A full ten meters of sand surged into the air, obscuring the sky and the sun entirely! The Thunder Roc shrieked amidst the dust cloud, countless feathers scattering, while Hai Qing’er’s body rebounded out of the golden sand layer, her long black hair whipping in the wind, a flicker of astonishment crossing her cold pupils.

A Saint Realm expert possesses absolute suppressive power over those below the Saint Realm. But now! This warrior, who had not reached the Saint Realm—this berserk warrior—had actually withstood a strike from a Saint Realm expert who had deployed a Sacred Artifact! Although this blow was primarily intended for capture rather than slaughter, it was still a strike delivered by a Saint Realm expert utilizing a Sacred Artifact!

In the eyes of a Battle Saint-tier expert, all below the Saint Realm are weaklings. Yet, this seemingly weakling’s violent strike not only blocked the attack but also repelled the attacker!

The impact of the collision generated a visible shockwave that scattered the surrounding undead army. Hai Qing’er’s second palm descended from the sky.

Dodge? Impossible! All of Qian Jin’s combat skills were disabled. Wan Ying was too severely damaged to perform even the most basic movements. In a moment of near-instinct, he pulled out half of a shield from his Battle Sphere, grasping the careening fragment in his hand.

Boom! Qian Jin coughed up blood again, his body subjected to intense compression. Blood sprayed from every pore, transforming him into an even more horrifying figure—a veritable man of blood, as if he had just been pulled from a pool of gore.

The shield shattered again! The power of half a shield could never match one-ten-thousandth of the defensive fortitude and integrity of the complete artifact. As the shield pulverized, a massive attractive force bloomed in Qian Jin’s palm, drawing the fragmented debris into his body.

Duan Feng’er, without a word, grabbed Qian Jin and instantly initiated teleportation. Hai Qing’er’s third palm slammed down precisely where Qian Jin had been standing moments before, carving a crater a hundred meters deep. Had Qian Jin remained there, he would have been pancaked into a paste.

“Eternal Stars… hear our call…”

Beyond the undead host, the sound of organized, heavy cavalry hoofbeats arose. Vast magical energies furiously coalesced high above, and a thick bolt of lightning suddenly plummeted from the heavens, striking Hai Qing’er squarely.

Lightning? Before its release, someone could certainly predict the location and evade it. But once the lightning materialized and began its descent, evasion became impossible!

The speed of lightning is akin to light. Unless one possessed a Light Speed Soul Domain or an Instant Movement Soul Domain, nothing in this world could evade a lightning strike—not even a Bloodline expert with Heavenly Apex Awakening could evade its impact. This was precisely why the Thunder Lion King had once been favored by so many.

The formidable electrical shock slammed into Hai Qing’er, driving her entire body deep into the sandy earth. All attacking undead simultaneously halted their assault, rushing toward the spot where Hai Qing’er had been struck down.

Rumble! Dust billowed into the sky once more. The Thunder Roc beneath Hai Qing’er was scorched in several places but remained alive, and she herself appeared largely unharmed.

Saint Realm experts are inherently powerful, further augmented by Sacred Artifact protection, and coupled with Hai Qing’er’s unique Undead Queen inscriptions, the massive electrical power striking her was attenuated to its lowest possible degree.

In that fleeting moment, the legion suddenly appearing behind the undead launched a new wave of offense. Magic requiring no chant or preparation erupted from various metallic magic cannons—streaks of electric light, flame, and ice… carving open a breach.

“Keep using the magic crystals! Do not hold back, my Prince! Destroy these disgusting monsters!”

A spirited voice, imbued with the iron resolve of a warrior, rang out. Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s face flooded with elation: “It’s Second Brother! Zheng Lu Zhen Ce! Quick! It’s Second Brother! Charge in that direction!”

Duan Feng’er, holding Qian Jin—who had not recovered any combat skills and was solely relying on him to prevent Hai Qing’er from seizing him—found a target direction and moved again.

“Star Frost Seal!”

Zheng Lu Zhen Ce shouted another command. Hai Qing’er, who had just broken the surface, was instantly encased in massive blocks of ice, which promptly exploded.

Alas… Zheng Lu Zhen Ce sighed inwardly. If he had had sufficient time to prepare, that single lightning strike could have obliterated that monstrous Saint Realm woman.

They broke free! Duan Feng’er cleaved through the last remaining foe blocking their path and let out a long breath. If this supporting force hadn't suddenly arrived, none of them would have escaped the undead encirclement today.

“How did you get injured so quickly? How did you break out so soon?” Zheng Lu Zhen Ce looked in surprise at the figures who had fought their way through. Calculating the time it would take for his intelligence to reach them, these youths shouldn't have managed to emerge this fast.

“Who cares! The people we needed to save are out,” Zheng Lu Zhen Ce said, fanning himself with his folding fan. “Monsters opposite us! If you want to fight us to the very end, then come!”

Hai Qing’er hovered in the air, observing Zheng Lu Zhen Ce’s army. Their numbers were not overwhelming—only a few thousand troops—but the aura and feeling they projected were utterly different. They had briefly shown surprise when they first saw the moving Bone Skeletons, but that moment of astonishment vanished quickly. In their eyes, there was no fear, no confusion—only the steady killing intent of true warriors.

An army like this would be incredibly difficult to fight in earnest!

Hai Qing’er’s gaze drifted back to Qian Jin, a hint of reluctance suddenly flashing in her eyes. This reluctance was quickly replaced by confusion, as if she were questioning why she felt reluctant at all, as if wondering whether her attempt to capture him was solely mission-driven or if she truly desired to hold him and prevent his departure.

After a brief hesitation, Hai Qing’er looked at the blood-soaked Qian Jin, a trace of heartache appearing between her brows. As this feeling of heartache surfaced, an ineffable pain shot through her mind.

“Jie…”

Hai Qing’er clutched her head with both hands, crying out piercingly while kneeling on the Thunder Roc. At that moment, the entire undead host collectively knelt on the ground, looking up at Hai Qing’er in the sky.

The Inscription! The crest on Hai Qing’er’s forehead once again pulsed with an eerie light that rapidly spread outwards. The heartache, confusion, and all other emotions in her eyes vanished, replaced by the initial icy frigidity.

She looked down from on high at the army of a few thousand, let out a final sharp cry, and led the undead host deeper into the Ancient Barren Sand Sea.

“What exactly are those things?” Zheng Lu Zhen Ce stared blankly at the departing undead army. “They look very much like the legendary undead. Such things actually exist in the Ancient Barren Sand Sea.”

“Second Brother, what is this…”

“Big Brother notified me…” Zheng Lu Zhen Ce looked at Mu Ne Zhen Ce, whose body was riddled with countless cuts. “Kid, you’ve gotten tougher…”

“Brother, I want to be Emperor!” An unprecedented firmness erupted in Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s eyes, his gaze turning into sharp swords fixed on Zheng Lu Zhen Ce’s surprised expression.

“Emperor?” Zheng Lu Zhen Ce laughed. “Fine! No problem! I support you, Brother! It’s time we taught Third Brother a lesson too!”

“Thanks, Brother…”

Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s eyes rolled back, and he promptly fainted.

Mu Ne Zhen Ce, having exhausted himself with Qian Jin’s wire entanglement, mental shocks, and massive blood loss, should have passed out long ago. The only thing sustaining him until this moment had been sheer willpower.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

Several warriors who had broken out of the siege promptly collapsed stiffly. They had burned their Battle Souls, suffered massive energy depletion, endured continuous injuries, and exploded their Combat Skills… every single one of them was grievously wounded.

“They collapse quite thoroughly,” Zheng Lu Zhen Ce observed the injuries on the young men. “If I hadn't rescued them, would they have been finished off quickly?”

“Probably not… Second Prince, they possess a strange willpower…”

Zheng Lu Zhen Ce nodded faintly as he listened to the reply beside him; he had felt it too. Even if he had arrived slightly later, they could likely have held on a bit longer—it would have only forced them to tap into even more potential. Had he perhaps come too early?

Tired. Exhaustion. A fatigue unlike any before.

Qian Jin felt that even breathing had become an arduous task. Every organ in his body felt like an overused machine, liable to break down and cease function at any moment.

His three burned Battle Souls were all incomplete, appearing on the verge of collapse. The world before his eyes was not black, but gray—a despair-inducing shade of gray.

The force from Hai Qing’er’s palm had driven deep into Qian Jin’s body, manifesting as a palpable sense of despair spreading everywhere. Unlike the destructive combat energy that usually invaded the body, this force did not lash out violently; instead, it permeated.

It was like the dense fog slowly rolling in during the early morning—slow, yet far more difficult to repel.

How is this possible? I’m still alive? Qian Jin felt that his Soul Battle Seals had recovered, but only a few remained. The rest had not returned to his body; they had transformed into fragments drifting within him, some corroded by the mist-like power of the undead. The internal landscape of his body resembled the most ravaged scene following the fiercest possible war.

Open my eyes… Open my eyes… Just take out the hat…

Qian Jin struggled to force his eyelids open, to pull himself out of this state that was neither fully unconscious nor fully awake, but he found himself utterly incapable.

“One must rely on oneself…”

That familiar voice echoed in Qian Jin’s ears once more.

One must rely on oneself… Qian Jin’s spirit jolted violently. In all his past injuries, hadn’t he always entered the Infinite World and relied on the care of his infinitely loving elders for recovery?

At some point, this had become a dependency, an expectation that this was how things should be.

How long can this reliance last? Qian Jin silently questioned himself, realizing he had never contemplated this question before.