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"High Priest...."

The Deputy General clung desperately to the High Priest and anxiously said, "No, you must not let down Princess Zi Yue’s intentions. Please think about her last words before she left!"

The High Priest was stunned.

If I were to die in battle, please, High Priest, ensure the safety of the children and bring them all back.

The High Priest, upon hearing these words, gritted his teeth.

He suddenly regretted being useless. When Zi Yue had intended to take action, he should have stepped in himself.

How could he, an old man, have let the younger generation’s hope go to death?

How could he continue to hold his face high as the High Priest?

But as the Deputy General had said, if he himself caused an accident now, the entire Four Holy Army would likely be finished!

For a moment, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness spread throughout his body. He had never thought that one day he too would make such a powerless choice...

He sighed. Just as he was about to raise his hand to announce a retreat, suddenly, a scene before him made him pause.

That was...

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"That was quite cruel..." The Sparrow Bee, watching Zi Yue being terribly burnt in Heaven, frowned deeply.

From the Emperor’s tone of voice when he had spoken with Zi Yue just now, it seemed emotional, yet his attack was so ruthless.

The pain inflicted by Dark Crow Flame makes one wish for death, and Golden Crow Flame is definitely not far off.

This kind of torment that burns only skin and flesh is likely more excruciating than Poisonous Heart Decay.

But what surprised him was the state of Zi Yue.

In the midst of the flames, although her face was beyond recognition, her gaze remained cold. Her bloodied and blurred face appeared contorted, yet her eyes were utterly tranquil.

No wailing, no anger—just a cold disregard, as if she were made of ice...

"The Grand Sorcerer truly has spirit," the Emperor commented, with a trace of admiration.

"It’s not only you who have experienced suffering..." Zi Yue’s clear, cold voice still permeated through the flames. "In this wretched world, there is much suffering you do not see."

Zi Yue recalled the torturous scenes in the Sorcerer Dynasty’s laboratory.

Huh... there are some things she didn’t even want to remember.

A revered member of the Imperial Clan, voluntarily took part in the Fusion, beloved by her people, but what was the result?

She suffered secretly.

Some of the higher-ups, fearing she was too dazzling and might lose control, used this opportunity to utterly shatter her spirit. Many of the experiments did not need such methods, yet they used monstrously inhumane tactics under the pretext of forcing out her Reincarnator memories.

Skin flaying and tendon extraction were mere child’s play by comparison. Various methods filled with utmost humiliation caused even the steadfast Princess to collapse, her memory fracturing.

Think about it... it really isn’t worth it, is it now... Princess?

A cold, mocking laugh emanated from within the flames, its chilling spirit penetrating to the bone. The Emperor, surrounded by the Golden Crow Flame below, felt a bone-deep chill and a solemnity arose within his eyes.

This person... might be as dangerous as Shenyue.

Just as this feeling arose, very suddenly, a figure appeared out of nowhere.

The speed was astonishingly fast, and even the Sparrow Bee, who prided himself on his speed, was stunned.

How could that be?

An eerie blackness, like transforming ink, surrounded Princess Zi Yue in an instant, transforming everything around her as if it were a part of a landscape painting. The sinister blackness enveloped her, altering even the domineering Golden Crow Flame.

The golden flames turned black and then transformed into a landscape painting as well, subtly lifted yet only a flame within a painting. As the painter, it was naturally effortless to pluck Zi Yue, who was enveloped in flames, out of danger.

A black robe covered Zi Yue’s entire body, a gentle force dispelling much of the coldness in her eyes.

"Have I... met you before?" the Emperor stepped forward, his aura overwhelming, flames of boundless battle intent soaring behind him.

Sparrow Bee stood behind the Emperor like a hidden dagger.

As a King Level assassin, his strike would be the deadliest, and he was preparing to utilize his breath, his specialized assassin skills.

There was no other reason; the person before him was too eerie.

Clearly not at King Level, yet possessing King-level speed, even quicker than himself now—this was something he had never seen before.

He had a feeling this might be the most troublesome opponent he had ever faced.

The newcomer did not respond. Looking up, it was that face blending Yin and Yang, none other than the mysterious Celestial Phenomenon who had severely injured Tian Heng.

"I... must have met you before." Without waiting for a response, the Emperor continued, "Back when the King of Qin sealed the Demon Statue, part of the memory of the sealing process disappeared—the explanation at the time was a special ability of a Demon Statue causing our memory loss.

But I have always felt otherwise, I believe.

.. it was the King of Qin who secretly left behind a Demon Statue. "

"The technique that made our memories vanish was the King of Qin’s doing, not ours... you... you were that Demon Statue, weren’t you?"

The Demon Statue rose, its face a blend of black and white still eerie, revealing no emotions, yet the Emperor watching it tensed up completely.

This Demon Statue was exceedingly dangerous, dangerously so—his guess couldn’t be wrong, it was definitely that one left by the King of Qin all those years ago.

"Why so tense, Your Majesty?" a voice that varied between Yin and Yang emanated bizarrely from the Demon Statue, sounding strange yet comfortable, a blend of Yin and Yang, the four symbols circulating.

"Don’t you also have a Demon Statue?"

At this, the Emperor’s expression instantly turned colder, not even willing to speak more, he directly attacked the Demon Statue.

With the same domineering aura, his attack was expansive and aggressive, a punch carrying the most masculine power in the world, as if intending to completely dissolve the space around the opponent.

The Emperor’s moves were simple, but the speed was extremely fast, from initiation to execution in one fluid movement, making Sparrow Bee’s heart race.

Usually, those who pursue speed cannot pursue potential; why else would an assassin follow the path of cunning? Speed equates to power, a well-known fact in physics, but why is the fastest among the King-level known for his assassin persona?

In this world, filled with creators’ ideal martial arts secrets, techniques are not only for combat but also embody the posses of the universe.

The greater the momentum, the greater the power, yet the faster the speed, the harder it is to build momentum—an incredibly difficult contradiction to resolve.

Anyone who can integrate both is surely a master.

Sparrow Bee specialized in the assassin’s path because he knew that to maintain speed, he could not generate any form of momentum or potential.

The assassin’s path is to forsake potential in favor of pursuing the limit of speed, a crafty path which is why others follow the grand path of martial arts, while he follows the lesser path of assassins.

The principle of "only speed is invincible" does not hold true in this world.

The Emperor excelled in the speed of his maneuvers, probably the smoothest and fastest he had ever seen, smoother than any top guild leader, their ability to generate power as natural as if it were his inherent ability.

Facing this nearly perfect momentum with his punch, the Demon Statue did not dodge. Holding Zi Yue in one arm, it directly blocked the punch with the other.

Daring to take it head-on?

Excitement flashed in the Emperor’s eyes. Since achieving skill mastery, no one had truly taken his punch head-on, everyone else cunningly dodged it. He truly wanted to know what capabilities the Demon Statue hidden by the King of Qin possessed.

And what exactly did the King of Qin’s left piece...intend to do?