Chapter 236: Supreme Heaven Shattered

King Chi strode forward with unhurried grace. Wherever she passed, heads bowed in submission; no one dared look directly at her face—save for Su Mu.

This was Su Mu's first time seeing the true King Chi. The oppressive aura she exuded felt far more intense than the pressure in Sikong Zhen's dream.

Merely looking at her gave the illusion that they existed in entirely different dimensions. It felt like a genetic instinct—a primal, natural awe when facing a higher form of life.

Powerful. Terrifyingly powerful.

She was undeniably the strongest entity Su Mu had encountered so far. Even so, King Chi's overwhelming pressure didn't affect him in the slightest. No matter how strong she was, she still fell within the realm of humanity—a far cry from the Gods he had witnessed.

King Chi stepped up to the high platform dominating the square. She reached out from her wide sleeves, extending hands as pale and flawless as jade. A small, dark-gold gourd rested in her palm, which she aimed at the cage holding the prisoners.

She didn't speak a single word—there was no need to converse with the dead—and immediately began the charging ritual.

Within the cage, Specter stared intently at the gourd in King Chi's hand. How could it be a gourd!?

As shock rippled through his mind, he caught sight of the pale hand gripping the gourd. There, resting on her ring finger, was a dark-gold ring.

Specter narrowed his eyes. I see. Is the gourd just a disguise for Supreme Heaven? It seemed the intelligence Pride provided was entirely accurate; the ring on King Chi's hand matched the description perfectly.

With such a deliberate misdirection, that ring had to be Supreme Heaven!

Right at that moment, a sudden hum tore through the air!

The resonant sound echoed as a dazzling burst of dark-gold light erupted from the gourd, spilling out like an unleashed galaxy. With a gentle wave of her pristine hand, King Chi looked like a celestial goddess dragging a river of stars, showering the dark-gold radiance over the prisoners in the cage.

The prisoners stood paralyzed by the magnificent sight. The dark-gold river of stars reflected in their pupils, and some even took on a look of sheer obsession, reaching out to touch the drifting starlight.

Among the captives, Yang Dongqing's expression remained icy. He abruptly clenched his fists, and a dark light surged from his body, instantly coalescing into a suit of pitch-black armor. The heavy plates encased him completely. As the visor slammed shut, unbridled hostility flared in his exposed eyes.

He roared. Black light churned in his right palm, manifesting into a pitch-black longblade out of thin air.

Several prisoners noticed the sudden shift, but before they could react, Yang Dongqing slashed his blade forward. A terrifying black light erupted, carving a lethal half-moon arc through the air.

The prisoners blocking his path were instantly cleaved in two. The black arc carried on without losing momentum, ultimately slamming into the Mithril cage.

Boom!

The cage doors shattered instantly, blasting open a massive, gaping hole.

The sudden chaos left everyone stunned, but Yang Dongqing didn't pause for a second. Trampling over severed limbs and bloody wreckage, he charged out of the enclosure.

The inmates stood dumbfounded for a brief moment before an unknown voice screamed, "Run!"

A frantic surge followed as the crowd trampled over each other, desperately scrambling to escape the cage.

Clack, clatter...

In the very moment the riot erupted, the shackles on their wrists and ankles, along with the collars around their necks, all snapped open simultaneously.

Specter silently withdrew his hand, blending into the chaotic throng before vanishing entirely.

Su Mu had witnessed Specter's entire maneuver. The man had merely twitched his fingers, and in an instant, every single lock was dismantled. Was this the true power of the Revolutionary Army's leader?

What kind of ability was that?

"Seize the prisoners!" an official beside King Chi roared from the platform.

King Chi watched the ensuing chaos with a slight frown, a flicker of displeasure crossing her sharp eyes. The moment her brow furrowed, an invisible, suffocating pressure fell over the entire square.

Yang Dongqing, having been the first to break out, was the first to draw fire. Not a single guard stationed here was weak.

A Silver Transcendent drew a Mithril shortsword from his waist. Searing flames ignited along the edge as he hacked viciously toward Yang Dongqing, the terrifying heat of the blade aura warping the very air.

Bang!

Yang Dongqing was sent flying backward. Even with the enhancement of an Artifact, he was simply too weak. As a mere Bronze Tier 2, the armor on his chest was cleaved open instantly, the flesh underneath scorched black by the flames.

Piercing agony wracked his entire body, yet Yang Dongqing didn't utter a single sound. Instead, the hostility burning in his eyes only grew fiercer!

A split second later, the shattered armor on his chest writhed like a living creature. In the span of a single breath, the metal knitted itself back together, completely pristine once more.

He raised his black blade and charged again.

The Silver Transcendent's eyes turned icy. He unleashed another strike, a terrifying wave of fiery blade aura crashing down vertically, seeking to split Yang Dongqing in half.

But this time, Yang Dongqing was only forced back a few steps. Spiderweb cracks fractured across his armor, yet the plating held firm.

He threw himself forward once more. As he sprinted, the armor known as Seven Halls Yama fully restored itself.

Several more terrifying fiery arcs hacked down in rapid succession. However, while Yang Dongqing was repeatedly knocked back, the armor bore not a single scratch.

Seeing how resilient he was, the other guards swarmed in to attack. Yet their strikes only ever proved effective the first time; every subsequent blow dealt less and less damage. Again and again, Yang Dongqing was knocked down, and again and again, he dragged himself back up. His eyes were entirely eclipsed by manic violence, stripped of any remaining shred of human reason.

A suffocating, murderous aura radiated from the pitch-black armor, making him look like a blood-soaked Asura marching straight out of Hell!

Meanwhile, the unshackled prisoners threw themselves into a bloody melee with the guards, plunging the square into utter chaos.

Amidst the sheer mayhem, Specter finally made his move. His speed reached an absolute extreme—so blindingly fast that no one saw how he suddenly appeared right beside King Chi.

By the time her royal guards noticed him, it was already too late. Their faces drained of color.

"Protect the King—"

Slash!

A cold flash of steel severed King Chi's right hand—the one holding the gourd—clean off!

The gourd plummeted toward the ground, but Specter didn't even spare it a glance. He snatched King Chi's severed hand and fled into the air.

Yes, he was actually flying!

This was the first time Su Mu had ever seen a Transcendent take to the skies. Historically, not even Gold experts had mastered true flight; they could only suspend themselves briefly to glide. But Specter was flying, free and unhindered.

It looked as if an invisible force was lifting his body, propelling him forward as rapidly as a missile.

I got it!

Specter felt a surge of wild ecstasy. What he failed to notice, however, were the cold smirks creeping onto the faces of King Chi and Gongsun Quan back on the high platform.

Watching from afar, Su Mu shook his head slightly. He knew right then that Specter had fallen right into a trap.

Sure enough, just as Specter reached the edge of the square, disaster struck!

The Supreme Heaven ring, resting on that severed hand sculpted like fine art, suddenly erupted with an incredibly sinister, freezing aura. With a sharp crack, Supreme Heaven... shattered!

Instantly, a slender thread of cursed energy—writhing like a black snake—slithered out from the shattered ring and immediately bored straight into Specter's hand.