196: Chapter 196 The Bloodlust of Madness, On the Brink of Death

Time, within the deathly silence of this Blood Pool Great Hall, seemed to have congealed into amber.

Every passing breath seemed to tug at the heartstrings of everyone in the hall; the sound of those strings was silent, yet it vibrated into their very bones.

Succubus Prince, Shadow Kill Prince, and Prince Jimie—the three Blood Clan venerables with heaven-shaking authority and influence over their respective territories—were currently kneeling on one knee in a posture of humiliation and piety.

They did not even dare to lift their eyes to look at the figure upon the throne, keeping their heads bowed low, as respectful as pilgrims.

That pair of pure black eyes, like an abyss—even if merely swept by their peripheral vision—made their Souls feel a chilling sensation of being extracted. It was a tremor originating from the depths of their life's Origin, impossible to suppress.

At this moment, all the pressure was concentrated entirely upon Mad Blood Prince, who was the only one still standing.

His tall, burly body was trembling slightly. This trembling was not due to cold, but fear—a tremor surging from the depths of his Soul, impossible to restrain.

Cold sweat, mixed with blood-colored Evil Qi, slid down from his temples, trickling slowly along his well-defined face before falling onto the dark red floor with a very faint "drip."

In this absolute silence, the sound was magnified infinitely, like a thunderclap.

Mad Blood Prince's chest heaved violently, his heavy breathing suppressed tightly in his throat, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Because that existence had just spoken only one word.

"Noisy."

He dared not make any more sound, fearing that he would provoke that indescribable majesty.

Yet, deep within his heart, he was roaring and struggling frantically.

Why? Why did it come to this?

He was Mad Blood Prince, one of the strongest of the Blood Clan, famous throughout the world for battle and ferocity. He had fought for ten thousand years and had never known true fear.

Yet now, he found it incredibly difficult even to stand steady. The other party had done nothing, merely a glance, a single word, and it had brought him to the brink of collapse.

In Mad Blood Prince's mind, reason and instinct were engaging in a fierce battle.

Instinct roared: Kneel immediately! Offer your loyalty to that great existence, otherwise, the next moment will be the destruction of your Divine Soul!

However, his reason, the arrogance and suspicion he had accumulated over ten thousand years, emitted another voice from the bottom of his heart—

"Something is wrong."

"This is very wrong."

Mad Blood Prince said to himself in his heart; though the voice was faint, it was like a straw to clutch at, which he gripped tightly.

"If this truly were the return of the Progenitor, faced with my hesitation and disrespect, he should have long since rained down thunderous fury. With the Progenitor's power, erasing me would be but a thought. Why does he not act? Why does he only watch quietly?"

Once this thought took root, it began to grow crazily.

The more Mad Blood Prince thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. From the moment the other party appeared, it was full of mystery—first, making the Old Priest's prophecy Magical Artifact spin out of control,

then appearing silently on the throne, followed by that eerie Domain that stripped away all perception, and then those eyes capable of devouring the Soul.

All of this pointed to attacks on the mental or Soul level.

If... if the other party's true strength was not that formidable, and he was merely proficient in such arts? Then his current behavior could be perfectly explained.

He was waiting, waiting for him to voluntarily submit out of fear. Because he did not have the certainty of a one-hit kill, or rather, he simply did not possess that kind of power.

This speculation caused Mad Blood Prince's heart, originally occupied by fear, to reignite a trace of ferocity. That was the instinct of a warrior, the unwillingness of a strong person.

He had to verify. He must verify.

Otherwise, he could not accept kneeling to a bluffing liar. That would be a greater humiliation than death.

Su Changge sat upright on the throne, outwardly calm and waveless, his abyss-like eyes as still as an ancient well, as if an unchanging cold pool of eternity.

However, his heart was being flooded with frantic thoughts.

"Big brother, are you going to kneel or not, give me a straight answer..."

"If you don't kneel soon, the duration of my 'Abyssal Gaze' special effect is going to run out."

"This thing isn't expensive, but I can't leave it on forever; every breath costs emotion points."

"What exactly are you struggling with? The other three knelt so standardly, can't you just copy them?"

Su Changge looked at Mad Blood Prince's shifting expression, feeling a bit uncertain. This guy's willpower was far stronger than he had imagined. Even the Great Dao is Silent Domain couldn't suppress his final stubbornness.

Open another stronger special effect? No, too wasteful. In case there are other situations later, emotion points are life. Must use the minimum cost to achieve the best result.

Su Changge's mind stirred, and he made a decision.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Those two black vortices that devoured everything disappeared. In their place was a calm and handsome face, eyelids lowered, as if even looking at Mad Blood Prince for one more second felt like a waste of a favor.

At this moment, the Great Dao is Silent Domain still shrouded the surroundings. However, that direct sense of oppression originating from visual contact had disappeared.

In the eyes of the other three princes, this was the King's annoyance and disdain for Mad Blood Prince's final resistance. Even letting his own gaze rest upon him had become a favor.

However, this action became the final straw that crushed Mad Blood Prince's reason.

He saw Su Changge close his eyes.

This is... contempt? This is thorough, complete disregard!

An indescribable sense of humiliation, mixed with the ferocity suppressed to the extreme, rushed up to the top of Mad Blood Prince's head. In his eyes, blood-red light surged violently.

"He closed his eyes! He is looking down on me! This is the best opportunity!"

In Mad Blood Prince's heart, frantic thoughts surged like a tide. He decided to bet everything, using his strongest means to conduct a probe hidden to the extreme.

Divine Sense attack!

This was an attack acting directly upon the Soul, formless and imageless, the most dangerous kind. If the other party was truly an empty shell, this strike would be enough to cause his Soul to shatter instantly and die on the spot.

If the other party was truly the Progenitor, then his strongest strike would only be easily blocked by the other party's protective Divine Sense, perhaps unable to even penetrate it. At that time, it would not be too late to kneel and beg for mercy.

Advance, and he could expose the scam and maintain his dignity. Retreat, and he could verify the truth, submitting with peace of mind.

This was a perfect plan!

In an instant, Mad Blood Prince made up his mind. He condensed his lifelong cultivation into a single point. An invisible, extremely sharp Divine Sense spike formed instantly in his Sea of Consciousness.

Upon this spike, all the Evil Qi accumulated from his ten thousand years of slaughter was entwined, condensed into substance, sharp and peerless.

"Die!"

Mad Blood Prince let out a silent roar in his heart.

That Divine Sense spike, which had condensed all his strength and hope, did not cause any energy fluctuations, silently detaching from between his brows.

Like an invisible bolt of lightning, it crossed the distance of space, fiercely stabbing toward the center of the brows of that handsome man on the throne who was resting with his eyes closed.

This strike bet everything he had! Success or failure rested on this one move!