"Pfft!"
"Impossible!"
Dongfang Xiongqi spat out another mouthful of blood, his face filled with disbelief.
Zi Linling sneered, "I find you to be brainless. You've already forgotten what I just told you.
In this world, nothing is impossible! Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean others can't!"
Dongfang Xiongqi suddenly thought of something, his face changed drastically, and he said, "You... have you reached that realm?"
Zi Linling smiled but said nothing.
She wouldn't be so kind as to help Dongfang Xiongqi understand.
Ye Lingyuan would say even less.
Seeing their expressions, Dongfang Xiongqi became even more certain of his guess.
Fear began to spread in his eyes.
The Emperor Realm, that was a legendary existence!
"You... if you have both reached that realm, why are you still interfering... interfering..."
Dongfang Xiongqi asked with a trembling voice.
"You want to ask why we're interfering in mortal affairs, right?"
Zi Linling spread her hands and continued, "Originally, we had no interest in mortal matters, but some idiots insisted on challenging our bottom line and plotting against us. What could we do?"
Dongfang Xiongqi was speechless.
He was one of the idiots Zi Linling was referring to.
Zi Linling smiled and said, "Don't worry! After we finish killing you idiots and paying respects to our brothers, we will no longer meddle in mortal affairs!
Alright, we don't have time to waste with you. Now, I'll give you two choices: First, the patriarchs and high-ranking officials of the Four Great Families commit suicide, and we'll take your heads and let the remaining disciples go."
"That's impossible!"
Dongfang Xiongqi instinctively retorted.
If the patriarchs and high-ranking officials of the Four Great Families committed suicide, the Azure Dragon Empire would rapidly decline and eventually perish.
Zi Linling sneered, "Then there's only the second path left: we'll kill everyone in the Four Great Families!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
Dongfang Xiongqi said instinctively again.
"Do you think we wouldn't dare?"
Zi Linling's eyes turned cold, and spiritual energy once again surged from her surgical knife.
Dongfang Xiongqi said, "You've already killed so many people, isn't that enough?"
"So many? How many is that? If we count the number of Feng Xuan Army soldiers who died, this isn't even one-fifth!" Zi Linling said angrily.
"Aren't you afraid of creating boundless karma and suffering retribution?" Dongfang Xiongqi's voice trembled.
"Boundless karma? Killing one is a sin, killing ten thousand is a hero, killing ninety million makes one a supreme hero! Isn't this always been the method of you powerful people?
As for retribution? You have the right to talk about retribution? If you hadn't sown the seeds, how would there be this fruit today? In the end, you brought this upon yourselves!
You kill people, and it's justified? We kill people, and it's boundless sin? You decide what's right and wrong, black and white. Is there any justice in this world? If there's no justice, how can there be karma?"
Zi Linling's cold voice reached everyone's ears.
Dongfang Xiongqi was rendered speechless.
Zi Linling continued, "Enough! Take away your hypocritical faces. Tell me, two paths, which one do you choose?"
A sense of despair surged in Dongfang Xiongqi's heart.
He had sent the message out so long ago, why hadn't reinforcements from the other three empires arrived yet?
And Zi Linling was clearly preparing to strike now.
"I choose..."
Dongfang Xiongqi drew out his words.
Just then, three groups of people suddenly appeared in Dongfang City.
These three groups were the reinforcements from the White Tiger Empire, the Vermillion Bird Empire, and the Black Tortoise Empire.
Dongfang Xiongqi was overjoyed, his fear vanishing from his face.
He laughed heartily, "Ye Lingyuan! Zi Linling! You've been tricked! I was just stalling for time. Now that the reinforcements have arrived, I don't need to waste any more words with you."
Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan sneered and remained silent.
"Azure Dragon Token out! Azure Dragon of the East, return to your position!"
"White Tiger Token out! White Tiger of the West, return to your position!"
"Vermillion Bird Token out! Vermillion Bird of the South, return to your position!"
"Black Tortoise Token out! Black Tortoise of the North, return to your position!"
Four tokens flew into the air and began to spin rapidly.
Simultaneously, beams of light rose from the cities of Dongfang, Xifang, Nanfang, and Beifang, which were already not far apart.
It turned out that the four capital cities of the four empires, Fangcheng, were connected end-to-end, forming a reciprocal relationship.
And the territories of the four empires extended outwards in four directions, based on the four Fangcheng.
"Four Divine Beasts return to their positions, the Four Directions Grand Formation, rise!"
"Rumble!"
The four beams of light quickly ascended and converged in the center of the four Fangcheng, forming a complete barrier of light that enveloped the entire region.
"Disciples of the Four Great Families, retreat quickly!"
Dongfang Xiongqi shouted.
The remaining disciples of the Four Great Families of the Azure Dragon Empire hesitated for a moment, then retreated into their respective family compounds.
Ye Lingyuan and Zi Linling watched silently, saying nothing and doing nothing.
They allowed Dongfang Xiongqi and the others to form their grand formation and the disciples of the Four Great Families to retreat into their homes.
Dongfang Xiongqi saw that all the disciples of the Four Great Families had retreated, and then declared arrogantly, "Ye Lingyuan! Zi Linling! This is the true Four Directions Grand Formation!"
"So, the one earlier was fake? I knew none of you in power were good people, always fooling others with lies!"
Zi Linling feigned a look of realization and said sarcastically.
Dongfang Xiongqi said angrily, "Bah! Who said that one was fake? That was merely a simplified minor Four Directions Grand Formation, its power less than one percent of the true Four Directions Grand Formation!"
"You're bragging, aren't you?" Zi Linling said dismissively.
Dongfang Xiongqi sneered, "Bragging? You can try it! However, even if you break through to the Emperor Realm, you won't be able to withstand a single blow from the formation!"
He was now full of confidence and no longer feared Zi Linling and Ye Lingyuan.
"Really? Don't be trying to fool us again, are you?" Zi Linling feigned great surprise.
Dongfang Xiongqi said, "Fool you? You're overthinking it. The origin of the Four Fangcheng is not as simple as you think!"
"Alright then!"
Zi Linling wiped her sleeve, raised her surgical knife that glowed with light again, and said, "Then let me test if this Four Directions Grand Formation is truly as powerful as you say!"
With that, her surgical knife slashed towards Dongfang Xiongqi and the other three.
Dongfang Xiongqi was greatly alarmed and said to the others behind him, "Retreat! Activate the Spirit Extinguishing Light!"
Instantly, the figures of those people disappeared from Zi Linling's sight.
At the same time, a thick beam of light descended from the sky.
Zi Linling looked closely. It was not a beam of light at all, but clearly a pillar of spiritual energy formed by high-speed rotation.
Due to the high-speed rotation, the energy of the spiritual energy pillar was extremely powerful.
Zi Linling's lips curved upwards, and she uttered a soft command, "Slash!"