Chapter 251: Chapter 250: Celestial Anomaly, the Venerable Alliance Leader’s Request?

The several-kilometer radius around the apartment complex was completely evacuated, with large crowds of civilians being dispersed by the Star Martial Police Bureau.

Rows of police cars drove past, setting up a cordon. The departing civilians, moving in droves, would occasionally glance back at the sky.

High above, the standoff continued...

"As expected of the Venerable Alliance Leader. Your power is truly formidable."

Ye Fan said calmly with his hands clasped, sensing the surrounding fluctuations of Star Force. The aftershocks from the recent clash of fingers continued to brew.

The area had been severely affected, and the elemental balance in the upper atmosphere was thrown into chaos.

WHOOSH—

A torrential downpour began to fall.

Dense, dark clouds enveloped the apartment complex. With the police building as its epicenter, all sorts of strange phenomena began to manifest.

Thunder and fire filled the air as a torrential downpour lashed down from the sky.

But before the rain could hit the ground, it turned to hail. The temperature plummeted, and one bizarre weather phenomenon after another emerged...

The Venerable Alliance Leader stood with his hands clasped behind his back, maintaining his usual posture. He was as unmovable as a mountain, his robes billowing in the gale!

A terrifying pressure descended!

"The Celestial Venerable Realm is truly on another level."

Lin Dong’s expression was grave as he faced the Venerable Alliance Leader. He looked more tense than ever, his earlier casual demeanor completely gone.

"The gap is just too wide. It’s not something that can be overcome with mere Martial Arts."

He murmured softly, holding out his right hand. He stared at his fingertips, a lingering fear in his heart as he recalled the details of their clash.

After all,

the Great Wilderness Heaven-Caging Finger was an Emperor Level Martial Art.

It was a reward from the system, ranked at the very pinnacle of the Magic Gate.

One finger to cage the heavens and annihilate the earth.

It could handle almost any situation!

But now, facing Meng Tianxuan...

’I didn’t even have the slightest power to retaliate?’

The gap between a Celestial Venerable and an Earth Venerable was immense.

This wasn’t a matter of inferior skill.

Rather, the Venerable Alliance Leader was simply too powerful. He had shattered the technique with sheer brute force, relying on his nigh-infinite Star Force to forcibly extinguish the might of the Great Wilderness Heaven-Caging Finger!

’Brute force trumps all. If this keeps up... superior technique will be useless.’

Lin Dong sighed.

He snapped out of his thoughts and exchanged a look with the others. A silent understanding passed between them; they already knew what to do next.

’The current gap is too wide.’

’As an avatar of Qin Yang, our consciousness is shared. We never fight a battle we aren’t prepared for. If we can leave, we should leave!’

’There’s no need to waste our time on this man!’

With that thought, the seven members of the Heaven-Blasting Gang came to a unified decision and turned to leave.

"Truly befitting of the Venerable Alliance Leader, your power is extraordinary. We shall take our leave for today," Ye Fan said with a polite clasp of his hands, then prepared to depart.

But just as they made their move, a low shout erupted from behind them.

"Hold on."

With a shout, Meng Tianxuan raised his palm and released a ribbon of Star Force. This Divine Technique also utilized the Space Law, condensing a vast area into the space of his palm and directly sealing the region.

The vast sky grew dim and gloomy.

"Did I say... you could leave?"

HUMMM!

The profound Law stagnated!

The turbulent, heavy rain in the sky abruptly ceased. Every single drop of water hung motionless in mid-air, as if time itself had frozen solid.

...

"Huh? Did the rain stop?"

The evacuating civilians were following the police officers’ directions toward the shelters outside the apartment complex. Moving in droves, they suddenly noticed the sound of rain had stopped.

The downpour from moments before had ceased... but the feeling of moisture on their faces defied all logic.

They blankly lowered their umbrellas and looked up at the suspended raindrops, only to realize with horror that the confrontation above had somehow frozen the rain in place!

Under the influence of this terrifying Power of Laws,

even from hundreds of meters below, the civilians were affected.

Everyone’s movements became incredibly slow, their legs feeling as if they were filled with lead. Every step forward was a strenuous, exhausting effort.

"That’s enough. Let them leave."

High above, Lin Dong frowned. He looked down at the struggling civilians and said in a low voice, "This is between us. Don’t involve the innocent."

"Of course. I don’t need you to remind me. I will let them go. The Venerable Alliance does not make things difficult for innocent civilians. But as for you all... since you’re here, why be in such a rush to leave?"

Hearing this, the Alliance Leader stood with his hands clasped behind him. He glanced down nonchalantly and released the lock on the civilians below.

"As long as the Gang Leader of your Heaven-Blasting Gang comes out, this can all be over."

"Venerable Alliance Leader, must you be so obstinate?"

Ye Fan shook his head in exasperation. "Do you absolutely have to see our Gang Leader?"

"That’s right!"

"Your Heaven-Blasting Gang’s Jianghai Sword God took part in the Beast Tide, openly violating the Blood Spirit Contract. This matter cannot simply be forgotten."

Then, Meng Tianxuan looked to Qi Qingshan beside him and said,

"Furthermore, you injured a man of my Venerable Alliance. You shattered Qingshan’s Dao Heart, and now he is forever plagued by a Heart Demon... If you were to just leave now, I’m afraid that wouldn’t be right, would it?"

"Lord Alliance Leader, now you’re just being unreasonable!"

Ye Fan’s brow furrowed at his words. He glanced down at the dense cityscape below. "My junior brother, the Sword God, brought peace to Jianghai and protected this entire region... Was that wrong?"

He continued in a cold tone, "Your blind adherence to the old rules, to that Blood Spirit Contract, is your business! What does it have to do with the Heaven-Blasting Gang?" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Besides, wasn’t this whole affair started by your Venerable Alliance in the first place?! You obstructed the younger members of our sect, and now you have the gall to turn around and blame us?"

His words landed,

each one a piercing, undeniable truth!

The Star Force in the wind wavered slightly.

The Venerable Alliance Leader’s resolve wavered. A flicker of hesitation crossed his face as he seemed to ponder something, but he quickly suppressed it and remained blocking the Heaven-Blasting Gang’s path.

He showed no sign of moving aside...

"Bringing peace to the citizens of Jianghai is certainly a good deed."

Meng Tianxuan clapped his hands slowly. "The Jianghai Sword God is of noble character. I admit, I once felt a stir of compassion and considered recruiting him into the Alliance."

He paused, then his tone shifted. "But he violated the Blood Spirit Contract. On that, there is no room for negotiation. Unless you have your Gang Leader come out to talk, to meet with me in person."

"Otherwise, if he does not appear today... all of you will be staying here."

"Hah! A being like you thinks you can make us stay?"

Hearing this, the Sword Emperor Ye Wuque sneered. He exchanged a look with the other members of the Heaven-Blasting Gang, and they shared a smile.

"And what if we insist on leaving?"

Just then,

"Trying to leave?!"

Qi Qingshan suddenly cried out. He looked completely deranged, the hatred in his heart swelling as he flicked out a strand of Sword Qi to block their path.

"Why must you do this?"

Meng Tianxuan also shook his head. Looking at Ye Fan, he tried to reason with them. "Seven Venerables, for you to travel so far to make an appearance, you must be the pillars of the Heaven-Blasting Gang, no?"

"If you were to fall here, the Heaven-Blasting Gang would suffer a grievous blow! That would be a disastrous loss..."

He said in a low voice,

"I will give you one last chance.

Just bring your Gang Leader out, and I will let all of this go."

"What do you say?"

As his last words fell,

the Alliance Leader closed his eyes, awaiting the Heaven-Blasting Gang’s answer.

The sound of rushing rain resumed.

"Alliance Leader, you don’t understand us. The Heaven-Blasting Gang has decided to make its debut..."

Ye Fan gave a heroic smile. "So why would we care about life and death?"

With that, he turned to the other six and said calmly,

"Junior Brothers! Since the Venerable Alliance won’t let us leave, then let’s not leave!"

As his voice fell,

the others all nodded in agreement.

"Senior Brother is right!"

The cold gleam of a blade appeared. Killing intent filled the air. The eyes of the Heaven-Blasting Gang members turned fierce as they brandished their weapons, all conveying a single message.

A fight to the death!

"Senior Brother is right! There is no retreat, only advance. Since we came here, we don’t seek a blaze of glory, only a clear conscience and no regrets."

Lin Dong raised his arm, his gaze landing on Qi Qingshan as a cold intent flared from him.

"Besides, I still have to take a villain like you’s life!"

"Heh heh, what a ’blaze of glory,’"

Qi Qingshan’s eyes were bloodshot. He gave a cold, sinister laugh. "Just wait for the Alliance Leader to make his move! You’re all just courting death!"

"Sigh... why must you all do this..."

Liu Wushuang’s expression was complicated. His gaze swept over the members of the Heaven-Blasting Gang, and seeing the resolute expressions on their faces, he suddenly felt a sense of shame and indignation.

It was mixed with a hint of regret and inner conflict.

After all,

on one hand, he was a member of the Venerable Alliance. On the other, he felt he had let down the Arrow God. Even though he had done his best to mitigate the conflict, it had ultimately been unavoidable.

The battle was on the verge of erupting.

But what he couldn’t understand was why the Alliance Leader was acting this way. ’He wasn’t like this before. I don’t know when it happened, but he’s suddenly become so obstinate, so fanatical.’

’Strange...’ Liu Wushuang’s eyes were filled with contemplation.

While the standoff was happening, in the crowd below, hordes of civilians were running about. Fierce arguments broke out, like an undercurrent erupting from the depths of the sea. The situation was utter chaos!

...

"Xuanxuan, don’t be rash!"

Elder Li grabbed Li Zixuan’s arm, scolding, "In a situation like this, it’s useless for you to go up there! I know you’re eager to protect your sect, but now is not the time!"

"But... I want to fight alongside my sect’s elders..."

Li Zixuan murmured, her gaze dimming. She looked at the sword in her hand, her heart sinking into deep despair.

’I thought after my breakthrough...’

’I’d finally have the strength to help.’

’But now it’s clear... ’

’it’s still nowhere near enough!’

The gap was just too vast. In front of these old monsters from the Venerable Alliance, her Innate Cultivation was nothing!

"Don’t worry about it, Zixuan..."

Li Qinghe also grabbed her arm, shaking his head to stop her. "Our martial uncles are buying time for us. We need to leave quickly. If we stay here, we’ll only get in their way."

"So... there’s really nothing we can do?..."

Li Zixuan’s voice was desolate. She looked up at her sect elders in the sky as the heavy rain poured down. From start to finish, they had been so impossibly far away.

She had thought that after her breakthrough, she would be able to lend them a hand.

But now it was clear just how vast the difference was.

She was just one step away from becoming a Grandmaster, yet she couldn’t even touch the tip of the iceberg of this world!

"There’s nothing we can do, Xuanxuan. The battle up there is too terrifying. The only thing we can do is wait right here."

Li Qinghe placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "This will all pass. You have to have faith in our sect."

Just then, a familiar voice sounded from behind them.

"That’s right. My disciple’s words make sense."

Elder Li and the others whipped their heads around at the sound.

It was Qin Yang.

He emerged from the crowd, his expression perfectly calm and composed, and parted the chaotic civilians as he walked slowly toward Li Zixuan and the others.