A Celestial Massacre

Chen Ping'an arrived at the teahouse in the royal city, where Liu Shuai and the others were already waiting.

"Have you all been waiting long?" Chen Ping'an asked apologetically.

Liu Shuai shook his head first, followed by Tian Shanshan and the others, claiming they hadn't waited long.

Only Pan Hang remained silent, as they had actually been waiting for a full hour. He had learned about the events following his blackout from Wang Dagui, including Chen Ping'an's heroic feats in the Beast Mountains. Pan Hang found it hard to accept that Chen Ping'an, whom he had once mocked as the weakest, was actually so formidable.

Tian Shanshan began discussing their plans. "We have less than a month until the tournament. During this time, we need to work on our teamwork and try to breakthrough our cultivation levels."

She looked at Chen Ping'an. "Especially you, Brother Long. If you can advance further, our chances of winning first place will increase significantly."

Chen Ping'an felt a bit bitter, knowing he couldn't breakthrough without completing his current task. However, he could still improve his combat abilities by learning stronger techniques and movement skills.

"I won't be able to breakthrough in such a short time, but I have ways to enhance my strength," Chen Ping'an replied.

Liu Shuai smirked, convinced that Chen Ping'an's cultivation level was fake and likely the result of some treasure.

Tian Shanshan frowned but accepted Chen Ping'an's response. She then brought up the matter of weapons for the tournament.

"Brother Long, your weapon looks nice, but its grade seems low. Can you get a higher-grade weapon?" she asked.

Liu Shuai rolled his eyes internally, knowing Chen Ping'an's weapon was actually a celestial artifact.

Chen Ping'an declined, feeling his current weapon was sufficient and preferring to invest in learning new techniques instead.

Suddenly, the entire royal city began to shake violently.

The unexpected tremor caught everyone off guard. Chen Ping'an thought it might be an earthquake.

The golden feather celestial artifact at Chen Ping'an's waist sensed the disturbance and scoffed, "I never expected that organization to appear in the mortal realm!"

A dim light flashed within the artifact.

High above the royal city, a red-robed middle-aged man stood with a sinister smile, holding a red bottle. He chanted in an arcane language, his overwhelming aura fully revealed.

Those with sufficient cultivation would have seen powerful waves of pressure emanating from the bottle, descending upon the city below. Once the pressure reached a certain level, it would crush everything in the city to dust, allowing the bottle to absorb all the blood.

However, just as the red-robed man was about to unleash his full power, a spectral figure appeared behind him.

Startled, the man turned to see a golden longsword - the renowned Golden Feather celestial artifact.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" a flippant voice emerged from the artifact.

Terrified by the artifact's overwhelming aura, the red-robed man stammered, "Y-you... how are you here?!"

The artifact replied, "I hate it when people don't answer the question and stutter. So, farewell!"

With a slight wave, the artifact effortlessly separated the man's head from his body, both parts plummeting towards the ground below.

After dispatching the cultivator, the Golden Feather artifact glanced in several directions but, unable to stray too far from its physical form, could not help more people. Its spectral form vanished.

Simultaneously, horrific scenes unfolded across the mortal realm. Eight cities were reduced to ruins, their inhabitants completely wiped out.

This catastrophe immediately caught the attention of the continent's top powers, who sent people to investigate. Most of the investigators perished, with only a few distant observers surviving to spread the news.

Word quickly spread that celestial beings had descended to massacre entire cities. Many powerful factions panicked, some even fleeing to the wilderness to avoid becoming targets.

Unaware of these events, Chen Ping'an and his group headed to the Beast Mountains to continue their training and improve their teamwork.

Meanwhile, in a remote location, the gloomy middle-aged man waited as his red-robed subordinates returned one by one. Only eight of the nine appeared.

"Where's the last one?" he frowned, scanning the group.

The others shook their heads, unsure of their missing comrade's fate. They tried to contact him through magical means but received no response.

Suspecting something had gone wrong, the leader ordered two of them to search for the missing member and collect more human blood along the way.

As the two vanished to carry out their orders, the others settled in to wait alongside their gloomy leader, hovering in the sky...