Chapter 980

The ancient holy city of the Red Dragon clan.

A beam of radiant light, exuding immense energy, descended from the heavens; its innate bloodline resonance instantly made every non-human True Person and Emperor within the Red Dragon Ancient Holy City tense.

The bloodline suppression forced the Emperors and True Persons here to rise at once, abandon their tasks, and respectfully welcome this sudden arrival of their Ancestor.

Only a clan’s Ancestor carries innate bloodline suppression.

Red Dragon Ancestor Chi Yi glanced at the light and spoke slowly, “Ju Xi, what wind blew you here?”

The newly arrived Golden Pillar Ancestor Ju Xi did not mince words: “Is Yin Zheng of the Silver Wing clan serving under you? Where is he? Summon him to me at once!”

“Did you swallow a Flame Explosion?”

Chi Yi scowled, “Yin Zheng is an Emperor—moreover, a Spatial Emperor—with considerable autonomy. Where he is, I have no idea!”

“Chi Yi, you old ghost, I’m not joking!”

Ju Xi slammed a jade slip onto the table in front of Chi Yi: “This concerns the grand strategy—and the lives or deaths of two of my emperors. You’d better cooperate.”

“Otherwise, the next one to die might be one of your own Emperors.”

As Chi Yi’s eyes flared, about to snap back, Ju Xi added, “I’ve lost two Emperors in battle. Residual traces of Yin Zheng’s Forbidden Domain energy remain—this is proof.”

Ju Xi understood Chi Yi’s temper well.

“Two Emperors killed in battle?”

In an instant, Red Dragon Ancestor Chi Yi grasped the gravity of the situation.

The gravity was not in the losses.

It was in the grand strategy.

Previously, his Emperor Luan Lan had been slain by Kong Yuan—a messy affair—but the human side had also lost a Jade Kun Emperor.

Details were unclear.

But both sides had suffered losses.

That account had been left unresolved.

But if our Holy Clan alone lost two Emperors, it would be entirely different.

It could very well mean escalation of the war.

It could very well mean the humans broke the agreed-upon rules.

If so, our Holy Clan cannot merely endure blows without retaliation.

That would mean large-scale deployment of Emperor-level warriors.

Though neither side’s high command wished for it, it could not be stopped.

Yet strangely, how did Yin Zheng become involved? He’s across an entire war zone.

“Yin Zheng does serve under me, but I haven’t seen him in two months—he claimed he was on a mission assigned by the Silver Wing old ghost.”

“If you want to know his whereabouts, ask the Silver Wing old ghost.”

“Contact him. Tell him what I just said.”

“Understood.”

Half an hour later, Silver Wing Ancestor Yin Ze descended directly into the Red Dragon Ancient Holy City in a flash of silver light, having broken off his cultivation in the mortal realm.

“Old Golden Horn, have you seen Yin Zheng?” Silver Wing Ancestor feigned deep concern.

His demeanor made Chi Yi and Ju Xi exchange a glance—both saw something odd in the other’s eyes.

The three sat together and began discussing details.

Or rather—they began cross-checking accounts.

And what they uncovered was a major problem.

Because Silver Wing Ancestor Yin Ze could not reach Yin Zheng either.

And not for just a short while.

Yin Ze had been worried about Yin Zheng’s safety, so he traveled to the Great Dao River—but found Yin Zheng’s Forbidden Domain energy signature still active, yet unresponsive.

So Yin Ze had not been overly concerned.

Emperors often enter seclusion.

Still, something felt off.

Yin Zheng had been assigned to kill the human prodigy who had slain his direct bloodline descendant.

Normally, whether successful or not, he would report back.

But he was unreachable.

He assumed some emergency had arisen—so long as Yin Zheng was safe.

Now, it was clear something was wrong.

Otherwise, Yin Zheng would never wander into another war zone without reporting to his Ancestor.

“If the Silver Ghost speaks truthfully, then including Yin Zheng, three of our Emperors are missing.”

“Three Emperors lost? This is no minor matter,” said Golden Pillar Ancestor Ju Xi.

“Summon the other Ancestors. Hold a meeting to decide our course. If we cannot reach consensus, we can always report upward.”

“I agree,” said Chi Yi.

“I concur.”

On the star fragment before You Shi Star Island, Xu Jin carefully studied the jade slip given to him by Wufan, the Warden, detailing the merit system of the Thousand Star War Zone.

Xu Jin already knew a little about the merit rewards of the Thousand Star War Zone.

Ordinary merit in the Thousand Star War Zone was calculated in Thousand Star Tokens; these tokens could be exchanged for most cultivation resources and even special privileges—except fiefs.

Many aspects resembled the Tongxuan War Zone, though terminology differed.

In the Tongxuan War Zone, merit was categorized as Extraordinary Merit, First Merit, Second Merit, Third Merit, etc.

In the Thousand Star War Zone, it was more direct: Fifth-Class Combat Merit up to First-Class Combat Merit; above First-Class lay Special-Class Combat Merit.

Fifth-Class to First-Class merely indicated different reward tiers, but Special-Class Combat Merit carried unique rewards.

This was similar to the Extraordinary Merit of the Tongxuan War Zone.

In the Tongxuan War Zone, Extraordinary Merit allowed direct priority access to training in the Three Secret Realms.

Xu Jin’s prior training at the Wordless Heavenly Stele came from this.

Similarly, Special-Class Combat Merit in the Thousand Star War Zone worked much the same.

One grant of Special-Class Combat Merit granted direct priority access to a special secret realm.

The Thousand Star War Zone had three secret realms: one called Thousand Star Spirit Dome, another called Thousand Mechanism Secret Realm, and the third called Soul Refining Holy Domain.