100: Reborn Emperor: In this life, the sword will end it all!

Human Realm, Sin Ranch.

Blackstone City, a massive cage forged from despair and numbness.

The sky, as if covered by an indelible film of grease, was always a dull leaden gray when one looked up.

A tattered, yet handsome young man, his eyes as deep as if they had weathered a hundred thousand years of trials, walked along the muddy streets.

His name was Chen Yuan.

At least, in this life, he was still Chen Yuan.

In his hand, he tightly clutched a magnificent longsword.

On the blade, three ancient runes—"Joy," "Anger," and "Sorrow"—emitted a faint glow.

"Wei, do you feel it?"

He quietly asked the soul within the sword in his mind.

"Mm... I feel it..."

A clear, pure, maiden's voice, utterly out of place in this defiled world, echoed in his mind.

"So many... so many sad emotions. In that corner, there's a little girl crying, saying she doesn't want to be sold by her mother..."

"And over there... that man, he's praying, praying that his wife, infected with the plague, will survive..."

Chen Yuan's footsteps paused slightly.

His ancient eyes, unbefitting a youth, looked in the direction from which the voice came.

Around the corner, a sallow, emaciated mother desperately clutched a little girl who was crying her heart out, bowing and scraping to a slave trader with a cruel face.

And in a dilapidated house not far away.

A man knelt before an evil god's altar, piled with animal skulls, frantically kowtowing, his forehead already a bloody mess.

"It's useless."

Chen Yuan said calmly in his mind.

"That little girl will be sold to the 'God of Gluttony's' sacrificial ground, becoming an 'appetizer' at some noble's dinner party."

"And that man, the 'God of Plague' he prays to, is the instigator of this plague. His wife will, tonight, turn into a 'walking calamity' spreading the plague."

"Wh-why?"

The sword spirit named "Wei" spoke, her voice filled with confusion and sorrow.

"Why is this world like this?"

Why?

Chen Yuan's lips curved into a self-deprecating smile.

Because this was a world ruled by "evil."

He knew it more clearly and profoundly than anyone else.

Because a hundred thousand years ago, he had been the most dazzling light upon this land.

— The Human Emperor, Chen Yuan!

In that era, the rule of the Fallen Immortal Path was far crueler than it was now.

Humanity was merely livestock for the gods to amuse themselves with and harvest at will.

Today, the followers of the God of Wrath would slaughter ten cities for sacrifice.

Tomorrow, the envoys of the God of Greed would wipe out a kingdom for treasure.

It was he, Chen Yuan, who rose from obscurity and became emperor through blood and fire!

He integrated the "Humanity" cultivation methods, left over from the ancient era and long since forbidden by the gods.

With a mortal body, he defied heaven, step by step, ascending to the 11th rank, a level that even gods trembled before!

On that day, he, clad in white and wielding his sword, ascended to the Celestial Realm!

With the sword in his hand, he would carve out a future without evil gods for Humanity, for this land enslaved for millions of years!

That battle shattered the heavens and earth, and divine blood rained down!

Within the Temple of All Evils, countless powerful evil gods fell by his hand.

He once cleaved "Greed" with his sword, shattered "Arrogance" with his fist, and trampled "Gluttony" underfoot.

Even the seven renowned Demon Generals under the Lord of the End, who were legendary, joined forces to besiege him, yet he routed them, leaving them disheveled and humiliated!

He was just a hair's breadth from success.

He was just a hair's breadth from severing the "Fallen Immortal Path" that had bound Humanity for millions of years, bringing a glimmer of hope to this desperate land.

Until... that man, the Lord of the End, who had been missing for hundreds of thousands of years and was revered as the progenitor of the Fallen Immortal Path, appeared!

It was merely a clone.

It was merely a casual point of a finger.

His Martial Emperor's Dharma Idol, capable of shattering stars, cracked inch by inch.

His divine soul, burning with an unyielding will, was struck down into the mortal dust, losing all his cultivation and sealed in endless darkness.

He failed.

He failed utterly.

Just before his divine soul was about to dissipate, a gentle, yet somewhat helpless voice, sounded in his mind.

"Do you want to try again?"

"This time, perhaps... there will be something different."

And so, he returned.

He awoke on this land he had once tried to save, as an orphan named "Chen Yuan."

However, when he opened his eyes again, what he saw was still that familiar, suffocating despair.

He even thought, at one point, that trying again would only be to repeat that already destined defeat.

Until... he drew this holy sword named "Wei."

A sword that did not exist in his memories of his previous life.

A sword whose power did not belong to this world, a sword of variables filled with the pure emotions of "Joy," "Anger," and "Sorrow"!

"Wei."

Chen Yuan tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.

"I don't know where you came from. But you are my only hope."

"Now, listen to me."

"Wei, lend your power to me for a moment."

Chen Yuan slowly closed his eyes and said softly.

"I'm going to use the power of that 'old friend' to glimpse the 'future.'"

As his voice fell.

On the magnificent longsword in his hand, three distinctly different flames burned simultaneously!

Those were—

The fire of "Joy" ignited by the heart of protection!

The fire of "Anger" ignited by the injustice of the world!

The fire of "Sorrow" ignited by the suffering of all beings!

These three flames, originating from the most fundamental power of Humanity, intertwined, granting Chen Yuan temporary access to authority.

Buzz—!

A faint, almost imperceptible wisp of the authority residue belonging to the "God of Stealing Life and Lingering" emerged from the depths of his soul.

This was the spoils of war he had obtained after slaying that deity in his previous life.

Before his eyes, a blurry, bloody, and desperate scene slowly unfolded.

He briefly glimpsed a corner of the "future."

He saw that after the plague completely spiraled out of control, the lord of Blackstone City.

To protect himself, and to curry favor with another, more powerful "God of Gluttony."

He would activate the ancient "Blood Sacrifice Array," packaging all one million lives in the city, along with the plague, and "sacrificing" them to the God of Gluttony in exchange for his "blessing."

A greater tragedy sparked by despair.

Chen Yuan, reborn, intended to stop it.

Not for salvation.

Only to... kill that city lord just before he activated the Blood Sacrifice Array, and seize the "sacrifice" intended for the God of Gluttony!

In this dark pasture, to survive, to grow stronger, to truly save the entire world.

One must be more "evil" than those evil gods! More "unscrupulous"!

...Celestial Realm, Lord of the End's Demonic Palace.

Within the massive Demonic Palace, there was a deathly silence.

Gu Yanci sat upon the throne, carved from a single piece of the "Cosmic End Singularity."

Before him, a mirror, condensed from endless demonic energy, floated.

The scene in the mirror was Blackstone City in the Human Realm.

It showed how a young man named "Chen Yuan" struggled to survive in that defiled mire.

The other four members of the Joint Squad stood below the throne.

They, too, watched the scene in the mirror, their expressions varied.

Yet, on their bodies, a wisp of "malice," distinctly different from their original powers, emanated in unison.

Ye Liuli's fingertips unconsciously toyed with a wisp of a shadow of lies.

Ling Xi looked at the mortals in the mirror who were about to be sacrificed.

Her eyes flashed not with pity, but with a cold satisfaction that a prophecy was about to come true.

They were being silently corroded by this world, by the roles of "evil gods" they were playing.

And as the center of the source of corrosion, Gu Yanci was undoubtedly the most deeply affected.

When he saw the burning will, like a flame, in the eyes of the young man named "Chen Yuan."

A thought uncontrollably surfaced from the depths of his heart.

'What beautiful eyes...'

'I really want to see what kind of brilliant, what kind of splendid sparks will erupt from these eyes when he exhausts all his strength, yet still cannot change anything, and is ultimately completely swallowed by this darkness...'

'Goodwill will be devoured by malice.'

'Hope will be trampled by despair.'

'How...'

'What a wonderful drama.'

A thought filled with appreciation and pleasure, like a black mandala flower, quietly bloomed in his mind.

This thought was so cold, so indifferent.

Like a high and mighty spectator, enjoying a play whose script had already been written.

He even felt a slight urge to personally step onto the stage and add a few "waves" to this "tragedy."

"Ding! Warning! You are being corroded by the authority of the Lord of the End! Role-playing degree +5%! Current role-playing degree: 78%!"

The cold notification sound, like a bucket of cold water, splashed over Gu Yanci's head!

He was startled, his body trembling.

Intense struggle and pain flashed in his originally playful eyes!

No!

This isn't me!

I am the Humanity God Lord! My path is to protect, to bear, to sever the shackles for all living beings!

I am here to save this world, to redeem that "group member" who is the embodiment of evil, named "Haha"!

How could I... how could I have such a cold-blooded, such a cruel thought?!

He instantly understood.

It was this identity as the "Lord of the End"!

It was this "reincarnated body" forged from the "Primordial Demonic Heart"!

It was corroding my mind!

It wanted to turn me into the true Lord of the End, who regards all things as mere straw dogs!

"Damn it!"

Gu Yanci roared inwardly.

He immediately withdrew his gaze, forcefully interrupting his prying into the Human Realm.

He began to fully operate his "Humanity Divine Power" to resist the corrosion from the depths of his soul!

Seeing Gu Yanci's suddenly grim expression, the other four members of the Joint Squad also instantly snapped out of it!

Their situation was equally dire.

In recent days, they had also been searching for suitable "spokespersons" in the Human Realm through their respective methods.

But each prying, each attempt at a "divine oracle," consumed their already limited power.

At the same time, it deepened the corrosion of the "evil god" authority on them.

They realized the seriousness of the problem!

If this continued, they might truly get lost in this "evil god role-playing game" and become true evil gods!

"No! We must act quickly!"

Ye Liuli's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"We must quickly develop faith in the Human Realm and restore our own power; this is the only way out!"

"Only if our own 'Dao' is strong enough can we resist the corrosion of this world!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

They immediately cast their divine senses once again into the vast "Sin Ranch," beginning to search for suitable "spokespersons" for themselves.

However.

Just then.

A hoarse, sharp voice, filled with respectful authority, slowly echoed from outside the Demonic Palace.

"Lord Demon Master."

The owner of the voice was Kuji Demon General.

He had, at some unknown point, silently appeared at the gate of the Demonic Palace.

His cloudy old eyes pierced through the thick palace walls, looking directly at Gu Yanci on the throne, a meaningful smile on his lips.

"The auspicious time has arrived."

"All the reigning Mother Gods and Child Gods of the Temple of All Evils, as well as representatives from various divine systems, have been waiting for a long time in the Demonic Council Hall."

He bowed slightly, making a gesture of "please."

"It is time..."

"To convene your first..."

— "Court Session" since your return.