The silver finger continued descending from the Heaven Prison.
Reality vanished wherever it passed.
Not shattered.
Not destroyed.
Erased.
The laws of the mortal world simply ceased to exist beneath the Immortal's power.
The Sea Sovereign roared as endless oceanic laws erupted around him. Gigantic phantom seas rose across the heavens while ancient sea beasts charged forward alongside him.
BOOM.
His fist collided against the descending finger.
The sky exploded.
The Sea Sovereign coughed blood immediately.
His arm twisted unnaturally before countless fractures spread across his body.
Yet the finger continued descending.
Unstoppable.
The Pavilion Master attacked next.
Moonlight flooded the heavens.
Her gigantic black palace manifested completely while countless lunar chains wrapped around the silver finger.
For a moment—
The finger slowed.
Then—
CRACK.
Every chain shattered simultaneously.
The Pavilion Master staggered backward.
Blood spilled from her lips.
Even her silver eyes trembled slightly.
The gap was simply too large.
Meanwhile Lin Yanyan's crimson phoenix flames engulfed the battlefield entirely. The gigantic phoenix behind her screamed toward the heavens while endless divine fire collided against the descending attack.
BOOM.
Flames exploded.
Yet the silver finger emerged untouched.
The Phoenix bloodline.
The Moon Sovereign.
The Endless Sea Sovereign.
Three Sovereign-level powers attacking together.
And none of them could stop a single finger from a partially descended Immortal.
Despair began spreading across the battlefield.
The Executors watched calmly.
The heavenly armies smiled.
This was the difference between mortals and immortals.
An unbridgeable gap.
Inside his consciousness, Su Chen stood silently before the golden throne.
The white-haired woman faced him calmly.
Behind her, endless darkness stretched toward infinity.
The Third Imperial Seal glowed atop the throne.
Golden.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
The pressure radiating from it far surpassed anything Su Chen had experienced before.
"Unlock it."
Her voice remained calm.
Yet urgency hid beneath it.
"The world won't survive otherwise."
Su Chen stared toward the seal.
Fragments of ancient memories continued surfacing inside his mind.
Every previous reincarnation.
Every failure.
Every death.
Each one had eventually chosen power.
Each one had become closer to the Primordial Emperor.
And each one had disappeared.
No longer themselves.
The white-haired woman seemed to understand his hesitation.
"The previous reincarnations were consumed because they awakened through hatred."
She stepped closer.
Star-filled eyes locking onto his.
"You still possess something they lost."
Su Chen frowned slightly.
"What?"
For the first time—
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"Humanity."
Outside reality—
The silver finger descended further.
Mountains disappeared.
Entire sections of the atmosphere vanished.
The mortal world was approaching collapse.
Xu Mingshan could barely remain conscious.
Yan Ruoxue's knees touched the ground.
Even Yue Qingzhi looked pale.
Meanwhile Lin Yanyan refused to retreat.
Phoenix flames continued erupting around her endlessly despite blood flowing from the corner of her lips.
Her eyes never left Su Chen.
Not once.
The Immortal noticed.
His silver eye narrowed faintly.
"Interesting."
His voice echoed throughout existence.
"The final vessel formed attachments."
The pressure intensified again.
The finger accelerated.
The Sea Sovereign roared furiously.
"DAMN IT!"
Oceanic spiritual energy exploded around him once more.
Yet his attacks accomplished nothing.
The Pavilion Master slowly wiped blood from her lips.
Silver eyes growing colder.
"If this continues..."
The mortal world would die.
Everyone knew it.
Inside his consciousness—
Su Chen finally looked toward the throne.
Then slowly began walking.
One step.
Then another.
The golden throne seemed to grow larger with every movement.
Ancient.
Majestic.
Terrifying.
Countless unseen beings appeared kneeling around it as he approached.
Kings.
Sovereigns.
Immortals.
Entire civilizations.
All bowing toward the throne.
Not from fear.
From loyalty.
The memories became clearer.
Su Chen saw the Ancient Court at its peak.
The countless worlds united beneath one banner.
The Primordial Emperor sitting atop the throne while powerful beings from across existence stood beneath him.
Not because he conquered them.
Because he protected them.
The realization struck Su Chen unexpectedly.
The memories weren't only hatred.
There was responsibility too.
Sacrifice.
Burden.
The Emperor hadn't fought heaven for revenge.
He fought because heaven treated entire worlds like disposable resources.
The white-haired woman spoke softly behind him.
"Now you understand."
Su Chen reached the throne.
The Third Imperial Seal floated before him.
Brilliant golden light illuminated the darkness.
Outside reality—
The silver finger finally entered the atmosphere completely.
The world screamed.
Reality cracked.
The Sea Sovereign smiled bitterly.
"So this is how it ends."
The Pavilion Master remained silent.
Lin Yanyan simply stared at Su Chen.
Trusting him.
Believing him.
Even now.
The Immortal's voice echoed again.
"History repeats itself."
Then—
Su Chen touched the seal.
BOOM.
The universe exploded.
Golden light erupted throughout his consciousness.
The Third Imperial Seal shattered instantly.
Ancient power flooded through every corner of his existence.
The synchronization voice erupted violently.
Third Imperial Seal unlocked.
Imperial authority increasing.
Memory integration beginning.
Synchronization: 99.9%
The white-haired woman's expression changed.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Relief.
Then—
The golden throne trembled.
A figure slowly appeared seated upon it.
The Primordial Emperor.
Golden robes.
Ancient eyes.
Boundless authority.
The Emperor looked exactly like Su Chen.
And Su Chen looked exactly like him.
Silence filled the void.
For several seconds—
Neither moved.
Then the Emperor smiled.
A calm smile.
Not cold.
Not arrogant.
Just tired.
Very tired.
"I wondered how long it would take."
Su Chen stared at him.
"You've been waiting."
The Emperor nodded.
"For many lives."
A pause followed.
Then Su Chen asked the question haunting him since the beginning.
"Am I you?"
Silence.
The Emperor considered the question carefully.
Then answered.
"No."
The response surprised him.
The Emperor slowly stood.
"You carry my memories."
Golden light drifted around him.
"You inherited my power."
Another step forward.
"You walk the path I once walked."
Then the Emperor stopped directly before Su Chen.
"But you are not me."
The pressure around the throne disappeared.
The Emperor's eyes softened slightly.
"That is why you succeeded where the others failed."
Fragments of countless reincarnations appeared around them.
Every version of Su Chen.
Every life.
Every failure.
The Emperor looked toward them quietly.
"They tried becoming me."
His gaze returned to Su Chen.
"You chose remaining yourself."
Silence filled the darkness.
Then the Emperor slowly raised one hand.
A golden sword appeared.
The Heaven Slaughter Sword.
The true sword.
Not the phantom.
Not the fragment.
The original weapon.
The blade that once challenged heaven itself.
The Emperor offered it forward.
"Take it."
Outside reality—
The descending silver finger finally reached the city.
The world began collapsing.
The Immortal smiled coldly.
Then—
Golden light exploded from Su Chen.
BOOM.
The entire battlefield froze.
Time itself seemed to stop briefly.
The silver finger halted.
The heavenly armies froze.
Even the Immortal's silver eye narrowed sharply.
Because standing where Su Chen had been—
Was a new figure.
Golden robes fluttered gently.
Ancient runes drifted through the air.
A magnificent golden sword rested within his hand.
Yet his appearance hadn't changed.
It was still Su Chen.
Still the young man from the declining Su Family.
Still Lin Yanyan's husband.
Still himself.
But now—
The heavens recognized him.
The Immortal recognized him.
And deep within the ancient memories—
The remaining survivors of the Ancient Court recognized him too.
The first Executor's face finally changed.
Fear appeared.
For the first time.
"Impossible..."
The Immortal slowly stared at the golden sword.
Then spoke a name he hadn't uttered for ten thousand years.
"The Heaven Slaughter Sword."
Silence followed.
Su Chen slowly raised the blade.
Golden light illuminated the collapsing world.
His eyes remained calm.
Not filled with hatred.
Not consumed by vengeance.
Simply determined.
Then he looked directly toward the Immortal within the Heaven Prison.
"I've returned."
The heavens trembled.