The Sacred Leaves Family's Wishes for Peace

The Heavenfire Blazebeast Clan, like Little Grey, enjoyed leisure, play, sleep, and peace. They disliked conflict and preferred to live quietly in harmony with the world.

As a result, their dwelling place was located in a remote area—almost at the far northern edge of the Northern Region.

It was an endless plain with clear skies, white clouds, and beautiful scenery. A winding river flowed across the expanse, and the clan's settlement lay near the river's upper reaches.

Back when the Heavenfire Blazebeast Clan found Little Grey and acknowledged him as a direct descendant, they had invited him to stay. But Little Grey, in a rush to return and care for Fang Ting's children, only stayed a few days before leaving.

Now, the entire Heavenfire Blazebeast Clan had been imprisoned by the Qiu Dragon King, with an extremely tight guard placed around them.

Even when Fang Ting and his group were still more than ten thousand miles from the clan's territory, they encountered sentries—posted there specifically to prevent any Blazebeasts from escaping.

"You all—"

A Great Strength Bull Demon Clan guard tried to bark a warning upon spotting them, but Fang Qiuefeng grabbed him and casually tossed him back—for later consumption.

The closer they got, the more sentries there were.

This explained why the Heavenfire Blazebeast Clan hadn't sent a single message to the Fang family. If not for the Ascension City opening its gates—and only the Great Xia Dynasty, among their allies, showing up—Fang Kong wouldn't have suspected anything and dispatched people to investigate.

When Fang Ting and the others arrived at the entrance to the Heavenfire Blazebeast Clan's settlement, they saw that the array formations were stacked in layers: barrier traps, lethal traps, suppression formations—everything was in place.

But to Fang Ting, these formations were as flimsy as paper.

"Boom!!"

With a single palm strike, Fang Ting shattered every formation in front of him.

In the next instant, a deep, booming voice echoed across the land.

"Who goes there?!"

A towering old man with a muscular frame and white hair appeared before them. He was Niu Nao, the strongest Saint King of the Great Strength Bull Demon Clan. Ever since the Heavenfire Blazebeasts were imprisoned, he had been overseeing their guard.

"Where did you brats come from?! Why did you destroy the formation?!"

Niu Nao glared menacingly at them, his tone suggesting he'd eat them alive if they didn't explain themselves.

Upon seeing him, Bai Qingxue immediately warned:

"That's Niu Nao—the Bull Demon Clan's patriarch, a Seventh Heaven Saint King!"

Her beautiful face showed concern. A Saint King of the Seventh Heaven was among the peak powerhouses of Cangzhou. Most hegemonic powers only had an Eighth Heaven Saint King as their strongest. Those at the Ninth Heaven were exceedingly rare.

Fang Ting stood with his hands behind his back, calm as still water.

"Fang Clan Patriarch—Fang Ting."

Niu Nao blinked in surprise, his fierce eyes scanning the youth from head to toe.

"You're the Fang Clan Patriarch? Don't look like much."

Fang Ting smiled faintly and didn't bother replying. He simply raised a hand—

"PA!!"

The iron-tower-like Niu Nao was slapped straight into the ground, leaving a deep crater.

"You're courting death!!!"

An enraged roar erupted from the pit.

"Boom!"

Niu Nao rocketed out, appearing instantly before Fang Ting, his massive fist aimed straight for Fang Ting's face—clearly intending to blow his head off.

The demon race fought with raw power, in a style very similar to body-refining warriors—brutal and direct.

But he had overestimated himself—and underestimated Fang Ting.

He didn't even see when Fang Ting moved.

"PAK!"

Another slap. Niu Nao flew back faster than he came, landing right back into the same crater, deepening it even further.

This time, he didn't get up immediately. He'd been injured.

Those two palm strikes from Fang Ting had not only "woken him up," but also stunned Bai Qingxue and Fang Luo's group.

What was going on??

Wasn't this guy a Seventh Heaven Saint King?

Why did he look like a clueless child being manhandled?

Was he weak? Or was the Fang Clan Patriarch just too strong?

Could it be... Fang Ting had already reached Saint King Eighth or Ninth Heaven—or even... Emperor Realm?!

Impossible!

It hasn't even been that long! How could someone advance that quickly?!

The last time Bai Qingxue saw Fang Ting, it was when the prodigies of Qingzhou and Lizhou had challenged him—and were instantly defeated. At the time, he had only been a True Saint.

Fang Luo and the others had last seen him fight at the Sea of Stars, where he'd killed the Great Saint Island Lord of Peach Blossom Island.

They already considered their own cultivation speed incredibly fast—among their generation in the entire Heavenly Origin Realm, only a handful could rival them.

But if Fang Ting had reached Saint King Ninth Heaven—or Emperor Realm—then compared to him, they were like average disciples with no particular talent.

They struggled to accept this, not because they didn't want to believe in his strength, but because it was just too unbelievable.

Fang Luo's expression grew increasingly complicated.

[Could it be... Sixth Uncle has already broken through to the Emperor Realm?!!!]

Niu Nao, of course, wasn't stupid. He had simply frozen up earlier.

Now, after getting slapped twice, his head had finally cleared.

He instantly understood—he was no match.

So there was no point in continuing to fight.

"Whoosh!"

Niu Nao shot out of the crater again—but this time, not toward Fang Ting. He turned and bolted in the opposite direction.

He was clearly trying to escape.

Fang Ting didn't even look at him.

Bai Qingxue, anxious, spoke up:

"Patriarch Fang, he's running back to get reinforcements. Why aren't you stopping him?"

Her thinking was simple: Fang Ting would rescue the Heavenfire Blazebeast Clan, and if possible, also save the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan—then leave quickly.

After all, this was the Northern Region, and the Qiu Dragon King could arrive with his forces at any moment. The smart move was to get out and seek allies to resist the eight-clan alliance.

But Fang Ting didn't seem concerned about stopping Niu Nao at all.

If he escaped, he'd definitely return with backup—making escape or rescue far harder.

Yet Fang Ting remained calm, his expression serene as ever.

"No matter. In fact, it's better if he calls all the reinforcements. I can deal with them all at once."

He didn't want to waste time going from clan to clan cleaning up. Better to let them gather in one place—then he'd wipe them out.

…

Fang Luo and the others exchanged looks.

That statement... was supremely confident. Bordering on arrogant.

But if Fang Ting had really stepped into the Emperor Realm, then there was nothing at all wrong with what he said.