Chapter 2203: The Emperor Makes a Move

"Ah... what is this?"

Trembling incessantly, Baiye Qinghong was filled with terror.

As a titled divine king, invincible below the emperor, no one could contend with her. For this very reason, she had the qualifications and capital to seize by force without worrying about retaliation.

But... she never dreamed that the peak upper-grade deity before her would produce such a treasure.

Bound and suppressed, as if crushed by the Heavenly Dao, or as if the emperor himself exerted power, even she, a titled divine king, could not resist.

"Break for me..."

Knowing the book above would not give her much time to speculate, Baiye Qinghong roared, her entire power surging outward wildly. Ripples spread through the air, as if the wish power of an entire region of Linglong Heaven was being drawn over to resist!

A titled divine king, in terms of raw power, differs little from an ordinary divine king. What makes them formidable is their ability to mobilize the wish power of a region, shaping it into their own will.

This power, within a specific domain, is virtually invincible.

But... no matter how invincible, before the Heavenly Dao, it counted for nothing. With a single press, it scattered in all directions, and the barrier shattered.

"Pfft!"

Blood sprayed violently. The titled divine king of this realm showed panic in her eyes.

Earlier, she thought she could resist, but now she understood: if she didn't think of another way, she would likely be crushed into a meat patty within a few breaths, her body destroyed and her path ended.

"Please spare my life! I was wrong. Seeing that this pill had pure power, I harbored evil intentions... wanting to possess it! I had no idea what pill this was or where it came from..."

Clenching her teeth, no longer caring about her image, Baiye Qinghong hurriedly explained.

Between face and life, the latter was naturally more important.

"The titled divine king Baiye snatched someone else's pill?"

"She was so righteous just now; I thought it was true... I never expected her to do this!"

"She was my goddess. Doing this really tarnishes the name of a titled divine king..."

"A pill that can let someone break through to divine king—what would you do?"

"I... might have done the same as her..."

...

Thoughts flickered all around, each one filled with shock.

The pill had just been seized when Baiye Qinghong appeared, and with her righteous attitude, everyone who saw this believed she was telling the truth. They never dreamed it was outright robbery!

Thus, the reputation of this titled divine king, the goddess of countless people, was thoroughly ruined.

A goddess is also human; not everything she does can be fragrant.

"I gave you a chance. Saying this now... is too late." Zhang Xuan remained unmoved.

He had given her a chance earlier, but she didn't seize it; instead, she pressed harder. Since that was the case, there was only one path left... death!

Crack!

The Book of Heavenly Dao, with the library's upgrade, could stay longer in the outside world. Its will pressed down again. Baiye Qinghong could no longer withstand it; the bones in her body shattered, blood burst from her shoulders and face, her expression twisted.

No matter how strong a titled divine king, they had not surpassed the Heavenly Dao. Facing the Book of Heavenly Dao, they were still powerless.

"Please spare her..."

The air shook rapidly, and another graceful figure appeared abruptly.

Another titled divine king of Linglong Heaven, Shangguan Yunwan!

"Baiye Qinghong is a titled divine king personally enfeoffed by His Majesty. By killing her, you are defying the majesty of the Emperor. One should be lenient when possible!"

Shangguan Yunwan said.

"Are you threatening me with the Emperor?" Zhang Xuan squinted.

As a fellow titled divine king, when this Baiye Qinghong openly snatched his medicine, he didn't believe she hadn't noticed, nor that the Emperor hadn't 'seen' it!

Seeing it yet remaining silent, letting it happen—why should he now be the one to back down?

Ridiculous!

"No threat needed. You should understand that the Emperor's majesty cannot be defied!" Shangguan Yunwan said.

The Emperor, the pinnacle of strength in heaven and earth, naturally had her reasons for enfeoffing a divine king. It was not something anyone could oppose.

Openly killing the divine king she had enfeoffed was tantamount to challenging her authority.

"Cannot be defied, but... to enfeoff such a person, this Fairy Linglong's judgment is not so good. Since that's the case... then I'll clean house for her!"

Too lazy to waste words with her, Zhang Xuan reached out with his hand.

"No..."

The book pressed down fiercely. With a miserable cry, Baiye Qinghong was crushed into a meat patty, her soul scattered, leaving nothing behind.

"This..." Shangguan Yunwan hadn't expected that even invoking the Emperor's name wouldn't stop him, and that he would kill Baiye Qinghong in public. She trembled with rage: "You have such nerve..."

Before she could finish, the young man looked at her coldly: "If you don't want to die, shut up!"

Her delicate body trembling, Shangguan Yunwan shook with anger but dared not say another word.

Baiye Qinghong, whose strength was comparable to hers, had been killed in an instant without even a chance to counterattack. If she dared to say more, she would likely end up like her, soul scattered, vanishing between heaven and earth.

The many divine kings and experts who had been watching from the shadows were now utterly silent, trembling.

These were titled divine kings—super experts second only to the Emperor in the world—and yet one had been killed in the blink of an eye, while another was publicly rebuked and dared not speak a word...

Where the hell did this guy come from?

Fu Jiangchen was trembling even more.

He had always overestimated this young man, thinking his future achievements would be limitless, but he never imagined... that he could kill a titled divine king with a laugh and intimidate his goddess into silence...

Fortunately, when he helped refine the pill, he had no other thoughts; otherwise, he would surely be the one lying dead.

"He seems to be... Zhang Xuan!"

"Zhang Xuan? The Zhang Xuan, Pill Master Zhang, who sold the Barrier-Breaking Pill in the Soul-Devouring Heaven?"

"Yes. On the day he sold the Barrier-Breaking Pill, I was in the Soul-Devouring Heaven and happened to see him, so I remember clearly..."

"Being able to refine such heaven-defying pills as the Barrier-Breaking Pill and the Beauty Pill, it's no surprise he could refine this pill before us."

"Right... Killing a titled divine king in one move—could it be that behind him there is also an Emperor? I wonder which one..."

...

Someone recognized him.

The commotion Zhang Xuan had caused in the Soul-Devouring Heaven was so great that his reputation had spread here.

Silencing Shangguan Yunwan's nonsense, Zhang Xuan couldn't be bothered to say more. With a flick of his finger, the pill trapped by his sword energy flew over and landed in his palm. Just as he put it back into the jade box, his heart tightened—a dangerous aura approached.

The surrounding quiet space boiled. The primal energy of the entire Linglong Imperial City converged toward the center in an instant, and a powerful, despair-inducing pressure appeared out of nowhere.

"Is this... the Emperor about to make a move?"

Clenching his fists, Zhang Xuan squinted.