Dog Eat Dog Eat Dog Eat... Dog?

Like the avatar of the broken tower descending from the heavens, the pitch-black tower rose abruptly before the palace of the sacrificial temple, as though seizing the central axis of heaven and earth. The so-called Tianyuan! Upon the pitch-black tower, countless weeping, wailing faces opened their mouths, roaring, shouting, and keening in unison. Trails of bloody tears and savage grimaces marked those faces—some vaguely familiar, others seen only moments ago. Their pitch-black eyes stared unblinkingly at every foolhardy intruder. Hoarse voices sounded from every opening and closing mouth, overlapping into an immense echo that shook the vault of heaven. Praising, singing, extolling— "The Eternal Empire, the supreme authority! The tower rises from the earth, piercing the heavens, and the Supreme Sovereign shall reign over all creation!" Amid the songs of praise, the eye of flame atop the highest point of the tower slowly opened, looking down upon all creation, overlooking all things. The purest malice and emotionless coldness emanated from within. A single glance! Snap. A vast tide of telekinetic force surged in an instant, sweeping forth and blanketing the sky, effortlessly annihilating the swarm of flies filling the air! Blossoms of blood bloomed in midair. Every foolhardy figure who dared rise into the sky detonated in an instant, shattering to pieces. Only then did the vast shockwave billow outward! "Within three hundred li of the Imperial Presence, any flight or landing without an imperial edict shall be punished by the extermination of three generations!" The Border Realm shuddered to a sudden standstill. All was dead silence. Everyone looked up dumbfounded, feeling a chill seep from the bottom of their hearts, the spatters of gore upon their faces sending shivers down their spines. Immediately afterward, the eye of flame locked onto the sole survivors in the sky—the pitch-black warships under the banner of Duke Anguo! Amid the giant vessels, the avatar woven from endless clouds and mist stiffened abruptly. From the sudden, unforeseen shock just now, cracks had already surfaced on the magnificent, menacing warships. Before they could fully register what had happened, their instinct was to strike back. Yet Duke Anguo held them down firmly. "Do not move! Nobody move! Under no circumstances must we anger the spirit of the sacrificial temple!" Duke Anguo shouted, his eyes gradually turning manic and ecstatic. What was there to panic about? What was the rush? That's right, this is how it should be! The instant he came to his senses, a theory formed in his mind: The sacrificial temple had numerous taboos and strict rules. If everything had been intact, how could outsiders ever have been permitted to run amok? It had to be that dog Wuyou daring to use the Palace-Burning Fire, causing the sacrificial temple to fall dormant and the situation to deteriorate to this point! The changes taking place within the temple now were pure, unadulterated good news! As long as he revealed his identity and gained the recognition of this black tower, the Imperial Seal of the Realm would be well within his grasp! When that time came, let alone taking control of this sacrificial temple—Duke Anguo's eyes flicked disdainfully toward the foolhardy intruders behind him—you stinking out-of-towners will all die! With his thoughts racing, the cloud avatar suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a battle standard hidden deep within its soul. As it unfurled, it stirred up a sky full of blood-colored wind and storm, and countless war cries rang out from the void. "The Imperial Domain is under attack, invaded by rebels! Palace Guard Anguo has come specifically to protect the Sovereign! I beseech the Holy Spirit to bear witness!" Even faster to react than him was Changle on the ground. Before that, Changle had already reached up and removed a magnificent, eerie mask from his face, illusory light gleaming across its mocking, smirking expression. Without wasting a single word, he hurled it straight toward the high tower. "Changle!!!" Duke Anguo raged and picked up speed. The battle standard and mask flew into the black tower one after the other. Instantly, amidst the chilling silence of onlookers, the flaming light trembled faintly as if halting, its malice slowly withdrawing, seemingly trying to discern the authenticity of the two tokens. Its gaze gradually drifted toward the mask. As if approving. Changle's puppet could no longer hold back a grin, and Duke Anguo could no longer suppress his agitation, crying out at the top of his lungs: "Holy Spirit, do not be deceived by treacherous scoundrels! The Dukedom of Changle was discontinued long ago! This wretched bastard is merely the whelp of a lowborn maidservant, a usurper acting against all righteousness! How could he ever shoulder great responsibility?!" "Duke Anguo, insolent dog!" Changle flared with rage. Seeing the eye of flame seemingly swayed by Anguo's words as its gaze drifted toward the standard, Changle's face turned livid: "Anguo, you old dog, are you any better than me?! Devouring your own bloodline just to prolong your miserable dog's life, harvesting your descendants to eke out a disgraceful existence, degraded now into a clump of rotten sludge that doesn't even dare show its face! With so much of your soul missing, do you dare call yourself the Palace Guard of old?!" The eye of flame froze for a moment, as if stunned. Furious, Duke Anguo could no longer hold back from snapping back. Words flew back and forth like daggers; in just a few exchanges, they laid bare every single dirty secret the other had desperately kept hidden. Meanwhile, both were rapidly drawing closer to the black tower, seeking to seize this opportunity to take complete control of the sacrificial temple's nexus. Until both finally reached the black tower, and the eye—which had been wavering between the mask and the battle standard—seemed to have finally made its decision, lifting its gaze toward them. And then, the vision of both went black as they simultaneously spat up a mouthful of blood. Right before the high tower, the mask and the battle standard were pulverized as if thrown straight into a shredder, disintegrating completely into ash. What priceless treasures, what heirloom tokens—reduced to dust in the blink of an eye. And then— The supergravity field, which had been charging for God knows how long, erupted with a roar! Before their horrified expressions, it struck with brutal, merciless malice—*Our Empire's bigwigs are the real deal; what kind of rabble and down-and-out degenerates are you? Don't you dare come near!* Silent and invisible, formless and shapeless, the entire domain within the sacrificial temple seemed frozen stiff. A gravitational deluge tens of thousands of times normal gravity crashed down, utterly swallowing the dazed pair. They collapsed instantly with zero capacity to resist, pulverized into a puddle of bloody sludge before they could even react. The destruction of the puppet and avatar was secondary; what followed immediately was the eruption of black threads. Piercing, entangling, thrashing, tearing. Shrill shrieks and screams rang out from earth and sky—grievous soul trauma! High in the sky, clouds and mist gathered once more, barely congealing into a silhouette. Meanwhile, within Changle's retinue, several people suddenly convulsed, swiftly morphing into puppets and uttering discordant voices as if short-circuiting. Next, the puppets looked at each other and ruthlessly butchered one another. In the snap of a finger, only one remained, and Changle's consciousness finally pulled itself back together. Before they could even catch their breath, the brutal telekinetic force of the Dark Tower gushed forth once more, crushing all opposition with unstoppable momentum, handing down ultimate punishment. Above, the sound of splintering echoed from warship after warship, tears continuously appearing across the sails. It was unsustainable. "Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!" Countless locusts coalesced into the figure of the Frenzied Slaughter Sin-Bearer. Sukarno doubled over in laughter, utterly beside himself: "A bunch of penniless bastards, still trying to play the connections game in the sacrificial temple without even checking if it recognizes you! Hahahahaha!! Old dog? Speak up, old dog! Why aren't you making a peep, old dog?!" Duke Anguo raged in impotent fury, unable to even utter a sound. He could only force his avatar to maintain stability, toughing out the telekinetic onslaught from the high tower. Yet soon, like a passing flood, the telekinesis dissipated into nothingness. Just as everyone let out a sigh of relief, they saw the eye of flame atop the high tower lift once more, gazing down upon the entire Border Realm. The pupil divided rapidly, looking in every direction at once. In an instant, every single intruder was locked on! Then, endless black threads surged forth, rising into the heavens like a layer of black clouds. They spread, then rained down again, stabbing into every intruder like gangrene to the bone. Taking the brunt was Sukarno, who had just been laughing at the spectacle! *Laughing? You think it's funny? I was just busy slapping him and hadn't gotten around to you yet, huh? You die first!* "I..." Sukarno's face blanked in shock for a split second. Before he could even finish cursing, he was swallowed by the black cloud. But immediately afterward, unleashing his power, he severed thread after thread, his body suddenly fracturing and dispersing as countless locusts rose, scattering in all directions and narrowly evading that terrifying pursuit. Hiding in a corner of the ruins, he looked up in shock, only to see the writhing black threads soaked crimson in blood. Weeping and wailing figures struggled as they were dragged into the sky, rapidly shriveling and shattering until only thrashing afterimages remained. And upon the black tower, countless more faces were added to its adornment. Beneath the pall and impalement of the black threads, the entire Border Realm seemed turned into a living hell. Turmoil reigned everywhere, and nobody could spare a thought for anyone else. Sukarno's face twitched once, then twice, an icy dread washing over him. Something was deeply wrong. The water in this pit was even deeper than he had imagined. Why would those Blood Eye bastards be so kind as to drag him along to make a fortune? If he didn't run now, there might not even be a— Well, there was indeed no chance left. In that instant, he realized that black threads extending from the flagstones beneath his feet had already silently wrapped around his legs. And even more had already sealed off every avenue of escape. Sukarno roared, blood fire surging as his body swelled again. Replaying the same old trick. An eerie, translucent blade materialized in his hand and slashed out, severing the tangled black threads. He leapt into the air once more, expanding and transforming into countless locusts in an attempt to flee the Border Realm. Yet the exact moment his transformation was about to occur, a spiritus blade materialized without warning from the tangle of black threads and pierced right through his body! Chunjun! The flow and shaping of spiritus were swift as lightning. Before he could even register it, it had impaled his physical vessel. A torrent of spiritus born of despair and madness erupted silently from the puncture wound, sweeping, corroding, and transmuting like blazing flames, jamming into the gears like a pebble and cutting off the shift into his Regeneration form. His movement stalled for a heartbeat. Immediately after, a second hand emerged from the black threads, wielding an eerie crimson longsword emblazoned with two bizarre sigils along its spine, thrusting directly into his heart! Pan Ying! Even as the blood fire of common origin erupted, it melted into his body. Next, the two Sacrificial Master sigils on the blade's spine flared to life; the Scars and Mycelium Sacrificial Rites activated, brutally devouring Sukarno's spiritus, leaving behind unhealable wounds and deadly toxins spreading like mold! That familiar yet bizarre sensation struck Sukarno with sudden horror in his shock, reminding him of his old enemy—Pacquiao! Was that dog Pacquiao ambushing him? No, hadn't Pacquiao already... died? The instant that thought surfaced, his vision went dark. A third, ethereal spiritus hand manifested out of thin air right in front of him and clamped down over his face. Following that was the Dissociation Art, long primed and waiting. Jingzhen! The agility of Chunjun and the brutality of Pan Ying merged into one through the flow of spiritus, plunging into his matrix and blasting outward with a roar, leaving a rift that could never be closed. Countless black threads followed in their wake, penetrating deep into every corner of his soul and flesh, raining down relentless suppression and binding. One step slow, slow at every step; one wrong move, every move went wrong. Chunjun disrupted his spiritus, Pan Ying swallowed his blood fire, and Jingzhen shattered the stability of his matrix before penetrating his soul. The root system of the Dark Tower was already planted deep within his soul, hungrily devouring, brutally frantic. In the final instant, Sukarno wanted to turn his head, but before he could, he rapidly shriveled, collapsed, and dissolved into dust. Behind the shattered figure, Ji Jue lowered his eyes expressionlessly, gazing at the blade of Pan Ying, only to find no change whatsoever. He clicked his tongue in distaste. No hit. The Sacrificial Master that the other party was anchored to had no connection to the Six Evils. Although just as ferocious and greedy, it simply refused to respond to Pan Ying—incompatible format. A waste. Still, there was no time for fine processing now. After preserving a few blessings, he tossed the rest to the Dark Tower. Soon, under the stunned gazes of the survivors, a familiar face resurfaced on the Dark Tower. A hint of crimson and savage aura appeared out of nowhere upon the black threads. The Dark Tower loomed, turning completely berserk! Once Ji Jue let go and allowed it to run wild, gigantic eyes opened across the tower's surface like lightbulbs, staring unblinkingly at every single intruder, manipulating gravity and black threads in relentless pursuit. Growing increasingly frantic, it expanded further. Like a living creature, it even began to grow once more! It was gradually completing itself—even if born incomplete. Ji Jue sighed silently in regret. There was no greater humiliation for a craftsman than deliberately forging a defective piece. If there was an even greater one, it was that this defective piece originally had the potential to become a work of Heaven's Work—and this was precisely what Ji Jue had done. This massive Dark Tower before him was the result of Ji Jue forcibly aggregating the countless gargantuan structures of the original sacrificial temple and restructuring them using the method of the Nether Sea Worm. Above, equipment and esoteric rituals spanning the entire Border Realm—fruits of the Evil Transmutation Cult and Kanemoto—aided Ji Jue in controlling everything. Below, within the sacrificial temple of the Border Realm, were the ubiquitous Law of Tianyuan, countless materials, and countless spiritus circuits preserved from centuries ago. Using the entire Border Realm as a Crucible and countless deaths as sacrifices, what he forged should have been a terrifying creation combining the strengths of Tianyuan and the Tower, the Supreme Good and Great Sin. Using the former Heavenly Pillar fulcrum as material especially gave it natural, superb compatibility with the Incomplete Tower; calling it an extension of Great Sin was hardly an exaggeration. If brought to full completion, it might even have used the entire Border Realm as a vessel to incubate an earthly incarnation of Great Sin, permanently engraving a piece of the Incomplete Tower onto the mortal world! Yet now it was merely at this meager level. To deal with a pack of Sin-Bearers who didn't even have a single Celestial-Human among them, it still had its hands tied. Calling it a defective product wasn't even enough—it was an outright cripple. Ji Jue had even deliberately made it crippled, more crippled still. Not only had he siphoned off most of the spiritus materials and sacrifice yields during the casting, but he had also placed numerous restrictions on it, including its output. Aside from keeping the black threads that composed its body intact, its internal sequence had only completed the controls for telekinesis and gravity. Forget whether Ye Xian would clean house if she found out; Ji Jue wanted to slap himself across the face a few times. Yet he had no choice. All means had to serve the end; all techniques and crafts had to concede and sacrifice for the final outcome. Just as Tianlu had expressed: *Catalysis*. Not cleanup. Only on this crucial point did Ji Jue and Tianlu share a strange, tacit understanding. Increasing the heat moderately could accelerate the precipitation and aggregation of impurities. But if the heat was turned up too high, everything in the furnace would burn into unrecoverable trash. The hardest part was not how to dispose of these people, but how to apply pressure without scaring them away—wiping out meaningless probing with maximum efficiency and digging out the hidden hands fishing in troubled waters! Just like Tianlu waiting in ambush outside the Border Realm right now... Until then, patience and restraint were essential. Ji Jue had to wait. BOOM!!! The Border Realm rumbled. As the berserk Dark Tower went on a rapid slaughter spree, wails resounded throughout the sacrificial temple. The intruders that once covered the ground dwindled at a visible rate—though calling it dwindling wasn't entirely accurate. For every time a keening shadow was bound by black threads and hoisted into the sky, another savage face was added to the adornment of the Dark Tower. Splintering sounds rose and fell. Across the colossal body of the Dark Tower, a fissure suddenly split open like an insect molting; beneath the black crack, a bizarre hint of pure white actually emerged. It was instinctively moving toward its prototype—even without knowledge, emotion, or thought, as the countless Laws of Tianyuan operated and vast amounts of lives and souls replenished it, the so-called metamorphosis and evolution were catalyzed naturally. High above, the reflection of the Incomplete Tower grew clearer. The resonance between them climbed steadily. Countless black threads squirmed, rising into the sky again and again, striving to touch that distant, unreachable shadow of Great Sin. As if the high tower were continuously growing, edging closer to that mirror-like boundary, attempting to reunite. And the gravity and telekinesis it emanated grew even more tyrannical and manic. With effortless ease, it could annihilate an entire ruined city district, sweeping up countless fragments that whipped through the air to kick up a storm blanketing the entire Border Realm. "It is still growing!" The guru of Wulou Temple stared blankly. His charred body was restored under the forced revision of his will, but he could no longer maintain his withered, wooden composure. A deepening chill settled into everyone's hearts, their shivers impossible to suppress. If it was already this terrifying now, once fully completed... "Duke Anguo, Duke Changle, there is no need for me to explain our current predicament—" From the writhing flesh and blood, the broken wolf painstakingly coalesced, and Shehri's face emerged: "If this continues, we will only sit and wait for death, picked off one by one. The Imperial Seal of the Realm is right before our eyes. We must make a decision!" Changle's expression was grim, the face of his puppet riddled with cracks, while Anguo's avatar was also on the verge of collapse. The remaining surviving Sin-Bearers were in no better shape. The reason they still held back their trump cards, unwilling to alter the stalemate, was no longer just that they didn't want to lose—it had become that they refused to let anyone else win. What truly changed their minds was Sukarno's contorted face upon the high tower, and the figure dragged bodily into the tower amid screams moments ago—a veteran Exaltation-tier powerhouse, notorious for ages, who had almost escaped the Border Realm, only to be yanked back and swallowed whole, flesh, skin, and bones! And following that, it evolved again! As the tower rose higher, more and more pale white appeared, winding upward, rendered all the more solemn by the decoration of keening faces! "Shehri..." Changle's puppet snapped its head around, glaring at his face. "Since you came on the Sower's orders and have stirred the pot for this long, shouldn't you show a little sincerity?" "Naturally." Shehri smiled eerily. But this time, instead of hiding, he opened his mouth first and spat out a small knife as thick as an index finger. Wrapped by his tongue, it flickered in and out like a serpent's tongue. "However, there is only this one opportunity... I ask that everyone make sure not to squander it!" In that instant, cradled by the long tongue, that knife resembling a paper cutter gleamed with a faint, trembling glimmer. Everyone present reflexively took a step back, but the blade was not aimed at them. Instead, it pointed toward the distant Dark Tower. With casual nonchalance, it sliced forward. In a flash, an ear-splitting crack detonated through the Border Realm. The glow on the knife dimmed at once, cracks spidering across it until it snapped, shorn of all miraculous properties. Yet in the direction the blade had traced, a clean, even slit ruptured in the void. Under the slicing motion of the blade, the entire space tore open into a pitch-black chasm. Slicing right through the middle, it cleaved the entire high tower in two! The tower shook violently, followed by a thunderous crash as if it would snap at the waist and break in half. Shrieks and roars erupted from the human faces. In a blink, countless severed black threads sought to reconnect, but the fractured space could not mend itself. Like a fishbone lodged in the throat, it pinned and wedged the entire tower fast! A once-in-a-lifetime chance! The moment they sensed it, no one hesitated any longer, striking ruthlessly! The guru of Wulou Temple instantly stepped forward seven paces, raised his hand, and slammed it down onto the crown of his own head. With a muffled crack, his skull shattered, dissolving into mangled flesh. Yet from the shattered skull, an eerie lotus of flesh and bone abruptly blossomed. The lotus writhed, exuding a fragrant scent as its petals unfolded layer by layer to reveal an eye. It gazed at the high tower. Under that stare, all the human faces on the tower convulsed violently, as if jolted awake from a nightmare, or perhaps plunged into another. Retaining the skills they held prior to death, the moment they opened their eyes and realized what was happening, the blank faces twisted completely. Screaming, howling, roaring, crying out: "Save... save me—" "Kill me, just kill me!" "Fuck you—" "Hehe, hahahaha, hehahahaha!!!" Under the gaze of the Evil Gaze Eye, every spirit went berserk with madness. Deep purple flames ignited within their souls as they tore and thrashed, turning on the tower in a vicious backlash. Bloody winds converged, and flames burned and expanded in midair, forming a gigantic broadsword—the Sin-Bearer of the Blood Eye raised both hands as the power of Frenzied Slaughter manifested into a blade, cleaving down! Slash! The giant sword chopped down, biting into the tower, but failed to cut through, wedged tight. Then it detonated with a roar! Drumbeats sounded from the battered fleet in the sky, echoing one another and shaking the heavens. In the magnificent rumble of the Array-Breaking Drums, Duke Anguo's avatar expanded, reaching a hand toward the sky. A meteor resembling a fallen star ripped through the air into his grip. Smashed down! Wild winds raged, and an immense torrent swept outward, totally demolishing the final remaining buildings inside the sacrificial temple. And right behind Duke Changle, two Sin-Bearers suddenly froze in place, dumbstruck and unable to react. "Thank you for your service, sacrificing yourselves for the great cause," Changle stroked their heads with both hands, sighing from the heart. Immediately after, their bodies rapidly contracted, shriveled, and transmuted. Souls wailed, blessings shattered, lives burned away. All essence, past and future, gathered into his palms. Unmatched, blinding radiance burst forth! As though an eternity had passed in an instant, all the light and heat, all the power and future attacks that these two Exaltation-tier Sin-Bearers would ever unleash across their lifetimes, even their most glorious moments, were violently plundered... Rubbed between Changle's hands, it was compressed into a thumb-sized pellet—stripping away their entire futures and cashing them out into the present at a tenfold discount. Extracted, unleashed! Flicked outward, that wisp of light traversed the vast distance in an instant, plunging into the high tower alongside Anguo's strike. Immediately after, a pitch-black mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Spatial shattering, soul mutiny, Frenzied Slaughter cleaves, virulent poison seepage, astral impacts, and the squandered worth of entire lifetimes... In a split second, countless attacks poured into the Dark Tower, leaving only the endless sound of crumbling and collapse. The terrifying giant tower that once stood between heaven and earth froze rigid in place. At last, as cracks snaked across it, eyes opened, then shut. Bloody tears trailed down from them. With a final wail of unwilling resentment, it collapsed with a roar. From beginning to end, those eyes remained fixed on the distant, unreachable shadow of the tower in the sky... Annihilated just like that. In the ensuing heartbeat of dead silence, countless people danced in mad ecstasy, screaming, shouting, tears welling in their eyes as they embraced one another to celebrate this hard-won victory. We won! We won! We won! Such a terrifying monster, tragically defeated before friendship and bonds! Did you see that?! This is our blood-pumping combo move! Regrettably, along with the tower's collapse and demise, the dreamlike, wonderful moment came to an end. The magic of friendship shattered in an instant. Without the slightest pause, without the slightest hesitation, drums sounded in the sky once more. Anguo's avatar raised his hand again, gripping an even hotter and more violent meteor. Smashed down! And beside Changle, three Sin-Bearers were already shrieking as they fell into his palms. Extracted, overdrawn, plundered, unleashed. A slender finger pointed toward the sky! BOOM!!!! Meteor collided with blazing light. In the raging shockwaves, cracks spread across the vast sacrificial temple in an instant, the horrifying residual heat and blast instantly vaporizing several figures charging forward. Yet amid the scorching flames, blood fire abruptly erupted—Sacrificial Rite! "The Imperial Seal of the Realm!" The Frenzied Slaughter Sin-Bearer laughed wildly, charging straight toward the collapsed palace. Expanding his domain, he tanked an impact potent enough to reduce him to ash. Then, he scooped that jade casket into his arms! Immediately following, under another spatial rift tearing open from nothingness, he was cut clean in half at the waist! From the spray of blood, Shehri's wolfish face jutted forth. He reached out to seize the jade casket, ignoring the searing burn of the Emperor's majestic aura upon it. In that sudden moment, unable to break the Law of Tianyuan's seal, he wasted no time, instantly shifting into a shadow and bolting away. Head-on, he was met by an overwhelming torrent of thunder and lightning! The Decaying Wind Sin-Bearer had been brewing his power for a long time; the essence of Nether Frost manifested and erupted mercilessly, engulfing everyone. Yet another layer of faint light surfaced around Shehri, forcibly withstanding the thunder that could have vaporized him completely, and he soared into the air. Sensing the malice directed at him from all sides, his eyes flickered, and without a second thought, he hurled the jade casket toward—Duke Anguo! "Catch, Duke Anguo! Our contract is complete!" Duke Anguo said nothing, forcing down his rage. It wasn't that he couldn't see through this dog's scheme, but that he could not allow such an opportunity to slip through his fingers. His cloud avatar ballooned into a titan. An arm shot out, grabbing hold of the tiny jade casket. In his other hand, a meteor was gripped. Smashed down! Clashing head-on against attacks from all sides. "The legitimate succession is mine!!!" Amid wild laughter, Anguo squandered all his amassed reserves, extravagantly hurling down meteors one after another while his other hand moved to open the jade casket. Only to see that his palm was empty. Where was the jade casket? Gone!!! Turning back in thunderous wrath, he saw Shehri already nearing the border of the Border Realm—and nestled in his arms was that all-too-familiar jade casket! "Get back here, you bastard!" But it was already too late; he was about to cross out of the Border Realm— Just then, behind Changle, the guru of Wulou Temple turned back, and the lotus of flesh and bone lifted its eye once more. Locked on. The Evil Gaze Eye struck! Spirit rebellion! Shehri froze for a split second, caught completely off guard, and his vision blurred. In Changle's hand, an ancient mirror rose, reflecting him. Under the mirror's reflection, space twisted and distorted, the four directions shifting. Shehri was forcibly dragged right in front of Changle. Immediately, he saw the raised palm grabbing toward him! Before it even made contact, his hair stood on end! If caught, everything he possessed would be drained dry in an instant, thrown out like a disposable consumable. In that instant, the only thing he could do was replay the same trick. Once more, truly and honestly... he threw the jade casket! Immediately after, his body broke into pieces, each fragment fleeing in every direction like a living creature without hesitation— Changle didn't pause. Scooping up a subordinate beside him, he instantly extracted and catalyzed him, tossing the resulting projectile behind him. A Sin-Bearer lurking in the shadows was instantly reduced to ash. Yet in that mere instant of delay, the giant hand of cloud and mist plunged from the heavens once more, gripping the jade casket tight! Secured! Before Anguo could even rejoice, he heard a tremendous crash behind him. An explosion without warning! It came from the flagship that housed a portion of his flesh and blood. Immediately after, warship after warship pushed past their limits caught fire, plummeting from the sky. His smile froze on his face. The cloud avatar rapidly dissipated, unable to hold on to even a single box. He could only let it fall, dropping right into Changle's hands. "My apologies, Duke Anguo; I mixed a little sand into your subordinates as well," Changle sneered, grinning derisively. "It seems that in the end, my skills are superior—" "You wretched bastard!" The last remnant of Anguo's cloud avatar surged three times, but dissipated faster and faster. By the time it reached Changle, only an insignificant wisp remained, which Changle dispersed with a breath. "Old dog, the legitimate succession is mine!" Changle bade farewell with solemn arrogance. "Wash your neck and wait for the blade!" And then, in that very instant, the expression froze on his face. Looking down, he saw the tip of a sword jutting from his chest. From behind him. When that shattered puppet strained to turn its head, it saw the guru of Wulou Temple completely swallowed by the darkness of the Tiger Tally, revealing an intimately familiar face. Duke Wuyou! "Hahaha, hei, hahahaha—" Duke Wuyou's face was twisted in wild, unrestrained laughter. With disheveled hair like a Yama demon, he took the casket from Changle's hand and danced with joy. "What are you staring at, bastard?! The winner is me! It's me! Do you understand?!!" Looking around the shattered Border Realm, the ultimate victor Duke Wuyou crushed Changle's puppet underfoot, laughing to the heavens as bloody tears streamed down: "The obsession of generations of ancestors has been fulfilled in my hands! I! I, Wuyou, am the true Emperor, the genuine Master of Heaven's Mandate! None of you are! None of you! Hahahahahahaha—" Amid hysterical laughter, he held the jade casket in both hands, lifting it reverently and opening it a crack. Then, in that very instant— His smile froze on his face. His pupils dilated. He almost forgot to breathe! Is this right? Is... is this... right? It's right, it's right, yes, it should be right, but... it's not right! No, no, no, no! This isn't right!!! He had braved a thousand hardships, exhausted all his reserves, plotted for decades, and through sheer agony! Through sheer agony, he had finally reached this stage and grasped victory in his hands! In that instant, Duke Wuyou's eyes almost burst from their sockets, his expression savage. Clearly, before this, it had shone with radiant light; one could even see the impression and vision! But why—why, why was this casket EMPTY?! In that instant, a helpless sigh sounded from behind him. Immediately after— Crack! A burning hand punched through his chest, seized his heart, and crushed it violently. Behind him, the ferocious demon in the flames sneered silently. Ji Jue!