The situation in Coastal State was escalating, and after failing to locate the battleships, the Shengtian Sect refocused its attention on Coastal State.
With the help of the Bone Blade Clan, Divine Sword Sect, Great Spear Sect, and the Beast Taming Sect, which had lost Wei Qingqing’s leadership, were no match for the Shengtian Sect and were defeated at every turn.
At last, the former elder of Divine Sword Sect and the usurper who had taken over as Sect Master, Fu Heng’s grandmother, was the first to die in battle.
Next, to pay the ultimate price was Hai Xiaoyun.
As he was battling the Shengtian Sect, Lin Qian triggered the trap on his storage ring, according to a message from a Swift Soldier, causing the ring to explode and generate spatial fluctuations.
It was this anomaly that allowed Hai Xiaoyun to be instantly slain by Zhang Dingyun.
At the time, Zhang Dingyun was greatly puzzled as to why Hai Xiaoyun’s storage ring would suddenly burst.
But he could never have imagined that it was Lin Qian’s doing.
Upon hearing of Hai Xiaoyun’s death, Lin Qian sneered, "To take my belongings and dare to betray, isn’t that asking for death?"
Soon after, the Sect Master of the Beast Taming Sect was also slain, and the alliance of the three major powers instantly fell apart.
It was only around a month since the Wanxiang Sect had been driven out of Coastal State, but Shengtian Sect had already conquered all the other forces and seized control of the entire Coastal State, becoming the absolute tyrant.
The Medical Sect and Quenching Fire Sect were merged into Shengtian Sect, becoming departments for Alchemy and Artifact Refining. The disciples of Divine Sword Sect, Great Spear Sect, Beast Taming Sect, and the Coastal Gates had also become disciples of the Shengtian Sect.
Shengtian Sect was unprecedentedly powerful.
Yet, within just half a month, the whole of Coastal State was already denouncing Shengtian Sect.
This was because the Shengtian Sect was excessively greedy, continuously exploiting all of Coastal State.
Whether it was cities controlled by other sects or even those originally owned by Shengtian Sect, all were forcefully required to tribute Soul Crystals and food, the demands exceptionally harsh.
Indeed, some cities, once they had handed over Soul Crystals and food according to Shengtian Sect’s demands, would completely collapse.
Left with no Soul Crystals to use, and no food to eat.
In response to this, the Shengtian Sect turned a deaf ear, just harshly enforcing this rule on all the cities in Coastal State. Any who dared to resist faced cold blades and bloodshed.
The reason for Shengtian Sect’s harsh requisitions was mainly to provide for the Bone Blade Clan.
After all, getting the Bone Blade Clan’s help was not without cost – considerable amounts of Soul Crystals and food were consumed, and part of Coastal State’s coastal areas and the old territory of the Coastal Gates were ceded to them.
The Bone Blade Clan went to the former area of the Coastal Gates, wounding, robbing, and committing all manner of atrocities since it was their inherent behavior.
As for the actions of the Bone Blade Clan, Shengtian Sect turned a blind eye, disregarding these foreign tribes’ harm to the Human Clan and continuing to exploit the cities under its control, weakening their power.
The purpose was naturally to solidify their rule in Coastal State.
For a time, Coastal State was barely livable, filled with complaints.
Upon understanding this situation, Lin Qian knew that it was time for the Huaxia Empire to make its move.
Lin Qian’s first target was the former area of the Coastal Gates.
Coastal Gates, once one of the three sects and five gates of Coastal State, was now practically extinct.
The original site of Coastal Gates was a large area near the sea, different from other powers based in the mountains; they had built massive cities on the coastal land.
This was because the concentration of Spiritual Energy near the sea was exceptionally high.
However, the city that once belonged to the Coastal Sect was no longer a dwelling for the Human Clan, but rather occupied by a group of Bone Blade Fish Clan with thick, scale-clad skin and bone blades for arms.
Outside the city walls of the Coastal Sect, there were about twenty to thirty members of the Bone Blade Fish Clan. They held long whips in their hands, lashing at the hundred or so humans in front of them.
These humans were clearly once disciples of the Coastal Sect, but now they were stripped bare and prostrate on the ground, running forward like dogs.
The Bone Blade Fish Clan members who were lashing them were all laughing loudly, clearly enjoying the spectacle before them.
For a moment, the Bone Blade Fish Clan even thought that Coastal State was simply paradise.
They didn’t have to worry about being captured by the Eight-Armed Sea Clan, they had people providing them with food and drink, and they could indulge in such entertaining games.
Among this group of humans, there was a young man from the Human Clan, biting his teeth in humiliation, running forward doggedly under the lash of the whips behind him.
His name was Yang Guangen. He had once been a talented disciple of the Coastal Sect, but now that his sect had fallen into ruin, that identity was utterly useless.
Moreover, the overall strength of the Bone Blade Fish Clan was far stronger than that of his Coastal Sect.
Thus, Yang Guangen could only endure and quietly wait for an opportunity. He knew that he had no chance to resist at the moment.
He convinced himself, with a mountain left standing, there’s no fear of running out of firewood.
Yang Guangen secretly resolved to take revenge on the Bone Blade Fish Clan that had lashed him, to personally chop them into fish slices!
Not just Yang Guangen, but also others from the Human Clan beside him harbored the same thoughts.
These days, the Bone Blade Fish Clan that had intruded into their lives didn’t treat them like humans at all, but like livestock.
Each one of them harbored a deep hatred.
They hated the Bone Blade Fish Clan and also hated the Shengtian Sect.
Even though they were both factions of the Human Clan, in the survival of the fittest, his Coastal Sect had lost and could say nothing.
But they didn’t understand why the Shengtian Sect tolerated these aliens, so cruelly exploiting their own kind, and when they pressed their own kind for Soul Crystals and food, they remained indifferent!
Yang Guangen and the others were still lying prone on the ground, their limbs trembling, when gradually they sensed that something was not right.
Because the ceaseless whips had suddenly stopped landing on their bodies. The Bone Blade Fish Clan, which had taken delight in lashing them, suddenly hadn’t made a move, which was indeed unusual.
When Yang Guangen rose and slowly turned around to look, he was stunned by the scene before him.
The haughty Bone Blade Fish Clan were being chopped into pieces by a group of soldiers clad in armor, wielding swords emitting Soul Light, including the one he had always wanted to chop up himself.
The fresh blood of the Bone Blade Fish Clan dyed the sandy beach of the seaside red.
After slaughtering those dozens of Bone Blade Fish Clan, the soldiers stood solemnly on either side, clearing a path through the middle.
In the middle of that path, a tall and slender, handsome young man was walking toward them.
Yang Guangen recognized this young man; even before, in the relics of the Middle Ages, he had seen that he was no ordinary person, capable of commanding such respect from Ding Zhirong and Zhao Haiming.
Now, Yang Guangen suddenly felt that the man seemed far more complex and powerful than he had ever imagined.
Just himself, stripped bare, prone on the ground like a dog, while the other, dressed elaborately, stood before him, looking down.