Chapter 698

Chapter 698: The Dragon Gate Opens

As everyone spoke, an enormous force suddenly appeared across the distant sea. Leading this procession were three thousand-foot Mysterious Turtles bearing exquisite palaces on their backs, followed by the vast army of Sea Demon Tribes.

Though individual sea demons couldn’t rival the size of the Human Tribe’s hundreds of warships, their sheer numbers dwarfed humanity’s forces. The sea’s surface seemed to shift color under the endless swarm of demons.

For tens of thousands of miles, the ocean teemed with sea demons grouped by tribe. Their varying hues painted the waters into bizarre patches of red, yellow, and blue. From afar, the sea resembled a rippling rainbow—a breathtaking spectacle.

Observing the sea demons’ overwhelming numbers, some humans muttered bitterly, "We’ll never match these creatures in breeding. A single female sea demon lays tens of thousands of eggs! Even with just a fraction surviving, that’s hundreds. How many human mothers would it take to birth such hordes?"

"Their territory is vast, and their resources far surpass ours on land," another added.

"What can we do?" scoffed a third. "Land yields only crops, but the sea grows underwater plants to feed shellfish and hosts endless fish schools. Those layered ocean depths sustain countless demons!"

"Numbers mean nothing!" retorted another. "Without refining techniques or treasure-crafting skills, they squander their resources. They’ll never defeat humanity!"

"That might hold true on land," someone chuckled darkly. "But at sea? Do you truly believe humans can best the demons?"

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

The Sea Demon Tribes halted opposite the human warships, tension crackling across the water. Though neither side attacked immediately, an enraged roar soon erupted from the demons: "How dare you cripple Black Shark Demon King and Malice Demon King like this?!"

"They’ll need millennia to recover—if they ever regain their former cultivation!"

"Do you humans think us weak?!" multiple Demon Kings bellowed.

The Human Tribe’s Semi-Immortals fired back without hesitation. "Semi-Immortals attacking disciples violates our Agreement! Two of your kings ganged up on juniors—where’s your shame?!"

"Coming here to whine after your own wrongdoing? Disgusting!"

"We showed mercy! Had we truly wanted them dead, they’d be corpses. Yet you spit insults instead of gratitude? Shameless!"

The Demon Kings trembled with rage but found no rebuttal. Their comrades had indeed broken the pact first—sparing their lives was already leniency. Still, the humans’ brutal retaliation, leaving the two kings nearly crippled, stoked the demons’ fury.

Abandoning reason, the Sea Demon Tribes roared, "You want war?! Let’s fight!"

"Prepare to slaughter these humans!"

"Feast on their flesh!"

As Demon Kings howled, their army mobilized. Tribes activated Bloodline Divine Skills, summoning thousands of towering Shadows that darkened the sky, their terror eclipsing the human fleet’s might.

The humans stood firm. "Fight?" sneered Sword God. "We fear nothing!"

The Top Ten Semi-Immortals unleashed their extreme pressure, plunging the world into darkness as the sea flattened beneath their might. Warships blazed with Spiritual Light, defensive Formations humming to life. Mechanical Cannons and Divine Lightning Towers glowed menacingly, primed to unleash destruction.

Both sides bristled, poised to clash before the Dragon Palace even opened—until ripples suddenly shimmered across the Dragon Gate. A water screen materialized in its frame as spatial energy pulsed outward.

Instantly, the two armies stilled, their wrath dissipating like tide retreating from shore.

"This time you are lucky, but make sure to know the power of our Sea Demon Tribes!" said the furious voice from the Sea Demon side.

"Hehe, this time it’s you who are lucky. If it weren’t for the opening of the Dragon Gate, you would have been destroyed long ago!" replied the Human Tribe, refusing to back down.

"Damn it, if you’re capable, fight us inside! Don’t just talk!" Suddenly, a Demon King shouted to the demons below, "Listen up! Once you go in, kill any Human Tribe cultivator you see! Whoever kills the most will be heavily rewarded!"

"That’s right! Anyone who takes a Human Tribe cultivator’s head will receive a treasure and a Dao magic inheritance, this is a promise from our Top Ten Demon Kings together!"

"If you can kill Fang Lie, Mo Lanyun, or Mao Mao, the reward will be an Eighth-rank ancient demon bone treasure!"

As soon as the Demon King’s words fell, three figures appeared in the sky, which were exactly Fang Lie, Mo Lanyun, and Mao Mao.

Clearly, the Demon Kings from the Sea Demon Tribes were still troubled by the events during the calamity, where their grand army was forced to change course by three little kids, leading to the downfall of two major Demon Kings. Naturally, they harbored intense hatred for Fang Lie and the others and planned not to let them escape alive.

Since the Sea Demon side had offered a bounty, the Human Tribe could not show weakness either, and soon promised heavy rewards as well.

"Kill all Sea Demons without mercy!"

"Anyone who slays a Ninth-Rank Demon King will receive an Eighth-rank treasure!"

"If you can defeat any of the three little Demon Kings, it will count as killing two Ninth-Rank Great Demons!"

The three little Demon Kings referred to the three little demons from the Sea Demon calamity: Prince of the Thunder Eel Clan, Little Lei Huang; Prince of the Tian Zhi Clan, Little Zhi Huang; and Prince of the Golden Ring Sea Snake Clan, Little Huan Huang!

Their strength was only around Sixth or Seventh-Rank, but they possessed terrifying bloodline abilities and combat talents, having records of slaying Human Tribe Thunder Tribulation Immortals. During the Sea Demon disaster, the number of Human Tribe cultivators they exterminated exceeded one million, earning them a fearsome reputation.

In comparison, the so-called kill leaderboard from the Human Tribe pales significantly, as it primarily records quantity with little regard for quality.

Moreover, due to unspoken rules, many strong cultivators, such as Qing Feng, had no opportunity to showcase themselves, making the Human Tribe’s leaderboard far inferior in achievements.

Even Ao Jianzi, the top of the list, would probably not stand a chance against any of these three little Demon Kings. Only Qing Feng and Fang Lie could possibly match them.

Now that both sides’ bounty lists had been revealed, targeting the most threatening super talents in the future, the originally numbered top three from the Human Tribe’s kill leaderboard had been overshadowed by Fang Lie, which infuriated Ao Jianzi.

He had originally taken a great risk to outshine Fang Lie, but instead, he found himself beneath him, turning the title of "leader" into a joke.

Ao Jianzi’s anger surged, and he vowed silently that no matter what, he would kill Fang Lie in the Dragon Palace Deadly Area!

After both sides finished their banter, the Top Ten Semi-Immortals from the Human Tribe and the Top Ten Sea Emperors from the Sea Demon Tribes had to step forward and cooperate.

The Dragon Palace had been sealed by the ancient Dragon Clan long ago, and opening it was not easy. It only opened during the annual Dragon Gate leap, which would impact the seal. During this time, the strongest experts from the mortal world could force open a small gap for the elites of both tribes to enter.

Opening the seal required immense power, and it always took ten Semi-Immortals from each side to barely meet the requirement.

The time to open Dragon Gate was limited; if they missed their chance, they would never be able to open it again. So once abnormalities appeared at the Dragon Gate, the higher-ups of both sides could no longer afford to fight and put aside their grievances to unite once more.

If they did not do this, no one would be able to enter.

Twenty peak experts from the mortal realm extended one hand each, using their Magic to forcibly hold the Dragon Gate’s spatial seal open. No one dared to use divine skills or Dao magic during this time, as it would provoke a counterattack from the Dragon Clan’s Immortal seal, which no mere Semi-Immortal could withstand.

Thus, they could only use the most exhausting method to clash with the seal.

After a full quarter of an hour of relentless pulling, a hundred-foot-wide crack finally appeared on the Dragon Gate, at which point all the Semi-Immortals and Demon Kings were sweating profusely.

"Quick, get in!" shouted the Sword God.

"Come on, hurry!" yelled the Sea Demon King on the opposite side.

Immediately, thousands of figures transformed into streams of light, rushing towards the spatial crack. Since all those arriving were super experts, their speed was astonishing, and within just two breaths, everyone had entered.

Then, the Semi-Immortals and Demon Kings retracted their Magic and panted heavily as they stared at each other.