The Arid King's Divine Palace.
"Xi Chong is dead, killed by He Li. His soul is utterly annihilated," stated one of the Arid Lords.
The Arid King nodded, paused, and sighed, "He was too hasty. Believing he possessed the power of laws, he rashly attacked. How can one casually challenge the laws of time?"
As he spoke, the Arid King raised his hand, examining the noticeably scarred index finger, and shook his head. "His wings are now fully grown, his strength formidable. He is not easily dealt with."
An Arid Lord stepped forward and said, "Since the Arid King already knew He Li's identity, why didn't you personally eliminate him when he first entered the Divine Realm and stepped onto the battlefield? Now that he controls the laws of time and possesses three divine artifacts, his strength even poses a threat to you."
The Arid King looked up at the Arid Lord who had raised the objection. "How do you know I haven't personally made a move?"
"This..." The Arid Lord was startled. Not only him, but all the Arid Lords in the hall exchanged bewildered glances.
The Arid King sighed and said, "I had already laid out killing moves against him, and even several attempts were thwarted. Xia Pei Shu sacrificed himself to block my killing moves to protect He Li. Furthermore, the one from the realm between realms intervened several times. Otherwise, He Li would not have reached the Divine Realm."
Following this, the Arid King continued, "Xi Ming has greatly disappointed me. For power, he did not hesitate to awaken the Yan Clan's Yan Li from the Barbarian Ancient Era from the river of time. Awakening him is one thing, but he couldn't even control Yan Li. Not to mention Yan Li, he couldn't even control that one whose real name is Yan Ping, the Divine Controlling Arid.
Ultimately, Xi Ming is also an arrogant fellow. I showed him much leniency, yet he became more audacious, deceiving me multiple times. Now that he is dead, so be it."
"Arid King, what do we do now?" the Arid Lord asked, then continued, "Two of the Arid Lords on the central battlefield are gone, and Xun He has also arrived at the central battlefield. We are at a disadvantage. If we, the four of us, go to reinforce the central battlefield, we don't seek a swift victory, but merely to stabilize the disadvantage and buy time for troop deployment in the four battlefields."
The Arid King pondered for a moment and said, "Xi Rong, you go. The other three do not need to go to the central battlefield. The three of you, two will go south and one west. The eastern battlefield needs no attention. Before Xia Ku Duo left, he left a divine king's will for Yi Shu, protecting her, which even I cannot break. We will not concern ourselves with her for now.
In the south and west, the western battlefield has Arid Lord Xi Lie. Yu Qiang is not a concern. In the southern battlefield, Si An and Fei Lei, primarily Si An, do not need to fight to the death. As long as you can hold him off, kill Fei Lei. Then, transfer half the troops from both battlefields to the central battlefield, and you will accompany them to the central battlefield."
"Yes... Yes..."
The four Arid Lords dissipated into black smoke within the hall.
The Arid King looked at the empty hall and remained silent for a long time, then softly asked, "We destroyed the Barbarian Ancient Era with our actions back then. Now their descendants have come seeking revenge. What shall we do?"
A moment later, a deep voice echoed in the hall,
"What can we do? Next, we killed their people and destroyed the civilization of an era. Now, they have returned to destroy us. We should, like the true gods of the Barbarian Ancient Era, fight with all our might.
Grief and regret are of no use. We can only accept it.
Our destruction of the Barbarian Ancient Era was in accordance with the will of heaven. Their coming to seek revenge is also a righteous cause, in accordance with the will of heaven.
We initiated war against them, and they accepted.
Now it is our turn, and there is no reason not to accept it."
The Arid King nodded after listening and asked again, "What happens next?"
The deep voice replied, "Conspiracies, open strategies, utmost shamelessness and baseness. Win as much as possible. If that is still not enough, then concede."
The Arid King remained silent for a long time and softly uttered a word, "Good."
...
Xun He descended from the sky with the divine army, looking with a smile at the heavenly gods waiting at the entrance of the divine army camp. He subtly swept his gaze over He Li and said to Shentu with a smile, "It has been twenty million years since we parted at Jian Shen Mountain. How have you been?"
"Neither good nor bad. Your arrival is just in time," Shentu laughed heartily, showing that Xun He's arrival was like a heavy stone settling in his heart.
Xun He smiled slightly, "I don't understand warfare. I will follow your lead."
Shentu smiled, "Come, let me introduce you to the heroes of our central battlefield."
"Divine Lord Ye Qi. He was already capable of handling matters alone when he was a Realm God. Now that he has been promoted to Divine Lord, he is even more a pillar of our race. He single-handedly supports the three fronts in the central battlefield."
"Divine Lord He Li. The youngest, most talented, and fastest-promoted Divine Lord in our race's history. He ascended from a low-level minor god to Divine Lord in just four years, demonstrating his heavenly talent. In the future, he will surely achieve the Divine King realm, following Divine King Ku Duo."
"Divine Lord Yi Yao. His strength is formidable. He once fought against three attackers simultaneously, traversing hundreds of thousands of miles, and shattered an entire galaxy with a single punch. He is truly my sworn brother, the cornerstone of our Divine Lord level combat power on the central battlefield."
After introducing the three Divine Lords, Shentu, while seemingly praising all three, was subtly sowing discord among them. All of them were powerful, all were the strongest. So, among the three, who was the strongest?
If one battlefield was entirely supported by Xia Ye Qi, then what about He Li?
If Divine Lord Yi Yao's combat power was the cornerstone, unparalleled, then where was Xia Ye Qi, who single-handedly supported the battlefield, placed?
Shentu's few words revealed his seasoned cunning and depth of character. Every sentence was spoken on the edge of a knife, and every word struck the hearts of the three. It was like a pebble dropped into a lake; it wasn't important, but it dissolved into it.
The three Divine Lords' expressions were not pleasant. They exchanged glances, then nodded slightly. They naturally understood the meaning behind Shentu's words. Although they didn't take it to heart, they felt as if they had eaten a fly, extremely disgusted.
"Come, come."
Shentu then led Xun He to Xia Min Ao, patting Xia Min Ao on the shoulder.
Xia Min Ao looked up at Divine Lord Shentu, his heart skipping a beat. "It's bad, he's discovered me."
As expected, Divine Lord Shentu smiled and said to Xun He, "Realm God Min Ao's cultivation and talent are not the strongest among the Imperial Spirit Divine Race, but in my opinion, Realm God Min Ao's importance is comparable to two high-level Divine Lords."
"Oh?" Divine Lord Xun He looked at Xia Min Ao with curiosity.
Xia Min Ao quickly said, "Divine Lord Shentu is too kind. I am merely at the Realm God level, following behind Divine Lord Ye Qi..."
"No, Realm God Min Ao, what are you saying?"
Divine Lord Shentu said to Xun He with a smile, "Brother, do you know that the envoy of the Divine King Hall, He Li's servant, Chen Du?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere became instantly subtle. He Li's gaze turned unfriendly, his head slightly lowered, his peripheral vision glancing at Shentu and Xun He.
"Naturally, I know. Chen Du's talent lies not in his cultivation but in his strategy. The Divine King once praised him as unparalleled in wisdom."
"Yes, it's him," Divine Lord Shentu laughed heartily, then his laughter gradually subsided, and his expression turned serious. "Realm God Min Ao's strategy is no less than Chen Du's, and perhaps even superior."
...