Chapter 2080 - Not Overstepping the Rules

The Mirror of Acuity took to the sky. Its light enveloped the entire City of the Beginning.

At that moment, everyone felt as if all of their secrets had been laid completely bare. The sensation was thoroughly uncomfortable.

“See who among these people has violated the rules,” said Su Yi.

The Mirror of Acuity buzzed, and its surface suddenly faced the suppressed Greater Gods.

Firelight instantly flowed outward, reflecting numerous scenes in the air.

In one vision, Ren Beiyou stood in a courtyard and said, “I’ve already made contact with my fellows from other prominent factions of the God Domain. All of them promised to stand with you and do their utmost to fulfill any commands you have!”

Qin Wenxiao responded, “You came here with the Three Purities Ancestral Talisman. Naturally, I have full confidence in you. Still, taking down Su Yi is of the utmost importance, and even I must follow the rules. I cannot act wantonly.”

Ren Beiyou responded, “Everything is entirely up to you, Second Libationer. We’ll simply do as you tell us.”

Qin Wenxiao fell briefly silent. “Once we’ve succeeded, everyone can share the secrets of reincarnation, but the Epoch Spark must be mine!”

Ren Beiyou paused, then said with a smile, “As you say, Second Libationer.”

Ren Beiyou and Qin Wenxiao’s conversation was displayed in full detail for the crowd to see. Uproar ensued.

Su Yi pondered,

He used the Three Purities Ancestral Talisman to gain Qin Wenxiao’s trust?

There was no doubt about it. The God Domain’s top factions had prepared thoroughly before they entered the Path of the Ancient Gods.

Meanwhile, numerous other visions appeared reflected in the sky, all of them displaying Greater Gods colluding with Qin Wenxiao. The way the crowd looked at the Greater Gods shifted.

But the Mirror of Acuity’s wondrousness was even more surprising.

The Greater Gods, meanwhile, had bleak looks on their faces. They were overcome with anger and alarm.

In the face of such ironclad evidence, they had no way of arguing in their own defense.

“If you feel you’ve been wronged, you’re welcome to take it up with the Drum of Injustice,” Su Yi said calmly. He stood there, jug of wine in hand and blue robes swaying around him, as composed and extraordinary as ever.

The situation had been under his control this entire time. It was astonishing!

Ren Beiyou sank into silence. Struggling and arguing would only make them seem even more ridiculous and pathetic. They disdained to even try it.

At least, most of them did. One of the Greater Gods said solemnly, “We’ve never dared to violate the rules of the City of the Beginning. We did cooperate with Second Libationer Qin Wenxiao, but we never hurt anyone. Punish actions, not intentions. Even if you must punish us, our crimes are unworthy of death!”

“That’s right!” someone else said through gnashed teeth. “We respect the city’s rules, not Su Yi’s rules! Kill us all, and you’ll just prove that the rules of the City of the Beginning are worth less than dog farts!”

Su Yi laughed dryly. How could he fail to realize that the Greater Gods had placed their hopes in the city’s rules?

“Relax. I disdain to break the rules and abuse the city’s power of the Laws just to get rid of you,” said Su Yi. “Everything shall be done in accordance with the rules.”

He looked at the Staff of Divine Punishment. “Do with them as you see fit.”

Boom!

The Staff of Divine Punishment rumbled, then manifested countless illusory blood-red staves that slammed into the Greater Gods.

Bang bang bang!

A dense series of muffled impacts rang out.

The Greater Gods’ flesh tore, reduced to an indistinct meaty pulp. The Staff of Divine Punishment was brutal and tyrannical. It completely disregarded their attempts to defend themselves, and it injured even their souls.

Despite their ironclad wills, they grimaced in agony, and soon, their agonized cries shook the heavens. It was like the wailing of ghosts or the howling of wolves, and it resounded throughout heaven and earth for a long, long time.

The onlookers’ hearts and souls quivered with fright. Chills coursed down their spines.

It was then that they understood on a visceral level how strict the rules of the City of the Beginning were. So what if you were a Greater God? If you broke the rules, they’d beat you until you cried for your mommy and daddy and looked more like a dead dog than a person.

Eventually, the staff stopped the beatings.

The Greater Gods were all disheveled and covered in blood. They looked utterly wretched, and every last one of them was badly injured.

Still, it would have been obvious to anyone that the Greater Gods were sighing in relief.

They hadn’t been beaten to death!

“Su Yi, we won’t forget this humiliation! We’ll return it ten—no, one hundred times over another day!” Ren Beiyou crawled to his feet with great difficulty, gnashed his teeth, and clutched his buttocks.

His butt had been completely pulped. It was an incomparably wretched, ridiculous sight.

Su Yi laughed. “Next time we meet, I’ll kill you with my own two hands.”

“We’re leaving!”

Being suppressed and beaten by the Staff of Divine Punishment in front of a crowd was an enormous humiliation. Ren Beiyou and the other Greater Gods’ reputations were in shambles already. They couldn’t bear to stay here any longer.

Su Yi didn’t stop them.

The rules of the City of the Beginning could not be broken! He’d never had any intention of violating the rules by killing these people.

The Path of the Ancient Gods had only just opened, and the show had only just begun. Su Yi was in no hurry.

Before long, the Greater Gods left, and their subordinates hurried after them.

Su Yi, meanwhile, looked at Chief Libationer Fa Tianming. Fa Tianming had maintained his kneeling position this entire time. His head touched the ground, and he didn’t move a muscle.

“Accept punishment of your own accord,” Su Yi said softly.

“Thank you for taking my reputation into account, Fellow Daoist,” said Fa Tianming. He slowly rose to his feet, then said with a complicated look on his face, “I’m afraid the Staff of Divine Punishment won’t spare my life, so before I accept my punishment, I have a few things I’d like to ask you. Might you enlighten me, Fellow Daoist?”

Su Yi inclined his head. “Go right ahead and ask.”

“Fellow Daoist, you know that the Path of the Ancient Gods changed a long time ago, right?” Fa Tianming said somberly.

“I’ve heard people mention it before, yes,” said Su Yi.

Earlier, Lie Xingqu told him that the power of reincarnation had been gone for far too long, and that the terrifying existences it suppressed were awakening amidst the endless darkness!

That aside, before he entered the Path of the Ancient Gods, the River Lord mentioned that when he arrived in the Path of the Ancient Gods with the Epoch Spark, he’d be like a torch amidst the darkness. His light would invite endless danger and endless trouble!

And then there were the three terrifying, mysterious existences who’d intercepted him after he entered the Path of the Ancient Gods: the Dark Skeletal God Emperor, the Glazed Illusion God Queen, and the dragon-headed Daoist!

Thus, Su Yi had been anticipating changes to the Path of the Ancient Gods.

“Reincarnation has returned, and the Epoch Spark has reappeared. This will bring unpredictable upheaval to the Path of the Ancient Gods,” Chief Libationer Fa Tianming said with a sigh. “Alas, I won’t get the chance to witness it with my own eyes.”

With that, he looked up at the Staff of Divine Punishment, Mirror of Acuity, and Drum of Injustice and said, “I still have one more question. These treasures have protected the City of the Beginning since its inception, but no one has ever made them their own, nor has anyone ever been able to make them act against their will, so why is it that they’re so obedient to you?”

Countless people looked over with curiosity. It really was unbelievable; this was the very thing they most wondered about.

During the commotion just now, Su Yi emerged as the final victor largely thanks to the three treasures revealing their divine majesty!

Su Yi didn’t answer directly. All he said was, “From this day forth, no matter who encounters injustice as I did today, they’ll receive the three divine artifacts’ aid. No one is permitted to violate the rules, no matter who they are!”

Chief Libationer Fa Tianming mulled that over briefly, then sighed. “This old man understands.”

He surveyed his surroundings before finally gazing up at the Staff of Divine Punishment. “Criminal Fa Tianming is willing to accept his punishment!”

Boom!

The Staff of Divine Punishment came crashing down. His body was blasted to bits, and numerous cracks appeared all over his soul.

But he was still alive.

The crowd was stunned.

Su Yi was a bit surprised too, then thoughtful.

Light flowed around the Drum of Injustice, and a line of text appeared in the air. “Throughout the ages, Fa Tianming has contributed greatly to the City of the Beginning, and his merits outweigh his faults. His crimes do not warrant death.

“We shall spare his life, but he is stripped of his position as Chief Libationer and consigned to the dungeons for the next one thousand years!”

Fa Tianming was flabbergasted, and his expression shifted erratically. In the end, he smiled, gratified, and nodded his acceptance. “Criminal Fa Tianming accepts this punishment wholeheartedly!”

Boom!

A beam of light fell from the Staff of Divine Punishment and carried Fa Tianming’s soul away.

When the crowd saw this, all of them were touched. Someone couldn’t help but whisper, “What a fair and just balance of rewards and punishments!”

A moment later, some of the guards who’d been loyal to the Second Libationer lost control out of sheer terror. They flung themselves to the ground and begged for punishment of their own accord!

These included the commander of the guards, the one who Su Yi injured earlier, Di Bao.

The Staff of Divine Punishment rumbled and punished them one by one. Some got off lightly. Others didn’t.

“I really didn’t anticipate that these three treasures would be so wondrous,” said Luo Xuanji, her bright eyes darting about. “If the rest of the world were so just and impartial, how could there be so much upheaval and unrest?”

Seeing this had really broadened her horizons.

Su Yi mulled that over. “If, one day, someone could truly transcend the heavens and connect the past, present, and future, they might well be able to do just that.”

Luo Xuanji batted her eyes, then laughed. “Seems to me that you have the greatest hope of achieving that one day, Fellow Daoist.”

Su Yi smiled, then drained his jug of wine. He didn’t tell Luo Xuanji, but while cultivating last night, he used the power of reincarnation to glean insight into some of the city’s secrets.

These secrets weren’t complicated. They simply weren’t known to anyone else.

For example, it was his first incarnation who’d founded the City of the Beginning.

Similarly, it was his first incarnation who’d created the Staff of Divine Punishment, Mirror of Acuity, and Drum of Injustice!

Furthermore, while the City of the Beginning was a starting point for all those who underwent trial here, to the inhabitants of the Path of the Ancient Gods, it was an unreachable far shore!

Only the ancient Qin, Fa, and Lie Families could send their experts here. Even then, they could only serve as its guards and overseers.

And the Epoch Spark wasn’t simply the key to the Path of the Ancient Gods. It hid other secrets, too.

This was why Su Yi could awaken the Drum of Injustice, summon the Staff of Divine Punishment, and command the Mirror of Acuity.

It would have been no exaggeration to say that had he wished to defy the city’s rules and slay those Greater Gods, he could have done so effortlessly.

But Su Yi did no such thing. After all, his past incarnation was the one who’d set the city’s rules. Wouldn’t defying his own rules be a slap in his own face?

More importantly, killing those Greater Gods was nowhere near as important to Su Yi as maintaining the rules of the City of the Beginning!