BOOM!

Just as the Dragonblood Legion and the Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples were fighting very steadily, a golden figure flew out of the distant channel.

Everyone jumped in shock. That figure was Guo Ran. The current Guo Ran looked to be in a very sorry state. His originally majestic golden armor was now covered in scars.

“Boss, boss!” Guo Ran flew straight toward Long Chen.

“What is it?”

“Boss, some terrifying monsters have appeared inside. Their power is so great that even one against one, I can’t beat them. I almost lost my life. Take a look.”

Guo Ran pointed to a hole in the shoulder of his armor. Blood was slowly flowing out. Shockingly, this injury was caused by a claw.

Guo Ran’s armor was composed of dozens of Ancestral items that were joined together into a perfect formation. Damaging any area meant having to break the defenses of all the other regions. It was completely unexpected for Guo Ran’s armor to be pierced straight through by a claw.

“At first, only one of those golden-clawed monsters appeared. I activated the mechanism on my chest that caught it by surprise and heavily injured it. That allowed me to kill it. However, then five of them appeared at once! I almost pissed myself! I ran for my life.”

If Guo Ran had been surrounded by those monsters, his armor wouldn’t have lasted very long before being destroyed by their claws. Without his armor, he would be doomed.

“What did they look like?” asked Long Chen.

“They are very similar to humans. Their bodies are covered in blood-colored runes, and they have a bone spur on their back and a horn on their head. Their golden claws are giant and extremely sharp.”

“Then it should be the Golden Claw Blood Devils from legends.”

Long Chen nodded. The legends said that the Golden Claw Blood Devils were a high-level race amongst the devil race. They weren’t mindless killing machines like the devil creatures they were currently killing. They had their own intelligence. Their golden claws grew straight out of their flesh.

Those claws were their divine ability, possessing a special power that allowed them to break through defenses. Adding on their power and speed, their combat power was not one bit inferior to an Empyrean.

Guo Ran wouldn’t even be worried about an ordinary Empyrean, but the Golden Claw Blood Devil’s claws could tear through his defense. Without his armor, he had no confidence.

“If the Golden Claw Blood Devils have appeared, then the channel won’t be able to endure for much longer before it grows again. It really is an unprecedented eruption. We’ve entered our great era, but our opponents have entered their great era as well. We can only face them head-on,” said Long Chen.

Originally, he had been hoping to bring back more of the Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples when this was over. However, that hope vanished.

“Brothers of the Dao Sect, when the big fight starts, we will take the front. The Dragonblood warriors will defend you, while you are to defend the final wall behind you. Do you understand what that wall signifies? If it is broken, the devil creatures will flood the channel. They will charge their way into all the various large sects. Once they break their seals, they’ll slaughter countless innocent people. The Eastern Xuan Region and the Martial Heaven Continent as a whole will face a calamity. I think that all of you know what must be done.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Long Chen, don’t worry! We will also be powerful heroes. We aren’t cowards afraid of death!”

“I’ve already had the blood of so many of my brothers spill on this ground. We won’t let their blood be spilled for nothing. Even if we have to die, we will defend this channel. We won’t give a single inch!”

The Xuantian Dao Sect’s disciples roared, their blood burning inside them. Having seen the disciples beside them die one by one, they were filled with fury and killing intent.

They had just learned how to trust their companions. This was their first time entrusting their lives to others.

Many of them had sacrificed their lives so that others could live. That filled the survivors with grief, as well as hatred for these devil creatures.

Explosive sounds suddenly came from the distant channel. It grew larger once more, and an endless flood of blood-colored devil creatures poured onto the battlefield.

These blood-colored devil creatures were even more bloodthirsty and ruthless. Their fellow devil creatures that were in their way would be directly trampled or torn apart to make a path for themselves.

“Meng Qi, Chu Yao, Wan-er, Cloud, Ruyan, Li Qi, Mingyuan, push the battle line forward and guard the entrance. Together, you will hold back the flood. Guo Ran, get out your giant crossbow and support them from long range. Pay special attention to the Golden Claw Blood Devils. Gu Yang, you lead the Dragonblood Legion and create the second defensive line. Zifeng, I’ll leave the Golden Claw Blood Devils to you. Their attacks are extremely sharp, and they’re fast. Take care.” Long Chen quickly made a new deployment in the face of this change.

“Alright.” Yue Zifeng, who had yet to fight, nodded. Without waiting for Meng Qi or the others, he sprang forward to the very front of the battlefield, targeting one of the Golden Claw Blood Devils.

That Golden Claw Blood Devil roared and slashed its claws at him. Its immense power and its terrifying speed made its claws emit an ear-piercing whistle. Golden light exploded. It was like space could not endure the power of its claws.

The distant Empyreans were stunned. This Golden Claw Blood Devil’s attack seemed to be on par with one of their full-strength attacks based on its pressure.

Within that blinding golden light, a sword came out of its sheath. A flash of sword-light appeared.

The golden light instantly vanished. The roaring Golden Claw Blood Devil stiffened, and its body split into two halves. It was evenly split from head to toe. Even its claw was perfectly cut in two. That precision was unbelievable.

That Golden Claw Blood Devil was killed. Yue Zifeng was already gone before its body began to split apart, charging toward another Golden Claw Blood Devil.

People only saw another flash of sword-light before that Golden Claw Blood Devil was also killed. Yue Zifeng moved toward the third Golden Claw Blood Devil.

“What terrifying attack power.”

“No wonder it’s said that sword cultivators are number one in terms of offense.”

“The sword is his god. That’s a true sword cultivator.”

Other than Long Chen, everyone present was stunned by Yue Zifeng’s attacks. Those terrifying Golden Claw Blood Devils were unable to resist in front of him.

Even Guo Ran, Li Qi, Song Mingyuan, Gu Yang, and the others familiar with Yue Zifeng had not expected his attacks to have reached such a level.

“Zifeng’s sword arts have once more improved. This offensive power truly is stunning,” sighed Long Chen emotionally.

The reason Yue Zifeng was so strong was because of his firm and unyielding drive as well as his infatuation with the sword.

Yue Zifeng’s current sword was not an Ancestral item. It wasn’t even a King item. It was just an ordinary weapon.

It was something he had obtained from Ling Yunzi in the Heavenly Sword Gate. Ling Yunzi had said that true sword cultivators didn’t rely on a divine weapon to improve their attacks. That was a kind of blasphemy to the sword.

Yue Zifeng was holding a completely normal sword, yet his attacks were unstoppable. It was a kind of incomprehensible divine ability.

Following Yue Zifeng, Meng Qi, Chu Yao, Liu Ruyan, and the others also charged forward. While passing a suitable location, Li Qi slammed his hands on the ground, summoning a square platform that soared into the sky.

Guo Ran flew onto it, placing a giant golden crossbow on it. It was dozens of meters wide. This was a bow he had made along with his armor. It represented his highest achievements on the Forging Dao. Both the armor and the crossbow were the masterpieces he was most pleased with.

Li Qi had given him a good platform to shoot from. Here, his arrows could reach anywhere on the battlefield. This crossbow was something he had named Army Breaker, so its full name was the Army Breaker Divine Bow, in reference to his old bow.

The Army Breaker Divine Bow’s runes lit up, and a ray of golden light shot out, striking a Golden Claw Blood Devil in the distance.

It was too fast for anyone to react to. People were only able to see a flash of golden light before that Golden Claw Blood Devil exploded. It was impossible to track the trajectory of the arrow.

This crossbow was an extremely sinister invention of Guo Ran’s. It combined spatial and illusionary runes. By the time people saw the arrow leave the bow, the arrow would have already struck.

That was because Guo Ran would activate the illusion to make it seem he was shooting, when in reality, he had already shot. Due to the concealment of the illusion runes, there was the misperception of a fraction of a second.

That slight difference was enough for his attack to land before others could see his strike. When Guo Ran had first made a demonstration for Long Chen, Long Chen had praised Guo Ran for this invention, saying it was a divine conning ability, one that would kill people without them even realizing how they died.

“Fuck, so a Golden Claw Blood Devil is actually worth fifty million points!” Guo Ran was delighted to realize this. While he had killed another one before on the other side of the channel, it had been too dangerous and he hadn’t had time to look.

Just as he said this, a hand clapped him on the back of his head. Long Chen’s roar rang out. “Focus on the task at hand!”

Long Chen had appeared behind Guo Ran without him even realizing it. Seeing that this little fellow was actually so bored as to take a peek at the Devil Slaughter Rankings, Long Chen had an urge to throw him back to the other side of the channel.

“Oh, my bad!”

Guo Ran hastily focused himself. He slowly turned the Army Breaker Divine Bow. Due to its immense size, the turning wasn’t so nimble, and he needed it to be immobile to be accurate.

Chu Yao, Tang Wan-er, Liu Ruyan, Li Qi, and Song Mingyuan were unleashing large-area attacks, limiting the movements of the Golden Claw Blood Devils. That gave Guo Ran enough time to attack. He killed one with each arrow, delighting him.

“Boss, take a look. Have I managed to take back first place?!” shouted Guo Ran excitedly as he shot.