"He won! Lord Zhong Ming won!"

"We’re going to live."

"Lord Zhong Ming, all hail!"

"I knew it! Lord Zhong Ming is the strongest!"

The earth-shaking cheers nearly tore the dome off the Star Secret Vault as the human Cultivators’ long-suppressed ecstasy erupted like a volcano.

They knew that if Zhong Ming won, they would be safe.

And it was true. After slaying Cheng Lv, Zhong Ming turned his gaze to the battlefield of the ordinary Cultivators.

!!!

The projection, like the Nine Heavens Divine Monarch himself descending, floated in mid-air, radiating magnificent Divine Power. This time, panic and terror completely seized the Cultists’ hearts.

"Look at me, you mongrels!"

Zhong Ming’s furious roar boomed like a thunderclap, carrying an undeniable pressure.

It is human instinct to look for the source of a sudden, loud noise. But the moment the Cultists instinctively turned their heads and met Zhong Ming’s endlessly majestic eyes—which seemed to contain the stars of the cosmos—their fates were sealed.

With a twofold boost of Divine Power, Zhong Ming could vanquish a Major Sect’s True Disciple with just a glance. Now, however, he had a threefold boost, and his Breaking Evil Golden Light and Purifying Flame were especially effective against the Cultists.

BOOM—!

With a single look, countless Cultists felt a blazing sun of interwoven golden flames explode before their eyes.

The blinding Breaking Evil Golden Light, like thousands of sharp blades, instantly shredded their Divine Souls. The searing Purifying Flame then traveled along their Divine Souls, incinerating their physical bodies into charcoal.

Just like that, in the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred pillars of roaring fire shot up from the battlefield into the sky.

Of course, there were clever ones among the Cultists. When Zhong Ming shouted, they suppressed their instincts and did not look in his direction.

But as the survivors stared up at the vast shadow cast by Zhong Ming’s Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect, they felt not a shred of relief—only a bone-deep terror and endless regret.

The Cultists who had defected from the human side completely broke down, screaming hysterically, "Impossible! How can a human Cultivator be this strong?!"

"If humans are this powerful, then what was the point of me betraying my own kind to join the Evil Cult?!"

He paid no mind to these broken-down degenerates. With the majority of the Cultists now slain by his hand, they were no longer a significant threat; the remaining human Cultivators could handle them.

As for Zhong Ming, he had more important things to do.

"Commandery Princess, you weren’t frightened, were you?"

Arriving at Ji Qingyue’s side, Zhong Ming’s voice was calm and steady.

"I am fine." Princess Qingyue’s voice was as cold as ever, yet she couldn’t hide a trace of relief at having survived the ordeal.

"That’s good." Zhong Ming nodded and entrusted Yi Yunya, Han Yu, Yan Chen, and the others he had been protecting to Princess Qingyue. "Yun Ya and the others... I’ll have to ask you to look after them, Commandery Princess."

The moment he finished speaking, the spiritual light around Zhong Ming flared. In the next instant, piloting his Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect, he sped toward the core battle between the six major sects and the Cultists.

Although he and the six major sects had their conflicts of interest, they were merely rivals, not mortal enemies.

With a great calamity approaching and the major threat of the Cultists looming, Zhong Ming would naturally not stand by and watch them die.

As Zhong Ming headed over, the battle there was already nearing its conclusion.

Several disciples from the six major sects had already fallen. The rest were all bathed in blood, their auras faint and their lives hanging by a thread.

This wasn’t Liu Yu’s doing alone. While they were locked in fierce combat, another Divine Heir candidate had jumped out. This person belonged to the Heart Lineage of the Five Viscera Divine Sect and could manipulate an enemy’s heart through their heartbeat. The slightest carelessness would result in one’s heart exploding.

Caught off guard, several True Disciples had been killed on the spot.

If Zhong Ming hadn’t come to the rescue, the rest of them would not have escaped death either.

Fortunately, Zhong Ming had arrived. His feat of killing Cheng Lv with incredible speed, combined with the magnificent and colossal figure of his Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect, made the other Divine Heir candidates extremely wary.

At this moment, they had no time to continue their siege on Ruan Shi and the others. Instead, they all fell back to gather around Yuan Rong, their faces full of vigilance as they watched Zhong Ming approach through the air.

Zhong Ming took the opportunity to gather the injured True Disciples of the six major sects behind him.

"Zhong, words can’t express my gratitude. I, Qin Zhou, owe you my life!" Qin Zhou clasped his fist and bowed, his tone grave. Blood was still seeping from the wound on his chest.

Wei Zhong Mountain was in slightly better condition, but he too clasped his fist solemnly and promised, "If you need anything in the future, just say the word."

Ruan Shi added, "You may command this humble servant as you wish, Young Master."

Behind them, Ji Qinghui and Ji Qingkang stared at Zhong Ming with gazes that burned with reverence and gratitude.

However, Zhong Ming was in no mood for pleasantries. Directing his Divine Monarch Dharma Aspect to face the remaining Cultists, he said coldly, "Let’s save the formalities for later. First, let’s slay these fiends and end this farce."

"A farce... *cough, cough*... Zhong Ming, do you really think you’ve already won?!"

The towering Divine Monarch projection and his feat of slaying Cheng Lv in less than a minute made Liu Yu and the others incredibly wary of Zhong Ming.

Still, hearing Zhong Ming’s words, so certain of their impending doom, Liu Yu couldn’t help but speak up, trying to regain some semblance of momentum.

To this, Zhong Ming simply gave a calm nod, his tone indifferent yet filled with unquestionable confidence. "Of course. I am the strongest."

Having said that, Zhong Ming gave a soft chuckle. "Besides, whether I can kill you or not... it’s pointless to ask now. In the end, we still have to fight."

SHHFF—

As he spoke, Zhong Ming directed the Divine Monarch to take a step forward.