The moment Chen Yifei's words left his lips, an aura of judgment surged into the barrel of his gun!
Simultaneously, Chen Yifei felt his spirit rapidly dwindling, as if he had poured everything into his palm. Some invisible force seemed to lock onto his target through the gun's muzzle.
As Jian Changsheng approached, he felt his hairs stand on end, a sense of impending danger he had never experienced before. He stared at the black gun barrel drawing closer, feeling as if it were the gaze of death itself.
Instinct told him to dodge this attack, but his body was too slow.
Bang!
Chen Yifei pulled the trigger.
The power of deconstruction manifested as a bullet that shot out of the gun without a spark or loud bang, silent as an arrow that pierced Jian Changsheng's chest in an instant.
Jian Changsheng felt his body lighten as a fist-sized hole appeared in his chest. Looking down, he could even see the ground behind him... Everything struck by that bullet seemed to vanish into nothingness, including his heart.
Unable to control his body any longer, he stumbled forward, collapsing at Chen Yifei's feet.
After firing that shot, Chen Yifei's vision grew dark, and the intense mental exhaustion almost caused him to faint on the spot. It was only through gritted teeth that he managed to stay upright.
Sure enough, unleashing the fourth-tier skill 'Court of Judgment' as a first-tier cultivator was a monumental feat.
Moreover, from the results, he hadn't been able to unleash a full domain like Han Meng had, but rather condensed a greatly reduced version near the gun barrel. The destructive power of the deconstructed bullet was limited to a fist-sized area...
Remembering that Han Meng had shattered the red paper monster with three shots, each with a destructive range tens of times greater than Chen Yifei's current ability, it became clear.
Even if he could unleash skills beyond his tier, their strength would be significantly reduced and limited by his current tier... This thought crossed Chen Yifei's mind.
But the proof was clear: Even a weakened 'Court of Judgment' was sufficient to instantly defeat nearly all enemies of his tier, like Jian Changsheng.
"You're... a monster..."
A faint voice emerged from Jian Changsheng's throat as he lay dying. Perhaps due to his own abilities, even with a pierced heart, he did not die immediately but stared intently at Chen Yifei.
"I shouldn't... die here... I've only just... begun."
"I don't... want to die..."
His voice grew fainter until it faded into silence... Yet even then, his eyes remained fixed on Chen Yifei, as if committing his face to memory for the afterlife.
He died with unfulfilled ambitions.
Only after confirming Jian Changsheng's death did Chen Yifei finally let out a sigh of relief... This guy had been incredibly tough to kill.
Not only did he feel no pain from his injuries, but he grew stronger in battle. Chen Yifei doubted he could have prevailed against Jian Changsheng if he hadn't instantly defeated him with 'Court of Judgment.'
After a brief respite, Chen Yifei regained some of his strength and surveyed the area before slowly making his way towards Number 8, who lay bloodied on the ground.
Number 8 had been reduced to an unrecognizable state by Jian Changsheng. Chen Yifei had to sift through the flesh and blood to find the Dao Foundation fragment still clutched in Number 8's hand.
As he reached for it, he realized that Number 8 was still gripping the fragment tightly, refusing to let go.
"You're still alive?" Chen Yifei asked, surprised.
Though Number 8's body was shattered, a faint breath remained. His single remaining eye stared at Chen Yifei through the blood, his hand firmly grasping the fragment—his final act of defiance.
The eight Fire Tamperers had traveled great distances from other realms for this Dao Foundation fragment. They had lost everything, even their lives, to obtain it... How could they let Chen Yifei claim it in the end?
"Let go," Chen Yifei sighed. "Everyone is dead. Do you think you can still turn things around?"
A glimmer of despair flashed in Number 8's remaining eye... Yet he still didn't release his grip.
Instead of forcibly taking the fragment, Chen Yifei gently placed his hand on Number 8's bloodied face and drew his gun, pressing it to Number 8's temple.
Chen Yifei could feel Number 8 trembling, but whether it was fear, anger, or reluctance, he couldn't tell.
"It's alright, it's alright," Chen Yifei crouched beside the mangled flesh, his red opera robe billowing, comforting like a parent soothing a child.
"You did well... child."
Bang!
The bullet pierced through Number 8's skull, extinguishing his life force.
Chen Yifei removed his hand, gently closing Number 8's eyelids as if to ease his passage into the afterlife.
With his dagger, Chen Yifei sliced through the stiffened palm of Number 8, retrieving the bloodstained Dao Foundation fragment of the Path of the Martial God. He slowly stood up, the breeze rustling the hem of his bloody opera robe, swaying gently in the desolate wilderness like a fiery crimson flame from the netherworld.
"Has the performance not yet ended...?" Chen Yifei mused for a moment before realization dawned.
"Ah... I'm not dead yet."
He was the ultimate winner, the sole survivor on this stage.
And the ultimate condition of the performance was that 'none should survive.'
Chen Yifei glanced at the blood-drawn words on the ground:
"Current Expectation Level: 65%"
Since the beginning of the performance, the audience's expectation level had been gradually rising. However, the true accumulation of expectation occurred after he transformed into the White Plume Command Tablet, igniting the conflict between the law enforcers and Fire Tamperers...
Merely by defeating Yan Xicai, seizing the ring sacrificial vessel, and appearing on stage to face Jian Changsheng and the others one-on-three, Chen Yifei had garnered nearly 30 points of expectation.
Taking Number 8's life had added another 5 points.
"Everyone's dead. Where can I find another 5 points of expectation?" Chen Yifei felt a headache coming on. If only he had planned more intricate plot twists to squeeze more expectation out of these corpses.
His gaze swept over the bodies strewn across the ground before settling on the unknown, mysterious darkness deep within the Ancient Treasure of the Martial Path...
This was the only way forward.
Checking the time, Chen Yifei noted that there was still a short while before the Ancient Treasure's gates would open. Without hesitation, he set off towards its depths.
Five-man Gorge, Ten-man Gorge, Fifteen-man Gorge, Twenty-man Gorge... Fifty-man Gorge...
As Chen Yifei delved deeper, the soldier spawn points grew increasingly vast. After crossing the Fifty-man Gorge, he spotted a prominent stone tablet towering above the grayish-white earth.
"Trial Boundary. Strictly Prohibited Beyond This Point."
Crossing this tablet meant leaving the trial area designated by Aurora City and entering the heart of the Ancient Treasure... an area clearly off-limits to newcomers like them.
Chen Yifei paused briefly before the tablet, then continued forward. As soon as his foot crossed the boundary, a faint warm current flowed through his chest.
Chen Yifei froze, reaching into his chest to retrieve the source of the heat.
"BaiQi"Command Tablet.