Chapter 323: Yang Dongqing: My World is Too Dangerous

The woman in red seemed to see through the Undead King's thoughts. Remaining expressionless, she said, "Although I haven't fully recovered my memories, I can tell you with absolute certainty that the Gods cannot cross over."

"I remember a time long ago, before the Seven Great Empires were established. It was an era of chaos and darkness. The Gods of the Nightmare World attempted to invade reality more than once, but even then, they never truly descended. The only things that managed to break through were nightmare monsters and their divine kin."

"Then came the founding of the Seven Great Empires, completely ending the Nightmare Era. Today, even nightmare monsters have become incredibly rare in reality."

The Undead King furrowed his brow. "What exactly happened when the Seven Great Empires were founded? Why do the historical records only mention it in a few sparse strokes?"

The woman in red frowned slightly, lost in thought. "I don't remember. Something crucial must have happened—perhaps related to the vanished King."

"The vanished King?!" The Undead King was shocked. Everyone knew there were only six of the Seven Kings. One King had vanished entirely into the river of history. King Chi had merely inherited that missing King's empire; she was a usurper.

"Whatever happened back then is no longer important. What matters is that the Gods cannot enter reality. They couldn't do it during the dark ages, and it's even more impossible now."

"Reality imposes limits on the Gods. Once their power reaches a certain threshold, reality rejects them."

"So that means Pride... he lied to me?!" The Undead King's body trembled uncontrollably. His eyes were entirely swallowed by a blood-red hue as absolute fury erupted within him.

"Pride!!"

He finally understood why Pride had let him go so easily. It was because the Gods couldn't cross over at all!

The Gods had wanted to invade reality back when the Seven Great Empires were first established. If Pride truly was the avatar of a God, why not just let that God descend directly?

If he had just held out a little longer, waiting for the invading divine power to reach its limit and trigger reality's rejection, wouldn't that mean...

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. His chest felt like it might explode. To think the magnificent Undead King had actually been tricked by a mere wisp of divine aura!

"Calm down. Never lose your reason. That is how a King must behave," the woman in red reprimanded.

"Yes, Progenitor." The Undead King suppressed his fury, his expression turning terrifyingly dark.

"Remember, you must kill Pride. His abilities are far too dangerous. He is very likely an envoy sent by the Gods of the Nightmare World, or perhaps even an avatar of a God himself. I have a premonition that if left unchecked—if he is allowed to freely open the Two Worlds Passage and unleash nightmare monsters—this entire world will sooner or later be destroyed by him."

"Although humanity is the dominant force here, the existence of the Blood Clan also relies on humans. Pride's existence threatens not only the Blood Moon Empire but the entire world. He is a public enemy!"

"Yes, Progenitor. I will convene the Seven Kings Council and unite the major empires in a crusade against Pride and the Seven Deadly Sins!"

...

...

Several days later.

Unaware that he had just been labeled an enemy of the world, Su Mu was currently standing in the underground training grounds of the General Law Enforcement Bureau, watching the newly recruited Nightmare Apostles undergo their trials.

Because the Chiyan Empire had recently granted noble status to Lin Lingling and every member of Su Mu's team in one sweep, then heavily publicized it, even more Nightmare Apostles showed up for the trial this time than before.

Naturally, a portion of the crowd consisted of those who had been eliminated previously. Unwilling to accept failure, they had returned to participate in the selection once more.

As for the ten squads being almost completely wiped out, although that staggering mortality rate had scared off some Nightmare Apostles, the vast majority still came without hesitation.

Life and death didn't terrify Nightmare Apostles the way they did ordinary people. They were like terminally ill patients—knowing they were doomed to die anyway, why wouldn't they risk everything in a desperate struggle?

Su Mu watched the newcomers on the training ground with great interest. Before long, he felt a familiar gaze fix on him from the crowd.

He glanced sideways, meeting the look.

It belonged to a muscular young man with an exceptionally average face—the kind that would instantly vanish into a crowd. However, his aura was entirely unique.

The first impression he gave off was coldness—a bone-deep chill radiating from the inside out. He seemed to care absolutely nothing for his surroundings, looking completely unapproachable.

Yet, when this young man looked at Su Mu, a flicker of emotion appeared in those icy eyes, hinting at surprise and astonishment.

Su Mu smiled gently at the stranger, who immediately averted his eyes.

The smile on Su Mu's lips deepened. Even though the man was wearing a different face, Su Mu already knew who he was.

Yang Dongqing!

Appearances could deceive, but souls could not. He was very familiar with Yang Dongqing, and combined with his extreme proficiency in the Dao of the Soul, he recognized him at a single glance.

Yang Dongqing's temperament had drastically changed ever since Jasmine's death. After being taken to the Revolutionary Army by Specter, his personality had grown even colder. He felt like a completely different person now.

'Has he already broken through to Silver?'

Su Mu wasn't surprised. Although Yang Dongqing's Law was garbage, his talent was solid. He was a Chosen One, and with the Revolutionary Army's commander, Specter, training him, breaking through to Silver was a simple matter.

He just hadn't expected Specter to actually send Yang Dongqing here. Perhaps Specter had noticed something.

The Revolutionary Army's greatest enemy was the Chiyan Imperial Family. Now that the imperial family was making such massive moves—broadly recruiting Nightmare Apostles to explore the Nightmare World—the Revolutionary Army was undoubtedly the most concerned party.

Amidst the crowd, Yang Dongqing frowned deeply. 'Why is he here too? Is he also here for the selection?'

Yang Dongqing had no idea that Su Mu had long since joined the exploration project. Lately, he had been desperately training to grow stronger within the Revolutionary Army, living a completely isolated life.

To resurrect Jasmine, he hadn't rested for a single moment. His heart was entirely set on helping the Revolutionary Army overthrow the rule of the Chiyan Empire, and subsequently securing Supreme Heaven!

Specter had promised that once the Revolutionary Army realized its ideals and obtained Supreme Heaven, they would help him resurrect Jasmine.

Had Specter not sent him out on a mission this time, he absolutely wouldn't have taken a single step outside the Revolutionary Army's training base.

Su Mu's appearance made him think of Jasmine once again. After all, strictly speaking, Su Mu counted as their matchmaker.

However, Yang Dongqing didn't plan to acknowledge Su Mu. He knew that he and Su Mu belonged to two different worlds now. The Su Mu of the past was indeed very smart and possessed mysterious methods, but that was strictly limited to a small place like Star City.

After joining the Revolutionary Army, witnessing what a Gold powerhouse was, and seeing the strength of the Revolutionary Army's commander, he finally understood that his past self had been a frog at the bottom of a well, easily shocked by Su Mu's Illusion Technique methods.

During this period, he had met far too many powerhouses and had seen numerous abilities that were far more mysterious and potent than Su Mu's illusions.

It was just like someone from a small town seeing a wealthy neighbor eat meat at every meal and assuming that was the extent of wealth. But upon moving to a big city and seeing the world, they would discover that true wealth meant much more than just eating meat—it meant luxury cars, villas, beautiful women, private jets...

Yang Dongqing thought silently, 'Now that I've joined the Revolutionary Army and been accepted as a disciple by its commander, he and I are from completely different worlds. My world is too dangerous. It's best not to drag him into it.'

'Once I take first place in the trial, if Su Mu also passes the assessment, I'll prioritize recruiting him into my squad. At least, if he encounters any real danger, I'll still be able to save him.'