Chapter 210: Supreme Heaven

Inside King Chi's palace, a woman over 1.7 meters tall sat upon the throne. She wore a magnificent dark gold robe embroidered with lifelike phoenixes that shimmered brilliantly in the sunlight.

Her ink-black hair was coiled high, with a few stray strands naturally framing her cheeks to add a touch of charm.

Her face was breathtakingly beautiful, her skin as pale as snow and so smooth it seemed almost fragile. Her slightly raised brows carried an innate majesty, and her entire being exuded the noble, inviolable aura of a ruler.

But the moment she hung up her phone, King Chi's noble, inviolable aura shattered. Her straight posture slumped, and she sprawled across the throne like a defeated shut-in.

"Ugh! So annoying!" King Chi kicked her long legs in frustration, her slender, pale calves repeatedly smacking the edge of the throne.

Nearby, a white-haired elder reminded her expressionlessly, "Your Majesty, mind your image."

"Oh, there's no one else here. To hell with my image." King Chi pouted. She pulled off her crown and casually tossed it aside.

Still uncomfortable, she kicked her long legs, sending her heavy shoes flying to reveal pale bare feet with black nail polish. She then sat cross-legged on the throne.

"Your Majesty, what did Sikong Zhen want?"

"What else could it be? He said the Seven Deadly Sins consist of seven people, all Gold experts. They also killed Shentu Lie. Plus, the Seven Deadly Sins seem to be connected to the Blood Clan. He babbled about how quite a few nobles have already turned into the Blood Clan," King Chi said, utterly unconcerned.

Beside her, the expressionless elder's face grew darker and more shocked with every word. By the time she finished, he was bristling with rage.

"Those damned parasites of the empire! How dare they commit treason?! This is a massive crisis that threatens the very foundation of the empire! Your Majesty, you... Ugh, take this seriously!" the elder scolded.

King Chi wasn't listening. Instead, noticing her nail polish was chipping, she rummaged through her clothes, eventually pulled out a bottle of black polish, and propped her foot up to paint her nails.

"What a disgrace! What a disgrace!" The elder glared, his beard trembling with anger.

King Chi didn't even look up. "Now you care about disgrace? Back then, you all forced me to become King Chi. I told you I didn't want to, but you insisted. I never wanted to be this bullshit King Chi in the first place, and you all—"

"Enough!" the elder bellowed.

King Chi curled her lip in disdain and went back to painting her nails.

Watching King Chi's flippant attitude, the elder's chest heaved before he finally let out a heavy sigh. "Do you know why you were chosen to be King Chi?"

"Isn't it just because my bloodline power is the strongest?"

The elder shook his head. "Because you are completely apathetic."

King Chi immediately frowned and angrily chucked the bottle of nail polish at him, though the elder easily dodged it.

"Who are you insulting, you old geezer? Believe it or not, I'll issue a decree to have you drawn and quartered!"

Unmoved, the elder continued, "Your siblings were either too scheming and ambitious, or they were cowards who acted tough but feared death. Only you truly possessed the demeanor of a ruler. Even when hearing earth-shattering news, you remain completely indifferent."

"Keep the praise coming, old geezer. I'm listening." King Chi pulled a bag of potato chips out of nowhere and started eating, not even bothering to wash her hands after touching her feet.

The elder's eyelids twitched. "Put nicely, it's the demeanor of a ruler. Put harshly, you're completely apathetic. I suspect that even if the Chiyan Empire fell tomorrow, you wouldn't care in the least."

"If you know that, then hurry up and find my stupid father. Have him come back from the Nightmare World and take charge! Crunch..." King Chi bit into a potato chip.

"We have been searching for His Majesty the former King this entire time. Until we find him, we must rely on you to govern."

King Chi waved a hand impatiently. "I know, I know. I just have to put on a show like always, right?"

Her expression turned serious, and she instantly reverted to the peerless, domineering empress. The illusion lasted barely a second, however, because she still hadn't finished chewing her potato chips.

"Sigh. Judging solely by your appearance, you are the closest to the former King out of all the princes and princesses. What a pity that a perfectly fine King Chi had to grow a mouth."

King Chi shot the elder a sidelong glance. "Old geezer, if you don't have any more bullshit to spew, hurry up and get out. I'm busy."

The elder's expression gradually grew solemn. "Your Majesty, the Blood Moon Empire's actions have severely threatened the safety of the Chiyan Empire. The Seven Deadly Sins are suspected to be tied to them, and the nobles have also been infiltrated by the Blood Clan. If this isn't dealt with, the Chiyan Empire will be in grave danger."

"Then how do you suggest we handle it?"

"Deploy Supreme Heaven," the elder enunciated, word by word.

The moment those words were spoken, even the constantly flippant King Chi turned serious.

She fell silent for a moment before saying, "Fine."

...

...

"Jasmine, just eat something. You haven't eaten for days." Yang Dongqing looked with utter heartbreak at Jasmine, who had tied herself to the bed.

Jasmine looked exceptionally haggard. She had visibly lost weight, her skin was entirely pale without a trace of color, and her lips were cracked.

Yang Dongqing held a bowl of blood out to her, but Jasmine immediately recoiled in terror. "No! Take it away! I don't want to become a monster that drinks human blood! I never want to hurt anyone ever again!"

Yang Dongqing's heart ached even more. "Jasmine, this isn't anyone else's blood. It's mine. It's okay, you can drink it."

"Sob..." Jasmine curled into a ball, bursting into tears. There were still scorch marks on her left arm.

"Dongqing, I can't take it anymore. I really can't. I have nightmares every single day. I keep dreaming about that child who died when I drank his blood. He keeps asking me why I killed him. I'm a monster, a monster who can't even stand the light. Just let me die."

Jasmine was on the verge of a breakdown. She couldn't forgive herself for what she had done. Even though Murong Yun had forced her, that child had still died because of her. She wanted to atone through suicide; the burns on her left arm were from when she had sneaked out into the sunlight while Yang Dongqing wasn't paying attention, though he had managed to save her.

"Jasmine, this isn't your fault. That bastard Murong Yun forced you. He's the one who deserves to die; it has nothing to do with you. Don't worry, I will definitely find a way to cure you. We can go back to living just like before."

"We can't go back. We haven't been able to go back for a long time. I can't even stand in the light, much less sing in front of an audience. Sometimes I even worry... I worry that I'll go berserk and rush into the audience to suck their blood..."

Yang Dongqing clenched his fists tightly. Seeing Jasmine's breakdown, he wanted nothing more than to rush out and kill Murong Yun immediately.

He pulled Jasmine into a tight hug, his eyes turning red as he tried to comfort her. "Jasmine, don't worry. Everything will get better. Everything will... Jasmine?!"

He suddenly froze, staring at Jasmine in disbelief. Jasmine was slowly turning transparent, as if she were being erased by something.