Silence.
Everything fell silent at this moment.
Emerging from the distant void, though their once magnificent power was gone.
Even though they were merely phantoms from the void in this battle.
Yet, in this instance, these phantoms seemed to carry a trace of their past emotions.
They understood.
This might be the last imprint the river of time would leave on their former existence.
But now.
Arrows were broken, spears were shattered, with damaged armor scattered everywhere.
The generals who could once dominate a region single-handedly were now so utterly defeated.
Their eyes blazed with anger, their expressions showing fury or perhaps unwillingness for the first time.
"Disperse."
Li Qi's gaze was placid. His peak power lasted at most a minute, and he didn't want to waste more time conversing with these individuals who had likely died long ago.
As he raised his hand again, wherever it passed.
The expressions of these furious generals froze completely.
Just as they had emerged from the void at the very beginning.
With Li Qi's help, they once again returned to the void.
At this moment, the scene fell into silence again. With so many generals and soldiers gone, the place instantly felt empty.
Or perhaps, all of this was merely an illusion, and those so-called great generals were just hallucinations they had seen, perhaps never having existed.
"Gulp."
The sound of swallowing echoed, making it particularly jarring.
Wang Yangfeng, Fang Ying, and the other cultivators who had not given Li Qi half of their Daoyun fragments looked at Li Qi with terrified eyes.
Too strong.
This person was truly too strong.
Was this fellow really only at the Tribulation Crossing stage?
Those were nine phantom great generals, each comparable to the eighth level of Tribulation Crossing, yet under Li Qi, they couldn't even hold on for five breaths before being crushed and annihilated into nothingness.
Such a feat, perhaps even peak Tribulation Crossing experts would find difficult to accomplish.
In the next moment, these cultivators who had not paid their Daoyun fragments to Li Qi and were still in shock were suddenly startled.
Looking up, Li Qi's placid eyes were now fixed on them.
Though his gaze was calm, it couldn't help but send shivers down their spines.
But now, having witnessed Li Qi's true combat power, they no longer dared to be as unrestrained as before.
The black-robed, white-haired old man forced a smile onto his face.
"Dao... Daoist friend. Daoist friend's strength truly exceeds our imagination. We are ashamed of our inferiority."
With this person taking the lead, the others immediately began to flatter.
"Indeed, we said Daoist friend's previous declaration was not mere boasting, and now we see, Daoist friend truly possesses such capability..."
But before they could finish speaking, their faces instantly changed, and a strong sense of crisis surged from the depths of their hearts.
Without hesitation.
The black-robed, white-haired old man instantly retreated.
As he retreated.
"Bang!"
Li Qi's fist had already arrived at the spot where they had been standing.
A shrill scream rang out from within.
Three severely wounded figures, their bodies broken and covered in blood, scrambled out in a sorry state. They looked at Li Qi in terror.
"Ahhh! You, you want to kill us?"
To this, Li Qi's expression was icy.
"I warned you, don't get too close to me, it's dangerous. You don't want to pay the Daoyun fragments, yet you want me to save you. There's no such easy deal."
Hearing this, their faces instantly changed.
Now, severely wounded and on the verge of death, they no longer dared to hesitate. They cried out in alarm.
"Daoist friend, Daoist friend, let's talk properly. The Daoyun fragments you want, I am willing to give you half. I will swear by my Dao heart right now..."
But before he could finish, Li Qi interrupted him directly, his voice cold.
"No need. I already gave you a chance, and you didn't cherish it. Now... I will kill you, and not only your Daoyun fragments but also everything else you possess will be mine."
As the words fell, Li Qi's fist struck out again.
"Bang!"
At this moment, those three already severely wounded cultivators had no strength to resist. They completely exploded into a mist of blood under Li Qi's terrifying fist.
Seven or eight shimmering spatial rings floated within the blood mist, and Li Qi grasped them.
Following this, without looking back, Li Qi directly punched in another direction.
Another mist of blood exploded. The black-robed old man who had narrowly escaped the first killing blow finally perished under an unwilling expression.
Similarly, Li Qi obtained three more spatial rings from the black-robed old man.
Beside Li Qi, Wang Yangfeng and Fang Ying's faces were ashen.
Li Qi's ruthless and decisive actions had startled them.
Although the guys Li Qi had just killed were not their friends, they were more like sworn enemies they had known for at least thousands of years. Their deaths were beneficial to them.
But the ease with which Li Qi had killed them like chickens sent chills down their spines.
It was fortunate that Li Qi did not intend to kill them as well.
Thinking of this, a deep sense of relief washed over Fang Ying and Wang Yangfeng.
Fortunately, they had been decisive and handed over half of their Daoyun fragments to Li Qi for protection.
If they hadn't, they might have been among those who were just killed.
Soon, Wang Yangfeng and Fang Ying recovered their senses and asked Li Qi.
"Daoist friend, and the Guardian, how should we handle them?"
Li Qi's expression remained unchanged. His actions just now were too swift.
Even now, only about twenty seconds had passed since the hundredfold amplification.
He looked at the gentle and scholarly-looking Guardian.
This time, after resolving other matters, Li Qi finally had the time to truly assess the Guardian's strength.