At this moment, a large group of powerful figures, almost all elderly men, began to arrive in the underground palace. Among them were several cultivators at the Mahayana stage and dozens at the Tribulation stage. Zhou Hong guessed that these must be the elders from the main camp.
"Greetings, esteemed elders," Supervisor Xiao said, quickly stepping forward to pay his respects upon seeing them.
Zhou Hong also stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Hmph! You are Zhou Hong?" At this point, one of the strongest Mahayana stage cultivators let out a cold snort towards Zhou Hong.
"Reporting to elder, I am Zhou Hong."
"You scoundrel Zhou Hong, we originally held great expectations for you, hearing of your immense talent. Yet, to think you would turn out to be such a selfish wretch!" The cultivator berated Zhou Hong fiercely.
"Esteemed elder, I am deeply sorry for being away for over half a year. Please believe me, I will absolutely make amends for my mistake...!" Zhou Hong said.
"There's no need," the elder replied coldly.
"What do you mean, 'no need'?" Zhou Hong frowned.
"It means we will impose the severest punishment upon you, as a deterrent to others."
Zhou Hong stopped talking and said with a cold smile, "Elder, at least let me explain what I've been doing for the past half year."
"Is there still a need for that? You showed no regard for everyone's lives, only caring about your own cultivation outside. You severely disregarded the lives of others. Such behavior can only be rectified by sending you on your way, to warn future generations."
After the old man finished speaking, a killing intent flashed from his body, as if he had made up his mind to eliminate Zhou Hong.
"Zhou Hong, we hope you won't blame us. This is your own doing. You have committed such a grave mistake; if we let you continue to exist, how can we warn future generations? May you rest in peace," another elder said, offering a word of consolation to Zhou Hong.
"Hahaha!" Zhou Hong burst into disdainful laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" everyone looked at Zhou Hong with confusion.
"You wish to kill me? You haven't even considered if you have the ability," Zhou Hong snorted coldly.
Seeing Zhou Hong's tone, everyone became even more perplexed.
"Zhou Hong, I'd really like to know what gives you the confidence to speak like this in front of so many elders," the strongest Mahayana stage old man asked.
"Simply because I can annihilate all of you in an instant," Zhou Hong roared.
Everyone's eyes widened, seemingly unable to comprehend Zhou Hong's words.
Zhou Hong wasted no more time with them. "You don't believe me, do you? Very well, follow me outside the cave."
"Why do we need to go outside the cave?" one of the elders asked.
"Because I don't want to damage the underground palace. You'll understand once we go out," Zhou Hong said, then turned and walked outwards.
One of the men spoke, "Could he be looking for an opportunity to escape?"
"Hmph, he wouldn't dare try that," the strongest Mahayana stage old man snorted angrily and followed Zhou Hong outside, seemingly curious to see what Zhou Hong was planning.
Soon, the group arrived outside the cave.
Once outside, Zhou Hong did not try to escape. He stopped a few meters away from the cave entrance. Those who had suspected him of finding an excuse to flee were silenced.
"Zhou Hong, what exactly do you intend to do?"
"Everyone, watch carefully," Zhou Hong said, no longer holding back. He instantly summoned a giant from his sub-world, a giant at the late Divine Transformation stage.
"Ah, late Divine Transformation stage!" Everyone's faces turned pale with fear at the appearance of the giant. Seeing that the giant had reached the late Divine Transformation stage, they were so terrified they nearly collapsed. Even the strongest Mahayana stage cultivators almost turned to flee.
"Don't run, anyone who runs dies," Zhou Hong roared.
Hearing Zhou Hong's shout, everyone snapped back to reality. They were puzzled why Zhou Hong was not afraid. Moreover, they noticed the late Divine Transformation stage giant standing still, its eyes vacant.
So, everyone stopped and looked up at the giant. Indeed, the giant remained motionless, its eyes appearing vacant.
"Kneel," Zhou Hong commanded the giant.
The next second, to everyone's utter astonishment, the giant obediently knelt down.
"Bark like a dog," Zhou Hong commanded again.
"Woof woof woof!" The giant then barked like a dog.
Completely stunned!
Everyone rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were witnessing.
Zhou Hong commanded again, "Help me capture this person," Zhou Hong pointed at the strongest Mahayana stage old man.
The Mahayana stage old man's face turned pale, and he tried to escape. However, in the next instant, he was lifted by the giant's two fingers, as if a slight squeeze would crush him.
Seeing their strongest elder from the main camp so easily captured, everyone trembled in fear.
Zhou Hong jumped onto the giant's palm and looked at the elder being held by two fingers, saying with a cold smile, "You wanted to kill me as a deterrent, didn't you?"
"Zhou Hong, don't, don't kill me. Let's talk this through," the elder pleaded with Zhou Hong, fear evident in his voice.
"You old geezer, I originally wanted to explain what I was doing for the past half year, but you wouldn't even listen. Do you know that in the past half year, I captured a hundred thousand giants? I can release all these hundred thousand giants in the blink of an eye."
The Mahayana stage elder clearly did not believe him; it was too outrageous. He thought Zhou Hong was trying to scare him, although he couldn't explain how Zhou Hong had conjured a giant from nowhere.
Seeing that no one believed him, Zhou Hong seemed determined to open their eyes today.
"Fine, I will let all of you witness, and see what the greatest genius in the history of the Tai Gu Academy looks like."
Zhou Hong said this and, as if in a fit of pique, instantly released all one hundred thousand giants from his sub-world in front of everyone. The release was so rapid it was like a blink of an eye, as if they had appeared out of nowhere. With the limited understanding of these Earthlings, they had no idea how Zhou Hong achieved this, as they had never even heard of a sub-world.
At this moment, everyone was dumbfounded, their hearts pounding in fear. Especially the few Mahayana stage powerhouses; ten thousand giants, each at the Divine Transformation stage. If they hadn't confirmed it multiple times, they wouldn't have believed it was real.
"All of you, bark like dogs," Zhou Hong commanded loudly.
"Woof woof woof, woof woof woof...!"
Instantly, ten thousand barks echoed in unison, a scene that would be unforgettable for everyone from the main camp.