The elders of the Military Council’s Strategic Operations Camp were still discussing countermeasures, but the news had already exploded across all nine Domains.
The major and minor sects of the East and South Domains were thrilled and invigorated. To be honest, most of them only followed Heavenly Melody Sect and Pristine Way Sect down the path of rebellion because circumstances forced their hand.
After all, none of them truly believed Heavenly Melody Sect and Pristine Way Sect could really stand against the Military Council.
The four consecutive defeats of the East Domain Martial Alliance had only strengthened this belief. But to their shock, in just a few short days, the situation in the East Domain was completely overturned.
Over two million Military Council troops had been trapped inside a grand formation for three days and nights, unable to escape.
No one believed the Military Council’s army could possibly turn things around—what soldier would still have the strength to fight after starving for three days and nights?
So, although the war hadn’t officially been decided, everyone already saw the outcome as settled.
This overwhelming victory shocked the world and calmed the hearts of all the sects in the East and South Domains.
Right at this critical moment—
Sanctum Martial Academy issued a proclamation to all of humanity: The Military Council is unjust, and Sanctum Martial Academy fully supports the East and South Domains.
Sanctum Martial Academy might not be a true powerhouse, but its six deans are legendary figures. That’s why every major sect desperately sends their disciples there.
Now that Sanctum Martial Academy was openly backing the East and South Domains—and publicly denouncing the Military Council—things went from bad to worse for the Council, while the East and South gained a huge boost in momentum.
When the news broke, the six elders of the Military Council’s Strategic Operations Camp were grinding their teeth in fury. Elder Chu was especially livid, threatening to wipe Sanctum Martial Academy off the map.
Of course, she was just venting. If it really came down to destroying Sanctum Martial Academy, Elder Chu didn’t have the guts. The background of the six deans alone was daunting, and the Academy’s students came from every sect in the human world. Even the most honored elder wouldn’t dare make enemies of them all.
Sanctum Martial Academy’s proclamation was a real headache for the Military Council.
The major sects of the Regal Martial Domain, North Domain, West Domain, Heaven Domain, Mystic Dragon Domain, Earth God Domain, and Heavenly Steed Domain couldn’t keep calm after hearing the news.
They all saw that the Military Council was on the verge of collapse. If they didn’t rebel now, once the East and South joined forces to defeat the Council, all the benefits and influence would go to the East and South Domains.
So, the very next day, Regal Extremity Sect—the number one sect in the Regal Martial Domain—teamed up with the Nine Great Sects and issued their own proclamation of rebellion, listing ten crimes committed by the Military Council.
But when everyone saw their list of ten crimes, they were left speechless.
Because those ten crimes were just the nine from the East Domain—plus one shamelessly tacked on at the end.
Copying the nine crimes from the East Domain was one thing. But adding an extra just to make it their own? That was downright shameless.
Naturally, after reading the ten crimes, people from the East and South Domains felt nothing but scorn and dissatisfaction.
Of course, the actual content of the crimes didn’t matter much. What mattered was that the Regal Martial Domain had rebelled.
The Regal Martial Domain’s move fired up the other Domains even more.
So, on the second day, the North, West, and Heaven Domains all issued proclamations of rebellion. This time, everyone was smarter—they just copied the nine crimes from before, without any unnecessary additions.
Sure enough, nobody cared about the details of the crimes anymore.
On the third day, Mystic Dragon Domain and Earth God Domain rebelled.
On the fourth day, Heavenly Steed Domain joined the rebellion.
With that, all nine Domains were in open revolt. As the seven previously neutral Domains turned, the Military Council’s influence was wiped out, shrinking to just the Holy City and its satellite cities.
At this point, the Military Council was a regime in name only.
Ian Song had already received word that the other seven Domains had rebelled, but he didn’t pay it much mind. Most of his energy was focused on wiping out the Blood Demon Puppets.
That day, Ian personally witnessed ten Blood Demon Puppets massacre an entire small city of over a million people. He was powerless to stop it—because even if he gathered every Martial Saint from the East and South Domains, they couldn’t guarantee total annihilation.
So all he could do was wait in agony.
At the same time, Ian couldn’t help but wonder: Where did these Blood Demon Puppets come from? Why did they appear in the East and South Domains—and not anywhere else?
For a moment, Ian’s suspicions turned toward the military.
After devouring the blood-qi of a million people, the ten Blood Demon Puppets glowed even more fiercely—far surpassing the batch Ian had previously destroyed.
The thicker their blood glow became, the harder they were to kill.
These monsters seemed eternally hungry. After wiping out a small city, they set their sights on a massive metropolis five thousand miles away—home to more than sixty million people. If they managed to kill everyone there, their blood-qi would reach an entirely new level.
For several days, the ten Blood Demon Puppets advanced steadily toward the metropolis. Ian shadowed them from a distance, while Huang Yan raced ahead to set up defensive formations in the city.
Along the way, the Blood Demon Puppets continued their slaughter—killing every person they met, wiping out every village in their path.
In just a few days, they wiped out seventy or eighty villages between their starting point and the metropolis. The blood glow around them thickened even more.
Finally.
The Blood Demon Puppets were now less than a hundred miles from the metropolis. Maybe sensing the vast reservoir of blood-qi ahead, they began to pick up speed.
Seeing this, Ian Song’s lips curled into a cold smile. "Blood Demon Puppets, it’s time to end you!"
The moment the Blood Demon Puppets stepped into the city, the Absolute Execution Grand Formation erupted, sucking them all into the array space.
Then, a hundred Martial Saint phantoms materialized and launched a frenzied assault.
Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!
In less than half an incense stick’s time, four Martial Saints were killed.
Ian Song’s brow furrowed. These ten Blood Demon Puppets were at least twice as strong as the last batch.
Fortunately, after sacrificing a hundred Martial Saint phantoms, they managed to dismember the Blood Demon Puppets once.
But in the next instant, Ian Song’s face changed dramatically—the Blood Demon Puppets started hammering at the formation itself, trying to break free.
Because they had no souls, the Blood Demon Puppets weren’t fooled by any illusion layers. They could sense exactly where the boundaries of the array space lay.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
With every blow from the Blood Demon Puppets, the array’s barrier trembled. It hadn’t been breached yet, but if this kept up, there was real danger it might break.
If the Blood Demon Puppets broke out of the array, it would be a massacre for the city’s sixty million residents.
"Stop them!"
Ian Song and Huang Yan desperately drove the hundred Martial Saint phantoms to attack the Blood Demon Puppets, refusing to give them any chance to break free.