With the members of Team Zenith guarding the city walls, Zhou Ming was able to lead a search-and-rescue team to retrieve the heavily wounded Xiao Zhengyang and bring him back to Qi.

At the moment, Xiao Zhengyang was glancing at Zhang Lie, who was hovering above the sea of red spider lilies, and praying for his success. "I leave the defense of Qi to you. Please, don't fail!"

Suddenly, the red spider lilies all began to glow with a startling blood-red light as the sura king activated a frightening technique. Even before the technique had fully activated, all of Qi seemed to be smothered with some strange energy.

The next moment, the red spider lilies all exploded. The cordon that the will of the world had created broke apart in an instant. Such was the strength of the explosion that it destroyed the walls of Qi, which had survived the attacks of tens of thousands of sura fighters, in a single blinding flash.

As the walls fell to the ground, the human fighters that were watching the scene on top of the walls were crushed under the rubble in an instant.

Xiao Zhengyang pushed everyone from the special forces down to the ground. The aftermath of the blood-colored explosion sent chunks of earth flying into the air. Light glowed weakly from Xiao Zhengyang's body like a flickering candle amidst the destruction of the city, as though it could be snuffed out in an instant.

The skies were still blood-red. The sea of blood that was the sura king's domain had evaporated in an instant, and petals from the red spider lilies came drifting down from the sky. The sura king extended a palm and caught one such petal, allowing it to disintegrate into nothing. His face seemed sorrowful. "Thank you for your contribution, dear concubine."

The sura king had destroyed all the soul fragments he had accumulated these last few years all at once, but he didn't think it a waste at all. He glanced at Qi, the walls of which had fallen. This was what he had won in exchange: a city full of humans with whom he could have sex. Upon having sex with these humans and turning them into malignant souls, he would be able to create an even more spectacular explosion the next time he used the technique.

After the explosion, hunters slowly crawled out of the rubble of the city. The force of the explosion had been greatly reduced by the time it reached them, and most of the humans had survived. However, they didn't know just what the sura king had in store for them.

"What's the situation like?"

"This technique was far too frightening. If the will of the world hadn't helped shield us from the effects of his attack, it might even have leveled the city of Qi to the ground!"

Xia Na struggled to get up. "What happened to Zhang Lie?"

Xiao Zhengyang lowered his head. "He had to have died. How could anyone have survived a point-blank explosion of that magnitude?"

Some hunters were still looking around expectantly, but even they didn't think Zhang Lie had survived. The force of the explosion was so immense that it seemed ridiculous to imagine that anyone could have survived.

Suddenly, however, a few hunters began to shout and point.

"Look there!"

"Look!"

Four sturdy runic tablets stood upright by the center of the explosion, charred and smoking but otherwise unharmed.

The moment the explosion occurred, Zhang Lie had summoned all four tablets and erected his domain around them, shielding himself from the worst of the explosion's effects. The runic tablets cracked, then sent the stored-up energy back at the sura king. At the same time, Zhang Lie sent his blood domain spreading out, moonlight radiating from his feet and a black sun to his back.

The four dragonturtle tablets shifted as he did, leaving a trail of stasis wherever they roamed.

This was the strongest attack from his [Ninecarp Transformation]'s fourth form, as well as one of his trump cards. To be frank, Zhang Lie hadn't expected that anyone but the asura monarch would be able to force him to reveal this domain of absolute control, but the technique that the sura king had spent years strengthening was worthy of its use.

The hunters in Qi cheered as they saw Zhang Lie unharmed, and Xiao Zhengyang's brightened as well.

Zhou Ming clenched his fists tightly. "Keep it up, Zhang Lie!"

The sura king's eyes widened in amazement. "You will truly be an excellent concubine."

"You've lost, king of the sura! Your domain won't be able to protect you any longer!"

With the four tablets revolving around him and his blood domain activated, Zhang Lie would be a challenging enemy indeed.

From within Qi, a hunter began to shout, "Mankind will not fall! Zhang Lie is indomitable!"

"Mankind will not fall! Zhang Lie is indomitable!"

"Mankind will not fall! Zhang Lie is indomitable!"

As the other hunters picked up the chant and it rose in volume and strength, Zhang Lie and the sura king could both hear it clearly even from a distance.

The sura king shook his head. "No, I haven't lost yet. I have one final trump card!"

Zhang Lie frowned. Did the sura king really have something up his sleeve?

The sura king sighed. "I've never used this technique in front of any other person, because no one has been able to survive its precursor—the explosion of the red spider lilies. You're the first one to get this far!"

The blood-red petals that continued to rain down from the skies suddenly started to congregate around the sura king as he reached up, his two arms outstretched. "Concubines, give me your strength!"

The sura king's aura suddenly grew more potent and more mysterious, to a realm that even Zhang Lie instinctively shied away from. As the petals revolved around the sura king, he shouted, "Thank you, concubines!"

Xiao Zhengyang abruptly took a step back. "Is the sura king trying to forcefully absorb the power of those soul fragments to strengthen himself?"

Xia Na's eyes widened. "Is that possible?"

"Who knows? The sura king might be a perverted fellow, but he's proven himself to be ridiculously strong. Quick, we have to retreat further!"