Li Xiaotian returned to the Dragon Palace Hotel. Long Yi and the others also had grave expressions, likely having learned of the external situation after Li Xiaotian’s departure.
“Long Yi, tell our brothers in the mountains not to come back for now. Also, make arrangements. We’re preparing to evacuate!” Li Xiaotian commanded, his face solemn.
“Big Brother, the brothers in the mountains are in trouble!” Long Yi spoke, his expression filled with guilt. He had intended for those people to hide in the deep mountains to escape disaster, but he never expected this.
Li Xiaotian’s expression jolted upon hearing this, and he looked at Long Yi in disbelief.
“They’re not dead, but they’ve fallen into a strange place in the mountains. I can’t quite describe it. Of the twenty thousand brothers, less than a hundred remain, and the others have disappeared,” Long Yi said, his expression anxious. He continued, “They were resting in a valley. That night, a dense fog suddenly enveloped the valley. When the fog dissipated, only the brothers on sentry duty outside were unharmed; everyone else had vanished.”
Li Xiaotian’s eyes flickered. Disappeared, perhaps they weren’t dead. After the great changes in the world, he wouldn’t be surprised by any strange occurrences. Compared to the Sea of Blood and the entire Earth’s transformation, the disappearance of those people without a trace overnight wasn’t a particularly serious matter.
“Tell the unharmed brothers not to move erratically. We’ll rendezvous with them immediately,” Li Xiaotian instructed, remaining calm. As things stood, their priority was to find the missing brothers.
A little over ten minutes later, Li Xiaotian and his group left the Dragon Palace Hotel under the cover of night. Looking back at the Dragon Palace Hotel, Li Xiaotian’s gaze was filled with unwillingness. The bodies of the Dragon King’s Hall warriors were still in the hotel. He had originally planned to bury his brothers after eliminating the Tian family. However, time was now scarce, and he could only bury the bodies of his brothers at the Dragon Palace Hotel.
“When I eliminate the Tian family, I will offer your sacrifices with the blood of all their kin!” Li Xiaotian gritted his teeth and roared, a flash of ferocity momentarily appearing on his body.
As dawn broke, Li Xiaotian’s party entered the mountain forests outside the capital. After the great changes in the world, a mountain range spanning tens of thousands of li had appeared north of the capital, covering a vast area with countless peaks and valleys, similar to the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains in Yunnan. It was here that the twenty thousand warriors of the Dragon King’s Hall had taken refuge.
“It will take about two days’ journey. We are few in number, so let’s speed up. We should reach there by tomorrow morning,” Long Yi said. The mountain forest was truly immense, and the twenty thousand brothers were only hiding on the outskirts, not venturing deep within. This was because the depths of the forest blocked all satellite signals, and strange roars of ferocious beasts could occasionally be heard from within.
Due to uncertainty about the conditions in the depths, the twenty thousand had set up camp on the periphery, preparing to explore further. However, before they could explore, they disappeared.
“Let’s go! Speed up! No breaks in between, the sooner the better!” Li Xiaotian declared. He carried Ye Qingmei on his back. Although she now possessed King-level strength, surpassing most people present, Li Xiaotian still couldn’t rest easy and preferred to carry her while traveling.
The thousand-odd people moved swiftly through the mountain forests. After the great changes, even the wild beasts in the mountains had mutated, becoming more ferocious and powerful than before. Some beasts even possessed Battle God-level strength. However, Li Xiaotian and his group were not weak, and with Long Yi and the other eight commanders already at King-level strength, they encountered no danger along the way. Many beasts were swiftly dispatched by the combined efforts of the Dragon King’s Hall warriors. For any slightly more troublesome ones, Long Yi and the others would step in to assist. They proceeded without any pause.
“Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!” Suddenly, several streaks of light flashed across the sky at incredible speed. Before Li Xiaotian and his group could react, they had vanished from sight.
“They’re here!” Li Xiaotian continued his journey. The Emperor-level experts had arrived. Fortunately, they had evacuated early. Otherwise, if they had been even slightly slower, they would have been cornered in the capital.
“Make the brothers work a little harder and pick up the pace!” Li Xiaotian instructed. The Emperor-level experts had not discovered them because they were also rushing. However, once they recovered their senses, they would start searching, and at that point, their group would likely be in grave danger. Everyone understood the perilous situation and diligently pressed on without a word. Fortunately, their own strength was not poor, and their speed was not slow.
Meanwhile, in the capital of Great Qin, several Emperor-level experts exuding terrifying auras floated above the city, and their numbers continued to grow. By noon, the Tian family’s army had arrived. The sky above the capital was now filled with a hundred terrifying figures.
“Li Xiaotian!!! Come out and face your death!!!” The Tian family’s Ancestor roared, his aura terrifying, causing many Emperor-level experts in the capital to cast sideways glances. The Tian family’s Ancestor was at the peak of the Emperor level!
“Boom!” The Tian family’s Ancestor destroyed the Dragon Palace Hotel with a single palm strike, leaving the scene in ruins. But there was not a single person in sight!
“Hmm?” The Tian family’s Ancestor’s expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he abruptly looked towards the other Emperor-level experts in the sky.
“We have only just arrived, and we haven’t found Li Xiaotian!” one Emperor-level expert stated.
The Tian family’s Ancestor frowned, then looked at the assembled Emperor-level experts and spoke. “Esteemed sirs, Li Xiaotian killed my Tian family’s second ancestor, and we have an irreconcilable feud with the Tian family. My Tian family is determined to kill Li Xiaotian, and I hope you will not interfere in the grievance between the Tian family and Li Xiaotian.”
“Heh heh, Tian family Ancestor, our objectives are the same. Whether Li Xiaotian lives or dies is irrelevant to us. We only wish to know the whereabouts of the Heaven Tablet,” someone chuckled and replied. This was also an expert at the peak of the Emperor level, thus unafraid of the Tian family’s Ancestor.
The Tian family’s Ancestor’s expression gradually turned cold. He had intended to kill Li Xiaotian and then seize the Heaven Tablet. However, the news had spread too quickly, attracting so many Emperor-level experts, which thwarted his plan. It seemed that even if Li Xiaotian was killed, a fierce battle would be unavoidable in the end. In ancient times, countless Emperor-level experts had perished fighting for the Heaven Tablet. Although the number of Emperor-level experts present this time was not large, obtaining the Heaven Tablet would likely be fraught with difficulties. Experts like him, with his level of strength, knew many truths. Currently, only a portion of the powerful individuals had awakened, while many remained asleep, let alone the even more powerful Heaven level. However, precisely because of this, it was a good opportunity to seize the Heaven Tablet. Otherwise, once Heaven-level experts began to awaken in large numbers, he, a peak Emperor-level expert, would have no qualification to compete for it. The Tian family had no Heaven-level experts in slumber.
“Esteemed sirs, let us first find Li Xiaotian. After we locate him, we can then compete for the Heaven Tablet based on our strength!” an Emperor-level expert proposed.
“Where is Qin Master?” the Tian family’s Ancestor shouted, reaching out to grasp the Qin Palace. In an instant, Qin Master, who was within the Qin Palace, was snatched out by him and left floating in mid-air.