Chapter 974

Meanwhile, Starsibyl quickly grabbed the pole and flew up to the surface of the sea. As soon as she did so, the lightning in the sky converged and began raining down upon her.

Starsibyl’s figure flashed as the lightning blasted into the sea, the electricity traveling through the seawater and towards the island where millions of people were fighting. People on both sides were affected by the lightning, and they wailed incessantly. 

Nan Yanfei had left after being defeated, and Sixteen and the others similarly had no desire to continue fighting. Thus, the Sixth Mainland retreated. 

However, it was not that easy to retreat, as the Fifth Mainland cultivators persistently chased after the fleeing combatants. Hua Xiao also moved out, and a Cosmic Palm with 999 stars exploded, clearing out all of the Sixth Mainland cultivators within a hundred kilometer radius. 

Lu Yin’s trio did not chase after the Sixth Mainland cultivators. Instead, Lu Yin took out the Lifesource token that he had upgraded from the semi-Lifesource token. With this, he was able to issue orders to the Sixth Mainland’s forces.

It was finally time to put it to use.

The thunder region was very extensive, and its poles were scattered throughout five different locations—namely, south, southeast, west, north, and northwest. The five poles had two orientations: attractive or repulsive, and they had been placed in a careful arrangement that caused the lightning in the thunder region to remain trapped in the sky, preventing it from falling down. With the poles, this region had become habitable. 

The pole in Starsibyl’s hands was the one that had been in the northeast region.

The pole in the south similarly had countless cultivators fighting for it, and cultivators from both the Fifth and Sixth Mainlands frequently ran into each other near the pole. However, none of the Ten Arbiters appeared in this southern battlefield.

Rather, Zhi Yi had come to this location, and her eyes swept across the entire battlefield. She saw a person wielding a black blade wreaking havoc across the battlefield. The blade was unstoppable no matter how many Sixth Mainland cultivators it faced, as they were all easily torn apart by the blade. 

She also saw a man looking down upon the battlefield from high above who sent out multiple palm imprints. He was so powerful that even the heirs of World Imprinter families found it hard to contend with him. 

Finally, she saw a man playing a flute, the sound of which caused countless Sixth Mainland cultivators to wail in agony. It was as if they were listening to the music of the underworld.

Even though none of the Ten Arbiters had appeared on the southern battlefield, each of these three people were capable of battling against a Realmling, and all of them had the strength of a King titleholder.

This was the situation at the southern battlefield.

The Fifth Mainland’s situation was very odd. When the Neoverse’s experts joined the rest of the forces fighting against the invaders, the number of top experts on the defenders’ side were no less than what the Sixth Mainland could mobilize. The power of some of the Fifth Mainland’s youths even came infinitely close to the Realmlings’, which was another reason why one of the Daosource Three Skies had appeared on the battlefield.

Zhi Yi observed the three people with the strength of King titleholders as they massacred Sixth Mainland cultivators. She then snorted and stepped forward, instantly appearing in front of the man playing the long flute. She then raised her hand and grabbed at the instrument. 

The young man squinted, and the music he was playing suddenly changed. It no longer covered the battlefield, and the melody instead converged within an area of only a few meters in radius. As a result, the power of the music rose multiple times. However, a formless barrier appeared around Zhi Yi’s body; she was completely unaffected by the sound, and the hand that she had stretched out did not slow down in the slightest. 

The man was stunned, and he quickly tried to move back and escape. However, he was only able to take a single step back when Zhi Yi’s hand grabbed a hold of his flute, and it snapped apart with a cracking sound. 

“Who are you?” The man was shocked.

Zhi Yi looked at him with cold eyes. “You’re Tai Yuanjun, second in the Fifth Mainland’s Top 100 Rankings. You are quite powerful.”

She then exerted some more strength through her right hand, causing the flute to completely shatter apart. Tai Yuanjun’s figure flickered as he tried to escape, but Zhi Yi followed him like a shadow, and she was able to move even faster than Tai Yuanjun. She then raised a tender, white hand and pressed it downwards. 

Tai Yuanjun gritted his teeth as a storm of emotions raged in his heart. Ever since he had first risen to fame, this was his first time ever fighting such a depressing battle. He was second on the Top 100 Rankings and yet he was being trashed like a child right now. At that moment, the black blade shot through the void and sliced at Zhi Yi. 

Zhi Yi paid it no mind, and continued to press her hand down at Tai Yuanjun, allowing the black blade to firmly land on her barrier of light. The collision split the void apart, creating a spatial fissure that extended towards the horizon. Then, shockwaves spread out from the fissure and split the entire sea in two. Millions of cultivators on the battlefield were dumbfounded by the sight, and countless had been sliced apart by this attack. 

However, this terrifying blade attack had not harmed a single hair on Zhi Yi’s head since it could not even affect the barrier protecting her. 

Tai Yuanjun stepped to the side, and there was a thumping sound as he slammed his shoulder into Zhi Yi’s palm, but his right arm was instantly shattered by the clash, and he was sent plummeting down into the sea. 

Zhi Yi looked over and casually waved a hand, causing a formless gust of air to sweep out and force the black blade back. After the blade flew for a kilometer, it transformed into a humanoid shape. The blade had become a man with dead eyes. He was five meters tall, and he seemed to be completely devoid of all emotions as he stood there high in the sky. Shockingly, he had no signs of life—he had no expression, was not breathing, and did not even have a heartbeat. 

Zhi Yi’s eyes flashed. “The Fifth Mainland’s Burial Garden.”

Behind her, the man who had been raining down palm attacks from the sky suddenly appeared and swatted at her. “Cosmic Palm.”

This man was Mu Ziying, and he was another true disciple of the Cosmic Sect, and he had been titled as Marquis Ying by the Champions' Stage. The reason why he had not been given the title of King was not because his strength was inferior to Hua Xiao; rather, it was because he had never had the opportunity to participate in a battle where he could accomplish something worthy of such a title. He was the second true disciple, and his strength indeed surpassed Hua Xiao’s. 

This one battlefield had Tai Yuanjun, who ranked second on the Top 100 Rankings, an expert from Burial Garden, and the Cosmic Sect’s second true disciple. This was enough power to even oppose a Realmling, and this was the force that the Fifth Mainland had sent out to fight against the Sixth Mainland on the southern battlefield. However, the Fifth Mainland had been unable to predict that this battlefield would also have one of the Daosource Three Skies. 

The Daosource Three Skies were even above the Realmlings; they were the future skies of the Sixth Mainland, and the sky was unrivaled. 

Mu Ziying’s Cosmic Palm struck true, but Zhi Yi did not even budge. Regardless of if she was facing Tai Yuanjun or the blade from the Burial Garden expert, she had never dodged anything. Even at this moment, against a Cosmic Palm, she still did not evade the attack. Although these three youths had the strength to fight against a Realmling, they were not strong enough for her to evade their attacks. 

The Cosmic Palm slapped against the formless barrier surrounding Zhi Yi’s body, and this attack was similarly ineffective, though Mu Ziying was flung 100 meters away.

Tai Yuanjun rose up from the sea floor, panting heavily. He, the five meter tall man from Burial Garden, and Mu Ziying all moved to surround Zhi Yi. It looked as if the three young men held the advantage, but they were all fully aware that this woman was like an impassable mountain. They could not overcome her. 

There was a bitter look on Tai Yuanjun’s face; who could have predicted that one of the Daosource Three Skies would appear here? The southern battlefield was actually the most important, which meant that the Ten Arbiters were most likely to appear here. And since the Ten Arbiters were absent, there was no reason for one of the Daosource Three Skies to reveal themselves. In their minds, Zhi Yi should have continued on to another battlefield. However, it seemed that this woman was not afraid of the Ten Arbiters at all, and Tai Yuanjun was rendered speechless by this confidence; this member of the Daosource Three Skies was too arrogant, but unfortunately, they were the ones with the bad luck to face off against such overwhelming confidence. 

On the western battlefield, millions of cultivators slaughtered each other. Even though the Fifth Mainland’s forces greatly outnumbered what the Sixth Mainland had sent out, the defenders were still being suppressed. When considering cultivators within the same realm, even two Fifth Mainland cultivators might not be able to compare to one of their peers from the Sixth Mainland. 

On this battlefield, the most eye-grabbing battle was naturally the one between the Ten Arbiters’ White Knight and the Realmling, Shang Rong. 

Wei Rong and Shang Rong were sworn enemies, as they had already fought against each other multiple times in the Daosource Sect's ruins. And now, the two of them had met again in the Cosmic Sea. 

Shang Rong was in agony, as every time he fought against White Knight, he was forced to accept that he was not their match. White Knight fought more vigorously each time, and it had reached the point where people had begun spreading rumors that Shang Rong was not White Knight’s match. 

However, those rumors were actually true, and Shang Rong could not deny them; he could not beat White Knight. The Fifth Mainland had actually given birth to the freaks that were the Ten Arbiters, and even the innate suppression that the Fifth Mainland cultivators suffered against they of the Sixth Mainland was not enough to suppress these freaks’ strength. Even with the suppressed power level effect of the cosmic phenomenon, Shang Rong still could not match up to White Knight. They simply were not on the same level. 

Zhi Yi was aware of this discrepancy. Thus, for the battle between White Knight and Shang Rong, she had sent another person: Crimson Servant. She intended for Shang Rong to challenge White Knight. Then, at a crucial point, Shang Rong would cooperate with Crimson Servant to defeat White Knight, allowing them to seize the pole that the Fifth Mainland had believed to be the most secure. 

Millions of cultivators were dying all across the battlefield, and at this time, Crimson Servant was looking at a white sun that was clashing with a flying castle. He believed that now was the right time, so he prepared to take action and help Shang Rong take away the pole that was in this area. 

There were no Arbiters or Realmlings on the northern battlefield, and it seemed relatively peaceful compared to the other ones. However, Di Luo, Autumnfrost Qing, and other heirs of Cosmic Imprinter families were present, as well as disciples and heirs from World Imprinter families. In fact, almost all of the elites from the Bloodburn Realm’s younger generation had come to this battlefield. This location held the most combatants out of all five battlefields, but the Fifth Mainland was being slowly routed here, and no one could change the momentum of the battle. 

In complete contrast to the northern battlefield, the northeastern battlefield saw all of the powerful cultivators from the Sixth Mainland being killed, as one of the Ten Arbiters was present. This person had done so with his eyes closed, as if he could not open them. However, he had essentially become the master of this battlefield. 

According to Zhi Yi’s plans, she was guaranteed to seize the pole from the southern battlefield. In the southeastern battlefield, Nan Yanfei had hidden himself among the Sixth Mainland’s primary force, so they were practically guaranteed to win that pole as well. With Shang Rong and Crimson Servant working together, they were certain to defeat White Knight and take away that pole as well. Thus, even if the Fifth Mainland managed to win the final two poles, it would still be useless; the Sixth Mainland would have already won. 

Even if Nan Yanfei bumped into one of the Ten Arbiters, at least one of the other two battlefields would achieve victory. Thus, they would still obtain three poles. 

According to Zhi Yi’s predictions, only two of the Ten Arbiters would appear on these battlefields, and White Knight, who everyone was already aware of, would not be the only Arbiter.

This was Zhi Yi’s dependable strategy.

If things went according to her plans, then the Sixth Mainland would be victorious no matter the circumstance and take control of the thunder region. However, mishaps had already occurred.

On the western battlefield, the fight between White Knight and Shang Rong had reached a frenzy. The two had already fought against each other many times before, and they were very familiar with each other to the point where they could even guess what the other was plotting through the intensity of their movements. 

After White Knight and Shang Rong fought for a while, White Knight’s heart sank. Something was different with Shang Rong today, as he was much too relaxed. It was as if his victory had already been secured. He was not her match, so this meant that other experts would definitely intervene at some point. 

In the distance, Crimson Servant was ready to leap out at any moment, but at that moment, his semi-Lifesource token quivered, and a line of text appeared: “Reinforce the northwestern battlefield.” 

Crimson Servant was stumped. He stared at the semi-Lifesource token; the northwestern battlefield? Had one of the Ten Arbiters appeared there? Then what about the current battlefield? Crimson Servant was confused, but after thinking about it for a moment, he decided to obey Zhi Yi’s orders without question. He decisively abandoned the western battlefield and moved towards the northwestern battlefield at his top speed. 

Although the Cosmic Sea’s thunder region was massive, with Crimson Servant’s speed, it did not take him long to arrive at the northwestern battlefield.

Even though Crimson Servant had left the western battlefield, Shang Rong did not know about his movements. Thus, he was still waiting for Crimson Servant to appear. However, there was no movement no matter how long Shang Rong waited. He eventually became anxious, and White Knight began to attack more ruthlessly, which indicated that the knight might have guessed what had happened. Shang Rong was left with no choice, and he started maneuvering their fight over towards where Crimson Servant had been hiding. 

Shang Rong intended to change the battlefield, but this forced change simply confirmed White Knight’s feeling that something was amiss, and she responded by launching even fiercer attacks. The more ferocious she became, the more frustrated Shang Rong felt. Eventually, he reached the point where he split his attention between fighting against White Knight and searching for Crimson Servant. As a result, Shang Rong was struck by one of White Knight’s attacks, and the Realmling plummeted into the sea. 

On the southern battlefield, Tai Yuanjun, the five meter tall man from Burial Garden, and Mu Ziying were both defeated. Their cooperation was not enough to breach Zhi Yi’s defense, and she ultimately decided to simply eliminate the three. At that moment, her Lifesource token trembled, and she looked at it in amazement as a row of text appeared: “Reinforce the northern battlefield.”

Zhi Yi was dumbfounded; just what was going on?