He moved like a magnificent mountain, slow and stealthy, placing his steps with infinite care. Because one heavy footfall might wake the Ninth Brother, who had toiled his entire life guarding me. Now, in this very moment, I had to ensure he slept soundly, peacefully.

No one must disturb him again! Never! “It was you!

You are the ones who wounded my Ninth Brother!?” Xiong Kaishan’s voice was deep, like a volcano brewing, ready to erupt at any second! Wounded, yes, wounded! Ninth Brother wasn't dead!

He wouldn't die! Xiong Kaishan stubbornly held this thought: if anyone dared utter the word death in connection with Ninth Brother, he would tear that person apart with his bare hands! No exception!

The five Blade Demons suddenly felt their very souls tremble inexplicably. An unprecedented, mountain-heavy pressure bore down upon their hearts! It was the sensation of an ancient behemoth locking onto them, leaving them utterly powerless, subject to its whim for slaughter!

Their very lives were no longer within their own control! “And if it was?” One Blade Demon attempted a wild laugh, but the sound that escaped was fractured, like a hacking moan: “We are enemies by nature; it is difficult to…” “Do you dare to invoke your ancestors! Those who harm my brother deserve death!

Deserve to die!” Xiong Kaishan roared, spinning suddenly. With speed beyond description, he seized the alien, slammed him down toward the earth, and then drove a punch straight into his Dantian! With a deafening bang, the fierce force of the fist plunged through the alien male’s lower abdomen and erupted violently from the female alien’s lower abdomen, tearing away strips of liver in the process!

First, destroy the Dantian! Deny them the chance to become a Spirit Seed! The Dantian shattered, the profound techniques instantly vanishing to nothing, but the person remained alive!

Die? Not so easily! Because, at this moment, death was a luxury they could not afford!

Those who dared hurt my brother—think you could die so easily? There’s no such bargain to be struck! The Bear King’s heart was filled with destruction and savagery!

Little Eagle, Ninth Brother! I will make every alien present accompany you in death! Xiong Kaishan resolved in his heart.

At this moment, the Bear King harbored only one desire: to avenge his Ninth Brother! Nothing more! Xiong Kaishan’s massive frame shifted again with eerie swiftness, and another alien Blade Demon fell into his grasp.

This alien simultaneously brought both of his Demon Blades down in lethal strikes aimed at Xiong Kaishan’s vital points, yet the giant acted as if he saw nothing. Thwack, thwack. Both blades bit into Xiong Kaishan’s flesh—exactly three fen deep, and no further.

Xiong Kaishan, having passed the trials of thunder calamity, was now truly, unequivocally, a Saint Venerable powerhouse. The gap between him and this third-level Saint Emperor alien was immense, immeasurable beyond calculation! For these two blades to penetrate three fen deep and actually wound the current Xiong Kaishan was already a tremendous feat!

But the Bear King’s enormous palm shot forward, violently piercing both the front and back of the conjoined alien bodies. Following the same procedure, he pulverized the man’s Dantian into pulp, then gave a casual twist, snapping the spine with a crack before tossing the limp form onto the ground. Lining up beside the previous alien!

Then, his huge eyes, crimson as blood, fixed directly upon the remaining three Blade Demons. Vengeful satisfaction gleamed in their depths! The remaining trio, witnessing the terrifying turn of events, were already scared out of their wits.

With a sudden whoosh, they simultaneously turned and fled! However, their speed was laughably slow in the eyes of the current Bear King. A roar of fury—the Bear King’s body flashed five consecutive times.

With a series of muffled thuds, six more blade marks were added to Xiong Kaishan’s form, but he had seized all three aliens, smashing their Dentians to ruin and tossing them beside the previous two! A total of five former Blade Demons were now utterly ruined—unable to live, yet denied the release of death! Having secured the primary culprits, Xiong Kaishan slowly straightened his towering frame and turned, his grieving eyes fixed upon his brother.

He dared not turn his head, reluctant to face the sight, so he forced his rotation to be agonizingly slow. He even secretly hoped that this grim scene was merely Ninth Brother playing a prank on him. He wished that if he just delayed turning a moment longer, Eagle King would suddenly swoop in, slap him, and call him a fool!

If that were the case, the Bear King felt he could faint from sheer ecstasy! He wouldn't care if he died from the joy! Ninth Brother, if you can just wake up, Fourth Brother is willing to be called a fool by you for the rest of my life!

Fourth Brother is willing to die for you. Willing to die for you! Ten thousand times!

Just wake up! Wake up! The Bear King didn't know that this exact thought was what Eagle King had just entertained.

Fourth Brother, if you can just wake up, I am willing to die for you, ten thousand times! Even turning slowly must eventually end. Xiong Kaishan slowly turned his head, and seeing Eagle King’s body still standing rigidly, his nose burned, and he suddenly burst into unrestrained, howling sobs!

He wept with such profound sorrow that he crouched down, tightly clutching his head, striking his own skull again and again! “You damnable bear! Why did you collapse at that moment?

Why couldn’t you hold on just a little longer! You deserve death! You are the one who deserves death!

The most deserving bear to die!—” Xiong Kaishan's heart-wrenching wail, though hideous, tore the very gut of everyone who heard it. Eagle King’s tattered robes hung in strips from his body, fluttering in the breeze, still standing impassively, detached from everything in the world—unresponsive even to his brother’s agonizing cry! The Sky Punishment Eagle had, at this moment, returned to eternity!

“King!” Suddenly, a unified, booming shout echoed, shaking the firmament! The sky instantly plunged into darkness! Countless iron wings blotted out the heavens and earth!

Innumerable black plumes gathered like clouds, obscuring the sun, moon, and vault of heaven! Xiong Kaishan turned back in shock. He saw that the remaining less than eight hundred warriors of the Sky Punishment Eagle Clan, regardless of serious or light injury, had all reverted to their true forms and soared into the air!

Their eyes, too, held the same steady indifference and eternal resolve as the Eagle King’s! “What are you hawk-spawn trying to do?! Are you rebelling?” Xiong Kaishan roared, leaping to his feet.

“Get down here! For my sake!” His voice cracked with grief, “Get the hell down here for me!” The Bear King had guessed their intention! Facing the Beast King’s roar, the gathered eagles remained utterly unmoved—something that had been entirely impossible before!

A sheet of black cloud moved slowly across the sky, advancing toward the dense, albeit disheveled, formation of the alien armies! It carried the majestic, crushing pressure of a mountain! Though its movement was slow, it was filled with unyielding determination!

If the King perishes, we follow in death! The Sky Punishment Eagles, always and forever, have their brethren to follow! They remain the Kings of the Air!

Wherever the King goes, we follow! Through life and death! “Eagle Seventeen!

Damn your ancestors! Stop this nonsense! Get down here for me!

Down! Down!” Xiong Kaishan shouted hysterically, his throat so strained that blood began to spew forth. The leading black eagle lowered its head slightly, glancing at Xiong Kaishan, then its resolute gaze locked onto its King.

It spoke calmly and without emotion: “Bear King, say no more! This is a matter of the Eagle Clan! The King has fallen!

The King must not walk alone! The King of the Eagles demands an entourage, even into the Nine Hells! Once a sovereign, always a hegemon!

The dignity of the Eagle Clan does not allow our King to journey unattended! We go to accompany our King! Whether in the Netherworld or the Yellow Springs, we fight side-by-side!” Its voice was serene and level—devoid of sorrow, pain, or hysteria, as if merely reciting a triviality.

Xiong Kaishan’s mighty frame trembled helplessly. Gazing up at the proud, resolute flock darkening the sky, a searing pain shot through him! Helplessness!

It was all his fault. If not for him, Ninth Brother wouldn’t have gone to that place of no return, and these eagle brothers wouldn't be following their King into death—all because of him… Tears streaming down his face, the Bear King watched the eagle flock slowly drift across the sky, then suddenly roared, dropping to his knees with a thump, wildly kowtowing toward the heavens: “Brothers! My brothers!

Old Bear begs you, begs you all… come down! Come down! Waaaah…” In Eagle Seventeen’s sharp eyes, deep emotion flickered, yet his decision was absolute: “Bear King, you are the King of Sky Punishment!

No subject of Sky Punishment can endure your bow! But for this moment, I beg your pardon! The King awaits me!

I must go! I cannot allow the King to journey alone; there are old and new enemies awaiting him in the underworld, mountains of knives and seas of fire—how could we let our King face them alone!” “Insolent! There are still so many aliens here!

And the War to Seize Heaven yet to come! And… you all still have so many, many responsibilities! You wretched fool!

You… I beg you, I beg you… come down! Come down! I… I will kill you, you scoundrel!

My own brothers!… Come down!” Xiong Kaishan kowtowed like pounding garlic, incoherent in his grief-stricken pleas, crying hysterically! The King of Sky Punishment, who had never shed a tear in his life, never knelt in subservience! But now, he broke every precedent, yet it could not sway the hearts of the brave eagles!

Their sovereign, in their minds, was the ultimate, irreplaceable being! “We are sorry! The War to Seize Heaven means nothing to us now.

The myriad souls of this world mean nothing to us either. We came here solely for the glory of Sky Punishment, for the splendor of the Profound Beasts! To fight a glorious, satisfying battle following our King!

Nothing else was sought! Now that the King is gone! Naturally, we must follow!

In our eyes, all the world’s souls are worth less than a single hair on our King’s head! They are not worthy!” “The pride and arrogance of the Eagle Clan are unmatched in the world! We fight only for the Eagle Clan, only for the Eagle King!

We wish for our King to remain proud, even in the depths of the earth!” Eagle Seventeen stated coldly: “Lord Bear King! And all you fighting Bear Clan brothers! We shall meet again in the next life!

Let the Eagle Clan once more display the unique majesty of the Sky Dominators for our Sky Punishment Holy Land!” “King! Wait for us! We are coming!”

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