After crossing more than two million kilometers, Chen Chu and his group finally returned to the Human Federation's temporary base. It floated in mid-air, composed of several suspended orbital battleships, dozens of golden warships, and three sky-based colossal beasts from the Alliance of Gods encircling the fleet.

As the awe-inspiring auras and towering figures returned, the entire human base erupted into celebration. Seeing those radiant figures descending from the sky, countless cultivators couldn't contain their excitement and began shouting.

"The Councilors and the others are back!"

"No one is missing. Even the Heavenly Feathered divine kings are here. We've won, and it's a crushing victory!"

"Long live the Federation!"

"For the alliance...!"

Those already stationed at the base—Heavenly King Gabriel, Heavenly King Balong, along with two chief gods from the Alliance of Gods and five chief gods from the Heavenly Feathered Race—emerged to welcome the returning victors. The rest were still engaged in battle elsewhere.

In the midst of dazzling golden radiance, Divine King Tarodell slowly emerged. In that instant, a majestic and transcendent aura swept across heaven and earth. Behind Tarodell hovered the massive head of a demon god. It was the very one he had personally suppressed, though it had already been extinguished.

Tarodell's voice rumbled low and deep. "Everyone, you've returned. How is the situation on your side?"

Qian Tian responded solemnly, "In the Greeta Battle Demon Empire, one of the high priests of the Ancestral Court had stayed behind and completed the land's demonization. Compared to Deorus, who had been distracted by time power and neglected the empires' territories, Belitir's behavior was far more in line with the standards of a demon god. Still, even though we didn't crush the empires' rear lines, this battle has yielded far greater results than we expected."

While Qian Tian spoke with Tarodell, Chen Chu narrowed his eyes slightly as he gazed at the figure gleaming like golden light, and the demon god's severed head behind him. This divine king of the Alliance of Gods had always been shrouded in mystery. He was immensely powerful, yet his attitude left Chen Chu somewhat unsure how to gauge him.

In this war, Tarodell had suppressed and killed a beginning-stage demon god, an accomplishment second only to Chen Chu, who had slain three demon gods. However, Tarodell's demeanor during the battle felt somewhat lackadaisical, as if his participation had been largely symbolic from the start.

This was in stark contrast to the Heavenly Feathered divine kings, who had now bound their fate completely to the human race, fighting with fearless intensity and even risking self-destruction by detonating their origin to clash head-on with demon gods.

That said, Federation records had clearly noted that this divine king had only a standard alliance relationship with humanity. As a divine king who had lived for who knows how many years, it was only natural for Tarodell to have his own goals and considerations. As long as he stood on the same side as humanity in the grand scheme, that was enough. After all, he was already a being standing at the peak of the ancient titan level.

Tarodell shifted the topic and looked toward the black-haired youth standing with hands clasped behind his back. "Speaking of accomplishments, the performance of your clan's Divine Might Heavenly King in this battle left us all astonished. To slay four demon gods in a single war... It would be no exaggeration to say that the victory was nearly all thanks to you."

Chen Chu smiled faintly. "You overpraise me. The one who slew those demon gods was Thunder Fiery Ao Tian. It had nothing to do with me. I was merely the summoning medium. Besides, the cost of summoning Ao Tian is far too great. I can only maintain its descent for a few minutes before complete exhaustion sets in."

"Only a few minutes? What a pity." Tarodell looked visibly regretful, as if mourning the fact that Chen Chu could only maintain that invincible state for such a short time.

To that, Chen Chu simply responded with a soft chuckle. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the group agreed to reconvene for a meeting in five days' time, and then each went into seclusion to recover.

Although it had seemed as though only Chen Chu had erupted in that battle, Qian Tian and the others had also expended tremendous energy. When the demon gods began burning their origin to fight desperately, they had no choice but to do the same.

It was only because the demon gods retreated decisively that Qian Tian and the others failed to land a finishing blow. Otherwise, it was likely not one of those demon gods would have escaped.

Time slipped by unnoticed. In the days that followed, many kings and heavenly kings returned one after another, along with battalions from the three major allied races. At the same time, behind the forbidden zone, more transport fighters and flying colossal beasts soared across the skies in vast waves, delivering massive amounts of personnel and supplies.

Five days later, above the mist-shrouded azure sky, a hundred stone thrones, each towering a kilometer high, stood like silent guardians. Upon them sat ninety-seven mythical-level will phantoms.

In front of the ninety-plus kings, arranged in a ring on both flanks, stood twenty thrones that rose three kilometers tall. Seated on them were heavenly kings of the human race such as Gabriel and Balong, as well as chief gods of the Heavenly Feathered Race.

In addition, two chief gods from the Alliance of Gods were present as well.

Ahead of the thrones of the chief-god-level powerhouses stood two even more imposing thrones, five kilometers tall. Seated on them were the Lord of Holy Light and the young man with a wildly unrestrained expression.

All the heavenly kings and kings had their gazes fixed on the very front. There, nine colossal thrones, each soaring ten thousand meters high, stood in solemn silence.

Upon them sat the three supreme powerhouses of the human race, three divine kings of the Heavenly Feathered Race, Divine King Tarodell of the Alliance of Gods, Heavenly King Zhenwu, and lastly, Chen Chu.

Among the nine, Chen Chu had the lowest cultivation realm—merely at the middle stage of the heavenly king level. Yet when everyone's gaze landed on this black-haired youth, they were filled with astonishment, admiration, and profound respect. After this battle, no one dared to underestimate this young man who was still one month away from his eighteenth birthday.

From the central seat, Qian Tian slowly said, "Today marks the first kings' council of the alliance. Our primary agenda is to discuss how we will respond to the potential counterattack from the Purgatory empires. Before that, let us first summarize the losses and gains from this battle."

Qian Tian turned his gaze toward a figure shrouded in white radiance. "Heavenly King Gabriel, I'll trouble you to begin."

Gabriel, who oversaw logistics and military coordination, gave a slight nod. "No trouble at all, Councilor. As of two days ago, all legion-level battles and above within the forbidden zone have concluded. Currently, there are still more than ten million demons and demonized aliens scattered throughout the deeper regions of the forbidden zone in small squads. Clearing them will require some time. This battle lasted nine days. Confirmed kills include four demon gods, seven great demon kings, twenty-nine demon kings, and over 1.3 billion elite troops from the enemy side.

"The remaining demon kings and great demon kings escaped through the Void Demonic Eye arrays and reversed blood-sacrifice arrays scattered across their various strongholds. They tore open space to flee, and we were unable to pursue. On our side, one human king and two gods of the Heavenly Feathered Race fell during the Purgatory demon kings' counteroffensive. Fifteen others suffered serious injuries. Two heavenly kings and six chief gods were also gravely wounded. They will require extensive time to recover. However, we also captured a substantial quantity of spatial equipment. Due to time constraints, these spatial items have not yet been fully inventoried..."

For over ten minutes, Gabriel laid out the detailed report point by point, allowing all of the gathered kings to gain a more tangible sense of how brutal the war had been. Even with the alliance holding the upper hand in nearly all aspects, three mythical-level powerhouses had still fallen, and the transcendent legions below them had also suffered significant losses during the Purgatory forces' frenzied counterattack. Still, compared to the massive gains, those losses were considered acceptable.

Qian Tian spoke again, "Now, there are three matters before us. First, we must purge the demon gods' principle power that now permeates this world, and fully cleanse the forbidden zone. This will help eliminate any traps or contingencies Deorus and the others may have left behind. At the same time, we will jointly lay down stronger principles at the entrance to the forbidden zone to prevent demon-god-level infiltrations. We will also station will projections at key points to serve as early warnings.

"Second, we will center our efforts around the Celestial King and construct the celestial computation defense system known as 'God.' We will build numerous bases across two million kilometers vertically and over one million horizontally within the forbidden zone. This includes deployment of celestial satellite systems, anti-matter weapons, and other critical nodes, in preparation for our final war against the Purgatory Clan. Third, we will mobilize all available resources across our allied races to support Chen Chu's cultivation, and help him break through to the supreme level as soon as possible."

As soon as Qian Tian finished, many powerhouses, including several Heavenly Feathered chief gods, showed visible confusion. The first point was clear and understandable. What puzzled them was the second item: the celestial computation "God" defense system. What exactly was that supposed to be? In contrast, the third point sparked no objection at all.

Given the potential Chen Chu had demonstrated, his combat power, and the fact that he had killed three demon gods single-handedly, any level of support seemed more than justified.

That said, becoming a supreme powerhouse wasn't something that could be achieved by resources alone. It still required innate talent and exceptional comprehension. The so-called "third item" was more of a political declaration from the alliance than anything else.

The meeting continued for another half day, during which the second point was explained in detail. By the time the council adjourned, Chen Chu had already received his first resource: a pseudo-world-level weapon, taken from the great demon king who had been slain by Yan Kuang and his team.

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