Outside the Enforcement Bureau.
Li Qinglian, the Sword God, dressed in green, frowned slightly and slowly raised his arm.
This movement instantly terrified everyone. They held their breath, watching his raised arm, fearing that when it fell, the giant sword of slaughter in the sky would also descend.
After a while, his arm fell, and the giant sword remained suspended in the air, not moving.
Only then did the crowd exhale in relief, thinking a peaceful scene would follow.
Suddenly, piercing sounds echoed in everyone's ears.
Screech! Screech! Screech!
It was like the sound of metal grinding, coming from nowhere, drilling into their ears. Some people's ears even began to bleed.
The sound was so harsh, it was challenging the limits of human hearing.
"Quick, cover your ears!" someone shouted.
The sound came and went as quickly as it arrived. When the crowd lowered their hands from their ears and looked up, they were stunned by the scene before them.
They found themselves in a bizarre world, and they didn't know when it happened.
Beneath their feet was blood-red earth. The sky held a blood-red moon, its faint red glow illuminating the entire land. The giant sword still hung in the sky. Everything they saw was a deep, bloody red.
"Where is this place?"
"How did we get here all of a sudden? I don't want to be here, I want to go back!"
"Please don't trouble us bystanders, Senior Sword God!"
"Boohoo, will something happen to me? Will my tombstone say: Died from being a bystander?"
"Eat less gossip in the future, they say it reduces the frequency of accidents!"
"I don't believe you, you rascal!"
Suddenly, someone shouted:
"This is... a Domain!"
"This is Senior Sword God's Sword Domain!"
Someone recognized the place and exclaimed in shock.
A Domain was a powerful skill awakened by only a select few ninth-tier powerhouses, and this world was clearly the Sword God's Sword Domain.
A Sword Domain had isolated everyone from the real world. So, what was Senior Sword God planning to do? Could it be...?
They nervously watched the green-robed Sword God before them, some with anticipation, others with trepidation, and a mix of everything in between!
On the opposite side, the boundary of that grand gate had vanished. Sun Ze and his group, along with the Sword God and his companions, now stood face to face, with no obstruction between them.
Sun Ze was not a weakling. He could immediately tell how powerful this Sword Domain was, far beyond his own capabilities.
A sense of dread filled him, and he shouted:
"Li Qinglian, do not go further down the wrong path. If you kill me, you will violate the regulations. Others will imitate you, and the human race's system will fall into chaos. For the sake of the human race, we must not act!"
However, no matter how loud his voice was, it could not stop the Sword God's advance.
He raised his arm and slowly walked towards Sun Ze.
The others on Sun Ze's side, watching the approaching Sword God, trembled uncontrollably.
"Senior Sword God, please reconsider."
"Yes, Senior Sword God, you are my idol, you can't kill people."
These people trembled, their hands and feet shaking as they watched the Sword God's figure drawing nearer.
When your life and death hang by a thread in someone else's whim, all schemes become meaningless. Only one thought remains in your mind: survival!
If one is dead, then all is lost!
"Run!" someone shouted, unleashing their innate ability and fleeing into the distance.
Seeing this, others also scattered and fled.
Only Sun Ze remained still. He knew he could not escape.
This was the Sword Domain, a world transformed by the power of the sword. Such a technique was mastered by only a handful of people in the entire human race.
His hands and feet trembled, revealing his inner turmoil. Facing the approaching Sword God, the threat of death loomed, causing his heart to pound.
Suddenly, the Sword God stopped three meters in front of Sun Ze.
Seeing the Sword God halt, Sun Ze felt a wave of relief. The pressure the Sword God had exerted on him was immense, and he had almost believed he would die at any moment.
He looked at the Sword God's frowning expression, assuming the Sword God wished to negotiate. He quickly said:
"The human race has its own laws. It is fortunate for the human race that you have stopped and will not do wrong."
"All guilt will be judged by law. Zhou Yang's crime can also be leniently punished. You only need to recommend me to the inner cabinet, and I will immediately release Zhou Yang. You never intended to join the cabinet anyway. From now on, you guard your Gui Xu, and I will enter my inner cabinet. We will not interfere with each other, how about it?"
"You have finally revealed your purpose!" the Sword God said calmly.
Sun Ze chuckled. "This is beneficial to both of us, isn't it? As long as you..."
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze, as the scenery before him changed drastically.
"Where is this..." Sun Ze cried out in shock.
"Slaughter Prison!" the Sword God replied, speaking calmly. "I have guarded the Gui Xu and killed countless异兽 (yi shou - strange beasts) and异界强者 (yi jie qiang zhe - strong cultivators from other realms). The resentment of these enemies has been absorbed into the Slaughter Sword. I have bound them within the Sword Domain, creating a section as a prison. This place is the prison within this Sword Domain, and it is the prison I have prepared for you."
"Enjoy the thrill between life and death here!"
"Death is the most merciful end for my enemies."
He spoke so much rarely, and only because Sun Ze was about to die, and some words needed to be said.
"Go, release your resentment!" He waved his hand gently, unlocking all the cages. Countless vengeful spirits surged out.
Then, he turned and walked towards the outside.
With every step he took, the giant sword of slaughter in the sky shrunk a little.
Within the Slaughter Space, countless ferocious vengeful spirits roared, charging madly at Sun Ze.
Sun Ze was greatly alarmed and shouted, "I don't want to die, release me, and I will immediately release Zhou Yang!"
However, once the Sword God had drawn his sword, there was no reason to sheathe it.
Sun Ze unleashed his innate ability. A green divine phantom appeared behind him. The phantom swung its palm, sending streaks of green slashes that killed the monsters one by one.
However, the vengeful spirits were too numerous. They appeared from all directions, even from underground, relentlessly.
Sun Ze grew tired, his internal energy depleted.
Covered in wounds, he screamed tragically, "Why? Why? Why did you flip the table? We could have talked things through, just like how I haggle with others. You don't play by the rules!"
"Why did you kill so many monsters and imprison so many vengeful spirits? Ah! It hurts so much!"
"There's no end to them. How many did you kill in the Gui Xu?"
In his final moments, a surge of energy gave him a brief clarity. He recalled his youth, how glorious he was as an SS-class awakened individual, until he met that person. Everything disappeared then. He became that person's eternal loser, living in their shadow for his entire life.
Later, when the human race's system was established, he climbed frantically. He wanted to enter the core and become someone above others.
Although the Sword God held no official position, his reputation was immense. His every word and action drew attention, and people listened to him. This was why he had schemed against the Sword God. He wanted to enter the cabinet, and the Sword God's words would carry significant weight.
Thus, the framing of Zhou Yang occurred. He thought it would be a drawn-out negotiation, ultimately leading to his entry into the cabinet. He never expected the situation to escalate so drastically. And not only did it escalate, but now he was about to lose his head!
What a mockery!
Cleverness backfired!
He laughed bitterly, as vengeful spirits pounced on him, knocking him to the ground.
Roar!
The vengeful spirits, all who had died by the Sword God's hand, lunged forward furiously, devouring Sun Ze, releasing their immense resentment.
His flesh and blood were gnawed away bit by bit, until only a pale, white skeleton remained.
With a *clack*, it fell to the ground.
Sun Ze was dead. With a thought from the Sword God, the Sword Domain vanished.
He raised his arm, and the Slaughter Sword, now shrunk to normal size, flew like a dragon into his palm.
He grasped the sword, sheathed it, all in one fluid motion.
Looking up, many people had arrived!