The scene fell silent. Qin Zhu and the others stood outside the black mist, a faint sadness pervading the air.
Although Great Qin had won this battle, their losses were heavy. Four Emperor-level experts had fallen, and countless martial artists below the Emperor level had perished.
Furthermore, Long Yi, who was among the top three in strength, was dead. Li Xiaotian had suffered severe injuries and was currently unconscious.
The group had no way to ascertain Li Xiaotian's condition.
This was because the black mist before them could devour any living thing that entered it.
"Lord Qin, we were guarding the perimeter when we suddenly heard a transmission from Lord Dragon King, telling us to retreat quickly. Then, the black mist appeared," someone said to Qin Zhu, their eyes red and filled with self-reproach.
"Don't worry, Xiaotian asked you to leave for your own good," Qin Zhu replied, his face etched with worry.
"Sixteen Sects! They deserve to die! A bunch of despicable scoundrels, ancient figures at that, resorting to sneak attacks!" Long Shi Wu cursed, clenching his fists tightly. He was filled with grief. Long Yi was dead, Li Xiaotian was unconscious, and the brothers from the Dragon King Hall were dwindling in number.
"It's our fault, all our fault for being too incompetent and too weak. In every major battle, Lord Dragon King has to charge to the front!" someone lamented, tears streaming down their face. With his early-stage Emperor level strength, his talent was already heaven-defying in such a short time. However, compared to Li Xiaotian, he was far inferior. Moreover, they all understood the problems Great Qin faced: a severe lack of top-tier combat power.
"Everyone, go recover your strength first. Xiaotian is unconscious, but we cannot fall into disarray. We must guard against another attack from the Sixteen Sects," Qin Zhu stated, a deep worry flickering in his eyes. He then added, "Also, until Xiaotian wakes up, Great Qin's six cities must be strictly locked down. Do not let any news leak out."
"Lord Qin, the online sentiment is chaotic. We defeated the Sixteen Sects' first wave of attacks, but there are many voices online criticizing the battle of Zheng City," an intelligence operative whispered. The online world was in utter chaos, as if someone was deliberately targeting Great Qin. If Great Qin did not issue a clarifying statement, its image might be affected.
"Criticism? Heh, we just killed all of them! What's there to be so surprised about? Let them say whatever they want," Qin Zhu retorted with a cold laugh, a flash of anger on his face. More than half of the troops sent by the Sixteen Sects in this attack were from Great Qin. What was this? While they had painstakingly brought people to rescue them, these individuals had instead sided with the enemy to attack them.
Regardless of their motives, these people were dead.
"It's nothing more than some people with excessive sympathy spouting nonsense. Even if some factions are trying to manipulate public opinion online, let them. Would Great Qin change its stance because of these words?" someone gritted out, their teeth clenched. Since the great changes in the world, Great Qin had been making sacrifices, defending the capital, retaking lost territories, and establishing order. Every moment, Great Qin's warriors died because of this. Yet, the actions of some people had truly broken their hearts.
The crowd dispersed one by one. Although they were all worried about Li Xiaotian's condition, as Qin Zhu had said, they needed to recover quickly and garrison the cities of Great Qin to prevent further sneak attacks by the Sixteen Sects.
In fact, it was precisely because of Li Xiaotian's unconsciousness that Qin Zhu and the others had no time to observe the current situation.
Great Qin, due to the battle of Zheng City, had eliminated all enemies, but this also made many awakened factions wary. Even the Sixteen Sects were now hesitant to act.
Great Qin had made no explanations to the outside world, and no information had leaked out, which only increased the outside world's attention on Great Qin.
No one had expected that Great Qin's victory would change the perception of many awakened factions towards them.
Some weaker sects even sent Emperor-level experts to Great Qin to express their goodwill.
However, due to Great Qin's complete lockdown, these Emperor-level experts could only wait outside the blockade line.
In the past, any Emperor-level expert could have ignored all this and directly descended upon Great Qin's capital.
But now, they dared not. They could only follow the rules and send messengers to Qin Zhu, requesting an audience.
Qin Zhu arranged for these Emperor-level experts, but he was in no hurry to meet them. Li Xiaotian was currently unconscious. If these people detected anything, those who came might immediately turn hostile.
Meanwhile, within the black mist, Li Xiaotian sat cross-legged on the ground, his eyes tightly closed. However, his eyelids twitched incessantly, and his expression constantly changed, as if something shocking had occurred.
Time rewound to a few hours ago. At that time, Li Xiaotian was still being eroded by the turbulent energy within his body and the chaotic thoughts in his mind.
His expression was contorted, and his body trembled violently. Despite his best efforts, he could not suppress this anomaly.
"Fool! Fool! So foolish! To think that I, a Demon Lord, would have such an idiot as my successor!"
Suddenly, a furious voice echoed in Li Xiaotian's mind, like a clap of thunder, instantly stunning his thoughts. His mind also became unstable, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Li Xiaotian's eyes were filled with horror, and his heart churned like a stormy sea. The voice in his mind was familiar; it was the Demon Lord's! The Demon Lord was not dead!
Instantly, Li Xiaotian's mind was in turmoil. He had long suspected whether the Demon Lord was truly dead. A person who called himself a demon, who created demonic arts, and who roamed the ancient world, striking fear into people's hearts.
How could such a figure die without a trace?
But he hadn't expected that the person not only wasn't dead but would appear in such a manner!
He's not dead! He's inside me! What does he want to do?
Countless speculations flooded Li Xiaotian's mind. He knew that with his strength, even at his peak, he would be utterly incapable of resisting someone like the Demon Lord, who could easily deploy a contingency.
"Fool! What are you thinking about? Quickly calm down and tell those outside to get far away. You idiot, if it weren't for this Lord fearing you'd die from stupidity, I wouldn't bother speaking!"
Another voice reprimanded, jolting Li Xiaotian back to reality.
His eyes flickered. Biting his lip, he followed the other's instructions and had the guards outside retreat.
"Buzz!" As the people outside dispersed, Li Xiaotian's body seemed to lose control. Endless black mist surged out and rapidly spread outwards.
"Circulate the demonic arts with all your might, you fool. Why are you suppressing it? My demonic arts can devour everything. Why don't you devour all that turbulent energy and those distracting thoughts?"