Inside the event labyrinth.
Yu Xian sprinted at full tilt, running for a full ten minutes before coming to a stop.
He looked back in puzzlement, but didn't see the Nether Fiend Energy pursuing him any further.
"Could the Nether Armor King be... exhausted?"
Yu Xian suddenly thought of a possibility. After all, that final slash from the Nether Armor King had been truly terrifying.
A strike that dreadful surely came with immense expenditure; perhaps the Nether Armor King had fallen into a weakened state.
After a moment's consideration, Yu Xian decided to head back. Although a Silver Mirror Ghost King's life was still a life, if sacrificing one proved worthwhile, it wasn't out of the question.
Another ten minutes later, he returned to his previous spot.
Ahead, the Nether Fiend Energy churned incessantly, but the surrounding flowers and plants all gave off a faint green glow. The Nether Fiend Energy sought to expand outward, yet every trace was absorbed by the vegetation, leaving it confined in place as if bound.
"Others say, 'After me, who cares if a deluge follows?' With Mai Zi, it's the exact opposite: 'After I die, no deluge is allowed,'" Yu Xian couldn't help sighing with emotion.
Even in death, he still protected others—that truly was that guy's style.
Right then, a powerful pressure surged swiftly down the corridor ahead, feeling as though gravity itself had amplified. Caught completely off guard, Yu Xian nearly dropped to his knees.
Yet he instantly realized whom this pressure belonged to. In the split second before his knees hit the ground, he simply tilted sideways, shifting from a kneel into lying on his side.
Lying on the grass with one hand propping up his head, he stared intently down the passage.
Holding the Dream-Severing Blade, the Nether Armor King rounded the corner a moment later. It still didn't spare Yu Xian a glance, looking instead toward the spot where Mai Zi had fallen.
"Though our stances differed, I, the Nether Armor King, must acknowledge that you were a worthy opponent," the Nether Armor King murmured to itself.
Yu Xian sneered. "So should Mai Zi resurrect just to kneel before you and kowtow, thanking you for your grand approval?"
Boom!
An even mightier pressure radiated from the Nether Armor King.
Yu Xian nearly failed to hold out, but fortunately he hastily adjusted his posture, preventing his head from being pressed flat against the ground.
"Yu Xian, he... died because of you!"
"You have enslaved the Original Inhabitants en masse, even recklessly expending them as cannon fodder. You were put on the Class Hunter Society's hit list long ago."
"This event was designed specifically for you. He was the truly innocent bystander dragged down by you."
The Nether Armor King stepped forward, looking down on Yu Xian from above. It began disclosing revelations in a flat tone, plunging a dagger straight into Yu Xian's heart without hesitation.
"If that's the case, doesn't that make Fathe'aim a traitor to humanity?" The grin vanished from Yu Xian's face. He looked at the Nether Armor King, silent for a moment before asking.
The Nether Armor King replied impassively, "You can enslave us, the Original Inhabitants; is it so strange for us to enslave you?"
It was actually providing cover for the other traitors among the class users, framing Fathe'aim's collaboration with the Class Hunter Society as the society unilaterally enslaving Fathe'aim.
The most terrifying thing about conspiracy theories was that they remained mere conjecture, devoid of any proof.
Many class users in the Zhen Realm suspected there were spies for the Class Hunter Society in their ranks, but in most cases, this suspicion stayed just that—a suspicion. No one could ever prove that someone was truly cooperating with the Class Hunter Society.
So long as no evidence came to light, the Class Hunter Society would never admit to working with class users.
Enslavement.
It was all merely enslavement.
That way, it wouldn't easily raise the alarm among other class users.
"All right, got it. Fathe'aim is a traitor to humanity!"
After hearing the Nether Armor King out, Yu Xian nodded and spoke in dead earnest.
Then he looked at the Nether Armor King with curiosity and asked, "Since Fathe'aim is a traitor to humanity, could Lauked-Hades be one too?"
"Hmph. Guess all you want," the Nether Armor King snorted coldly.
Then, paying Yu Xian no further heed, it raised its arm, pointing the tip of the Dream-Severing Blade toward the sky.
In the past, it truly hadn't known that the Night Execution Blade Calamity harbored such a weakness: when the Nether Fiend Energy imbued with the technique's effect was confined, it too would be bound alongside it.
It could not step beyond the bounds of the Nether Fiend Energy on its own, unless it was willing to relinquish the Night Execution Blade Calamity.
However, it had other options.
Abyssal Death Blade!
Purple, red, and black—three distinct layers of blade qi were compressed into a single torrent in an instant. Even before the blade fell, Yu Xian could feel the horrifying power accompanying this strike.
No time to run.
Centering on the Nether Armor King, all the Nether Fiend Energy converged at once. Then, as the king's blade swept down, heaven and earth fell silent.
Yu Xian felt his very consciousness waver. Before the Nether Armor King's blade could even strike, he withdrew. In the next second, the Silver Mirror Ghost King was obliterated into ash, after which the dreadful blade qi slashed straight through, wiping out countless class users along the lengthy passage in an instant.
This slash not only slew countless class users, but also shattered Mai Zi's final binding. The Nether Fiend Energy resumed its spread; viewed from above the event labyrinth, it resembled a drop of ink spreading rapidly across white paper.
The Nether Armor King walked forward slowly, advancing a step with each inch the Nether Fiend Energy expanded.
"Have you ever considered something?"
"Namely, that I've already found three treasure chests and can head down to the next floor at any time?"
"Whereas you can never reach the next floor, which means you'll be erased right alongside this one."
Yu Xian had reappeared not far ahead, speaking to the Nether Armor King with a cold sneer. The moment his words left his mouth, a streak of blade qi cleaved him in two.
"Then I will slaughter every class user lingering on this floor. Trading my life for the lives of so many class users is no loss," the Nether Armor King said calmly, sheathing its blade.
Besides, it still had resurrection points; having killed so many class users, it had plenty of revives left.
It wasn't like the Hero King, who had been forced to sacrifice himself without even a chance at resurrection just to extract that special power within his body.
At the thought of the Hero King's sacrifice, the Nether Armor King felt it must go on an all-out slaughter, killing even more.
With a low roar, it raised the Dream-Severing Blade.
Abyssal Death Blade!
In an instant, countless class users were like victims swept by a laser, their bodies severed in two in an instant. The blade qi ripped all the way to the far end of the labyrinth before finally subsiding.
Yu Xian's summoned beasts were likewise dwindling rapidly.
Furthermore, Yu Xian had originally intended to collect more treasure chests for Zhang Shou and the others to use, but now his true body didn't dare swap places with the summoned beasts outside.
The Nether Armor King moved too fast; the speed of its blade qi rivaled the speed of light. The instant the blade fell, the tip of the blade qi was often already slicing into the very end of the corridor.
There was virtually no interval in between.
It seemed he had to find a way to kill the Nether Armor King first.
Inside Avici Hell, Yu Xian knitted his brows and began to ponder: How could the overwhelmingly weak prevail over the overwhelmingly strong?
Chapter 547