Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1415 - 20: Storming the Imperial Palace (Part 2)
"God Fusion Order · True Martial Arrival!"
Yan Qi’s God Fusion Order, one of the first divine skills comprehended from the "Mystery of Union," is the origin of many skills of Zhang Hongzheng and Qin Ming. Yan Qi’s Hongfa Heaven emphasizes fair Desolate Form. The more contributions he makes to the Empire and the longer he is worshipped by people, the greater the power he can exert. At this moment, he combines his martial incarnation with the incense power in Hongfa Heaven using the God Fusion Order, and the conjoined might has already surpassed the limits that ordinary skills can accommodate. Even with extraordinary talent, Yan Qi cannot rely on mere manifestation to resist.
Yet, faced with the blade, Yan Qi’s expression becomes colder. He suddenly raises his hand, and the corpses of demons previously slaughtered by Emperor Zhenwu rise following his action. From each mutilated body, strange black mists fly out, intertwining and transforming into another terrifying Ghost God. This black Ghost God is formed by piecing together three dried skulls, the top marked with "Occupy," the middle with "Stumble," and the bottom with "Exalt." The three-headed Demon God confronts the sword, penetrating it as if an illusion, and enters Emperor Zhenwu’s body. Zhang Hongzheng’s expression drastically changes as he hears a chilling shout from afar.
"God Fusion Order · Three Corpses’ Rebellion."
The Three Corpse Gods, residing in the upper, middle, and lower parts of the human body, symbolize the Ghost God of desires. Their roles are both righteous and evil, with duties to record the sins and merits of life, and they cannot be completely eradicated by True Martial’s Demon Cleansing Sword. They can further infiltrate the opponent’s body, seizing control. Zhang Hongzheng’s skill was completely deciphered. Despite both using God Fusion Order in combat, Yan Qi’s accomplishment far exceeded Zhang Hongzheng, the original creator.
He gazed indifferently at his master: "Old man, your skills are cleverly devised, but your realm is still insufficient. Heavenly Return Skill hasn’t reached its ultimate, and Impermanence Skill hasn’t grasped authority; no matter how much you merge or blend... you are still not my opponent!"
Yan Qi felt a slight sense of pride, even in such a situation, as he revelled in his own self-satisfaction. Emperor Zhenwu’s presence grew weak under the Three Corpse Gods’ erosion. The contest of the same skill showcased superiority in the most straightforward way. Whether in terms of the realm’s profundity or the construction of skills, Yan Qi held absolute advantage.
If it were in the sects across the Empire, or in any typical master-apprentice duel, the master should feel gratified, for the youth’s progress and even for their own defeat. But Zhang Hongzheng’s eyes seemed about to overflow with blood as he pointed at Yan Qi’s nose, his fingers trembling slightly, like an ordinary and powerless old person.
"Rebellious disciple... rebellious disciple...!" the old man roared, "The Three Corpse Gods govern human desires; if you wish to transcend to purity, you must find a way to use the Wisdom Sword to cut off the three corpses, leaving your good side behind and fighting with a righteous heart!
But look at what you’re wielding now! You’ve trained the Three Corpse Gods, using them to taint others’ purity, ruining others’ cultivation. This is demonic path, harming both others and yourself. Such heretical skills make you violent; what’s the use of merely having combat prowess? Your path has already strayed! Wake up, you wretch!"
Yan Qi was suddenly stunned, having thought that his master would commend him no matter what, yet his victory exchanged for such words of admonition. The reality, deviating from inner expectations, mixed with impatience thwarted several times, gradually contorted his expression.
"You’ve lost in the duel, then stop wielding authority over me!"
"Rebellious disciple, return now!"
Zhang Hongzheng urgently mobilized the power of Creation Realm Skill. Taking advantage of the Three Corpse Gods’ entanglement with Emperor Zhenwu, he dispatched a host of heavenly soldiers and generals from the auspicious clouds to capture him. The black-clad youth was almost in a fury. He swiftly flicked out an ink droplet, perfectly round and complete, hovering above his head like a black star.
"Fate is infinite, Polar Star remains unmoved, revered by all stars, Beichen Tianshu."
Yan Qi coldly pointed to the sky.
"Silent Phase · Realm Breaking. Taiyi Seal Tianji Palace!"
Only those who have honed their senses to the extreme can perceive the fleeting change.
The moment the Realm Breaking declaration was completed, a streak of pure white appeared within the flawless ink star, like an eye long closed revealing a slit. The light and external information together reflected into the black pupil. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Something happened at this moment; the Heavenly Extreme Palace completed its operation in an instant. The pure white vanished without a trace, the ink droplet returned to perfection, and then—
The presence of True Martial Seal · Hongfa Heaven completely disappeared.
There were no more drifting auspicious clouds, no more rising incense; not a single tile remaining of the ancient temple, nor the majestic Heavenly God in sight. All traces belonging to the Creation Realm Skill vanished in an instant, the world returned to the black palace on the lunar inner side, back to the confrontation between the master and apprentice before the palace gate.
Silence enveloped between heaven and earth. Words were no longer needed now; when the Creation Realm Skill itself was abolished, the words of the Creator Realm Mage were no longer of use. Zhang Hongzheng stood mute before the palace gate, a look of helpless melancholy between his brows. His measures had been exhausted, yet he still refused to leave the palace gate even a step.
Yan Qi, indifferent, reached out to push his master as if chasing away idlers.
His hand was tightly grasped midway, the Three Corpse Gods warily turned around, directly facing the three-eyed double-horned head of the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon’s arms struck simultaneously, incinerating the Three Corpse Gods into ashes with brilliant golden flames. Gongsun Ce stood in front of Yan Qi, with golden eyes showing no emotion.
Yan Qi looked at the gray-haired young man blocking his way with a gloomy expression, his questioning voice nearing a roar: "Are you planning to teach me a lesson now?"
"I don’t have any qualifications to teach you." Gongsun Ce replied expressionlessly, "The one planning to teach you is behind you."
A shocking murderous aura suddenly erupted from behind, as if a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood from hell was invading the human realm. Yan Qi swiftly turned around, perceiving a sword intent fiercer than Asura. Before others could comprehend, Qin Ming’s Ming Blade had already swung out, a slash from the past now piercing into Yan Qi’s chest.
Dirt World Sword · Slash Ghost Asura.
The blade of the Ming Blade pierced through black clothing, stopping at Yan Qi’s chest. In the last moment, Qin Ming restrained his battle intent. He pointed another short blade at Yan Qi’s neck.
"You’ve gone too far." Qin Ming said, "You had many ways to handle tonight’s issue; you chose the worst one."
Yan Qi laughed angrily, pointing at everyone’s faces present: "You all act so dignified, as if I’m the traitor. Then tell me, what did I do wrong?! The emperor is secretly manipulating the war; global turmoil started because of him. I’m demanding an explanation for the people under heaven; what wrong have I done!!"
"And if His Majesty’s explanation doesn’t suit your intentions?" Qin Ming asked, "If you think His Majesty is wrong, what will you do?"
"I’ll damn well kill him!" Yan Qi roared.
Qin Ming nodded: "And what will happen afterward?"
"Revealing the truth to the public, giving the people under heaven a clear conscience!"
"Good." Qin Ming said, "Unveiling the secret behind the war will surely lead the Empire to be besieged from all sides. The soldiers at the front might rebel, while on the home front, the people will be in a state of panic. When the Empire faces both internal and external troubles, how will you, Yan Qi, resolve it?"
Yan Qi was momentarily at a loss: "...Then I’ll first reveal the truth, then kill the emperor, using his life to silence others!"
Qin Ming shook his head: "The result remains the same. Once the emperor dies, the Empire will fall into chaos; many will die. How will you handle it?"
"I’ll personally take the field! I alone can quell the national turmoil!"
"Then who will govern the Empire afterward?" Qin Ming pressed step by step.
"I’ll govern it!" Yan Qi’s eyes were bloodshot, "I’m the smartest person in this world; I won’t need much time to learn how to govern a country! I’ll do it better than anyone else, solve all the problems, have complete control over everything, and create a nation without war!"
Qin Ming nodded, looking sadly at his close friend.
"You don’t consider the consequences of your actions; you’re confident you can solve everything with your Impermanence Skill and wisdom." Qin Ming softly said, "Then what distinguishes you from the Eternal King?"
Yan Qi opened his mouth wide, believing his wisdom to be the world’s foremost, thinking he could come up with a thousand responses to render this fool speechless at any time. Yet, precisely at this moment, he couldn’t think of a single rebuttal; no matter how wide he opened his mouth, no sound emerged.
Indeed, you’re the smartest person under the sky, living free and unrestrained, daring to hang even the court’s leading figures onto the palace gates without heed. You can kill the emperor, you have the power to destroy a nation, you can even rule the whole world!
But what comes after then?
How do you make things better than those you’ve destroyed? If you intend to control everything with your choices, aren’t you precisely those ancient evil demons?
Yan Qi couldn’t find an answer, standing there motionlessly, as if stunned.
