"Does it hurt?"

Accompanied by Yu Ke's friendly greeting, his sharp spear pierced through Smiling's shoulder, bringing forth gushing blood and tearing apart bone, flesh, and skin.

Smiling dodged, Smiling counterattacked, Smiling's thoughts transformed into an invisible giant hand, capable of crushing Yu Ke, this human martial pillar, into pulp in just one second.

However, Xie Chenyuan's sword thread had already pierced through the gang qi on Smiling's back. If Smiling insisted on killing Yu Ke, he too would have his heart crushed by Xie Chenyuan.

Between the Demon Emperor and the human martial pillar, whose life was more important?

So Smiling had no choice but to abandon the wonderful option of pinning Yu Ke down, had to defend against Xie Chenyuan, and had to add another injury. Such decisions happened dozens to hundreds of times in a matter of minutes, each time resulting in Smiling paying with an injury as the outcome, while Cha Huan, Xie Chenyuan, and Yu Ke withdrew safely without a scratch.

The strength of Cha Huan, Yu Ke, and Xie Chenyuan lay not in their exquisite military strategy and combined attack, nor in their individual martial skills of peak perfection, but in their awareness. Fighting against Smiling was like walking on a tightrope every second; Smiling could exchange his life for theirs at any moment, taking a martial pillar along. Yet, they didn't hesitate, didn't retreat, didn't fear, and their flawless military strategy and combined attack didn't reveal even the slightest flaw.

"Pain isn't important; exhilaration is!" Smiling roared like thunder, but the three instantly used combined qi techniques to neutralize Smiling's roar, and their military strategy and combined attack continued to operate smoothly, slicing through Smiling's flesh layer by layer like a meat grinder.

Had it been an ordinary martial pillar, they would have been reduced to a human stick by now. Similarly, anyone else facing Smiling, whose barrier gang qi could instantly recover with just a thought and who possessed the resilient Behemoth body, would have long since despaired.

Facing the most enduring living celestial, against the most terrifying martial pillar group of Radiance.

"If you become too exhilarated, you will die. Stop the mutation, surrender, and we can spare your life." Xie Chenyuan calmly said, "When a person dies, their light extinguishes, but they can make a comeback. I urge the Demon Emperor to think twice."

"Hearing such words from Director Xie's mouth is truly unattractive!" Smiling sneered, "I don't really understand one thing, Director Xie, you're inherently a politically cunning animal, capable of becoming a wise minister under a clear ruler, but if left unchecked, potentially a treacherous hero in chaotic times. Aren't you afraid I'll ruthlessly take you down with me? Aren't you afraid your ambitions will remain unrealized?"

"Or are you waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to backstab Yu Ke, backstab Cha Huan, and use me as a blade to eliminate these two obstacles in one go?"

Yu Ke laughed heartily, "Well said, Demon Emperor, Xie Chenyuan didn't have such thoughts originally, but now you've reminded him, he'll surely be tempted. Alas, alas, as they say, strike first and gain the upper hand; strike later and suffer. I can only betray Xie Chenyuan first!"

"You're right, Demon Emperor," Xie Chenyuan said, "I am indeed an ambitious, scheming person, more afraid of death than anyone. The ones I despise most are the heroes in history who bravely sacrifice their lives."

"Heroism lies in contributing to the world and benefiting the people, not in momentary glory or victory and defeat."

"If I sacrifice myself here, I'm merely the head of the Statistical Department driven by a chivalrous spirit. Hundreds of years later, no one will remember my name, no one will know my trace."

"Heroes, cowards, are but toys of history; only those who survive have the chance to become masters of history."

"So..."

When Smiling countered Cha Huan's finger-sword, Xie Chenyuan pressed forward without hesitation to intercept Smiling, forcing Smiling to attack him!

"I'm not the hot-blooded fool like Yu Ke, nor the saintly Cha Huan who cares for the world. I rely on my rational judgment. If I don't kill you here tonight, I'll never get my chance to shine later!"

"When it's time to cherish life, I'll use any means necessary to survive. But my achievement as a human martial pillar is meant to allow me to risk my life when required!"

Boom!

Smiling was bathed in blood, his black robe already torn to pieces, and the robust, rugged beast body was covered with bristles stained with blood. He coughed up thick blood, fighting desperately against the encirclement of the martial pillars, loudly exclaiming, "Cha Huan, you must know deep down that Radiance is already gone!"

"At this moment, Beichen Pass and Nanming Pass have already fallen, the Outer District armies are pressing forward, and soon they'll attack Yanjing. Meanwhile, Yanjing's five military camps are also mired in internal demon transformation battles, rendering Yanjing utterly incapable of resisting the Outer District armies!"

"You're trapped here with me, watching helplessly as Yanjing descends into chaos, watching helplessly as my allies seize the Holy Sword Radiance, while you all can do nothing! Is this feeling of powerlessness the first time you've experienced it, Cha Huan?"

"No," Cha Huan replied, "After the reckless young years passed, I realized there are too many things in this world beyond one's control. The evidence is that I never participated in the Sun Festival before turning thirty, and after thirty, the first thing I do when waking up is to pray to the sun to return to my youthful days, forever young, forever brimming with tears."

Yu Ke laughed, "Seems like the Grand Ancestor fulfilled your wish, Principal."

In Radiance's traditional culture, the sole god is the Sun God, and the Grand Ancestor is the personified god of the sun, also known as the Sun Monarch or Radiance Monarch. However, every generation of a wise ruler is also considered a reincarnation of the Grand Ancestor, a sun embodiment, like the Lie Sect.

"I suggest you also pray in the morning like me, and don't imitate Crane Tears, the kid who acts senile every day, as if anyone isn't elderly," Cha Huan said, "Smiling, do you pray to God? We've prayed to the Sun Monarch for over two thousand years in Radiance. Even if there's no merit, there's effort; surely he will bless Radiance, eternally."

"If there really is a god, it should be seeking my forgiveness," Smiling said coldly, "Cha Huan, actually what confuses me most is you. You don't seek power or fame, so what exactly keeps you in the Imperial Academy for decades? You're originally a wandering knight in the mortal world, why disgrace yourself staying in Yanjing, this arena of power and fame?"

"The old principal, Doujincian's kindness to you, at most could keep you at the Imperial Academy for five years. You could've chosen a new principal to replace you long ago, why work yourself to exhaustion till now?"

"You're mistaken, I crave power and fame, but I only want authority and not the obligations," Cha Huan wielded the finger-sword, "As for why I insist on being an annoying principal..."

"After all, Glory loved me first; I can't not love it back."

"Such stubborn ignorance." Smile said coldly, "Then you better pray that your gods will save you with miracles!"

Boom!

Smile smashed the floor suddenly, causing sand and dust to fly everywhere, trying to obscure the sight of the martial pillars!

He sharply noticed that Xie Chenyuan, who was supposed to attack him next, slowed down by half a beat!

Xie Chenyuan couldn't keep up with Cha Huan's rhythm!

A flaw appeared!

Smile braced against Cha Huan's finger sword light explosion, chanting to transform arms, and attacked Cha Huan with full force!

Smile saw clearly that although the martial pillars cooperated adeptly, Cha Huan was undoubtedly the main axis among the martial pillars. Even if he couldn't crush Cha Huan directly, just injuring him severely would make Smile fearless of their military strategy's joint attack!

However, at the moment Smile thundered forth, Yu Ke and Xie Chenyuan seemingly anticipated beforehand and suddenly shifted direction to ambush Smile's back!

"With me in the world, why seek help from gods?"

Cha Huan shouted loudly, using himself as bait to lure and kill the Demon Emperor!

...

...

"I knew that if the Holy Sword Glory was not touched, even if Cha Huan's martial pillars died completely, you wouldn't leave your prison."

In the underground hall, the president glanced at the shadows outside and sighed: "The demon blood transformation plan I've been scheming for over a decade is merely a mundane affair you hardly care about; ultimately, it's this gamble-like Holy Sword summoning that can bring you before me."

As he spoke, five death warriors silently surrounded Tea Shih-hin, but Tea Shih-hin faced this with indifference, calmly saying:

"Not at all, the demon blood transformation is also an unprecedented plan for me. I never thought the combination of Blood Essence Stone with the Behemoth Demon Race could produce such a world-shocking effect; really, no matter how long one lives, there are always fresh occurrences."

"After tonight, the demon blood transformation plan can rank among the top five plots of Glory. If Yanjing truly falls because of it, it might even become the ultimate scheme of the ages—and you will become the notorious traitor in history, who with one word destroys a nation and with one plot ruins a dynasty."

"But you won't let Glory fall, nor will you allow Yanjing to perish." The president said, "This must be one of your few bottom lines."

Tea Shih-hin raised his eyebrows slightly: "You speak as if you know me well, but until now I still haven't learned your name."

"My real name might not interest you." The president said, "But since my ancestors came from Glory, our lineage still prides itself on the Glory bloodline inside us. Thus, I have a rarely used Glory name—Ming Ji-jin."

"That's quite unusual. I thought you'd choose a simple and straightforward name like 'Glorified' or 'Sunshine', considering how you haven't contacted Glory in a long time. No one would study Glory language, so naming is typically based on choosing words with good meanings." Tea Shih-hin said, "Ji-jin, I recall this is a special usage from the Dongyang district in recent years; it means... kill all enemies."

"Sounds like, Grand Ancestor Shih-hin, you've been to our Western Continent?" President Ming Ji-jin seemed a bit surprised, "I do have two ancestors named 'Glorified' and 'Sunshine'."

"Visited long ago," Tea Shih-hin said, "And you haven't been to Glory just in the last decade or so, have you?"

"Indeed." Ming Ji-jin nodded, "As early as forty years ago, my father had already sent people to land at the Dongyang port, investigating Glory under the guise of merchants. My name originated from this—my father thought the term Ji-jin was dashing and perfectly suited the sect's style."

Sect?

Le Yu, who didn't dare move, felt shocked when hearing this term. Officially in Glory, all sects were defined as cults; even the faith in the Great Monarch of Filth was merely mentioned during festivals. If someone formed a sect in the name of the Great Monarch of Filth, officials would disperse them with, 'How dare you even mention the Great Monarch of Filth.'

The Imperial Family of the Ming so disdain religion, yet another branch of the Ming lineage actually joined the Outer District sect?

Tea Shih-hin glanced at the withered yellow book Ming Ji-jin held: "Since you have the Book of the Dead, that also means..."

"Allow me to introduce myself once more," Ming Ji-jin smiled slightly, "I am the patriarch of the Hagen-Daz family, the common ruler of seven nations in the Western Continent, shepherd to eighty million believers, proxy for the Great Monarch of Filth..."

"Pope of the four hundred and twenty-second generation of the cult of the Undead, Visage Saint Hagen-Daz."