Chapter 403: Why Not Let Su Mu Wear the Black Feather Cloak

"Then what about dropping the Blood Clan Progenitor straight onto the battlefield?"

The Undead King looked troubled. "Her state is already unstable. Once the slaughter begins, I'm afraid she'll descend into madness and attack without distinguishing friend from foe. Most importantly, her instincts will drive her to feed on human blood. That means she might prioritize hunting humans over the Nightmare Creatures."

Hearing this, the other Kings frowned. They had wanted to help the Undead King resolve the issue with his Royal Power Artifact, only to realize the problem seemed unsolvable.

It made sense. If it were an easy fix, the Undead King wouldn't have delayed until now; he would have solved it himself long ago.

"What about you, King Chi?" The Dragon King looked toward King Chi, who had remained silent this entire time.

King Chi betrayed a hint of panic. "My problem is even harder than the Undead King's. If you can't even solve his, telling you would be a waste of breath."

She was telling the truth. Although the Scarlet Moon was temporarily unusable, it at least remained in the Undead King's hands. In contrast, the Supreme Heaven had long since been taken by Pride.

Snatch the Supreme Heaven back from a God? If they truly had that kind of strength, they wouldn't even need the Supreme Heaven in the first place.

"How do you know we can't solve it if you refuse to speak?" the Undead King pressed. Having laid bare the flaws of his own Royal Power Artifact, he naturally wouldn't let King Chi keep hiding hers.

But King Chi was like a turtle eating a steelyard weight—stubborn and completely unyielding. She simply refused to speak.

"Do you think I don't want to solve it? If it could be solved, I would have told you long ago. Bringing it up when nothing can be done will only add to our troubles."

"Ah, you are mistaken." The Saint King stepped forward, his tone amicable. "King Chi, you are still young, and your horizons are shallow. A problem you deem unsolvable is not necessarily unsolvable for others."

"Hmph!" The Undead King sneered. "Do you really think everyone here is a fool? Given how you're stalling, anyone can guess the Supreme Heaven is lost. What's lost is lost. The Seven Kings are currently united against a common enemy; no one will target your Chiyan Empire at a time like this. You might as well tell us where you lost the Supreme Heaven, and perhaps we can help you find it."

The other Kings watched King Chi with calm expressions, clearly thinking the exact same thing.

King Chi's evasiveness was proof enough; the Supreme Heaven was obviously lost.

If she still had it, she would have deployed it long ago. After two perilous battles, there was no reason to hold it back.

"King Chi, you need not worry about us keeping the Supreme Heaven for ourselves if we find it. It can only be wielded by the Chiyan Imperial Family anyway. Right now, the most pressing matter is maximizing our collective strength, so it will certainly be returned to its rightful owner," the Dragon King said solemnly.

Faced with their pressing questions, King Chi's expression shifted unpredictably. Finally, she sighed. "It's no use. You won't be able to get the Supreme Heaven back."

Her words were tantamount to admitting it had indeed been lost. The Gold-tier Kings weren't surprised, however; it was exactly what they expected.

"Is there anything in this world the Seven Kings cannot retrieve by joining forces?" The Dragon King's face was full of arrogance. "Where is the Supreme Heaven?"

"In Pride's hands."

The Dragon King fell silent.

For three long seconds, everyone remained silent, looking at each other in dismay.

Looking at their silence, King Chi felt rather annoyed. I didn't want to say it, but you forced me to. Now that I have, you can't do anything about it, yet you insisted on knowing...

"Why is it in Pride's hands?" the Dragon King asked in a low voice after a long silence.

Even he hadn't noticed himself subconsciously lowering his voice at the mention of Pride.

Since the secret was out, King Chi stopped hiding the truth and said bluntly, "My father took the Supreme Heaven into the Nightmare World and died there. Naturally, the artifact was lost in the Nightmare World alongside him, and it was later obtained by Pride.

"I wonder, which of you can snatch the Supreme Heaven back from Pride's hands?"

"Ahem..." The Dragon King coughed lightly. Looking out at the Nightmare Creatures wreaking havoc across the ocean, he feigned solemnity and said, "The war demands our urgent attention. We will discuss this matter later."

With that, he turned and headed out to sea.

The other Kings immediately scattered like birds and beasts, dispersing in all directions.

"Hmph!" King Chi pouted. "A bunch of cowards. If only the Night Raven were here. Maybe I could use a honey trap to get him to win back the Supreme Heaven for me."

Recalling the Night Raven's luxurious appearance—like an elegant noble of the dark night—King Chi couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Your Majesty. Your Majesty." Dongfang Yuan's repeated calls finally brought King Chi back to her senses.

"Your Majesty, Lord Night Raven is a God. You absolutely must not harbor thoughts of profaning a God. What if you offend him? Who will contend with Pride then?" Dongfang Yuan admonished with a grave face.

King Chi's cheeks flushed slightly. "Old man, what nonsense are you spouting? How am I profaning a God? I was just thinking about it casually."

"Even thinking about it is forbidden. You've seen the God's mighty power; he can even obliterate a Law. No one can guarantee he cannot see into people's hearts. You should rein in those thoughts. Besides, haven't you taken a liking to Su Mu? At worst, you can just have him wear the Black Feather Cloak..."

Seeing King Chi's expression gradually darken, Dongfang Yuan hastily shut his mouth.

"What's wrong with that!? As the Queen of the Chiyan Empire, what's the problem if I look at a few extra men? It's not like I actually did anything. You're allowed to take in over a dozen concubines, but I'm not even allowed to look?!"

...

...

The next day.

It wasn't until the sun hung high in the sky that the human army, led by the Seven Kings, finally repelled this wave of the Nightmare frenzy. However, a new round of battle was only just beginning.

Because Pride had opened the Nightmare channels once again, the previously plummeting numbers of Nightmare Creatures surged anew, even surpassing the total from the last wave. This protracted war between humanity and the Nightmare World had only just begun.

Across the Seven Great Empires, news of Sanctuary Night Raven was overwhelming. The spectacle of his clash with Pride had been far too massive; not only the frontline soldiers, but even the residents of the coastal cities had witnessed it.

News of the Night Raven spread madly across the globe like a tsunami.

Praises for the Night Raven echoed through almost every major city. Overnight, hundreds of cults, both large and small, sprang up in devotion to him.

Religion often spread fastest during periods of turmoil. When people were at their most desperate, they urgently needed a concrete God to give them the hope to survive.

Now, this savior God had appeared, and it was all thanks to Pride. Because Pride's name as an evil god was already universally known, the entire world was shrouded in his shadow.

At a time like this, the appearance of an orthodox God capable of contending with Pride easily earned humanity's faith.

At the same time, Su Mu also harvested even more power of faith. Massive amounts of faith flooded in at almost every moment, and as the Night Raven's name spread, the progress bar for the Heaven-Deceiving Bagua soared. In just a few more days, it would reach perfection.

During these few days, Su Mu didn't even need to lift a finger. He only had to wait quietly for the Night Raven's name to spread, because what he was doing this time was... deceiving the entire world.

He had originally assumed his realm advancements would become slower and slower, but the opposite was true. Although the innate difficulty of advancing had increased, thanks to his various maneuvers, his progress was even faster than when he was in the Bronze tier.

As for his Silver 3 Law, Bloodshed Berserk, that was even less of an issue. It didn't require malicious energy; it only demanded constant, proficient mastery. He could just grind it out, and time was the one thing he didn't lack.