Chapter 709: The Heavenly Master

The elder rotated the star domain miniature, horizontally revealing the battlefield behind the ancient demon tide.

Everyone present, including the elder, were battle-hardened veterans; even the recently arrived Prince Zhao, after giving it a careful glance, immediately perceived the danger and delicate balance of the entire battle.

Aside from the battle zone where the Kong Que Army fought, there were seven other combat circles, all capable of shattering this delicate equilibrium.

Yet as the fighting dragged on, all other fronts fell into stalemate—until suddenly, two figures, a man and a woman, burst forth from the Kong Que Army's line.

The woman plunged into the battlefield, aiding the Kong Que Army, unleashing extraordinary combat power and severely wounding the Di Jiang clan ancient demon.

"Such formidable Immortal Lord realm power!"

"Her immortal technique is rare—seems like some lost ancient immortal art!"

Inside the Star Sea Hall, everyone except the elder stiffened, stunned that such a hidden expert had emerged in this battle; the woman's combat strength was certainly equal to an A-rank Kong Que Army, perhaps even greater.

Just as the balance was about to break, an even more terrifying ancient demon figure surged forth from the demon tide, aiming to crush the woman.

Seeing this, some faces turned pale—they had not been on the battlefield and had never imagined such a shocking twist.

The silver-haired, black-armored youth and the heterochromatic woman had both already entered the battlefield; when the rotating royal ancient demon appeared, they had sensed the overwhelming demonic aura and were not overly surprised, though their expressions grew more solemn.

As the woman was about to be crushed, suddenly her entire body erupted with terrifying demonic energy, and eight wings extended from her back.

This sudden turn sent many leaping to their feet, gasping in horror.

"Ancient demon? Royal ancient demon?"

"How is this possible!"

"They're killing each other?!"

Aside from the elder, both the silver-haired, black-armored youth and the heterochromatic woman froze, stunned.

Immediately after, the eight-winged ancient demon woman clashed with the rotating royal ancient demon, chasing and fleeing across the battlefield.

Before leaving, the ancient demon woman's palm churned with black energy, revealing an object.

Seeing that object, Prince Zhao, whose body was wreathed in black dragon qi, suddenly paled; the dragon qi swirling around him like drifting clouds instantly stiffened into nine sharp spears, radiating terrifying energy as if ready to explode.

Even when he saw the woman reveal her true ancient demon royal form, he had merely been startled—not lost composure—but now he stared fixedly at the star domain miniature.

The elder glanced at him without expression, yet did not pause, allowing the miniature to swiftly pass onward; by the time the rotating royal ancient demon vanished chasing the woman, his battle with the Di Jiang clan king-level ancient demon had also ended.

With his victory, the battle concluded—the ancient demon tide was suppressed, the entire army pursued and nearly exterminated the demons, leaving only a tiny fraction to flee back into the Chaos Rock Star Domain.

The star domain miniature slowly halted; the hall fell silent, utterly without sound.

Prince Zhao came to his senses, swiftly suppressing the shock on his face; the dragon qi around him resumed its swirling motion. He scanned the room, his gaze settling on the elder, and said:

"Which sect is that boy from? True Immortal realm third layer, yet he blocked a casual strike from a ninth-layer Immortal Lord ancient demon—truly astonishing!"

His words broke the silence; everyone snapped back to awareness.

"What just happened?"

"That woman was an ancient demon? Ancient demons killing each other?"

"I heard the three royal clans and seven king clans of the ancient demons, though equally brutal toward all races, have long-standing rifts; ninety thousand years ago, two ancient demon king clans slaughtered each other over Zhengduo an immortal emperor's divine relic, causing countless ancient demon deaths and giving the Eastern Region precious breathing room."

Compared to the boy's dazzling display, everyone now cared far more about the ancient demon woman's situation.

Seeing the debate, Prince Zhao's eyes remained calm, silent—he knew the answer.

The elder also said nothing; only when the others fell quiet did he speak:

"The royal ancient demon's involvement runs too deep to detail here. This battle's victory owes much to the boy—if not for him, countless lives would have been lost before I even finished fighting Di Qiu; even if we'd ultimately won, it would have been a pyrrhic victory!"

As he spoke, he raised his hand, rotating the star domain miniature, channeling immortal energy to project it into midair, then applying the martial immortal laws to simulate its outcome.

In the simulation, at the battle's final moments, without the boy or the ancient demon woman arriving, the Kong Que Army was shattered by the Di Jiang ancient demon, its formation breached, nearly half of its ten thousand soldiers slaughtered; then the Di Jiang ancient demon turned to reinforce another front, breaking the balance.

This triggered catastrophic consequences: other battlefronts received demonic reinforcements, overwhelming the human forces; elders from immortal sects fell one after another, devoured by demons; the Tiger-Lion Army was mercilessly slaughtered by high-ranking demonic commanders now freed from battle; the battlefield rang with screams, wails, and countless dead.

Though everyone had foreseen this outcome, they still could not suppress their grim expressions.

Who could have imagined that breaking this delicate balance would cause such horrific casualties!

In this projected simulation, human losses were catastrophic; though the elder eventually defeated Di Qiu, by the time he personally cleared the battlefield, only a wasteland of corpses remained.

Those slain by ancient demons had their primordial spirits extinguished—no chance of reincarnation.

Among them, the silver-haired, black-armored youth was gravely wounded, barely clinging to life.

The heterochromatic woman lost one eye permanently in battle; only by unleashing her ultimate trump card did she barely survive.

Seeing this result, the Star Sea Hall fell quiet.

"Never thought we humans would one day thank an ancient demon," murmured a general, his voice bitter.

The elder turned to him, his gaze sharpening, radiating a chilling light that pierced the soul: "The ancient demons devour all races of the true world—this racial enmity surpasses all else. As a general of Yan Chu, choose your words carefully!"

The general's heart lurched; cold sweat instantly soaked his back—he remembered now that the man before him was the Demon Subjugation Office's Heavenly Master.

"This subordinate spoke out of turn—please forgive me, Heavenly Master."

He hastily bowed, head lowered, sincerely apologetic.

The elder snorted, ignoring him, and said: "As soldiers sent into battle, besides slaying ancient demons to earn immortal merit, those who achieve great feats on the battlefield must be heavily rewarded. What do you all think—how much immortal merit is appropriate for this boy's actions?"

Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances; someone murmured: "Heavenly Master, since the boy associates with that ancient demon woman, shouldn't we first summon him for thorough interrogation before granting rewards?"

"Correct. If he consorts with ancient demons, unless they turned on each other, he might have smuggled her into our borders," added another general, nodding in agreement.

"That's right. If not for the ancient demon's internal strife, he might have smuggled it into the border regions." Another general nodded in agreement.

The heterochromatic woman spoke, her voice icy: "If the boy were an ancient demon spy, why bother fighting at all? He could have simply waited for the battle to end and slipped her back to the border during the chaos."

"True. I think the boy likely didn't know her true identity—he may have been manipulated. After all, he's only True Immortal realm third layer, while the royal ancient demon is Immortal Lord realm; deceiving a True Immortal is trivial."

The silver-haired, black-armored youth nodded—he knew the elder held great favor for the boy; opposing him now would be foolish.

Besides, the simulation's outcome showed that without the boy's intervention, he himself would have been gravely wounded, his cultivation delayed for millennia—he felt a certain fondness for the boy.

"You two shouldn't jump to conclusions—interrogation will reveal the truth."

The middle-aged general who had spoken earlier shook his head. He was broad-shouldered, wreathed in golden aura, his presence no less imposing than the heterochromatic woman's; his military rank was equal, so he spoke without deference:

"Perhaps the boy deliberately provoked this—only he didn't anticipate a rotating royal ancient demon emerging to force her to reveal her true form. She didn't reveal her form when aiding the Kong Que Army, proving she intended to conceal it."

Perhaps the boy did it intentionally, but he didn't expect an ancient demon of the Reincarnation Royal Clan to emerge among them, forcing the woman to reveal her true form. She never showed her true form when aiding the Kong Que Army, indicating she deliberately concealed it.

"If this has nothing to do with the boy, then his immortal merit cannot be credited to him—he didn't aid the Kong Que Army in repelling the demons."

"Are you suggesting we award the immortal merit to the ancient demon woman?" the silver-haired, black-armored youth snapped.

The middle-aged general replied coldly: "This is a twist of fate—merely heaven's blessing, a stroke of fortune for our human race."

"I believe interrogation is reasonable—it's the prudent course," added another general beside him, nodding.

The heterochromatic woman's face darkened: "This boy possesses extraordinary talent—if you interrogate him, do you realize how much damage it will inflict on his cultivation?"

Borderland immortal army interrogations—especially those treating a suspect as a traitor colluding with ancient demons—are brutal and harsh, capable of severely damaging cultivation and even eroding the Dao heart.

"The border is of paramount importance. Though the boy is a prodigy, Yan Chu Qin Xianchao spans thirteen provinces, each with three thousand commanderies, each commandery stretching millions of li—there's no shortage of prodigies surpassing him."

Said another elderly general with long beard; his face was long, cheekbones high, expression stern and solemn.

Hearing this, several generals nodded slightly.

"Correct. For safety's sake, interrogation is best. Perhaps this boy's actions were meant to make us avoid interrogation—or perhaps he himself is an ancient demon!" said one general.

"Don't forget the lesson from the Li Bei Qin Xianchao: ancient demons are cunning and deceitful—they used a self-mutilation ruse to infiltrate Li Bei and nearly wiped out the royal family," warned another general.

As more voices joined in agreement, the heterochromatic woman's expression grew increasingly grim.

At the same time, she felt a flicker of doubt within—though the boy was a prodigy, Yan Chu had once produced prodigies with Nine Petal Immortal Seals; what was he compared to them?

"The number of ancient demons the boy slew, at a glance, easily accumulates a million immortal merit points. Even if we interrogate him, we must be lenient—don't harm his cultivation."

The silver-haired, black-armored youth spoke, choosing to compromise.

Hearing this, the bearded elder paused, then stroked his beard and nodded slightly: "Given this immortal merit, we shouldn't make things too hard for him—but we must observe him closely afterward."

Hearing his words, the bearded elder paused slightly, then stroked his beard and nodded faintly. "Given this immortal technique, we shouldn't treat him too harshly—but we must observe him closely going forward."

Suddenly, the elder spoke, cutting off the discussion.

He scanned the room, meeting each gaze, his expression calm, a faint smile on his lips:

"The boy is from the Demon Subjugation Office—he would never collude with ancient demons. From the star domain miniature alone, two possibilities exist: one, he didn't know the woman was an ancient demon, yet still brought her to aid them—this resolve deserves praise, and his accidental success earned him great merit."

"The second possibility: he knew she was an ancient demon, deliberately letting her act, hoping to exploit her in causing the ancient demons to slaughter each other."

He glanced around, seeing their stunned expressions, and smiled: "Either way, both deserve commendation. Awarding him the immortal merit is clearly the right choice."

He glanced around and saw the stunned expressions of the others; he smiled and continued, "Whichever it is, it deserves praise. Assigning this immortal technique to him seems the only logical choice."

The heterochromatic woman and the silver-haired, black-armored youth exchanged glances, both seeing sudden understanding in each other's eyes.

No wonder the Heavenly Master had favored the boy so much—he'd been paving his way all along.

Others looked at each other, speechless.

You're his superior—you could've said so earlier! Why make us argue? This was clearly a test…

"So he's a Demon Subjugation Office prodigy—no wonder he's so powerful."

"True Immortal realm third layer blocking a casual strike from Immortal Lord ninth layer? Such a prodigy—does his soul lifespan reach three thousand years? If not, he might still qualify for the Southern Theater Campaign and bring glory to the Qin Xianchao!"

"Could he be the Heavenly Master's disciple?"

The generals chattered among themselves; the previously tense atmosphere vanished completely.

Prince Zhao glanced at the Heavenly Master, his eyes flickering slightly, saying nothing.

The elder smiled faintly: "Let's first tally up the immortal merit from this battle. Don't be lenient just because he's from the Demon Subjugation Office—after all, the final merit ledger still requires His Majesty's review."

Hearing this, everyone relaxed—they understood his mention of the Emperor meant impartiality, sparing them undue pressure.

"Then let's follow protocol: calculate battle losses, and determine merit based on losses."

Said one general.

"Agreed."

Others nodded slightly; there was little further dispute on the matter.

The others all nodded slightly, and there was little dispute over this matter.

The old man nodded slightly, settled accounts with them, and arrived at a final figure.

1.92 million immortal merits!

"Bring him to my Water Moon Palace and have him wait."

The old man transmitted his command mentally.

Outside the hall, the Demon Subduing Guards obeyed and departed swiftly.

The old man rotated the miniature star domain, then began settling accounts for the immortal lords and immortal sects.

……

The Water Moon Palace was located a hundred li to the left of the Main Commander's Hall, within the city district.

Around the grand hall, Demon Subduing Guards lurked in the shadows, patrolling the surroundings, while two squads guarded the main hall. Compared to the Main Commander's Hall and other generals' pavilions, this place had no heavy garrison—instead, it appeared vast and eerily quiet.

Yet the nearby streets of the adjacent district remained utterly deserted, as no one dared approach.

Li Hao followed two Demon Subduing Guards to the Water Moon Palace; they brought him there and left, merely informing him that the Heavenly Master would return soon.

Li Hao waited in the courtyard outside the hall. As time dragged on, he wandered aimlessly around the grounds.

The courtyard was enormous, infused with immortal dao principles, functioning like a small secret realm—appearing merely a garden, yet in truth a cultivation paradise.

Li Hao strolled about, and when he passed a small arched bridge over a stream, he suddenly heard the whooshing of wind.

With his senses and dao realm, he instantly recognized it as sword wind—someone was practicing swordplay.

The sound of a sword cutting through wind differed markedly from that of a blade; from the faint, piercing whoosh, Li Hao's mind nearly visualized the practitioner's posture—including stance and motion.

Curious, he descended from the arched bridge, circled through a grove of trees, and saw at the end of a stony path, outside a pavilion, a young girl of about fourteen or fifteen, dressed in pale yellow robes, gracefully practicing sword forms.

Yet though her face was youthful, her sword movements were remarkably mature.

"Hmm?"

Li Hao watched her swordplay; the girl repeatedly practiced the same technique, as if guided hand-over-hand, and within her repetitions, a faint, almost imperceptible rhythm began to emerge.

And that rhythm—Li Hao recognized it instantly. The sword art she practiced was none other than one of the Ten Immortal Arts: "Azure Sky!"

Li Hao was startled. He had never imagined that one of the rare Ten Immortal Arts from the True Realm would be casually practiced here by a girl.

Yet her posture seemed slightly off, barely catching a whisper of dao rhythm; if she continued this way, it would take an extraordinarily long time to truly comprehend the art's essence.

"Who's there?"

As Li Hao observed in silence, the girl sensed something. Her eyes narrowed; her previously soft, watery gaze instantly sharpened. She slashed out a single sword, her qi forming a radiant arc that sliced toward Li Hao's position.

The sword qi showed no mercy—stealing sword techniques was a grave taboo in any sect.

Yet as the piercing Azure Sky sword qi reached Li Hao's face, he raised a hand, extended two fingers, and pinched it gently between them, capturing the invisible yet spiritually potent blade.

Then, with a slight pressure of his fingers, the sword qi shattered.

"Who are you? How dare you steal my sword techniques!"

The girl stepped forward in an instant, appearing ten zhang away from Li Hao. Seeing her sword qi destroyed, her delicate face flushed with anger—but no fear.

"Steal?"

Li Hao paused, then smiled. His fingers, just moments ago crushing the sword qi, now curled into a sword finger. He flicked it lightly, as if drawing a cloud and moon together, and sent it forth.

In an instant, a sword qi erupted from his fingertip, severing space with a flash—like an ancestral dragon emerging from the abyss, soaring through the heavens, slicing past the girl's fluttering hair, roaring like a dragon's cry, ascending to the courtyard's ceiling and carving a deep fissure into the sky!