Suburbs, abandoned factory.

After the remnants of the Abyssal Sacrifice Array were discovered, South River City entered a Level One emergency state.

Three Battle Kings rushed to the abandoned factory, with the most formidable, Battle King Qingyan, leading the charge into the office building.

He stormed in with an overwhelming aura, fearless of any formidable foes, as he entered the building tainted with the abyssal presence.

Battle King Qingyan was inside for one minute... two minutes... five minutes...

Time ticked by, yet no battle erupted within the office building.

The Battle Kings waiting outside grew impatient but recalled Battle King Qingyan's instructions before he left, not daring to act rashly.

"Old Liu!"

Li Er shouted from a distance, "What's going on inside?"

Soon, Liu Qingyan emerged from the office building, his face ashen and his gaze icy. "Follow me inside."

"The rest of you, stay put!"

The two Battle Kings, filled with countless questions, could only follow Liu Qingyan inside.

"Old Liu, say something!"

Li Er urged, "What happened?"

"See for yourselves."

Liu Qingyan led them to an office, where a scene of chaos unfolded before the two Battle Kings.

"What is this?"

With their keen eyes, the Battle Kings quickly pieced together the battle scene after just a few glances.

"Lightning Element damage, Battle King-level output!"

"Judging by the battle marks here, it seems the barrier was first breached, then the person was struck down."

"Old Liu, any news on the deceased's identity?"

Li Er asked, "Such an Abyssal Sacrifice Array, with a blood relative's soul as the most crucial offering, must have been orchestrated by high-ranking members of the Demonic Sect!"

"The identity has been confirmed."

Liu Qingyan's expression turned particularly grave as he spoke.

"It should be the son of the Cult Leader of the Fourth Demonic Sect, his real name is [Lian Zheng], his father is...."

Liu Qingyan didn't finish his sentence.

The name of a War God, even one who defected to the Demon God, cannot be uttered lightly.

"Lian Zheng! Then his father... isn't he... the Cult Leader of the Fourth Demonic Sect?!"

Li Er's face was filled with shock.

That individual, once destined to become the Great War God, had achieved countless feats and had been in seclusion after a great battle, detached from worldly affairs.

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Who would have thought he had long betrayed humanity!

"Higher-level matters are beyond us for now, and we lack the ability to worry about them."

Liu Qingyan redirected the conversation, pointing to the ashes on the ground.

"Lian Zheng was struck down by Lightning Spells, the attacker must be at least a Battle King-level powerhouse!"

"Indeed, I checked the barrier array here, judging by the materials, it should withstand damage in the trillions!"

With that, the three fell into silence.

Li Er turned to Liu Qingyan, asking with a hint of bitterness, "Old Liu, how long would it take you to deal trillion-level damage?"

"In peak condition, 5 seconds, ordinarily, 10 to 20 seconds."

"If a Battle King attacked at peak condition, the City Defense Department's monitoring array would have received a signal long ago!"

Li Er slowly said, "Which means, even while hiding their strength, the attacker still possessed peak Battle King output capability!"

"Though I hate to admit it, the facts are indeed so."

Liu Qingyan had already reached this conclusion, having been shocked for a long time upon first discovering the battle marks here!

"When did South River City have such a powerful presence, with peak Battle King output capability, preemptively locating Lian Zheng's hideout, interrupting the Abyssal Sacrifice Array process...."

Li Er exhaled deeply, relaxing, "No matter what, he saved South River City!"

Had the Abyssal Sacrifice Array been successfully activated, summoning Battle King-level demons.

Liu Qingyan, Li Er, and others would have been embroiled in a great battle.

A Battle King's full-force attack would be uncontrollable in scale, and South River City would be destined to be largely destroyed!

"This matter is perhaps not as simple as we think."

Liu Qingyan searched through the ashes for a moment, pointing to a small mark, "Look."

"This is... the Lone Wolf mark!"

"It's the work of someone from Lone Wolf, what are they up to?!"

"Quiet, let me think."

The appearance of the Lone Wolf mark on the scene made the few who had just relaxed tense up again.

The whole affair seemed even more complicated!

"Is it possible..."

Liu Qingyan slowly said, "Someone from Lone Wolf tracked down Lian Zheng, intending to use him as bait to lure out the Cult Leader of the Fourth Demonic Sect!"

"In the process, they stumbled upon the activation of the Abyssal Sacrifice Array, had no choice but to act, killing Lian Zheng and interrupting the array. To conceal their identity, they quickly left the scene after acting."

Liu Qingyan's analysis was logical, and the two Battle Kings nodded continuously.

"Daring to bait a War God-level powerhouse, this mysterious individual's strength might be even greater than we imagined!"

"Regardless, let's compile the information here and report it upwards."

With that, Li Er took out a tablet, ready to take action.

Suddenly, the shadows of the three Battle Kings twisted!

"Watch out!"

From the shadows, a black mist slowly rose.

"Hold your fire, it's one of our own!"

Liu Qingyan stopped Li Er and the others, his expression puzzled.

"May I ask which esteemed member of [Shadow] this is?"

Shadow!

The visitor was actually a big figure from [Shadow], a legendary presence, always elusive, only protecting Lone Wolf!

From the depths of the black mist came a hoarse voice.

"I am Shadow Nine, Little Liu, it's been thirty years, and you're almost a War God?"

The black mist seemed to recognize Liu Qingyan, with a hint of admiration in its words.

Liu Qingyan quietly explained to his companions, "I was with Lone Wolf for a while, and at that time, Shadow Nine War God's disciple protected me."

Shadow Nine War God?!

Li Er's face was filled with shock; this black mist was actually a War God?!

Liu Qingyan's attitude was extremely respectful, without a trace of arrogance, as he asked,

"Lord Shadow Nine, what exactly happened here?"

"Nothing much, just a young man acting bravely and stepping up."

A young man?

These three words left the three Battle Kings stunned!

They had previously speculated it might have been the work of a hidden Battle King-level expert; where did this young man come from?

So young, yet possessing Battle King-level output capability, able to accomplish such a feat, there was only one person in the world!

In the hearts of the Battle Kings, a name surfaced simultaneously—Asura!

Li Er was startled by his own guess; this matter was actually related to [Asura]!

The strongest seed of humanity, the hope for the fourth Supreme Being!

According to previous orders, all information about [Asura] should be SSS-level confidential.

Why was Shadow Nine speaking so casually?

Li Er cautiously asked,

"Lord Shadow Nine, is it really okay to tell us about this?"

"Of course not."

The black mist rolled, emitting a hoarse laugh, "That's why I'm here to clean up the mess, aren't I?"

"Young people are too reckless, and I have to trouble my old bones to tidy up."

With that, the black mist suddenly expanded, enveloping the entire office building, sweeping up the three Battle Kings as well!

Moments later, the black mist receded.

The three Battle Kings emerged from the office building, their expressions unchanged.

Leading them, Battle King Qingyan announced loudly,

"This concludes the Level One emergency drill!"

"Afterwards, higher authorities will evaluate the performance of each unit!"

"Dismissed!"

With that, the three Battle Kings turned into streams of light, disappearing into the sky.

In their hearts, this drill was a success.

As for matters beyond the drill, they were buried deep in their memories.

Perhaps one day, when they become War Gods, they will have the opportunity to unlock this sealed memory!

Until then, all memories of today are just a 'drill.'

Under the night sky, a cloud of black mist drifted leisurely into the distance.

...

"The alarm stopped!"

Ye Bai halted, glancing at the large screen by the street, where the latest news scrolled.

"It was just a drill?"

"A false alarm."

Ye Bai resumed walking, preparing to head home and tally the gains from killing Lian Zheng!

Before he even entered the neighborhood, Ye Bai was stopped.

"Excuse me, are you Ye Bai?"

A modestly dressed, tastefully elegant mature woman, with a smile in her eyes, asked softly.

"Yes, and you are?"

"I'm Xueqi's mother, Liu Xueqi, your classmate."

The woman introduced herself, "Can we chat for a moment?"

"Not really."

With that, Ye Bai bypassed the woman and continued into the neighborhood.

The woman:......

She was just being polite, and this kid actually said it wasn't convenient?!

This conversation is going nowhere!

How did her daughter take a liking to someone so unconventional?!

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