Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

Chapter 674: Chapter 673: Trial of Blood

Lin Yun stood to the side with Xi Zijin, Little Ape, and the Black-striped Tiger, watching the battle unfold. From start to finish, he had no intention of intervening. ’A squad worthy of the title ”strongest” can only be forged in a trial of blood.’

Two thousand Divine Palace Warriors faced eighty warriors from the strongest squad. The disparity in numbers was still immense, and many of the squad’s newest warriors found themselves overwhelmed by the Divine Palace Warriors.

However, the thirty veterans of the strongest squad—those who had followed Lin Yun through the battle against the Divine Palace’s Second Commander—were different. When they faced the Divine Palace Warriors now, all they exuded was killing intent and a thick, bloody aura.

To have been selected for the strongest squad meant that these fifty men were also elite warriors of the Demon Palace. Although there was still a difference between them and the thirty veterans who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, they were still fighting with all their might.

A warrior who had just joined the strongest squad was surrounded by dozens of Divine Palace Warriors. He pierced the heart of one with his Spirit Soldier, but at that moment, another Divine Palace Warrior rushed in and swung his blade at the man’s neck.

At such a close distance, the man had no way to dodge the blow. But, just in the nick of time, a veteran warrior from the strongest squad appeared before him from out of nowhere and struck down the attacking Divine Palace Warrior.

Having narrowly escaped death, the new warrior looked at the veteran who had saved him. Seeing his gaze, the man smiled coldly and said, ”There’s no room for even a moment’s distraction on the battlefield. If you want to live, you have to kill every enemy in front of you.”

Hearing this, the rescued new warrior nodded firmly.

Scenes like this could be seen all over the battlefield. Some of the new warriors, having never experienced such a bloody battle against such overwhelming odds, inevitably lacked a certain ruthlessness.

Repeatedly saved by the thirty veterans who had fought alongside Lin Yun, the fifty new warriors gradually overcame the last vestiges of fear in their hearts. When faced with the encirclement of dozens of Divine Palace Warriors, they too became ruthless.

”Are you really not going to step in?” Standing to the side, Xi Zijin watched the battle. Although the members of the strongest squad were all powerful, they were still at a disadvantage while surrounded by dozens of Divine Palace Warriors, especially the fifty new recruits.

Hearing Xi Zijin’s words, Lin Yun smiled faintly. ”There’s no need. Just watch. It won’t be long before they’re completely different.”

Lin Yun’s intention was precisely to temper them with blood. Although these fifty new warriors had seen battle before, they had never experienced a slaughter of this magnitude.

The great battle continued. Meanwhile, the Monk and Daoist had successfully led five thousand Demon Palace Warriors to capture another of the Divine Palace’s cities. In addition to killing over a thousand Divine Palace Warriors, the pair had also taken several hundred captive.

As the fighting wore on, the Demon Palace Warriors became covered in wounds—especially the fifty new members—but just as Lin Yun had said, they only fought with increasing ferocity.

The blood thoroughly stimulated their latent desire for slaughter. Gradually, the fifty new Demon Palace Warriors began to transform rapidly. Faced with encirclement by dozens of Divine Palace Warriors, they became just like the other thirty veterans: fearless, their minds focused only on cutting down the enemy with the Spirit Soldiers in their hands.

Seeing this, Lin Yun smiled faintly. The results of their trial were showing. He then told Xi Zijin to stay put while he, Little Ape, and the Black-striped Tiger joined the fray.

With Lin Yun and his two companions joining in, the Divine Palace Warriors, who were already terrified by the eighty Demon Palace Warriors, were quickly routed. The remaining thousand Divine Palace Warriors were slaughtered as they fled in disarray.

Lin Yun didn’t pursue the fleeing soldiers, instead ordering his men to take complete control of the city.

The Demon Palace had taken the offensive. In just one day, two of the Divine Palace’s cities were captured. At this point, the Divine Palace was left with only one city: Divine Celestial City.

Having captured these two cities, the Demon Palace’s grand army marched straight for Divine Celestial City. The ten Commanders of the Demon Palace also advanced on the city with the main force.

After securing the two newly captured cities, Lin Yun, along with the Monk and Daoist, arrived at the Demon Palace’s main camp outside Divine Celestial City. They rendezvoused with the other Demon Palace Commanders to prepare for the final offensive.

In the Demon Palace’s main camp outside Divine Celestial City, all the Demon Palace Warriors had gathered—a full fifteen thousand of them. Everyone knew this was the final battle. Once they took Divine Celestial City, it would all be over.

Standing in the sky above the Demon Palace’s main camp, Lin Yun gazed at Divine Celestial City in the distance. He could already see it from here.

His eyes fixed on Divine Celestial City, Lin Yun muttered to himself, ’This is the final battle. I wonder what secrets are truly hidden within these ruins.’

Just then, Xi Zijin came to Lin Yun’s side. Looking at him with a smile, she asked softly, ”What’s wrong? This is the final battle. Is there something you’re still worried about?”

”No,” Lin Yun replied softly.

It wasn’t that Lin Yun was worried about this final battle. Given the current situation, the Divine Palace’s chances of winning were slim. Victory was all but guaranteed.

What worried Lin Yun was not the final battle, but the secrets hidden within the ruins.

He had a gut feeling that the secret hidden by the ruins was absolutely earth-shattering, perhaps even related to the entire Celestial Spirit Continent. Lin Yun couldn’t explain why he had this intuition, but deep down, he just knew.

He recalled the scene he had witnessed in the underground Martial Arts Training Ground in Demon City. ’That was clearly the location of these very ruins. And those three Spaces, imprisoned by powerful figures whose faces I couldn’t make out... that’s the very world we’re in right now.’

’A being capable of imprisoning three Spaces is not something an ordinary Main God Level expert can do. In the entire Divine Realm, there are probably no more than ten experts who could imprison three Spaces simultaneously.’

’At least, among the people I knew in my past life, there weren’t more than ten.’

’The only thing I can’t figure out now is the meaning of the disintegrating continent. And what was the meaning of the phantom Cyan Dragon that appeared when the ruins were created? And what about the phantoms of the White Tiger, Xuanwu, and Vermilion Bird?’

The closer he got to the secret of the ruins, the more a sense of dread grew in Lin Yun’s heart, as if he was about to learn something utterly astounding.

Lost in thought, Lin Yun only came back to his senses after a long moment. He looked at Xi Zijin, who had been quietly accompanying him, a trace of tenderness appearing in his eyes.

Lin Yun was aware of Xi Zijin’s feelings for him. Although she had never said anything, he could sense that she was always there, quietly by his side.

(Chapter 36! Please add to your library, vote with a Monthly Pass, recommend, and donate!)