253: Is there anything wrong with that?!

Deep within the Imperial Palace of the Tianwu Dynasty.

Above the nine-tiered jade steps, purple Qi drifted from the east, and in the "Soul Lamp Hall" adorned with dragon patterns, hundreds of glazed Soul lamps burned on rows of bronze racks.

Each lamp represented the life and death of a core figure in the Tianwu Dynasty.

However, at this very moment—

"Puff!"

A Soul lamp, located in the center, entirely black like ink, with a flame resembling a blood-colored battle flag, extinguished without any warning!

"Boom—!!!"

The entire Imperial Palace suddenly trembled!

The golden-armored warriors guarding outside the hall all knelt to the ground, their Divine Souls shaking, almost fainting!

And the figure seated high on the Dragon Throne suddenly opened his eyes!

It was the Great Emperor Tianwu—Zhao Zheng.

He was clad in a profound black Dragon Robe, wearing a twelve-tasseled imperial crown, his eyes like lightning.

His usually calm imperial demeanor, for the first time, lost control!

"Bai Qi's... Soul lamp extinguished?!"

"Impossible!! This is absolutely impossible!!"

He abruptly stood up, smashing the armrest of the Dragon Throne with a palm, his voice filled with unbelievable grief and indignation:

"I personally bestowed upon you the dao-slaying halberd, a supreme treasure of the Great Qin Empire! Even against a Cultivator at Golden Core Perfection, you would have the power to fight!

Though the Southern Barbarian Lands are dangerous, with your strength, how could it come to this?!"

He stared intently at the extinguished Soul lamp, his heart churning.

Emperor Qin was grief-stricken; he had finally found a companion in this unfamiliar Small World, but alas, Bai Qi died before he could even Awaken.

But now... before his plans were complete, before his other old retainers could Awaken one by one, Bai Qi had already fallen!

"Who was it?!"

Zhao Zheng's eyes were bloodshot, his killing intent soaring to the heavens:

"Was it the natives of the Southern Barbarian Lands? Or... the monk Minghui who was with him? Or perhaps that insidious Old Monster Mo?"

He quickly deduced—

Bai Qi's trip to the Southern Barbarian Lands was to search for treasure; was there a trap, or was he ambushed by Minghui, who was with him, or by Old Monster Mo?

Impossible, they knew Bai Qi was his beloved, how would they dare to ambush him?

Emperor Qin wanted to go directly to the Southern Barbarian Lands to investigate.

But just as he was about to rise—

The spiritual energy within him suddenly became chaotic, and his Dantian experienced a sharp pain!

His expression changed; he forcibly suppressed the restless spiritual energy, slowly sat back on the Dragon Throne, a trace of unwillingness and helplessness flashing in his eyes.

"No... I cannot leave. My secluded Cultivation has reached a critical moment; if I interrupt it, all my previous efforts will be in vain!"

For the past five hundred years, he had been trapped in this realm for too long.

His Cultivation was severely suppressed by the "Five Elements, eight gates, and twelve zodiac signs" Cultivation system, preventing him from Breaking Through the Golden Core limit.

But he was Emperor Qin; how could he give up!

With the will of an emperor, he shattered his Golden Core and re-Cultivated it again and again, more than a hundred times!

Each time was excruciating, his Divine Soul nearly collapsing, but he gritted his teeth and persevered!

Finally, after the hundred and first shattering of his Golden Core, he discovered a loophole—

The Seal of this world, which suppressed the "Great Qin Empire's Supreme Cultivation Technique—nine tripods Heaven-Shaking Art," had a slight loosening!

This Cultivation Technique, which he created by referencing the primordial desolation civilization, condensed nine Heaven and Earth Divine Tripods to suppress all Daos and defy the Heavenly Dao!

It was with this technique that he Cultivated all the way to the God-Man Realm, even once injuring the Heavenly Dao's main body—a single finger—with an axe.

Now, as long as he could successfully Cultivate the first tripod—the "Heaven-Opening Tripod"—he could use its power to Break Through the Five Elements' shackles, absorb the chaotic energy of Heaven and Earth, and continuously grow like a snowball, ultimately shattering the world's Seal and stepping into the Spirit Realm!

Although Bai Qi was dead, his great endeavor was not yet complete!

Fortunately, with Bai Qi gone, there was still Lin Fei.

He hoped Lin Fei could Awaken soon, and then he could also become his right-hand man.

He slowly closed his eyes, re-entering his secluded Cultivation state... In the Tianwu Imperial City, next to the most prosperous Imperial Palace in the eastern district, stood a luxurious mansion covering a hundred acres—the Lin Residence.

This was the residence of the newly appointed chief of the heaven monitoring department—Lin Fei.

Every day, Lin Fei only needed to sign his name on a jade slip to receive a massive amount of Spirit Stones, Medicinal Pills, and Magic Treasures, even wearing the "Violet Heaven Spirit Robe" personally bestowed by the Great Emperor Tianwu!

His life was more carefree than an emperor's.

He didn't need to Cultivate, didn't need to socialize, spending his days with his stunningly beautiful wife—Su Jiuning—touring the seven wonders of the Imperial City:

Drinking thousand-year-old spirit wine at the "Drunken Immortal Pavilion" and watching dancers sing while treading on swords;

Going to the "Phantom Sound Pavilion" to listen to zither Cultivators play the "Nirvana Melody" with their Divine Sense, each song costing a thousand gold pieces;

The two were always together, envied by all.

Countless people speculated:

"Could this Lin Fei be the Emperor's illegitimate son?"

"But even if he were an illegitimate son, he shouldn't receive such treatment!"

No one knew the truth—

Today, the sun was bright, and a spring breeze caressed their faces.

By the hot spring pool in the backyard of the Lin Residence, flower petals drifted, and mist swirled.

Lin Fei lay diagonally on a white jade couch, eyes closed in contemplation, while Su Jiuning, dressed in light gauze, her hair slightly damp, her thin clothes clinging to his broad back, gently massaged his temples with her slender fingers.

"Husband, what's wrong?"

She noticed Lin Fei's breathing had been momentarily erratic, her voice as gentle as water:

"You've been restless since just now. Were you too tired last night?"

Lin Fei slowly opened his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed, a rare trace of confusion flashing in his eyes:

"I don't know... My heart suddenly ached intensely, as if... I lost something extremely important, as if a piece of my Soul was dug out, leaving it empty..."

Even stranger, a blurry figure appeared in his mind—

A warrior in black armor, holding a long halberd, stood with his back to him on a blood-stained battlefield, softly calling out to him: "Brother Lin... After I die, I hope you will take care of our Bai family!!"

"Bai family?"

Lin Fei murmured, his heart trembling.

Su Jiuning, seeing his unusual expression, couldn't help but playfully chide:

"I told you! I told you to do it less last night, but you wouldn't listen. You're suffering from kidney deficiency! Your Soul is unsettled!!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Fei immediately perked up, suddenly flipping over, seizing her slender wrists with both hands, and mischievously smiled:

"Still daring to mock me? Let me show you my prowess!!"

"Are you wrong or not! Are you wrong or not! Are you wrong or not!"

"No! No! No!"

"Are you wrong! Are you wrong! Are you wrong!"

"Ah! I'm wrong! I'm wrong! I'm wrong!"

Water rippled, spring's embrace boundless... In the Southern Barbarian Lands, the heavenly dao instance.

Lu Chen looked at Bai Qi's Heavenly Mandate Fragment and muttered to himself: "Interesting, this gives me a final goal. I just don't know what effect it would have if I collected all the Heavenly Mandate Fragments. Would it directly restore my identity as the Heavenly Dao??"

What if someone else collected them??

Lu Chen realized for the first time that this was not his stage alone; perhaps, it was the stage for the protagonists of the previous civilizations, for everyone. It just depended on who truly became the protagonist.

Just then—

Buzz—

A cold, mechanical, emotionless voice suddenly echoed throughout the entire instance space:

"[Detection: Number of deaths has reached 6]"

"[Battle Royale Mode: Ended]"

"[Survivor Teleportation Initiated]"