Chapter 1542: Shocking Change

Very few cultivators could reach fifth-stage Heaven Battling Realm when as young as Xiang Shaoyun. He wasn't even an ordinary fifth-stage Heaven Battling Realm cultivator. He was strong enough to fight against pseudo-Gods. With his current strength, even if he still wasn't a match for the dead Zi Ming, he would at least have an easier time. As for Zi Xinghe, he was far weaker than Xiang Shaoyun despite also having the strength of a pseudo-God.

"Who knows if you're the devils' spy? How can we let you meet a lord from our guild so easily?" retorted Zi Xinghe stubbornly.

Because the other Guardians Guild members knew what kind of person Zi Xinghe was, the moment they heard him, they guessed that he was most likely the troublemaker.

"Zi Xinghe, were you the one who caused all this?" questioned Zhou Zhengke with a frown.

Zi Xinghe's expression changed. "I merely stopped him from intruding into the camp. He was too cocky—"

"Enough. I'll investigate this myself. Before we figure out what happened, hand over your guardian token," said Zhou Zhengke.

"Why should I? He's an outsider!" said Zi Xinghe indignantly.

Only a limited number of guardian tokens would be handed out. Any token holder was someone acknowledged by the guild and could be considered a member of the guild. With the token, one could enjoy the various benefits provided by the guild—these benefits would greatly help one's cultivation. In the dominion, most people wouldn't dare to harm anyone with one such token.

One ought to know that the Guardians Guild was the publicly acknowledged number one righteous organization. The public greatly respected them due to the responsibilities they shouldered. Over the years, they worked tirelessly against the devils. Their contributions were clear for all to see. Thus, nobody would provoke the Guardians Guild for no reason. After all, who would take the Guardians Guild's place to protect the dominion if they were gone?

Zi Xinghe had only managed to obtain one guardian token after great difficulty. Only someone who had contributed greatly to humanity could obtain one such token. Zi Xinghe, on the other hand, had obtained one thanks to his elders and his outstanding talent. Thus, taking his token away was the same as slicing a piece of his flesh off his body.

"Do you still remember the guild's eighth rule?" asked Zhou Zhengke coldly.

At that, Zi Xinghe paled somewhat. He handed over the token unwillingly and said, "Lord Zhou, you will regret this!"

He then gave Xiang Shaoyun one last glare before leaving.

Xiang Shaoyun, I will remember this. Since a member of the Zi Clan has died, this won't end here, thought Zi Xinghe hatefully.

After Zi Xinghe left, Zhou Zhengke questioned the other pseudo-God that had arrived with Zi Ming earlier. Gods might have excellent senses, but when they were deep in meditation, they wouldn't really pay much attention to some random altercation near them. The pseudo-God hid nothing and gave a detailed and fair explanation of what had transpired.

After listening to the full story, Zhou Zhengke became even more sure that Zi Xinghe was the one looking for trouble. Xiang Shaoyun wasn't the culprit, but Zi Ming's death made things difficult.

"Yun'er, let's go," said Xing Yangzhan when he saw that Xiang Shaoyun had completed his breakthrough.

Xiang Shaoyun nodded and said, "Ok. Let's go."

"Are you thinking of leaving just like this?" asked Zhou Zhengke.

"Are you going to force us to stay?" asked Xiang Yangzhan.

"We of the Guardians Guild can only die in the hands of the devils, not our fellow humans," said Lan Zhenke.

"So what? When trying to kill someone, he should be prepared to be killed as well. If you intend to bully us with your numbers, I won't mind playing around with you for a bit," said Xiang Yangzhan. He had always been fearless, especially recently with his increased confidence from his newly gained strength.

"Looks like we have no choice but to fight," said Mo Yuan.

"That's right. If we do nothing, everyone will think that we can be bullied easily," said Lan Zhenke.

Both Mo Yuan and Lan Zhenke were unhappy with how overbearing Xiang Yangzhan was acting. As members of the Guardians Guild, they enjoyed respect everywhere they went. Thus, they couldn't accept the disrespect Xiang Yangzhan was showing them.

Xiang Yangzhan stood before Xiang Shaoyun unhesitatingly as his overbearing God Realm energy leaked out, revealing his fourth-stage Rebirth Realm cultivation level. Zhou Zhengke was visibly astonished when he sensed Xiang Yangzhan's cultivation.

The other Gods of the Guardians Guild were still stationed over at the Devil Domain's entrance. Only the three of them were in the encampment at the moment. With the people they had, they might not even be Xiang Yangzhan's match.

More importantly, they were the ones at fault in the first place. If the conflict was escalated, it would only bring shame to the guild. Right at that moment, intense energy undulations started spreading from the Devil Domain's entrance. A massive battle was ongoing there.

A diabolic dragon devil over 10,000 meters long soared into the sky and roared, "Humans, surrender, or all of you will be reduced to our food!"

That was a terrifyingly strong diabolic dragon devil. His valiant devilish aura spread in all directions as he unleashed a breath attack toward a group of humans. Just the act of breaking through the human Gods' suppression proved how strong the diabolic dragon devil was.

"Beast, do not get too cocky!" a loud voice rang out as a fiery dragon shot toward the diabolic dragon devil.

At the same time, a blue energy sword ripped through the sky as it slashed toward the diabolic dragon devil. However, more than one diabolic dragon devil had broken through the suppression. Several terrifying Devil Gods had appeared at the same time, inflicting grave injuries upon the humans near the entrance.

"This is bad! The devils intend to break through head on!" Zhou Zhengke exclaimed in shock. He then said to Mo Yuan and Lan Zhenke, "We need to back them up. Anything else can wait."

He then left with Mo Yuan and Lan Zhenke, ignoring Xiang Yangzhan and Xiang Shaoyun.

"Yun'er, you need to return to the Ziling Sect with your people immediately!" said Xiang Yangzhan with a stern tone.

"You don't know this, Father, but I'm on my master's mission to guard this place for three years. I'm only in my first year, so I can't leave," said Xiang Shaoyun. "Father, my cultivation might be lower than yours, but I'm more than capable of protecting myself. Don't worry."

"Who cares about the mission? Your life is the only thing that matters," said Xiang Yangzhan.

Meanwhile, a Devil God and a large number of devils charged toward the Ziling Sect's encampment.