After Chou Tai finished his report, the adolescent boy smirked and waved his hand. As he did so, he dropped what seemed to be dozens of marbles which exploded into an enormous field of azure mist. As the mist appeared, so did sounds of growling and shrieks. In the mist was an army of 500 demonic beasts. Demonic beasts were beasts that had entered the world of cultivation, meaning that they were at least at the 1st level of qi condensation. However, every single demonic beast in this army was in the Elemental Pagoda stage. It was just one major stage before Elemental Core and one after qi condensation.

*ROAR!*

After the mist had grown to it's largest size, a magnificent roar was heard. It was a roar that could move trees and stop the flow of rivers. It even seemed to have an aura of a king.

As soon as the roar sounded out, the mist vanished into the ring on the adolescent boy's hand. It was a beautiful ring with a tiny image of a dragon embedded on it, the very proof of somebody important in the Great Dragon Dynasty.

As the mist vanished, huge beasts that could rival the height of the city walls were spotted and strange beasts that looked to be moving in and out of existence were also spotted. As this army of demonic beasts were personally handpicked by the brother of the Great Dragon Dynasty's emperor, they could all be considered exotic and abnormal beasts.

"CHARGE!" Shouted the boy, his voice loud enough to compete with the previous roar.

Right after the command, the beasts dashed through the plains to Acirema. The ones in the lead were enormous beasts that relied on their brute strength while the ones at the back would provide support in the siege.

As the beasts trampled their way to Acirema, the noise they made was more than enough to alert the Sects and Families in the city.

"Earlier than I thought. No matter, we're still prepared."

The patriach of the Imperial Family commented on the bold move made by the Great Dragon Dynasty.

"PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

Similarly to the drills they participated in, every disciple and Elder moved to take their positions in the various city defences. There were a thousand groups of a hundred disciples placed atop the city walls in profound formations. Each one evenly spread to cover the entire city. Behind them were a hundred groups of ten Elders in even more profound formations. However, the patriachs of the various Sects and Families were not yet in the defences as they continued to watch on with somber expressions.

Roughly half of the Elders were placed near the wall where the beasts would collide. As they haven't seen any enemies other than the beast horde, they could flexibly maneuver without care for consequences.

However, the Earth shifted in front of the city's main gates to reveal tunnels. The tunnels had been set up over the course of a month by Earth cultivators. As the tunnels were revealed, so were a group of masked individuals. They rushed up to the city gates and smashed right through as if the gate were paper.

Although the city walls and gates were reinforced by runic symbols, the ones particularly at the main gates were tampered with. They were obviously sabotaged from the inside.

All these took mere seconds to happen after the Elders had moved to defend against the beast horde. Thus, the patriarch watching over the horde were caught off guard and weren't left with enough time to stop the city gates from being destroyed.

"ATTACK!" roared one of the masked individual.

Rumbling could be heard from within the tunnels as an army of hundreds rushed through them at the masked individual's command.

Finally one of the patriarchs moved to stop the breach in the city walls. Due to the difference in cultivation base between the patriarch and the masked cultivators, it was relatively simple to stop them from entering the city but much tougher to kill them.

As a standstill appeared at one side of the city, the beast horde at the other began to have their way at the wall. The enormous beasts rammed into the walls and a corrosive bile and boulders were being launched at the walls from the back of the beast horde. Of course, the Elders who were also at the Pagoda stage were doing their best to fight off the beast horde.

The siege raged on as both sides continue to save up their trump cards for a possible reversal.

Meanwhile, Jian Yu, who was held in a prison cell in the Ferocity Sect, had long heard the sounds of war. All of the roars, rumbling and explosions had truly frightened him. Suddenly, he was very thankful that he was placed in a safe location away from the dangers of battle.

*BANG!*

"AI!"

Just as he was heaving sighs of relief by himself, a huge rock had forced it's way through the prison walls and opened a huge hole right beside him. The rock then lost momentum to stare right at Jian Yu in his own prison cell. Jian Yu dropped in cold sweat as he felt his very soul nearly leave him from fear...

"Why is this happening??"

Peeking through the hole left from the huge projectile that was the rock, Jian Yu saw beasts. Every single one of them ferocious and bloodthirsty. Although there were some that might have looked cute from an angle, they just looked that way. There was no exception to their viciousness.

"What the fuck? I have to get out. This is too scary. I'm so weak..."

At the sight of the beasts that could literally eliminate him at a moment's notice, Jian Yu's knees trembled but his mind refused to give in. Although he feared for his life, he knew that he would truly lose it should he not do anything to protect it.

*Rumble*

Due to the huge rock smashing the prison walls in it's way through Ferocity Sect, the ceiling above Jian Yu's head was beginning to fall down on him. Noticing that the hole in the wall was big enough for Jian Yu's slender body to fit through, Jian Yu decided to take this opportunity to escape. Given a choice, he wouldn't ever have wanted to choose a side in this war and only watch from the sidelines.

"I need to save myself. I can't die..."

As Jian Yu's body squeezed through the rubble, he felt the weight bearing down on his body increase as more broken pieces of the prison wall dropped on top of him. The only thought that pressed him forward was survival. The only thing he truly loved was himself so he wouldn't ever want to let himself die.

Using every ounce of strength in his body, Jian Yu continued to force his way out of the prison walls. Every second wasted meant a higher risk of death and a lower chance of survival. Finally, with bloodshot eyes and cracked fingernails, Jian Yu managed to get out of the falling structure.

However, the prison that had been holding Jian Yu was situated right beside a 100 meter drop. Although not high enough to kill Jian Yu, but just enough to hurt him badly.

*Thud*

After Jian Yu had escaped, he was immediately greeted by another danger; the drop. Previously, the escape through the rubble had caused a few bones of his to begin to crack. Now that he had fallen from a great height, the injuries that Jian Yu was afraid of were unleashed. A handful bones were fractured in his arms, and only a few fractures in his legs. Pain wracked his face as Jian Yu picked himself up and staggered his way to find himself an escape plan.

At this moment, shrieks were heard overhead as a flock of giant birds were seen flying across the city. As they passed by, white bombs began to fall. Everybody's faces from the average frightened mortal to the patriarch of the Imperial Family fell. Thinking of the worst, all of the strongest experts of Acirema threw their strongest magical techniques at the white bombs. However, as the bombs were hit, they surprisingly... exploded into a form of rain!

These weren't bombs, but bird droppings! Huge birds had produced bird droppings above their city! How outrageous!

What came after the shock of their realization was the fact that something tiny could be seen falling down to the ground from within the rain of bird droppings.

"Pills of Heavenly Ruin! Don't let them fall to the ground, they're the true threat!"

As Jian Yu watched the battle going on in the sky, six invincible experts of Acirema reached out to destroy as many pills as they could. At the same time, seven experts similar in strength with them appeared from around the city walls. Jian Yu imprinted this very image into his mind as clearly as he could. It exuded an aura of dominance, resolve, and most of all, desperation. All these sparked a fire somewhere in Jian Yu's heart, but he himself didn't realise it.

"Ah! The sewers, I can escape through the sewers! I'm such a fucking genius. Hahaha!" In the midst of the peak of battle, Jian Yu, being the coward he was, was inspired by the bird droppings previously to escape through the sewers. After all, cultivators were a prideful bunch and would never want to handle the waste of thousands of mortals living within the walls of their beloved city. They would deign to do so and had thus set up a sewer system where waste would pass through the city underground and be released into a gorge somewhere in the mountains to the East.

However, Jian Yu was an odd one who at times cared about reputation but at other times acted shamelessly. To him, he acted as he liked but what mattered to him most currently was still reputation. It was just that at times, there were more pressing matters that required him to put away his shame. This time was as such.

Jian Yu started limping to the nearest public washroom or manhole to get into the sewer system. Perhaps, another huge rock had broken open a straight path into the sewers.

As Jian Yu searched for his salvation, the bird droppings that were left to fall freely splashed onto his head.

"Yuck! Disgusting! I don't deserve this," complained Jian Yu. His head now covered in a white liquid that slowly trickled down his face.

Minutes passed as Jian Yu resisted the urge to puke a couple of times, not from the smell of bird droppings but from the sight of mutilated bodies. Although the Ferocity Sect that Jian Yu was in trained cultivators, there were still mortal servants. As they weren't useful, they were left to hide wherever they wanted to. However, some were unfortunate and were hit by falling boulders. Chunks of meat and shattered bones littered the ground where boulders fell.

"Those damned bastards. Why couldn't they have carried out their battle somewhere else. Not only me, but others are frightened of death. Why can't they leave the Innocents alone?"

Jian Yu's thoughts drifted off to the consequences of it all, mainly the deaths of innocent bystanders. As a child still uncorrupted by the constant killing of the cultivation world, his thoughts were much simpler and idealistic.

"Ah, a public restroom! I knew it was smart of me to head to the servant's quarters," Jian Yu complimented himself in his excitement. "Once I get out, I will be free of worries."

After arriving in the public restroom, Jian Yu took up a metal bar from a pile of rubble nearby to have his way with the toilet. After hitting the toilet a few times with the metal bar, the toilet broke apart to reveal a tunnel that descended like a slide. Fortunately, the size of the tunnel was just right to let Jian Yu fall through.

As soon as the toilet gave way and broke apart, Jian Yu felt a sense of hesitation towards his plan. He had to walk through piss and shit for hours until he reached the mountains. Not a good idea.

However, looking back at the destruction of the sect, he knew that he would be rewarded with his death if he stayed behind.

Then he thought of his father, the one who had cared for him through his life. Although he wasn't the best father, he was still Jian Yu's only father.

So in front of a dark tunnel leading to certain survival, Jian Yu pondered on his own selfishness. Should he save himself or waste time finding his father through the vast city of Acirema?

However, the conflict in his mind was interrupted by the explosion of the city walls breaking. This time, the beast horde had broken the city walls guarded by thousands of cultivators. Despite the loss of roughly half of the horde, the rest of the beasts were not disheartened in the slightest. As they were tamed by the brother of the Great Dragon Dynasty's Emperor, they were almost like puppets who only reacted to the works of the puppeteer. The loss of half the beast horde only meant that the battle prowess of the rest would be heightened as the adolescent boy only has to control half of the beast horde.

"Ahh, I think Father can handle himself. I hear that he's tougher to get rid of than a cockroach. Might as well put that to the test."

With that, Jian Yu shut his eyes and launched himself into the tunnel. The sooner he entered the tunnel, the better. Surprisingly, it took minutes before Jian Yu dove into the sewers. If he had to guess, Jian Yu was a couple kilometers under the city. Taking out one of many tiny luminescent stones that Jian Yu collected amidst the destruction of the Ferocity Sect, Jian Yu got up slowly. These stones were used in the lamp poles that lit up the nights in Acirema so it was relatively simple to find them.

The only problem was that Jian Yu had no idea where he was supposed to go. Remembering a simple advice he heard from his father, he held up his index finger into the air. Feel the wind's movement, he said. Seconds later, Jian Yu decided on a direction that he supposed was the way to the mountains according to the wind movement.

*Splish, splosh*

As Jian Yu made his way through the sewer, he kept experiencing rumbling through the tunnels. These lead to small amounts of rubble falling down into the disgusting water Jian Yu was knee deep in which then lead to odd sounds of animals lurking in the sewers. This new environment made Jian Yu feel very uneasy. Adding on the fact that he could only see a few meters ahead made it that he was borderline paranoid of the sewers and it's inhabitants. However, his fear of the war behind him overcame his uneasiness of the sewer, causing his to rush forwards despite his injuries.

Hours passed as Jian Yu made his escape. Meanwhile, up above in the ruined city of Acirema, savages, man and beasts, slaughtered the ones who insisted on guarding the city. They had long threatened everybody that should they bow down before the Great Dragon Dynasty, that would be spared. However, most were unwilling to do so and those that did, were killed on the spot as traitors. Therefore, to completely flatten the morale of the opposing side, it was necessary to slaughter. Slaughter everyone who didn't bow down.

In the skies where the Elemental Core stage cultivators battled, there were many precious treasures that had been unleashed. The city of Acirema had already thrown all their trump cards into the ring, going all out. They were in desperate straits. The enemy now had ten experts that could individually battle toe to toe with any of them while they only had six. The odds were against them.

Suddenly, the patriarch of the Tian Family struck the back of the patriarch of the Imperial Family. A dense ball of wind blades exploded onto the Imperial Family's patriarch's back.

"Ahh! Brother Tian! Why?"

Every single one of the patriarchs were shocked at the betrayal of one of their own. Worst of all, the one that had turned to the other side was their second most powerful expert.

Taking this opportunity, the Great Dragon Dynasty's experts launched devastating attacks. Some took out their own unrevealed techniques and used them in a certain kill situation. This was... the end of Acirema.

*BOOM*

Tornadoes of flame, a tsunami, and meteors all hit their targets. Every cultivator down below stopped where they were and witnessed the fall of six experts of their generation. The hope that was forcibly held together in Acirema's cultivators plummeted down with them.

"VICTORY TO THE GREAT, DRAGON, DYNASTY!!"

"VICTORY TO THE GREAT DRAGON DYNASTY!"

It was not known who shouted first, but everybody else soon followed. Their chant glorifying their empire soon turned to a form of a mystical enchantment that raised the Great Dragon Dynasty's cultivators' power as a whole.

Meanwhile, 7 kilometers away from the city of Acirema, a lone boy was left in a river of stink in a gorge. The walls of the gorge were steep but there was a rope that let Jian Yu climb up to the top. Traveling across the sewers was already very tiring to Jian Yu. As his bones were fractured in certain areas, Jian Yu knew that it was impossible for him to climb up roughly ten kilometers on his own.

Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to stay in this shit pile of a gorge to recover slowly. After spending hours in shit water, he felt much more relaxed and grew used to such a disgusting feeling. So, knowing that he was now far away from danger, he searched for a good place to rest in the gorge.

Suddenly, he heard the synchronized and majestic shouts of thousands symbolizing the defeat of Acirema's defence.

A sad sigh echoed through the gorge filled with mixed feelings. As Jian Yu moved about waist deep in the shit water, he looked upwards to what looked like a small crevice above the gorge and expressed his thoughts on the matter in a loud roar.

"This is a new start for me! A better one! Heavens! I'll grow strong enough to trample on the Great Dragon Dynasty, just watch!"