Chapter 683

"Look into my eyes; don't be deceived by what you see—you must do what you must do."

Luo En shook his head; though the situation was dire, he knew the girl was on the brink of death, the blood sea's color deepening further. The stench of blood grew thicker around him, and Luo En felt his consciousness slowly fading. Though he strained to break through the blood sea, it was clear his current strength was utterly insufficient.

The man's voice kept circling in Luo En's ears.

"Is this your power? Look at this now—who can stop me? When these two powers merge, I become immortal. Though I still need much time to complete the True Ten Thousand Souls Scripture, I must kill ten thousand people. So far, I've only killed about a thousand."

Luo En roared.

"Enough! You've killed so many just to cultivate your arts—this is the act of a beast."

Suddenly, the man appeared before Luo En.

"To me, those people are no different from ants. The gap between us is like fireflies versus the bright moon. If killing a few is needed for my art to reach perfection, what does it matter? They're merely mortals."

Luo En suddenly punched toward the man, but he struck only a lingering shadow—his blow missed. As he stumbled, he felt the surrounding energy grow heavier, as if every step he took sank into a quagmire.

"Don't you understand yet? Now that I've killed them, I'll become the strongest. No one will dare accuse me—then I'll be proven right. Everything in this world must bend to the strong. You are no exception."

Boom—a deafening crash—the entire blood sea churned violently. The girl thrashed wildly within the blood-red arms, yet she could feel the blood sea's aura slowly infecting her body; a crimson glow now radiated from her.

"Don't worry—you can't stop me. Now, all of you will descend to hell together."

Boom—a thunderous crash—the ground collapsed beneath them. Luo En felt the scene before him violently shaking, then he sensed himself entering a strange world.

Everything around was darkness. Luo En reached out but touched nothing. Then the girl's voice sounded in his ear.

"I can feel those arms have vanished."

Luo En said.

"Where are we now?"

The girl shook her head.

"I can't see anything around—it's as if the whole world is darkness."

Luo En clenched his teeth.

"No—we must stop him. If he kills ten thousand, no one will ever be able to stop him."

The girl nodded.

"But how do we get out? Where is this place?"

Luo En tried walking forward, believing he might touch something solid—if he could touch a physical object, he could determine where they were. Yet as he walked, he encountered no obstacles at all, as if the path was utterly clear. His heart sank.

This was another world—at least, in Luo En's view, it was likely a prison the man had created to trap them here.

The girl spoke urgently.

"What do we do? Are we really just going to stay here forever?"

Luo En shook his head.

"We'll find a way out."

Just as they were consumed by desperation, suddenly their vision brightened—a massive screen appeared ahead, displaying numerous images.

Luo En stared at the scenes on the screen and turned pale. It was his own familiar academy—but under the darkness, the entire academy had turned gray.

Then Luo En heard a faint whistling sound—two flashes of blade-light suddenly appeared, and a figure leapt out. When Luo En saw the figure's face, he nearly stood up— it was Taiyirō.

Yet for some reason, Taiyirō stood beside the academy, and beneath the gray sky, countless strange black-robed figures suddenly emerged—each looked identical, yet their attack methods differed.