Xinzi's move took the city guard by surprise. True, so far, all the momentum gathered around the demon—yet Burning Spear supercity's experts didn't expect it to target their commandant right off the bat. After all, most of the energies binding the city guards together, passed by their commandant—enabling him to tap into their cultivation bases to bring his own strength to superior levels.
A lion's face took shape on Xinzi's chest. Its head protruded from our monk's armored skin, sticking towards the Burning Spear Commandant with its jaw opened wide. An ear-splitting roar thundered, blasting through the guards and officers' eardrums.
Their radiant orange helmets failed to provide any resistance, enabling the sound-waves to maul their hearing and dull their senses. Dazed by the roar, the guards couldn't assist their commander, leaving him alone to contend with the demonic foe.
"Presumptuous fiend!" Shrugging off the pain, the commander raised his burning spear. The mirrors floating above his left and right shoulders flashed with blazing light, casting a domain of searing heat waves that spread towards Xinzi.
Faced with this domain, anyone below Dao Revelation would instantly turn into ashes—no, even early-stage Dao Revelation experts wouldn't survive the confrontation. Xinzi, however, walked right in. His Evil Qi flailed like the tentacles of a grotesque carnal nightmare, whipping a clear path through the searing domain to confront the commandant's Burning Spear.
The crushing confidence that oozed out of our infernal monk's every step didn't reduce the Fen clan master's morale. His hand tightened around the shaft, and in a frontal thrust, he drove the spearhead at Xinzi. Our monk tilted his head, letting the spear fly over his shoulder while, simultaneously, his hand clenched into a fist and went in for a full counter.
In the Fen clan master's eyes, the world seemed to slow down. His spear thrust carried too much momentum, preventing him from averting his strike. Xinzi's hook punch connected with the Fen clan master's chin. His bones cracked and his brain crashed inside his skull, forcing his consciousness to dwindle into nothingness.
But here, the Flame Dao cultivated over thousands of years kicked in. A cluster of burning Dao runes emerged all around the Fen clan master. Burning Flames replaced his red pupils, and as his helmet broke from Xinzi's one punch, his long flaming-red hair flowed out—giving him a maniacal flair.
Nearby, a Fen officer waved a tall red banner. Sanguine rays shot out, fueling the city guard's souls with irresistible battlelust.
More troops came from the distance, flooding teleportation formations to cross the vast expanse that this eight-million-man supercity covered. Heroic Banners flew above the city gates. Large red spiritual shards floated in the sky, connecting the various formation nodes with an intricate web of orange lines. But while the Fen clan master led his clan troops and city guard against the enemy, the Yan elders didn't move an inch—still sheltering their injured lord.
Worse, even the Divine Transformation elites of the Yan clan held their hands, overseeing the defensive formation nodes like petty store managers.
'This…is a once-in-10,000 years opportunity.' Yan Zhong had a thought. Burning Spear supercity could count on an elite city guard of over 600 experts at Nascent Soul and above plus a trained army of 60,000 golden cores. With a lineup of that magnitude, though they might not be able to slay the demon, they could adopt a defensive stance and resist him without trouble. And if necessary, the eight-million citizens—all cultivators—could assist in powering the formation.
That being the case, why not let the demon take down the Fen clan master and top experts? Afterward, the Yan would regain full control of the city guard, and bring down the Fen once and for all. The Yan clan elders shared the sentiment, and using Yan Zhong's protection as an excuse, they refused to step forward.
The burning dao runes set the Fen clan master ablaze, casting a hellish conflagration that spread far and wide. Xinzi's form blurred across the sky. Fire storms upon fire storms followed, the sky turned red, and as the Heroic Banners lifted up their souls, the city guards assembled in a formation of their own.
[Blast of Burning Souls]
Each guard held his spear in a vertical stance, orange energy lines connected them, and with the commandant to lead the array, they all turned into small orbs of fire, then merged into a cataclysmic fireball that shined as bright as a dying star.
Though sheltered by the city's defensive formation, Burning Spear supercity's citizens closed their eyes, unable to withstand the formation's brightness. The slaves had poorer luck. The formation nodes that filtered the rays so the citizens didn't have much to fear…exposed the nearby slaves to the city guard's offensive.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
Some burned directly. Others suffered a slow roast, yet still danced on the nodes, unable to extricate themselves. The tragedy didn't rattle the spirit clan scions, but the children of human lords clenched their fists—restraining the shame and fury that festered their Dao Hearts.
Here, Yan Zhong sensed another opportunity and raised his right hand. A sun-shaped seal appeared within. Magnetic qi waves rolled out, stripping any connection between the defensive formation and the city guard to make Yan Zhong the sole master of the city's formation.
"Fen Commandant! As the warden of this city and master of a noble clan, how dare you ignore the lives of our people and activate such a lethal formation? I, Yan Zhong, am blessed to be this great city's lord, and cannot allow your reckless actions to threaten the bedrock of our society. From now on, you focus on the offensive. I handle the defenses!" Yan Zhong made a bold statement, but fooled no one but himself.
And if at first, none had noticed the Fen clan's abnormal behavior, these words left no doubt as to what the Yan were trying to accomplish.
"Bastard! BASTARD! Yan Zhong, I will not let you off!" The Fen clan master's scream resounded like a thunderclap. The Yan elders faced it with a sneer, then cast apologetic glances at the Yan disciples that served in the city guard. Said disciples understood the importance of getting rid of the Fen scourge, and welcomed the sacrifice.
Unable to constrain himself, Xinzi burst into a peal of frenzied laughter.
"Fear, greed, rage, pride, envy, grief and treachery, hahahaha! As the saying goes, in damnation we thrive. Every bit of darkness that you breathe into this world can become strands of Evil Qi for me to feast on!" Xinzi invented yet another saying, both laughing at the Yan clan's choice and rejoicing in the food they offered him so readily.
The commandant dared not delay. The solar fireball flashed one last time, then exploded for one fiery blast that made the flames of hell look like trivial BBQ fire.
Our infernal monk stretched out his hands, the Swallowing Skill kicked into gear, sucking in the explosion in a heartbeat. If before, the city guard could count on the city's formation for a power up, once cut off from that source by Yan Zhong's abrupt takeover, they not only suffered internal injuries but also saw the efficiency of their array plummet.
Such a formation couldn't threaten Xinzi, and now sandwiched between a Void Tribulant level opponent and a city barrier that wouldn't let them in, the city guard had turned into fruit ripe for the picking.
Strands of Evil formed both inside and outside the city's walls, flying towards Xinzi under the city guard's powerless gaze. Our monk took a leisurely step forward. Aware that death would greet them soon, the Yan disciples turned into grand flaming spears—activating their clan physique for one last flight.
Xinzi wouldn't give them the chance. Pink Klesha Haze spread out, sneaking into the guards' souls and reducing them into Xinzi's slaves. Our monk took another step. The Heroic Banners flew towards him, flying alongside the city guard that—like disjointed puppets—left their post to stand by Xinzi's side. Only the Fen commandant and elders stayed behind. Sweat dripped from their faces, moistening their majestic armor.
"Yan Zhong, this is not a joke! My Fen Spirit clan has given this supercity millennia of loyal service! Even if we have our differences and now compete for dominance, how can you ally with a demonic foe to send us all to our deaths? The Imperial Court will not forgive you!" The Fen commandant turned towards Yan Zhong and squealed in grief.
The bitter taste of regret filled his mouth. Why…why did he have to lead his troops for a frontal charge? His own death was bad enough, but if the Fen Spirit clan's Dao Revelation elders perished with him…their house wouldn't survive this generation.
'Blinded by the desire to overshadow the Yan, you committed a fatal mistake, and can only blame yourself for your own foolishness.' Yan Zhong told his commandant through a mental message, sneering openly.
"BASTAAAA…" the Fen clan master wouldn't have the chance to finish his words, Xinzi's claws tore through his neck, sending his blood-spurting head flying towards the ground.
The Nascent Divinity tried to make a run, but Xinzi's hands pinned it down.. The Swallowing Skill kicked in, and before the Fen elders' helpless eyes, our infernal monk consumed their clan master to the last bit.