"Phew! We’ve done everything we could..."
Watching the Demon Beast Army pour into Luofeng City, Di Cang and the others let out a long sigh. They truly had done everything in their power. An army of Magical Beasts this massive was impossible to stop unless another ten Martial Venerables arrived.
"Luofeng City is gone..."
The Magical Beasts trampled it underfoot. Unobstructed, Luofeng City turned to ash in an instant. As they watched the Mu Mansion and the Prince’s Mansion get annihilated simultaneously, a wave of sorrow washed over Mu Gu Tian and Wang Mo. That was the home they had built their lives around.
"Heh... Forget it. This is the best possible outcome. Our clan members have either gone into hiding or evacuated. Fortunately, we didn’t lose many family members in this defensive battle. As long as our people are alive, we can always rebuild the family, right?"
Seeing the somber atmosphere, Mu Gu Tian suddenly let out a hearty laugh. He was good at looking on the bright side of things. Perhaps, deep down, he shared the same free spirit as Mufeng.
"That’s true, but who knows how long it will take for this Beast Tide to subside." Wang Mo sighed, then smiled and glanced over at Mu Chen’s group.
At that moment, Mu Chen had dropped out of his combat stance and was tying his hair back with a ribbon. Sensing a gaze on him, he turned to see it was the Patriarch of the Wang Family, Wang Mo. Mu Chen offered a polite smile, finished tying his hair, and put his already-closed Profound Jade Fan back into the Profound Jade Box.
Other than his sleeves being singed by Demonic Flames, Mu Chen looked exactly as he did before.
"So that’s Mu Chen?"
Wang Mo remarked with awe. Although he hadn’t been watching Mu Chen’s every move in battle, he had caught a glimpse of the Combat Skill Mu Chen unleashed at the start. Its power was unequivocally beyond the Emperor Realm! It was hard to imagine that the young man who was nothing but a cripple five years ago had grown at such an astonishing rate! Even now, he couldn’t perceive what realm Mu Chen had reached.
"That’s him." Mu Gu Tian glanced at Mu Chen, who was chatting with the others, his heart filled with emotion. ’Who would have thought my most overlooked grandson would become such an expert?’ he thought. "At any rate, we two old men got to keep our lives."
Wang Mo paused, then chuckled. "You’re right, I almost forgot. But now that Mu Chen has reached such a high realm, I’m afraid that girl, Junnyao, is no longer a match for him."
"Not a match?" Mu Gu Tian was confused for a second, then burst out laughing. "You old fox! I was wondering why you kept bringing up marriage. So you’ve set your sights on our Chen’Er! Well, if you were talking about my other grandchildren’s marriages, I could certainly arrange something. But when it comes to Chen’Er, I really don’t have the authority to make any promises. The most I can do is bring it up casually. According to his mother’s wishes, Chen’Er’s wife will likely be Bing’Er."
"Bing’Er? You don’t mean the young lady who defeated Chen Qing?" Hearing the name, Wang Mo suddenly recalled the little girl from the clan tournament years ago, the one who had revealed the strength of a Martial Artist.
Mu Gu Tian nodded. "The very same."
"But..." Wang Mo frowned. "Isn’t she Mu Chen’s older sister? How could they..."
"Haha... You really don’t give up, do you?" Mu Gu Tian chuckled. "It’s true that Bing’Er is Chen’Er’s sister, but she’s not a blood descendant of our Mu Family. She was a young girl that Wan’Er found when she was out one day. We couldn’t find her family, so we took her in as an adopted daughter. So, you tell me, is it possible or not? Besides, your information is terribly out of date, old man. There isn’t a single person in the Mu Family who doesn’t know this. You couldn’t have done a little digging first?"
"Huh?" Wang Mo was stunned for a moment before it dawned on him. He gave a wry smile. "As you know, being a Patriarch comes with a lot of responsibilities. Any time I’m not handling clan affairs, I’m focused on my Cultivation. The children’s marriages are primarily their parents’ concern. It’s just... I’ve always been very fond of my girl, Junnyao, and I wanted to find a good match for her. That’s when I thought of that young man, Mu Chen."
"So that’s how it is. I’m not sure what to say. Once this Beast Tide is over, I’ll do my best to talk to Chen’Er. Perhaps there’s still a chance. I’m just worried that if your Junnyao has to be a concubine, she’ll be upset," Mu Gu Tian said.
"Ah," Wang Mo smiled, waving a dismissive hand. "Don’t say that. While I don’t know Mu Chen personally, I’ve been a Patriarch for many years. I can tell from the way his friends look at him that he is not a malicious person. Therefore, ’wife’ and ’concubine’ are just titles. As long as he treats her well, it’s all good."
"Yes, good point. Still, it feels a little shameless to be discussing marriage proposals while Luofeng City lies in ruins, haha."
As they spoke, both Mu Gu Tian and Wang Mo couldn’t help but start laughing. Their laughter drew frequent, puzzled glances from the elites of the Mu and Wang families, who had no idea what had transpired between the two patriarchs.
"Brother Mu Chen, your city..."
Ye Shuangshuang tore her gaze away from the dust-choked ruins of Luofeng City, her expression full of sorrow. This was, after all, the city where Mu Chen and Mu Bingling were born. It was their home. And now, they had to watch as it was trampled to dust by the hooves of Magical Beasts. ’That has to be an awful feeling,’ she thought.
A wave of sadness washed over him, but Mu Chen simply shook his head. "Humanity will not lose to Magical Beasts. Luofeng City will one day rise again on the border of the Demon Beast Forest and become a fortress of steel! A Nirvana Rebirth!"
"Well said!" Suddenly, three figures descended from the sky. It was Di Cang, Qin Garden, and Wu Changqing, the trio who had erected the black Elemental Barrier. The one who spoke was Di Cang.
"Nirvana Rebirth! Throughout history, the Beast Race has tried to invade human lands more than once! But after countless millennia, not only has human territory not shrunk from the Magical Beasts’ frenzied rampages, it has actually grown stronger! So, even if the Xuanling Empire is completely flattened by Magical Beasts, this old man feels no fear! And besides..."
"And besides?" everyone asked, puzzled by Di Cang’s words.
"And besides, the Xuanling Empire is now a High-level Peak Empire. According to the reward policy for advancement, the Empire was due to be completely dismantled and rebuilt by countless Earth Attribute Builders anyway. With the Magical Beasts causing all this chaos, aren’t they just helping us with the demolition? Haha."
"So that’s how it is!" Qin Garden nodded. What Di Cang said was true. In previous years, whenever an empire’s rank rose significantly, Earth Attribute Builders from a Dynasty would come to reconstruct its cities to a standard befitting its new Empire Level. However, demolition was always a tedious chore for these Builders. They loved to create, not destroy. As a result, after past imperial tournaments, the demolition phase always proceeded at a snail’s pace. This was much better. The next time a rebuild was required, they wouldn’t have to wait so long.
"Oh, I see." Wu Changqing nodded, looking lost. While he had witnessed several imperial reconstruction projects, they had always been small-scale, like rebuilding the Imperial Palace or the Imperial Capital. He had never heard of an entire empire being rebuilt.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, as if struck by a realization, Wu Changqing hurriedly asked Qin Garden, "What did you just say? What is the Xuanling Empire’s rank?"
Seeing Wu Changqing’s bizarre expression, Qin Garden smiled sweetly. "Why don’t you ask Di Cang?"
Wu Changqing looked like he was about to lose his mind. He whipped his head around to face Di Cang. "I thought I heard you say ’peak’ just now. Peak what? Empire Level? What in the world is a Peak Empire?"
Di Cang stroked his beard. It was the first time he’d ever seen such a look on Wu Changqing’s face. He laughed heartily. "Old Wu, Old Wu, you may not believe it, but I’m afraid our Xuanling Empire has leaped straight over the Dragon Gate. The carp has transformed into a dragon."
"Huh?" Wu Changqing ignored Di Cang’s teasing expression and repeated, "The carp has transformed into a dragon? Does that mean the Xuanling Empire... has advanced? To a Middle-class Empire?!"
"Heh, Di Cang, stop teasing him," Qin Garden said, rolling her eyes at Di Cang in exasperation. She turned to Wu Changqing. "You’re right, the Xuanling Empire did advance, but not to a Middle-class Empire. It’s a High-level Peak Empire!"
"High-level... Peak Empire?"
"That’s right. Because this young man, Mu Chen, managed to defeat both the Flame Dragon Empire from the Flame Dragon Dynasty and the Dunhuang Empire from the Sacas Dynasty!" Qin Garden’s voice wasn’t loud, but by now the Magical Beasts had charged far into the-distance, their thundering stampede fading away. As a result, most of the people present heard her words with perfect clarity.
"Flame Dragon Empire?!" Both Xuan Yin, who was on the ground, and Wu Changqing, who was in the air, cried out in unison. Of all the people present, perhaps only the two of them knew just how powerful the Flame Dragon Empire truly was. It was the absolute strongest empire in the Flame Dragon Dynasty, bar none!
But now they were being told that the Flame Dragon Empire had lost to the Xuanling Empire. How could anyone possibly believe that?!
"You... You’re not joking with me, are you?"
The corners of Wu Changqing’s mouth twitched violently. Like Xuan Yin, his gaze shifted to Mu Chen, his eyes filled with utter shock. He wanted to believe Di Cang and Qin Garden were playing a prank on him, but judging by their expressions and their personalities, they were definitely not the joking type. But if it wasn’t a joke...!
SLAP!
Before everyone’s stunned eyes, Wu Changqing slapped himself hard across the face. Then he mumbled, dazed, "I felt that... This isn’t a dream!"
"Hahaha..."
Wu Changqing’s perpetually stern and unshakeable image was instantly shattered. The sight was so absurd that everyone was momentarily pulled from their sorrow over the city’s destruction, shrugging their shoulders and chuckling. Although they couldn’t understand the whole conversation, the words "Peak Empire" were enough to tell them one thing: in this imperial tournament, the Xuanling Empire must have achieved a spectacular result!