Somewhere in the Holy Spirit Secret Realm, the Saint Spirit Manor Master was on patrol with Li Nan and the others.
PFFT!
Suddenly, the Saint Spirit Manor Master spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Li Nan and the others paled in collective shock.
’What’s going on?’
’Why was their Manor Master suddenly injured?’
The Saint Spirit Manor Master’s face darkened. "The Array I left in the Holy Spirit Celestial Palace has been broken by someone."
"What? How could that happen?"
Everyone was utterly stunned.
The Saint Spirit Manor Master said with a grave expression, "That Array contained a wisp of Soul Power from my avatar. When the Array was broken, the Soul Power dissipated, and my main body was affected as well."
Hearing this, the group finally understood what had happened.
"To break the Array and destroy the Manor Master’s avatar, they must be at least at the Half-Step Martial King Realm, right?"
"Could it be that Tier Five Demon King we sensed just now?"
"It has to be. That Demon King has a Divine Beast bloodline and its strength is close to an Early Stage Martial King. In the entire Holy Spirit Secret Realm, only it could accomplish such a feat."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves.
However, the Saint Spirit Manor Master shook his head. "It wasn’t a Demon Beast that destroyed my avatar. It was a human."
"A human..."
A chill went down everyone’s spines.
’A human who could break the Array and even injure their Manor Master...’
’Could it be...’
The Middle-aged Steward swallowed hard and asked, "Manor Master, could it be some old monster at the Martial King Level who broke your Array?"
"No, not an old monster. A young man."
An image of Su Mo surfaced in the Saint Spirit Manor Master’s mind.
’If it had been an old monster in disguise, I would have seen through it at a glance.’
’But that person just now showed no signs of disguise. His life aura was that of an eighteen-year-old; he could only be a youth.’
In other words, his Array had been broken by a young man.
HISS...
Hearing the Saint Spirit Manor Master’s explanation, everyone present drew in a sharp breath.
’What kind of monstrously talented youth could possibly achieve this?’
’It’s completely impossible!’
Li Nan mused, "Could it be that Su Mo?"
That seemed impossible. Although Su Mo could withstand Fairy Jinghong’s Martial Monarch pressure, he was still a long way from the Martial King Realm. He couldn’t possibly break the Array, let alone injure their Manor Master.
After all, their Manor Master was a veteran Martial King who had advanced to the realm several years ago.
Unless... the other party possessed the strength of a Mid Stage Martial King.
Someone as young as Su Mo couldn’t possibly have the strength of a Mid Stage Martial King. If he did, he wouldn’t have come to participate in the Holy Spirit Assembly.
Li Nan said thoughtfully, "No matter who that person is, we must keep this a secret."
"Right, we absolutely must keep it a secret!"
"If anyone dares to leak a single word of what happened today, they will be killed without question."
Everyone from Holy Spirit Manor solemnly demanded secrecy.
’Their own patriarch, a dignified veteran Early Stage Martial King, had been defeated by a mere youth. If word of this got out, how utterly humiliating would that be?’
Li Nan narrowed his eyes and asked, "Fairy Jinghong, you don’t have any objections, do you?"
"None!"
Fairy Jinghong answered quickly, indicating that her lips were sealed.
Although she was a monstrous talent, the number one genius of the Northern Profound Domain, she wouldn’t dare speak recklessly about a matter like this.
Otherwise, today would be the day she died.
The Saint Spirit Manor Master said in a low, serious voice, "Don’t mention anything about that person to outsiders. Just turn a blind eye. If he decides to retaliate, a great disaster will befall our Holy Spirit Manor."
"Yes!"
Everyone answered in unison.
Just as their discussion was growing heated, a black shadow rushed over from the distance and stopped before them.
"This is... the aura of a Tier Five Great Demon."
"What?"
"This thing actually came looking for us? Does it want to start a war?"
Everyone stared nervously at the black shadow.
The black shadow was none other than the Ink Flood Dragon.
The Ink Flood Dragon stood with its hands clasped behind its back. "You’re all from Holy Spirit Manor, aren’t you?"
"I am the Manor Master of Holy Spirit Manor. May I ask who you are, sir...?"
The Saint Spirit Manor Master stared intently at the Ink Flood Dragon, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.
After all, humans and Demon Beasts were natural enemies.
At his peak, with his Early Stage Martial King Realm, he naturally wouldn’t fear the Ink Flood Dragon. At worst, they would fight to a draw.
But now...
However, the Ink Flood Dragon said something unexpected. "My name is Ink Flood Dragon. I’ve come to call a truce."
Huh?
’A truce?’
Everyone was astonished.
’Aren’t all Demon Beasts hot-tempered? Since when did they become so polite and reasonable?’
The Saint Spirit Manor Master asked curiously, "Speak. What are your terms for this truce?"
The Ink Flood Dragon stated frankly, "It’s simple. I won’t attack you humans, and you old folks won’t attack our Demon Beasts. As for the Holy Spirit Assembly... let it proceed as you originally planned."
"That’s it...?"
The Saint Spirit Manor Master was stunned.
He had expected it to make some outrageous demands, not just inform him that the Holy Spirit Assembly would proceed as normal.
The Saint Spirit Manor Master pondered for a moment. "Are there no other demands?"
"None!" the Ink Flood Dragon said.
An old man said coldly, "And what if we don’t agree?"
"Don’t agree?"
The Ink Flood Dragon looked troubled. "That would be complicated."
’It had made a special trip to call a truce because it was worried about harming Su Mo’s companions. If they didn’t agree, it would be a real headache.’
’To kill or not to kill?’
Just as it was worrying, the Saint Spirit Manor Master spoke up, "As long as you can guarantee you won’t slaughter our human geniuses, I am willing to accept this truce."
"I guarantee it! I swear!" the Ink Flood Dragon said, pleasantly surprised.
The Saint Spirit Manor Master nodded. "Very well, then. We will withdraw from the Holy Spirit Secret Realm now. However, if I find that you have deceived us and slaughtered our human geniuses, I will hunt you to the death."
’A threat?’
Not to be outdone, the Ink Flood Dragon retorted, "Under normal circumstances, I would have certainly killed all of your human geniuses and then finished off you old geezers. But since that senior is present today, we can all live in peace."
"That senior..."
Everyone’s face filled with curiosity.
’Just what kind of existence could suppress a Tier Five Demon Beast that possessed a Divine Beast bloodline?’
However, when they looked up to ask, they discovered the Ink Flood Dragon was already gone.
"Alright, the matter is settled. Everyone, let’s head out," the Saint Spirit Manor Master ordered.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
They had come here ready for a life-or-death battle, never expecting the situation to be resolved so easily.
Come to think of it, they really had that senior to thank.
Since that senior had sent the Ink Flood Dragon to call a truce, it meant they held no ill will toward Holy Spirit Manor.
Otherwise, with that senior’s power and the Ink Flood Dragon’s Divine Beast bloodline, they could have easily annihilated them all.
Li Nan lamented, "This wasn’t a truce at all. This was us barely escaping with our lives."
"Isn’t that the truth."
Everyone wiped the cold sweat from their brows and followed the Saint Spirit Manor Master out of the Holy Spirit Secret Realm.
「Elsewhere!」
Su Mo, however, had run into trouble in the Holy Spirit Celestial Palace. Rows upon rows of computers had suddenly appeared before him.
"Holy shit, did I travel back to the modern world?"
Su Mo was completely astonished.
’This is impossible.’
’If I really did travel back, why can I still feel the surging Martial Dao power inside my body?’
’Is this an Illusion Realm?’
Su Mo raised his hand and gave a light slap. All the computers instantly disintegrated, turning into a pile of rubble.
A look of sudden realization crossed Su Mo’s face. "So it really was an Illusion Realm."