Chapter 3681: Accusations

Seven universe-class battleships were now hovering in the sky above Beacon City, informing everyone that something monumental was about to take place.

It was extraordinarily rare throughout the entire history of the Spirit Nidus for all of the megaverse’s universe-class battleships to be mobilized at once. Only a handful of such events had ever been recorded. While each incident had resulted in the Spirit Nidus sweeping through the Consciousness Megaverse in an invincible manner, they had still failed to completely eradicate the Thirteen Luminaries.

The people of Beacon City had never imagined that they would live to see such a day.

One famous powerhouse after another disembarked from the battleships and entered Beacon City, creating a stir of excitement among the population. Many rushed to greet their ancestors, only to start reporting complaints.

“Ancestor, you have no idea how despicable that Emperor Slayer is! He forced your grand-disciple to praise him as the strongest beast-form Spirit Rebirth!”

“Senior, we beg you to stand up for us. Emperor Slayer is completely shameless! He planted his flag right in front of our house!”

“Emperor Slayer was eavesdropping on us! All we said was that Emperor Wu is the strongest, and he punished us by forcing us to stand for a hundred days! It’s infuriating!”

“To prevent people from talking behind his back, he started hiding in the shadows and spying on us. Junior Sister, she...”

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

“What? What happened to your junior sister?”

“She was so ashamed and furious that she now insists on marrying me...”

“What the hell?”

“Emperor Slayer even composed a song praising himself, and he then forced everyone in Beacon City to sing it daily. It’s infuriating!”

“We ask Seraph Jiu Xian to give fair judgment.”

“We beg Seraph Meng Sang to act.”

“We plead to the High Seraph to bring justice...”

The people disembarking from the battleships were baffled. They had expected to be welcomed with praise, admiration, and wishes to see the Consciousness Megaverse be reset. Instead, they were met with an endless stream of complaints. Just how despicable could Emperor Slayer be with his actions?

Looking around, people saw flags with the character for virtue fluttering all about Beacon City, leaving the newcomers speechless. They had all encountered shameless people before, but never to such an extreme.

Jiu Xian even felt that Nian Xian was a bit better than Emperor Slayer. The man had exceeded shamelessness.

On

Boundless

, Astral Anura was hopping around in fury while spewing enraged curses. He asked Lu Yin to bring Emperor Slayer to the battleship; the toad wanted to teach Emperor Slayer a lesson.

Lu Yin glanced at Astral Anura. “Has Emperor Slayer really seen a toad like you before?”

“I’m not a toad...” Astral Anura muttered weakly. Everyone had started calling him a toad. What had happened to the dignity of a Dukkhan? On

Boundless

, not a single shred of his former pride remained.

Ce Wangtian stared at the city covered with the virtue flags, secretly admiring Emperor Slayer. It was truly rare to encounter anyone with such impressive shamelessness.

On another battleship, many beast-form Spirit Rebirths had grim expressions on their faces. Most of them were from the Primal Beastland and had never had the slightest hint of a good impression of Emperor Slayer. The bastard had thoroughly disgraced all of the beast-form Spirit Rebirths. Since when did they win others over with something like virtue? They had always taken pride in the strength of their fists.

“Lord of the Primal Beastland, please bring Emperor Slayer back and clean house,” one beast cultivator requested. He was one of the Primal Beastland’s Mountain Lords.

More and more of the beast-form Spirit Rebirths spoke up.

Even Yi Die and Jiu Weihu wanted to drag Emperor Slayer away, but the two of them were at least self-aware enough to realize that they were not his match. No matter how despicable Emperor Slayer might be, he was still someone who had directly fought against Emperor Wu.

Everyone turned to look at Old Salamander.

Would Old Salamander intervene? At one point in time, in an effort to instigate a fight between Emperor Wu and Seraph Lu, Old Salamander had cooperated with Emperor Slayer. A letter of challenge had been delivered to

Boundless

, and it had also been made public to the entire Spirit Nidus. No one was entirely certain what the relationship between those Old Salamander and Emperor Slayer was like.

Old Salamander also had a headache.

Why couldn’t Emperor Slayer have just behaved? If you’re going to leave, then just go! Why are you still here in Beacon City? Wouldn’t the Consciousness Megaverse be a better place to go?

Resentment raged throughout Beacon City. Their hatred for Emperor Slayer far surpassed what anyone had expected.

In the city lord’s estate, Emperor Slayer’s face twitched uncontrollably.

These shameless bastards! They put on a show of calling me "Lord Emperor Wu Slayer" in a respectful tone, yet they cursed me behind my back!

He had repeatedly corrected them, and yet they still had the audacity to slander him before the High Seraph himself! The various accusations made Emperor Slayer’s heart tremble.

“Come here,” the High Seraph’s voice called out.

Looking completely wretched, Emperor Slayer passed through the void to arrive at the edge of Beacon City, just a short distance away from the High Seraph.

Emperor Slayer had enemies in both the Primal Beastland and the Ascendant Hall of the Spirit Nidus. For that reason, he had long stayed hidden and refused to expose himself.

It would not have been a problem for the High Seraph to find Emperor Slayer, but there had been no reason to make things difficult for him. While Emperor Slayer had been an eight-spirit criminal on the Black Spirit List, most of his enemies had been from the Primal Beastland.

Before leaving the Spirit Nidus, Emperor Slayer had made it a point to reach out to the Ascendant Hall and inform the High Seraph of his intention of going to the Consciousness Megaverse. That had removed his name from the Black Spirit List. While he would not normally be bothered by seeing the High Seraph in person, at this moment, Emperor Slayer was completely surrounded by enemies. The shameless little rats had even dared to file complaints against him.

The High Seraph stared at Emperor Slayer. “How long have you been in Beacon City?”

“High Seraph, he’s never left after arriving! Not even once!” someone called out, snitching even as tears streamed down their face.

Emperor Slayer shot the person a fierce glare. He would remember this incident.

Just you wait!

As the High Seraph’s gaze bored into him, Emperor Slayer forced a smile onto his face. “Uh, I’ve been... recovering. Yes, recovering! I was injured during my fight with the Grandverse Manor’s Third Boss at the Umbral Deep, and I’ve been healing ever since.”

The High Seraph glanced around. Everywhere he looked, the virtue flags were reduced to ashes. “Too unsightly.”

Emperor Slayer bared his teeth.

You dare to destroy my virtue flags? Just wait! If I ever get the chance, I’ll be sure to take you out!

He knew that he was no match for the High Seraph at present, which was why there was no point in trying to resist or flee. However, Emperor Slayer had once been an eight-spirit criminal who had even defied the Ascendant Hall. He feared neither heaven nor earth. No matter how powerful the High Seraph might be, Emperor Slayer would not be cowed. His savage streak remained strong.

He could be patient, and when the opportunity arrived, it would be his turn to speak.

“Get on a battleship. We’re headed to the Consciousness Megaverse,” the High Seraph ordered. There was nothing more to say to someone like Emperor Slayer.

Emperor Slayer’s eyes twitched and his mind raced. “Well, since I’m a beast-form Spirit Rebirth, I’ll board the fifth battleship.”

The fifth vessel was filled with beast-form Spirit Rebirths, as was the sixth.

Before the High Seraph could respond, Old Salamander arrived. “Emperor Slayer is a beast-form Spirit Rebirth, so it is indeed only reasonable for him to travel aboard the ship representing our Primal Beastland. I ask for your approval, High Seraph.”

Emperor Slayer glanced sideways at Old Salamander. The old thing was smart, knowing when he needed to lend support. Otherwise, Emperor Slayer might have exposed how they had once worked together against Emperor Wu.

Wait a second, where’s Emperor Wu?

Emperor Slayer looked over at the fifth battleship.

Why hasn’t Emperor Wu shown up yet?

Even

Boundless

had appeared, and yet Old Salamander was the one speaking on behalf of the Primal Beastland. Could the Third Boss have killed Emperor Wu? No, that was impossible.

“Old man, where’s Emperor Wu?” Emperor Slayer stared intently at Old Salamander.

Old Salamander refused to spare Emperor Slayer even a glance as he waited for the High Seraph’s response.

The High Seraph calmly replied, “He stays with me.”

However, Emperor Slayer was in no mood to let things go. He moved directly in front of Old Salamander and glared at the old man. “Where’s Emperor Wu? Where did that idiot go?”

Old Salamander met Emperor Slayer’s gaze and just shrugged. “Dead.”

Emperor Slayer’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”

He was not the only one who had heard Old Salamander’s answer, as every cultivator in Beacon City heard it as well. The entire city erupted at the news.

Yi Xia was also listening, and complete disbelief could be seen on his face.

How could that be? Emperor Wu... is dead?

Emperor Wu was a peerless expert who had once fought against three other Seraphs on his own without being defeated. With Heaven's Seal empowering him, his strength could not even be imagined. How could he have died?

“How did he die? You’re joking, right, old man?” Emperor Slayer refused to believe it.

He knew better than anyone just how terrifyingly strong Emperor Wu was, especially when he used Heaven's Seal. Such strength was invincible. That was the exact reason why Emperor Slayer had never challenged Emperor Wu to direct combat despite being mortal enemies. Emperor Slayer had only ever dared to insult the Primal Beastland from a distance.

Old Salamander met Emperor Slayer’s glare. “Emperor Wu... was killed by me.”

Emperor Slayer stared at Old Salamander in a daze. After a moment, he retreated a few steps, glaring at the old man in disbelief. “You?

You

killed Emperor Wu? What kind of joke is this?”

Old Salamander had no intention of explaining himself. The High Seraph had refused to release Emperor Slayer to the Primal Beastland, and there was nothing that Old Salamander could do about it. He simply turned and left.

“Don’t walk away! Explain yourself!” Emperor Slayer clamped one hand onto Old Salamander’s shoulder, trying to forcefully prevent the man from leaving.

Old Salamander’s expression fell, and his left hand rose up and grabbed a hold of Emperor Slayer’s hand that was squeezing the old man’s shoulder. Slowly, that hand was picked up.

Two overwhelming forces were fighting against each other. The floor split apart, and Beacon City itself trembled.

Emperor Slayer’s face turned grim as he pressed down with his full strength. Even then, he was unable to keep his hand down. It was slowly rising, defying his disbelief. When had the old man gotten so strong?

On the fifth battleship, there were conflicted expressions on the faces of many of the beast-form Spirit Rebirths.

Despite their reluctance to acknowledge Old Salamander as the ruler of the Primal Beastland, in large part due to his hand in Emperor Wu’s death, none doubted his strength. He had once fought against both Emperor Wu and Seraph Lu. After revealing his true beast-form of a Five-Clawed Celestial Salamander, Emperor Wu had not been able to overpower Old Salamander without using Heaven's Seal. Old Salamander had hidden his true strength too well.

Without the Heaven's Seal sequence base or the Nine Heavens Transformation, Emperor Wu might not have been capable of defeating Old Salamander.

This was why Old Salamander had succeeded in becoming the ruler of the Primal Beastland; his power was real. After receiving Heaven's Seal, the only thing he lacked was the Nine Heavens Transformation. Essentially, Old Salamander was as powerful as the Emperor Wu of old.

There was a whoosh as Old Salamander threw Emperor Slayer’s hand aside. The man staggered back a few steps, visibly shocked. “Old man, you-?”

Old Salamander did not even turn around. “Behave yourself and stop disgracing us beast-form Spirit Rebirths! I am not Emperor Wu. While you may have escaped from him, you might not be able to do the same with me.”

With that, the old man returned to the fifth battleship.

A dark expression painted Emperor Slayer’s face. He could not believe what had just happened. He had been completely overpowered by Old Salamander.

Emperor Slayer had ignored the old man in the past, believing him to be nothing more than a useless elder living out his final days in the Primal Beastland. It was only at this moment that Emperor Slayer understood how wrong he had been. The old man had always been hiding his true strength.

Watching Old Salamander return to the fifth battleship, Emperor Slayer was unable to simply swallow his frustration. He shouted, “Old man, you delivered that challenge letter for me, remember? You and I worked together to give Emperor Wu that little gift.”

There was absolutely no response. After all, everyone had become clear on that matter long ago.

On the fifth battleship, Yi Die exchanged glances with the other Mountain Lords. There were times when the truth simply did not matter.

Emperor Slayer was completely bewildered. Why was no one showing even the slightest reaction? He instinctively glanced over at

Boundless

, and at Lu Yin who was looking over with a little smirk. Beside the man, Astral Anura was speaking in an urgent manner.

The sight of the toad caused Emperor Slayer’s eyes to flicker.

The High Seraph spoke again. “Board the ship.”

Emperor Slayer felt his heart drop. Clearly, he had missed out on a lot that had happened.

Suddenly, Lu Yin called out, “You can allow Emperor Slayer to board

Boundless

instead, if you’d like.”

Those words caused all of Emperor Slayer’s hesitation flee, and he instantly boarded

Genesis

. He would much rather remain near the High Seraph than be anywhere near

Boundless

.

While Emperor Slayer might not be aware of the Spirit Nidus’s recent events, he refused to believe that

Boundless

had had nothing to do with the fact that Emperor Wu had been killed by Old Salamander.

The fact that there had been absolutely no reaction to his announcement simply meant that everyone had already known about the truth. That proved that the challenge letter had been delivered. Given Emperor Wu’s personality, there was no chance that he had refused to fight the Third Boss. Emperor Slayer could roughly guess at what had happened, and that was more than enough reason to avoid any and all interactions with Lu Yin.

The High Seraph looked over at Lu Yin. “That won’t be necessary. He can remain here.”

Lu Yin gave a small smile. “Then I’ll board

Genesis

as well. Is that alright?”

“It’s fine.” The High Seraph had no idea why Lu Yin was targeting Emperor Slayer, but he was curious to find out.