The crowd around was shocked beyond measure.
To tear a Nine-star Body Saint in half by brute force.
How immense the strength must be to achieve that.
Such a method was utterly chilling.
However, the disciples of the Artifact Refining Sect felt a great sense of relief.
Ye Kuang had injured their Great Elder and killed the Second Elder.
Now, Xu Nian had slain him with such domineering methods, creating an extremely satisfying resolution.
The previously surrendering Third Elder and a large group of Artifact Refining Sect disciples were also dumbstruck.
Especially the Third Elder.
He had claimed before that even if Xu Nian returned, he might not be effective.
But now, Xu Nian stood before them with such a domineering presence.
It was a blatant slap in the face for him.
Of course, the stronger Xu Nian was, the more hope they had for survival.
But when they thought of the several Battle Emperor Level powerhouses on the massive ship, they felt disheartened again.
Even if Xu Nian was strong, how could he withstand the attack of so many powerful beings?
At that moment, the elder from the Ye Family, a Battle Emperor, had gotten up from the ground.
His appearance was somewhat disheveled, but he had not sustained serious injuries.
However, Xu Nian's strength made him start to feel fear.
"Xu Nian, I advise you to surrender," said the Ye Family's Battle Emperor disdainfully. "Even if you are stronger than me, what does it matter? There are four Battle Emperor experts on the ship, all stronger than I, and with the presence of the great Lord Xing Tu, a Nine-star War Emperor, do you think you can escape today?"
To him, it seemed impossible for Xu Nian to defeat Xing Tu.
Ultimately, he would undeniably meet his death.
"Did I say I was going to flee? It seems you're the ones who should be running!" retorted Xu Nian with scorn.
A surge of anger filled the eyes of the Ye Family's Battle Emperor.
He then sneered again: "Xu Nian, you're facing death and still dare to boast? You're not seeing that on the ship there are still dozens of Battle Saints and over a hundred Battle Kings. Although I can't defeat you, I can certainly restrain you, and they can easily annihilate your Artifact Refining Sect."
"Oh? A dozen Battle Saints, and more than a hundred Battle Kings?" Xu Nian smirked.
"How about it? Are you scared? No matter how strong you are, with just you alone, do you think you can protect everyone? Xu Nian, you must realize sometimes having more people is an advantage," said the Ye Family's Battle Emperor with a light laugh.
He thought Xu Nian's smile was merely an act of bravado, feeling even more disdain.
Since Xu Nian could return for the Artifact Refining Sect, he would certainly care about the life and death of its disciples.
If all of the people in the Artifact Refining Sect were killed,
Xu Nian would undoubtedly be in agony.
Even if he were a genius, his mind would collapse.
The disciples of the Artifact Refining Sect also furrowed their brows.
Clearly, they thought what the Ye Family's Battle Emperor said made sense.
No matter how powerful Xu Nian was, he was still just one person.
With so many Battle Saints and Battle Kings, they could indeed easily annihilate them in a short period of time.
And with even one of those five being able to restrain Xu Nian,
The Artifact Refining Sect would inevitably face annihilation.
The Battle Saints and Battle Kings on the ship chuckled lightly.
Each of them might not be strong individually, but their combined strength was not to be underestimated.
If they attacked all at once, they could even threaten a Battle Emperor Level powerhouse.
"Ha ha, you're right, having more people is indeed an advantage, it's just too bad, it's clear that we have many more people than you," said Xu Nian, laughing.
"Ha ha, what a joke, do you really think your group of Artifact Refining Sect disciples can be of any help?" laughed the Ye Family's Battle Emperor, his eyes filled with mockery.
He thought Xu Nian was referring to the more than three thousand disciples of the Artifact Refining Sect as the greater number.
However, Xu Nian just smiled and pointed to the horizon, saying, "I think you're mistaken, the greater number I'm referring to isn't the Artifact Refining Sect disciples, but them."
The Ye Family's Battle Emperor's eyebrows furrowed as he followed the direction pointed out by Xu Nian.
The disciples of the Artifact Refining Sect also curiously looked toward the direction Xu Nian was pointing.
Had he not looked, he would have been fine, but a single glance left him absolutely stunned.
He saw rows of dark shadows arranged neatly in the distance, sweeping towards this side.
Each of them exuded an immensely powerful aura.
The weakest among them possessed the cultivation of a Demon King.
And their number, astonishingly, nearly reached a thousand.
"So many... are all these experts of Battle King Level?"
"My God, am I seeing things? So many Demon Kings and Demon Saints?"
"You're not mistaken because I see it too. All these are strong men above the level of Demon King; I've never seen such an assembly of powers above Marquis Level flying together."
The disciples of the Artifact Refining Sect stood aghast with their mouths agape, too shocked to utter a word.
The smile on Ye Family's Battle Emperor's face also froze in an instant.
Even Xing Tu's expression atop the giant ship changed.
Such a vast army of Demon King Level, not even the Imperial Family could muster.
Six hundred-plus Marquis Level, seventy at Holy Realm.
The leaders were eight Emperor-level strong men.
Such terrifying power, almost undoubtably several times larger than that on their giant ship.
"This… how could these Devil Cultivators be here?" A Battlefield Emperor from the Fang Family couldn't help but speak out, his eyes also revealing surprise.
Clearly, they found it hard to believe that so many strong men had come for Xu Nian.
However, the next moment shook them to the core.
"Greetings, Hall Master!"
A resounding boom echoed.
A thousand strong men in the sky kneeled in unison, all facing Xu Nian.
Their expressions were filled with utmost respect.
Their voices, clear and loud as rolling thunder, lingered on.
"Hall… Hall Master? They're kneeling towards… the Sect Master?" The Great Elder of the Artifact Refining Sect was momentarily bewildered.
Clearly, he found it hard to believe.
"Yes, they truly are kneeling to the Great Elder!" Yann Hong couldn't help but respond in shock.
This scene before their eyes was too staggering.
It had been merely a little over two years since they last saw each other.
Xu Nian had broken through to Battle Emperor, which was one thing.
But to have unified such a formidable force.
Such immense power, with a mere stamp of his foot, could shake the entire empire.
At this moment, the expression of Ye Family's Battle Emperor looked as terrible as a tripe.
His eyes filled with intense shock as he stared at Xu Nian.
Now they finally understood.
Why the Emperor had exerted such immense forces to subjugate Xu Nian.
Should Xu Nian be allowed to continue growing, in a few more years, no one in the empire would be able to stop him!
Yet at that moment, Xu Nian turned to look at Ye Family's Battle Emperor.
He gave a slight smile and said, "Your first statement was correct, but your latter was wrong. With your strength, you couldn't even withstand a single breath from me!"
With that, Xu Nian casually struck out with a hand-slash.
The Sword Light instantly swept across the sky.
Ye Family's Battle Emperor couldn't even react before he was bisected by Xu Nian's slash.
All around, silence reigned.
Only after a long while did the sounds of the Artifact Refining Sect disciples swallowing nervously break through.
A Three-star Battle Emperor, instantly slain!