Chapter 11661 — How It Would End

But no matter how hard they found it to believe, the ironclad facts lay before them: the strength of Wei Baizhan and that pack of brutes was beyond all dispute.

With the Ten Great Sinners seated there, never mind the other factions—even their own Prince Qin's Manor was under crushing pressure.

Yet at this moment, the Prince of Qin's own gaze was still fixed on the ancestral shrine of Prince Qi's Manor.

Compared with the one-sided slaughter outside, the battle within the shrine was plainly the more decisive.

Above all, they wanted to seize this chance to see for themselves just how far Wei Zhao's strength had surged after a year apart.

Unfortunately, no one could see through the veil over Prince Qi's ancestral shrine—not even the Prince of Qin.

But these titans who truly stood at the apex of the Inner Royal Court could still, more or less, sense the storm raging within the shrine.

They could even faintly perceive the collision of two god-tier powers deep in the void.

After all, the onlooker sees the game most clearly.

It was only that they lacked Wei Zhao's cheat-like vantage; at best they had a vague conjecture, and nothing more.

The Prince of Qin asked suddenly, "How do you think it will end?"

Everyone was momentarily taken aback.

This question stumped not only them—likely no one in the entire Inner Royal Court could answer it.

However lopsided the fighting outside might be, what would decide today's final outcome was still the result within the shrine.

Elder Qin spoke up. "Even the god-tier power behind Prince Qi's Manor has been stirred. The present situation is probably beyond even Wei Zhao's control; all we can do is await the result of that god-tier collision."

Bai Shizu's face showed alarm. "A collision between god-tier beings?"

He had expected today's contest to reach a very high level, but he had truly never imagined it would climb to such a height—that even god-tier powers would be roused.

That Prince Qi's Manor had a god-tier power behind it, most likely the legendary banished immortal Li Zui, was something he had long known.

But since when did Wei Zhao have a god-tier power behind him too?

God-tier powers were such lofty existences that ordinarily no one dared even mention them lightly—surely they were not about to become common as dirt?

Still, since the god-tier power behind Prince Qi's Manor had already acted, if Wei Zhao had no god-tier power at his back, the matter would surely have been settled long ago.

That no clear result had emerged was itself a kind of proof.

After all, even if a god-tier power could not descend directly upon the Inner Royal Court, could not strike at Wei Zhao himself across the boundary, if such a being truly set its mind to dealing with him, there would be at least ten thousand ways—a matter of moments.

Qin Siren said thoughtfully, "If a god-tier power really does stand behind Wei Zhao, then the various changes in the Nation of Sin make sense."

The others nodded one after another.

Not only these few of Prince Qin's Manor—similar mistaken conclusions were playing out again and again among the decision-makers of every other faction.

After all, no one would leap to thoughts of the Great Ape King's existence without cause; conjectures of this kind were, in the eyes of all parties, the most reasonable possibility.

In truth, this too was an effect Wei Zhao had deliberately cultivated.

Jiang Xiaoshang was still hard at work playing his own ancestor.

Only by conjuring such an unfathomable god-tier power behind him could the many suspicious points about Wei Zhao be explained; otherwise, piecing together all the traces left in the past, someone might well have started thinking in the direction of an ancient-god cultivator.

That would be the real trouble.

Just as every faction hung in suspense, an unprecedented surge of energy suddenly exploded out of thin air, all but sweeping across the skies above the entire Inner Royal Court.

And the point of origin was none other than Prince Qi's ancestral shrine.

The wills of the various magnates had no time to withdraw; they were wiped out on the spot, and under the backlash, one and all coughed blood without cease.

Only after a long while did the various parties finally recover and hurriedly reassess the situation at Prince Qi's Manor.

What met their eyes gave them all yet another shock.

Prince Qi's ancestral shrine had been razed to the ground.

The Prince of Qin pronounced his verdict in a low, drawn-out voice: "Prince Qi's Manor is finished."

For powers such as their seven great manors, the ancestral shrine was of incomparable importance; once it fell, the whole game was lost.

Now Prince Qi's ancestral shrine had not merely fallen—it had been utterly leveled.

However many people might remain in Prince Qi's Manor, it amounted to being struck from the rolls outright: its line of succession severed at the root, with no possibility of recovery left.

Upon the ruins stood only four figures, sparsely spaced.

Wei Zhao, Zhang Tailing, Qi Zhuiyun, and the gaunt old man.

"The outcome is decided."

The various parties needed only to see Wei Zhao standing there unscathed to understand the result of today's battle.

Though they did not know exactly what had happened, Prince Qi was now gone, and of the several ancestral patriarchs who had been Prince Qi's Manor's final trump card, only this one apparently remained—there was no need to look further.

Indeed, the bewildered expressions on the gaunt old man and the others at this moment bore out the conjectures of the various parties.

Little did they know, the first words out of the gaunt old man's mouth as he swept a glance around were: "Where are those ape demons?"

It was not only him—Zhang Tailing and Qi Zhuiyun were equally at a loss.

Until a moment ago, they had still been hunted by sixty crimson ancient apes in a desperate, narrow escape, ready at any instant to follow the other two patriarchs of Prince Qi's Manor into the grave.

Yet in the blink of an eye, the giant face condensed from the Space Gate had burst apart out of nowhere, and when they came back to their senses, the scene before them had become what it was.

Wei Zhao likewise wore a look of astonishment.

But he was faking it.

No one knew better than he the source of that explosion just now.

That god-tier power—the suspected banished immortal Li Zui—had actually split the Great Ape King apart with a single sword strike, and the rippling effects, layer upon layer, had produced all of this.

Was the banished immortal Li Zui simply too strong, or was the Great Ape King of the legendary Seven Sages of Evil too weak?

Wei Zhao could not yet tell.

As for the sixty crimson ancient apes, he had taken advantage of the chaos to gather them into the New World.

For no other reason than that Jiang Xiaoshang had spoken up, saying these were the experimental material he had dreamed of, and that once he succeeded, he could give Wei Zhao a heaven-shattering surprise.

Strictly speaking, judging by the traits the crimson ancient apes had displayed, there was still a certain danger.

Especially since there were few people in the New World, making it hard to restrict their movements.

Still, on the other hand, given Wei Zhao's mastery over the New World, with just a little effort, sixty crimson ancient apes were nothing to speak of—even six hundred or six thousand more would be no trouble at all.

Not to mention that Jiang Xiaoshang himself was keeping watch.

The risk was controllable; as for what returns this investment might ultimately yield, that would depend on Jiang Xiaoshang's ability.

At the scene of Prince Qi's Manor.

Wei Baizhan and the others walked over together, lining up in a row behind Wei Zhao.