62: Chapter 62 The Empress Steps on the Sewing Machine, the Dragon King Unblocks the Sewers

The verdict from the Donghai City Intermediate People's Court came down very quickly, catching those who were still waiting to see the "Dragon King's comeback" drama off guard.

There was no storming of the execution grounds, no divine lightning descending from the heavens.

As the gavel fell, Empress Su Hongyi was sentenced to twenty years in prison for multiple crimes, including endangering public safety and intentional injury.

Lin Fan was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for crimes including assaulting police officers and disturbing the peace.

Both were immediately transported to the [Maximum Security Prison for Paranormals] located deep in the Gobi Desert of the Great Northwest—codenamed "Serenity Garden."

There was no Spiritual Qi here, only endless yellow sand and hundreds of high-definition surveillance cameras.

One week later.

"Serenity Garden," Third Ward, garment workshop.

Dozens of sewing machines emitted a dense "clack-clack" sound, and the air was filled with the smell of machine oil and fabric fibers.

Empress Su Hongyi wore a loose blue-and-white striped prison uniform, her hair cut into a short bob, and the aura of the Empress who once ruled the Nine Heavens was completely gone.

She was hunched over, clumsily fumbling with the fabric in her hands, her feet pressing the pedal unevenly.

"Ah!" A low cry.

The needle pricked her index finger, and a bead of blood emerged.

If this were in the past, a small wound like this would heal after circulating Spiritual Qi for half a cycle. But now, the pain made tears well up in her eyes, and she quickly put her finger in her mouth.

"Thwack!" A large, rough hand slapped onto her workstation, knocking the thread spools onto the floor.

Empress Su Hongyi shuddered in fright, looking up to see a fleshy, round face.

That was the "Cell Block Leader" of the Third Ward, known as "Sister Hua."

Before going to prison, she had been a butcher, possessing astonishing strength, specializing in dealing with those who refused to submit.

"What are you mourning for? Everyone is working, why are you so delicate?" Sister Hua stared down at Empress Su Hongyi, her eyes full of impatience. "You, the one called Empress, your quota for today is two hundred cuffs, and you've only done thirty. I guess you don't want to eat chicken legs tonight."

Empress Su Hongyi bit her lip, instinctively wanting to retort, "How dare you, insolent commoner," but swallowed the words back down.

When she first arrived the day before yesterday, she had put on airs and refused to make her bed, only to be picked up with one hand by Sister Hua and thrown onto the top bunk. Without her cultivation, her pampered body couldn't even bend one of Sister Hua's fingers.

"I... I'm sorry, I'll do it right away."

Empress Su Hongyi lowered her head, her fingers trembling as she went back to threading the needle.

The hands that once shattered mountains and rivers with a wave were now only capable of struggling with a tiny piece of cotton thread.

Meanwhile, in the men's ward, cleaning detail.

A pungent smell of toilet cleaner filled the narrow cubicle.

Lin Fan held a toilet brush with bristles that were almost completely worn away, squatting in front of the toilet bowl, scrubbing away years of grime.

His prison uniform was soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his back.

"Back in the day, when I, the Asura Dragon King, gave an order, one hundred thousand soldiers..."

"Lin Fan! Is that toilet unclogged yet? There are three more to scrub behind it!" The voice of the prison guard came from down the hallway, interrupting his memories.

"Coming, coming! Right away!"

Lin Fan responded reflexively, nimbly grabbing the plunger from the side and plunging it forcefully into the clogged drain several times.

Sewage splashed onto his pant legs, but he didn't even frown.

Looking at the filth-covered plunger in his hand, Lin Fan looked up at the palm-sized ventilation window, and a muddy tear slid from the corner of his eye.

A Dragon in shallow water is teased by shrimp; a tiger on the plains is bullied by dogs.

Hongyi, I have failed you. Letting you suffer this kind of torment with me.

Bureau of Anomalous Affairs, Main Control Room.

The giant screen was split in two; on the left was Empress Su Hongyi appearing timid before the sewing machine, and on the right was the image of Lin Fan sighing up at the sky while holding a plunger.

Gu Changan sat in a leather swivel chair, holding a freshly brewed cup of goji berry tea, gently blowing on the floating tea leaves.

"This is the so-called 'protagonist'."

He took a sip of tea and turned to the warden behind him, saying, "Keep a close watch on these two. Especially that Empress Su Hongyi; ensure her ideological reform keeps up. Also, strictly control her reading materials. Don't let her have any chance to come into contact with any Xuanhuan or cultivation novels, not even children's books like 'The Magic Brush,' to prevent her from developing unrealistic fantasies."

"Understood, Team Leader." The warden stood at attention and saluted. "We will arrange for her to practice reciting the 'Criminal Law' at night to ensure that her idealistic thinking is thoroughly washed away."

Gu Changan nodded with satisfaction.

Just then, that familiar mechanical voice rang in his mind.

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully suppressed the Divine-Grade Luck combination (Empress + Dragon King) and conducted effective labor reform on them.]

[Mission Rating: S-Rank.]

[Congratulations to the host for obtaining the reward: All Beings Equal Domain (Permanently Solidified Version).]

[Description: The Domain range is expanded to the entire city. Within this Domain, except for those authorized by the host, all extraordinary powers (Spiritual Qi, magic, superpowers, System cheats) are forcibly reduced to zero. Physical rules will become the only truth.]

Gu Changan's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.

Permanently solidified. Covering the entire city.

This means that as long as he is in Huaxia, this place is an absolute anti-magic zone. No matter if you are a Grand Unity Golden Immortal or a Western main god, once you come here, you have to honestly buy a ticket and take the subway.

"Now it's stable." Gu Changan put down the teacup and adjusted his cuffs.

With this trump card, even if a real immortal descended to earth, he would have the confidence to arm-wrestle them.

Suddenly.

"Wooo—!!!" A piercing red alarm sound rang out through the entire hall without warning.

The red warning light overhead spun crazily, casting the main control room in a blood-red hue. All staff members sprang up from their seats instantly, and the sound of Keyboard typing rang out in unison.

"What's going on?" Gu Changan stood up, his expression calm.

"Report, Team Leader! Detected special-grade energy fluctuations! The values are off the charts!" The technician's voice trembled slightly. "The source... comes from deep within the western Kunlun Mountains!"

"That is... the source of the Huaxia Dragon vein."

The image on the big screen switched abruptly.

Real-time satellite images showed that above the towering Kunlun snow-capped mountains, a huge barrier that was originally invisible to the naked eye was shattering.

Golden fragments fell like glass, revealing the ancient architectural complex stretching out inside.

Immediately after, countless streams of light shot up into the sky.

Those were swords.

Thousands upon thousands of Flying Swords, dense and crowded, blotting out the sky and sun, converged into a silver river, rapidly approaching the direction of Donghai City at supersonic speed.

The clouds were torn apart by Sword Qi, and the entire sky of western Huaxia was trembling.

An old and majestic voice, as if crossing through space, accompanied by rolling thunder, exploded over Yanjing City and echoed in the ears of every Huaxia person:

"Ignorant child Gu Changan! You have gone too far!"

"Lin Fan is my Kunlun sect's outcast; even if he has a thousand faults, it is not for the likes of you mere mortals to manage! Now you dare to abolish his cultivation and insult his dignity; you simply do not hold my Kunlun Immortal Sect in your eyes!"

"Today, Kunlun enters the world, and I shall let you, this yellow-mouthed child, know what the difference is between the immortal and the mortal!"

"If you do not immediately release Lin Fan and Empress Su Hongyi, and bind your own hands and kneel before the mountain gate to apologize, I will surely lead ten thousand swords to slaughter the city and turn this Yanjing City into ruins!"