Chapter 188: Shadow of the Ark

Li Mingyue stared blankly at the thug in the suit.

‘Him?’

She had seen him before at Changlong Mall in Liancheng.

A key figure in the suspected Lucifer incident, and one of Dusk’s underlings.

The Anomaly Administration Bureau had once conducted a nationwide search based on a photo of that man.

The result: no such person was found!

It was as if he wasn’t a native of this world at all!

The young man he had tucked under his arm, however, had been identified.

His name was Zhong Shu, a playwright for a theater company.

Li Mingyue hadn’t assigned anyone to surveil Zhong Shu.

If she did, the other party would very likely find out, and it would almost certainly provoke them.

The relationship between the Anomaly Administration Bureau and Dusk was very delicate.

She really didn’t want to stir up any unnecessary trouble.

…

Inside Twenty-Fourth Middle School.

Jiang Chaosheng and the Black God were locked in a fierce, inseparable battle.

The furious winds from the swings of the Giant Scythe severed trees on campus and carved massive ravines into the ground.

Black divine lightning demolished buildings, and black Divine Fire burned amidst the rubble, sending up plumes of thick smoke.

Jiang Chaosheng launched himself toward the Black God, Giant Scythe in hand, and brought it down heavily upon his Divine Body.

Divine lightning erupted from the Black God’s hand, smashing violently toward Jiang Chaosheng.

To defend against the divine lightning, Jiang Chaosheng switched his Giant Scythe from offense to defense and retreated several dozen feet.

Then, treading on the dreary rain, he burst through a firework-like spray of mist in the air and charged forward again!

One was protected by the rules of Antique Shop Zero; the other was a part of the Supreme God.

Both were immortal and indestructible. Neither could do anything to the other.

As Jiang Chaosheng and the Black God clashed again, the Black God’s eyes darted wildly in their sockets. He ground his teeth and said:

“What… what in the world are you?!”

Jiang Chaosheng remained silent, his face expressionless, but a flicker of excitement occasionally flashed in his eyes.

The thrill of battle was stimulating his dopamine.

For someone like him with an emotional disorder, a massive release of dopamine was as captivating as a psychedelic drug.

The Black God found this ‘Human Emperor’ before him to be increasingly bizarre.

He could tell the ‘Human Emperor’ was not in good shape.

This was understandable.

He had personally witnessed the ‘Human Emperor’s’ demise. If the ‘Human Emperor’ were to be resurrected, it would surely come at a great cost, and his state would be far from its peak.

But why was this ‘Human Emperor’ before him fighting more and more ferociously?

And his combat skills were becoming more and more refined.

‘Am I just a giant punching bag, helping the ‘Human Emperor’ practice his moves?’

That was… the Human Emperor!

Why would the Human Emperor need him as a sparring partner?!

‘Could it be… that this guy, who has the appearance of the Human Emperor and the aura of his Soul Power, is a part of the Human Emperor’s grand plan in the Human World?!’

In a moment of carelessness, the Black God’s body was once again sliced in two by the Giant Scythe.

Fortunately, he was immortal and indestructible; his wounded body could recover quickly.

The Black God swiftly retreated, putting distance between himself and Jiang Chaosheng. He stared intently at him.

“You… What the hell are you?!”

Jiang Chaosheng said nothing, simply hacking at the Black God like a bloodthirsty wolf.

He wasn’t a bloodthirsty person, much less a warmonger.

It was just… this thrill of battle… this incredible rush from the rapid secretion of dopamine was truly intoxicating!

The Black God raised a hand burning with Divine Fire, grabbed the blade of the Giant Scythe, and roared in fury:

“I am immortal and indestructible! How could you possibly kill me!”

A smirk touched the corner of Jiang Chaosheng’s mouth.

A giant black serpent appeared behind the Black God.

The Black God suddenly sensed something and whipped his head around, only to see the Primordial Desire Snake had already opened its cavernous mouth and was lunging to devour him!

“It’s… Lucifer!”

The Black God’s pupils contracted violently.

How could he not know that the Primordial Desire Snake was Lucifer’s signature technique?

Lucifer… once his number one general!

The Black God wanted to pull his hand away to deal with the Desire Snake, but Jiang Chaosheng pressed his attack relentlessly, giving him no chance.

“Ugh!”

The Black God grunted in pain.

The Primordial Desire Snake’s massive jaws had clamped down on his left shoulder.

The Black God slowly turned his head, coming face-to-face with the Primordial Desire Snake’s vertical pupils, which were filled with hatred.

For a moment, within those vertical pupils, the Black God saw the image of Lucifer, arms crossed and a sneer on his face.

The Black God’s expression grew more and more pained:

“Why would Lucifer submit to you! You hypocritical… Original Sin of Pride!”

Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes.

He realized the Primordial Desire Snake could actually inflict substantial damage on the Black God!

‘It makes sense, though.’

Lucifer was the strongest in Western Heaven, second only to the Western Emperor.

The Black God before him was merely the lingering resentment of the Western Emperor’s incarnation in the Human World.

Even if the Primordial Desire Snake he was using couldn’t compare to the one Lucifer wielded, it was still enough to harm the Black God.

‘Looks like I’ll have to study the techniques of the Primordial Desire Snake more in the future.’

The Black God’s eyes gradually turned savage.

“Human Emperor… Lucifer… If this is how it’s to be, then allow me to invite you both to perish once more!”

The Black God suddenly dropped all his defenses.

Jiang Chaosheng’s Giant Scythe struck the Black God’s right shoulder.

Black blood dripped from the air.

Jiang Chaosheng was slightly stunned.

‘He… he’s actually been wounded?’

Bitten by the Primordial Desire Snake, the Black God seemed to be losing his power of indestructibility!

The Black God pressed his palms together, enduring the intense pain as he chanted an obscure and difficult Spell.

Jiang Chaosheng became vigilant.

‘Is this old bastard about to unleash his ultimate move?’

Jiang Chaosheng pulled back the Scythe of Death and quickly retreated.

At Jiang Chaosheng’s signal, the Primordial Desire Snake also transformed into a streak of black light and appeared behind him.

Its serpentine body slowly coiled around Jiang Chaosheng, protecting him as it flicked its tongue at the Black God.

A fantastical scene now unfolded in the sky above the grounds of Twenty-Fourth Middle School.

The Black God had his palms pressed together, madness written in his eyes, as he incessantly chanted a Divine Curse.

Black blood dripped continuously from both his shoulders.

Wherever the black blood fell to the earth, a dense black fog arose.

Gradually, he bled more and more, as if a rain was starting to fall.

The dense fog over the field began to gather, becoming a tangible darkness, like water.

Jiang Chaosheng held his scythe, protected by the Primordial Desire Snake.

The Primordial Desire Snake flicked its tongue ceaselessly at the Black God, its sharp, triangular eyes filled with hatred.

Jiang Chaosheng narrowed his eyes, staring at the tangible darkness.

It wasn’t like a gas, nor a liquid; it had transformed into a state he had never seen before.

‘A bit like… what physics calls a supercritical fluid.’

‘Is this the darkness that devoured the Evil Crow?’

The method of the Seven People was to create this tangible darkness; anyone tainted by it would be deleted from the Human World.

The tangible darkness swiftly coalesced, forming a very solid black cabinet!

The cabinet was about one meter long, and seven meters in both width and height.

On top of the cabinet was a statue of an Angel with its wings spread, and on its sides were carrying rings.

A savage grin spread across the Black God’s face.

“I originally thought this body of mine could restore the glory of Western Heaven in this age where All Gods have fallen.

I never expected to run into you.

This is for the best!

Human Emperor, I don’t know what grand plan you’ve laid out in the Human World.

But…”

The Black God took a deep breath, his frenzied eyes flying wide as he used every ounce of his strength to let out a ferocious roar:

“Human Emperor! Your luck has run out!

You who have yet to ascend the throne have met… the terminator of your imperial path!

To utterly shatter your grand plan—that is the greatest value of this body of mine!”

The cabinet doors flew open!

Inside was a stone tablet covered in Spells.

Jiang Chaosheng’s expression turned grave.

Despite his reading disability, he still enjoyed books.

He had seen an image of this cabinet in an encyclopedia of religion at the library.

The Ark of the Covenant.

Legend said it was God’s footstool in the Human World, the place where He met with mankind.

It must never be touched, never be looked upon.

The deeper meaning of the Ark of the Covenant was that of a divine insulator.

If any mortal impurity touched it, even with just a gaze, there was only one outcome: annihilation.

Unlike the legends, this Ark of the Covenant was not gold, but black.

Jiang Chaosheng focused his senses for a moment, muttering to himself:

“This is… the Shadow of the Ark?

So, the Curse of the Seven People on the Spear of Destiny is the Shadow of the Ark?

No wonder it can delete anyone who possesses original sin.”

The instant the black Ark of the Covenant opened, an infinite darkness was unleashed from within.

The darkness spread across the sky above Twenty-Fourth Middle School.

In just a few seconds, the darkness had enveloped the entire sky above South Sea City!

“HISS~”

The Primordial Desire Snake flicked its tongue, dispelling the darkness that shrouded Jiang Chaosheng.