146: Chapter 146 Piercing the Sky

Now, this obsession had been ignited, transforming into a heaven-burning rage.

Their plans appeared so pale and laughable before that soaring killing intent.

"Given Fifth Brother's temperament, he definitely won't wait." Chen Zhiyue set down his teacup and stood up, a flash of determination in his eyes. "I'm afraid he has already set out. Eldest Brother, we must go and stop him!"

Chen Zhiheng's brow furrowed as he said in a heavy voice, "Stop him? How? Even if the two of us join forces, do we have the confidence to survive a single move from him?"

Killing two Great Grandmasters in a single battle!

Such a feat had long since transcended the realm of schemes and power plays, becoming an insurmountable mountain weighing on everyone's hearts.

"Even if we can't stop him, we must try!" Chen Zhiyue's voice rose several decibels. "Are we just going to watch him storm the Imperial Prison and personally slay Consort De right under Imperial Father's nose? Once this happens, Fifth Brother might satisfy his grudge, but where will our Great Xuan Imperial Family's dignity remain? How will Imperial Father face himself? And how will the world view our Chen Family!"

"Siblings killing each other, a son murdering his father's consort—such a scandal is enough to shake the very foundations of the state!"

A sharp light flashed in Chen Zhiheng's eyes. He slammed his hand onto the stone table and stood up abruptly.

"You're right! This matter absolutely cannot be left to Fifth Brother's whims!"

Before his voice had even faded, their figures flickered and turned into two streaks of light, vanishing into the night as they sped toward the Imperial Palace.

...

The long streets were desolate, the moonlight like frost.

The shattered gates of the Fifth Princes Residence slowly opened.

Dressed in black, Chen Zhiwen stepped out over the scattered stones and rubble.

The world-destroying Aura about him had been completely restrained; at this moment, he looked no different from an ordinary noble Young Master.

Only his eyes, deep as an eternal night, held not a single trace of emotion, as if everything in the world had already turned to nothingness in his sight.

He did not choose to fly through the air. Instead, he set off on foot, walking step by step along the Vermilion Bird Avenue leading to the Imperial Palace.

His pace was not fast, yet it carried a strange rhythm. With every step, he seemed to synchronize with the pulse of the entire Capital, causing the surrounding air to solidify.

The patrolling Imperial Guards saw the figure from a distance, and their expressions changed in horror.

The halberds in their hands trembled incessantly—not from fear, but as a wail from the weapons themselves under that invisible field of pressure.

No one dared to step forward to question him; no one dared to block his path.

They simply backed away instinctively in unison, kneeling on the ground and bowing their heads, clearing a path to destiny for this god of slaughter walking among mortals.

Chen Zhiwen looked straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.

In his world, only that cold palace city remained—the cage imprisoning the enemy who had killed his mother.

Just as he reached a crossroad, two figures appeared before him like ghosts, blocking his way.

They were the Eldest Prince Chen Zhiheng and Third Prince Chen Zhiyue, who had rushed over.

"Fifth Brother, please stop!" Chen Zhiheng took a step forward, his face carrying a hint of urgency and pleading.

"Fifth Brother, I know you are filled with grief and rage, but this matter needs to be discussed thoroughly!" Chen Zhiyue followed up, his tone heavy.

Chen Zhiwen's footsteps finally came to a halt.

He slowly raised his eyelids, his indifferent gaze sweeping across the faces of his two elder brothers without pausing for a second, as if he were merely looking at two stones blocking the road.

"Discussed thoroughly?"

He spoke, his voice hoarse yet clearly reaching their ears, carrying a sarcasm that cut to the bone.

"When my mother was suffering day and night under the torture of Soul-Corroding Powder, her life force draining away, who discussed things thoroughly with her?"

"When that poisonous woman Consort De was planting deadly toxins in her food year after year, did she ever think of discussing things thoroughly?"

"Your so-called plans are nothing more than waiting for the storm to blow over before finding an excuse to let Second Prince and Consort De die more 'decorously,' all to preserve your ridiculous imperial dignity!"

"But let me tell you..."

Chen Zhiwen's voice suddenly turned cold, becoming like a freezing wind from the Nine Serenities.

"My mother's vengeance requires no decorum!"

"What I want is blood for blood! I want everyone involved in this matter to have their body and soul obliterated in despair and terror!"

"Boom!"

An indescribable, terrifying pressure erupted from within him!

This pressure was no longer as violent as before; instead, it was refined to the extreme, like an invisible Primordial Divine Mountain pressing down heavily on Chen Zhiheng and Chen Zhiyue.

Their faces instantly turned deathly pale!

They felt their Divine Souls trembling, and the spiritual power within their bodies was suppressed so tightly they couldn't even complete a single cycle of circulation.

Their own cultivation was as fragile as an ant's at this moment!

They looked at Chen Zhiwen in horror, finally truly understanding what the might of a Great Grandmaster meant!

This was no longer an existence on the same level of life!

"Fifth Brother..." Chen Zhiheng spoke with difficulty, veins bulging on his forehead. "You... you can't do this! Siblings killing each other is the foremost Taboo of the imperial family! If you kill Consort De, Imperial Father will..."

"Imperial Father?" Chen Zhiwen laughed, a laugh filled with endless sorrow and resolution.

"Back then, if he could have protected his own woman, how would things have come to this?"

"What do the face of this imperial family or the lands of Great Xuan have to do with me?"

"I only know that the enmity for my mother's murder is irreconcilable!"

"Today, whoever blocks me dies!"

As the final word "dies" left his lips, a refined-to-the-extreme Hegemonic Sword Intent, mixed with a world-destroying thunderous Aura, transformed into an invisible blade. It instantly pierced through their protective spiritual power and stabbed into the depths of their Divine Souls.

"Pfft!"

Chen Zhiheng and Chen Zhiyue were struck as if by lightning, both spitting out a mouthful of blood. Their figures stumbled back several steps, all color draining from their faces.

In their eyes, nothing remained but endless horror and... despair.

They knew that if they said one more word, what awaited them would be death.

Chen Zhiwen didn't spare them another glance. He withdrew his Aura and set off, walking straight between the two of them.

His figure passed by them without pausing for a moment.

It wasn't until that black figure had walked far away that Chen Zhiheng and Chen Zhiyue seemed to wake from a nightmare, gasping for breath, their backs already drenched in cold sweat.

"He's mad... he's truly gone mad..." Chen Zhiyue muttered to himself, his eyes full of bitterness.

Chen Zhiheng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and watched the receding back. Finally, he could only let out a long, powerless sigh.

"The heavens of this Capital... I'm afraid he really is going to pierce a hole in them."