Chapter 361: The Mad King, Times Have Changed!

"Calling yourself a King while using hostages as leverage... Shangguan Chen, after all these years, you haven't grown at all." Su Mu shook his head in disappointment.

"Cut the crap!" Shangguan Chen's expression turned ferocious. "If you don't hand over Supreme Heaven, I'll make you watch them die one by one right in front of you!"

He raised his aged hand and slashed violently at the void.

Swish!

The void tore open, forming a massive rift taller than a man.

Shangguan Chen reached into the spatial rift, intending to drag out a hostage and execute them in front of Su Mu.

He reached in and grabbed... Wait!? He caught nothing?

Shangguan Chen froze. He changed his angle and reached in again, thrashing his arm around inside the rift. The sinister smile on his face gradually stiffened.

Where were the people!?

Where were all those living, breathing people?!

"It was you!" Shangguan Chen realized, his expression turning downright ugly. "You saved them?"

"Not completely stupid, I see," Su Mu said, nodding mildly in acknowledgement.

"So what will you do now?" Su Mu smiled. "Are you going to demand I hand the hostages back over to you?"

Shangguan Chen's face darkened to the extreme. He remained silent for a long moment before finally saying in a stiff voice, "Actually... you and I don't have to be enemies."

"I am in the Nightmare World, and you are in the Real World. Our paths never needed to cross. I have no interest in anything in the Real World. Aside from Supreme Heaven, I can return the Chiyan Empire to you. I can even mobilize the power of the Primal Divine Cult to help you. As long as you hand over Supreme Heaven and Su Qing, I can help you reclaim the throne—even rule the world!"

"Heh... hahaha..." Su Mu couldn't stop laughing. "Help me? What the hell are you to think you're worthy of helping me?"

"You're nothing but a petty thief who broke into the house while the master was away. That's what you are in the Real World, and that's exactly what you are in the Nightmare World."

That single sentence struck Shangguan Chen right in a sore spot. The truth always breached a person's defenses most easily. If you called a beautiful woman ugly, she wouldn't get angry, because she knew it was a lie.

The current Shangguan Chen was the same. He had usurped a nation in the Real World, and he had usurped the Primal Divine Cult in the Nightmare World. Calling him a petty thief was a fair, objective summary of his life.

Shangguan Chen's aged body trembled. He could barely contain the fury in his eyes, but he was completely helpless. He couldn't voice a single word of rebuttal.

"What exactly do I have to do to make you hand over Supreme Heaven and Su Qing? Name your terms. There is nothing in this world we can't negotiate."

Su Mu shot a calm glance at Shangguan Chen, who was on the verge of erupting. "Kneel down and beg me. Just like you used to. Then maybe I'll..."

Thump!

Before Su Mu could even finish his sentence, Shangguan Chen dropped heavily to his knees. Like a devout servant, he pressed his forehead to the ground and stretched his hands forward.

"Your former servant, Shangguan Chen, begs the Mad King to grant my request!"

Shangguan Chen's voice was loud, resonant, and incredibly crisp. He hadn't hesitated in the slightest.

His actions sparked a hint of astonishment in Su Mu's eyes. As a King of the Chiyan Empire, the Pope of the Primal Divine Cult, and now a Saint Grade powerhouse, Shangguan Chen was the most exalted existence in either world. Yet such a figure could cast aside his dignity so casually, without a shred of hesitation, all to trade for an illusory possibility.

Seeing this, Su Mu suddenly understood how Shangguan Chen had managed to steal a nation, seize control of the Primal Divine Cult, and reach the Saint Grade. He also understood why his past self had taken the man in as a subordinate.

Wasn't this kind of person incredibly interesting?

Shangguan Chen would use any means necessary to achieve his goals. He abandoned his wife and daughter, sold his dignity, and remained utterly selfish and ruthless. As long as he got what he wanted, he would discard anything. He possessed all the prerequisites for success and pushed them to the absolute extreme.

"Wow, you actually knelt?" Su Mu chuckled with piqued interest.

"I beg the Mad King to grant my request! I swear that once I obtain Supreme Heaven, I will never take another step into the Real World! As long as you... just die!"

Shangguan Chen abruptly raised his head, a sinister grin surfacing on his face.

At the same time, within the Dream Space, the two Primal Supreme Treasures resting in the corner suddenly erupted with intense holy light!

The Gold Crown and Gold Scepter defied gravity and floated into the air. Swoosh!

The sound of tearing air rang out. Almost instantly—so fast that Su Mu had no time to react—the two supreme treasures shot toward him.

Squelch!

The Gold Scepter viciously pierced through Su Mu's chest, while the Gold Crown embedded itself onto his head. It emanated a powerful suppressive force that completely paralyzed him; he couldn't move a single finger.

His true body was attacked within the dream. Under the tremendous force of the primal divine power, he tumbled back into the Real World. His body flew backward uncontrollably until the Gold Scepter pinned him brutally against a massive boulder.

"Hahaha..." Shangguan Chen climbed up from the ground. Looking at Su Mu's true body, he threw his head back and laughed wildly. His expression was filled with smugness and sheer excitement.

"Mad King, oh Mad King, it seems I am the superior one after all! Times have changed. Your era ended long ago! Now... it is my era!"

A mocking look appeared on Shangguan Chen's face. He stood proudly. The dust staining his knees was strikingly obvious against his spotless white robes, yet it didn't diminish his overwhelming, sovereign aura in the slightest.

"Why do you think I wasted all that breath talking to you? It was all for this moment! I have already seen through your abilities. You are merely hiding in a higher dimension. Although I cannot shatter that dimension, you were too arrogant! Just as arrogant as you always were!"

"Your biggest mistake was taking the Primal Supreme Treasures into that dimension with you! I might not be able to hit you in that higher dimension, but I can control the Primal Supreme Treasures to strike you down!"

"Kneeling and begging for mercy was just to make you lower your guard and guarantee a flawless, lethal strike!"

He slowly walked up to Su Mu, his eyes mocking and his heart overflowing with the joy of victory.

In this moment, he felt he had finally defeated the lingering nightmare in his heart. That invincible man had finally been conquered!

It didn't matter that the current Mad King was only at the Silver Grade. All that mattered was that the victor took all!

Pinned against the massive boulder by the Gold Scepter, Su Mu was still smiling. There was not a shred of fear or defeat on his face—only... excitement.

"Your acting skills are truly on par with the Pope's."

"Hmph. Enough nonsense. Hand over Supreme Heaven right now, or I will make you beg for life and pray for death!" A piercing, cold light flashed in Shangguan Chen's eyes.

"I told you, Supreme Heaven is in the Abyss. Too bad you didn't believe me. I am very curious, though. What makes you so certain I can bring Supreme Heaven out?"