Human Clan Defender-Chapter 535 - 272: Backlash (Vote for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 535: Chapter 272: Backlash (Vote for Monthly Pass)

Barbarian Clan.

Priest Hall.

When Baluo and the others perished, the Soul Lamps stored in the Priest Hall extinguished immediately. The experts guarding the Priest Hall, upon seeing the Soul Lamps extinguish, reported it at once.

Soon after, experts arrived.

"Did the Soul Lamps of the three individuals extinguish at the same time?"

The speaker was an old man with a hunched back, holding a gray wooden cane and wearing a golden-threaded long robe, his eyes as dark as an abyss.

Upon hearing this, a Priest standing beside him bowed respectfully and replied, "Not at the exact same time. They extinguished in succession, but the intervals weren’t too long."

"I see." Iggs’s voice was calm. He looked at the extinguished Soul Lamps. In his pitch-black eyes, something seemed to flicker for an instant.

After a long time, a line of pale blood tears slid down from his eyes.

"Hall Master!" the Priest exclaimed, his face paling drastically at the sight.

He knew very well that the man before him was the Hall Master of the Priest Hall and one of the truly top experts within the Barbarian Clan. An ordinary person could not have injured him like this.

Iggs shook his head slightly, his face showing no sign of disturbance. "No need to panic. The expert capable of killing Baluo and the others so quickly is indeed not simple. Great Qin truly is a land of exceptional talents; for over three hundred years, experts have emerged ceaselessly. Pass down my order: have all Sun Rank Priests head to the Divination Heaven Hall."

"Yes!"

「Divination Heaven Hall.」

Calling it a hall was somewhat misleading compared to ordinary halls. Its ceiling seemed to be a projection of the starry sky, with shooting stars occasionally streaking by. Beneath this starry sky, various seats were arranged in a strange and arcane manner.

A careful count revealed a total of thirty-six seats.

Currently, twelve people were seated in the hall: men and women, old and young. But without exception, each person exuded a terrifying and mysterious aura.

When Iggs walked in, they all stood up simultaneously.

"Greetings, Hall Master!"

"All of you, sit," Iggs said slowly. Like an ordinary old man, he walked step by step towards the centermost seat. It was completely separate from the thirty-six other seats, standing out conspicuously.

Only after Iggs sat down did the other twelve take their seats.

Immediately, someone asked, "Hall Master, why have you suddenly summoned us? Is something amiss?"

The others did not speak, but their eyes held much confusion. He would not have summoned all the Sun Rank Priests without an important reason. Only when facing an extremely grave issue would such a situation arise. In the thousands of years of the Barbarian Clan’s history, the instances where all twelve Sun Rank Priests were summoned could be counted on one hand.

Iggs said, "Not long ago, the three third-order Demon Spirit Generals from our clan who entered Great Wilderness Prefecture all perished. They died in quick succession, and it’s certain they were killed by the same person."

"What!"

The complexions of many present changed. Third-order Demon Spirit Generals were considered rare experts within the Barbarian Clan. The loss of three at once was indeed a grave matter.

"To be able to kill three third-order Demon Spirit Generals at once, was it Dongfang Zhao or Gu Xuanji?" the first person to speak immediately reacted. In his mind, the ones most likely capable of slaughtering three third-order Demon Spirit Generals were Dongfang Zhao or Gu Xuanji.

Iggs shook his head. "It was neither Dongfang Zhao nor Gu Xuanji, but Shen Changqing, the Prefect of South Nether Prefecture."

"Shen Changqing!"

This name was not unfamiliar to those in the Priest Hall. What surprised them, though, was that Shen Changqing actually possessed the power to kill three third-order Demon Spirit Generals.

"Hall Master, have you divined anything?"

"I have already performed a divination, but unfortunately, I suffered a backlash. That is why I summoned you all here." Iggs shook his head slightly.

His words shocked everyone present.

Backlash! For an expert of Iggs’s caliber to suffer backlash attempting to divine someone... No wonder he had summoned all the Sun Rank Priests.

"There aren’t many in the world who can cause me backlash," Iggs looked at everyone, speaking slowly and deliberately. "Sovereigns of nations are protected by their national destiny, so forcibly divining them invites backlash. Similarly, if an expert reaches a certain level of power, intrusive probing will also trigger a backlash. Apart from those, there are individuals who possess great destiny. Such individuals are favored by Heaven and Earth; forcibly divining them would also result in a backlash from their destiny."

"The former is unlikely, but the latter two reasons are highly probable. Shen Changqing was able to kill Shimohe, who had broken through to the Domain Realm, and also vanquish three third-order Demon Spirit Generals. His strength is indisputable. For him to reach such a level in so short a time, it would be impossible if he were not endowed with immense destiny. If we allow him to continue growing, he will pose a considerable threat to our clan. Therefore, I summoned you all to combine our powers in a divination, to see if we can find an opportunity to resolve this!"

As he finished speaking, Iggs’s expression grew increasingly solemn. If it were an ordinary expert, he wouldn’t be so concerned. But Shen Changqing’s growth was too fast. Coupled with the relationship between Great Qin and the Barbarian Clan, if they allowed him to continue growing unchecked, he would become a grave threat to the Barbarian Clan. The Priest Hall existed to ensure the continuation and legacy of the Barbarian Clan. Therefore, such an expert must be nipped in the bud. Even if he could not be eliminated, they had to ensure he did not significantly impact the Barbarian Clan.

"Understood!" the other Priests replied, none objecting. The fact that Iggs suffered backlash from his divination attempt already explained everything.

Immediately, the Divination Heaven Hall fell silent.

Divine light surged in Iggs’s pitch-black eyes. As he looked up at the starry sky projection, a beam of divine light shot from his eyes directly into it.

Suddenly, the starry sky projection shook violently. The myriad stars scattered across it seemed to be affected.

Then, the remaining Sun Rank Priests acted simultaneously. Streams of mystical energy erupted, all converging into the starry sky projection.

In an instant, all the stars vanished, and the dazzling starry sky projection turned pitch black.

Shen Changqing, en route to South Nether Prefecture, suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked up at the Firmament, a bad premonition lingering in his heart. It felt as if a pair of eyes were watching him, or as if someone was attempting to pry into his secrets.

This feeling made Shen Changqing very uncomfortable. It even ignited an uncontrollable anger within him.

Someone is divining me!

Instantly, Shen Changqing seemed to realize something. He had felt a similar power earlier but had shattered it with his own strength. Now, the sensation had returned, even stronger than before.

For a moment, Shen Changqing considered many possibilities. There are likely many people capable of divination, but only the Barbarian Clan could be considered to have reached the pinnacle of this art. I just slew three Demon Spirit Generals, and now someone is divining me. It must be the Barbarian Clan.

Although he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, he knew the truth was likely very close to his guess.

Even a clay figurine has a temper. To be divined time and again... He never considered himself a patient man.

Looking up at the Firmament, Although he was unsure how to break this prying force, an intuition told him that the secretive gaze originated from the sky above. Therefore, to break free, he had to strike there.

Without hesitation, Shen Changqing summoned his power and once again executed the Banishing Evil Silent Obliteration Finger.

The destructive Finger Gang shattered the void, striking directly towards the Firmament. In that instant, the world within a hundred li seemed to plunge into momentary darkness as the shattered void absorbed all light.

The next moment, the Firmament returned to clarity.

Shen Changqing withdrew his hand, his chest rising and falling slightly. He hadn’t recovered much from his previous exertion. Executing another Banishing Evil Silent Obliteration Finger now... only he knew how taxing it was.

Fortunately, after that finger strike, the prying gaze vanished. After searching and finding nothing further, he continued on his way.

...

Barbarian Clan.

Divination Heaven Hall.

The starry sky projection was torn apart by an overwhelmingly powerful force, and whatever was in the process of forming within it was utterly destroyed.

All the Sun Rank Priests spat blood, their faces filled with horror.

Iggs’s body shuddered. Although he didn’t spit blood, his aura weakened considerably. After a long while, he gradually recovered.

"Shen Changqing’s strength has exceeded my estimations," Iggs sighed deeply. "Even if Dongfang Zhao tried to break our joint divination, he likely wouldn’t have caused such a severe backlash. Great Qin is destined to produce another expert capable of suppressing the era!"

He had initially thought that although Shen Changqing was powerful, he couldn’t possibly break their collective divination. However, reality often defied expectations. In this situation, forcing another divination would only result in an even greater backlash.

At this moment, one Priest, having recovered somewhat, still looked shaken as he spoke, "To successfully divine Shen Changqing, we would need to gather even more Priests; otherwise, it’s impossible. Perhaps we should try a different approach? What if we divine the future of our clan instead?"

Divining the future of an entire clan is inherently more difficult. But there was one difference: as members of the Barbarian Clan, they were inherently supported by the clan’s Destiny Enhancement. Thus, while divining their own clan’s future was immensely challenging, it wasn’t impossible.

Hearing this, Iggs remained silent for a long moment before nodding slightly. "Agreed!"

If they couldn’t divine Shen Changqing, they would divine the future of the Barbarian Clan. After all, his purpose in divining Shen Changqing was also to see if he would affect the Barbarian Clan and what countermeasures they could take. If they directly divined the Barbarian Clan’s future, the outcome would essentially be the same.

Immediately, after everyone had recovered somewhat, they once again used the starry sky projection to employ their techniques.