As the ten divine weapons transformed into ten streams of light, heading to various parts of the world, Ye Ling took Ye You's phone. From the text messages on the phone, he learned of Wang Liren's current location.
Northwest suburbs of Kyoto, abandoned farmstead.
Wang Liren, along with the remaining ten Dragon Department elites, held their ground within the farmstead. Outside, hundreds of cultivators from the four great families and their allied forces had them surrounded.
Leading the encirclement of Wang Liren was Su Yang, who had previously led the attack on the Yun family!
At this moment, Su Yang's cultivation had not only surged, but half of his body had been augmented with machinery. A miniature nuclear reactor was installed in his chest, providing him with a continuous supply of power.
The current Su Yang was even beyond Wang Liren's match!
Su Yang sat before the abandoned farmstead's main gate, one foot resting on a Dragon Department cultivator, and yelled into the farmstead, "Wang Liren, you coward, how long are you going to hide in there? If you don't come out soon, I'll crush your men to death!"
As Su Yang's words echoed, his followers chimed in, "Wang Liren, come out quickly and die!"
"Wang Liren, you trash, you're not even fit to lick Young Master Su's shoes!"
"Lackey of the Demon Palace, come out now!"
A chorus of cultivators shouted noisily, met by bursts of laughter from the crowd.
In the eyes of everyone, Wang Liren inside the farmstead was already a trapped beast, no longer a threat.
Behind the farmstead's gate, a scar-faced youth peered through a gap in the door. He watched his comrade being stepped on by Su Yang, his fists clenched tightly.
Unable to bear the foul language from outside, the youth gritted his teeth and said to Wang Liren behind him, "Brother Wang, they're going too far! Let's go out and fight them!"
"Fight?" Wang Liren gave a wry smile, glancing at his brothers, who were either in casts or bandages. "With our current ragtag group, relying on the traps we've set in advance within the farmstead, we might be able to hold them off for a bit. If we charge out directly, it's a sure path to death."
The youth was unwilling to accept this, his voice filled with emotion, "Then are we just waiting here to die? The Demon Palace is already in self-preservation mode and can't spare any attention for us. We have no backup now!"
"Brother Wang, how long are you going to wait?"
Hearing the youth's words, Wang Liren was struck with a jolt.
He opened his mouth, but didn't know how to respond.
Ever since Ye Ling had suddenly fallen into a coma and lost all his cultivation, Xue Sha and the others had also lost consciousness, and the demonic energy within him had vanished.
The Demon Palace had collapsed overnight!
Recently, the Shadow Hall had been launching continuous assaults on the Demon Palace. To protect Ye Ling, Ye You had already engaged in several battles with mysterious saints from the Immortal Realm. Ye You dared not leave Ye Ling's side for even a moment!
Wang Liren harbored no great hope of Ye You coming to their rescue.
Now, the Dragon Department was controlled by the four great families, and the Cang Yan Army was engaged in battles with enemy forces on the frontier and overseas, making it impossible to dispatch any forces for rescue.
Wang Liren knew that they were now fighting a desperate battle and should not expect reinforcements.
Looking at the rescue message he had sent to Ye You, Wang Liren sighed heavily and said, "Alas... at critical moments, I always rely on others. How can I be so useless?"
Seeing Wang Liren's dejected expression, the youth's eyes reddened. He gritted his teeth and said, "Brother Wang, the brothers followed you through thick and thin not to be subservient to the so-called Demon Palace, but to defend our own honor, and we refuse to see China fall into the hands of such people!"
"Even if we die in battle, we will do so willingly and without regret! But we don't want to hide in this farmstead like cowards, allowing those despicable people outside to mock us!"
"Even if you have lost the will to fight, I will never give up! I'm going out to fight them now!"
As the youth spoke, he moved to open the main gate, intending to rush out and fight Su Yang to the death!
"Young man, why are you so impulsive?"
Suddenly, a voice that Wang Liren was all too familiar with echoed in the courtyard, stopping the impulsive youth.
Wang Liren jolted and quickly stood up, looking around, and exclaimed, "Your Majesty?"
The other dispirited Dragon Department cultivators also looked up in confusion, searching for the source of the voice.
Ye Ling emerged from distorted space and looked at the youth at the gate, smiling as he asked, "Kid, what's your name?"
It was the first time the youth had seen Ye Ling's true appearance. He stood there, stunned and at a loss for words, "Z-Zuo Yuan."
The title of Demon Palace Emperor had long since resounded throughout the world. Ye Ling was the ultimate idol for countless young cultivators.
Zuo Yuan also held immense admiration for Ye Ling. With Ye Ling suddenly appearing before him, how could he not be excited?
Wang Liren looked at Ye Ling's back with tears in his eyes, stammering incoherently, "Em-Emperor, you, you..."
Ye Ling turned to look at the excited Wang Liren, shaking his head with a smile. "You fellow... why are you always in such a sorry state every time I visit? How many times have I saved you?"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Wang Liren chuckled through his tears and teased, "Can't be helped... I'm just useless, relying on Your Majesty to come to my rescue."
Although the news of Ye Ling's loss of cultivation had spread worldwide, and although the demonic energy within Wang Liren had also vanished, Wang Liren had always believed that the Emperor could not be defeated. He would surely make a triumphant return!
Ye Ling's appearance now was undoubtedly like a shot of adrenaline for Wang Liren!
The other Dragon Department cultivators also looked at Ye Ling with excitement, their hearts overflowing with emotion.
Everyone present knew that wherever Ye Ling was, there was no problem that could not be solved!
In an instant, the morale of everyone soared!
Ye Ling stepped forward and healed the injuries of everyone present. Then, he turned and patted Zuo Yuan's shoulder, smiling as he asked, "Kid, do you want to save your companions outside?"
Zuo Yuan looked at Ye Ling with adoration and nodded vigorously, "Yes!"
Ye Ling continued to smile, "I can give you the strength to go and save them, to be a hero for once."
Zuo Yuan, however, shook his head fiercely, "No, no, no! Your Majesty doesn't need to give me any strength. I want to witness Your Majesty's prowess with my own eyes!"
"Brother Wang always told me how strong you are, and I, I've never had the chance to see it, so..."
Ye Ling looked at Zuo Yuan's excited expression and shook his head with a smile, "Alright, I'll let you see my power."
Ye Ling said to the Dragon Department cultivators behind him, "Brothers, follow me out. It's time for us to hold our heads high!"
The Dragon Department cultivators exclaimed excitedly, "Yes!!!"
The excited voices of the Dragon Department cultivators emanating from the farmstead surprised the cultivators outside. They couldn't quite understand why the Dragon Department cultivators had suddenly become so animated.
A follower approached Su Yang and whispered, "Young Master Su, those inside seem a bit off. Are they planning to break out? We should still prepare, after all, Wang Liren..."
*Slap!*
Su Yang slapped the follower across the face, cursing, "Wang Liren is a defeated opponent of mine. Is there any need to be so on guard? Are you looking down on me?"
The follower, slapped by Su Yang, had his entire face mangled, but he dared not cry out in pain. He quickly knelt before Su Yang and trembled, "Young Master Su is right! Wang Liren is a piece of trash, not even a match for a finger of yours!"
Su Yang wiped the blood from his hand with a handkerchief, looked at the farmstead gate, and sneered, "Wang Liren, you worthless trash... finally daring to come out!"
*Creak--!*
As Su Yang's words fell, the farmstead gate slowly opened.
However, when everyone saw who emerged from behind the gate, their smiles froze.
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the crowd.
"H-How could it be him?"
"Am I seeing things? Didn't he lose his cultivation?"
"N-Impossible! The man who slayed gods... how could he be here?"
At that moment, discussions erupted among the crowd, and many began to consider retreating!
Ye Ling glanced at the cultivators with their varied expressions and narrowed his eyes, smiling, "Everyone, have you missed me?"