378: heart

At this moment, everyone in the Imperial Domain, regardless of their cultivation, clearly heard three words, like thunder, echoing throughout the entire Imperial Domain:

"I refuse!"

With everyone clearly hearing it, only the Great Wu Crown Prince seemed not to have heard, asking in doubt,

"What did you say!?"

He looked utterly as if he had misheard.

Since he took power, Chen Yuan had never disobeyed any of his orders.

He knew very well that as the current ruler of the Great Wu Dynasty, no matter if Chen Yuan was willing or not, as long as it was an order he issued, the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect could not refuse.

It could be said that the words "I refuse" could come from anyone's mouth, but never from Chen Yuan's.

Therefore, when the Great Wu Crown Prince heard Chen Yuan utter those three words, he subconsciously thought he had misheard.

"I said..."

"I refuse!"

Chen Yuan's thunderous voice once again echoed over the Imperial Domain.

If the Great Wu Crown Prince had previously thought he misheard, then this time... he could no longer deceive himself.

The Great Wu Crown Prince's expression twisted and contorted little by little, becoming ferocious.

What he could least tolerate... was someone daring to defy him!

For ordinary people, being refused is a very common occurrence.

But for the Great Wu Crown Prince, these three words were his taboo!

"Do you think that because you now possess the power of a Demigod, you can do whatever you want?"

The Great Wu Crown Prince's voice was almost squeezed out from between his teeth.

As he spoke, he immediately tried to make Chen Yuan kneel through the will of the Imperial Domain.

Others might not know, but he was very clear.

The very existence of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect was to protect the Great Wu Dynasty.

It could be said that any faction or organization affiliated with the Great Wu Dynasty might betray it, but only the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect... would certainly not betray the Great Wu Dynasty.

At the same time, the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect would be absolutely loyal and obedient to the Great Wu Dynasty.

And this loyalty was a loyalty that disregarded one's own will.

In other words, even if there was deep hatred between Chen Yuan and the Great Wu Crown Prince, as long as he was the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, he would inevitably be loyal to the Great Wu Crown Prince; this loyalty could not be swayed by his own will.

Therefore, even though Chen Yuan now possessed the power of a Demigod, the Great Wu Crown Prince could still make him kneel.

However, when the Great Wu Crown Prince used the will of the Imperial Domain to compel Chen Yuan to kneel, he found that Chen Yuan's posture remained upright, completely unshaken.

"What's going on!!"

The Great Wu Crown Prince was somewhat bewildered.

He had completely failed to notice... that it wasn't just Chen Yuan himself who said "I refuse," but also the eye of imperial judgment!

For the eye of imperial judgment, Xiao Shi was the benefactor who helped it break its seal; no matter whose hands the eye of imperial judgment was in, it would not act against Xiao Shi.

This was also why, when the Great Wu Crown Prince previously hypnotized Xiang Zizhen, Xiang Zizhen did not reveal that Xiao Shi had unsealed the eye of imperial judgment in the Demigod Land.

At that time, Chen Yuan was also nearby.

The eye of imperial judgment proactively concealed this matter for Xiang Zizhen.

Because it remembered that Xiao Shi had told it he didn't want others to know about this, so it actively helped Xiang Zizhen conceal it.

Now, the Great Wu Crown Prince wanted to suppress Xiao Shi through Chen Yuan; even if Chen Yuan agreed, the eye of imperial judgment would not allow it.

If Chen Yuan's refusal alone could not defy the will of the Imperial Domain, then with the addition of the eye of imperial judgment, a Demigod-level forbidden treasure, it was already enough for Chen Yuan at this moment to disregard all of the Great Wu Crown Prince's commands.

Chen Yuan lowered his head, gazing at the Great Wu Crown Prince.

He was tired.

He no longer wanted to be at the beck and call of the Great Wu Crown Prince because of his duties.

He now only wanted to do some things he wanted to do in the remaining time.

Swish!

Chen Yuan's figure flickered.

He instantly teleported from the air to the ground, appearing... in front of Xiao Shi!

In just a few seconds, the cracks on his body had already become more numerous and dense.

His entire being was like a piece of porcelain glued back together.

"You once asked me if someone like him was worth my loyalty."

Chen Yuan looked at Xiao Shi, pointing a finger at the Great Wu Crown Prince.

"Actually, you were wrong; I was never loyal to him. I was loyal to the Great Wu Dynasty."

As he spoke, Chen Yuan sighed.

"But you weren't wrong either; being loyal to an imbecile like him is indeed not worth it."

"Chen Yuan, you're looking for death!!"

The Great Wu Crown Prince's eyes were bloodshot.

The word 'imbecile' once again stung him.

However, both Chen Yuan and Xiao Shi were now too lazy to bother with him.

Xiao Shi looked at Chen Yuan in front of him.

At this time, he had already had Xiang Zizhen and all the members of the Red Tiger Sect join the Tianji Hall, and through the heavens secret mask, he had sent them to his domain.

He no longer had any worries.

Originally, according to his initial plan, after taking Xiang Zizhen and the members of the Red Tiger Sect, his goal would essentially have been achieved.

But Chen Yuan's current situation was completely beyond his expectations.

"I am very happy that you were able to come and save Zizhen this time."

"As Zizhen's master, when he faced a crisis, I couldn't save him. I am not worthy of being his master."

"As the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, when my disciples are treated unfairly, I cannot protect their rightful interests and can only swallow my anger. I am also not worthy of being this leader."

Chen Yuan sighed.

Fragments had already begun to fall from his entire crack-filled face.

"I want to ask you for one thing..."

He gazed at Xiao Shi earnestly.

"I hope you can take the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect... away from the Great Wu Dynasty, and no longer let the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect continue to be a puppet of the Great Wu Dynasty."

"Although the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect was born for the Great Wu Dynasty, and its purpose is to protect the Great Wu Dynasty, it has the right to choose to leave this corrupt Dynasty."

As Chen Yuan spoke, he reached out his hand.

He plunged it into his cracked chest, tore open his chest, and pulled out a constantly beating dark-red heart.

The moment he saw this heart, Xiao Shi felt a huge Crimson Tiger's roar echoing in his ears.

On this dark-red heart, he saw a roaring, illusory Crimson Tiger's head.

And in addition to the Crimson Tiger's head, there were also three different aura fluctuations on the heart.

With Xiao Shi's familiarity with the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, he could tell at a glance that these three different aura fluctuations corresponded precisely to the Mountain God, Dream Witch, and Evil Ghost lineages.

After Chen Yuan pulled out the heart, he directly handed it to Xiao Shi.

The reason he chose Xiao Shi was not just because of the powerful strength Xiao Shi had displayed.

More importantly... he saw a quality in Xiao Shi that ordinary people did not possess, and it was the quality their Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect needed most.

That was... resistance!

This could be seen from when Xiang Zizhen was unfairly treated by the Great Wu Crown Prince; Xiao Shi assisted Xiang Zizhen in forcibly refining the Nan Dou Region, thereby allowing Xiang Zizhen to enter the Saint realm. This showed that when faced with injustice, he would inevitably resist!

No matter who the opponent was!

And this unyielding quality of resistance... was precisely what the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect needed.

It was also what Chen Yuan had always lacked.

He no longer wanted the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect to remain bound to this corrupt Dynasty.

To break away from the Great Wu Dynasty, one must resist!

Xiao Shi was silent.

He knew that holding this heart would grant him control over the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

He could become the new leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, thereby taking over the sect.

Although Xiao Shi had already left the Great Wu Dynasty, he was still a member of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect no matter what.

And he had no ill will towards the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

Facing Chen Yuan's entrustment at this moment, Xiao Shi thought for a moment.

He did not refuse.

He took the heart from Chen Yuan's hand.

The moment he held the heart...

Thump!

Thump!

Xiao Shi suddenly felt a fluctuation in the black coffin within his body.

He sensed a heartbeat from within the black coffin, and its rhythm and frequency were identical to the heart in his hand.

This immediately reminded Xiao Shi that it was only after he unsealed the petrified heart in the mysterious blood mass that the entity in the black coffin awakened from its slumber.

At the same time, he also knew... that the giant petrified face that appeared in the sky earlier was most likely able to lock onto the black coffin when the entity within it obtained that petrified heart.

Now, this heart, which represented the leadership of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, actually resonated with the entity in the black coffin.

This couldn't help but remind Xiao Shi that the entity in the black coffin had once stated that for it to fully recover, it needed to start with the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect... All of this clearly indicated that there was a certain connection between the entity in the black coffin and the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

In fact, not long ago, Xiao Shi had thought of learning more about some of the secrets within the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect through Xiang Zizhen.

He wanted to find a way to revive the entity in the black coffin from the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

Although he had officially joined the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect and become a member after arriving in the Imperial Domain, he had always been an inconspicuous disciple within the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

He couldn't access the core secrets of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

He could only inquire through Xiang Zizhen.

However, he hadn't had the chance to tell Xiang Zizhen yet.

Due to the appearance of the special area, he didn't have the opportunity to ask Xiang Zizhen to help him investigate the core secrets of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect.

But now with this heart, Xiao Shi believed he could find the answer within it.

After Chen Yuan gave the heart to Xiao Shi, his already extensively cracked body could no longer support itself.

The spatial layers in his eyes converged, and the power swirling around his body dissipated.

His body disintegrated inch by inch, fading away inch by inch, perishing both in form and spirit!

Whoosh!

The eye of imperial judgment automatically floated into Xiao Shi's hand.

Whether it was Xiao Shi's current identity as the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, or Xiao Shi's kindness in helping it remove its seal, it would inevitably choose Xiao Shi.

It could be said that now, besides Xiao Shi, no one else was qualified to wield the eye of imperial judgment!

Xiao Shi watched Chen Yuan disappear before him.

Until the very last moment, he did not feel any fear of death in Chen Yuan's eyes.

He only saw relief and liberation, along with an expectation for him.

Xiao Shi sighed.

Before this, his impression of Chen Yuan was not very good.

He felt that the other party was overly foolishly loyal.

It was only then that he realized Chen Yuan was also helpless.

Although Xiao Shi and Chen Yuan had not interacted much and did not have a deep friendship, the other party's act of wanting to remove the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect from the Great Wu Dynasty before his death made Xiao Shi admire this old man who had been constrained by his duties his entire life.

After all, given Chen Yuan's position and circumstances, not everyone could be like him, using their last moments of life to resist.

No matter what, Chen Yuan's willingness to entrust the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect to him also represented a kind of trust in him.

Xiao Shi bowed deeply and solemnly towards the spot where Chen Yuan had vanished.

At the same time, he sent the heart in his hand into the storage space of the Azure Calamity Ancient Tree, handing it over to his main body.

Currently, he was in the Imperial Domain as a clone formed by the martial emperors cloak, so he naturally couldn't integrate this heart.

It needed to be sent to his main body for integration.

Furthermore, before integrating this heart, Xiao Shi also needed to use his own means to remove the binding that caused the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect to be completely loyal to the Great Wu Dynasty.

This was also an important reason why Chen Yuan did not directly integrate this heart into Xiao Shi's body, but instead chose to take it out, make it ownerless, and then hand it to Xiao Shi.

If he had directly integrated this heart into Xiao Shi's body, passing it on to Xiao Shi in a hereditary manner, then Xiao Shi, upon becoming the leader of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, would immediately become loyal to the Great Wu Dynasty.

To resolve this binding would undoubtedly be difficult for ordinary people.

But for Xiao Shi, it was not difficult to achieve this.

Because he had the Emperors Armor in hand, he directly used the Martial Emperor's aura to completely erase the absolute loyalty to the Great Wu Dynasty contained within the heart.

Even for greater security, after Xiao Shi erased it with the Martial Emperor's aura, he further solidified it through the suppression of the Star Era, combined with the seal of his Demon Sealing Art, ensuring that this loyalty was completely eliminated before he attempted to integrate this heart into his body.

As Xiao Shi brought the heart in his hand to his chest, the dark red heart instantly melted into a viscous black substance, enveloping Xiao Shi's tender, pulsating heart within his body, staining Xiao Shi's heart pitch black.

Boom!

Xiao Shi's brain violently shook.

Information and abilities related to the 'Mountain God,' 'Dream Witch,' and 'Evil Ghost' lineages surged into his brain, allowing him to instantly master all the abilities of these three lineages.

Coupled with his inherent Crimson Tiger ability, in just an instant, he had already gained complete control over all the powers of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect!

However, Xiao Shi found that even though he had already mastered all the powers of the Four Symbols Divine Martial Sect, the surface of his own heart was still enveloped by a layer of pitch-black substance, and some of this substance flowed rapidly, frantically drilling into his heart chambers.

These pitch-black substances were still very active, showing no signs of stabilization, indicating that the integration had just begun!