C701 Our King!
Yu Yuan gazed upon the unfolding anomaly in Afnetalos, observing the Divine Bird as it gradually contracted and lost its vibrant essence.
The Divine Bird, serving as the artifact soul of the Phoenix Skybreak Array, had used its formidable energy to craft a body as tangible as any physical form. It was akin to a cultivator at the Solar Spirit level, who would employ pure spiritual energy to forge a Solar Spirit Body.
Yet, with Chen Liangquan's declaration, the immense energy that had shaped the Divine Bird's form surged back into the city, leaving nothing but the demon soul adrift in the heavens. The force it could now muster was a mere shadow of its former self, diminished by more than tenfold.
Green Willow and the other archdemons no longer regarded it with any significance.
Yu Yuan felt a swirl of complex emotions as he witnessed these new developments. He had not anticipated that Boulderdawn, once vanished into the extraterrestrial Star River, would return to this realm in this era. Had he reached the Solar Spirit or Unbound level a bit later, or had he taken up the mantle of the Order of Healing once more, he might have been a key player in the ensuing turmoil.
Instead, he stood as a mere observer, watching from a distance.
With his current level of cultivation and status, even wielding the Crucible of Evil, he was still inconsequential in the eyes of figures like Green Willow, Zu Ann, and Tan Junshan.
This inability to influence outcomes, to merely spectate without delivering the decisive blow, left him feeling discontented.
Whoosh! The serene azure light screen he had raised began to subtly transform. Like an inverted bowl of ocean, it had once shrouded all of Afnetalos. But now, influenced by Liangquan's words, the once-luminous azure screen thinned out, seemingly ready to be pierced through at the slightest touch.
"The Phoenix Skybreak Array is likely to fail!"
"Chen Liangquan has forsaken the Chen family and the Everlands!"
The remaining cultivators within the city, their eyes wide with trepidation, watched as the azure light screen morphed, their screams echoing with fear and uncertainty.
It was common knowledge that the Ashen Shadowmist had not engulfed the city thanks to the protective barrier of the azure light screen, the very essence of the Phoenix Skybreak Array.
If the protective light screen were to fade, the rune circle shielding Afnetalos would cease to exist, leaving the entire city defenseless. The Sky Fiend, archdemons, and Terra Fiends from outside could easily breach the city's defenses.
The Ashen Shadowmist could then seep back in unimpeded, engulfing the city whole.
Would anyone survive such an event?
"Liangquan, did you ask me to abdicate? Is it you who wishes to become the new emperor of the empire?"
The Songbird Queen's voice suddenly emanated from the still-hovering Divine Bird.
All eyes turned to see another Songbird Queen standing by the Divine Bird's demon soul, clad in a robe embroidered with the songbird motif, yet without a silver crown.
Her features remained obscured by a light mist, her true face hidden.
"Your Majesty, my assuming the role of king sends a message," Chen Liangquan declared from beneath the earth, his tone neither servile nor overbearing. "A mixed-blood has never before stepped forward to claim the throne. My coronation would herald a new era for the Everlands."
"Mixed-blood?"
"Chen Liangquan, a lowly mixed-blood?"
"How could the Chen family tolerate his existence?"
Chen Liangquan's revelation sent shockwaves through Afnetalos.
No one had anticipated that Chen Liangquan, once favored by the three upper sects, was not of pure human lineage but born of mixed Otherkin heritage.
From within the depths of the Ashen Shadowmist, individuals with deep blue eyes, the first of the mixed-bloods, began to emerge.
Then came others, some with skin partially turned to stone, and yet others with golden wings, all stepping out from the Ashen Shadowmist.
These were the so-called mixed-blood outcasts that people spoke of!
For centuries, they had lived like rats, hidden in the shadows of the Everlands, never daring to reveal themselves.
Their lineage was tainted, for one of their ancestors belonged to the Otherkin from beyond the stars!
To the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, Shadow's Keep, and the elders and disciples of various sects, these mixed-bloods were a latent threat to their world, marked for persecution should they ever step into the light.
Many mixed-blood individuals like them were silently slain.
This was because some local cultivators, archdemons, and Otherkin who shared blood ties with them had been killed by Otherkin, prompting the survivors to retaliate against the mixed-bloods.
The victims might have spent their entire lives without ever leaving the Everlands or seeing the origins of their lineage.
Their deaths were unjust.
In that moment, spurred by the curses and slurs against the mixed-bloods, they emerged one after another from the depths of the Ashen Shadowmist to stand proudly before everyone.
They shared a common leader in this world—Chen Liangquan.
Unbeknownst to many, Chen Liangquan of the Chen family from the Songbird Empire had traversed the mountains and lakes of the Everlands, visiting them, persuading them, and securing their allegiance.
With his abilities and demeanor, Chen Liangquan had won over all the Otherkin.
He had promised them a new world where they could live openly and freely within the Everlands.
It was this promise that earned their trust in Chen Liangquan, and they were willing to serve him.
Whoosh!
Chen Liangquan suddenly appeared in the north of Afnetalos, in the area where Chen Langzhi had previously led Yu Yuan underground.
Upon his arrival, Chen Liangquan shone brilliantly, his entire being like a large, translucent diamond.
Blinding rays of light burst forth from his hands, neck, and all his exposed skin, so intense that it was difficult to keep one's eyes open.
"We are the human descendants of the Dawnbringers!"
The crowd exclaimed in shock.
"Our king!"
The Otherkin who had stepped forward shouted with reverence as Chen Liangquan revealed his features.
Their gazes towards Chen Liangquan were filled with admiration and respect.
The blinding light suddenly withdrew, and Chen Liangquan resumed his original appearance. With a gentle smile, he swiftly moved to Zu Ann's side and bowed to the Songbird Queen, adorned with a shining silver crown. "Your Majesty, please allow me to continue leading the Chen family and the renewed Songbird Empire. Rest assured, with me at the helm, both the Chen family and the empire will thrive even more."
"When did you become so powerful?" the Songbird Queen asked in amazement.
Chen Liangquan was clearly at the level of a Lunar Spirit, yet both Zu Ann and the Songbird Queen, sensing the formidable energy within him, could not believe he was merely an ordinary Lunar Spirit Realm warrior.
Chen Liangquan, an Otherkin representative of the Dawnbringers, unleashed a wave of power so terrifying it sent shivers through the ranks of the mighty.
The Songbird Queen herself was inwardly alarmed by the surge of this energy tide.
She was not alone; even Spirit Walk experts like Weixian, within the city of Afnetalos, felt an oppressive sense of suffocation merely by gazing upon Chen Liangquan from miles away.
Such a sensation was reserved for encounters with the most formidable of Otherkin adversaries.
Nearby, Yu Yuan, wielding the Crucible of Evil, deeply sensed through the vitality of the little world and the Altar of Rebirth the unmasked presence of Chen Liangquan, whose body radiated light. Concealed within him was a vitality that churned with the force of a volcanic eruption, causing Yu Yuan's heart to race.
This vitality was every bit as formidable as that of Green Willow, the ninth level archdemon.
"No wonder he could so effortlessly take the Lunar Spirit of the Silvermoon Queen at Mid-lake Island in the Forgotten Ruins. Why did Chen Liangquan go to such lengths to take Lee Yupan? If he is the leader of the Everlands, then... could the queen of the Silvermoon Empire also be a hybrid?"
"Could he be a hybrid of the Moonfiend and the Lee family? Only then would the Moonfiend Race throw their full support behind the Lee family's rise to power!"
"Lee Yupan!"
Standing at a distance, Yu Yuan's mind was awash with revelations.
The emergence of Chen Liangquan and his declarations had illuminated many of Yu Yuan's uncertainties.
Not long before, witnessing Chen Liangquan skinning an eighth level archdemon beneath Afnetalos had seemed beyond belief.
Now, perceiving the seismic vitality within Chen Liangquan, Yu Yuan realized that for Chen Liangquan, slaying even an eighth level archdemon was within the realm of possibility.
It was no surprise, then, that Chen Liangquan had taken the lead in the construction of the latter part of the city.
Likewise, his boldness in confronting the Songbird Queen stemmed from possessing power that rivaled hers. His audacity was underpinned by a confidence born of formidable strength.
The Otherkin within the Everlands had pledged allegiance to a mysterious force, placing them on equal footing with Zu Ann. This was a testament to Chen Liangquan's formidable power.
"In His Majesty's absence from the Everlands, I have been quietly amassing strength," Chen Liangquan said with a warm and courteous smile. "I am well aware of His Majesty's valor and authority. Please trust in me. I will ensure the well-being of the Chen family and the future Songbird Empire, and I will not let you down."
"The times have changed. Please reconsider your actions," Zu Ann cautioned.
Eyes from all over Afnetalos and from within the Ashen Shadowmist were fixed on the two revealed Songbird Queens, filled with trepidation as they awaited the sovereign's verdict.
The wait was brief. The empress, who had single-handedly founded the Songbird Empire in Aetherius, gave a slight nod and declared, "I shall wander afar for a time. Upon my return, I expect the Songbird Empire and the Chen family to remain as dominant as you've promised."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Chen Liangquan exclaimed.
At her pronouncement, the faces of the cultivators from the prominent sects within Afnetalos turned pale.
