This was his world, a world conjured by his will, where everything bent to his command. Here, he was the god, and ordinary attacks could not harm him unless the striking power surpassed his own.

Seeing Dugu Bachen reappear before him once more, Xiao was on the verge of tears. Big brother, he pleaded internally, I just managed to land my final blow, did you really have to treat me like this? I was only acting out of necessity just now, wasn't I?

But Dugu Bachen clearly couldn't hear the silent plea in his heart, and even if he could, he likely would have brought down the third strike without hesitation.

The third strike. A breathtaking strike. It was undoubtedly the most perfect attack Xiao had ever witnessed. Whether it was the speed, the power, or the precision, this blade had achieved absolute perfection.

Under this blow, not a hint of blade energy leaked out, not a flicker of light shimmered. It looked as if the stone blade was nothing more than an ordinary piece of rock.

Yet, Xiao understood this was the most terrifying strike of all. Facing the whistling descent of this attack, he felt an urge to simply stand still and be cleaved in two, sparing himself this endless pain and torment.

But quickly, he reminded himself: he was a war general under the command of the Demon Lord of Destruction. He absolutely could not die here, and if he must die, it could not be so ignominiously...

Since he could not deflect it, he would fight with everything he had...

"Vanish for me..." A faint whisper escaped Xiao’s lips. A mass of black light suddenly erupted from his body, engulfing the bone weapon in his hand. Dugu Bachen watched in astonishment as the bone weapon began to crack, dissolve, and perish...

"Oh?" A sound of surprise escaped Dugu Bachen’s throat, for he realized this move from his opponent carried a trace of the power of rules—the very rule representing Destruction.

As Xiao fully unleashed this ultimate strike, a grave expression settled on Dugu Bachen's face. He had only vaguely grasped the world of rules, barely able to manifest this world of blades. But he could not yet command it with absolute freedom.

He wouldn't pay much mind to ordinary energy attacks, even those matching his own power. After all, this was the world he had manifested; he could simply erase such attacks if he willed it. However, the emergence of a comparable rule-force was enough to resist his own incomplete dominion.

It was similar to the rule-force faintly generated when the seven demons attacked in unison—that force was steadily suppressing the rule, or world-power, Dugu Bachen currently commanded.

The World of Blades.

"Crack..." A sharp sound echoed, and Xiao’s bone weapon shattered completely, instantly annihilated. Dugu Bachen's strike then sliced through the expanse of black light and slammed fiercely into Xiao. The power of the stone blade was so immense it nearly cut Xiao in half. The countless shreds of blade energy ruthlessly tore at his body. Even with his formidable physique, he was instantly covered in grievous wounds from these slashes...

It was only thanks to his incredibly tough body and astonishing self-healing ability that as he desperately retreated backward, black motes of light constantly surged out, and his injuries rapidly mended...

Yet, his desperate, all-or-nothing strike had managed to leave a bleeding hole in Dugu Bachen’s shoulder. Moreover, this wound did not heal immediately; instead, it widened, as if intent on completely destroying Dugu Bachen.

Is this the power of Destruction? Absolute, all-ignoring destruction? Dugu Bachen dared not be careless. Power surged continuously from within him, countless blade energies rushing toward the wound to resist such a force...

It was at this moment that a fissure appeared once more in this world—only a slight one, to be sure. After all, while Xiao had utilized the power of rules, his strength was still somewhat inferior to the power Dugu Bachen currently controlled.

But this tiny fissure was enough. Xiao, along with the other demons, saw that an exit had finally been punched through this world and immediately surged toward the rift at full speed.

They all understood that having lost one of their number, they could no longer pose a threat to Dugu Bachen. Rather than staying to die, it was wiser to retreat first and await the arrival of their Lords.

As for the divine elixir behind the city wall that could have massively increased their strength, they dismissed it. If they lost their lives, what opportunities would remain?

Their speed was so great they shot through the fissure almost instantaneously, escaping Dugu Bachen's world. Ignoring the demons still fighting desperately below, they fled westward at top speed.

But Dugu Bachen could not simply let them go. Watching the six demons flee rapidly, he snorted coldly, "Trying to leave? Not so easily done. Void Slash!"

"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!" As his voice faded, nine consecutive blade projections shot out, traversing space directly to strike behind Xiao.

Xiao was inwardly horrified, forced once again to desperately channel the dark power within him, but even so, it was clearly insufficient to block those dazzling blade projections...

"Sshh..." The first strike hit his arm, severing it entirely; the limb was churned into mere pulp by the terrifying blade energy. Then came the second strike, the third, the fourth...

When the seventh strike landed, only despair remained in Xiao’s eyes. By now, only his head remained intact; the rest of his body had been pulverized into fragments by the previous eight slashes...

Feeling the ninth, most powerful strike hurtling towards him, Xiao knew this time he truly could not escape death. He had never expected to survive until this day, rising step-by-step from the brutal environment of the Abyss, only to perish at the hands of these weaklings. Were humans not supposed to be capped at the Celestial tier in strength?

His heart filled with reluctance and regret. Just as he fell into complete despair and was about to give up, a figure materialized in front of him. She wore exquisite crimson armor that perfectly accentuated her fiery figure. Facing the whistling blade projections, the woman casually flicked her hand, and the very blade light that would have utterly annihilated Xiao shattered, dissolving into countless sparks of light...

Seeing the newcomer, a look of ecstatic relief crossed Xiao’s face, but the next words she spoke plunged him into an ice cellar...

"The Lord has arrived. He is very dissatisfied with your performance..."

The Lord has arrived? Dissatisfied with his performance? Thinking of that terrifying Lord, sweat instantly streamed down Xiao's forehead...

(The weather is getting colder, everyone please take care of yourselves. Don't be like Starfall, shivering all over, wrapped in a quilt, clutching a hot towel, and shouting with a hoarse voice: Votes! Votes!)