Chapter 648: The Little Sister‑in‑Law's Complaint, The Final Battle Arrives
In just three short days, something subtle yet strange had begun to change in the Eastern Xuan Region's atmosphere.
Those who had once hidden in every corner to escape Yuan Gate's pursuit started emerging from their bolt‑holes and making their way west, toward Heavenly Palace.
The shockwaves caused by the so‑called "Anti‑Yuan Alliance" far exceeded anyone's expectations.
Outside Heavenly Palace, experts flooded in from all directions in an endless stream. The sight alone was enough to shake the heavens.
They had underestimated the hatred Yuan Gate had sown across the Eastern Xuan Region.
The mountains around Heavenly Palace were packed with people. Voices rose in a constant roar that crashed against the clouds, turning the silent ranges into a noisy marketplace.
Streaks of light flashed through the sky in an unending dance. Many of the newcomers carried fearsome auras—but they all shared a single trait: hatred blazing in their eyes.
Their sects destroyed. Their brothers and sisters butchered. Their lives turned into a desperate flight.
Any one of those would have been enough to fuel a blood feud.
Buzz…
As more and more experts arrived, Heavenly Palace's guardian formation began to hum.
The barrier slowly peeled back. A surge of Yuan Power poured outward like the rising tide.
Swish, swish!
Countless figures shot out from within Heavenly Palace and hung suspended in the air, their gathered presence vast and overpowering.
Every Heavenly Palace disciple wore confidence on their face.
They knew how terrifying their enemy was. But with the Palace Lord leading them, fear had no place in their hearts.
Veterans from other super sects watched their bearing and could not help but sigh.
Heavenly Palace might be young, but that didn't mean it lacked foundation. Under Lin Langtian's leadership, it had grown at a terrifying pace.
It now faintly stood at the head of all the great sects of the Eastern Xuan Region.
Boom!
As they watched, a pillar of killing intent suddenly rocketed into the sky from within Heavenly Palace.
The murderous aura was so dense it made even seasoned warriors flinch and look up sharply.
A black cloud burst forth from the sect and settled in the air like a solid mass.
Their breathing was perfectly synchronized. Their killing intent rose together, coalescing above them into the shadow of a titanic black crow that blotted out the sky.
"This…"
The gathered experts' expressions shifted sharply as they stared at the newcomers.
The sheer ferocity of that force sent a chill down many spines.
Swish!
Once the Blackfiend Army appeared, several more streams of light followed, coming to a stop above the crowd.
At their head stood Lin Langtian, flanked by Jin Wu, Zhou Tong, and the rest.
The noise below died away almost at once.
"Friends, I doubt we're strangers to one another by now.
"I know full well the suffering you've endured this past year.
"Heavenly Palace sympathizes deeply.
"But I was away from the Eastern Xuan Region and could not extend a hand. For that, I hope you won't hold resentment."
Lin Langtian's voice rolled across the mountains as he clasped his hands and bowed slightly.
Clad in a dark green robe, he stood with his hands behind his back in mid‑air.
His handsome features were calm and steady, his presence deep and immovable.
He no longer bore a hint of youthful awkwardness. In its place was the gravity of one who commanded a realm.
Many of the older experts blinked in surprise.
They had dismissed him as a promising junior at first.
Even if Heavenly Palace had launched the call for an Anti‑Yuan Alliance, they had assumed the true decisions would be theirs to make.
Now, seeing Heavenly Palace's true strength and the unfathomable youth before them, they realized that even without them, this force alone might well challenge Yuan Gate head‑on.
And if that was the case, fighting alongside Heavenly Palace only made their odds better.
Hope rose in their eyes as they regarded him, and the last traces of arrogance slipped away.
"Lord Lin, you're too courteous. This calamity came from our own shortsightedness.
"If we'd had the sense to unite sooner, we wouldn't be where we are today."
A voice floated out from a nearby group.
A lean old man in a blue robe hovered at their head, a massive azure sword strapped to his back. The sword intent radiating from him was sharp enough to make the air hum.
His face, however, was drawn with bitter regret.
"So it's Sect Master Mo." Lin Langtian said, startled for a heartbeat before returning the bow.
This withered old swordsman was a Reincarnation expert with sword qi like a storm.
Lin Langtian knew him well by reputation: Mo Jian, former master of Sword Sect, one of the original eight super sects.
Sword Sect itself had been reduced to ashes; what he saw now was likely all that remained.
"Long time no see, Lord Lin." Mo Jian sighed. "To think our Eastern Xuan Region would give birth to someone like you…
"It seems the burden of saving us all might just rest on your shoulders."
Another familiar voice chimed in as a new group arrived, space rippling in their wake.
A tide of figures approached, led by a middle‑aged man in white whose gentle features hid a power no weaker than Mo Jian's.
Lin Langtian's eyes lit in recognition.
"So it's Sect Master Ying of Dao Sect."
This was Ying Xuanzhi, master of Dao Sect—answering the call to the Anti‑Yuan Alliance.
"Lord Lin, eradicating Yuan Gate is everyone's duty.
"I wish for Dao Sect to join the Alliance, if you will have us." Ying Xuanzhi said, waving his followers to a halt before drifting forward alone with a small retinue.
"Hehe, Dao Sect is one of the last surviving super sects of the Eastern Xuan Region.
"With you at our side, our Alliance could not be more honored." Lin Langtian replied with a smile.
Dao Sect had preserved its strength better than most.
Their support would be a massive boon.
As he spoke, his gaze flicked briefly to the two women standing beside Ying Xuanzhi.
On his left was a tall woman in dark robes. Her long black hair was tied back in a loose knot that let it cascade smoothly down her back.
Her features were clear and refined, her brows calm and steady.
Cool as she appeared, her eyes betrayed a subtle tremor when they met Lin Langtian's—like a stone dropped into a still lake.
This was Ying Xuanzhi's eldest daughter, Dao Sect's senior disciple: Ying Xiaoxiao.
Remembering how she had traveled to the Great Yan Empire several times to ask after him, Lin Langtian would have had to be blind not to understand her heart.
He couldn't quite say how he had found his way into it.
Nor could he say he disliked the idea.
Less aloof than Ling Qingzhu and less fiery than Tang Xinlian, Ying Xiaoxiao sat comfortably between the two—serene and gentle, with a quiet warmth that made being near her deeply easy.
Marrying such a woman would have been many men's dream across eight lifetimes.
As the thought passed through him, a chill pricked the back of his neck.
He turned to see Ling Qingzhu watching him, frost glittering in her eyes.
She turned her head away as his gaze met hers, letting her eyes drift over to Ying Xiaoxiao behind Ying Xuanzhi.
The two women's eyes met.
For a breath, the air between them froze.
Each of them, anywhere else, would have been the center of every gaze.
Together, they only sharpened each other's light.
Ying Xiaoxiao, ever gentle, simply smiled back and opened her mouth to speak—
But the girl beside her stepped forward first.
She wore her hair in a cascade of icy‑blue, eyes the same glacial shade.
Her aura was frigid enough to sting the skin—a cold entirely different from Ling Qingzhu's ethereal reserve, closer to the bite of deep winter.
Lin Langtian recognized her at once.
"Ying Huanhuan…"
This icy girl was the reincarnation of the Ice Master.
From the strength in her presence, more and more of that ancient power had awakened within her. It was the only reason Dao Sect had survived Yuan Gate's assaults.
"Huanhuan, step back." Ying Xuanzhi said quietly, giving Lin Langtian a helpless glance and a wry smile.
He had long suspected his eldest daughter's feelings for Lin Langtian—and had no objection. There was no questioning the boy's worth.
But that icy Nine Heavens fairy, Ling Qingzhu, clearly shared some bond with him as well.
Things were… complicated.
Ying Huanhuan's brows knitted, but before she could speak further, a warm hand squeezed her own.
She looked up to see Ying Xiaoxiao shake her head gently.
The frost in Ying Huanhuan's expression eased.
Her blue eyes flicked once to Ling Qingzhu, then back to Lin Langtian.
"Playboy." she said flatly.
Lin Langtian froze.
Since his rebirth, no one had dared say such a thing to his face.
But faced with a potential future sister‑in‑law, there was nothing he could do but swallow the words along with the bitter taste in his mouth.
"Ahem.
"Lord Lin, if we're to rely on all these scattered remnants to form an Alliance, we'll have to knock them into shape.
"Otherwise, they may cause more trouble than they're worth." Ying Xuanzhi cut in smoothly, rescuing the moment.
As Dao Sect's master, his eye for people was razor‑keen.
He understood better than most the potential and pitfalls of the Anti‑Yuan Alliance.
Lin Langtian nodded. He had seen the same thing.
If Yuan Gate was to fall, the Alliance had to be twisted into a single rope first.
"Friends of the Eastern Xuan Region, you all know why we're here.
"Yuan Gate's war swept across this land, leaving piles of corpses where super sects once stood.
"I imagine your hatred for them burns as fiercely as ours does."
His gaze swept slowly across the crowd, voice deep and carrying.
"Heavenly Palace and Yuan Gate are enemies to the death.
"Today, we've marched out to stake everything on a single battle.
"If you share our purpose, we'll treat you as brothers and allies.
"But if anyone dares scheme against us from the shadows—
"Then we will treat you no differently from Yuan Gate itself."
Boom!
As his last word fell, killing intent flashed in his eyes.
Golden light erupted from his palm, condensing into a dragon claw thousands of zhang long.
It crashed down in front of the assembled armies.
The earth split open in a canyon ten thousand zhang long, tearing the mountain range in two.
The roar of destruction rolled for long moments before fading.
Dust billowed into the air.
Every face turned upward toward Lin Langtian, their eyes wide.
For a moment, he seemed less like a man than a god of slaughter.
Even former sect masters and great elders felt their hearts pound and their courage falter before that killing aura.
Silence fell.
In the stillness, Ling Qingzhu and Ying Xiaoxiao both watched the youth standing alone in the sky.
Unconsciously, the corners of their lips curved.
"Lord Lin is right."
Mo Jian was the first to recover. The fear faded from his face, replaced by grim resolve.
"We all share a blood feud with Yuan Gate.
"Our goals are the same. No one here intends to trip you from behind.
"And if anyone does—they'll answer to all of us."
"Well said.
"For Dao Sect, as long as it helps destroy Yuan Gate, any order from Lord Lin will be obeyed without question." Ying Xuanzhi added, his tone sharpening.
With the two sect masters speaking up, the dam broke.
Shouts of agreement surged up from the ranks.
Bound by common hatred, the scattered embers of the Eastern Xuan Region burned together once more.
"Many thanks to both Sect Masters."
Lin Langtian inclined his head toward Mo Jian and Ying Xuanzhi.
The towering killing intent around him slowly receded.
"Since we are united, let this day mark the founding of the Anti‑Yuan Alliance.
"After this is over, whether you stay or go will be your choice."
He paused and looked out over the sea of faces.
Hatred for Yuan Gate seethed in every eye.
His hand rose slowly.
Killing intent surged once more in his gaze, sharp and cold as a blade.
"Move out.
"Today, Yuan Gate falls."
(END CHAPTER)
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