Chapter 60: Direct Suppression, Kneel!

The celestial aura in the Feathered Ascension Heavenly Palace is ethereal.

There is a place where murderous aura is dense, soaring straight into the heavens; anyone with even a hint of wavering will be seized by the intense killing aura and shiver all over.

This is the Heavenly Punishment Hall.

The Hall towers like a great mountain, soaring into the clouds, solemn and majestic; on the vast square directly before its gate stands a square arena.

From afar, the arena looks like an ancient massive rock, cut flat and placed here.

Up close, one sees countless dark red stains seeping deep into the stone, as if a great being died upon it, leaving an indelible blood mark that has never faded for ten million years.

This arena is the Heavenly Punishment Platform of the Feathered Ascension Sect, where rebels are exterminated, demon gods slain, hierarchies decided, and life and death settled!

Since the Feathered Ascension Sect was founded countless ten‑thousands of years ago, countless terrifying figures whose magical power shook the vast world have perished on the Heavenly Punishment Platform.

At this moment, many divine‑power cultivators stand around the platform, all true‑line disciples and Elders of the Feathered Ascension Sect.

Everyone watches Chen Zheng and Jiang Lingkong, each standing at opposite ends of the ring, facing each other from afar, their gazes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.

"Is this person Chen Zheng? He looks rather extraordinary; I wonder about his true strength, whether he can defeat Jiang Lingkong?"

"I've heard of Chen Zheng; he crushed Cang Bozi, sliced off an arm of Jinshi Tai with his sword, his momentum as fierce as that of Meng Shaobai back then."

"How fierce his momentum matters? Senior Brother Jiang achieved the Threefold Primordial Steel Realm thirty years ago, and now his depth is unfathomable. I'll leave it at that; when the Heavenly Punishment Elder announces the start, Chen Zheng will surely be defeated…"

The crowd below exchanges thoughts telepathically, some gloating, some mocking.

Without exaggeration, 99% of people believe Chen Zheng will be crushed and slain on the spot by Jiang Lingkong.

He certainly deserves such a death.

Who made Chen Zheng so reckless that even people from Tiandu City dare to kill, dare to fight?

Stupid enough to oppose Hua Tiandu; if Chen Zheng doesn't die, who will?

Of course.

But not everyone thinks Chen Zheng must lose.

For example, Ye Piaoling, Elder Ma and others think that although Chen Zheng's chance of beating Jiang Lingkong is slim, it's not entirely nonexistent.

After all, a one‑in‑ten‑million chance is still a probability.

Otherwise, knowing death is certain, why would Chen Zheng still voluntarily challenge Jiang Lingkong?

Chen Zheng is not a fool.

Nevertheless, Ye Piaoling and the others remain unconvinced, their expressions complex as they sigh silently within.

At the same time,

Inside the Heavenly Punishment Hall sit many people, each with an immortal bearing, aura as weighty as the boundless earth, clearly formidable figures of the Feathered Ascension Sect.

Those seated here are Grand Elders, whose status dwarfs that of the Elders outside.

The Elders of the Feathered Ascension Sect are divided into three types.

The first are ordinary Elders, such as Elder Ma, Elder Zhou, Jin Rilie, etc., who hold real authority in Feathered Ascension City and can partake in certain sect affairs.

The second are Grand Elders, all possessing vast divine powers, ranging from the Seventh to the Tenth Tenfold, even those just entering the Immortal Longevity Secret Realm.

The third are the most mysterious Supreme Elders, ancient relics who have not emerged for millennia, their magical power spans the heavens, their authority comparable to the sect head.

However, Supreme Elders like the Divine Dragon are rarely seen; they either cultivate in a strange spacetime deep within the Feathered Ascension Heavenly Palace, or roam the cosmos, or travel to other universes, and generally do not involve themselves in sect affairs.

Even if a true‑line senior brother like Hua Tiandu rebels and joins the Great Unity Sect, the Supreme Elders might not intervene.

Only when a truly critical event occurs, even a matter of life and death, will the Supreme Elders appear.

And the people seated in the Hall are all Grand Elders; the Heavenly Punishment Elder and the Transmission Elder that Chen Zheng once saw in the True Line Palace were conspicuously present.

Their gazes all fell on the Heavenly Punishment Platform, shaking their heads in regret for Chen Zheng.

A rare genius finally emerged in the sect, only to be on the brink of an early death. What a pity.

"Chen Zheng is too stubborn, insisting on a life‑or‑death duel with Jiang Lingkong; we cannot dissuade him," the Transmission Elder sighed lightly.

"Everyone has their fate."

The Heavenly Punishment Elder slightly shook his head, his voice echoing from the Hall: "Chen Zheng, duel Jiang Lingkong, life or death, begin!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone around the platform instantly fixed their eyes on the ring.

"Chen Zheng, remember, your killer is Jiang Lingkong!"

On the ring, Jiang Lingkong's face broke into a cold smile, his icy divine power surged wildly, emitting a booming roar like ten thousand troops charging.

Immediately, the surrounding chill intensified, temperature plummeted, and even the air froze.

The sky unleashed a downpour of feather‑light snow, covering the area within fifty li, turning everything into a blinding white.

Even the falling snowflakes seemed sentient, coalescing into countless white, forest‑like blades and spears, their sharpness pressing forward like a sudden storm, attacking Chen Zheng to overwhelm him.

"Hiss... Senior Brother Jiang's power has reached a full five thousand horses! Moreover, it now possesses sentience; he truly attained the Fourth‑level Yin‑Yang Realm of divine power!"

This novel you

"Chen Zheng, this is not good…"

Many below the ring cast spells to fend off the invading cold, exclaiming telepathically.

No one expected Jiang Lingkong to become this powerful.

Observe his style; his strike is like a lion fighting a rabbit, giving his all.

He still employs Hua Tiandu's famed technique, Heavenly Cold Mysterious Force!

Back then, the Great Xu Dynasty commissioned Hua Tiandu to perform a rite to boost the next year's harvest; Hua Tiandu used the move "Snow Fills the Universe", snow drifting eight thousand li, three feet thick.

Now Jiang Lingkong can make snow drift fifty li, showing his terror.

"Junior brother Chen, elder brother, be careful!"

Jia Lan and others also exclaim telepathically.

"Ha ha, good!"

Cang Bozi and Jinshi Tai's eyes lit with delighted smiles, shouting loudly, as if they already saw Chen Zheng being turned into a sieve by Snow Fills the Universe.

But at that moment, an event that made everyone turn pale with horror occurred.

It was that Chen Zheng on the arena suddenly had a black robe appear on his body, with countless blood veins flowing over it, as if it were a legendary demonic garment.

In a daze, everyone's mind produced the same illusion: Chen Zheng's whole figure seemed countless times taller than before, towering like an ancient demon god.

Dark golden mana surged wildly over the demon god's body, like a rolling river flowing eastward, striking the countless swords, spears and halberds formed from ice and snow.

Whoosh!

The crowd's eyes widened; the snowflakes filling the sky were swept away by the dark golden mana.

Clarity returned to heaven and earth.

"Kneel!"

Before the crowd could even gasp, they saw Chen Zheng had appeared before Jiang Lingkong at an unknown moment, standing like a sovereign of a bygone era atop the nine heavens, his robe flaring wildly, calmly looking down on the sinful minister, his golden words like jade, shaking mountains and rivers.

"No, how could you be so strong, to break my Snow-Full Cosmos!"

Jiang Lingkong's sinister smile froze completely, letting out a terrifying roar, hurriedly channeling mana to strike Chen Zheng, but felt a vast, terrifying pressure like heavenly might descend, preventing any of his mana from manifesting outward.

Irresistible!

Thump!

Jiang Lingkong could no longer withstand the pressure; his legs gave way and he knelt on the ground.

(End of chapter)