Chapter 213: Is It Possible That You Are Pride?

"Your Majesty, King Chi, are you all right?"

King Chi shook her head. "I am unharmed."

A hint of worry flashed through Sikong Zhen's eyes. "Your Majesty, the operating principle of Supreme Heaven is equivalent exchange. You used it to kill a powerhouse of Pride's caliber—how could you possibly be unharmed? I will fetch a Healing Potion right now. Please wait a moment."

The vision ended there.

But Su Mu had already obtained the intelligence he needed.

The Royal Power Artifact, Supreme Heaven!

Equivalent exchange, was it?

So this was the power that had erased the entire Blood Clan from the Chiyan Empire. No wonder the empire rarely used it despite possessing such overwhelming might; they had only dared to unleash it now that their very foundation was threatened.

Among the nobles who had converted to the Blood Clan, there had undoubtedly been Gold powerhouses. The price the Royal Family paid to erase those Gold experts must have been truly terrifying.

Judging by this, the toll of using Supreme Heaven was likely not borne by the user alone. Otherwise, no matter how powerful King Chi might be, how could a single person afford the price of killing several Gold powerhouses and an entire horde of Blood Clan members?

...

...

The next day, the two announcements from the imperial Royal Family completely blew up. Major media outlets scrambled to cover the story, broadcasting it across the nation. This time, the news didn't stop at the borders—foreign countries began running reports of their own.

The notoriety of the Seven Deadly Sins had reached an absolute peak. They had publicly executed an empire noble not long ago, and barely any time had passed before they directly slaughtered a Gold Noble. Within the Chiyan Empire, they had practically pierced the heavens.

The name of the Seven Deadly Sins was now surfacing in news reports across other empires as well. Going by current trends, the group was steadily on track to becoming the world's most villainous organization.

Seven Gold powerhouses gathered together was a force no empire could afford to underestimate.

The Blood Moon Empire, the royal palace.

Several pale young men and women were gathered around a long oval table. They were all high-ranking officials of the Blood Moon Empire—figures so powerful that a single stomp of their feet would send tremors throughout the entire empire.

Yet right now, these people all wore grave expressions as they stared intently at the intelligence report laid on the table.

At the head of the table sat a young man whose face was exceptionally handsome, almost to the point of being demonic. He had ruby-like eyes, and his pale, slender fingers lightly tapped against the tabletop.

He slowly raised his head, his majestic gaze sweeping over everyone present. As he moved, a red, teardrop-shaped earring dangled from his right ear, swaying slightly.

"Everyone, what are your thoughts on this matter concerning the Chiyan Empire?"

"Your Majesty, I believe our plans to invade the Chiyan Empire must be slightly delayed," a man in a black trench coat said heavily. "Our previous intelligence was clearly flawed. Supreme Heaven did not disappear into the Nightmare World with the former King Chi. It appears the former king left Supreme Heaven behind."

"Your Majesty, I second this. The power of Supreme Heaven is simply too immense. Even if we forcefully assault the Chiyan Empire, our nation's strength would suffer massive depletion, potentially leaving us vulnerable to a joint attack from the other empires. Furthermore, I believe the Minister of Intelligence should be punished. She was the one who relayed the false intelligence that led us to believe Supreme Heaven had been lost in the Nightmare World. That misjudgment is exactly what caused our disastrous losses this time."

Hearing this, a glamorous, cold-looking woman sitting at the end of the table—wearing dark purple lipstick—immediately grimaced. But she offered no excuses, merely gritting her teeth as she said, "I ask for Your Majesty's punishment."

The Undead King shot the glamorous woman an indifferent glance, his lips parting slightly. "Go to the Ancestral Land and serve the Progenitor for one month."

The woman's already pale face instantly lost all color. Her body trembled faintly, and she gripped her thighs fiercely, barely managing to keep her composure. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The rest of the officials watched her, all looking as if they were enjoying a good show.

"We will now proceed to the second topic." The Undead King slowly steepled his fingers, his ruby eyes narrowing as they gave off a dangerous, cold gleam. "Which one of you is secretly backing the Seven Deadly Sins?"

The expressions around the table varied wildly as the officials continuously sized up their peers. No one confessed.

"No one wishes to confess? Then can anyone tell me why Xueyuan has become Envy of the Seven Deadly Sins?"

The crowd remained in dead silence. They genuinely had no idea.

Just then, a man seated to the Undead King's right spoke up with a hint of hesitation. "Your Majesty, are you not the one backing them yourself?"

The Undead King's gaze darkened. "Are you saying I am a thief crying thief?"

"No... no, I didn't mean it like that. I simply cannot fathom who else in the entire Blood Moon Empire, aside from Your Great Majesty, possesses the ability to command Xueyuan and establish an organization as powerful as the Seven Deadly Sins.

"As far as I know, the members of the Seven Deadly Sins are all fiercely rebellious individuals, yet they willingly take orders from Pride. That alone speaks to Pride's strength. But no matter how powerful Pride is, it should be impossible to force Xueyuan to betray us. Xueyuan is of the Blood Clan; he could never betray his own bloodline. Pride might be able to kill him, but could never force him into submission.

"That is the only reason I made such an assumption. Your Majesty, please forgive my boldness, but... has your soul affliction worsened recently, to the point of causing lapses in your memory?

"Intelligence reports show that Pride has never revealed their true body; they have only ever appeared as an avatar..."

At this point, the man shot a careful glance at the Undead King and continued, "I am just saying, is it possible that you... are Pride?"

The Undead King's expression darkened completely. "You. Go serve the Progenitor for two months."

"Ah?!"

...

...

Three days later.

Yan Moxie returned to Star City to fulfill his promise. He tracked down Nangong Mengli and asked her to help contact Pride.

Nangong Mengli replied with a single word: wait.

And so Yan Moxie began to wait patiently. He already knew how vastly capable Pride was, so he didn't even bother giving an address. He simply waited.

Su Mu didn't keep him waiting too long, either. A mere ten hours later, he went to meet Yan Moxie.

The ten-hour delay had been quite necessary. After all, as the Leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, he was bound to be busy with everyday affairs. If he showed up the moment someone called, he would come across as far too cheap.

In the Revolutionary Army's underground base, the figures of Pride and Lust appeared out of thin air.

The handful of Revolutionary Army members in the base jumped in fright. They had long heard rumors of the Seven Deadly Sins' elusive movements, but witnessing it with their own eyes was still inevitably terrifying.

"Yo, does this pretty short-haired miss have a boyfriend? Do you like younger guys?" The moment Taoist Priest Xuanqing arrived at the base, his gaze locked onto the woman with the mental link.

The short-haired woman did not reply. Her eyes were filled with solemn wariness; after all, anyone facing the now-illustrious Seven Deadly Sins couldn't help but feel a deep sense of dread.

"Why are you ignoring me? Hmph! Actually, you aren't even that pretty. I was just being polite."