His fierce gaze swept over the immortals. As it touched them, they couldn’t help but lower their heads, not daring to look him directly in the eye.
Even the immortals familiar with Ye Zichen were startled by his rebuke.
This was absolutely not in line with their impression of his temperament.
“It’s not your place to try and influence how I sentence them. All you need to do is watch from the sidelines.”
The indifferent words coming out of his mouth combined with the coldness he’d displayed right from the start chilled their hearts.
“Emperor Ye.”
There were still several immortals who couldn’t help but try and plead for mercy. Although everyone in front of them was a traitor of their respective realms, it was undeniable: many of them had only done so out of desperation or some other reason. They weren’t completely, unforgivably evil.
“Enough.”
Ye Zichen spoke, his voice carrying a hint of anger. He glowered coldly at the distant immortals. Then, inexplicably, he laughed, “even now, you’re still pleading for mercy on their behalf? For them, who once pointed their blades at you? If so, you’re truly kind. Or perhaps I should say, ‘truly hypocritical?’”
“Not long ago, they were your mortal enemies. They wanted to destroy you. Yet you want to plead for mercy on their behalf?
“Being overly soft-hearted is like nursing a wounded tiger back to health: it’ll only come back to bite you. Don’t bother telling that some of them did it out of desperation or about what sort of relationship you have with them. In my eyes, they are all traitors. Their reasons don’t matter. Nothing can erase the fact that they once betrayed us.”
“The moment they made their choice, they ceased to be your friends and relatives.”
The immortals didn’t know what to say. Those familiar with Ye Zichen found it difficult to believe that such cold words would come out of his mouth.
Indeed, this was in stark contrast with Ye Zichen’s former temperament.
However, during his recent battle against the demons, he’d truly understood this principle:
No one will grant you mercy or forgiveness, no matter how many concessions you make.
For instance, the heavenly lightning. Ye Zichen was already prepared to disperse his spiritual power, but did the lightning stop?
It didn’t!
Spare them?
If not for those traitors, reinforcements from the Immortal Region, Underworld, and Heavenly Court would have reached Dragon City.
If that had happened….. Would things still have ended so tragically?
Although these people weren’t from the God Realm’s Xiao Family, at a fundamental level, was their behavior any different from the Xiao Family’s unrelenting lightning?
If he spared them, would Keke come back to life?
If he spared them, would Su Yiyun come back to life?
If he spared them, would the Sacred Beast clan heads and Hua Hai come back to life?
If he spared them, would all those fallen warriors come back to life?
Ye Zichen’s eyes instantly grew bloodshot. He couldn’t face Keke and Su Yiyun’s death and still maintain his aloof, unconcerned demeanor.
Nor could he treat the soldiers who’d sacrificed themselves on the battlefield with indifference.
Neither their status nor their reasons mattered. Everyone standing there had stood against the Three Realms.
Their lives. They’d have to offer their lives in penance.
These people had to die to compensate those who’d fallen.
After countless failed attempts to break the seal, the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity gave up on it.
When he heard the North Pole Emperor plead for mercy on his behalf, the words stung his ears. He couldn’t tolerate the North Pole Emperor trampling on his self-respect in such a way.
Pleas for mercy?
He didn’t need them!
When he saw the reluctance written on the North Pole Emperor’s face, he let out a cold laugh, “North Pole, quit pretending to be some paragon of virtue.”
With that, his gaze fell on Ye Zichen. He snorted, “this emperor is a traitor. What can you do about it? If you have the means to execute us, go ahead and get it over with. You are unfit to trample upon my dignity. If all you can do is seal me here, then, so long as I have sufficient time, I will inevitably break through my bonds. When that happens, I’ll still be the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity. I’ll still be revered by the masses, the supreme ruler of countless lives.”
Wildly, domineeringly arrogant.
After just this brief amount of time, this was Ye Zichen’s assessment of him.
Only a supremely arrogant figure like the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity could say something so domineering even at a time like this.
He was arrogant……
Arrogant to the point that no one else could enter his eyes.
This sort of person, given enough time, might one day truly stand at the pinnacle of countless worlds.
But he was unfortunate.
He wouldn’t get the chance.
“All of you deserve death.”
Calm.
When Ye Zichen said this, he was as placid as autumn waters. He didn’t point out anyone in particular. Instead, he sentenced every single one of them to death.
The rosy clouds that once filled the skies had long since dissipated. Now, in the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with dense layers of ink-dark clouds.
The low rumble of thunder reverberated through the clouds. Surprisingly, when they looked up at the clouds, the traitors below had little response.
“Punishment lightning, strike!”
In truth, Ye Zichen could have used countless other methods to execute them, yet he’d chosen to use divine lightning to end their lives.
Not even he knew why he’d chosen this particular method. Perhaps……
His own recent lightning tribulation made him subconsciously settle on this method.
Following his command, countless purple lightning dragons shot out of the thunderclouds. Soon, the entire sky was full of roaring dragons. Everyone present stared in astonishment.
The immortals watching from a distance were so shaken, they couldn’t help but close their eyes. However, the traitors preparing to accept their punishment were actually rather calm.
Of them, Xia Yingqiu of the Dragon Clan even went so far as to look up into the sky and welcome death with open arms.
He had no resentment!
Boom!
Countless dragons formed of pure electricity came crashing down with a band. The raging electrical energy lingered within the traitors’ bonds, releasing an unrelenting flood of lightning.
A while later.
By the time the lightning dragons within their enclosures dispersed, the traitors no longer had any trace of life force.
When they saw this result, the immortals’ hearts ached despite themselves. More than that, though, they sighed with regret. They couldn’t fault Ye Zichen’s judgment. All they could say was….
All of those people had walked down the wrong path.
However, they quickly noticed that, while the lightning had cut through the traitors like a scythe through a field of autumn wheat….. The Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity was still standing there, just as proudly as before.
It’s not that he resisted the lightning, but rather that it never even touched him.
“What are you thinking? Don’t think you can humiliate this emperor. All I want is death,” he snorted obstinately, then looked up, his gaze aloof. It was as if nothing in this world could force him to lower his head.
Off in the distance, the North Pole Emperor’s eyes lit up. Could it be…..
“You’re asking to die?”
Ye Zichen’s gaze lingered on the Heavenly Emperor of Supreme Polarity. When their eyes met, the Heavenly Emperor didn’t back down in the slightest. He looked directly into Ye Zichen’s eyes.
The truly unbelievable thing was, there was still a hint of contempt in the Heavenly Emperor’s gaze.
“That’s right, all I ask of you is death!”
Then they watched as he smirked disdainfully, a sneer tugging at his lips, and put his hands behind his back. Finally, he stared directly into Ye Zichen’s eyes, his gaze proud and aloof.
