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In the God Realm, in the estates of the Xiao family.
Thud thud thud.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed throughout the courtyard. The Xiao family’s old man had been leisurely sipping tea.
He looked at the person who’d arrived and said, “You’re head of the family now. Why are you still so easily flustered?”
“Father.” The one speaking was the middle-aged man from before. He frowned and cupped his palms in respect. “Your son has failed at the task you set for him.”
“Hm?” Lightning flashed through the elder’s eyes. He stared back at the middle-aged man, eyes seemingly ablaze, and said, “What, could it be that his godhead has yet to shatter?”
“Indeed.”
Back when the heavens and earth were first carved from primordial mists, the void gave birth to the Xiao family.
Since their first generation, they had controlled tribulation lightning throughout the Six Realms. Today, the middle-aged man was already the ninth head of the family and the elder was renowned throughout the God Realm as the Divine Lightning Emperor, Xiao Ting.
No one knew Xiao Ting’s true age. All they knew was that he was a highly esteemed member of the senior generation,
In truth, given his condition, there was no reason he couldn’t continue to lead the family. He’d simply grown weary of authority and wanted to spend his remaining years in leisure. At the same time, he wanted to give the family’s younger generation opportunities, so he’d abdicated his seat to his third son, Xiao Yan, the current head of the Xiao clan.
At the Lightning Pool.
Surging waves of lightning roiled around in a pool thousands of miles in diameter. The pool was surrounded by tens of thousands of Xiao clansmen who were busy sending lightning punishments to the various realms.
There was no need to give formal greetings while distributing lightning. That had been the rule of the Xiao family since ancient times, so even the clansmen who saw Xiao Yan and Xiao Ting paid them no heed.
“Father, look,” said Xiao Yan, pointing to a patch of light and shadow within the lightning pool.
The Divine Lightning Emperor glanced at it and asked, “How many bolts did you add to his tribulation?”
“I didn’t add any,” frowned Xiao Yan. “When he achieved divinity, there were naturally eighty-one bolts of lightning. I had no way to add any more.”
“Eighty-one bolts!” exploded Xiao Ting without any consideration whatsoever for his status. Even the clansmen working the lightning pool were visibly stunned.
“There were really eighty-one bolts of heavenly lightning? Could it be that this child’s talent has reached Bi’an’s level? How did he achieve divinity?”
“Through the sword.”
The elder was silent. Xiao Yan hesitated for a while before he spoke again.
“Father, what should I do now? He’s overcome the heavenly lightning. Before long, he’ll surely ascend, but our current situation….”
“You’re the head of the Xiao family now. Why are you in such a panic?” Xiao Ting frowned deeply and berated him. Xiao Yan hurriedly lowered his head.
Before long the old man spoke again. “This boy can not be allowed to ascend. Continue.”
“What?”
“I said, continue!”
“Continue?” Xiao Yan stared wide-eyed. “Father, since the world was formed, eighty-one bolts has always been the limit. Everyone in the Six Realms knows that. If they find out about this, how will our Xiao family handle it?”
“Our Xiao family controls tribulation lightning throughout the Six Realms. We can use as much lightning as we want. All outsiders can do is gossip” Ask he spoke, his true, overbearing nature revealed itself completely. “I told you to send more lightning, so do as I say. I’d like to see who dares complain.”
His indomitable spirit terrified even Xiao Yan, the current head of the family.
Since his father had spoken, all he could do was steel himself to carry out his commands.
Send more lightning!
“How is this possible? How is it possible that you’re still alive?” Gu Li’s eyes brimmed with terror as he looked at the calmly smiling Ye Zichen. “Eighty-one bolts of heavenly lightning, it’s not possible for you to have survived”
“It seems you want me to kill you myself.”
Ye Zichen took a few steps forward, paying him no heed. Gu Li backed away as he approached
“It’s not possible, I don’t believe it…..”
Gu Li’s wings started to beat furiously in an attempt to escape.
“You still want to run?” Ye Zichen raised his hand slightly, and Gu Li crashed hard to the ground. “Do you think you can run from a deity?”
After being forced to the ground, Gu Li could truly feel the vast gulf between their abilities.
If he couldn’t run, then….
Bang.
He knelt against the ground and smashed his head into the earth. His eyes reddened, his hair was drenched with sweat.
“Brother Ye, Emperor Ye…… Please, let me go just this once.”
“I know I was in the wrong before, but I was misguided. It was the Chiyou sword; he said that I was the reincarnation of Chiyou. He taught me that I had to be your enemy, that we couldn’t possibly coexist. Everything was really all his fault! If it weren’t for his words, how could I have become your enemy?”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have let his lies sway me. As for the Zombie Progenitor that hurt your friend…. please feel free to kill him. I absolutely won’t stand in your way. I can also make amends for my prior misdeeds. Just say the word.”
Still kneeling on the ground, Gu Li bowed low, banging his head so hard into the dirt that it bled profusely. He was so nervous, he trembled as he spoke.
“Gu Li, you’re really looking to throw me away?” roared Jiangchen.
“Ha ha ha, you Zombies have committed so many crimes that you deserve to die. All I did was listen to rumors and slander, I’m not like you. I didn’t hurt even one of the citizens of the Beast Realm, not one… It was all you guys, you’re the ones who turned them into zombies, it was all your fault. “
Facing death, people would reveal the truest and ugliest parts of themselves.
Gu Li no longer cared about anything except living on.
What Zombie Progenitors, what becoming master of the universe….
None of it mattered as much his life. If he lived, he would still have opportunities in the future.
After berating the Zombie progenitor, he looked expectantly at Ye Zichen.
“How unsightly. I’ve already seen this act more than once. When you have no chance of success, you bend and scrape and plead for mercy. I’ve long since grown tired of this pathetic and despicable scene.”
The current Ye Zichen wasn’t even in the mood to mock him.
He simply smiled calmly and said, “You say the Chiyou Sword misled you and that the Zombie Progenitors are the ones who hurt the people of the Beast Region? Fine, I believe you. They won’t escape punishment, there’s no question of that. But why should I spare you?”
“Emperor Ye, please just let me go this once. I will absolutely change my ways. When I get back I’ll disperse all the abyssals. I can work to pay for my crimes, I can help you fight the demons, just say the word and I’ll do anything you want, anything at all. Brother Ye, we’re relatives, we’re both from the Gu family…… Please let me go just this one, okay? Just this once!”
Gu Li gazed at him expectantly, but Ye Zichen just looked back at him coldly.
“Nope.” With that, Ye Zichen raised his fists without an ounce of hesitation.
Rumble.
In a sky clear for tens of thousands of miles, a single bolt of red lightning suddenly came crashing down.
Boom.
Before he could even defend himself, Ye Zichen spurted blood, and his body shook as if on the verge of collapse. The bolt of lightning had pierced directly into his consciousness and attacked his godhead. Cracks climbed up the body of the golden sword.
‘Divine Lightning Consumes the Heart.’ His godhead shattered into pieces.
With this level of injury, Ye Zichen was overcome with confusion and unwillingness as he looked up into clear skies…..
“Why, why…….”
