Chapter 29: The Fire of Repentance
Seeing Urnison suddenly appear before him, Loyceus's heart trembled.
"It's over!" Loyceus felt a hint of despair.
What was rooted in his soul by the soul leech was only his strongest divine avatar of life; Loyceus had another divine avatar. But now, even this divine avatar couldn't escape.
"If you don't want to die right now, retreat!" Urnison barked.
Loyceus knew that retreating would also lead to death, but he still chose to step back into the encirclement.
"Pfft!" A dagger pierced straight through the head of a mid-level god.
Then, Bebe flipped his hand to collect the corpse and flew back beside Linley. Linley, Delia, and Bebe gathered together. They didn't attack others, and others didn't attack them, but if anyone did attack them, Linley and his group would immediately kill them!
Regina was also beside Linley and the others.
But in this life-and-death moment, Linley and his group didn't dare fully trust Regina.
Blood splattered as the slaughter continued.
"Linley." Delia looked at Linley, who forced a faint smile. Now that things had come to this, and Urnison had said only one mid-level god could survive, Linley and his group had three people—someone would have to die.
Who would die?
"I'd rather die than let Delia and Bebe die." At this moment, Linley's heart was filled with pain.
"Even if I die, I want to die by your side." Delia looked at Linley, a faint smile on her face. "Being with you has been enough for me."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Linley shouted through divine sense transmission.
But his heart ached. Although Delia wasn't highly talented in cultivation, she had silently supported Linley all these years. This quiet care and support had, over time, deeply rooted their feelings in their souls.
Life and death could not sever them.
"You won't die." Linley looked at Delia while staying alert to their surroundings.
The white-robed man who had sold many moon rings was now staring at Linley's group. Linley and the others had noticed earlier that this white-robed man was incredibly strong—he had already killed over ten mid-level gods.
"I advise you not to mess with me." Linley held his black mithril heavy sword and transmitted through divine sense.
The white-robed man hesitated, glanced at Bebe, and ultimately chose not to attack.
Linley and Bebe had killed quite a few people themselves. Linley's soul attacks and Bebe's physical attacks were among the top among these mid-level gods.
"Stop!" A cold shout rang out like thunder from the direction of Emperor Wing City.
Everyone who heard this shout felt their minds go dizzy, and it took a moment to recover. When Linley and the others came to, they saw three figures appear in midair. Under the blood-red sunlight, the leading figure shone even more brightly.
He wore a golden robe, had white eyebrows, and golden pupils!
White eyebrows, golden pupils!
"Seven Star Demon, Emperor Wing City Lord?" Linley's heart surged with joy. Linley, Bebe, and Delia almost instantly showed ecstatic expressions on their faces.
Not just them—even the silver-haired old man, who was still fighting fiercely and hadn't died yet, spotted the newcomers and immediately shouted excitedly, "City Lord!"
"City Lord?" Many of those participating in the demon assessment looked at the newcomer with surprise.
As a Seven Star Demon, Emperor Wing was undoubtedly a peak powerhouse in the Infernal Realm.
"Oh, Stuart!" The gray-robed man, Urnison, glanced at Emperor Wing City Lord. "Stuart, are you going to interfere in this matter?"
Linley and the others were shocked. They knew that 'Emperor Wing' was just a title the City Lord had earned after becoming a Seven Star Demon.
As for the City Lord's true name, few knew it.
Emperor Wing City Lord raised his white eyebrows, his sharp gaze landing on Urnison. "Urnison, this is a Demon Castle team, and we're right next to Emperor Wing City. Don't go too far." The City Lord's words carried a hint of anger.
"Stuart, my divine avatar was killed. Do you think I can let this grudge go?" Urnison looked at the City Lord.
Emperor Wing City Lord frowned. "A divine avatar destroyed? How is that possible? With them?"
He knew Urnison's strength well.
Urnison paused briefly, then said bitterly, "I was at my lair, focusing on studying the rules of death, but my dark divine avatar was at Moonlake Castle." After all, Urnison also needed to enjoy life—he couldn't stay in seclusion forever.
"Who would have thought that such a large group would attack my Moonlake Castle?" Urnison said angrily.
Emperor Wing City Lord understood.
Such situations were simple. Many powerful figures would scatter their divine avatars in different locations, so if one divine avatar faced great danger, at least another would survive.
"With such a grudge, how could I not take revenge?" Urnison said.
For these supreme experts, life was naturally precious. Losing a divine avatar was like losing a life—who wouldn't be furious to the extreme? Urnison had already planned to kill all these demons without leaving a single one.
Emperor Wing City Lord was also anxious. Then, staring at Urnison, he said slowly, "Urnison, I understand your feelings. But... acting right next to Emperor Wing City doesn't show me, Stuart, any respect."
Urnison frowned slightly.
Both Emperor Wing City Lord and Urnison were legendary experts who had become famous in ancient times. Back then, they were already Seven Star Demons!
"Stuart, are you going to fight me?" Urnison frowned and said in a low voice.
The more than thirty survivors still surrounded were watching nervously. Linley and the others knew that their lives were now in the hands of these two supreme experts. Life or death depended on the outcome of the conversation between Emperor Wing City Lord and Urnison.
"I don't want to fight you, but you can't go too far," Emperor Wing City Lord said.
Urnison also knew Emperor Wing's temper.
"Fine, I won't kill those mid-level god kids. But the four surviving high-level gods—I must kill them!" Urnison said firmly. "My divine avatar's death is connected to these demons!"
Emperor Wing City Lord swept his gaze over them.
"City Lord!" the silver-haired old man quickly said, and the other three high-level gods also looked at Emperor Wing City Lord with hope.
Emperor Wing City Lord spoke, "Among the four surviving high-level gods, he is a member of the Demon Castle." He pointed at the silver-haired old man. "He couldn't have been involved in your death."
Urnison glanced at the silver-haired old man and nodded. "Fine, I'll spare him."
"City Lord!" the other three high-level gods, including Loyceus, shouted.
But Emperor Wing City Lord ignored them. He looked at Urnison and transmitted through divine sense, "Hurry up and finish this. Making such a big scene and dragging it out..." Urnison understood immediately.
Emperor Wing City Lord also had his pride.
"Fine!"
Urnison smiled slightly.
"City Lord!" Loyceus, the green-haired strongman, and another golden-haired demon shouted.
"Killing one of my divine avatars, huh!" Urnison's eyes suddenly turned white, and a transparent ripple spread out, directly radiating toward the green-haired strongman, the golden-haired demon, and one of Loyceus's divine avatars, invading their bodies.
"Ahhh!" Screams of agony erupted from the three.
At the same time, a transparent flame coiled above their heads. Then, the three fell from the sky, already dead!
"Fire of Repentance?" Emperor Wing City Lord's eyes lit up. "This Urnison is much stronger than he was back then."
"So powerful." Seeing this, the nearly thirty survivors were stunned. The high-level god demons had almost no resistance against Urnison. And that invisible attack that produced a transparent flame was something they had never heard of.
At this point, the only surviving demon was Loyceus—specifically, his life divine avatar, which had been infected with the soul leech.
His other divine avatar had already been killed.
"Fire of Repentance?" Loyceus looked at Urnison in fear. "The legendary Fire of Repentance?" He fully understood the vast gap between them.
"Why haven't you challenged an Asura?" Loyceus asked.
Linley's heart stirred. "Challenge an Asura?" He knew that the Infernal Realm had 108 prefectures and 108 Asuras! The lord of each prefecture was an Asura! 'Asura' was a title for supreme experts in the Infernal Realm, and there was only one way to obtain it.
Challenge!
And to challenge an Asura, one couldn't just do it casually. The challenger had to first become a Seven Star Demon!
Once a powerful Seven Star Demon, one could challenge an Asura. If successful, the original Asura would lose the title, and the victor would inherit it. Thus, there were always only 108 Asuras in the Infernal Realm.
"Challenge an Asura?" Urnison glanced at him. "First, I don't have much interest in that."
"Second, do you think that just because I can use the 'Fire of Repentance,' I can defeat an Asura?" Urnison sneered. "Maybe in the era when I first entered the Infernal Realm, it might have been possible. But after countless years and repeated challenges, none of the current Asuras are easy to deal with."
As Urnison spoke, he glanced at Emperor Wing City Lord.
Emperor Wing City Lord nodded thoughtfully.
They were both Seven Star Demons, and had been for who knows how many years, but neither dared to challenge an Asura! Because failure usually meant death!
"You little ones are lucky," Urnison said, glancing at the nearly thirty mid-level gods.
Urnison didn't have much killing intent toward Linley and the others, because he knew that his divine avatar's death had nothing to do with them. Since Emperor Wing City Lord had come, he would give him face.
"Everyone, leave," Emperor Wing City Lord said.
Immediately, led by the silver-haired old man, the nearly thirty surviving mid-level gods flew toward the gates of Emperor Wing City.
A moment later—
Only Urnison's men, Loyceus, and Emperor Wing City Lord's three people remained in the air.
"Hmph, what are you looking at? Want to go back to Emperor Wing City? Haha, dream on!" Urnison looked at Loyceus. Loyceus remained silent, ignoring him. But suddenly, Loyceus convulsed, clutching his head and screaming in pain.
Emperor Wing City Lord raised an eyebrow.
"It's the soul leech," Urnison said casually.
Emperor Wing City Lord was slightly startled and exclaimed, "Urnison, you've created the soul leech too? Although it's not very effective against experts at our level, selling this thing would make a fortune." The soul leech had little effect on Emperor Wing City Lord and his peers.
But how many in the Infernal Realm could reach their level?
"If you want some, you can buy it from me. I'll give you a price ten percent lower than Black Sand Castle," Urnison said.
Emperor Wing City Lord couldn't help but smile.
"Stuart, I'll be going now," Urnison said.
Emperor Wing City Lord nodded slightly.
Urnison then stared at Loyceus. "Kid, I told you—you'll regret this. Very, very much." Then, he took Loyceus and led his men away on a metallic lifeform.
"That kid is in for a rough time with Urnison," Emperor Wing City Lord sighed.
Among the seven laws and four rules, the most torturous and sinister was the study of the rules of death. And for an expert like Urnison, his methods were truly terrifying.
"Finally back alive in Emperor Wing City." Linley, Delia, and Bebe stood on the main street of Emperor Wing City, unsure whether to laugh or cry. The brush with life and death was the most heart-wrenching.
"Linley, I was so scared this time." Delia finally smiled.
Bebe pouted. "That old Urnison was way too much. But, sigh, he looked really strong. If only Grandpa Beirut were here..."
Linley held Delia's hand. "Let's go. We're heading to the Demon Castle!" After handing over the moon rings, Linley and the others would become one-star demons.
Immediately, Linley, Bebe, and Delia walked straight toward the Demon Castle.