Chapter 198: Bronze Immortal Emperor Su Mu

Taoist Priest Xuanqing suddenly sneered. "It's more than just lacking the energy to collect them, isn't it? The Sword of Royal Power is the heirloom of the Longyuan Empire. Whoever accepts the Twelve Swords of Royal Power instantly becomes a potential enemy of the Longyuan Empire."

Yan Moxie nodded. "That's true, but I believe the Seven Deadly Sins wouldn't care."

I fucking care! Taoist Priest Xuanqing screamed internally. That's the Longyuan Empire, the strongest superpower in the world!

"Agree to his terms," Su Mu said flatly.

Taoist Priest Xuanqing immediately adopted a haughty tone. "Exactly. The Seven Deadly Sins do not care in the slightest."

"Then I must ask Your Excellency Lust to invite Leader Pride to appear for a discussion."

"Wait." Taoist Priest Xuanqing closed his eyes in a show of theatrics. His lips parted slightly as he muttered an incomprehensible incantation, his voice as faint as a buzzing mosquito.

A moment later, a figure clad in black materialized out of thin air beside Lust.

"Your Excellency Pride," Yan Moxie greeted respectfully. His attitude was vastly improved from their first encounter, as he had already categorized Pride as a figure on par with the commander of the Revolutionary Army.

Only a figure like their commander could command subordinate Gold powerhouses like these.

"I am already aware of the situation. Speak. Who is the target?" Su Mu asked coldly.

Yan Moxie cast a vigilant glance at their surroundings before lowering his voice. "The cabinet minister of the Imperial Capital, Gongsun Quan! The man is an ordinary human who never awakened a bloodline, but his strategic brilliance is unmatched. He is deeply favored by the Royal Family and wields immense authority. As the general commander of the Shadow Guards, he has repeatedly led encirclement campaigns against the Revolutionary Army, inflicting devastating losses. I implore Your Excellency Pride to take action."

"An ordinary human?" Pride's voice dropped to a glacial chill. His haughty, disdainful gaze fixed on Yan Moxie. "You went to such extraordinary lengths to find me, only to ask me to kill a piece of trash?"

The atmosphere instantly froze. A crushing aura of oppression radiated from Pride. Yan Moxie's body went rigid; he suddenly felt like a mere mortal standing before a raging, storm-tossed sea.

An imposing aura was a profoundly subtle thing. It had nothing to do with actual combat strength; it was an entirely psychological form of oppression.

Take the emperors of antiquity, for instance. They were mortal men who ate, drank, and relieved themselves like anyone else. Yet, when the common folk gazed upon an emperor, their hearts would be consumed by awe, to the point where the timid could not even utter a word.

Or a child returning home after failing an exam, only to see their father sitting in silence on the sofa.

These were all manifestations of aura.

Right now, Yan Moxie was experiencing that exact feeling. It was as if he were facing an unrivaled, terrifying powerhouse who trampled the entire world beneath his feet. That sheer, dismissive contempt in Pride's gaze brought a bead of cold sweat to his forehead.

He could not even begin to fathom the sheer magnitude of power required to cultivate such a terrifying aura.

This was the aura unique to the Bronze Immortal Emperor, Su Mu!

He might only be at the Bronze tier, but that did not stop him from daring to imagine, daring to dream.

An aura only truly worked when the target already held preconceived notions. Put bluntly, the other party had to know your identity and firmly believe in your overwhelming strength; only then would the aura's effectiveness multiply.

Otherwise, no matter how overbearing a roadside beggar acted, people would simply assume he was putting on airs.

But if someone were to tell you that the very same beggar was once a billionaire who had given away his entire fortune to charity, a profound respect would well up inside you, and you would suddenly feel that his aura was extraordinary.

"Your Excellency Pride, Gongsun Quan may only be an ordinary human, but he is surrounded by legions of experts..." Yan Moxie explained, his tone laced with urgency.

"Silence." Su Mu sneered coldly, causing Yan Moxie to instinctively snap his mouth shut. "The Seven Deadly Sins will not stoop so low as to waste our effort on an ordinary human. The Revolutionary Army has sorely disappointed me. Our cooperation ends here."

With that, Su Mu and Taoist Priest Xuanqing turned to leave.

Panic flashed across Yan Moxie's face. He had come out here, witnessed the sheer power of the Seven Deadly Sins, and laid all his organization's cards on the table. If he failed to secure this alliance now, it would be a massive loss.

"Your Excellency Pride, wait!" he pleaded, hurriedly stepping forward to block their path.

Su Mu cast him a disdainful glare and uttered a single word. "Scram."

His behavior perfectly aligned with the persona of Pride, acting out that sheer arrogance to absolute perfection.

Beside him, Taoist Priest Xuanqing played his part perfectly, drawing his longsword. A brilliant azure light surged from his body, and the crushing pressure whipped up a sudden gale. Tiny white currents of air swirled at his feet, blowing the surrounding grass wildly in all directions.

Yan Moxie's heart plummeted. Forcing himself to withstand the combined pressure of the two members of the Seven Deadly Sins, he gritted his teeth and pushed on. "Your Excellency Pride, we genuinely wish to ally with your esteemed organization! If you feel that assassinating an ordinary human is beneath your station, then we can negotiate further.

"There are many targets we wish to eliminate within the Imperial Capital, including quite a few powerful nobles. Everything is open for discussion!"

He spoke rapidly, terrified that the other party would lose their patience and attack him on the spot.

Hearing this, Su Mu halted his steps. "We do not take contracts for targets below the Gold tier," he stated flatly.

"What?!" Yan Moxie was struck dumb once again. He had already lost count of how many times he had been caught off guard today, but the Seven Deadly Sins had simply delivered one staggering revelation after another.

No contracts below the Gold tier? Didn't that essentially mean the Seven Deadly Sins only assassinated Gold powerhouses?

This was no longer mere arrogance; it was outright lawlessness. It was no wonder the Seven Deadly Sins dared to execute nobles in broad daylight. Looking at it now, publicly slaughtering a noble was actually them exercising restraint.

One had to realize that the entire Chiyan Empire only boasted a few dozen Gold powerhouses. Conflicts between empires essentially boiled down to comparing their respective numbers of Gold powerhouses. Every single Gold powerhouse was a foundational pillar of the empire; the death of even one would trigger shockwaves akin to a tsunami. Yet the Seven Deadly Sins only targeted Gold elites...

Yan Moxie took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his internal shock. "Your Excellency Pride," he began, a hint of difficulty in his tone, "I will need to discuss this matter with our commander."

The Revolutionary Army had originally just wanted to use the Seven Deadly Sins to divert the Empire's attention while eliminating a few more nobles. They had thought their proposed actions were severe enough, but who could have predicted that Pride would instantly demand the assassination of a Gold powerhouse?

The consequences of such an earth-shattering act were completely beyond the Revolutionary Army's ability to calculate.

"Are you implying that I should wait for you?" Su Mu's indifferent voice struck Yan Moxie's heart like a thunderbolt.

"Your Excellency Pride, we truly must discuss this," Yan Moxie insisted, gritting his teeth. "A Gold powerhouse is incredibly difficult to kill. They hold immense authority in the Imperial Capital and are surrounded by countless guards. If a battle cannot be concluded swiftly, the assailant will be trapped in a siege. The risks involved are simply too high."

He wasn't just warning Su Mu about the danger. More importantly, he was terrified that if the Seven Deadly Sins attempted to assassinate a Gold powerhouse in the Imperial Capital and failed, they might be captured and forced to expose the Revolutionary Army. That would deal a devastating blow to their entire rebellion.

The corners of Su Mu's lips curled up slightly. "Have you forgotten? Right now, there is one Gold powerhouse who isn't in the Imperial Capital."