Chapter 2010 - The Culprit Behind the Scenes

Boom!

The dark clouds churned and rapidly constricted. So too did the enormous face.

Before long, the dark clouds had gathered into a thirty-foot figure. He was a tall, stalwart man, and his features matched that massive face perfectly. This was obviously the envoy’s true appearance.

He was obviously not human; he was big-boned and covered in long black fur, like an enormous bear.

“Bring me to him!” the envoy of the Heavenly Gods said gravely, his murderous intent shaking the firmament.

“Right away!” said Rui Liu.

But then, a calm voice rang out. “No need to go to all that trouble.”

A distant stretch of void shifted, and a figure appeared out of nowhere.

Every pair of eyes in the city was instantly upon him. This youthful figure in blue robes matched the portrait of the wanted criminal Su Yi perfectly!

The whole city was in uproar. Everyone was shocked; no one would have expected the criminal wanted by all nine of the Nine Great Heavenly Gods would dare to appear in the open.

Rui Liu’s expression shifted. She too would never have expected Su Yi to be so bold.

“Su Yi, do you plan to lower your head and accept punishment?” the envoy of the Heavenly Gods asked with dignity.

“You’ve misunderstood,” laughed Su Yi. “Answer a few of my questions, and I can spare your life.”

Gasps rang out throughout the city.

How dare he threaten the envoy of the Heavenly Gods!?

“Su Yi! How dare you be so impudent? Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?” roared Rui Liu.

Bang!

Su Yi flipped his palm. They were several thousand feet away, but Rui Liu was instantly forced to kneel in midair.

Su Yi said calmly, “Open your eyes wide and have a good look. This is the last thing you’ll see before you die, so be sure to treasure it.”

A chill coursed through Rui Liu’s entire body, and she cried out in frantic panic. “Save me, Your Excellency!”

“You... You’re simply too impudent!” The enormous envoy roared, his eyes blazing with murderous intent.

Boom!

Dao Light surged around him, followed by black fog. As it blanketed heaven and earth, the towering envoy took a step forward, like a primordial barbarian god marching into battle.

He swung his fist at Su Yi. His fist was covered in taboo divine markings clearly visible to the naked eye, and when he punched, the markings ignited. Stinging golden light shot forth, increasing the punch’s power. It was now terrifying beyond measure.

This power was comparable to that of a Lesser God!

The entire stretch of sky was thrown into disarray.

The crowd watched from the city, their hair standing on end. This was power comparable to that of a god. How could it possibly be ordinary? This was enough to shake all of Fire Crow City and threaten every last living being in it!

That bastard’s dead beyond a shadow of a doubt!

Rui Liu’s eyes lit up with excitement.

But a moment later, she was left unwittingly stunned. It wasn’t just her, either. Everyone in the city froze in shock.

Su Yi just stood there, barely moving. All he did was casually extend a hand, but that was enough to stop the envoy’s punch—even from across great distances!

That dazzling, resplendent fist force shattered, inch by inch!

“This...” The entire city fell deathly silent. Everyone was left wide-eyed and tongue-tied.

The envoy of the Heavenly Gods looked stricken. Then, he roared in fury, and his already thirty-foot frame suddenly expanded, stirring up even more black clouds.

No matter how he struggled, he was trapped, unable to break free!

“So what if you’re a demigod? Had a true god shown up, I’d have cut him down too,” said Su Yi. With that, he poured his strength into his hands, and...

Bang!

The envoy’s massive body plummeted down to earth, leaving a massive crater shaped like the character “大.” Stones scattered on impact, and a cloud of dust permeated the air.

“How is this possible...?” Rui Liu’s beautiful face paled, and her eyes widened in a daze.

That’s the envoy of the Heavenly Gods. How could he be so useless? How couldn’t even block a single hit!

Wu Lingchong, meanwhile, looked dazed.

No wonder Brother Su is wanted by all of the Nine Great Gods of the Kingdom of Lasting Light. He’s... he’s far too ferocious...”

Now, in his eyes, Su Yi seemed no different from a god. He traversed the skies as he pleased, invincible. None could stand in his way!

The crowd watched in a daze. No one said a word. Even the birds fell silent. How many years had it been since someone so ruthless and powerful had appeared over the River of Epochs? He even dared to attack the envoy of the Heavenly Gods!

“Su Yi, do you understand the consequences of what you’re doing?” The envoy climbed to his feet and roared.

Over the years, no matter where he went to deliver a message, everyone clustered around him like stars gathering around the moon. If he wanted wind, it was windy, and if he wanted rain, it rained.

All of this was because he served the Nine Great Heavenly Gods! Who’d dare act up in front of him?

He’d long since grown accustomed to such treatment, and he found it hard to believe that a wanted criminal like Su Yi would beat him. He couldn’t accept it!

Bang!!

Su Yi descended from the heavens, landing on the envoy’s head. His feet pushed the envoy deeper into the ground until only his enormous head popped out of the crater.

The envoy’s face was racked with agony as he finally realized his predicament. “Stop! I’m just a messenger. Even when nations go to war, they don’t execute each other’s messengers. You can’t kill me!”

Everyone was flabbergasted. Who could have failed to realize that the lofty envoy of the Heavenly Gods had wimped out?

The astonishment was far too great, especially for Rui Liu. Her heart gave in to despair as she lost her final pillar of support.

Su Yi had let her go once already, and he’d already offended Longevity Palace. Thus, she'd subconsciously assumed that he dared not offend the Celestial Purity Pavilion on top of everything else.

When the opportunity to turn Su Yi in presented itself, she seized it without hesitation; it seemed like the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.

Now, she finally realized her mistake. Su Yi had never been afraid of the Celestial Purity Pavilion. He'd spared her life simply because he disdained to kill a small fry like her!

“Tell me, why am I on the wanted list?” asked Su Yi, his foot still firmly placed on the envoy’s skull.

The emissary of the Heavenly Gods said, “That was the Nine Great Heavenly Gods’ decree. I don’t know why.”

“Well, what

do

you know?” asked Su Yi.

The envoy obviously sensed that something was awry. He called out frantically, “I really don’t know anything!”

Crunch!

Su Yi lowered his foot, tearing a bloody hole in the envoy’s skull.

The envoy cried out in panic, “I’ll talk! Not long ago, the God Domain sent a message. The Nine Great Heavenly Gods gathered for a secret discussion. No one knows what they talked about, but afterward, they told us envoys to spread word of the bounty on your head.

“This caused an enormous uproar in the Kingdom of Lasting Light. There are all sorts of competing explanations circulating, but only the Nine Great Heavenly Gods themselves know why they’re doing this.”

Su Yi’s brow furrowed and his eyes flashed as he realized what this meant.

A message from the God Domain led to the Nine Great Heavenly Gods placing a bounty on my head? That means that the true perpetrator is among my enemies in the God Domain!

The gods’ arrangements in the Epoch Battlefield had met with crushing defeat. They hadn't just failed to kill him; they'd suffered massive losses in the process. There was no way they’d simply let that go.

There was no doubt about it. They’d predicted that he’d soon venture into the River of Epochs. Thus, they’d ordered the factions here to target him!

“I said all I can say. Please, show mercy. Don’t make things difficult for me; I’m just an errand boy,” begged the envoy.

The crowd was at a loss for words. The envoys of the Heavenly Gods represented the will of the Kingdom of Lasting Light. How could they possibly be described as mere errand boys?

This envoy was far too wimpy. He’d brought shame on the Heavenly Gods!

“Alright, fair enough.” Su Yi raised his foot from the envoy’s skull, then lifted him off the ground. “I’d actually quite like to take this opportunity to send a message of my own, so I'll ask you to help me with that. Right, what’s your name?”

“Shi Jiu!”

“Alright,” said Su Yi. “Return to the Kingdom of Lasting Light and tell the Heavenly Gods that if they don’t want to die, they should stay out of my business with the God Domain. This is a warning, and yes, it's also a threat. Whether they listen or not is up to them.”

The envoy, Shi Jiu, shuddered from head to toe. He could never have imagined that the young man before his eyes would be ferocious enough to

threaten

the Nine Great Heavenly Gods!

Even the distant onlookers were gobsmacked.

Just who is Su Yi? How could he be so bold?

Su Yi took a deep, hard look at Shi Jiu. “Remember this: you are to repeat my message word for word, with no omissions or modifications. Of course, I trust that you wouldn’t dare to report anything but the truth. If you do, I’m afraid the Heavenly Gods will be the first in line to punish you.”

He waved. “Go on.”

Shi Jiu felt as if he’d received an imperial pardon. He turned to leave, fleeing with the utmost speed. In the blink of an eye, he’d vanished.

“Senior, I was wrong!”

Rui Liu instantly realized that this didn’t bode well, and she called out for mercy.

Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she shouted, “Wu Lingchong! No, Senior Apprentice Brother Wu! Hurry and ask this senior to spare my life. Surely you don’t just plan to stand back and watch me die? Before he passed, Master told you to take care of me. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?”

Su Yi was stunned. He’d planned to just kill this foolhardy woman and be done with it. This was his first time learning that she was actually Wu Lingchong’s junior apprentice sister!

Ah, so they’re apprentice siblings turned enemies. No wonder Wu Lingchong lost control of his emotions when he saw her,

thought Su Yi.

“How dare you address me as Senior Apprentice Brother?” Wu Lingchong shot over from afar, visibly enraged. “Back then,

I

brought you to explore the River of Epochs and

I

went to great lengths to get you into the Celestial Purity Pavilion, but how did you treat me in return?”

Even just discussing it left Wu Lingchong quivering with rage. It was obvious how badly Rui Liu had hurt him.

Rui Liu paled, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “Senior Apprentice Brother, I was wrong. I was wrong, but please, out of consideration for our master, spare me just this once, okay?”

Wu Lingchong’s expression shifted erratically.

Su Yi approached and said casually, “Honestly, it makes no difference to me whether someone like her lives or dies. If you want, I’ll give you face and spare her just this once, but I’ll only grant you a single such favor. It’s up to you whether you use it on her. Think it over carefully.”

Rui Liu looked at Wu Lingchong with urgency and desperation. She understood that her life was now squarely in his hands.

After a moment’s silence, Wu Lingchong suddenly took a step forward, swung his palm, and crushed Rui Liu’s skull.

In the last moments before her death, astonishment, bitterness, and confusion were written all over her face. It seemed she couldn’t believe that her senior apprentice brother would be so ruthless!

Su Yi was a bit surprised too, and he couldn’t help but take another look at Wu Lingchong.