The blade of dark energy hovered inches from Lin Feng's throat, casting a sickly purple glow across his unblinking eyes."Kill her," the entity rasped through the first king's throat, pointing a finger at Meng Yao. "She is a parasite sent by the lower realm to tie you to the dirt. Strike her down and take your place among us."Lin Feng raised his steel sword, his arm rigid, his expression completely blank. He looked at Meng Yao, his eyes devoid of recognition. "You are an intruder."Meng Yao did not step back. She wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her hand and met his empty gaze. "You don't know my name, do you?""No," Lin Feng said flatly."Good," she said, her voice steady despite the tears burning her eyes. "Then I won't waste time reminding you of it. But you need to know who you are when you aren't playing the emperor. You are infuriating. You lie to your friends. You pretend your heart is made of stone because you are terrified that if you let anyone close, you won't

Across the courtyard, screams tore through the air as soldiers dropped their spears and clutched their forearms.The violet brands burned through leather and cloth, shining so bright that the veins in their wrists showed black against their skin. Down in the streets, thousands of fleeing citizens collapsed simultaneously, their breath rattling in their throats as thin trails of white light drifted upward from their eyes and mouths, pulled directly toward the hovering cosmic altar."It is a regional siphon!" Xiao Chen yelled, dropping to his knees as his brass compass spun wildly. "They activated every mark across the Central Plains! The capital is just the collection funnel!"Lin Feng grabbed a falling palace guard by his collar, trying to push his own golden energy into the man's chest. The moment his power touched the mark, a sharp shockwave threw Lin Feng backward onto the shattered tiles. "I can't block it directly! It is pulling from beneath!""Because the primary network is unde

Meng Yao's soul surged with blinding silver light, her consciousness expanding until her presence drowned out the core."Over here!" she shouted into the dark void, her voice ringing like a struck anvil. "Look at me!"The three towering figures of purple light turned their hollow gazes toward her. The massive siphon threads detaching from Lin Feng immediately swung toward Meng Yao's soul, anchoring directly into her spirit.Lin Feng lunged through the liquid shadow, his hands outstretched. "Yao, stop! Get back!""Stay where you are!" Meng Yao snapped, her teeth gritted as the gods' weight pressed against her mind. "You think you are the only one allowed to bleed for this world? If they need a soul to chase, I am going to make them chase the wrong one!"The First Witness hovered between them, his translucent robes fluttering in the ethereal gale. "The lingering fragment from her past possession acts as a beacon, Lin Feng. She can pull thei

The blinding white crest on Lin Feng's neck burned through his collar, sending pale tendrils of light spider-webbing across his jaw."Kill him now!" the central god shrieked, its marble face splitting from crown to chin. "Exterminate the bloodline before the anchor unravels!"The three golden titans lunged simultaneously, their massive broadswords raining down in a blinding storm of white fire. The sheer atmospheric pressure blew the remaining palace roof into powder.Lin Feng raised his sword, blocking two incoming blades with a deafening screech of rending metal. The impact forced his boots three inches deep into the stone floor, his knees popping under the strain. White veins pulsed beneath his skin, creeping down his throat toward his heart."Lin Feng, stop forcing the white light!" Xiao Chen screamed from behind a ruined pillar, his fingers digging into his scalp. "The prophecy isn't just a story, it is an binding array built into your blood!

Lin Feng stepped down off the high stone balustrade, his boots crunching against the shattered tiles of the imperial plaza.The purple pillar of light from the floating inverted pyramid beat down upon him, turning the skin of his face ghostly white. High above, the multi-layered chime of the gods resonated through the sky, waiting for his bow, waiting for him to kneel and offer his throat as every crowned king before him had done.Lin Feng stopped three paces from the blazing edge of the copied altar. He raised his eyes, looking straight into the blinding center of the light."No," Lin Feng said.The cosmic chime abruptly cut out. A heavy, unnatural stillness fell over the capital, so absolute that the crackle of burning timbers in the lower city sounded like snapping bones."You built this entire structure on an assumption," Lin Feng said, his voice flat, devoid of any royal polish. "You assumed that because I love them, I would bow my head and let you butcher me. But my sacrifice is