Mu Ne Zhen Ce watched Tu Cha’s eyes dart back and forth, a sliver of smugness creeping into his heart. Seeing this big brute, he knew his pride and arrogance—few dared to offend him in normal times. This demon, relying on sheer strength, possessed an extreme confidence and dominance that surely couldn't tolerate insult.

When a mighty demon could no longer bear humiliation, he would invariably act to kill his opponent! Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s lips curled into a small, triumphant smile. If this demon wanted to kill him, he would agree to let everyone enter the underground palace, giving the demon the perfect excuse to strike.

“Since Her Highness the Princess requests entry, then let everyone go in.”

Tu Cha smiled confidently. During the Imperial Contest, the fighting strength of Lucifer Flowing Water’s subordinates had been completely exposed. In truth, only Swift Mirror of the Rushing Current possessed any real ability, and regrettably, he was already injured.

Even without the injury, Tu Cha was confident he could secure victory against his opponents, and moreover, lay low every other demon entering this subterranean palace.

A Half-Saint! Tu Cha knew his own power well. Even at their peak, the demons brought by Lucifer Flowing Water posed no genuine threat to him.

“Hurry up and move aside, you lumbering brute!” Mu Ne Zhen Ce forcefully shoved Tu Cha, who stood in his way, adopting an air of brazen arrogance as he supported Qian Jin deeper into the tunnel.

Tu Cha stood on the steps, watching Mu Ne Zhen Ce coldly, a series of sneers crossing his face as if looking at a corpse. You foolish, low-grade moron, do you truly believe Swift Mirror of the Rushing Current can shield you just because he’s the Princess’s escort? Foolish! Absolutely foolish!

Today, even if His Majesty the Great Demon King himself were here, I absolutely cannot let this low-ranking idiot live. He must die! Completely annihilated!

“Why are there so many stairs? Doesn’t anyone realize Master Swift Mirror’s health is poor? Building so many stairs!”

Mu Ne Zhen Ce grumbled incessantly as he walked. Tu Cha followed close behind, his face grim, merely sneering inwardly. Grumble! Curse away! The more arrogant you are, the sooner you’ll die! Few demons have ever annoyed me, Tu Cha, more than humans, and you, a low-level demon, certainly rank high among them.

“What’s with all these coffins? What a wretched place.”

Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s noisy complaints immediately drew the attention of many Inscription Masters. A ripple of displeasure crossed their faces as they turned synchronized, almost reproving gazes toward Tu Cha.

What was this place? This was the sacred domain of Lucifer’s Heart! Not some place any random demon could casually trespass!

Sensing the critical stares of the Inscription Masters around him, a deep fury began to simmer in Tu Cha’s chest. These Inscription Masters were mostly staunch loyalists of the Crown Prince. While he could eliminate Swift Mirror of the Rushing Current, he couldn't afford to show anger toward these scribes; they were the Crown Prince’s future bedrock of support.

Lucifer Flowing Water stared at the shocking scene before them, unable to calm his emotions for a long time. To think such a place existed in the Fallen City, and that she, the Princess, was completely unaware of it.

Duan Feng Bu Er repeatedly expressed his awe. The sheer grandeur of this place rivaled even the secret realms tied to the Nine-Headed Serpent bloodline! The lineage of the Fallen Angels truly could not be underestimated!

Seeing the surprised and awestruck reactions of the group, a trace of self-satisfied smiling finally appeared on Tu Cha’s lips. He knew these ignorant demons would be stunned by the scene before them.

“And such massive coffins, what a waste! If all these coffins were melted down, think how many swords could be forged, how many humans killed? The Lucifer lineage is truly stupid to the extreme!”

Mu Ne Zhen Ce released Qian Jin’s hand and strutted through the throng of coffins, his target the largest one—a massive sarcophagus that radiated pressure, as if it were a celestial pillar supporting the stars themselves.

That idiot! Tu Cha watched him coldly. In the next second, I’ll have you experiencing something close to an illusion.

“Wow! Such a huge metal coffin!”

Mu Ne Zhen Ce shouted aloud, his brow already tightly furrowed as he struggled against the mental interference emanating from the Sacred Artifact metal orb hovering above the coffin. His pace quickened beneath his feet.

This is… Tu Cha’s smile suddenly froze. This foolish, low-ranking demon had somehow already broken through the distance of the illusion barrier. No demon could cross that line without seeing the phantoms! Even His Majesty the Great Demon King, upon arrival, would stop right there to behold the illusions.

But now! A low-ranking demon had walked past that line without pausing, still moving rapidly forward.

What was happening? Tu Cha’s brow twitched incessantly. How could this be?

Opportunity! Super-Void Soul! Super-Void Soul! The three Battle Hearts within Qian Jin erupted instantly. Two Battle Seals flared, pushing the might of the Battle Skills to their absolute maximum. The Fourth Hammer of the Eighteen Peak Hammers violently burst forth! Exploding from the bottom up! The Violent Soul Domain flooded the three Battle Hearts, saturated the two Super-Void Soul Battle Skills, and concentrated in that single strike of the Eighteen Peak Hammers!

BOOM! For the first time, a thunderous roar erupted from Qian Jin’s fist. The fierce, biting killing intent and explosive power, like a true volcano, smashed into Tu Cha’s side waist. The formidable power of the Battle Skill surged inward.

Not good! A sneak attack! Almost at the instant Qian Jin launched his ambush, Tu Cha sensed an aura akin to an iron-blooded torrent. His Half-Saint power instantly activated fully. He tried to evade this sudden strike, but Mu Ne Zhen Ce’s distracting display caused him to hesitate, rendering him unable to dodge the punch.

If I can’t dodge, I must block! Tu Cha’s massive Black Serpent Battle Soul re-entered his body. The immense power caused countless hard scales to sprout across his skin, as if his body had been encased in a Battle-Weapon grade chainmail.

CRASH! Qian Jin’s fist landed squarely on Tu Cha’s waist. The force, raw and immense like a volcanic eruption, shattered the scale-like defenses instantly, sending them flying. The power of the fist under the Violent Soul Domain was far more terrifying than imagined. Half of Tu Cha’s torso was instantly compromised, and blood sprayed outward from the fractured wound.

“Aaaah!” Tu Cha let out a howl of excruciating pain, cold sweat immediately drenching his forehead. His body was flung sideways by the ferocious punch, managing to absorb some of the impact.

The combat experience of a Half-Saint barely saved Tu Cha this time. Although his body suffered catastrophic damage, he managed to continuously detonate two Battle Skills at the wound site, forcibly shaking out the majority of the Battle Skill sequence that had flooded his system.

“Swift Mirror of the Rushing Current, you…” Tu Cha’s eyes widened, rage and shock dominating those ferocious pupils. He couldn't believe that Swift Mirror of the Rushing Current had dared to launch a surprise attack, nor could he comprehend that this Swift Mirror’s strength was now far, far greater than it had been during the Imperial Contest.

Indeed! Far stronger! If he hadn't been this overwhelmingly strong, Tu Cha wouldn't have been hit, and certainly wouldn't have been wounded so gravely.

Two lines of destructive demonic eyes, piercing everything—as if capable of tearing through time and space itself—fired from two different positions. It seemed as if they had been placed there moments before, waiting for Tu Cha to collide with them.

Destructive Demonic Eyes? Tu Cha’s internal Battle Soul surged again, rapidly boosting his Battle Qi’s potency. Enduring the pain in his body, he twisted his wounded waist mid-air to dodge the power of the Demonic Eyes.

Puh! Puh! The two searing beams of light struck Tu Cha’s body without hesitation. The power of the Demonic Eyes from two Battle Soul level experts was infinitely stronger than when they were at the Golden Battle Heart stage. They tore directly through Tu Cha’s chest, leaving wounds the size of two fists.

How could this be? Tu Cha looked toward a direction emanating an inexplicable pressure, bewildered. Just a moment ago! When he clearly could have dodged, a strange surge of bloodline power suddenly erupted!

The instant this bloodline power manifested, his rapidly increasing Battle Qi stopped escalating. As if a toad encountered a venomous snake, it didn't just fail to rise, it began to recede rapidly!

A Half-Saint? No! Tu Cha felt his strength instantly drop to the peak of the Battle Soul realm!

“Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Warrior!” Seeing Duan Feng Bu Er’s Bloodline War Form, Tu Cha finally understood why his Battle Qi had decreased. The distance between them had been too close. If he had known this Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Warrior was near, constantly guarding against him—

Then, when the bloodline power erupted, he wouldn't have suffered any interference, and he would have been able to evade the beams of the Demonic Eyes.

The gap between a Half-Saint and the peak of the Golden Battle Heart stage was immense! Even a bloodline power on the level of the Serpent Emperor, facing a mature Black Serpent that had reached the Half-Saint state, would possess no power whatsoever.

It was like a young Serpent Emperor confronting an adult Black Serpent. Though the bloodline levels differed, the mature Black Serpent was vastly stronger in raw power, naturally capable of destroying an Emperor.

The two destructive beams had pierced Tu Cha’s chest, leaving him with three injuries so severe a demon could die instantly. His combat strength was forcibly dragged down.

“You…”

Tu Cha’s furiously wide eyes snapped open. Two icy points of light appeared in his pupils—those were the flying knives Qian Jin had thrown!

A shocking flying knife strike! It sliced across the sky, blazing with a destructive light that stole life, locking firmly onto the center of Tu Cha’s forehead.

You want me dead? You'll all be coming with me! Tu Cha roared his fury from his throat. The Battle Soul embedded in his body shattered! All the Battle Seals, even the entire Battle Soul, detonated!

In an instant, the power spewed from Tu Cha’s body made the very air tremble violently. Several nearby coffins let out faint metallic groans. The inscriptions carved upon them seemed to awaken from their slumber, and wisps of magical fluctuation ceaselessly rotated across the carvings.

Tu Cha was fighting for his life! In that split second, resembling a Demon King, his body rose toward the sky under the fierce churning of his Battle Qi, achieving flight out of thin air!

He broke through! The desperate Tu Cha, having thrown everything away, had advanced again! He had stepped into the true Half-Saint realm! At the very least, he could now fly!

Power! Power! Power! An endless torrent of might churned, surged, and exploded within Tu Cha’s body. Every gesture and movement hinted at a terrifying strength that threatened to tear space itself!