The statues within the hall began to tremble.

Their surfaces cracked, causing stone chips to drop to the ground with a clink.

Yet it was unlike the earlier scene, when the cultivators inside were awakened; this time, things were different.

These beings had no chance to appear in the outside world.

A moment later, the entirety of the statues in the hall suddenly exploded, both the stone and the humans inside.

A sea of stone dust filled the entire room.

Under the influence of a giant whirlpool, it began flowing toward the only remaining statue.

It occupied the hall’s central position, having towered above them all the entire time.

Under Alpha’s incredulous gaze, the essence of these statues poured into its body.

A faint white sheen formed.

Then, it began to shake violently too.

Just like the statues before it, large chunks of stone slammed onto the ground, while countless fractures formed on its surface.

The noise it made far surpassed that of the earlier awakenings.

The entire hall shook as though an earthquake was taking place, with the aftermath swiftly spreading to the rest of the golden palace.

Fortunately, there was no cultivator remaining within this building.

No one seemed to have noticed the sudden disturbance and rushed to check what was going on.

This, however, was far from being enough to make Alpha truly happy.

She couldn’t care less whether someone discovered her.

After all, the changes of the statue were already enough to shake her to the core.

Her consciousness quickly spread out, trying to awaken Liora and inform her of what was taking place.

Unfortunately, her calls received no response.

She could only watch helplessly as the statue shed layer after layer of stone, like breaking the cocoon that had kept it hidden.

Moments later, the stone encasing it vanished completely.

The person inside it was revealed in the outside world.

It was a man.

With short black hair and dark pupils, he looked ordinary yet majestic at the same time.

Having absorbed the essence that the statues had accumulated all this while, his aura was quite powerful.

At least Rank 11.

Yet, it took him several seconds to open his eyes.

It was as though something was trying to prevent him from waking up.

In the end, though, his eyes opened.

An overwhelming momentum spread from his body.

His strength was shocking, though not entirely unexpected.

What shocked Alpha the most was the unmistakable sense of majesty emanating from him.

It could not be compared to any other creature she had seen in the past.

It was as though this man was a natural ruler.

The awakened cultivator seemed to have sensed Alpha’s gaze.

As his form shrank until he transformed into an ordinary human, he slowly raised his head to look at her.

A chill ran down Alpha’s spine as their eyes clashed through the air.

She instinctively wanted to retreat.

However, recalling how Liora stood behind her, still unconscious and oblivious to what was taking place, she gritted her teeth and persevered.

Suppressing her own instincts that were screaming for her to flee, she forced herself to stand her ground.

Her mind connected with the Mechanical beings she had previously assimilated, intending to summon them all.

She was somewhat confident. As long as she assimilated all her Mechanical army, she should be able to hold her opponent back.

... At least, that was what she said to convince herself.

Yet much to Alpha’s surprise, the man didn’t look at her for long, much less attack her.

After his gaze briefly swept past her and settled on Liora for several seconds, his figure started to blur.

Before Alpha could react, he had disappeared, as though erased from existence by an invisible hand.

However, Alpha knew very well that was not the case.

Not only because such a person could not possibly die so easily, but also because of another reason.

She tried to look out of the golden palace.

There, sensed an overwhelming aura emerge, accompanied by an indescribable sense of majesty.

Then, screams reached her ears.

Blood rained from the sky, seeping through the palace’s walls and reaching the hall.

Watching this scene unfold and feeling some drops of blood land on her cheeks, Alpha found it difficult to remain calm.

--

Time went back for several seconds.

Not long after the awakened man’s figure disappeared from the golden palace, he had appeared on the battlefield outside.

At first, no one was able to detect his presence.

It was as though the man had integrated into the surrounding world and thus could not be sensed.

But soon, the consequences of his arrival became clear.

Staring at the two warring parties, the man’s expression remained cold. His black pupils were indifferent, devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

Without any hesitation or scruple, he calmly stretched his hand and struck downward, with his palm facing the earth.

An unknown energy emerged from his body.

It was neither Cosmic Energy nor pure physical strength.

Liora had suspected in the past that cultivators employed a different type of energy. Her guess had now been confirmed.

Although the man used what was a long-lost type of energy, his strength remained terrifying.

Under his control, a giant palm condensed in the air, woven from exactly that energy.

Then, it slammed down, aiming toward the very center of the battlefield, where the largest number of Awakeners were gathered.

By the time the others sensed that something was wrong, it was already too late.

A thunderous boom echoed, followed by dozens of explosions.

The man’s attack was indiscriminate.

Not only did it target the humans, the Zerg, and the demons, but also the Mechanical beings as well.

Even the cultivators were not spared.

In a single exchange, dozens of Emperors perished.

The others fared no better.

"This power...", the War God’s eyes shrank as he spat a mouthful of blood, attempting to regulate the raging force inside his body.

His gaze was fixed on the dispersing hand, and his face flashed with terror.

He traced the palm back to its origin.

As he raised his head, his cognition, which had previously been altered, seemed to have turned back to normal.

He was now capable of seeing the man.

Yet this brought him little joy.

Instead, great terror filled his eyes.