Before Han Qiu could even answer, Zhang Ruochen abruptly said, "The time for burning an incense stick is simply too short. We need two hours to consider it."

They needed to stall for as much time as possible.

The longer time they had, the more beneficial the situation was for them.

Ling Xiansu replied, "Two hours are too long. I can only give you up to an hour."

"Alright! We'll discuss it now. After one hour, we'll give you an answer." Zhang Ruochen said in a clear voice.

From the way Ling Xiansu saw it, Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu were going to die anyway. It couldn't be better if they chose to surrender and hand over the account book.

An hour had passed very quickly.

Ling Xiansu asked, "My juniors, have you made the decision?"

Zhang Ruochen said, "Predecessor, could we ask for another one hour? After all, it's a matter of life and death, which makes us very hesitant."

"Is it fun to stall for time? I have given you one hour, but you didn't cherish it. If so, don't blame me for not showing you mercy."

Ling Xiansu took out a purple crystal ball and infused his Genuine Qi into it.

The ball lit up, and began to emit a purple light. It was as if a purple moon was hanging in midair, casting its light down onto the ground of hundreds of miles around.

"SWISH!"

Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen infused his Genuine Qi into the Array Eye, activating the Defender Array in Yueji City.

Immediately, all 36 Formation Flags on the wall lit up at the same time, and 36 beams of light could be seen shooting up into the sky.

The 36 beams of light then joined together to form a semicircular light screen, enveloping the whole Yueji City in the array.

Upon seeing this scene, the savage beasts under the city wall were all riled up and began howling. They madly attacked the Defense Strategy in full force.

A Four-armed Fierce Ape, as tall as a giant, was carrying a stone tray weighing hundreds of thousands of kilograms and launched its attack toward the city wall of Yueji City.

"Bang"! Under the assault of the stone tray, the light of 36 Formation Flags turned dimmer. The array's light screen had dented inward as if it were to break.

A Cloud-swallowing Sparrow of the Fourth-level Savage Beast was flying in the sky and absorbed all Spiritual Qi within tens of miles around it in a single breath.

It transformed the overwhelming amount of Spiritual Qi in its belly into the power of thunderbolt.

Cloud-swallowing Sparrow opened its huge crimson beak and spat out a beam of light. A lightning as thick as the opening of a bowl descended from the sky, hitting the top of the defense strategy.

Suddenly, the entire Yueji City seemed to be completed covered by the thunderbolt.

If warriors in Yueji City were still alive, without protection from the array, half of them would have been killed with a single blow from Cloud-swallowing Sparrow.

That was how terrifying the Fourth-level savage beasts were.

Among the human warriors, only the martial arts legends in the Heaven Realm could contend with Fourth-level savage beasts.

"Han Qiu, activate the Eight-dragon Wind-fire Formation. We need to first take out the savage birds hovering above the city." As soon as Zhang Ruochen finished his sentence, he carried the Abyss Ancient Sword and dashed toward the city gate.

Han Qiu shouted and said, "What are you doing?"

"These Fourth-level savage beasts launched such powerful attack. Two defense strategies and the Defender Array will be broken through before nightfall if this continues. And thus, I must get rid of one of them before dark. I'll leave the control of the array to you. All the Spiritual Crystals needed are inside the arrow tower. Get ready to assist me whenever needed."

"SWISH!"

Zhang Ruochen leaped into the air and hopped out of the array's light screen.