Everyone's bodies trembled, not daring to utter a word.
Reality was laid bare before them. If they spoke further, perhaps Gao Xiong's fate would be theirs.
They all lowered their heads, remaining silent. Ao Yuan, who had waited for a while without hearing anyone speak, didn't press the matter further.
With a wave of his robe, he said calmly, "You wish to target me; I welcome it."
"You can come at any time, but remember this when you do."
"You must understand the consequences of provoking me!"
Having spoken, Ao Yuan said no more.
Instead, he casually brought down a palm, and terrifying power erupted instantly.
RUMBLE!
A world-shattering sound abruptly filled their ears. The leaders in the hall were all greatly alarmed, not knowing what Ao Yuan was doing.
The next second.
The hall collapsed.
Yet, there was no earth-shattering tremor, nor any flying debris.
It simply turned to dust and vanished.
At this moment.
Nothing of its original appearance remained before their eyes. The surroundings were bathed in gentle sunlight.
The sun shone brightly.
Faintly, they could still hear the gentle murmur of waves crashing against the shore.
"ROAR!"
Before they could recover, a resonating dragon's roar echoed out.
Turning their heads, they saw Ao Yuan, transformed into a dazzling golden dragon full of majesty, soaring towards the heavens and departing.
Vanishing along with Ao Yuan were Elder Long, Han Yibang, and a very small number of national leaders who had not participated in this targeting of demon beasts.
Ao Yuan's figure disappeared from their sight, but a look of utter dread appeared in the eyes of the national leaders.
It wasn't just one person; all of them felt the same.
Ao Yuan's feat left them completely speechless.
So powerful, overwhelmingly powerful.
So powerful that he seemed to reach an apex, a height they could only gaze at but never reach.
He had destroyed the grand hall but had not harmed them in the slightest.
In fact, if not for the extremely brief rumble and Ao Yuan's actions,
They wouldn't have believed Ao Yuan was capable of such a feat.
After all, Ao Yuan hadn't been this formidable just a short while ago.
How much time had passed since then, and his strength had already ascended another level?
At this very moment, in the vast hall—
No!
It could no longer be called a hall.
Instead, the atmosphere on the large island was deathly silent.
Time seemed to have frozen.
At this moment, the drop of a needle would have been clearly audible.
Finally...
A groan broke the silence of the scene.
The sound came from Gao Xiong.
The leader of the Lighthouse Nation, who had retreated to the side, regained his senses. He swallowed and attempted to help Gao Xiong up to send him to the hospital.
However.
Gao Xiong refused her suggestion.
He took a deep breath and said, "I want to know if you still wish to participate in this operation against the demon beasts!"
With that, he endured the pain, his gaze sweeping across everyone present with scrutiny.
Those he looked at couldn't help but avert their eyes.
Fear.
It was too terrifying.
Ao Yuan was now like a deity in their eyes.
They couldn't even conceive of the slightest possibility of defeating him.
"Do not be afraid!"
Gao Xiong exhaled, no longer hurling insults as he had to Elder Long.
Instead, he spoke calmly, "In my view, this matter must proceed!"
"It's not because of what just happened."
"It's because this must be done!"
"???"
Upon hearing this, although they remained silent, confusion flashed through everyone's minds.
It was clear they didn't fully grasp the underlying meaning of Gao Xiong's words.
"Mr. Gao, Ao Yuan is already so powerful, and you still want to target demon beasts? I'm truly a bit..." a national leader spoke up.
Though the others didn't voice their agreement, they all nodded involuntarily. Ao Yuan's earlier display had certainly intimidated them.
"I know that regarding this demon beast incident, our nations have formed an alliance!"
"Of course, that's not the main point!"
Gao Xiong paused before continuing, "The main point is that Ao Yuan dared to destroy our hall in front of us today. Tomorrow, he might dare to annihilate us in front of us!"
"Ao Yuan is very strong, but you all know that the Ao Yuan from before was definitely not this powerful."
"If we don't act now, do we wait until some time later when Ao Yuan's strength is insurmountable, and he decides to attack and eliminate us?"
"Will we then resist? And even if we do, will we truly be able to?"
Silence fell upon the scene once more.
Though they were reluctant to admit it, they had to concede that Gao Xiong's words held some truth.
If they were honest with themselves, they were already hesitant to fight. What if, after some time, Ao Yuan became even stronger?
Would they still possess the will to resist?
The answer was obvious: no.
Gao Xiong remained silent for a long time, seemingly waiting for their decision.
After a full minute, he finally spoke faintly, "I believe you all understand this matter."
"There's no need for me to say more."
"That's right!" The leader of the Lighthouse Nation spoke after a moment of silence, standing up. "I agree with Mr. Gao."
"This is our last chance. If we don't act now, we will surely live under Ao Yuan's shadow in the future."
"And as long as Ao Yuan exists, the demon beasts will undoubtedly rule over us!"
"However, even if we are to fight, we need to rethink our strategy!"
The leader of the Lighthouse Nation's words prompted the other national leaders to nod in agreement with this proposal.
However, this presented a new problem before them.
That was...
When should they choose a new opportune moment, and what kind of moment would that be?
Was there any better timing available?
Just as everyone was racking their brains, several national leaders suddenly stood up.
The others instinctively turned to look, their faces filled with confusion.
However, they recognized these four people. They were the instigators of this entire incident.
It was precisely because they targeted the demon beasts that this event had unfolded.
"Actually, when we initially targeted the demon beasts, we were guided by a powerful expert from the ancient remnant tribes."
"His objective was simple: to ensure all the demon beasts gathered at Mount Tai Bai!"
HISS!
Everyone gasped, and their gazes towards them turned hostile.
After all,
If it weren't for them, they wouldn't be in this predicament now.
Facing their gazes, those four men exchanged glances.
They were well aware that this would make everyone hostile.
But, equally, they had a solution to perfectly resolve this issue.
And that solution was...
A completely new opportune moment to target Ao Yuan!
...