Liu Zongmin's facial muscles were twitching.

He was battle-hardened and had slain countless people, but never before had he felt such trembling from the depths of his heart as he did today.


Everything happening before his eyes had exceeded his understanding of "power." It wasn't martial arts, it wasn't magic, but rather... a "rule-based" strike from a higher dimension.

"Retreat! All forces fall back!"

He roared, issuing the retreat order without hesitation. Facing this incomprehensible enemy, any hesitation would be fatal.


The surviving rebels fled toward the eastern mouth of the canyon, scrambling away as if granted amnesty.

But they couldn't escape.


At the east gate, the third team of elite soldiers personally led by Sun Chuanting had already formed their battle formation. They wielded uniform regulation long sabers, each blade bearing simple but faith-filled runes drawn in cinnabar.

"Cut!"

At Sun Chuanting's command, the first row of shield bearers stepped forward, using weapons imbued with "the power of humanity" to cleanly cut down the foremost fleeing rebel soldiers from their horses.

Their blades had the same effect as ordinary weapons when dealing with common mortal soldiers. But once they struck those soldiers whose minds had been contaminated and bodies mutated, the cinnabar runes on the blades would suddenly illuminate, causing additional "purification" damage.

This was... a well-prepared slaughter.

Liu Zongmin saw his retreat path cut off, his eyes bloodshot.

"Son of a bitch!" he roared, leaping down from his war chariot, "You think I'm made of mud?"

His towering figure, at the moment of landing, began to rapidly expand. The skin on his body cracked inch by inch, revealing the bright red, constantly writhing muscle tissue beneath. Behind him, four thick, octopus tentacle-like fleshy arms grew out.

["God's Champion" ability activated: Flesh Frenzy]

"Die... you shall!"

He roared, as the four fleshy arms violently slammed into the ground.

The earth shook as if struck by a massive hammer, countless pieces of rock and soil were thrown up, forming a shockwave mixed with flesh and resentment, sweeping toward Chongzhen's direction.

And Chongzhen, just stood there quietly, without moving even a bit.

That violent shockwave, the moment it entered the "Silent Domain," vanished without a trace like mud ox entering the sea.

All the energy, all the resentment, all the flesh, were "annihilated" the moment they entered the domain.

Liu Zongmin's pupils shrank to the size of a pinpoint.

His full-force strike couldn't even make the other person's clothes move an inch.

"Impossible... this is impossible..." he muttered, his faith beginning to collapse in this moment.

"Nothing is impossible."

A calm voice came from behind him.

It was me.

I sat on horseback, slowly walking out from the range of the "Silent Domain," arriving at his side and slightly behind him.

"The 'new god' you worship is essentially about 'proliferation' and 'devouring'," I said in a lecturing tone while looking at his ugly monster form. "While he," I pointed at Emperor Chongzhen, "represents 'finality' and 'extinction'."

"Conceptually, he completely counters you. Just as 'death' is always the ultimate destination of 'life'."

Liu Zongmin turned around abruptly, his blood-red eyes staring intently at me, this suddenly appearing, inconspicuous "mortal."

"It's you!" he recognized me, "You're the one pulling strings behind the scenes!"

"No, I'm just a commentator." I smiled, "My job is to make sure you understand clearly why you're dying."

"You're asking for death!" Liu Zongmin roared, a fleshy arm lashing out at me like a whip.

I didn't dodge.

Because I knew I didn't need to.

Sure enough, just before that fleshy arm was about to strike me, it was casually caught by another hand—a withered, human hand.

It was Chongzhen.

He had appeared in front of me, though I didn't know when.

His seemingly frail body effortlessly gripped Liu Zongmin's violent fleshy arm that could split stone and break monuments.

"You... are very noisy." Chongzhen looked at Liu Zongmin, and for the first time, his pitch-black eye sockets revealed a hint of... something resembling "displeasure."

Then, he gently squeezed.

"Crack."

Liu Zongmin's thick fleshy arm, like sugarcane crushed by a hydraulic press, instantly shattered and crumbled.

"Aaaaah!"

The intense pain finally caused Liu Zongmin to let out an inhuman scream.

He tried to pull back his arm, but found that Chongzhen's hand was like an iron clamp, firmly locking him in place.

Then, he saw a scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life.

A grayish-white "death" aura, following Chongzhen's palm, began to spread toward his arm, and eventually his entire body.

His flesh, his bones, his "New God Power," all began to rapidly "wither," "erode," and turn into lifeless dust before this grayish-white aura.

"No... don't..." Liu Zongmin was finally afraid, using his remaining hand to frantically pound on Chongzhen, but to no avail.

"Let me go! I'm willing to surrender! I'm willing to submit to you! I..."

His pleas stopped abruptly.

Because his entire head had already turned into grayish-white powder, scattering in the wind.

A "Chosen Champion," one of the strongest generals under Li Zicheng, was thus, silently, completely "erased" from this world.

The entire canyon fell into dead silence.

Whether they were Sun Chuanting's soldiers or the surviving rebels, everyone stared blankly at the "demon god" wearing imperial robes standing in the center of the canyon, forgetting even to breathe.

Chongzhen released his hand, allowing the "corpse" that had turned to dust to scatter in the wind.

He turned around, his pitch-black eye sockets looking toward me.

"Next... target," he said in a tone devoid of any emotion.

I looked at him, my heart filled with mixed emotions.

We had won. Won... so easily, so... disturbingly.

I suddenly realized that all my previous plans might have been wrong.

I had tried to use human logic of "ruler and subject," "righteousness," and "the world" to place shackles on an unspeakable "abyss."

But was that possible?

Or perhaps, from the very beginning, it wasn't me who was using him.

But this... divine chess game called "salvation" has chosen both of us... as pieces?

I looked up at the soldiers of Sun Chuanting on the cliff walls on both sides of the canyon, who were equally shocked.

In their eyes, besides fear, there seemed to be a trace of... something else.

It was awe.

It was... primitive worship of... absolute power.

My heart stirred, and a more insane and bolder plan began to slowly take shape in my mind.