In the center of the great hall, Ye Ling and the Third Star Pillar faced each other, their auras continuously clashing, causing the surrounding air to become increasingly condensed.
Ancestor Moon Wheel knelt on the ground, trembling. His entire body was soaked in sweat and blood. Under the combined pressure of Ye Ling and the Third Star Pillar, he was so weak he was about to faint!
The feeling of his life not being in his own hands made Ancestor Moon Wheel extremely uncomfortable.
The Third Star Pillar looked at the faint smile on Ye Ling's lips, his eyes narrowing slightly, and asked, "Eighth Star Pillar, are you letting this person go or not? Give me an answer!"
Ye Ling smiled and said, "I asked Balgor to summon you before, but you didn't even send a message. You didn't give me any face then."
"Now your subordinate has provoked me, and I'm about to punish him, and you only show up now?"
The Third Star Pillar smiled and replied, "So it's because of this... then I'll reluctantly explain it to you... After all, you were the chosen one before. For the sake of caution, I need to observe you carefully. What if you're playing a trick and we all fall for it?"
Ye Ling smiled and asked, "Then do you think I'm real or fake now?"
The Third Star Pillar narrowed his eyes and smiled, "You seem real, but I still think you're fake. Whether you are the Eighth Star Pillar or not, I still think I need to test you further."
As the Third Star Pillar questioned him, the atmosphere in the hall instantly solidified. Even Bai Xuanyuan, who was watching from the side, felt the surrounding temperature drop significantly, and she shivered involuntarily.
Ye Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said to the Third Star Pillar, "So, you've come to pick a fight? Very well... I don't want to be colleagues with you anyway."
"There are too many Eighth Star Pillars; seven Star Pillars are better."
With that, Ye Ling raised his hand and a black spiritual blade silently struck towards Ancestor Moon Wheel, who was kneeling on the ground.
Seeing Ye Ling attack suddenly, the Third Star Pillar's eyes flashed with gloom. He directly reached out, grabbed the black spiritual blade, and crushed it!
Ancestor Moon Wheel, seeing that he was almost annihilated, was so terrified that he collapsed onto the ground, his face extremely pale.
The Third Star Pillar blocked the attack, staring at Ye Ling with a grim expression, and said in a deep voice, "Ye Ling, you are provoking me!"
Ye Ling chuckled, "So what if I'm provoking you? I am the Eighth Star Pillar appointed by the Lord of the Upper Realm, completely different from you old fellow. Even if I kill you, I don't think the Lord of the Upper Realm will say anything!"
Boom!
As Ye Ling's words fell, violent dark energy erupted from his body and surged towards the Third Star Pillar!
"What is this!" The Third Star Pillar's pupils contracted sharply as he felt Ye Ling's terrifying power, and his heart was filled with immense shock!
After he emerged from the chaotic battlefield, he had simulated Ye Ling's cultivation as a逍遥仙 (Xiaoyao Xian - Free and Unfettered Immortal).
Now, the strength he displayed was only that of a 逍遥仙, but the quality of the dark energy Ye Ling unleashed far surpassed his imagination!
How could Ye Ling be so strong?
The Third Star Pillar couldn't comprehend it!
Surging black mist filled the great hall, and several dark chains materialized out of thin air. They wrapped around the Third Star Pillar at an extremely fast speed, beginning to drain the power within him.
"What are you doing?" the Third Star Pillar roared, trying to break free from the chains binding him. However, the more he struggled, the tighter the dark chains wrapped around him, and the faster they drained his power!
"My power... Wh-what exactly is going on?"
The Third Star Pillar felt the dark energy within him constantly draining away, and endless fear welled up in his eyes.
He wanted to struggle further, but the dark chains binding him seemed to have a paralyzing effect, quickly rendering him powerless and extinguishing his last hope!
With just this one move from Ye Ling, the Third Star Pillar clearly recognized the gap between himself and Ye Ling!
Ye Ling emerged from the darkness, looking at the Third Star Pillar with a smile, and chuckled, "I just said that you old fellow is completely outdated. I should be the one ruling the seven Star Pillars."
"You old bone, just get eliminated obediently!"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, the Third Star Pillar's fear intensified, and he exclaimed in shock, "Ye Ling, do you really dare to kill me?"
"Aren't I killing you right now?" Ye Ling replied with a smile, raising his hand slightly and directly draining half of the dark energy from the Third Star Pillar's body.
A large amount of dark energy surged into Ye Ling's body, causing his aura to rise a few more notches!
Meanwhile, the Third Star Pillar's complexion grew paler and paler, and his entire aura plummeted to its lowest point.
This increase for Ye Ling and decrease for the Third Star Pillar made the gap between them even wider!
Beside them, Ancestor Moon Wheel, seeing that the Third Star Pillar was completely defenseless against Ye Ling, was so terrified that he peed himself again. He knelt on the ground once more, kowtowing frantically to Ye Ling, "City Lord, spare my life! City Lord, spare my life!"
He now understood that even the Third Star Pillar couldn't save his life!
Ye Ling was the only important figure who could control his destiny!
However, Ye Ling didn't have the time to bother with a minor figure like Ancestor Moon Wheel. He casually sealed Ancestor Moon Wheel's mouth with spiritual energy, then looked at the weak Third Star Pillar and chuckled, "Third Star Pillar, times have changed. The Lord of the Upper Realm has granted me supreme power. I am now the representative of the Lord of the Upper Realm in the mortal world. You have no reason to exist anymore."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, the Third Star Pillar became even more terrified and hurriedly said to Ye Ling, "Ye Ling... no, Eighth Star Pillar! I was wrong! I shouldn't have come to investigate you! We are both children of the Lord of the Upper Realm. For the sake of our colleagues, spare my life! We still have to work together in the future!"
Upon feeling Ye Ling's extremely dense dark energy, the Third Star Pillar had completely believed that Ye Ling, the chosen one, had been corrupted by the Lord of the Upper Realm and had truly become the Eighth Star Pillar!
And it was precisely because the Third Star Pillar believed Ye Ling had become the Eighth Star Pillar that he truly felt fear!
If Ye Ling had not been corrupted, then even if he were killed by Ye Ling, as long as the Lord of the Upper Realm continued to grant him origin power, he would be directly resurrected!
But now, with Ye Ling becoming the Eighth Star Pillar and possessing even greater power than the seven Star Pillars, it meant that he, as a seventh Star Pillar, was no longer useful to the Lord of the Upper Realm!
In such a situation, if he were killed by Ye Ling, it would be equivalent to being abandoned by the Lord of the Upper Realm, meaning true death!
Feeling the threat of death, the Third Star Pillar genuinely felt fear and completely caved in, beginning to beg Ye Ling for mercy.
Seeing the Third Star Pillar's pathetic state, the World-Destroying Spirit Fire chuckled at Ye Ling, "Look at the Third Star Pillar's cowardly state. You just put on a little act, and he's already scared stiff."
Ye Ling chuckled, "I just took half of his power. Anyone would be scared. Why don't you let me take half of your power and see?"
The World-Destroying Spirit Fire quickly replied, "No, no, no! I don't have a drop of dark energy in my body right now. If you want to take it, take it from someone else! I'm not your enemy!"
"But speaking of which, kid, you've made the Third Star Pillar so miserable. Are you really planning to finish him off here? There are still six more seventh Star Pillars behind him!"
Ye Ling said, "Of course, I have to spare his life. I've found that these so-called seven Star Pillars are just asking for a beating. Meticulously planned schemes don't work; instead, giving them a good beating solves the problem."
"Now that the Third Star Pillar is scared and acknowledges my identity, it won't be difficult to get the other six seventh Star Pillars to acknowledge me as well."
"Once I lure them all out, I'll take care of them all at once!"
Slap!
After speaking to the World-Destroying Spirit Fire, Ye Ling slapped the Third Star Pillar hard again and asked him, "Third Star Pillar, have you figured out the situation now?"
The Third Star Pillar felt the stinging pain on his cheek. Although he didn't understand why Ye Ling had suddenly slapped him, he didn't dare to retort. He quickly apologized to Ye Ling with a fawning smile, "I-I've figured it out. Now, among the eight Star Pillars, you are the boss. From now on, if you say to go east, I will absolutely not dare to go west!"
"Hmm, that's more like it."
Seeing that the Third Star Pillar was sufficiently subdued, Ye Ling nodded with satisfaction, removed the chains that bound him, and ordered, "Go and inform the other six to find a time to see me."
"Although I am the Eighth Star Pillar, my strength is no longer on the same level as yours. Moreover, I think the name Eighth Star Pillar sounds weak... so I think the order among our eight Star Pillars should be changed."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, the Third Star Pillar trembled all over, then bowed and scraped to Ye Ling, "Understood, understood..."