Ian Song deliberately pretended to be unconscious for two reasons: first, to hide his true strength and create the illusion that he'd exhausted himself using secret arts; second, to test Cato and the two other Human elders.
If they didn't harbor any ill intentions, they could continue working together in the future. But if they did, he'd take the opportunity to get rid of them, so they couldn't stab him in the back at a critical moment.
Fortunately, all three lived up to Ian's expectations—not only did they show no signs of betrayal, they even did their best to guard his unconscious self.
Two hours later.
Ao Tian asked again.
Drake Liu roared in anger, but his hands moved fast, joining forces with Prince Rowan and the two god-level subordinates of Princess Myra to block the attack.
Prince Rowan and Princess Myra pulled Ian Song back.
"It's nothing serious, but I can't use any secret arts again for a while!" Ian said regretfully.
"Don't worry, you've got us here. Just focus on resting!"
Prince Rowan and Princess Myra both looked grim.
Prince Rowan made a snap decision and shouted, "This is bad! Brother Chu, you go first—we'll hold them off!"
As he spoke, he and Princess Myra led the elite warriors of the Scarlet-Scale Army and Myriad-Phenomena Army into the sky, charging straight at the ten gods.
But the news of Ian Song's rampage—slaughtering twenty-six gods—quickly spread among all the races inside the Creation Forest.
In a certain valley.
Feng Jiu was startled, but her face remained calm. "Alright, I've got it!"
In a certain valley.
Sixty-six of the seventy-one gods who had fled earlier were now gathered here.
About half a quarter of an hour later, five figures suddenly appeared in the valley.
Ao Tian's lips curled with amusement. "Looks like I underestimated him!"
Drake Liu, Princess Myra, Prince Rowan, and their two god-level subordinates stayed by Ian Song's side, protecting him.
A cold glint flashed in the warrior's eyes.
Ao Tian waved it off. "No need for that. With him charging ahead, I don't have to waste my time on those nobodies. Saves me a lot of trouble!"
"Saint Son, you're brilliant!" the warrior quickly flattered.
"How's Feng Jiu doing over there?"
Drake Liu, Princess Myra Vance, Prince Rowan Vance, and their two god-level subordinates stayed by Ian Song's side, shielding him from harm.
"She also managed to get a Creation Divine Beast core. Now she's already close to the Creation Sky Monolith!" the warrior replied.
"Alright, let's head over too!"
Ao Tian nodded thoughtfully.
The Creation Sky Monolith towered over a hundred thousand zhang tall, its surroundings swirling with endless Yin–Yang and time–space power. Anyone who got within a hundred meters would be ground to dust by those terrifying energies.
Five hundred meters from the Creation Sky Monolith stood a small hill, currently occupied by a woman in red. She was stunningly beautiful, with a flame-shaped mark on her forehead, but her expression was icy cold.
Drake Liu roared in anger, but he sprang into action, teaming up with Prince Rowan Vance and Princess Myra Vance's two god-level subordinates to block the attack.
Meanwhile, Prince Rowan Vance and Princess Myra Vance grabbed Ian Song and pulled him back to safety.
Another woman in black flew over, landing a few meters away and bowing before the woman in red. "Divine Maiden, I've investigated—the blood rain was triggered when a Human named Evan Chu used a secret art to slaughter twenty-six newborn gods!"
"It was him?"
Prince Rowan Vance and Princess Myra Vance both looked grim.
Prince Rowan Vance made a snap decision and shouted, "This is bad! Ian, you go first—we'll hold them off!"
As Rowan spoke, he and Princess Myra Vance led the elite warriors of the Scarlet-Scale Army and Myriad-Phenomena Army into the sky, charging straight at the ten gods.
About half a quarter of an hour later, five figures suddenly appeared in the valley.
"Well?"
One of the gods couldn't help but ask impatiently.
One of the five gritted his teeth. "That brat tricked us! After we ran, he fell unconscious from exhaustion!"
At those words, shame and frustration flashed across the others' faces, but mostly hatred. If they hadn't run, they might've killed that brat.
In reality, they didn't know that if they'd stayed, they would've all died—there was no way they'd have killed Ian Song.
"Are we just going to let this go?"
Someone protested unwillingly.
"That brat hasn't fully recovered yet—this is our chance!" the investigating god said fiercely.
"What if he's just pretending to be weak?" someone worried.
"Impossible! He's only at the Demigod Realm, and he killed twenty-six gods across realms. He must've used some earth-shattering secret art, and the stronger the art, the harsher the backlash. If I'm right, he's got at most thirty percent of his strength left!"
Another god chimed in, "That's right! And our cowardly retreat is a lifelong shame. If we don't kill him now, once he becomes a god, we'll never have a chance to redeem ourselves!"
"Better safe than sorry. Let's send a group to test him first!"
………
Two hours later, Ian Song and his group had traveled nearly two hundred li, drawing close to the Creation Sky Monolith. Even from two hundred li away, they could feel its overwhelming power.
"Boss, watch out!"
Suddenly, Drake Liu cried out and flashed in front of Ian Song, shattering a sword light with a single blow.
In the next instant, hundreds of figures appeared all around, launching a frenzied attack on Ian Song's group without a word.
"Courting death!"
The group was furious. Byron was first to leap out, his fists blasting out and killing several Ninth-Rank Divine Generals.
Cato and the others attacked as well, showing no mercy.
In an instant, over two hundred attackers lost their lives.
Drake Liu, Princess Wanxiang, King Xin, and their two god-level subordinates stayed by Ian Song's side, protecting him.
They knew these attackers were all targeting Ian Song.
Meanwhile, seventy-one pairs of hateful eyes watched coldly from the shadows—the seventy-one gods of the Alliance of the Gods.
One of them sent a voice transmission: "That brat really does look weak. We can probe him further!"
Fifteen gods charged out, ten intercepting Ian Song's ten god-level allies, while five attacked Ian Song from afar.
"So it's those bastards!"
Drake Liu roared in anger, but his hands moved fast, joining forces with King Xin and the two god-level subordinates of Princess Wanxiang to block the attack.
King Xin and Princess Wanxiang pulled Ian Song back.
The fight fell into a stalemate.
Ten more hidden gods charged out, aiming for Ian Song.
King Xin and Princess Wanxiang both looked grim.
King Xin made a snap decision and shouted, "This is bad! Brother Chu, you go first—we'll hold them off!"
As he spoke, he and Princess Wanxiang led the elite warriors of the Crimson Scale Army and Wanxiang Army into the sky, charging the ten gods head-on.