Gu Changqing spoke casually, his eyes simply looking at everyone.

"My Lord, what...what...what do you mean?"

Long Huo gasped for breath, feeling as if he carried an immense burden on his shoulders.

"We...we didn't have time. The Divine Lord was undergoing his tribulation, his divine might was overwhelming, and we...we barely had time to pay our respects, let alone have time to send messages. Besides, we didn't have any decree from the Divine Lord..."

Long Huo swallowed hard: "We certainly wouldn't dare to act on our own."

Long Huo sensed... he was in deep trouble; sweat beaded on his forehead, and fear spread through him.

He was wrong. He underestimated everyone, and he underestimated Gu Changqing even more.

He thought he had seen through everything, that he had seen through an extremely cunning and ignorant child.

He believed that his centuries of life wisdom were enough to handle any crisis, and that's exactly how he got through it.

But to this day, he never imagined that just because of a few unkind flattering words, he would be so thoroughly exposed.

No, that's not right.

Long Huo suddenly widened his eyes, staring at the evil face that had been transformed from the cold and aloof expression.

"My Lord, you... you actually... planned to silence them from the very beginning, didn't you!"

Long Huo didn't use a questioning tone, but rather a statement of certainty.

"You're not stupid after all; you're worthy of being someone who can stand in the Heavenly Court."

Is it simply that he's not stupid?

Oh!

Long Huo's face turned ashen, and he gave a bitter smile.

Centuries of life have indeed increased his wisdom, taught him to be tactful and discreet, but haven't his long-standing habit of hiding his talents and his tactful mentality also smoothed out his rough edges?

He has long passed his prime, lost his ambition, forgotten the truly bloody and cruel side of this world, and seeks stability through tact and concealment, lacking decisiveness and caution in the face of crisis.

If he hadn't chosen to wait and watch when Gu Changqing was undergoing his tribulation, but instead realized something was wrong when he saw that aura of heaven and earth and immediately ran away, how could he have ended up like this?

Empiricism both imprisoned and harmed him.

He assumed that Gu Changqing was young and naive, and since they were from the same clan, he never considered that Gu Changqing would dare to risk being discovered to kill someone and silence them. He also never expected that this young and arrogant man would have such a delicate mind.

He failed completely.

He lowered his head, his arms hanging loosely at his sides, and a low laugh gradually grew louder, then turned into a hearty laugh, and then into a long, unrestrained laugh that brought tears to his eyes.

"but……"

He abruptly stopped laughing, his expression turning calm as he stared directly at the evil face.

"The might of the Divine Lord is unparalleled, but in the end it is still nothing more than the Dao Ruins. He doesn't really think he can defeat us, does he?"

His calm face belied a strange light in his eyes, a light that held a hint of madness.

He's making a final stand!

Anyone who has witnessed the overwhelming power of thunder and lightning would not believe that they could withstand it.

That power had already surpassed his understanding and knowledge.

However, as Gu Changqing said, he was a member of the Heavenly Court, high above, one of the most elite in the world. How could he be compared to those petty and despicable people? How could he be an ant that lives only a day and dies at night?

He was a dignified third-rank divine general of the Heavenly Court, the only one in the world to have attained enlightenment and wielded a blade that could slaughter the entire world.

Gu Changqing watched the rising momentum of the dragon fire without the slightest panic, and simply said, "They are just a bunch of tools."

"Although it is too weak, it is just right to try out this new Taoist technique."

A silent yet soul-shaking roar resounded throughout the heavens and earth, assaulting the Dragonfire Clan.

The momentum that the dragon fire had just accumulated was instantly wiped out.

"What are you waiting for? Come on...!"

Dragonfire's eyes were bloodshot, and he let out a loud roar.

At Long Huo's command, the others formed a square-outer-circle formation with him at the center.

...