614 Betrayal

[POV: Fan Shi]

Under the training regimen of the Holy Emperor, the first half had consisted of trials so brutal that even the most daring and hardworking champions had questioned whether they could endure them.

Each of the Holy Emperor's chosen champions had reached immortality through those trials. More importantly, they had acquired countless powers, techniques, and tricks along the way.

Sealing was one of them.

Every champion had learned some form of sealing.

Mai Duyi could seal souls within his bullets, adjusting the scale of his seals depending on the target. Anna possessed songs capable of sealing people within their own sleep. Tian Mei likely knew countless sealing spells through her eyes. Zhu Shin had acquired an Ego Weapon with a conditional sealing ability.

Sealing was perhaps the most effective method of dealing with an immortal.

It was almost strange that no one in the Greater Universe seemed to prioritize it.

The answer seemed obvious.

An Ascended Soul had to be killed repeatedly before its immortality could finally be stripped away. Depending on the immortal, that process could become tedious and dangerously prolonged.

Why fight an enemy multiple times when they could simply be sealed?

Of course, sealing had its own flaws.

The preparations were difficult, and the mechanisms behind most sealing arts were extremely strict. A seal could not simply be imposed upon anything and everything. The practitioner needed the right conditions, the right technique, and sometimes even the right opportunity.

That was why Zhu Shin and Fan Shi had been unable to use sealing against Loki or the monk.

The monk had been manageable enough that they had never found it necessary to spend the time preparing a seal.

Loki had been another matter entirely.

That god had danced around them as though they were nothing more than puppets. He had controlled the flow of battle so completely that they had never been given the opportunity to properly strategize, let alone establish the conditions necessary for a seal.

Now, however, things were different. Fan Shi and Zhu Shin had the initiative. They had time to prepare. That alone made a world of difference.

Fan Shi looked at the figure suspended before her.

Hu Mu was trapped within a different dimension, forever isolated from the world. He remained poised to strike, both daggers raised as though he were still preparing to attack her. Yet at the same time, he was not truly there.

Fan Shi reached toward him. Her hand passed through his body. It was like touching still water. There was no resistance. Not even a ripple. The technique the Crimson Empress had taught her was truly fearsome.

In theory, Fan Shi could seal anything with the power of isolation.

Anything could be separated from reality and denied its connection to the world.

Of course, the art of sealing had flaws. A sufficiently powerful opponent could potentially break the seal, and the primordial force that drove isolation was nowhere near as restrictive as the sealing technique itself to the point that even she could fall victim to it in the process of wielding it.

Fan Shi could not afford to underestimate Hu Mu and the power of isolation.

Still, it undeniable that she had succeeded. She had caught him off guard after an exhausting game of hide and seek, forcing the assassin into a single moment where his defenses had slipped.

A familiar voice came from behind her.

"I see that you've just finished on your end."

Fan Shi turned.

Zhu Shin sat perched upon the branch of a nearby tree, his crimson armor bearing traces of battle.

Fan Shi nodded.

"It took me some time. How did it go on your end?"

A look of shame appeared in Zhu Shin's eyes.

"The other half managed to escape. We need to hurry. I have a bad feeling about this. Call it a warrior's instinct or me being paranoid, but I can feel it in my bones. I don't know what it is, but something's wrong."

Neither of them wasted another moment. They rushed out of the forest and headed toward the city, where the main battlefield should have been. But the moment the city came into view, they were forced to stop.

A barrier covered the city.

It stretched across the entire city like an enormous dome, separating the battlefield from the outside world.

"Where did this come from?" asked Fan Shi, worry creeping into her voice. "Since when was this deployed?"

"Just now."

The familiar voice came from ahead. A man stood from inside the barrier. It was Nongmin. Beside him stood a wolf beastkin, Lai Lan, whose lips curled into an amused smirk.

Nongmin smiled.

"General Zhu. It's been a long time. How are you doing, old friend?"

Lai Lan chuckled.

"Reunions are my favorite thing. Especially the ones where everyone discovers they've changed."

Zhu Shin's expression became pained.

"Your Majesty..."

His voice trembled.

"Why did it have to come to this?"

Fan Shi said nothing.

She watched the Iron Bull carefully.

Zhu Shin and Nongmin had a long history together.

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They had fought together during the time of the Grand Ascension Empire. Zhu Shin had been utterly loyal to Nongmin back then. Even after Nongmin's betrayal had been revealed, the Iron Bull had remained mostly silent.

Fan Shi had always wondered what thoughts had been running through his mind during that period. She have no idea why the Holy Emperor had sent Zhu Shin to this contest, even knowing that Nongmin would be here.

Perhaps it had been intentional. Perhaps His Holy Majesty had known that this confrontation would eventually happen and that he have some aim he wished to accomplish with this two meeting.

But that only seemed unnecessarily cruel to Fan Shi's eyes.

If Zhu Shin could not fight Nongmin, Fan Shi would be alone.

Zhu Shin stepped forward, his grip tightening around his spear as he looked directly at Nongmin.

"You asked me to serve His Holy Majesty with all of my heart because he is the future. I will continue doing that to honor you. So please, come back to us. Nongmin, my old friend."

Zhu Shin's eyes carried a trace of desperation.

"Surely, this is a misunderstanding."

Fan Shi felt guilty. She had suspected the Iron Bull of abandoning them. She had wondered whether his old loyalty to Nongmin might outweigh his loyalty to the Holy Emperor. But looking at him now, she realized she had been wrong.

Zhu Shin was not hesitating because he intended to betray them. He was hesitating because he was desperately hoping that his old friend could still return.

Fan Shi couldn't imagine herself on Zhu Shin's place right now.

It was unthinkable.

…

..

.

[POV: Lai Lan]

A few minutes ago.

When Lai Lan died, he immediately resurrected himself from the place where he had left his heart. He had not expected to find Nongmin waiting for him. The youngest of Supreme Heart's children stood quietly in the middle of the wilderness, as though he had been expecting Lai Lan's arrival all along.

"I'm not even surprised," said Lai Lan with a sigh. "You were right. They were quite quick to respond, even accounting for the fact that this place is rather isolated from their territories and spheres of influence."

Lai Lan stretched his neck, listening to the faint cracks from his resurrected body.

"They probably felt confident that we don't have much military presence in this place. So, what's the plan? You did tell me we're close to the decisive battle, but I didn't think it would be this close."

Nongmin's expression remained calm.

"The enemy is definitely using some kind of technology that informs each of them about the situation of the others. When Mai Duyi was attacked, I hypothesized that they would immediately send a response team. It happened almost exactly like it did ten years ago."

"Yeah, I know," said Lai Lan, almost sarcastic. "I was there."

Nongmin continued, unperturbed. "This time, they would be more cautious, so they brought reinforcements. Specifically, there people who were defeated in the previous matches. Tian Mei is more than capable of doing that. They know that they have the numerical advantage if they can recover their previous champions. From their perspective, the safest approach is to gather everything they have and overwhelm us in a decisive battle in a battlefield of there choosing."

He paused.

"And if that is the situation we are facing now, then I believe it is time for me to actively participate."

Lai Lan remained quiet. He tried to keep pace with Nongmin's line of thinking. It was frightening. Nongmin had not merely predicted their enemy's response. He had correctly anticipated their intention to resurrect their fallen allies and use them to even out the numbers.

In hindsight, perhaps that should not have surprised him.

Nongmin had been a traitor from the other side.

Of course, he knew things that they did not.

Lai Lan scratched his cheek. "Since the enemy was able to resurrect their allies from the previous matches, can you do the same?"

"No."

Nongmin answered without hesitation.

"I don't possess the Soul Eyes or any ocular ability capable of perceiving and calling upon souls. Nor do I possess a suitable foresight technique that could allow me to trace them through the Wheel of Reincarnation."

"So no resurrection."

"I'm afraid not."

Lai Lan frowned.

"Then how do we even the numbers?"

Nongmin smiled.

"What I can do is connect every dragon vein we've mapped out."

Lai Lan's expression changed.

"And?"

"Make them explode."

There was a moment of silence.

Lai Lan stared at him.

"You want to sink the entire continent?"

"It's not very creative," admitted Nongmin, almost sounding annoyed at the idea. "But for some reason, Supreme Heart asked me to do it this way."

Lai Lan's ears drooped slightly. "That sounds like something I'd expect from him. So how do I fit into all of this?"

"Actually, I'm changing the plan."

Lai Lan blinked. "You are?"

"I have no intention of blowing up the continent. Regardless of what Supreme Heart thinks, I am going to bring him victory."

"Now that's more like it."

Nongmin began walking. "Come."

Lai Lan followed. "Where are we going?"

Nongmin's eyes gleamed. "To slay the opposition, and claim their layer of immortality."

…

..

.

[POV: Nongmin]

Back to the present.

Nongmin looked over the battlefield and found the result almost exactly as he had expected.

Fan Shi was sealed within her own isolation.

Her body stood motionless, almost like a statue trapped between worlds. The technique had separated her from reality so thoroughly that even her own existence had become inaccessible to the outside world.

Zhu Shin was in worse condition.

Half of his body was gone.

Blood and viscera spilled from the enormous wound, staining his armor and dripping onto the ground beneath him. His remaining body trembled as he struggled to remain standing. The crimson Ego Weapon floated beside him, its beautiful form manifested in a defensive stance as she desperately guarded her master.

Yet Zhu Shin's eyes were what caught Nongmin's attention.

There was despair in them.

Nongmin felt nothing. Or more like, he forced himself to not feel anything. The detachment was almost familiar to him like the time when he still had the Heavenly Eye.

This had never been a challenge. He knew their abilities. He knew their habits. He knew how they fought, how they reacted under pressure, and even how they would instinctively respond when cornered. Their weaknesses were just as easy to exploit.

"It's unfortunate that the lass managed to get away," said Lai Lan.

Nongmin glanced toward the isolated space where Fan Shi had frozen.

At the last moment, she had recognized what he intended to do. She had understood that there was no way for her to defend herself against him. So she had sealed herself. It was a clever decision that only costed her freedom and led her to a doomed fate. It was also the only one available to her.

Zhu Shin staggered forward.

"Please..."

His voice was barely audible.

"Don't do this. Your Majesty..."

Zhu Shin's eyes trembled.

"You don't have to do this. Whatever happened between us, whatever misunderstanding caused this, we can still..."

His voice broke.

"Nongmin, please."

Nongmin did not answer aloud. Instead, his voice entered Zhu Shin's mind through Qi Speech. "This has to happen. This entire match was a trap. Supreme Heart needs to win. If he does not, this will become Da Wei's loss."

Zhu Shin stared at him in disbelief.

Nongmin raised one hand.

"Heavenly Punishment."

The night split apart. A divine golden sword descended from the heavens. It was enormous. Its radiant blade pierced through the darkness as though heaven itself had passed judgment upon the battlefield.

Zhu Shin's Ego Weapon screamed. She rushed forward to protect her master.

The golden sword descended.

BOOM!

The entire battlefield trembled. The power of the Holy Emperor dwelled within the sword. It was not merely an imitation of his strength. It carried the signature of an existence Nongmin had observed countless times.

The sword pierced Zhu Shin's body. His flesh disintegrated. His soul trembled. His existence began to unravel. The immortality supporting him was stripped away. Zhu Shin's eyes widened. Then the light consumed him. His body vanished. His immortality entered Nongmin.

The power flooded through Nongmin from Level 1, and then Level 2.

Nongmin's Ascended Soul stabilized.

Lai Lan stared at him. "Unbelievable." His expression was one of genuine shock. "I believe that's the rumored power of the Holy Emperor. How can you even use it?"

Nongmin glanced at him. "Heavenly Punishment is merely one of His Holy Majesty's signature abilities. When I still possessed the Heavenly Eye, one of the abilities I acquired allowed me to reproduce another person's technique by expending my memory of it."

He looked toward the empty space where Zhu Shin had stood.

"I lost the Heavenly Eye, but the techniques and memories I had stored within myself did not disappear."

His memories of the Holy Emperor were vast. He had watched Da Wei through countless iterations. He had seen him fight. He had seen him cultivate. He had watched him use his abilities repeatedly again and again.

His memory of that existence was immense.

So immense that even after losing the Heavenly Eye, the techniques he had memorized remained etched within him. By expending his memories of them, he could manifest this techniques into reality as he pleased.

Lai Lan slowly nodded. "I see."

Nongmin turned toward him, and then his hand moved.

Snap.

His fingers closed around Lai Lan's throat with Monkey Grip.

Lai Lan's eyes widened. "W-What are you doing?"

Nongmin lifted him effortlessly. "I apologize, but it seems our partnership ends here. I am unable to acquire Fan Shi's layer of immortality, so yours will have to do."

Lai Lan's pupils contracted.

Nongmin raised his free hand. The golden light began gathering above them once more. "Heavenly Punishment."