Dyon's head tilted toward the Crimson Legion below, struggling to block his rain of red spears. Every so often, the blue spear [Torment] would appear, knocking even Dao experts back with its might.

"I'm not such a nice person, you know. This Shruti Empire happens to have a dear friend of my little cousin's here, yet your Crimson Legion is actually trying to push them into a corner. It's either you join me, or your brothers and sisters die."

"WE ARE WILLING TO DIE!"

The Crimson Legion roared up from below, not taking even a single step back.

Dyon's eyes shone. "What good warriors, valiantly protecting their Commander. But why does it seem to me that so much time has passed yet your supposed allies haven't raised a single finger to help you and your Clansmen?"

"You!" Eight's blood felt agitated. Or rather it would, if the odd little cauldron wasn't arrogantly bobbing above his head. Its ability seemed to make even his hot blood run cold.

Dyon palm stretched forward, firmly placing itself upon Eight's forehead.

"Lesson Three! Before a soul path cultivator, those with weak souls are nothing but useful puppets."

In an instant, vast sealing qi swept forward. Eight couldn't even resist before his cultivation was completely locked away and he was tossed into Dyon's inner world.

"You all wait there for a moment." Dyon said calmly. "After this battle is finished, you'll become great warriors for my Sacharro Clan. As long as you follow my orders, your Commander will be just fine."

The warriors below felt agitated, but there was nothing they could do. They knew Eight would never want them to lower their heads, but they couldn't stand and watch him die either.

In a war of such powerful experts They could do nothing.

[Author's Note: This actually isn't true. In the future you'll know why in detail, but just know it's related to Martial Intent. The real issue they face here is that Dyon is too good at disrupting rhythm and controlling the situation, so they can't properly form their momentum].

"Finally moving?" Dyon laughed. "Hey, you grand elders of the Kitsune Clan. How about you three sit this one out?"

At the moment, several peak dao experts were charging over. It was almost as though they were waiting for Eight to fall first.

Who knew that this was exactly the case? The moment Eight disobeyed his order, Kaori coldly ordered that they allow him to die at Dyon's hands. He refused to have individuals who couldn't follow orders on his side.

Seeing that they didn't bother with his words, Dyon understood something.

"Tsk. This Kaori is quite cold hearted. Even knowing his only son is in my hands, he still dares to order this attack."

Kaori's eyes trembled slightly, but they became firm once more. If he dared to retract this attack because of his own son, the faith he had built among these warriors would shatter. In order to be cold with them, he had to be cold with himself.

He had long been prepared for this possibility. His heart was ready.

At this moment, not just Four, but Five, Six, Seven, as well as Grand Elder Jikan, Heaven and Void were all surging forward, each with powerful auras beyond reason.

Currently, Dyon could at most match a 10th stage Dao Formation expert alone. His easy victory against Eight was mostly due to the surprise attack of his black flame solidification, causing him heavy injuries before the battle even begun.

However, now there were six 10th stage Dao Formation experts, and one 11th stage Dao Formation expert, all gunning for him at once. What a troublesome situation.

It was a good thing that before this battle had begun Dyon had already accumulated massive amounts of Baleful Aura, allowing his War God Martial Intent to boost his strength by a few times.

And Wouldn't he be a fool to forget how useful these floating islands could be to him? After all, he promised his disciple he would use nothing but his soul in this battle.

"Lesson Four!" Dyon laughter shook the Gate's world. "A soul path cultivator is most powerful when outnumbered!"

In that moment, a Black Jade Dragon appeared below Dyon, its glistening black scale absorbing the rays from the high hung sun.

Its aura was domineering, and its roar even more so. In that moment, the several dhino subspecies warriors under them collapsed to the ground. What was a bloodline infinitesimally close to dragons in the face of a True Dragon?

Brahman felt like his heart seized. His His master tamed a Dragon?! He hadn't even realized that he subconsciously acknowledged Dyon.

"Chenglei!" Dyon grinned. "This will be our first battle together, don't let me down!"

Chenglei snorted, his hot breath scorching the earth below as his massive body snaked through the skies. The two black horns on his head seemed to pierce the Heavens as he looked down upon everything but the man who stood on his head. His arrogance towered to the skies and his roar shook the universe. And yet, he didn't know why he felt so... so excited, as though being a mount was something that he had always aspired toward, a thought that was ridiculous on its face.

After watching Dyon battle, he no longer felt shame being under him. It was beyond that, he almost felt prideful, causing a cognitive dissonance within him that rattled his head.Even so, thanks to Dyon, not only had the infernal qi been cleansed from his body, but he subsequently broke into the 10th Dao Realm charging upward to the point he was just a step away from the 11th.

He too was eager to battle More than eager, his blood was roaring within him.

Chenglei's mouth opened, revealing a long row of shining sharp teeth as he roared.

Space shattered into tiny bits of broken glass under his might. It was only now Emperor Shruti and Atlas truly believed it Just he alone really was enough