Calamity of Tomorrow

The Mysterious Lady watched the projected images with utter disbelief.

"How could Zhou Bai possibly gain the recognition of the Emperor's Sword?"

"It's impossible... there's no reason for this..."

She recalled all the information and abilities of Zhou Bai in her mind, and the more she thought about her battle with him, the more she felt it was impossible.

"Zhou Bai must be an aberration... If even he doesn't count as an aberration, then I might as well be considered a normal human."

"There must be something wrong with the Emperor's Sword."

Although her mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts, the Mysterious Lady still hastened her pace, leaving Central City. Her presence might have already been exposed to Zhou Bai, and her priority now was to get out of there.

However, with her thoughts along the way, the original anger and surprise had gradually dissipated, turning into a rather amused expression.

"An aberration, if he wins the Daluo Heaven's discourse and becomes the representative of humanity... Haha, that would be interesting."

"And now that Sun Jingping is dead... the rest of you won't have it easy either."

The Mysterious Lady took one last look in the direction of the projection: "Carry on with your self-destruction, humans."

...

On the other side, Zhou Bai stood in the arena, still pondering the attitude of the immortals.

"They've tacitly approved what I've done?"

"But the most critical thing is still the Emperor's Sword's approval..." Zhou Bai glanced at his hand, "It seems that my body is truly of pure-blooded humanity. Too bad there wasn't enough time to communicate more with the Emperor's Sword."

"Next, I must remain cautious and steadily increase my strength. The attitude of the immortals is still unclear; I cannot afford to let my guard down."

At the same time, the fourth match of the day began.

Wen He faced off against Wei Cangsheng.

Zhou Bai remembered Wei Cangsheng well; the opponent had used a swordsmanship set in the first match against Jue Ji and stepped down after.

In the second match, he faced Zhao Yue and immediately conceded.

Now, it was his third match...

...

Within the space-time of Daluo Heaven, Wei Cangsheng looked up at the Emperor's Sword in the sky and sighed, whispering, "Chuzhi, are you still unwilling?"

The Emperor's Sword stood motionless in the air, seemingly unresponsive.

Wei Cangsheng thought of its recent approval of Zhou Bai and shook his head, "I know there were some problems with my actions in the past... but Chuzhi, immortals cannot be trusted."

"After the Daluo Heaven's discourse ends, if you still disagree, I'll have to control you forcefully with the Sword-Taking Technique."

"Zhou Bai might be pure-blooded human, but he can't hold up the standard of humanity. Especially this time, you all were too impulsive, even staying to participate in the discourse? Zhou Bai has probably become a thorn in the side of countless people by now."

Having said that, he turned his head to look at Wentian, and his aura suddenly changed, as sharp as an unsheathed sword, sending waves of sharpness that made Wentian, a Sun Disciple, feel as if his Primordial Spirit had been sliced, releasing a faint sensation of pain.

The expression on Wen He's face changed dramatically as he looked at Wei Cangsheng with utmost gravity, "Have you been intentionally hiding your strength?"

"Alas..." Wei Cangsheng sighed, seemingly encapsulating endless vicissitudes in his speech, "Once the killing begins in this top ten competition, no one can stop it."

Wen He's expression changed, feeling a surge of killing intent so intense that his Primordial Spirit seemed to freeze.

He immediately realized something, that the power Wei Cangsheng held far exceeded his expectations.

"A seventh realm cultivator embodies countless efforts and destined fortune, one in ten thousand." Wei Cangsheng spoke softly, "And yet now, is about to fall by my hand."

Wen He felt the pores all over his body explode, his whole being leaping back like a startled cat.

At this moment, he felt a threat from his instincts, like a sheep facing a butcher who had slaughtered tens of thousands.

A fear from his bloodline, from the depths of his heart, kept telling him, "Run! Run fast!"

As Wen He rapidly retreated, he shouted, "I surren—"

But before he could utter his surrender, a searing pain erupted from his chest, along with a bone-chilling coldness that spread throughout his body from the center of his chest.

Looking down, Wen He saw his chest cavity had become a massive hollow void as if it had completely evaporated.

Unbeknownst to him, Wei Cangsheng had gotten behind him and was slowly walking toward the vortex that led to Daluo Heaven, his eyes filled with an indifferent hue, "What a pity... what a pity..."

Watching Wen He get instantly killed by Wei Cangsheng, the atmosphere at the scene immediately became tumultuous.

Although Sun Jingping was the first to die in the top ten competition, it was his own anomalous death, but now, Wen He was killed by Wei Cangsheng.

"He is so much stronger than Wen He. Couldn't he have defeated him without taking his life? Wen He was a seventh realm cultivator, to die here like this is..."

"Wen He was a disciple of Tianyang Zi, yet he acted against him just like that?"

"That's too much, even for the Daluo Heaven's discussions, the gap so wide and still to commit murder? And killing a seventh realm cultivator, think of how many he could save on the battlefield."

"This guy, he's even worse than Jue Ji. After all, Jue Ji didn't kill anyone after the top ten competition, right?"

While some resented Wei Cangsheng's actions, others understood why he did it.

Zheng Wentian clenched his fists, watching the scene with some disgust, but he knew why Wei Cangsheng had acted this way.

"Sun Jingping is dead, which means the person who defeated him previously and got two points now has the advantage. In the round-robin competition, those who haven't fought Sun Jingping no longer have the chance to do so, lacking two points at maximum."

"The nature of Daluo Heaven's discussion changed from the moment Sun Jingping died."

"It's as if someone had fired the first shot, and a bloody curtain began to rise slowly."

"To maintain an advantage, or to gain a new one, the best method is to kill all of your competitors. This was a hidden rule, almost universally assumed by everyone to fight to a point, not to death in the top ten competition. But once someone set a bad precedent, it couldn't be stopped."

"But why is Wei Cangsheng taking the lead like this? He's already lost two matches, right? Even if he starts killing now, he's still far behind in points... unless..."

"He plans to eliminate all his upcoming opponents..."

Beside Zheng Wentian, Ying Hui was pondering the matter at hand, "The original intent of this competition format, killing the competitors on the spot, was probably a method for the Immortals to control the outcome when the situation got out of hand."

"This way, no matter what the final score is, they can control the champion's selection by killing."

"But now, is this the will of the Immortals? Even if Zhou Bai has been recognized by the Emperor's Sword, do they still refuse to acknowledge him? Clearly, being recognized by the Emperor's Sword means it also sees Zhou Bai as the hope of our human race."

"Or are they saying..."